Bermuda's athletes took advantage of the fine weather last weekend to turn in some sterling performances at the first full track and field meet of the season at the National Sports Centre.

According to national coach Gerry Swan, seven of those competing met qualifying standards for the Carifta Games which will be held in the Bahamas, beginning on March 30.

And Swan and his team of coaches are now optimistic that the Island's youngsters can better the six medals won by locals at the Games in Barbados last year.

"The fact that we had seven qualify over the two days, Saturday and Sunday, is a very decent outcome especially since it's only our first full meet of the New Year," said Swan.

"We are really pleased and right now we have over 20 junior athletes who all have aspirations for this year's Carifta Games and are training in the national programme. When the team is selected I would expect the number to be well into double digits."

Last year Bermuda sent 11 athletes to the Games, six of whom returned with medals.

The early qualifiers this year are Zindzi Swan, Richard Walcott, Danielle Watson, Brittney Marshall, Tiffany Eatherley, Michelle Trott and Husayn Brown.

Swan, Walcott, Marshall and Watson were medal winners a year ago.

Swan, who won a gold in Barbados in the girls' under-17 division high jump, is now in the under-20 division and has qualified for the high jump as well as the long and triple jumps with respective marks of 1.65 metres, 5.74 metres and 11.34 metres.

Tiffany Eatherley ran a qualifying time of five minutes, 11.8 seconds in the 1500 metres.

Marshall and Trott, both in the under-17 division, achieved marks of 11.62 and 10.02 metres in the shot putt while Watson reached the 400 metres qualifying standard with a time of 60.1 seconds in the girls' under-17 division.

Brown, who has been training with the squad since October, qualified by clocking 2.04.6 over the two-lap 800 metre race in the boys' under-17s.

Walcott, who began studies at North Carolina A&T University earlier this month with the benefit of an athletic scholarship, turned in a qualifying performance overseas at his first indoor meet with a time 1.57.64 for the 800 metres. He won a silver medal at Carifta last year in the 1500 metres.

Five other athletes set new personal bests at the Stadium on the weekend but fell short of the Games standards.

Derrick Golding, using the 16 pound shot, was shy of the boys' under-20 shot put mark of 12 metres by just 22 centimetres while Crystal Hayward, who will move up to the girls' under-20 group this year, saw her discus throw of 31.46 metres miss the standard by 54 centimetres.

Jenny Palmer's effort in the 1500 metres was outside the under-17 mark by 1.2 seconds. She had a similar near miss in the 800 metres.

The next track and field meet will be at the National Sports Centre this Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., with events open to all athletes.