Table Tennis Championships.

But just exactly who will make up the seven-player contingent that will compete from April 24 to May 5 in Manchester, England, remains to be seen.

The Bermuda Table Tennis Association met last week to confirm their appearance in the world championships for the first time in the 1990s and have scheduled another meeting tomorrow night to get a better idea of which players will be available.

"We've got our work cut out for us,'' said BTTA president Mansfield Smith yesterday.

The BTTA are expected to send the maximum four male players but will likely submit just one woman, Monique Ternier -- "head and shoulders above everyone else in the women's bracket,'' Smith says -- providing she is interested.

Nick Frost, the top ranked player on the Island, is expected to sign up but the wild card remains Dexter Smith, the former number one who arrived back on the Island last night after playing with the Bermuda national cricket squad during a tournament in Guyana.

He has been concentrating on cricket and may rule himself out if selected for the national squad that will be heading to Malaysia in March. Either way he can expect a call from the BTTA.

He and Frost "would be a big one-two for us,'' said Mansfield Smith.

Others in the running include Darren Trott, Dave Walton, Mike Lindo and Dennis Pearman. The BTTA will also determine whether to send a "promising youngster to go and observe,'' said Smith.

Registration of officials and players must be submitted to the English Table Tennis Association, who are organising the championships under the auspices of the ITTF, by February 21.

The Bermuda league meet only every Tuesday but that pace will be stepped up considerably beginning next week, with matches at least three times a week being considered. A round-robin tournament will help the BTTA determine the players, Smith said.

No matter what, the Island team -- which will consist of a Briton (Frost) and a Canadian (Ternier) -- can expect a rude welcome into the world of international table tennis.

Apart from annual visits to a tournament in Detroit, Bermuda haven't competed internationally since trips to the world championships in Sweden and India during the 1980s.

Says Smith candidly: "We can tell by going to the US that we're way behind other nations.'' It was only the fact that this year's tournament was being held in England -- a favourite for sports-minded Bermudians -- that the BTTA decided to re-enter the world scene.

An overseas official could be invited to set up a training programme, Smith said.

Top ranked players are urged to attend the meeting tomorrow night (6.30 p.m.

at The Centre) or at least contact Smith (297-0518) or Rawle Frederick (292-3999).