THE 2016 Milo/Table Tennis Jamaica (TTJ) National Prep and Primary Schools and Junior Club League competitions are currently in progress.

And Milo, through its sponsorship of $250,000 of the Prep and Primary Schools competitions, has introduced monetary incentives to the best overall student athlete of $25,000, and an additional $25,000 for the best overall coach.

Ockino Petrie, consumer marketing manager – Beverages of Nestle Jamaica Limited, outlined his company’s sponsorship of the competitions.

He made these remarks at a press conference held at the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) recently.

“For over 70 years, Milo, the energy food drink of champions, has been proud to be fuelling several of these programmes. These include track and field, cricket, tennis, badminton, swimming, basketball and football in Jamaica, and now, we will diversify our portfolio to include table tennis which embodies similar values of discipline and hard work,” Petrie said.

He said apart from the sponsorships of those various disciplines, as well as the costs for executing them, inclusive of a tennis clinic, they were proud to further offer cash sponsorship of $250,000 to boost both the Prep and Primary Schools Table Tennis Championships, in an effort to foster more interest in the sport.

“Many of our student athletes are excellent at passing a ball, hitting a six, diving in a pool or even of late, throwing a shot put. What we are hoping is by the end of the year, more should be returning serves and smashing to victory,” Petrie said.

He added that throughout the year, Milo will continue its investment in several other sporting development meets, as they believe firmly that these activities reinforce discipline, encourage active lifestyles and teach the value of hard work.

“We look forward to almost 200 athletes who will participate in the Prep and Primary Schools Table Tennis Championships and wish them all the best,” he said.

According to Petrie, Milo will be partnering with the TTJ to see how they can improve or contribute to the development of instituting learning centres island-wide, as well as to reach directly into schools to encourage more participation.

TTJ president Godfrey Lothian thanked Milo for the sponsorship and support of the development of the sport. “This is truly a worthwhile contribution for table tennis in Jamaica, which we hope will see more people taking up the sport.”

Meanwhile, the current Prep Schools participating in the competition, are defending champions, Hillel Academy, Holy Childhood Prep, St Jago Prep, Vaz Prep, Portmore Missionary, Harrison Prep, St Catherine Prep, Sts Peter and Paul Prep, Mount Joseph’s Prep, Glenmuir Prep, while the new schools are Liberty Prep and Quest Prep.

Matches will be played on a home-and-away format with five making up the boys team, and three players the maximum for the girls team. Only singles matches will be played in the competition.

The Primary Schools competition will start after the Prep Schools have finished, with the winning schools from both competitions playing against each other for the national title.

Other sponsors of the competitions are Rainforest Sea Food, West Indies Petroleum, Kingston Wharves Limited, Thrifty Gas and SeaFreight Lines.