Embassy debacle!

MEMBERS OF the table tennis fraternity are upset with the Andrew Lue-led Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) administration, which they blamed for preventing Jamaica’s full participation at the Pan American (PanAm) Youth Championships in the United States of America (USA) in September.

According to Sunday Gleaner sources, a delegation of 11 individuals, including players and coaches, would have travelled to the USA for the event. Five players and a coach needed American visas.

It is understood that all the documentation was put in place, however, on the day of the appointment, the coach’s disposition changed, causing suspicion. Sources stated that during the interview process at the embassy, it was discovered that the coach had a felony charge in the USA and had been deported to Jamaica.

The embassy officials, the sources said, immediately discontinued the process, rejecting all the visa applications for the players. It is understood that only one player, who already had a visa, is expected to journey to the tournament.

The situation has irked several parents, who were willing to fund the hotel accommodation for their children, with the financially incapable JTTA providing the airfare for the players.

Junior Denton, whose daughter Kayan was among those rejected by the embassy, expressed frustration with the administration although he believes the coach was mainly at fault.

VERY DISAPPOINTING

“At home and even before we reached home, I could see that she (Kayan) was very disappointed because she was really looking forward to the opportunity. I have sisters and brothers there who were looking forward to going and supporting her, so it was very disappointing overall.

“I don’t know if the JTTA knew about the coach’s background, but if they do and send the coach, I think they failed right there. I think the coach should have said something, though,” Denton said.

According to Veronica Scarlett-McKenzie, the whole process by the JTTA was improperly handled, which infuriated her and eventually led to her withdrawing her son, Conroy Henry, from the delegation before the debacle at the embassy.

She said the JTTA executives failed to address her concerns after her son was added late. Scarlett-McKezie, however, expressed delight in her hindsight, which she credited to preventing her from wasting money to pay for the visa application.

Several calls to Lue’s phone over an extended period were unanswered. In an earlier article, Lue had used the PanAm Youth Championships as one of his successes during his two-year tenure as president.

He stated then that in the last two tournaments, Jamaica finished third but there was an improvement last year, with the players winning seven bronze medals compared to the four won the previous year.

Ironically, Lue also stated that the executive opted for the PanAm Youth Championships instead of the seniors participating in the Caribbean Championships because of the financial difficulties of the JTTA.

job.nelson@gleanerjm.com