Judy Simons, the president of the Bermuda Olympic Association, received the Queen’s Baton from Philip Guishard, the BOA secretary-general, at the LF Wade International Airport yesterday to kickstart a whirlwind 24 hours.

The handover began the local phase of the relay that will involve 71 countries and conclude with the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, this summer, when the Queen’s address will be removed from the baton and read at the Opening Ceremony on July 23.

The highlights of today’s festivities will be when the Baton visits the National Sports Centre and the Agricultural Exhibition when Bermuda’s five Commonwealth Games medal-winners will be on hand.

John Morbey, Bermuda’s first medal-winner with a silver in the long jump in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1966, was among the dignitaries on hand at the airport yesterday and he will also be involved today.

Clarance “Nicky” Saunders remains the Island’s only gold medal-winner at a major Games, after his high jump success in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1990. Eight years earlier, he won bronze in Brisbane, Australia, to give the first signs that he would fly highest when Down Under.

Brian Wellman emerged from Saunders’s shadows in the Nineties as a triple jumper of international class and his bronze medal in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1994 was just reward. Last but not least, Antoine Jones and Conrad Lister combined in the men’s doubles to win silver in tenpin bowling in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1998.

The subsequent three editions of the Commonwealth Games have proved to be a barren hunting ground for Bermuda’s athletes, but Simons hopes that the sight of five legends of Bermuda sport can provide the necessary motivation to get over the hump.

“We are filled with excitement as the arrival of the Queen’s Baton approaches,” she said in a statement this week. “We have planned an exciting programme and have worked hard to ensure that as many Bermudians possible have the opportunity to participate in relay, either as baton bearers or as spectators.

“We are confident that the Queen’s Baton Relay team will leave Bermuda on Sunday filled with wonderful memories and bearing stunning footage and photographic images of their stay in Bermuda. We encourage as many Bermudians as possible to come out this weekend to cheer the baton bearers.

“We hope that the Baton’s presence in Bermuda will motivate our team for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to do their best in the various competitions.”

The Baton will leave Bermuda tomorrow for Canada.

Queen’s Baton Relay programme

Today

8.45am: King’s Square, St George’s

10am: Palm Grove, Devonshire

10.45am: Government House, Pembroke

11.30am: National Sports Centre, Devonshire

Noon: Birdcage, Front Street, Hamilton

12.30pm: Cabinet Office, Hamilton

1.45pm: 141 Front Street, Hamilton

2.15pm: Annual Exhibition, Botanical Gardens, Paget

3.30pm: Warwick Long Bay and South Shore, Warwick

4pm: WindReach Recreational Village, Warwick

Tomorrow

10am: Crystal Caves, Hamilton Parish