Washington Mall's sporting goods shop Sportseller has been sold to long-time manager Sharon Fenn.

Ms Fenn ran the store from 1995 under now former owner Sutherland Madeiros. In a quiet changing of the guard, Ms Fenn bought out Mr. Madeiros in June, making her both owner and manager now.

Customers may not have even noticed, as Ms Fenn said from a customer's perspective nothing much has changed.

"There have been a few internal changes, but nothing that would really be noticed by the customers," she said, adding: "I was lucky enough to have had free rein as the manager. I was able to do my own ordering, which means a smooth transition for the customer now.

"Sportseller has always, throughout its history, prided itself on carrying what we call technical apparel and footwear. Everything is bought for a specific purpose, either for climate control or a specific shoe for people with specific needs... That is not going to change," she said.

Ms Fenn predicted that the goods she stocked Sportseller with would see little change, at least not in the next year. Sportseller was originally opened under Jim and Debbie Butterfield, in 1979, at a time when Mrs. Butterfield was one of the Island's top runners.

In 1989 the shop was bought by Mr. Madeiros.

Ms Fenn, who has been involved with various sports ? especially swimming and cycling ? competitively since she was a teenager, was hired to run the shop eight years ago, after working the previous decade as operations manager at Athletic Club. At the sports clubs, she taught aerobics and was active in the gym.

Today Ms Fenn remains active in Bermuda athletic circles through competitive cycling locally in the Masters (over 40s) category.