The defending champions were winless in all three of their matches, paving the way for Mariners to claim victory with a 3-0 record. Teachers and Police also took part in the six-match tournament.

Mariners opened with a 15-12 win over Police, who were playing without Dave Bird and Sean Field Lament, and followed with a 24-7 triumph over Teachers.

Teachers led 7-0 at the half on a try by Pat Cooper but, playing their second match in succession, faded in the second half.

Mariners, led by the powerful running of Dan and Josh McGavern, clinched the trophy with a 27-0 rout of Rengegades.

That was just the last of Renegade woes. They lost 33-0 to Teachers in their opener before bowing 17-12 to Police. Down two tries early, Renegades battled back to a take 12-10 lead but Gareth Davies scored a try and Ian Jamieson converted to end the threat.

Teachers built a 14-0 half-time lead en route to edging Police in the day's final match.

HARNESS RACING RAH For the first time, the Bermuda Bred Stakes were held for ponies born or bred on the Island as the postponed New Year's Day harness racing programme took place on Sunday.

Crunchtime, driven by Nick DeCosta, won the two-year-old stakes while Michael DeCosta guided El Grande to the three-year-old championship.

Custom Eyes'd won two races with Zeno Cooper in the sulky and will now take the rest of the season off as she is in foal. Eyes'd has 14 wins this season, the most by any pony.

The ladies `powder puff' and veterans' races drew enthusiastic support from Sunday's crowd. Winners were Mowtown Scott, driven by Michelle Johnson, Vieda's Laser Beam with Harold (Red) Compagnon aboard, Hoedown Don with Robert Gaglio in the sulky and Jennifer Time driven by Stumpy Mello.

Other competitors were Kristy Mullen and Cathy McClure in the `powder puff' and `Cheese' Ray, `Sinny' Furbert and `Killer' Compagnon in the vets' race.

Nicholas DeCosta and David Lopes shared the day's driving honours with three wins each while the veteran black stallion Mowtown Scott won three races, two in his regular class and one in the featured `powder puff' race.

SAILING SLG Two of Bermuda's Optimist dinghy sailors put in fine performances in an intensely competitive Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta in Miami recently.

Zander Kirkland finished 11th and William Thompson 44th from a field of 126 competitors, including almost all the top ranked sailors as well as youngsters from Canada, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Colombia and Italy.

Kirkland, 14, enjoyed finishes of 5-4-13-(38)-5-6-6-5, while Thompson, also 14, showed good speed in heavy air to record a sixth place on the first day but later suffered from his inexperience of large fleet tactics.

Kirkland's finishing position left him just six points from achieving fifth place. But he expressed satisfaction with his speed in the winds of 18-22 knots and also in picking windshifts which compensated for below-par starts and a poor performance on the one day of light wind.

Twelve-year-old Zane Pedro and 11-year-old Edward Thompson performed creditably in their first major overseas competition, finishing 93rd and 107th respectively.

In the Green (novice) fleet, Jesse Kirkland finished third out of 34 boats.

SOCCER SOC Bermuda's Brian Irvine was recently named winner of the New Brunswick high school "Golden Boot Award.'' Irvine, a Grade 12 student at RCS Netherwood, led the A Division of the Canadian province's men's soccer programme in scoring during the 1997 season.

In addition, the son of Devonshire residents John and Sally Irvine guided the River Hawks to the New Brunswick high school championship.