the Chicago Sun Times Triathlon this weekend.

And a team of 18 will go to the US National Ironkids Championships in Atlanta next month as the Bermuda Triathlon Association continues to expose youngsters in its programme to tough overseas competition.

Kris Hedges, because he is too old for the Ironkids, will take part in a sprint event which has been designated as the US National Championships for 13-15 year olds.

Also competing in the sprint on Sunday will be Tyler Butterfield, Jonathan Herring and Allison Petty who will also take part in the Ironkids event on Saturday alongwith Adam Petty and Matthew Herring.

Petty is the current champion in the nine-year-old age group of the Bermuda Ironkids. He won the eight-year-old division of the Chicago Triathlon last year which attracted about 500 youngsters in all age groups.

Herring was first in the 10-year-olds at the recent Bermuda Ironkids and again he will do the event in Chicago. His brother Jonathan won the 13-year-old division of the Bermuda Ironkids this year and will doing both the Ironkids and sprint event.

Herring was in the top six in Chicago last year and also went away with Hedges to Mexico for the 13-15 year old World Championships.

Butterfield, second to Jonathan Herring in their division in the Bermuda Ironkids, is also looking for an outstanding performance in Chicago, having recently had a top ten finish in the citizens race prior to the ITU World Cup.

Allison Petty, Adam's sister, will be doing both the Ironkids and the sprint event alongwith Butterfield.

Hedges, 16, will be looking to build on his third-place finish in the National Triathlon Championships which qualified him for the ITU World cup when he raced with the pros. He has had a busy past few weeks, having also competed in the Duathlon Championships last weekend.

After Chicago, Butterfield and Allison Petty have plans to go to the Dave Scott Triathlon Clinic in Boulder, Colorado, for a week.

Butterfield will also be in the 18-member team for the trip to Atlanta. Nuri Lathan, just back from Puerto Rico with the swimming team, also making the trip.

The ages of the participants for Atlanta range from eight to 14. "We've been training every Saturday at Clearwater Beach for the last six months and in addition the kids do regular training throughout the week as members of the swim clubs and bike association,'' said Dave Morrison who, along with Neil de ste. Croix, runs the junior programme.

"Altogether we have some 32 kids in our junior programme. We're very encouraged, they are making a lot of progress and we've got some younger ones who are beginning to progress well.

"They are learning a lot of the skills, have joined swimming programmes and bought themselves better road bikes. The main thing is we're trying to introduce them to the sport and build the association from the grassroots.'' THEIR KINDA TOWN -- These six Bermudians will be competing at the Ironkids triathlon in Chicago. Back row are Allison Petty, Tyler Butterfield and Jonathon Herring. Front row are Matthew Herring and Adam Petty.