EXACTLY what prompted yesterday's inaugural National Sportsmanship Day we're not sure.

The idea seemingly came out of the blue and was sprung on Bermudians with little warning and even less explanation.

But that said, in this day and age anything that helps raise awareness can't be a bad thing.

And as Sports Minister Dale Butler pointed out, the lack of sportsmanship in Bermuda is all too clear.

Sport, perhaps more than ever, plays a significant role in most people's lives. There can be few who don't participate in some kind of recreational activity, competitive or otherwise.

What we've seen in recent years, though, is a raised level of competition in all areas, where the stakes have become increasingly higher - both at the amateur and professional level.

The will and desire to win has frequently been replaced by the obsession to win.

And with that, sportsmanship has gone out of the window.

In short, cheating - once a dirty, almost unmentionable word - has become a common component of the sporting vernacular.

Most noticeably we've seen it in cricket, ostensibly the game of gentlemen.

Whereas once upon a time the batsman sure of his dismissal would have no hesitation tucking the bat under his arm and beginning his trek back to the pavilion, these days such honesty's hard to come by. If the umpire's finger stays down, the batsman stays put.

Same with the fielder who fails to catch the ball cleanly. If the umpire has been denied a clear view, the tendency is for the player to claim a fair catch.

Then there's the continual sledging, verbal abuse bombarded on the batsman in an attempt to break his concentration.

But cricket isn't alone.

Cheating in football is equally widespread. What is now commonly known as the ‘dive' - the practice of claiming a free kick or penalty by tumbling theatrically to the ground with the intention of fooling the referee into believing a foul has been committed - has become a work of art. We've even heard stories of professional players perfecting the exercise in training.

On top of that, there's the shirt-pulling, the off-the-ball elbow and the not so subtle in-your-face intimidation - a la Arsenal's Martin Keown - all of which does little for the game's reputation, and most of which is now mimicked by players in the youth leagues and by those even younger.

Again sportsmanship's nowhere to be seen.

Golfers might like to claim that they're above such devious practices. And on the course that might be largely true.

But what of the ‘sandbaggers', the players who deliberately maintain an inflated handicap in order to gain a competitive edge, of which there are far too many right here in Bermuda.

No matter what the sport, there are always some who think they can find a way to bend or break the rules.

And none are more underhand than those in athletics - the so-called drug cheats.

The unbridled use of drug taking in track and field over the last decade or more has been such that it's now almost impossible to tell who's ‘clean' and who's not. Records count for little as authorities seemingly have no idea whether those claiming the glory have done so on sheer ability or with the help of some performance-enhancing pill.

Just recently the ability of laboratories to test for the presence of the steroid testrahyrogestine (THG) - a previously undetectable masking drug - has unearthed a whole new wave of drug cheats.

It's cast suspicion over almost every medal winner at major competition during the last couple of years.

Sportsmanship in athletics? It does exist but sadly these days at the highest level, it might be the exception rather than the rule.

Yesterday's little gathering outside City Hall might not have done a great deal to address any of the above.

But if it helps drive home the message that - contrary to the Olympic slogans of Atlanta ‘96 - winning isn't everything, that honourable defeat is far more rewarding than victory by deception, then it's served its purpose.

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STILL on the subject of sportsmanship, tennis player Sammy Maybury may have made a mistake with his verbal tirade at Coral Beach Club last week.

But it takes a big man with an abundance of courage to admit his mistake.

Maybury showed that courage, and considerable class, when at the prize presentation last weekend he took the microphone to make a public apology.

It was a wonderful gesture and hopefully the final scene of an episode best forgotten by all.

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FINALLY, those who have read today's Gazette will be aware of the deep sense of loss felt by all those who worked with photographer Arthur (Butch) Bean whose sudden death yesterday shocked us all.

In more than two decades as a newspaper photographer, there wasn't a major sports event that Butch hadn't covered.

Whether it was international football or pee wee five-a-side at the local park, Gold Cup sailing or fitted dinghy racing in the harbour, Butch had been there, done that.

It's probably fair to say that he enjoyed ‘shooting' sport more than he did anything else, and we think that was reflected in his work.

His enjoyment brought much joy to others.

We'll miss him very much.