Chris Banfield and Courtney Springer were among the title favourites when the table tennis section of the National Senior Games began at the Table Tennis Centre, Nursery Drive, yesterday.
Former Barbados national representative Carlton Sealy, one of the leading players on the island in the 1970s and 1980s, won the previous two events staged by the Barbados Table Tennis Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development.
David Bowen is co-ordinator for the games.
With Sealy opting not to compete this year a new champion is sure to be crowned, and Banfield as well as Springer are among a group of candidates to take the much sought after senior games table tennis title.
Several players still active at the domestic club level will be rallying alongside Springer and Banfield who have both been quite competitive in previous masters’ tournaments held at the centre.
Both will know however that there will be no easy passage to the top and keen competition is expected with several of the 19 competitors registered so far more than capable of reaching at least the semi-final stage.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, Rawle Husbands, Wilmont ‘Funk’ Goddard, Charles Lovell and David Harris will probably pose the major problems for the favourites.
Other leading club players taking part are Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Browne, John Pilgrim, Peter German Riley, Philip Tull, Edwin Jordan and Theodore Gill. Other competitors registered so far include Vere Ramsay, Mark Ellis, Henderson Smith, Philip Hackett, Maureen Pollard and Marguerita Felix.
The tournament is designed to facilitate the active participation of seniors in the game of table tennis. The games will be held every Wednesday during April at 6:30 pm.
The finals are scheduled for April 27. (PH)
