The presence of eight overseas competitors could spark Island swimmers into the performance of their lives this weekend.

At least that's the hope of national coach Gareth Davies, who is counting on a pair of Canadians and six Floridians to provide an extra lift at the National Swim Championships at BASA Pool.

"Competition is always a problem (in Bermuda),'' said Davies.

"Competition is the thing that forces you to swim outside of what you thought was possible.'' With that in mind, Davies has recruited seven-time Canadian team member Owen von Richter and Ontario university champion Tom Fuke, plus six young members of the Bravard Swim Club, just outside Orlando, for the specific goal of getting his swimmers to "go faster than they will ever think they can.'' The meet begins today and will be highlighted by evening finals on Saturday and Sunday. Throw in a boisterous home crowd and Davies is confident his stopwatch will get a workout.

And the timing couldn't be better: Bermuda are scheduled to compete in two weeks at the CCAN (Caribbean and Central America) Championship in Cuba.

Spectacular efforts will not only allow several more swimmers to crack the tough qualifying standards for the Cuba meet, they will also help give team stars a stiff test just prior to their biggest competition of the year.

"The timing is ideal,'' said Davies.

Eleven swimmers have already qualified, a number certainly to be increased after this weekend. But by the time the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association selection committee meets, Davies doesn't expect to carry more than 13 with him (CCAN rules limit a country to two swimmers per event).

Davies, who has been with the national programme for nearly 20 years, has been bringing in overseas swimmers for the past seven. This year, the star figures to be von Richter, who competed in the 1993 and 1995 Pan Pacific championships and was fourth in the Individual Medley at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

He now specialises in the 200m and 400m freestyle but "will provide excellent competition for us in all events,'' Davies said. Fuke is a breaststroker from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Davies is hoping the four senior members of his team -- Trevor Nelson, Trevor Ferguson, Stephen Troake and Stephen Fahy -- rise to the occasion.

A pair of 19-year-olds from Bravard -- Kerwin Beese and Jeff Tagel -- will also be on hand, with the latter specialising in distance events. Matthew Hammond, Graham Smith, Chris King, Ronald Cowen, Jimmy Perreira and Mike Cash will be among the Island challengers.

Four girls from Bravard -- Paige Kearns, Sarah Stransky and sisters Loree and Katee Hughes -- should test the likes of Bermuda's Abigail Madeiros, Kim Frith and Jessica Marwick, who has made "immense strides'' since joining the national programme this year, Davies said.

After seeing his swimmers shut out from Bermuda's 1996 Olympic team, Davies is comparing the current crop to the strong squad that represented the Island at the 1992 Games.

"If you had asked me 12 months ago, I would have said they were a little behind the Barcelona team,'' he said. "But (the current squad has) caught up on them very quickly.''