Softballers may be forced on the road if they vote against adopting random drug testing for players.

Government banned Bermuda Amateur Softball Association (BASA) from Bernard Park last week after being informed by the Island's Council for Drug-free Sport that they were not complying with the policy.

BASA say they do not believe "recreational athletes'' should be subject to testing -- which would involve 10 percent of members on a yearly basis.

The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation's decision left the climax to the current season in limbo with several play-off games still to finish.

BASA members are to vote tomorrow night on whether to adopt the policy or not and the decision is likely to have far reaching consequences which ever way it goes.

BASA President, Erica Smith, has said she will step down and end her long association with the game if the policy is adopted, citing an infringement of civil liberties, and if the organisation decides to opt out it will be left without anywhere to play.

There will be 59 votes cast at the meeting -- one for each team and each member of the executive committee -- and Smith says it is far from clear which way it will go.

"I think judging from the meeting we had last week it could go either way,'' she said. "But basically depending on what the outcome is there could be options that come out of it.

"They can either vote by majority to comply fully or they can agree to comply in part or to not comply at all and out of that we can make recommendations as to what our options are.'' Smith, who has been involved in the sport for more than 20 years, said it would be a sad day if she had to step down from her role as president -- but she said her conscience would not let her do otherwise if drug testing was adopted.

"I basically do not agree with the policy,'' she said. "I agree with the intent and I advocate a drug-free environment, not just in sport but in Bermuda as a whole, but I think the policy is flawed in some of its implementations. There are other ways of achieving the same goals.

"My personal feeling is that the random drug testing of recreational athletes is an invasion of our privacy and as such I can't in my own conscience submit to being president of an association or part of a whole sporting movement in Bermuda which advocates such an invasion of people's privacy.'' Smith said BASA was very annoyed at the way in which Government had "pulled the plug'' on the season just as it was reaching its finale.

"We are very unhappy because our position has never waivered from the initial concept and implementation of this policy way back in 1995 and with the submission of our schedule of dates for the season I would have presumed that if the Ministry really had a problem they would have said `we won't allow you to start your season','' she said.

Smith said she could see two ways forward depending on which way tomorrow night's vote went.

"If the membership agree to it fully, I guess the differences between the Association and the Bermuda Council for Drug-free Sport and the Ministry would be over. It would just be a matter of giving a verbal `yes' that we will sign up to this policy and I guess they would give Bernard Park back to the Association to use right away,'' she said.

"If it doesn't go that way then we have to look at some alternative. It would probably mean seeing if we can find an alternative location to play. Now that might be a bit difficult trying to find locations that do not have any affiliation with the Ministry or are controlled by them.''.

While difficult, Smith said she didn't believe it impossible as the Association had begun life playing games at individual venues until the advent of Bernard Park.

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