@$:BYLINE-FRANK:By KYLEHUNTERSports EditorBODY-FRANK:MANY sports in Bermuda have over the years relied heavily on donations from the public – especially from international corporations.BODY-FRANK-2:But that may all change in the wake of the recent financial crisis.Already the XLBermuda Open has been struck badly with XL pulling out as the title sponsor.XL, which has sponsored the tournament for over 15 years, pulled their $350,000 annual sponsorship deal recently and that was in the wake of the Department of Tourism dropping its $50,000-a-year sponsorship.And right now the Bermuda Island Games Association is out in the community trying to raise money to send about 200 athletes to next summer's competition in Aland – a Finish Island.Jon Beard, the BIGA president said this week about the financial crisis and how it may affect fund-raising efforts: "It is worrying for us. We are just getting into it now (raising the money needed to go to Aland)."It is worrying for us and everybody. The crisis is going to impact on everybody and we are just going to have to look for other ways of doing things. Everybody thinks it is a bottomless pit and it is not. Obviously if they (businesses) are trimming staff then they are going to have to trim sponsorship to the community. Just look at the XL tournament – we do understand it."Beard said they are hoping to send 200 athletes to Aland next summer for the Island Games – and it would cost $600,000 to do so."We need $600,000 – but usually with us the athletes contribute 50 percent," he said adding, "you are beholden to the local businesses for so many things and from our point of view we appreciate that."But while Beard would not be surprised to see businesses cut sponsorship for local charities, he said: "I think they do allow for community projects within their budget so they are not going to stop completely because that is the sort of community work that they do. Now it is a question of how much they cut and you have to hope you have the sort of product that does involve the community that they want to be involved in." Beard said he has never taken sponsorship for granted. "We know there are situations where we have had sponsorship for three years and then they say we have made our contribution and we are going to donate somewhere else. And that is understandable."There are so many charities in Bermuda going for the money – there is such a demand out there and there are a lot of tremendous charities in Bermuda – a lot of very positive things that are being done here and that need help. You are always hoping that what you are doing is something that will catch their eye."And the trickle down effect of the financial crisis will also affect sending athletes abroad, said Beard."It is all related – you may have a company that drops out (of sponsorship) and then is forced to drop staff and therefore the staff can't afford to go. It is all connected. We are all involved in it and we have just got to hope that the businesses help us and we have to be prepared to do what we can."Beard said that the number of athletes competing for Bermuda at the Island Games was huge considering the size of the island. "To send 200 athletes away to compete is something – it is the biggest in Bermuda."And he said that a number of athletes who competed at previous Island Games were also in the Beijing Olympics this past summer.But he also noted that Bermuda and the Cayman Islands were the only two members of the Island Games who competed by themselves – the rest of the islands competed as part of a bigger country.For instance athletes from Guernsey and the Isle of Man competed for Great Britain in Beijing while an athlete from next year's Island Games hosts Aland competed for Finland.Two of Bermuda's athletes in Beijing had won gold before at the Island Games – namely Kiera Aitken and Roy Allen Burch.Swimmer Aitken, who also competed at the 2004 Olympics, competed at the 2003 Games and brought home gold in the 50m freestyle, gold in 50m backstroke, bronze in 100m freestyle, gold in 100m backstroke and silver in 200m backstroke while Burch, also at the 2003 Games, brought home gold in 50m freestyle, gold in 100m freestyle, gold in 4 x 50m freestyle relay, silver in 4 x 100m freestyle relay, gold in 4 x 50m medley relay and silver in 4 x 100m medley relay.The Cayman Islands had four athletes in beijing who had competed at the Island Games including track star Cydonie Mothersill who won gold last year in the 200 metres.Also in Beijing were Island Games veterans Dale Garland from Guernsey who ran the 4 x 400m relay for Great Britain, Mark Cavendish and Jonny Bellis from the Isle of Man who were in Great Britain's superb cycling team, Kelly Sotherton (heptathlon) and Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan from the Isle of Wight who both were in great Britain's team, Elisabet Salom (rhythmic gymnastics) from Menorca and competed for Spain, Kaie Kand (heptathlon), Mikk Pahapill (decathlon) and Tiidrek Nurme (1500m track) from Saaremaa who competed for Estonia.Next year's Island Games are in Aland which is situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and forms an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking administrative province, region and historical province of Finland. It is the smallest province of Finland, comprising 0.50 percent of Finland's population and 0.49 percent of land area.The islands consist of the main island Fasta Aland where 90 percent of the population resides and an archipelago to the east that consists of over 6,500 skerries and islands. Fasta Aland is separated from the coast of Sweden by 25 miles of open water to the west. In the east, the Aland archipelago is virtually contiguous with the Finnish Archipelago Sea. In 2013 Bermuda will host the Island Games and it will be the first time the event will take place on the other side of the Atlantic.Earlier this summer delegates from the 23 of the 25 Member Islands attended the AGM in the Parliament building in Mariehamn, Aland and heard the presentation from the Bid Committee of Bermuda, the only bidding island since Prince Edward Island decided to withdraw their bid earlier this year.IGA Chairman, Jorgen Pettersson, said that although Bermuda did not have any opposition for the bid to host 2013 Island Games they will still have to deliver a great Games.One of the IGA Executive's concerns regarding the bid from Bermuda is the cost of living on the island as this is high compared with most of the other Member Islands and travel and accommodation could turn out to be more expensive than envisaged. However the Executive are sure the organisers realise the impact this will have and will make sure there are several options regarding accommodation. Beard said at the time: "We are ready for the challenge that this award brings. As a tourist destination we look forward to accommodating the increased numbers the Games will bring and will continue to work with all of the Islands to ensure that the Bermuda Games is a wonderful experience for them all."