National athletics coach Gerry Swan will not accompany the team to the Pan-Am Games in Brazil this July as Bermuda Track and Field Association seek to give other coaches greater exposure to major international events.

The Royal Gazette has learned that Swan, who is not even half-way through his four-year contract with the Island’s governing body of athletics, has agreed to step aside on this occasion to allow his assistant Devon Bean to take sole charge of athletes competing in Rio De Janeiro.

Pressed on the matter yesterday, BTFA president Clarence Smith confirmed Swan would not be travelling — although he insisted that this did not signal the beginning of the end for a man who has frequently polarised the local athletics community during his 20-plus years in the top job.

“Gerry remains the national coach, he is only into his second year of a four-year contract and I don’t see any reason why that situation will change,” Smith said yesterday.

“I’ve discussed the situation with Gerry and we’re all on the same page. Gerry has really been the only one coaching our top athletes for many years, and we’re now in a situation where we have other coaches keen to get involved and it is my responsibility to ensure that they get the best possible exposure to international competition.

“Devon was Gerry’s assistant at the recent Carifta Games and was in charge of our Under-23 athletes at the CAC Games in Cartagena (Colombia, last July). He’s a very good coach who deserves an opportunity to take charge of the national squad.

“At events like the Junior World Championships and the Olympics, Gerry will probably go, but with Devon and other coaches like (top local cricket umpire) Roger Dill wanting to help out, things like the Pan-Ams provide an ideal opportunity for us at the BTFA to give them a chance.

“To implement the kind of programmes and initiatives we want to at a senior level we need more than one coach involved so allowing Devon to take charge for the Pan-Ams makes sense in the long run.

“There’s no suggestion that Gerry is being demoted or anything like that — he is and will remain in overall charge as national coach for the duration of his contract.”

While the list of athletes who have already met the qualifying standard in their respective disciplines is already fairly long, Smith said the Bermuda Olympic Association had given them until June 25 to finalise the squad to allow as many as possible the chance to make it.

“The Pan-Am deadline is actually not until early July, but we cannot afford to wait that long because of things like getting flights sorted out,” said Smith.

“There are quite a few athletes who have already qualified, but there are a number of others who have been a little unlucky with the weather both here and overseas and have had meets cancelled on them. So we’re trying to give them as much time as possible and then hopefully we can travel down to Brazil with a large number of athletes.”

Meanwhile, Smith revealed yesterday he was becoming increasingly concerned about the level of access both club and national-standard athletes will have to the track at the National Sports Centre over the summer.

Smith said that with both the Bermuda Hogges and the Island Soccer League paying to use the facilities, it had become increasingly difficult for athletes preparing for international meets to spend enough time at the track completing their preparation.

“It’s definitely an issue, but I’ve had discussions with Clifford Wade (NSC general manager) about it and he has been very receptive and said he will do all that he can to help us out,” he said.

“I appreciate there’s a very heavy demand on the Sports Centre from a number of different sports and it’s not an easy situation. But particularly when the Island Soccer League is on, athletes getting ready for meets overseas are having a real issue with the amount of time they’re given to train.

“Let’s say the kids get out of school by four o’clock and get to the track by 4.30, quarter to five in the afternoon — well they have to be off by 5.30 to make room for the football so they’ve really only got half an hour of proper training time which is obviously not enough.

“So it is a problem and hopefully Mr. Wade can help us sort it out.”