WHATEVER the make-up, it now appears certain Bermuda will take to next year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne one of the largest and arguably strongest squads the Island has ever assembled for a major Games.

In excess of 20 athletes from half-a-dozen or more sports are being considered and with the cut-off for qualifying not until late January, there's time for even more names to be added to the list.

Yet, a ruling this week by the Commonwealth Games executive has almost certainly deprived Bermuda of taking an even bigger and better team.

An appeal by the Cayman Islands against new regulations which stipulate all competitors must have nationality status in order to represent a country was rejected ? a decision which decimates the Cayman team and impacts significantly on every small Commonwealth nation, Bermuda in particular.

The ruling will have been a heart-breaker for the likes of local cyclist Lynn Patchett and triathletes Riaan and Evan Naude, Jamie Brown and Karen Smith all of whom had already qualified or were on the verge of qualifying for the trip Down Under.

Under the impression that the residency rule was still in effect ? apparently nobody told them or their governing bodies that it had been changed ? they have for the past several months embarked on a rigid training programme.

Hours of pounding the road and powering the bike, all, as it would now appear, in vain.

While those mentioned have lived, worked and competed here for several years, none are born Bermudians nor hold Bermuda status. As such they are now ineligible.

In every previous Commonwealth Games, right up to the last festival in Manchester in 2002, three years residency was the only requirement for participation.

And in an event commonly referred to as the 'Friendly Games', it was a rule with which few argued.

Unlike the Olympics and the Pan-Am Games in which nationality is a strict requirement, the Commonwealth has always been a bit different ? no less competitive but a little less intense, and as its moniker suggests, a whole lot more friendly.

By allowing expatriates to represent their adopted country, the Games offered opportunities for those who might not otherwise ever get the chance to experience a major sports festival, and it allowed small countries such as Bermuda to be far more competitive than they would merely drawing from a limited pool of nationals.

Not everybody in Bermuda, of course, agreed with that rule. And we can think of at least one national coach who has been vehemently opposed to it, of the firm opinion that Bermudians, and Bermudians only, should have the right to represent the Island. Others will no doubt share that opinion ? most likely the same xenophobes who have voiced their concern over the inclusion of David Hemp in our national cricket team.

But to many, it makes little sense and might be considered small-minded.

Whether we like it or not, expats do play a significant role in local sport, as they do in just about every other small nation across the globe. And the Commonwealth Games of the past have always offered an opportunity for their efforts to be rewarded.

After all, their inclusion doesn't mean the exclusion of Bermudians, it merely strengthens the overall team to the benefit of all concerned.

It's difficult to understand what Melbourne organisers were thinking when they deleted the residency rule.

The Games will be much poorer for it.

Bermuda's team will be weaker. Even smaller countries, like Cayman, will likely have no team at all.

Some of the Games' most memorable moments have been Goliath-slaying feats by athletes from tiny countries.

The new eligibility regulations almost certainly mean that such moments will be far less frequent. Instead, the Commonwealth's sporting giants of Australia, Canada, South Africa and England will become even more dominant.