Mixed 2023 for table tennis

DESPITE FINANCIAL limitations, there was lots of table tennis activity in 2023. A flurry of tournaments and a national award for coach Sandra Reittie put a smile on the faces of the organisers and coaches who kept the game going. Scoring at the table were Mark Phillips and Tsenaye Lewis, who won their first national titles and Nigerian visitor Adeniyi Akindele.

The Jamaica Table Tennis Association entered the year targetting the Caribbean Senior and Junior Championships in Guyana and four-time Jamaica champion Kane Watson booked his ticket by winning the National Trials in February with Chris Marsh and Phillips second and third. A lack of funds, however, cancelled the participation of the seniors.

The under-15 and under-19 teams went to Guyana and took bronze courtesy of Liana Campbell and Olivia Peterkin and Joel Butler and Kelsey Davidson in the under-19 girls and mixed doubles respectively, with a third bronze earned by Brian Blake and Gari Whyte in the under-15 boys doubles.

In April, after high school team competition was over, ISSA table tennis expanded with the staging of individual singles events at the University of Technology. One hundred and seventy-five players from 17 school battled it out with Conroy Henry of Ardenne High and Tsenaye’s sister Gianna Lewis triumphant in the boys’ and girls’ under-19 categories. Brian Blake and Logan Royes took the under-15 and under-13 honours back to Jamaica College. The girls’ under-15 and under-13 titles went to Karecia Peterkin of St Hugh’s and Kayla Lewis of Immaculate Conception.

Almost 300 players registered entries for the National Championships, and with 2022 champions Watson and Solesha Young off table, Phillips and Lewis triumphed in front of an enthused audience at the National Indoor Sports Centre. Richards outduelled experienced Roberto Byles in straight sets and Lewis - the 2022 runner-up - moved past Keera Whyte.

The youngsters went forward to the Caribbean Mini and Pre-Cadet Championships in Santo Domingo where Jamaica placed second and third in the boys under-11 and under-13 team events, respectively, and where Niquan Smith and Malone Bird won silver in the under-11 doubles. The boys under-13 doubles team of GMarco Smith and Logan Royes reached the semis and received a bronze.

Sadly, Courtney Wilson, the two-time national men’s singles champion passed away after a long illness. According to his Cornwall College and Jamaica teammate Ian Spencer, the 63-year-old Wilson was “a calming influence and a player you’d want by your side going into a battle”.

Wilson, a lefthander looper, won the Nationals in 1980 and 1981.