A total of 26 athletes from eight different sports will carry Bermuda's hopes at the 18th Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, which open on March 15.

The team was unveiled late yesterday afternoon by Bermuda Olympic Association, who suffered heavy criticism in the run-up to the announcement following their failure to inform several non-Bermudian athletes that they were no longer eligible to compete because of a 2003 rule change.

But with a little over two weeks to go before the opening ceremony at the 90,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground, it is still not clear whether top female cyclist Lynn Patchett will be allowed to take part.

Under the controversial eligibility law for all future Games, foreign born triathletes Evan and Riaan Naude and Jamie Brown were ruled out in January - although the Commonwealth Games Federation have yet to make a determination on the appeal submitted by Patchett well over a month ago.

“We haven't got any update yet on the Patchett situation,” said BOA vice-president Mike Cherry yesterday.

“We are endeavouring to get the matter dealt with as quickly as possible and we hope to have an answer towards the middle of next week.”

Only 11 of the athletes heading Down Under this year have no Commonwealth Games experience, while swimmers Keira Aitken and Ronald Cowen, diver Katura Horton-Perinchief and cyclist and former triathlete Tyler Butterfield are the only four to have tasted Olympic competition.

Bermuda's slim hopes of a medal rest principally with Butterfield and world youth long jump champion Arantxa King - although even they will be considered outside bets for a place on the podium.

Butterfield was described by his French coach Phillipe Manduit earlier this week as a world-class cyclist in the making - an endorsement premised with the warning that it was unrealistic to expect a medal-winning performance from the 23-year-old at this early stage of his cycling career.

By far the busiest local competitor will be swimmer Ronald Cowen, who will have very little time to put his feet up in the Athletes Village after deciding to race in the 50,100, 200 and 400 metres freestyle, the 50 and 100 metres butterfly and the 100 metres backstroke.

The last Games were held in Manchester in 2002, where the Bermuda flag was carried at the opening ceremony by former Manchester City legend Shaun Goater.

The last Bermudians to win medals were ten-pin bowlers Conrad Lister and Antoine Jones, who claimed silver at the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

High jumper Clarence (Nicky) Saunders won two Commonwealth medals including the gold at the Auckland Games in 1990 with a Games record leap of 2.36 metres - a record which stands to this day.

Triple jumper Brian Wellman claimed a bronze in 1994 at the Games in Victoria, British Colombia while John Morbey, who chose to represent Bermuda instead of his native England back in 1966, took Commonwealth silver in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Melbourne Games run for 11 days with the closing ceremony due to take place on March 26.