Financial advisory and brokerage firm Mayberry Investments Limited has donated US$1,000 to award-winning national table tennis player Simon Tomlinson to fund his trip to Orebo, Sweden, where he is participating in the Safir Championships.

Tomlinson’s participation in the championship, which started on Monday and runs through to March 1, is in an effort to be recruited by a divisional team in the English League, as well as to continue his preparations to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as the upcoming World Championships later this year.

According to assistant vice-president of marketing at Mayberry Investments Limited, Anika Smith, the company will continue to support Tomlinson as he tries to make the Jamaica Olympic team.

“Simon has been a true ambassador for his sport and for Jamaica and we couldn’t be prouder of him. Being a true student athlete in an underfunded sport is very challenging, but still he has managed to achieve so much.”

She added: “We are rooting for him to make it to Rio next year. We know he works very hard, we just wish him all the best.”

Tomlinson explained that Mayberry Investments has been supporting his career for almost six years. He said, “I”m honoured that Mayberry has taken so kindly to my career so far, their support has been crucial to my success. Thanks to Mayberry I have been able to attend many international events that have helped to improve my level of play and become one of the best players in the Caribbean.”

Tomlinson adheres to a very strict and intense training regimen. His training sessions are recorded and he trains for five hours, six days each week. After each recorded training session, he then sends footage to his Miami-based coach Stephen Hylton, with whom he discusses his performance and receives further instruction via Skype.

In the future, his hope is to implement a system for not only table tennis players but for athletes in any sport, that will enable them to train and compete consistently at a high level. This would involve setting up a high-quality training facility locally, with the goal of helping athletes from all sports perform at their best.