girls and boys.

But when a 22-person national team leave today for the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships in Barbados, exactly half will be girls.

The most girls Bermuda have ever sent to the championships is five and last year they had just three qualify. "Girls swimming in Bermuda is really looking up,'' said team manager Colleen Nelson yesterday.

The increased numbers also translates into an added bonus for the team: For the first time, Bermuda will have four relay teams, meaning additional points in team competition.

But more than just points will be at stake for the team.

For some, such as Tameika Williams and Trevor Ferguson, this will be the last chance to qualify for the year's premier event, the Commonwealth Games in September.

Three others -- Stephen Fahy, Stephen Troake and Matthew Hammond -- have already qualified and are also going to Barbados. But in attempting to taper for the Malaysia trip in two months, none will be at their peak.

There are several, such as Kiera Aitken and Lesley Smith, who are representing their country for the first time, and still others swimming in an Olympic-distance 50-metre pool for the first time.

That's why the team will spend three days training in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before the competition begins in earnest on Friday.

"For the first timers, this is the toughest competition they've ever been in,'' says Nelson, who will be travelling with the swimmers and coaches Gareth Davies and Richard Goodwin. "It's a terrific experience for them. Being at a higher level brings out the best in them and they usually go on from there.'' The team is without two swimmers who had previously qualified and had been pencilled in. Ronald Cowen, still recuperating from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident, withdrew and was replaced by Andrew Shaw, while Robin Massey, who qualified in the boys 13-14 age group, bowed out because of an illness in the family.

Shaw will swim in a couple of individual events -- he had qualified in the 50 and 100-metre freestyle -- and will round out the 15-17 relay team with Troake, Hammond and breast-stroker Graham Smith.

Hammond is the national record holder in the 200 and 400m freestyle, Troake in the 100m.

In the girls 15-17 age group, Jessica Sousa, Kim Frith, Abigail Madeiros and Lindsay Taylor are all going for the first time, swimming in as many as five events each.

Jonathan Herring, Scott Simmons and Michael O'Connor -- all but Herring are first-timers -- will swim in the boys 13-14 age group. Herring will compete in all five freestyle events.

Candace Jantzen-Marson and Jessica Marwick join Aitken and Smith in the girls 13-14 division. Aitken's sister, Ashley, will join Emily Leitch in the girls 11-12 age group. The boys 11-12 division sees Roy-Allen Burch and Kevin Fox swimming in a variety of events.