T&T will be represented in the Junior (Under-18) Boys as well as both the Youth (Under-15) for Boys and Girls teams when the 2019 Caribbean Region Table Tennis Federation Cadet and Junior Championship serves off at the Pavillion Table Tennis Centre, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic today.
The local squad along with coaches, Aleena Edwards and her brother, Andrew Edwards and Dennis La Rose as well as manager Leah Fraser, left here on Wednesday for Santo Domingo and following a day of training, yesterday will swing into competition today.
Leading the charge for the Under-18 boys will be 15-year-old Derron Douglas, who recently competed at the Senior Caribbean Championship in Guyana, and reached the main draw of the men's singles competition.
Douglas is joined in the boy's team by Abraham Francis, reigning Secondary Schools champion, N'Kosi Rouse and Javier King, who replaced Jessie Dookie. Both Douglas and King travelled to Santo Domingo, yesterday.
In the Youth (Under-15) competitions, Nicholas Lee, Jamali Mauge and Samuel Humphreys will comprise the boy's team following the withdrawal of Jalen Kerr while in the girls equivalent, Chloe Fraser, Imani Edwards-Taylor and Rebekah Sterling make up the T&T team with Priyanka Khellawan, a former two-time regional Under-13 champion, opting out.
T&T was also expected to field a Junior (Under-18) Girls team, however, Shreya Maharaj, Rayanna Boodhan and Derah Ramoutar had to be withdrawn from the competition due to school examination commitments which left Ackayla Lucas, as the only available player.
Making the trip possible for the T&T players were the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and the Tobago House of Assembly (Division of Education, Youth Affairs and Sport).
Last month, the senior national men and women team were also forced to skip the Senior Caribbean Championship in Guyana, but this was due to a lack of finances.
In the end, T&T still managed a bronze medal in the Women’s Under-21 Singles courtesy, two-time national champion, Brittany Joseph.
Junior (Under-18)
Boys: Derron Douglas, Abraham Francis, N’Kosi Rouse, Javier King
Youth (Under-15)
Boys: Nicholas Lee, Jamali Mauge, Samuel Humphreys
Girls: Chloe Fraser, Imani Edwards-Taylor, Rebekah Sterling