BERMUDIAN players competing in next week's international junior tournament will be playing for scholarships as well as world ranking points.

Scouts will be watching the action at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium as top youngsters from 19 countries do battle in the Bank of Bermuda Foundation International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Tournament.

Good performances by locals will boost their chances of an invitation to develop their games and their education at tennis-playing North American colleges.

"There are several scouts coming down to offer scholarships," said tournament director David Lambert. "Everyone is looking for the talent.

"I tell our juniors that if they do their best, sport can open up real opportunities for them. Some of our local sponsors are also looking to assist our most promising juniors financially."

There will be at least seven Bermudians in the boys 18-and-under singles main draw and eight in the girls event.

Age precludes Davis Cup player Gavin Manders from trying to emulate his achievement of reaching last year's rained-off final, so the highest local hopes in the boys' event rest on the shoulders of David Thomas and Na'im Azhar.

In the girls singles, island number one Ashley Brooks is the Bermuda torch bearer, having reached the third round last year, while Heineken Open champion Morgan Lightbourne will also be confident of a good showing.

The juniors have been preparing specially for this event and some have enjoyed promising results in local adult tournaments this year.

Both 18-and-under singles events will boast full draws of 32, while the 14-and-under events, dominated by local players, will feature 24 boys and there were seven girls registered at the time of writing, though organisers were hoping for more entrants.

The top seed in the 14-and-unders is Bermuda's Chase Urban, but the only overseas player in the draw, American Carl Eguez, ranked 74 in the US, is likely to be a major contender.

In the girls event, Bermuda's Rylee MacDonald is the top seed, while Antigua's number two Akilah James, is the only visiting player.

"Last year in the 14-and-unders, we had no girls at all," Lambert said. "It shows we're making progress and it shows that this event is one of the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association's (BLTA) most important components in developing tennis.

"What better way to encourage our juniors than to bring a world-ranking event to Bermuda?"

World-ranking points will be up for grabs and that is the main attraction for players from all over the region.

"It's all about points," Lambert said. "Points push players up the rankings and they need to be in the top 120 in the world to get into the Grand Slam junior events like Junior Wimbledon and the Junior US Open. For them that's the way to follow in the footsteps of players like Pete Sampras and Roger Federer who won junior events before they went on to be the best."

The top seed in the 18-and-under boys is Alberton Richelieu of St. Lucia, who is ranked 213 in the world junior rankings, while the top-seeded girl is 236th-ranked Yolande Leacock, of Trinidad.

Richelieu has experience of playing against Bermudians at senior Davis Cup level. In April last year, partnered by St. Lucia team-mate Kane Easter, he enjoyed a comfortable doubles rubber victory over Bermuda's pairing of Gavin Manders and Jovan Whitter in Costa Rica.

The visiting players started arriving on Thursday and qualifying matches in the boys 18-and-under event will take place over the weekend.

Apart from the courts at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium, extra practice courts will be made available for the players, if necessary, at Pomander Gate Tennis Club and the Elbow Beach Hotel.

Lambert said the tournament, now in its third year, would not be possible without the efforts of dozens of volunteers and the support of numerous organisations.

The Bermuda Regiment provides accommodation for the visiting players at Warwick Camp, while the Government provides breakfast and dinner for the players and local hotels supply lunch. The Public Transportation Board also puts on a bus that runs for much of the day between Warwick Camp and the Tennis Stadium.

"We have to thank David Lang and the committee of the Bank of Bermuda Foundation for making it possible for us to put on such a high-level tournament," Lambert added.

All players participating have to be registered by 4 p.m. on Sunday, when the opening ceremony will take place.