In 2023, I have been to 6 junior tournaments in Thailand. There are many tournaments there mostly on weekends and almost every week the tournament is held at any part of Thailand.
Since we have the time and resources to be in Thailand, there are many benefit that we found in participating in our neighbouring country. To get 60 matches per year is not an easy task, but thankfully, being in NTTAcademy in Kangar, Perlis, we are at the border of Thailand. Making it easier for us to travel.
Apart from our NTTA monthly medals which was held every month for 9 times in 2023, the remaining matches should be search outside Perlis and Malaysia. With the lack of tournaments in Malaysia, Thailand is a better choice.
Driving from Kangar to Hatyai, Thailand the southern part of Thailand is just merely an hour. Taking the flight from Hatyai to Bangkok is just a little 1 hour plus in domestic flight. It can be said, Kangar as the convenient place to be at.
Thats not what this post about to describe. What I would like to say is that, tournament in Thailand have more plus point.
1. Shorter days duration: the tournament starts on Saturday and usually end on Sunday. Malaysian parents working Monday-Friday will have difficulties getting work leave when the tournament start on Wednesday or Thursday. Kids will be accompanied by parents, and that should not be the strain on . By having a Saturday as a tournament day, parents do not have to leave work in the middle of the week.
2. Only singles: the shorter duration tournament may be due to this factor. Players do not have the chance to play doubles. But for kids aged 10-12 years old, playing doubles with both back at the baseline do not engage them to be better volleyers. It is just another singles playing with partner. Better this way.
3. Chair umpires: whats amazing with them is that they have umpire for every matches. The kids need them. A lot of line calls and hustle of cheating players is gone. The kids can concentrate more on matches and game plan rather than focusing on the opponents behavior about bad line calls.
4. Better players: The nation have a lot of players with higher qualities and better hit. The coaches there have been doing good work in producing players. To get matches experience with these players, Malaysian should join them and compete with them. At 10 & under, the ranks goes up to 200 player of all levels.
5. 4 tournaments on same date: players able to choose the tournament they plan to join. The farther or the nearer. The better player or the more chance to win. Central, South East, North and Southern. This is the case with PTT tournament series. We have compete in Central and South, and the players may come from all over Thailand.
6. Acceptance list: the list of players entering the tournament is published on the website once the player registered. We know how many players playing and if we are experienced enough, we know the level of players.
7. Draw & schedule on Thursday: the draw and schedule of play is published on Thursday making it convenient for parents to plan the journey. We are able to see what time the player need to be ready on court to play. It is not a last minute draw.
8. Dates are fixed: planning can be done for the tournament months away from the dates. Thailand has a great schedule and rarely changed their dates. We have not seen any TBC dates few weeks before the tournament and the registration usually open 2 months before the closing date.
9. Ranks updated: the ranks for players are updated frequently. It is easy for coaches and parents to see the level of players the kids going to compete with at any tournament.
10. Medals: to motivate players, medals were given to semi finalist as well. It is good to have that to gain confidence. Well its not that easy either to progress to semi finals.
2024 going to be another year of Thailand junior circuit tour. For more info visit www.tour.ltat.org or get NTTA to answer your questions.