Godfrey Lothian

When Godfrey Lothian assumed the office of president of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association in February, he promised to revolutionise the sport. Five months later, he says the signs are that the sport is headed in the right direction, notwithstanding the significant challenges it faces.

Lothian, speaking with Star Sports during the national championships that returned from a one-year break, said the sport that had gone dormant over the last year or so, is once again showing signs of life.

"The National Championships have come back to the National Arena for the first time in many years, and when you listen to the players, the coaches, and spectators, speaking about how they feel seeing the championships back at the National Arena, as president you must feel overwhelmed, good within yourself to see how the sport has been progressing," Lothian declared on Sunday as players battled on the boards behind him at the arena.

"I listen to all these coaches and administrators speak, and I know that things are looking up. I am pleased to see people like Yvonne Foster playing again because I feel this young lady has the qualities, the attitude, and the right frame of mind to go to the Olympics. Young Simon Tomlinson and Kane Watson, these are players who have bright futures, and there are some youngsters who are now breaking into the more senior level, who seem pretty good."

very encouraging

Lothian, who also serves as a cricket administrator, said the turnout of players old and young for this year's championships was very encouraging; that, plus the fact that his work is being endorsed by former administrators. "People like Joseph Dibbs, when a former president is embracing you, you must feel good," he said.

Former national representative Keith Evans was here from the United States to play in the championships and assisted in the coordination of the tournament. So, too, was Hector Bennett, who first started playing for Jamaica in the early 1980s, and still has ambitions of making the national team. He was defeated by eventual champion Kane Watson in the quarter-finals of the singles competition.

Bennett acknowledges that the sport is growing once again but laments the fact that table tennis does not have a home. "One of things I am upset about is that we don't have a home for Jamaica's table tennis, and for the last 10 years I have been trying hard to organise a group. I haven't done it yet because I can't find anybody who is willing and ready to spearhead something like this."

Bennett, who has been living in Texas for the last two decades, said he wants to start a fundraiser that would involve the older players. "We've been using the University of Technology. We were fortunate to have got the National Arena but with all the expenses of renting a place like this, we can't afford it because we don't have the big sponsors."