Jon Beard hopes Bermuda’s sailors and swimmers can “blaze a great trail” and get the team off to a flying start at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Up first for Bermuda tomorrow will be sailors Cameron Pimental and Benn Smith in the Laser class at Puerto Velero, Barranquilla, and swimmers Jesse Washington and Madelyn Moore.

A squad of 24 athletes from nine sports will represent the island including long jumper Tyrone Smith, who won the gold medal at the 2010 Games in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and triathletes Tyler Smith and Erica Hawley, who competed at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, in April.

Micah Franklin, who also travelled to the Gold Coast, joins Noah Browne and Nick Kyme in a strong squash contingent, while brothers Dage Minors, a middle-distance runner, and Ki-Juan Minors, a show jumper, will also make the trip.

Also in action will be bowlers Duane Akeem Talbot, Damien Matthews, David Maycock, Lamar Richardson, Levinc Samuels and Rickai Binns, boxers Andre Lambe and Tyler Christopher, track and field athletes Sakari Famous, Tiari DeRosa and Taahira Butterfield, and cyclist Nicole Mitchell.

Beard said he is looking forward to watching Bermuda’s athletes test themselves against some of the powerhouses in the region.

“The CAC Games are a high-level competition,” Beard said. “We have some top athletes who will be performing against some of the CAC powerhouses. Our swimmers and sailors are in action first and we hope they will blaze a great trail.”

Although it will be Beard’s first time as chef de mission, he has bags of experience in sporting roles as chairman of the Bermuda Island Games Association and former chairman of the Bermuda Football Association’s technical committee.

“It’s an honour to assist our athletes in this way, and I’m proud to do so,” said Beard, the Saltus Grammar School deputy head. “I’ve been the team manager for BFA trips, for numerous school trips, and the Bermuda team in the NatWest Island Games.

“The Island Games teams are usually around 100 athletes. Our CAC Games team is 24 athletes coming and going through the two-week period. I’m very fortunate to have Craig Brown with me as the assistant chef de mission. He doing a terrific job.”

One issue Beard and Brown will face at the Games is the logistics of having events held in three cities: Barranquilla, the host city, Bogotá, where Minors will compete in the showjumping, and Cali, where the squash and bowling will be staged.

Beard added that he has been impressed with the CAC Games facilities and Athletes Village.

“The Athletes Village is air-conditioned and seems very secure,” he said. “The small apartments will provide low-income housing after the CAC Games. They are somewhat basic and need paint on the drywalls, but will be fine for athletes who will be here for the maximum of a week.”

The CAC Games are the oldest continuously running regional games, dating back to 1926.

Held every four years, the Games typically host competitors from Central America, Bermuda and the Caribbean, plus South American nations Surinam, Guyana, Colombia and Venezuela. They are considered the starting point of international competition for athletes from the region who are seeking to represent their countries at the Olympic Games.

Lambe confident about boxing chances, page 31