Seventeen of Bermuda's best young triathletes are set to depart the Island on Thursday to take part in the Chicago Ironkids Triathlon on Saturday.

The youngsters are all included in a newly established Bermuda Triathlon Association (BTA) Junior Programme and have been training for the event since March.

Each was selected to visit the Windy City on the basis of their performance during the 1995 Bermuda Ironkids Triathlon.

Lincoln Park will be the setting for the Chicago competition, which in previous years has attracted upward off 700 entries for the swim-cycle-run combination.

Competitors will swim in Lake Michigan before embarking on the cycle and run routes.

Four age groups -- 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14 boys and girls -- make up the event, with those from seven to 10 years required to cover a 100 metre swim, four kilometre cycle and one kilometre run and the older group tackling a 200 metre swim, eight kilometre cycle and two kilometre run.

Small in size but big on talent, Ashley Kirkpatrick stands as one of two female representatives in the girls 9/10 category, with the other being the much improved Courtney Cotterill. On the boys side Matthew Herring and Chris Conway, the runaway winner in the Bermuda Ironkids 1995 race, are expected to show well.

Erica Frith and Emma Rego, two talented young swimmers who are developing in the triathlon, are set to tackle the girls 11/12 group as are male counterparts Mark Morrison, Spencer Conway and Andrew Kirkpatrick.

Allison Petty, Nuri Latham and Jonathan Herring make up Bermuda's entry for the 13/14 female and male categories.

Accompanying the contingent will be programme coordinator Dave Morrison and Bermuda National Triathlon champion Neil de Ste. Croix, with Morrison emphasising the main objective as being one of providing exposure for the local youngsters.

In addition to the Ironkids event, a Sprint Triathlon is set for Sunday in which rising stars Khomeini Talbot and Herring in a field of more than 1,000 will compete over a .75 kilometre swim, 25 kilometre cycle and five kilometre run.

The two triathlons are part of what promises to be an action packed weekend which includes a sport and fitness expo and culminates with the Mrs. T's Chicago Triathlon, featuring many of the world's leading triathletes among a field of 5,000.

Bermuda's youngsters will get the opportunity to meet many of the pros at a tent specially designed for that purpose.

And they also will get chance to shout encouragement to locals de Ste. Croix, Melanie Claude, Steve Petty and Jeremy Ball, who will all be taking part in the Mrs. T event.

For de Ste. Croix and Claude it will be part of their build-up towards the ITU Triathlon World Cup Bermuda competition set for September 24.

Dyrone Minors and Adam Smith were on Sunday confirmed as part of the field for the ITU Triathlon World Cup Bermuda, bringing the number of locals to seven -- five males and two females.

Minors, who placed fourth in the Bermuda National Triathlon Championships in two hours, 15 minutes and 22 seconds, had initially been overlooked by a selection committee in favour of Mark Glusing -- sixth in the same event in 2:16:37. But he earned a late reprieve.

Smith, a promising young triathlete who competed last year in Hong Kong, was added in order to allow him to get the feel of big time competition.