Almost 600 American students will be in Bermuda this month and next as part of the Department of Tourism?s Spring Break Sports and Pursuits Programme.

Bermuda is hoping to attract athletes because it can no longer compete with Florida for the type of traditional, raucous, low-cost spring break holiday.

The programme, targeted at gateway cities, is designed to get high school and college age students to Bermuda and has attracted predominantly athletes and their coaches from New, Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington, Indiana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. There are also high school teams from Canada.

They will play lacrosse, women?s soccer, golf, rugby, tennis, kayaking, basketball and field hockey.

And they will also get the chance to visit historic sights and Tourism-sponsored events to get a feel for the Island.

Tourism Minister Renee Webb said: ?We recognise that Bermuda is no longer able to compete with the likes of South Beach and Fort Lauderdale from a cost perspective in the traditional ?college week? market, therefore we have tailored our programme to provide more of a unique niche experience within that visitor segment.?