International Race Weekend no longer has the sponsorship of the Bank of Butterfield because the organisers did not appear to want it, according to a statement released by the bank yesterday.

The bank's statement clearly pointed the finger of blame at organisers the Bermuda Track and Field Association for the failure to arrive at an agreement to extend their bankrolling of the popular annual road-running event.

But close to press time last night the BTFA hit back with a statement of their own, claiming the bank's statement was "a gross misrepresentation of the facts''.

The bank's three-year sponsorship of the entire three-day event expired with the completion of this year's event in January, but their involvement with Race Weekend goes back 10 years.

The bank's statement revealed that the BTFA asked in March of this year for a $35,000 annual hike in the amount of sponsorship paid by the bank directly to the BTFA.

That would have meant the bank raising their annual contribution from $65,000 to $100,000 -- plus prize money and other miscellaneous expenses traditionally incurred by the sponsors, amounting to a further $35,000.

In response to the request, the bank asked to see accounting of funds and suggested cost-cutting ideas -- suggestions which were rejected by the BTFA.

The two parties eventually failed to reach agreement over the bank's sponsorship of the entire event. And then, according to the statement, the bank reaffirmed their desire to continue to sponsor the mile race -- an offer rejected by the BTFA.

After several months of correspondence, summarised by the statement, the bank has come to the conclusion that "for reasons unknown to the bank, it appears that the BTFA does not want the continued sponsorship of the bank for Race Weekend''. Karla Lacey-Minors, the bank's vice-president of marketing and corporate communications, contacted The Royal Gazette yesterday in response to a story in Wednesday's paper, to clarify that the bank had not "pulled out'' of the sponsorship deal. The statement clearly implied they were made to feel their backing was no longer wanted.

The Department of Tourism and Marathon Tours and Travel have been named as sponsors for the 2001 Race Weekend, scheduled for January 12-14.

BTFA president Judy Simmons said on Tuesday negotiations were ongoing with potential extra sponsors. A copy of the bank's statement was sent by fax to Simmons yesterday. And a full story on the BTFA's response will appear in tomorrow's Royal Gazette .