Monetary incentive offered for medalists

The sport of ping-pong is literally putting money on the table, offering a monetary incentive for any member of its three-man team to the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games who manage to take home a medal from Palau.

Marianas Amateur Table Tennis Association president and local businessman Steven Lim said he is ready to award $500 to any of his players who win a medal—gold, silver, or bronze. Lim also serves as the coach of the team.

“I’m offering $500 as an incentive for them to try to improve and have the best possible performance. It is something that I hope will inspire them, aside from other motivators already present,” he said.

Lim, himself a veteran of many regional competitions for table tennis, said the practice of offering incentives to athletes competing for national honor and pride may be a new concept in the CNMI, but has been widely practiced and accepted regionally and internationally.

“Internationally, I believe its common practice to provide incentives to athletes, although this is done in many ways, not necessarily in terms of a monetary benefit,” he said.

The MATTA president said the CNMI would have a hard time beating SPG powerhouses New Caledonia and Tahiti for the gold and silver, but has an outside chance of competing for the bronze, especially since the SPG Council awards not only one but two bronze medals for third- and fourth-place finishers.

“In our sport, in the field of participants for the South Pacific Mini Games, the French colonies of New Caledonia and French Polynesia (Tahiti and neighboring islands) have consistently dominated ping-pong.

“Both nations share the same plight as the CNMI in the sense that they are deprived of Olympic recognition and acceptance. But unlike our situation where we do not receive any specific financial assistance to develop sports in the Commonwealth from the United States, both New Caledonia and French Polynesia receive a sports program budget from the government of France. This annual fund is applied across the board to probably all the sports, and is very much an essential reason why their athletes perform relatively well in the competitions they participate in,” he said.

Lim added that using these resources at their disposal, the table tennis program of New Caledonia, for instance, has sent its national team players to France to train with professional players and coaches. He said although he is not sure if these New Caledonia players are themselves playing professionally, he is certain that they have had professional training.

“With this in mind, realistically, winning gold or silver would not be possible at this point. Fortunately, semifinalists gain bronze medals, so there are still two bronze medals per category to aspire for. Since we would not be sending a women’s team for the South Pacific Mini Games, we will not be able to compete for at least 16 medals out of the so many medals available for table tennis. Given the team that is being sent, we will have a chance to compete for the men’s team, men’s singles and men’s doubles honors,” he said.

Earlier this month, Lim named veteran paddle holders Budhi Gurung, Chen Lin Yeng, and Su Dong to accompany him to Palau.

The sport of table tennis will be played at the Kalau Gymnasium in Koror, Palau’s capital, on July 29, 30, Aug. 1, 2, and 3.