Financial advisory and brokerage firm Mayberry Investments Limited has donated US$400 to award-winning national table tennis player Simon Tomlinson to fund his upcoming trip to participate in the Latin American Championships.

The championship, which will take place from April 1 to 7, is the first of two competitions this year that will function as part of Tomlinson’s preparations in order to participate in the US Open Warm-up Championships, World Championships and Commonwealth Games slated for later this year.

Anika Smith, Assistant Vice-president of Marketing at Mayberry Investments, said, “Mayberry has made significant investments in sports, be it tennis, swimming or track and field, because we realise the value it can bring to youth development and, by extension, national development. We have been assisting Simon for a few years now and we are very proud of all that he has accomplished. We wish him all the best in the upcoming tournaments, and hope that his success will, in turn, spur the development of table tennis on a national scale.”

Tomlinson explained that since he has been representing the country nationally, finding adequate sponsorship has proven to be difficult. “We have missed many opportunities to play in higher level competitions for this reason,” he said.

He continued: “Mayberry has given me approximately US$3,000 over the past five years. More importantly, Mayberry has supported my career and given me the opportunity to represent the country at some of the world’s largest events such as the World Championships, Central American Games, US Open and Commonwealth Games.”

Tomlinson endures a very strict and intense training regimen. He trains for five hours, six days each week at the University of Technology where he is currently pursuing a degree in Sports Management. He then spends an additional hour and a half at the gym each day.

After each recorded training session, he then sends footage to his Miami-based coach Stephen Hylton, with whom he will discuss his performance and receive further instruction via Skype.

Tomlinson said, “For Jamaica, I would like to see a system set in place for its athletes to compete and train at a consistent level, not only for table tennis but all sports. It is my goal to create a high-quality training facility in Jamaica for athletes in different sports to be able to represent the country to the best of their abilities.”