overseas meets filling the calendar.

Heading the list is the World University Games in Buffalo, New York, during July and there is a possibility of a squad travelling to the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships (CCCAN) in Cuba a month later.

National swimming coach Gareth Davies said that this year will be one of rebuilding after last year's Olympic Games and will probably see many of the younger swimmers coming to the fore.

"We'll use it as a building year towards the Commonwealth Games next year and also for developing our younger ones,'' said Davies. "We see it as a time for us to focus on these championships.'' While the various clubs were set to start splashing about early this week, the national squad will not have its first official training session until March 20.

Already looming is the Liberty Mutual International in Waterloo, Canada, in May following the first of three local Spring Series meets.

Said Davies: "We're hoping to take a group up to that meet, which is a quality event and use it for preparation.

"It is a good meet that gives our swimmers an excellent chance to swim the long course.'' Meanwhile, the aforementioned Spring Series leads up to the National Championships in June, which last year produced a number of new Bermuda records.

Included in these was the men's 4x100 metres freestyle relay where the team of Ian Raynor, Michael Cash, Craig Morbey and Geri Mewett qualified for the Barcelona Olympics with a dazzling performance that had three of them go under 52 seconds.

Again Davies is hopeful of bringing several top competitors from the United States and Canada to help push the locals in hopes of achieving better times.

Olympian Joel Thomas, Pan American gold medallist Todd Pace and Seth Neerdan, who won the recent US Nationals, are three of those expected to come to the Island.

Also, there is the familiar contingent from Brevard Swimming Club, whose Katie Ryan last year proved the star of the meet, setting three records.

While the Raynors, Smatts, Morbeys and Mewetts are all-too-familiar names, Davies expects a few of the lesser known to make their presence felt.

Tiffany Gosling, Steven Fahy, Trevor Ferguson and Alicia Mullin, all in the 15-to-16 year age bracket are at the threshold and should gain increasing prominence if they can continue with to their improvement demonstrated over the past few years.

A notch further down -- age wise -- are the likes of Nicholas Van de Weg, Alicia Mullin, Sean Smatt and William Massey.

Massey has already painted himself as a rising star based on him capturing 22 championships over the course of last season, breaking records in the 50 metre freestyle and 50 and 100 metre butterfly as well as swimming away with a silver medal at the Caribbean Age Group Championships in Trinidad.

"These are the people that in one or two years' time should be doing really well,'' said Davies, knowing that the future does indeed look bright for the sport.

GARETH DAVIES -- National swim coach.