Sports Minister Dale Butler yesterday displayed some typical pre-Commonwealth Games gung-ho, claiming a medal for Bermuda is a possibility.

Butler, gaining a reputation for his optimistic, patriotic and highly quotable support for sport on the Island, believes one of the 26 athletes representing Bermuda has every chance of making the podium in Melbourne this month.

?When Nicky Saunders won his gold medal no one was really expecting it,? said Butler, who spent most of last summer proclaiming the successes of the ?North Rock Warriors? national cricket team as he had done the previous year with the ?Gombey Warriors? football team.

?In sport you just never know what is going to happen. There are plenty of people saying that no one is going to get near a medal but never underestimate the spirit of the Bermuda athlete. When the Games begin the unpredictable can happen and I don?t see why somebody can?t do something.

?Our athletes have been training hard and they are going to go down to Melbourne and set personal bests and try and get a medal for their country.

?I am not guaranteeing anything but I am looking forward to seeing their success and I will be the first to congratulate them when they do fulfil the dream.?

The energetic Butler ? who has also been to the Athens Olympics in 2004 as well as World Cup qualifying football trips to Montserrat and El Salvador since taking over as Sports Minister from Randy Horton ? travels down to Melbourne on Thursday and will attempt to watch as many as possible of Bermuda?s competitors across a wide variety of sports during the extravaganza.

And the Minister believes the ?Friendly? Games are a hugely important part of the international sporting calendar as it is ?an attainable level of competition? for Bermuda.

?Our very best can be truly competitive at this level as our medal winners have proved over the years,? he continued.

?The Olympics is the very pinnacle and success there has only been achieved on one occasion but winning in the Commonwealth is something that is possible.

?The Games give Bermuda some wonderful international exposure at a truly world-class level and serves as an inspiration to the next generation of athletes.

?Just think what the high jump gold medal did for our young high jumpers at school. Events such as this truly give our youth something to dream about and to work hard for ? it is essential that we continue to participate in such events and send large teams as we are this year.?

Despite the inspirational value of Saunders? success, Butler believes more could have been done to maximise the impact of the gold medal haul, including producing a documentary or booklet for schools detailing his success as other nations have done to promote sport among youngsters with their medallists.

As well as representing the Government and supporting the athletes, Butler believes these sort of events can do much to help in the long-term development of sport as it gives him and his Ministry a chance to swap ideas and exchange information with sports ministers from other nations.

?You realise that other countries also have problems with their track and field associations,? he joked.

?But seriously, there is a lot to be said for the opportunity to hear how other people struggle with similar problems to what we face here and what solutions they have found.

?Both dealing with Caribbean nations and the larger countries such as Canada or Australia, there is a lot to be got out of such meetings.?

But for Butler, however much information he can find out from others, the trip to Melbourne is about winning medals and success for the athletes.

?I would like nothing more than to see one of our athletes perform to their very best and bring home a medal,? he added.

?We have had the World Cup success of the cricketers, let?s have another victory to shout about.?