Bermuda could get its own taste of Island Games action later this year.

More than 150 local athletes across a dozen sports are heading to the Shetland Isles for the multi-sport event in July while a proposal to hold the extravaganza here in 2011 is in the pipeline.

But Bermuda may play a mini hosting role as early as September this year, due to the inclement weather on the main host island.

Tennis and basketball have already been shifted to the peninsula of Gibraltar due to a lack of facilities in Shetland, and the triathlon may head here due to water temperatures.

?The water is going to be too cold for triathlon competitors,? revealed local Island Games coordinator Jon Beard. ?There was talk of shifting it to Anglesey but that?s not going to happen now either.

?The latest proposal being considered is staging the event here while the Bank of Bermuda triathlon is on.?

Although it wouldn?t count towards the medal table, Beard is hopeful running an Island Games triathlon alongside the existing event would help showcase the Island ahead of any future bid to host the entire event.

?We are looking at the possibility of doing something in 2011 although there is a lot to sort out before then,? continued Beard. ?This is still in the early stages as well but it shouldn?t be hard to put the whole thing together as the event is on anyway.

?I don?t suppose it would do us any harm ahead of any future bid if some of the other competitors came and saw what we offered here.?

The other Island Games nations, such as Cayman, Rhodes and Guernsey have all been invited, and they have also been asked to send junior competitors ? unlike in the main Games ? to boost the size of delegations coming all the way to Bermuda for the one-off event.

The chairman of the Island Games flies into Bermuda tomorrow for a three-day visit and Bermuda?s potential bid for the 2011 event ? by which time the Centre Core at the National Sports Centre could be completed ? is on the agenda.