David Maycock has sent out on an ominous warning to Bermuda’s regional rivals as the national men’s bowling team target glory at the Pan American Championships in Dominican Republic.

Maycock is part of the six-strong team alongside Lamar Richardson, Dennis Joell, Dayvon Tucker, Blake Raynor, and Jamel Bean, who will representing the island at the weeklong tournament from Monday, which also serves as a qualifier for both the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile in October, and the International Bowling Federation World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in Kuwait in the same month.

The top seven teams will book their place at the World Cup, with three qualifying spots up for grabs at the Pan Am Games.

While Bermuda face a tough task against a wealth of bigger countries at the event, including the highly-fancied United States, Maycock is adamant his team fear no one, with the focus solely on themselves.

“It’s always exciting to represent Bermuda in an international tournament and we’re all really looking forward to it,” said Maycock, who will be in action in the singles, doubles and trio divisions at the event.

“We know there will be a lot of good players at the tournament, but anyone can win on a certain day and we know we can take on anyone.

“We’ll be going out not worrying about the competition and do what we need to. Let them worry about our team.

“We have had success in the past and so other teams should be looking at our players as a threat. The more success we have, the more people start noticing us as competition. We all want that winning feeling again.

“The main aim for us is to qualify for the Pan Am Games and so we will be looking to bowl the best we can and see what happens.”

The championships will also serve as a tune up for Maycock, Tucker, Richardson and Joell for the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games, taking place in El Salvador in June.

Having enjoyed previous success at the Games, claiming a silver medal in the men’s trio in 2018, Maycock is determined to add further silverware to the team’s collection.

“We had success at the CAC Games before and so we know what needs to be done to do that again,” added Maycock, who spoke of the greater ease of training preparation in the build up to competitions compared with recent years amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Obviously the initial aim is to go there and do that again, we always go away aiming to come back to Bermuda with some silverware.

“Preparation has been going well. It was tough during the Covid-19 pandemic because the lanes were not accessible to us, but this year we’ve been able to train hard again and so we’re looking good.

“As a team we know we are capable of going out there and doing something.

“The important thing is to stay in our lane, focus on ourselves and not worry about anyone else.”