A total of 27 athletes across five different sports have been selected to represent Bermuda at the CAC Games in Cartagena, Colombia next month.

In a year in which the Commonwealth Games dominated the minds of most of the Island?s top-level athletes, both overall numbers and the number of sports represented are down on the last CAC Games held four years ago in El Salvador.

But chef de mission Kris Hedges ? the former top cyclist who is fulfilling the managerial role for the first time ? said yesterday that he still expected to see strong performances in a lower-key regional competition where Bermuda traditionally compete well.

?In previous years the Commonwealth Games have come after the CAC?s which has made it easier to get a larger number of athletes to commit to it,? he said.

?But I still think this time around we?ve got athletes very capable of doing well, and I will certainly be looking at the likes of Arantxa King and Latroya Darrell to be competitive in track and field while in squash we?ve obviously got Nick Kyme (the world number 71) who is capable of doing well.

?This will be my first time at the CACs where I am not travelling as an athlete, so it will be an interesting experience for me watching others, evaluating their performances and making sure that all the administrative stuff is taken care of so the athletes can focus exclusively on what they are there to achieve.?

The Games, which are used by some sports as a qualifying event for next year?s more important Pan-Am Games, are scheduled from July 15 to the 30 ? with the ladies? hockey tournament being held away from the main competition in the Dominican Republic and the cycling in the Colombian town of Baranquilla. Deon Brangman (high jump), LaTroya Darrell (high jump), Michael Donawa (800 metres) Akila King (200 metres) Arantxa King (long jump) Melrindo Caines, Nicholas Kyme, Michael Shrubb, James Stout Katura Horton-Perinchief (Baranquilla) Geri Mewett (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) Ana Anton Garcia, Sam Adams, Jennifer Beech, Jo Bielby, Caroline Black, Francesca Cacacae, Fiona Doe, Hannah Ellison, Kirsten Faria, Jessica Hollis, Mary Ellen Jackson, Lisa LeBlanc, Liz Stewart, Megan Spurling, Sharmini Thamotheram, JoAnn Wilson.