When the first ball is struck at the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters on April 4, it will mark the end of a year of slog and unadulterated devotion on the part of the event?s organisers Ross Triffitt, Kim Carter and Stephen Young.

From the moment the ink dried last year on the largest squash deal ever signed ? which culminates with the World Open coming to Bermuda in 2007 ? this dedicated triumvirate has worked day and night to make the tournament a reality. From one meeting after another, from Qatar to New York, these men have been the driving force behind an event which brings the top 31 players in the world to Bermuda for the first time in its sporting history.

It was not difficult to know what to make of Triffitt when he first arrived in Bermuda back in 1999 as the Island?s assistant coach. A typical Aussie: unassuming, straightforward, liked a laugh and a cold beer or three. But what nobody really grasped initially was just how intelligent and ambitious this son of Canberra really is.

Taking over from Jane Parker as Bermuda?s director of squash only nine months after setting foot on the Island, it was Triffitt who first set in motion a chain of events nobody involved in local squash could have even begun to fathom. He was, and remains, a visionary in the sport, plain and simple.

And while he is quick to pay tribute to Parker and those before her who constructed his ?remarkable inheritance?, even he admits the pace of events since putting on a small professional invitational tournament in 2003 has been somewhat startling.

?When I arrived in Bermuda I just came to be a coach,? he reflected.

?I?d done a lot of work in Australia and had risen through the ranks and achieved everything that I wanted to achieve over there and Bermuda was a new challenge for me.

?I was actually looking forward to coming back to just coaching when I came. After nine months, Jane moved on and I was delighted to take over from her because it was a fantastic set-up and there was a lot of work that people had done before I?d even arrived.

?We ran the Logic Bermuda Open in 2003 ? which was a relatively small, invitational event ? and I always had the idea that we would run that as a prelude to something big. But I was not expecting it to become so big almost straightaway.

?It was really only possible again because a lot of people jumped on board including Kim Carter and Stephen Young (pictured). The three of us have led the project, but were also able to get a lot of hard-working, immensely skilled people involved as well.?

For all those who have come into regular contact with these three over the past 12 months, it is no secret that the tournament and the future progress of squash in general is not simply a goal or a diverting hobby. It has become an obsession ? one which Triffitt admits has come to dominate almost his every waking hour.

Indeed, it has been somewhat of a challenge balancing the work of the Masters with his many other responsibilities at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association.

?This event has really taken over my life,? he conceded.

?It?s difficult because there is a whole other aspect to my job that I need to obviously keep on top of, and what I do with the event is intertwined with that. It?s a tricky one because my job description is different every day that I wake up.

?We?re now dealing with people all over the world which has led to some very early mornings and some late nights. But we?ve signed the biggest deal in the history of the sport, the finish line is 2007 and that?s my goal right now.

?But it?s not just about me or Kim or Stephen. If the hundreds of other people involved were not there then it simply would not happen.?

?At the same time as building this event,? he continued, ?we are also making plans to be able to cope with the increased membership it is bringing and the greater number of people who are being exposed to a great sport.

?We want to improve the infrastructure at our facility so we can host big events on a regular basis without having to ship all the equipment in. It?s difficult to know what 2008 will bring at this point, but it?s safe to say it will be exciting.?

While the Bermuda Open 2004 was, by anybody?s standards, an unqualified success, the tournament organisers this year have been positively salivating over the added prospect of incorporating the technology of the title sponsor Virtual Spectator into the event?s coverage.

This leading sports graphics company ? which provides the BBC with all the technology for their Wimbledon coverage as well as a host of other major sporting events ? has been busy developing squash-specific software which they hope will not only improve the viewing experience for the thousands set to flock to the BHS gym this year, but also revolutionise the way in which the sport is watched and broadcast the world over.

With squash trying to convince the mainstream global media it is worthy of greater recognition ? and with the game?s governing body striving for the sport?s inclusion at the 2012 Olympics ? what will take place on our tiny little island between April 4 and 9 is much more significant than the casual observer might at first have realised.

?To have Virtual Spectator on board really has enabled us to take the event to an entirely new level,? stressed Triffitt.

?It is not just about what they can do for us, but what they can do for squash in general. Their technology adds a whole new dimension to squash coverage both on television and hopefully one day on the Internet.

?Squash is one of the fastest growing sports in the world ? but it is still not out there and in your face as yet. Anything we can do here to make that next quantum leap we believe will be immensely valuable, not just to local squash but to squash everywhere.?

But when all is said and done, when the hype has died down and the talking is over, what does this event really offer the viewing public?

?People walking in through the doors will have the rare opportunity in Bermuda of watching the world?s finest athletes perform one of the grandest stages in their sport,? Triffitt concluded.

?These guys are the elite of the elite, and while everybody in local squash has come across some of them before, those new to squash have booked themselves in for a special experience. The atmosphere at the venue is superb and the setting with the glass court, the lighting and the theatre-style seating is quite something to see. I?m very confident it?s going to go well and after all the work and the expectation, I just want to get started.?