place next month after a surge in interest in the sport.

BAA gymnasium will host the tournament on April 17 and April 19, when organisers are expecting well in excess of the 40 regular badminton players to become involved.

Vance Lightbourne, one of the organisers, who has been spearheading moves to revitalise the sport which included eventually reviving the Bermuda Open, is delighted that they have managed to get badminton back on track.

"It's a great thing that is happening and now we are going to be having this tournament the stage is set for bigger and better things afterwards we hope,'' said Lightbourne.

"Yes, it is the first tournament we will have here in a while. We are particularly pleased that it will feature male and female participants in all three divisions, A, B and C and the various categories will be singles, doubles and mixed doubles play.'' He added that there will be no age restriction, meaning that youngsters and adults will compete against each other.

In a short time Lightbourne has seen the numbers improve during weekly training at BAA, the numbers leaping from the high teens to about 40 a night from Mondays to Fridays.

"It's amazing to see the interest increase by leaps and bounds since the start of the year. The participants are really keen, we have regular sessions that begin about 7 p.m. nightly where everybody comes to play and train together, it's the ideal activity for all,'' said Lightbourne.

Veteran player Junius Durrant is the main coach while Steve Wellman primarily coaches the advanced players, while Lightbourne concentrates on the younger and new players.

While Lightbourne's dream is still to revive the Open, his immediate task is to convince sponsors to support their endeavours and once inroads are made in this area he feels more tournaments will be established.

Lightbourne is asking for interested players keen to compete in the forthcoming tournament to call him at 295-1422 (days) or 238-1541 (nights).

There will be an entry fee of $5 and cash prizes will be at stake.