preparation for an upcoming tour to Venezuela with the aim of qualifying for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games.

Manager/coach Braxton Stowe and his assistant Anthony Mouchette have been putting the women through a rigorous work-out programme since early January, meant to bring them to an equal standard with that of the opposition they are likely to face.

Included in these have been blackboard sessions and an increased emphasis on the basics such as fielding the ball with two hands and covering for one another to cut down on errors.

Initially a squad of 27 was selected to participate, but since then cuts have been made, reducing the numbers to a more manageable figure of 18 players captained by Gaynelle Pace. They will also be carrying two of the younger players, Damina Caisey and Nakita Trott for the purpose of allowing them the experience of being at such a large international event.

"The training and preparation has been going quite well, they're all working hard and the attendance has been near 98 percent,'' said Stowe, who was appointed to the post of women's national coach late last year. "The physical fitness is also about 95 percent, barring the sore arms and a little stiffness here and there.

"They're getting mentally prepared and are all in high spirits and looking forward to going and qualifying...that's what's really in their minds, that we're going to qualify for Puerto Rico in November for the CAC games.'' Several practice matches against their male counterparts, has served to fortify the girls' mental toughness and allow them to face similar pitching to that which they are likely to encounter abroad.

"The first week you could see the difference between the men and women as we were exposed badly, which I wanted them to see, but in the third week it kept getting better, where we could see the determination and experience starting to show.'' "They were fearing Butch Smith, the male fast pitcher, at first, but now they're able to make solid contact batting against him so when we come up against the girls (in Venezuela) we should be able to clout the ball fairly well.'' However, still in question is the local pitching, which is generally regarded as slow. The fastball of the Bermudian pitcher compares to a change-up from most opposing hurlers, but Stowe was confident he could get around this problem with strategic shuffling of his throwers during matches.

Beverly Burchall is the ace of the staff, with Dawnette Daniels, Laverne Jones, Yvette Brangman and Suzie Clarke as the remaining members.

"We've always had that problem of not being as fast as the other pitchers, but with the change of pace it makes the other team off-stride,'' said Stowe.

"My strategy basically is that, I have five pitchers in the squad and by the time the other team gets used to one pitcher I'll change them.'' Stowe realises that regardless of the outcome, this team will still be judged alongside the Big Blue Machine, which terrorised opponents during the 1970s.

It is this team that sticks vividly in the minds of Bermudians as they were without a doubt Bermuda's most successful export at the time, winning medals and accolades wherever they set foot.

Something the current bunch would want to erase from their memory was the pounding they took in Illinois back in 1990 at the Women's World Tournament where they finished eighth out of a nine team group, while winning just one match.

The team leaves the Island on May 11, with games commencing two days later.

the top six teams in the 16 member group qualify for the finals.

The squad: Dee Ann Martin, Beverly Burchall, Roseanne Wall, Deborah DeShields, Lenora Maloney, Dawnette Daniels, Rose Richardson, Antoinette Williams, Earlene Wilkinson, Gaynelle Pace, Tracy Sharrieff, Terry Lynn Paynter, Valerie King, Laverne Jones, Nicole Jones, Yvette Brangman, Deborah Phillip, Suzie Clarke.