THE Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association will send a team down to Trinidad for the inaugural Caribbean Games next summer instead of sending a team to Aland off Finland for the Island Games.

David Lambert, head of the BLTA, said he was excited by the Caribbean Games and although it would have been nice to send players to both the Caribbean and Island Games, he said it would not be financially feasible.

The events chosen for the 2009 Caribbean Games are tennis, track and field, boxing, netball and volleyball.

Bermuda Olympic Association chief John Hoskins said Bermuda will be sending a team although how many athletes and in what sports was still up in the air.

"I imagine there will be tennis players and track athletes and it would be good if we could send one or two boxers. I am not sure about the team sports ¿ netball and volleyball ¿ we will have to wait and see," said Hoskins.

Lambert said: "We are also committed to sending players to the Junior Fed and Davis Cups and perhaps the (senior) Davis and Fed Cups and some other tournaments. Unfortunately the International Tennis Federation does not recognise the Island Games so that is one of the reasons why we have chosen the Caribbean Games."

The Caribbean Games will run from July 13-19.

"Hopefully they will become bigger and bigger ¿ we are still waiting for more information about how many players we can send," said Lambert adding that they would like to send down four men and four women.

"We are excited by anything that offers our top players the opportunity to represent the country internationally. We always encourage our juniors and seasoned champions to compete for the island ¿ and our champions are becoming younger and younger."

The BOA's Phil Guishard who has been a Chef de Mission for many of Bermuda's teams in the Olympics, Pan Am and Commonwealth Games, said this week: "We would love to see Bermuda compete at the Caribbean Games next summer. Actually it would be tragic if we didn't send a team. We are just waiting to hear more about the Games. Unfortunately for different reasons we did not have a representative at the Chef de Mission's meeting they had down there a few weeks ago ¿ that would have provided a lot more information. What we are doing now is waiting for a report from that Chef's conference and then we will be in a better state to speak to what is going on."

And Guishard is excited that Bermuda may send some boxers. "I am certain that we will have some boxers. We have a great history of boxing in Bermuda ¿ Clarance Hill, Troy Darrell and also Quinn Paynter who competed in the Seoul Olympics. These Games are a good way to start to get to the Olympics. They will basically be the first rung in the ladder to get moving. After that it is the CAC Games, then the Pan Am Games and Commonwealth Games and finally the Olympics. We want to get in there and start now."