Make no mistake, Bermuda girls’ gymnastics team expect to vault, somersault and cartwheel their way to a gold medal at the NatWest Island Games.That’s the assertion of head coach Duke Nelligan, who is confident his team can maintain Bermuda’s proud tradition of dominating at the biennial event that starts on Sunday.Performing in front of a home crowd at the National Training Centre, in St David’s, should give the Island the edge over their rivals, with Nelligan insisting he has never coached a Bermuda team with so much determination to succeed.“The tradition of Bermuda gymnastics at the Island Games is to come in very prepared and go out with our medals, that hasn’t changed at all,” he said.“There’s quite a bit of expectation from the girls to do well and I don’t think I’ve ever seen our girls so competitive in making the team, that’s been the biggest change.”A desire to win is no bad thing, according to Nelligan, who believes Bermuda’s gymnasts will face stiff competition.And while he expects the Isle of Man to be particularly strong, he has backed Bermuda to finish top of the podium in Sunday’s women’s team event.“The way I look at it, every team coming here is out to knock us off, but I have every confidence in my athletes,” he said.“I’m not going to stand back and say, ‘well, you know, if we finish second that will be good’. No, I want first, my athletes want first and I have every confidence in them.“I think the Isle of Man will be very strong and I would expect there to be a dogfight for first, second and third.”Gabby Vincent, Tabytha Hofheins, Zantae Dill, Daniella Wall and Sadia Wilson were yesterday named as Bermuda girls’ team.They will take on athletes from Aland, Cayman Islands, Faroe Island, Isle of Man, Jersey, and Ynys Mon.Whittling down the squad from 12 gymnasts to five was a difficult process for Nelligan and his coaches.And in an exercise designed to soften the blow of missing out, the former University of Maryland coach asked each athlete to write down how they would feel if they weren’t selected.The selflessness expressed in their written words left Nelligan encouraged and somewhat surprised.“This is the first time we have had a stable of athletes who are all pretty equal and they have had to fight for their slot,” he said.“One of the things I did in preparation was ask each of the girls to write down how they would feel if they didn’t make it.“I was pleasantly surprised with the number of girls who said ‘you know what, I’ll cheer the loudest and do whatever you need me to do’. I think that’s the sign of a maturing team.”While acknowledging the importance of winning medals, Nelligan believes the desire for instant success shouldn’t be to the detriment of the long-term programme.In the not-so distant future, he hopes to see a Bermuda gymnast compete at the Olympics, the biggest stage of all.“Medals are extremely important to this Island, the kids and the parents, but I’m more about building a infrastructure,” said Nelligan, whose DIY ingenuity has helped completely revamp the Southside training centre on a shoestring budget.“I’m more about laying the groundwork for one of our little ones to get a shot at the Olympics.“That’s what my job is to make sure we have a strong base and the only way to have a strong base is to have a high number of athletes.”Bermuda’s team for the FIG competition on Tuesday will be Vincent, Hofheins, Sydney Mason, Dill, Clara James and Wilson. Medals will be awarded in the vault, bars, beam, floor and all-around.Vincent, Hofheins, Mason, Dill, James and Wilson will make up Bermuda’s team for the Set competition on Thursday, with medals up for grabs in the vault, bars, beam, and floor.Bermuda men’s team of Oliver Binns, Charles Lowery and Marcus Smith will compete in Sunday’s team event against Faroe, Isle of Man, and Jersey.