WHEN it comes to national team selection in Bermuda, no matter what the sport you can be sure that controversy is just around the corner.

Such was the case over the weekend at the conclusion of golf?s Amateur Strokeplay Championships at Port Royal after which the national team to represent Bermuda at the next World Amateur Team Championships was automatically selected.

According to Bermuda Golf Association rules, the top three finishers earn their place in the team.

End of story? Not quite.

As usual, the xenophobia that afflicts so many in this small island kicked in again.

William Haddrell, second in the 72-hole Strokeplay and as such a pretty handy golfer, isn?t a particularly well known name in local sporting circles, not even in golf.

That?s because he doesn?t live here. When not at college in Texas, he spends most of his time in England. He probably considers himself far more at home in England than he does in Bermuda, much more an Englishman than a Bermudian.

And that, apparently, doesn?t sit well with some of our local golfers who are not all pleased that Haddrell?s now qualified to take take his place on the national team. Because he doesn?t live here, or play any of the other local tournaments, some seem to think he has no right to represent the country.

But it?s a puerile argument.

First and foremost, Haddrell is a Bermudian.

Secondly, and far more pertinent, is the fact that he qualified under rules laid down by the BGA.

Normally, those wanting to play in the World Team Championships need to accumulate BGA Order of Merit points by competing in monthly medals and other tournaments. But an exception is made for those players at college overseas, providing that they keep the BGA informed of their performances and are considered good enough.

Haddrell fell into that category. He corresponded with the BGA, detailing his results at college and quite clearly showed himself to be? good enough? by placing second over the weekend.

Had the rules been bent to accommodate his inclusion, then we might have a problem.

But they weren?t. The rules were in place before last weekend?s championships, and nobody seemed to be making any noise then.

Their complaints after the fact smacked of sour grapes.

Significantly, the BGA regulations aren?t a lot different from those in other sports in other countries.

The current World Cup is a perfect example. Dozens of players representing their country haven?t resided in that country for years, rarely play there or contribute anything to the domestic programme.

It?s the same in tennis. Nearly all of the current crop of top Russian female players live and play in the USA. Yet most still represent their country of birth in competitions such as the Fed Cup.

In Bermuda we seem to be a little slow in grasping the fact that eligibility for national team selection doesn?t necessarily require players to be resident in their home country.

Surely, like other countries, our goal should be to field the best possible team within the rules.

Presumably that?s exactly what the BGA are attempting to do.

PRAISE for our friends at Bermuda Broadcasting Company in this column last week regarding their coverage of the World Cup might have been a tad premature.

Just when it seemed they?d got to grips with most of the technical problems, they proceeded to create a few of their own.

A perfect case in point was Wednesday?s ?tape delayed? coverage of the Angola v Iran match. Anybody watching the game and unaware of the result must have been livid when after 88 minutes the screen suddenly went blank before switching to a preview of the upcoming Argentina-Netherlands match.

Final score? If we?d stayed tuned to ZFB we?d never have known.

A few minutes later as a commentator assessed the significance of the Argentina game, he was cut off in mid-sentence as some switch-happy technician decided it was time for a local ad.

Earlier in the day, we were treated to much of the Portugal v Mexico game without any commentary at all ? a glitch which ZFB will presumably tell us was ?out of their control?.

Sorry guys, but the thousands of local football fans glued to their TVs during the World Cup expect better.

If you take the step of blocking cable TV coverage and present an exclusive package, then you also take the responsibility of providing a programme which is as good as or preferably better than the one you replaced.

Two more weeks remain. There?s time, and certainly room, for improvement.