More than 1,500 workers from over 85 international companies will swap their office attire for sportswear when they compete in Bermuda’s inaugural Corporate Games.The multi-sport festival, which begins today, will see everyday athletes of all levels and ages compete in 18 sports at some of the Island’s top sporting facilities.Attracting 70 overseas competitors from Canada, US and the Caribbean, as well as far flung cities such as Bucharest and Istanbul, the Games have been held in various countries around the world for the last 25 yearsHowever, Bermuda will be the first country in the Atlantic region to host the event, which will see athletes compete in sports from badminton to beach volleyball, golf to netball, and tennis to ten pin bowling.Charmaine Burgess, spokesperson for the Games, said inclusively of the competition was emphasised by the age ranges of the competitors, with the youngest just 14 and oldest 76.“There are lot of people excited about this event and we expect there to be a beehive of activity over the next few days,” she said.“This an unprecedented sporting event for Bermuda. We’ve had other sporting events come to Bermuda before but they have been mainly for the elite athletes.“We got people aged as young as 14 to 76-years-old — as long as people have an inclining to play they can.”Burgess said ten pin bowling and golf had proved to be the most popular sports among the competitors.“We had no idea how huge ten pin bowling was in Bermuda until all these people started to register for that sport. As expected, golf and netball have also attracted large amounts of competitors.”A concern for organisers will be this weekend’s weather with hazardous surf and tropical storm conditions expected as Hurricane Sandy moves to the west of the Island.“We’ve been warned there could be some inclement weather but we’re going until we have to make that hard decision that’s our philosophy,” said Burgess.“We’ve got analysts watching the weather because we don’t want to put anybody at risk but we’re hoping that the sports will be able to continue.”Atlantic region licensee holder, Suzie Pewter, President of the Whitfield Group Ltd, believed Bermuda, as a global insurance centre, would be an ideal host of the Games.“We’re so proud of the amount of enthusiasm, energy and participation we’ve received from the local and global community, and this is only our first year,” she said.“My mindset for purchasing the license for the Atlantic region was to give Bermuda another platform to build global business development opportunities, expose Bermuda’s natural beauty and sporting facilities to the world.”For the past 25 years, over a million participants, whose 20,000 companies have supported them, have taken part in the Corporate Games on five continents, 25 countries and 53 cities.The first edition of the Games was held in San Francisco in 1988, followed by events in Concord, California and Hawaii. In 1993, the Games were staged for the first time outside of the US, in Sydney, Australia.Throughout the extravaganza, the athletes and public are invited to attend four social events including a beach barbecue and after-party at the Deep nightclub at Elbow beach today. Tomorrow there will also be a parade on Front Street — where the official Corporate Village has been set up — complete with live bands, international food stalls and prizes.Sponsors of the event include the Department of Tourism, Catlin, XL and the Whitfield Group.