By Charmaine Austin, Staff Reporter
Nicardo Clarke
THE JAMAICA Table Tennis Association (JTTA) is unable to send a team to this year's Caribbean Junior Championships in Puerto Rico due to a lack of funds and while they are disappointed, it is the young representatives who are most saddened at losing the opportunity to represent their country.
Four girls, a similar number of boys, a coach and manager were selected to travel but not even half the team will be able to make the trip to the event that starts today and ends next Monday, August 26.
"I'm very, very disappointed that I'm not going because I worked so hard. From last year I've been preparing for this and now we hear that we can't go. It's like I was training in vain. We tried to raise money but it was not enough. Things like these make me want to give up," said 16 year-old Nicardo Clarke, one of the island's top junior players.
Jodian Adams, another representative echoed similar sentiments but though disappointed was not discouraged.
"I'm disappointed too but there's always next year. We trained long and hard for this event and the experience would have been good but I could never give up although this happened. This is my third year representing the country and I know more opportunities will come along," she said.
The cost to send to team to Puerto Rico was JA$500,000 and of that amount only $120,000 was realised from press appeals and other fund-raising efforts like the sponsor-a-player programme.
Said JTTA president Justin Allen: "We tried to get money by making many appeals but $120,000 was the best we could do. Players solicited donations from the public and that yielded about $80,000 and the rest came from Port Services, Blue Cross, ARC Systems Limited and Mr and Mrs Dale Thames of Mandeville but we just could not reach the target amount."
The juniors selected were Clarke, Kane Watson, Jason Lynch, Andre Hart and the girls Adams, Carla Clarke, Janelle Morris and Sharlene Carr.
