TT trainers' training, a great success

Anuradha ABEYSEKERA

A basic table tennis training programme for 88 physical education students who are training under various physical education lecturers in different sports was held at the Uva National College of Education recently.

The programme was initiated under the instruction of Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka (TTASL) President Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna.

Alagiyawanna who has also studied at the Uva National College of Education and served as a physical education teacher is very keen on popularizing the sport in outstations.

As the TTASL will distribute 1500 new TT tables island-wide within next four months, this training programme is in great importance of familiarizing the sport among the physical education students who will be instructors and coaches in future.

The training programme has been a great success and will help to reduce the scarcity of outstation coaches which has been a great problem in bringing the sport to rural areas.

It has been a timely fore-step by the TTASL to conduct this trainers' training programme before they distribute TT tables to the schools, assuring correct guidance for the youngsters who will step into the game ones the tables are distributed. The coaching camp was conducted by the TTASL chief coordinating officer Chandana Perera with Sunil Abeygunasekera and assisted by Chathura Dushan, Prabath Priyantha and Thushara Sampath.

The President of the Uva National College of Education Navy Captain N G Peiris and lecturer Neel S Athukorala were also participated.

Parraell to the coaching camp an umpiring seminar too was held by ITTF umpire Prabath Priyantha.

"Our aim is to give basic training skills to new school children through these trainers.

These physical education students will definitely be teachers in rural areas and we hope to popularize TT through them in far regions," said the TTASL chief coordinating officer Chandana Perera.

"The second coaching camp will be held in November and this will be followed by a presentation of coaching certificates to the students by the TTASL.

If there are interested participants they have the opportunity of doing the ITTF level one coaching course and get ITTF level one coaching certificate too. Some of them can step into umpiring and the TTASL is willing to help them any moment," Chandana Perera explained.