Renovations began this week to resurface the track at National Stadium and the timing couldn't be worse for Bermuda Track and Field Association.

A month before the CAC Games and two months before the Commonwealth Games, many of the Island's top runners are now being forced to train on an uneven, grass field.

"It is not,'' national track and field coach Gerry Swan conceded yesterday, "an ideal situation.'' The Island's only synthetic surface is currently being torn up, to be replaced in a $650,000 project expected to last through August. And that has meant a temporary eviction notice for the Stadium's principal tenants at a time they need the 400-metre track most.

This week, dozens of athletes training under Swan have been forced to take up training at Spice Valley Middle School, whose grass track is also the home of the Pacers Track Club.

"Obviously, it's not the same quality surface we would like,'' Swan said.

That's an understatement.

Bermuda are expecting to take a team of up to ten track and field athletes to Venezuela for the CAC Games, beginning on August 9, and four others to Malaysia for the Commonwealth Games in September.

And with the exception of those based in the United States, the key period of their preparation is taking place on a strip of grass. Asked if this presented specific difficulties for athletes, Swan laughed and said: "Yes, they have to accommodate the bumps in the field and watch out for the clumps of grass.'' In addition, the move to Spice Valley "presents certain logistical problems,'' Swan said, noting the transport of a high jump pit and materials.

Will all this impact on Bermuda's performance at the two major sports festivals of 1998? "Time will tell,'' Swan said.

While users of the National Stadium were given notice several months ago they would have to move, Swan had been pushing for the new track to be laid at the end of the season. Stadium general manager Cliff Wade has said the new track had to installed in July and August because these are Bermuda's driest months.

It was precipitation that caused problems in the first place with the track, which first began to bubble in 1996. Poor drainage was blamed for the problem and the Canadian firm that initially installed the track more than ten years ago is out of business.

Despite blisters and ruptures in the surface, it was still used in 1997.

Tenders were sought in May and from those, Martin Surfacing Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland, was selected by the National Sports Centre board of trustees to complete the job, part of a $46 million project that will see the construction of a 50-metre pool, cricket, hockey and soccer pitches, plus a number of indoor facilities.

The complex -- to be called the Bermuda National Centre -- is due to open in the fall of 2001.