Healing the rift between some elements of the road running and track and field fraternities is one of the top aims of Stephen DeSilva, who has just landed an influential post in national athletics.

DeSilva, Bermuda Track and Field Association's new vice-president for road running, believes the two different branches of athletics should be beneficial to each other.

And he hopes to see the divisions of the past forgotten for the greater good of Bermudian sport.

"There has been a perceived, historical conflict between road running and track, with track seen as the poor cousin, but they should be complementary,'' said DeSilva.

"I do not see my job as promoting road running at the expense of track -- it should be of benefit to track.'' DeSilva believes the money generated by popular road-running events can help to fund programmes aimed at allowing the Island's most talented athletes to realise their potential.

"In Bermuda, we have elite athletes, like Brian Wellman, capable of doing well at world championships. Then we have competitive athletes, like Kavin Smith, who win a lot of local events,'' said DeSilva.

"Then there are recreational athletes, who just want to put their sneakers on, go out and run for fun on a Sunday morning. They don't mind paying a $20 fee to enter a race.

"About 99 percent of our athletes are recreational, one percent competitive.

My job is to make sure that if a competitive athlete wants to become an elite athlete, he will get the opportunity.

"We must try to give him the tools he needs, using the resources of the BTFA, to become the best athlete he can be. The recreational athletes can be the engine room of athletics, generating revenue so that we can support the development of juniors and competitive athletes.'' Track was a sport chiefly for competitive and up-and-coming athletes, added DeSilva, and he backed the idea of a track meet programme accented on youth.

DeSilva, 45, previously worked as treasurer for both the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Club and the BTFA and served as MAAC president for two years, and brings to his new post the administrative skills he uses in running the accounts department of law firm Conyers, Dill and Pearman.

But he knows the improvements he wants to oversee will not be easy to achieve.

"I don't pretend to be a Mr Fix-it with a magic wand. I just want Bermuda to have the best national squad it can.

"We have a coach in Gerry Swan who is good technically and highly respected and we can help him on the administrative side.

"If someone runs a fast 10K, then we should be writing him a letter and inviting him to national training, so the association can spend its time and money on him.

"If someone shows promise aged 15 or 16, then there should be a conduit in place for him to progress to a higher level.'' He conceded that elite athletes would realistically need to leave the Island to get the facilities they needed to be able to make an impression at world-class level. This was already happening to some extent, but DeSilva hoped to make the route "more visible''.