HAVING helped snare the Island Games for Bermuda, Jon Beard is confident the facilities will match the promise with a 50-metre pool ready for action at the National Sports Centre in 2013.

Beard, who is Bermuda Island Games Association president, told the Mid-Ocean News: "The word we have heard is the pool will be built by then.

"That's what we have been told but obviously until it is finished there are no guarantees."

But he doesn't know what will happen with a new sports hall which has been the centre-piece of much delayed plans to complete the NSC.

He said: "Trustees and Government have to determine exactly what they want there. Some ideas seem to be something akin to what you might want to build in New York.

"I would love there to be a sports hall there but if it isn't it won't break our organisation."

Bermuda got confirmation this week that it would host the 2013 games with some estimating it will bring $10 million in revenues at a cost of $2.1 million.

Beard, who has been involved in the Island Games since the late 1980s when he was pushing for Bermuda to join, said: "In our presentation I said we could put the games on tomorrow with the facilities we have got.

"The swimming pool should be finished by 2013 at the national stadium. If they have managed to put on a sports hall on it as well then we would be in fantastic shape."

He said track and field and swimming tended to bring the greatest number of spectators at Island Games followed by volleyball and basketball which could go in the new sports hall, if it gets built.

The state-of-the-art artificial football pitch being installed across the road at Gym Field by Prospect Police HQ will also be ready, while gymnastics could be held at CedarBridge.

"Just in that little area we would have a nice games village environment," Beard said.

Berkeley and Mount Saint Agnes offer further basketball and gym facilities while the 25-metre pool at Saltus is enough for Island Games purposes if the NSC doesn't get a pool.

"The big issue at Rhodes was we had to drive all around the island to different venues, their weakness was they didn't have the facilities. Whereas for us, hopefully for what we are aiming for, that shouldn't be a problem."

Having been to every Island Games since 1991 Beard has an idea about what makes a good event.

"For me it's the organisation - Rhodes had some problems," he said.

"The transport fell apart and the organisation of some sports fell apart. Some of the things didn't happen the way they should have happened. It was sports they didn't have a lot of expertise in."

Shetland and Guernsey had limits on the size of aircraft which could land athletes.

"Every island has its own challenges. Ours are finding affordable accommodation for everybody and ensuring our transport is there."

He said Shetland and Guernsey were just able to ferry in some more buses.

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