Good Friday is not an appropriate time to hold the CARIFTA games, Anglican Bishop of Bermuda the Rt. Rev. Ewen Ratteray said this month.

Controversy has already been cast over the planned dates for the games - April 9-11 - with the Bahamas voicing their disapproval back in January. The country even went so far as to ask regional athletics officials to look into the matter.

Some Caribbean countries admitted that while they were "confused" by the date, they would comply with the arrangements of organisers the Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA).

This will be the first time in 20 years that Bermuda has hosted the junior athletics meet. BTFA president Judy Simmons has explained that, unlike most Caribbean countries, Bermuda does not celebrate Easter Monday and would therefore be unable to host CARIFTA from Saturday to Monday, as happens elsewhere.

The BTFA did attempt to get Easter Monday declared a public holiday, she said, however they were unsuccessful. The organisation therefore had no choice but to begin the games on Good Friday instead. "We can't have CARIFTA when everyone is working and children are in school," Ms Simmons said in January.

Speaking in the monthly Diocesan newsletter, the Bishop voiced his disapproval of the planned dates for the games. "I feel strongly that we as a community ought not to allow ourselves to become so caught up in the idea of youth involvement in a positive activity that we miss the point of 'when' that activity actually takes place," he wrote.

"Good Friday and indeed Holy Week is not an appropriate time. This is written simply to alert people to what is about to happen, and to help avoid similar mistakes being made in the future."