Directors keen to entice more youngsters

Come July 1, the Table Tennis Academy will celebrate its first birthday.

Encouraged by the response shown by local enthusiasts in the academy's first year of operation, Mario Genovese and Edward Baldacchino, arguably the country's most prominent table tennis exponents and the architects of this initiative, have their sights firmly set on enhancing the popularity of their flourishing organisation.

"We had been pondering on this academy concept for several years after seeing how other countries were going about the development of their young talent," Genovese told a news conference at the academy's premises at the Overseas League in Valletta yesterday.

"Providing our upcoming players with the same opportunities enjoyed by their peers abroad is central to our project."

The opening of another school at Valletta's Civil Service Sports Club and the launching of the academy's website - www.tabletennisacademy.com - are key steps taken by Genovese and co. to raise the profile of their academy.

"Having a central base like the Civil Sports Club where to hold classes at different times to those we already offer at the Overseas ought to make the academy more accessible," Baldacchino remarked.

Between August 4 and 12, a team from the academy will practise in Glasgow and Dumfries clubs as part of an exchange visit made possible through the contribution of coach Dave Fairholm.

Fairholm is very familiar to the local scene. On the initiative of the Malta Table Tennis Association, he spent several months in the islands where he assessed the level of local players and coaches and also conducted coaching clinics.

In order to entice young students to table tennis during holidays, the academy will introduce a summer school schedule on Wednesdays and Fridays. The programme covers general systems of knowledge in table tennis.

The academy members, now totalling 113, also have their own ranking list - which can be viewed on the new website - based on the results obtained in ranking tournaments.

Around 80 are expected to take part in the fourth and final ranking event for this year due to be played on June 26. Sports Experience are the sponsors.

"We are very pleased with the excellent results achieved by our young members in national competitions," Genovese enthused.

"We have a group of promising juniors here and that is very encouraging for our national selections."

The experienced Alex Anastasi and Alex Soler, a young member of the national team, are also on the academy's coaching staff.

Genovese cited lack of parental encouragement as one of the main obstacles for talent development. "It is a big problem," Genovese remarked.

"We have had several cases where young players just stop training due to academical studies and other commitments. While we recognise the utmost importance of education, we also believe that students must be encouraged not to abandon their sport altogether when they have to focus on their studies."

More information on the academy may be obtained by phoning 79288117, 99470278.