2007 a year of challenges in sport Part II

2007 proved to be another good year for the development activities of the association.
Like several of the other sporting disciplines practised in St Vincent and the Grenadines squash has been able to craft a talent identification programme. The nature of the sport and the paucity of facilities outside of tho
se at the headquarters of the association in Paul’s Avenue, Kingstown and at the Grand View Fitness Centre, make it virtually impossible to engage in the NOC’s Grassroots programme which takes the disciplines to venues across the state. To this extent therefore the spread of the sport may well be inhibited.

Table Tennis
The conflict within the leadership of the sport of table tennis may well have impacted the pace of development. The initial involvement of the federation in the Grassroots Talent Identification programme of the NOC saw a surge in interest and participation on the part of youngsters.
The availability to the table tennis association of the building that once housed the Government Printery in Kingstown allowed for students in the Kingstown area to seize the opportunity to learn the sport.
The organisation’s cessation of involvement in the Grassroots Talent Identification programme for a period of time may well have created some hitches in the pace of change which had begun to take effect earlier on in terms of growth in participation.
The recent involvement of table tennis in the Inaugural NOC Sports Academy may well signal the recommencement of a developmental programme that has immense potential. There are many youths across the country who have gravitated towards the sport and one expects good things in the near future. We are also witnessing the emergence of training centres apart from the one in Kingstown. One such centre is located at the Fitness Quest. The sport can only benefit from such activities in the future.