50 young athletes.

The Bermuda Schools Athletic Tour, which originally had counted on 120 students to take part in a meet in Jamaica next month, will be cancelled if at least 35 more seats aren't sold this week, organisers said yesterday.

The July 2-11 trip was initiated by Northlands deputy principal Randy Benjamin as a means of "further promoting links between Bermuda and Jamaica as well as providing international exposure of high quality to our aspiring young athletes,'' Benjamin said in a statement.

But last night a spokesperson for Benjamin said interest had since dwindled and only 50 athletes had pledged their time and money for the trip. And Murray Brown, of Brown Charters, confirmed that he needed to sell at least 120 of the 175 seats in order for the trip to get off the ground.

Thirty other passengers have already booked for a connecting flight.

"Something has to happen by Tuesday or Wednesday'' or we will have to cancel the excursion, said Brown.

The Bermuda Schools Athletic Committee yesterday appealed to the public to come up with funds to help more students take the trip or to travel to Jamaica during that time frame. The Committee have held their own fund-raisers and some schools have also stepped forward with sponsorship.