Table Tennis team leaves for Dominica

A ten member St. Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis team will be seeking to go one up on their 2003 performance, when they participate in the 2005 OECS championship set for Dominica June 24-27.

Those chosen for the task of bettering the second place in St. Lucia two years ago are 2005 National Singles champion Robert Ballantyne, Joseph Carrington, David Llewelyn, Percival Dublin, Kerry Pierre, Richard Morris, Kamal Hunte, Kandice Franklyn, Natasha Shortte and Unica Velox.{{more}}

Elliot Charles is the team’s coach and Saline Barbour manager.

An upbeat Barbour sees no reason why SVG should not take the sub-regional title.

Barbour is basing her prediction on her team’s performance at last year’s Caricom championship in Trinidad and Tobago.

“We defeated the OECS teams that were there,” Barbour recalled.

The inclusion of Morris, Hunte and Franklyn is a pointer to the direction of the youth focus of the association.

Franklyn and Morris are making their first national representative trip overseas in the sport.

Both had it their way at the recent Secondary schools’ tournament. Morris won the Under-18 Singles and Franklyn the Girls’ Singles.

Barbour indicated that the three youngsters were given the opportunity to show their wares among their older counterparts.

Their participation at the OECS level could be timely, as Ballantyne and Llewelyn have indicated that the OECS championship, will be their last representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Ballantyne and Llewelyn have been playing table tennis for this country since in the 1970’s.