Dave Palmer may be world squash champion but he has not forgotten what it's like to be just starting out in the sport.

That is why the Australian, who has just been granted residency status in Bermuda, has committed to giving over much of his time while on the Island to the sport's up and coming stars.

Palmer, ranked world number one in 2001, took the world title in December when he beat Scotland's John White in a thrilling final in Antwerp, Belgium. The match has been heralded as one of the best ever, with White leading two games to love before Palmer came back to clinch victory.

The 26-year-old from Lithgow, New South Wales, was based in Belgium prior to getting the green light to move to Bermuda and will arrive on the Island in time for the 2003 Logic Bermuda Squash Open, which will pit six of the world's top 20 ranked players and two of Bermuda's best against each other at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association's Middle Road courts.

Explaining the reasons for the move to the Island from his Belgian base, Palmer said: "Most of our tour is in America and Europe and Australia is just too far away.

"I have been based in Antwerp for a couple of years and we thought Bermuda might be a good spot. I won't be spending the entire year there but I will be spending a lot of weeks there in between tournaments. It is a pretty central location and a few other squash players have done it in the past and it has been pretty successful for them.

"It is also (a financial incentive) but the location is the main reason. I play five or six tournaments in America a year so I can come over a few weeks beforehand and train and get myself really ready."

Palmer's coach Shaun Moxham had the original idea, and through a connection in Bermuda and a friendship with Bermuda's director of squash Ross Triffitt the move was sealed.

"I have known Ross for quite a few years and the combination of two or three people helped get it done," Palmer said.

Palmer plays his first tournament of the Professional Squash Association season in New York at the end of February and should arrive here on the 28th of the month for a two week stay.

"I have agreed when I come to train with the local boys and it should be good for everybody. I will get some good hits and it will be a good experience for them also," he said.

Palmer said he believed it important to put something back into the community.

"I am very grateful that they have allowed me to come and take up residency there. Obviously, whatever I can do to help out I will be doing," he said. "I have talked to Ross a lot about it and I have agreed that when I am there, obviously I will be doing a lot of hard training, they can help me out in that and I can help them out.

"If I can help lift the level of squash in Bermuda then I will try my best."

Palmer said he had a similar experience as the one he was now offering when he was younger.

"I spent a year at the Australian Institute of Sport and hit with guys like Rodney Eyles, who once was in Bermuda, Brett Martin and some of the top Australian players then," he said. "It was great. I always looked up to those people and they gave me the inspiration and hopefully I can do something of the same for the local boys there."

Palmer said the main thing he would be able to pass on would be the experience of playing someone at the top of their game.

"Squash is still a relatively small sport in Bermuda so they probably don't get to see the top level of squash and play against it, so hopefully I can play as much as I can with them and improve their game. The best way to improve is obviously to play better players," he said.

"It's probably tough for the top couple of squash players in Bermuda, because once you get to the top there is no one really to challenge you.

"Hopefully, we can play plenty of practice matches and they can get used to the faster pace of the game."

Palmer said he hoped he could inspire players here as he had himself been inspired Down Under.

"Hopefully, I can show them that it can be done," he said. "I came from a small town in Australia and started off just as a local player. I have come through over the years and now have got to the top, so hopefully it will give them some inspiration and they will see that, if they really want to do it badly enough, it is possible."

Palmer said in some ways Bermuda's players were better off than he had been as he sought to rise through the ranks.

"They are really in a better location than I was," he said. "Obviously, Australia is a long way away and being quite close to America is a help. The sport is picking up there and a lot of the colleges are putting it in their programmes. I think in another five or ten years it is really going to take off.

"It's a great opportunity for young players now, even those of ten years old, to pick up the game - there is a good future in it for them."