at the National Stadium is not up to scratch.

Mr. Lister accused the Bermuda Sun of using outdated information when they alleged that the track did not meet standards set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation.

He said the bi-weekly paper was misleading the public with claims that the surface laid was not an approved material by the IAAF -- and therefore prohibited IAAF events from being held there.

Mr. Lister said they were currently awaiting IAAF approval for the track, which is the same as that installed in New York for the IAAF approved World Games last year and the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada.

He said information used by the Bermuda Sun related to a decision by the IAAF in December last year to only allow official international events on certified tracks.

But the decision affected all surfaces laid after April 1, 1999 -- the National Sports Centre track was completed in February.

The Minister, speaking in the House of Assembly, said that meant that the surface would be approved, along with many other surfaces laid before April.

He added that the director of Youth, Sport and Recreation had spoken with IAAF technical officer Benoit Laurel, who confirmed that "indeed the decision of the IAAF does not void any tracks that have been laid prior to April 1, 1999''.

And he said claims in the paper that the Bermuda Track and Field Association had urged National Sports Centre trustees to use another surface did not say that they had not shown that the eventual track was not an approved material.

He added that the company that laid the Bermuda track had since received approval for their product from the IAAF.

The approval process is to be speeded up after the department contacted IAAF headquarters in Monaco, France, he said.

On the attack: Dennis Lister