Hannah King, captain of Bermuda women's gymnasts, is confident they can successfully defend the title they won two years ago when they compete in NatWest Island Games in Aland later this month.

King, 17, will be joined by Kaisey Griffith,16, Caitlyn Mello, 17, Riann Ming, 16, Morgan Beckles, 14, and Rosie Finnigan, 13, and will be striving to add to the gold medal they won in Rhodes, Greece, in 2007.

Ming is the only injury concern for coaches Tina Williams and Michelle Strenk as the youngster broke her hand two weeks ago but should still be able to take part.

The defence of their title begins on Monday June 29 with the team floor and vault competition where five out of the six gymnasts will compete against the likes of Isle of Man, Faroe Islands, Ynys Mon, Aland, Menorca and Jersey.

In 2005 Bermuda placed second behind Isle of Man, but bounced back to win '07 with Isle of Man coming second and Faroe Islands placing third.

Williams believes the team have what it takes to regain their title, but reckons Isle of Man will pose the greatest threat to their gold medal aspirations.

"The girls are working really well at the moment," said Williams.

"We're aiming for gold on the first day which I would expect every team to be

"We should definitely be in the top three.

"We're looking for lots of medals on day two, which is our strongest day, and on day three hopefully a few medals to end the week.

"Day two will see five of the gymnasts competing on all four pieces – vault, bars, beam and floor.

"Again all athletes have stronger pieces than others and our main competitors for this meet is Isle of Man."