In 2013 Tennis Jamaica selected boys’ A and B and girls’ A and B teams to represent Jamaica at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) 12 and under Central America and the Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC) Team Championship, which took place at the Liguanea Club in Kingston between September 1-8, 2013.

That was a feather in Jamaica’s cap as it was the first time that it was being hosted by Tennis Jamaica. Teams from across the region competed with each other in the event for a place in the Masters Event. Two male and two female players from Jamaica participated in the championship playing singles and doubles each day against the other countries. The teams (boys and girls) which finished in the top three positions qualified for the Masters Event, which was played in Monterrey, Mexico, from October 20-26, 2013.

The boys’ A team of Johnny Azar and Damani Cain qualified by finishing second to The Bahamas, while the girls’ A team of Michaela Stephens and Jenna Harrison also qualified.

After qualifying, the players were told that trials were going to be held to decide which players would go to the Masters Event in Mexico. One would have thought that the qualification in the COTECC would have constituted the best ‘trials’ for the Masters.

That would have been an automatic point of stress for those who had fought and earned their qualification — Azar, Cain, Stephens, and Harrison. Nevertheless, while tongues were wagging, Tennis Jamaica made it clear that, despite the ‘outstanding performance of Team Jamaica’ in the qualifying event, ‘the ITF mandates that each country sends it best possible team’ to the Masters Event, and trials would be held the following weekend.

As would be expected, some persons opposed the fact that trials were to be held, feeling that trials should have been held prior to the qualifying tournament, and that the same players who were responsible for the qualification should have been the beneficiaries of the added exposure in Mexico, especially as it was a development tournament. That was not an unreasonable position to hold.

Tennis Jamaica were very firm in their decision and stated that it had always held trials to select national teams for the Davis Cup, as trials showed who were ‘in form’, and who may be injured, etc. Plus it always selected the strongest team which was in keeping with the ITF mandate.

During the trials, Azar again qualified as did another excellent player, Nicholas Gore. So, for the boys, Damani Cain was out. For the girls, Jenna Harrison repeated her form and qualified. Michaela Stephens was not so fortunate as another girl, Emma Dibbs got the spot.

In 2014, the picture has strangely changed. The qualifying event was held in St Lucia in the last week of August. The team selected to go to represent Jamaica at this round were Damani Cain and John Chin for the boys and Michaela Stephens and Jenna Harrison for the girls.

The island’s top 12-year-old boy and three-time consecutive winner of the All Jamaica boys’ 12 and under, Johnny Azar, did not go to St Lucia as he was not formally invited nor advised by the association that he had been selected, and due to the fact that he was confident that he would have qualified for the team to the Masters event to be held once again at the team trials for that event.

Now it would seem to me that Azar has a case to push for another trial, just as how the rule was adjusted in 2013.

At a Tennis Jamaica board meeting held in September the decision to select the same players that went to St Lucia as the ones to go to Mexico was ratified.

After the father of Johnny Azar (who has no position of any sort in tennis administration in Jamaica) wrote to Tennis Jamaica, its president made it clear that the “decision was based on the recommendation of the ITF to send the same team”.

Remember now, in 2013 there was all this talk of having trials to send the strongest team. Azar, in defence of his son, wrote to the ITF and the ITF representative stated that it did not manipulate or influence team selection as it was purely up to the national association. Azar also wrote to the technical director — who just happens to be the coach of one of the girls selected — and quoted to him a most salient part of the ITF response which this columnist has seen.

“The national association decides in the end what selected procedures are for national team and that it should always be correct when these procedures are well known by all involved, well in advance. In terms of national teams it is the national association to decide how to form/select a team. Those are interior situations that the ITF would not interfere with. As you can see, the ITF does not try to manipulate. It is an open game… not for ITF to interfere and refuse players.”

Something doesn’t quite compute. The president of Tennis Jamaica had said that the local decision was based on ITF’s recommendations, but the ITF says differently. Some congruence in policy is missing and it appears that more than a touch of insularity has crept into the administration of Tennis Jamaica.

What are the facts? According to the national rankings, Azar and Dibbs are the number one players in their age group, and neither of them is facing any disciplinary charges. So, why are they out?

The correct thing for Tennis Jamaica to do is have the trials to select the best possible team. The failure to do so would indicate that tennis administration in Jamaica is not being very open with its national mandate.

Anything but trials would be a gross injustice and an exercise of ‘convenient selection’ to suit those who now need to turn around and act in a manner that displays the democratic ideal that we all strive to attain.

Just imagine if Usain Bolt or Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were not selected in a team to compete in an international forum. And those who were selected came on board but not via trials. Would Bolt and Fraser-Pryce not have a genuine case to press for trials?

Doesn’t the same applies to Johnny Azar and Emma Dibbs.