Premier Pam Gordon and the most influential people in Bermuda sports were forced to come clean after a surprise introduction to the Island's drug testing programme on the weekend.

Expecting to provide samples on Wednesday to help commemorate the launch of unannounced drug testing among Island athletes, Gordon, her Sports Minister, Tim Smith, along with the Ministry's Anthony Roberts and four other prominent individuals were instead called to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for a Saturday morning date with a certified collection officer.

Under terms of the Bermuda Council for Drug-Free Sport's standard operating procedure, as of April 1 any Island athlete could be required to submit to a drug test within 24 hours of notification. Come May, this will grow to include ten percent of every registered participant in Bermuda sports.

But in order to illustrate the unannounced nature of testing, Council chairman Austin Woods and Vaughn Mosher, the head of Benedict Associates charged with the collection and counselling duties, thought they would get a head start.

It began with a fax at 9:35 a.m. on Friday to the Ministry of Youth and Sport requesting the presence of Smith, Roberts and Phil Guishard. By that afternoon, the list had grown to include the Premier, Jeanne Atherden and Dr.

Vincent Bridgewater.

And come Saturday morning, even Woods, who is also president of the Bermuda Olympic Association, was unexpectedly asked to comply.

Last night, Mosher confirmed that all seven tests came back negative. While confidentiality is an integral part of the testing process, Mosher only agreed to release these results because the seven individuals were public figures.

Mosher said he originally wanted to serve notice to Smith and Premier Gordon in the House -- only to find out the House wasn't sitting on Friday.

But the message -- and the inconveniences it is bound to create -- got through anyway.

Gordon, unable to break a Saturday morning engagement, was first in at 9.00 a.m. and then raced out with only a wave goodbye. Smith had his 16-month old daughter, Morgan, in tow and Roberts, attired in lycra running shorts, interrupted his morning jog to attend.

Then there was the National Drug Commission's Bridgewater, who had already committed to a 7.30 a.m. round of golf. What to do? Leave after nine holes, race to the hospital, then return to his foursome once his sample had been produced.

"In the spirit of being unannounced, it certainly caught me by surprise,'' said Smith.

Was he bothered by the sudden intrusion? "No, I look at the greater good that's being served by the entire programme,'' he said. "Our vision is a drug free sport and we all have a part to play.'' Guishard, also anticipating a Wednesday test, cancelled one appointment and asked if he could work around another for that day. Then the fax came from Benedict.

Atherden, chairman of the Bermuda Junior Athletes Programme, admitted she found the experience -- particularly being witnessed providing a sample by certified drug collection officer Dianne Flood -- "a little disconcerting.'' Finally, she said she convinced herself that "it was like going to the doctor and you just have to relax and go through the process.'' Most of those taking part came away impressed with the validation process: Signing off at four stages and watching as their sample was divided in half by hospital senior technologist, Richard Mickiewicz.

Vials were sealed with special tape and placed into a clear plastic bag, itself with an unbreakable seal. Only numbers, and not the corresponding names, were written on the samples.

Smith admitted to some "angst of nervousness'' in the event his test came back positive "by accident.'' Such a scenario would be impossible, said Mosher, citing not only the chain of command but also the number and sensitivity of tests a sample undergoes.

LEADING BY A SAMPLE -- Hospital technologist Richard Mickiewicz (right) accepts a urine sample from Dr. Vincent Bridgewater on Saturday, while Sports Minister Tim Smith (left) and Ministry director Anthony Roberts await their turn.