The 2005 Island Games kick off for Bermuda tomorrow and the excitement is building so quickly that some players may need to take a cold shower.

And teen tennis star David Thomas wishes he had done just that, instead stepping into a scalding hot shower upon his arrival at his Gibraltar hotel and requiring hospital treatment for his burns.

Thomas, bandaged on his arms and right side, is expected to be ready for action on Monday despite his mishap.

There have been no other problems for the team after their long journey from Bermuda, although Sasha Fisher arrived later than her team-mates after problems with the flights coming out of London.

The tennis stars, along with men?s and women?s basketball teams, are competing in Gibraltar due to a lack of facilities in Shetland, the main venue for the other 100-plus athletes from the Island that form part of the largest sporting contingent ever to leave Bermuda.

The medal hunt begins tomorrow for the ladies team of Zarah DeSilva, Morgan Lightbourne, Tara Lambert, Caitlin Gordon ? a late replacement for Ashley Brooks ? and Fisher.

Bermuda take on the Scandinavian isle of Aland tomorrow morning with two pairings competing and then play Gibraltar in the afternoon. On Monday they take on Alderney.

The men swing into action at 9.30 a.m local time, again with two pairs competing, against Guernsey. They then take on Cayman and Alderney on Monday and finish up against the hosts on Tuesday.

The men?s team, full of confidence before their departure and hopefully with Thomas able to compete at full strength, comprises unbeaten domestic pairing James Collieson and Andy Bray as well as Jenson Bascome, Gavin Manders and Thomas.

The basketball teams begin their round-robin competition on Monday.