Nasty Tagboard comments on TATAP.PH

Am back from china, and was surprised to find some pretty nasty posts on the TATAP tagboard. Since I don’t speak for TATAP (I merely maintain the website) and since the TATAP officials prefer not to comment on the posts, I thought I’d chime in with my 2 cents on my blog.

for the webmaster..sino sino ba kasama sa delegation ng RP? Is it true na kasama ang syota ni victor? Pls confirm kasi we as taxpayers are entitled to know

Wow, that’s pretty rude! If Victor (TATAP President) wants to bring his syota along (that is, if he has one ), that’s a matter for him to discuss with his wife. However, the correct question to ask is - what funds were received by TATAP, and how were these funds disbursed? That’s the more important question, as I think it’s very important for TATAP to attract sponsors willing to donate their time and money to improve the state of Table Tennis in our country. But that just isn’t going to happen if donors feel that their money isn’t being spent wisely. (as the person above suggests).

Clearly the biggest problem TATAP faces is lack of funding, and the proper way to handle this is (1) publish what funds are received and how they are disbursed and (2) announce what projects and tournaments TATAP intends to involve itself in for the next 12 months, and how much money is still needed for these projects to push through.

The reality is that the little that I donate to TATAP players does go a long way. For example, I’ve given about P6T/month to feed 10 players every lunch time. Now that’s less than P30 per person per meal! But they’re happy with that, and I’m happy to help, and the players like that as they don’t have to go home after their morning training session. They can have lunch, talk about their game, sleep,then resume their afternoon session. The point I’m making is that if TATAP publishes its financial needs, and if people see that the money they put in is being put to good use, people will come out of the woodwork and help.

For instance, there are plans to have the team train in China later in the year, as a preparation for the SEA Games. I think it’s important to publish the dates for this trip, as well a publish what the criteria will be to determine who gets to go on the trip. It’s also important to publish what the expenses will be for the trip, and when that money will be needed. That way, if PSC funding does not come through by a given date - which is a REAL possibility - it will be possible to raise funds (eg - perhaps we can hold tournaments where the entry fee goes towards a “china training” fund). It will also enable those on the team who won’t qualify for China training to start looking for their own funding. Or perhaps, it will enable TATAP to seek cheaper means of training the players (such as paying for 5 Chinese players to come to Manila to train the locals).