Athletes who travelled to the much-heralded Sydney Olympics in 2000 will get more of the same when they arrive Down Under again for the Commonwealth Games.

Itself a former Olympic venue (1960), Melbourne will play host to thousands of competitors, officials and media over the next couple of weeks and according to Bermuda?s chef de Mission, Phil Guishard, who travelled ahead of the Island?s 50-plus contingent, all can expect a warm welcome.

Reporting on the accommodation that awaits the athletes, Guishard told yesterday he had been impressed with the Games Village, particularly the dining hall.

?The Village is great generally,? said Guishard, ?and stacks up positively with other villages that I have been accommodated in over the years.

?The Bermuda team are housed in two large apartments one with nine rooms and four baths and the other with 11 rooms and the same number of baths.

?The buildings and infrastructure is all new and unused although it is not unusual to feel cramped in the two and three bedded rooms when housed in such villages. In addition to the two permanent buildings, another temporary two-bedroom ?cabin? is outfitted for accommodating five persons.

?The teams around us are Scotland, Antigua, Malaysia and New Zealand.?

Bermuda will be represented by 26 athletes in eight different sports ? swimming, diving, triathlon, shooting, gymnastics, squash, cycling and track and field ? at the Games, which run from March 15 to 26, and a similar number of officials are accompanying the team, most of whom will stay in the Village.

Guishard said Bermuda?s four-man shooting team had been the first to arrive in the Village on Wednesday with the gymnasts having been scheduled to arrive yesterday.

?The dining hall is excellent and the food is plentiful and varied,? commented Guishard, who has travelled as Bermuda?s chef de mission on several previous occasions including the Sydney Olympics.

?There was yesterday, however, a noticeable change in the Village population as teams began to arrive, making for some queuing for the first time. But, of course, one has a choice of additional dining areas as well.?

As for the weather, Guishard said athletes could expect generally warm conditions, but not excessively hot as Australia?s summer is drawing to an end.

?After a few days of 80 degrees weather last week, it has reverted to the typical Melbourne pattern of more than one season in a day,? said Guishard. ?Thus now, the mornings require us to dress warmly, but invariably require us to strip some of the clothes off before noon. One constant so far is that there has been no rain.?

Guishard noted that at the traditional pre-Games Flag Raising ceremonies, the Bermuda flag was scheduled to be hoisted on the afternoon of March 13 at 5 p.m. just after the raising of the Australian flag. Both Sports Minister Dale Butler and Bermuda Olympic Association president John Hoskings will be in attendance.

For the actual Games Opening Ceremony at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) next Wednesday, Bermuda will select its flag bearer on Monday.