BERMUDA has six athletes qualified for this year's Olympics in Athens ? five in sailing and Kiera Aitken in swimming. And Bermuda Olympic Association chief John Hoskins is hoping the Island's contingent will be increased by the time the cut-off date comes around in June.

"We have a good chance of seeing more athletes qualify over the next few months," said Hoskins this week shortly after returning from Athens where he, and delegates from 201 Olympic committees from around the world, inspected the facilities ? many of which are still in the construction stage.

Peter Bromby and one crew member from the Star class, Paula Lewin and two crew members from the Ygling class along with Aitken have already booked their flight to Greece. But Hoskins is hoping that Bermuda will also see triathlete Tyler Butterfield, equestrian MJ Tumbridge, diver Katura Horton-Perinchief and perhaps boxers Trace Easton and Shareiff Wales qualify for the Games. Also looking for a spot will be sprinter Xavier James. Hoskins returned from the fact-finding inspection trip to Athens last Saturday. Accompanying him was BOA secretary general Judith Siddle Simons.

During the time they were there Hoskins said they visited all the event sites for the Games and while there has been a slew of stories predicting that Athens not being ready, Hoskins has taken the optimistic view that Greece will have everything up and running when the Opening Ceremony starts on August 13 "I think nearly everything will be ready although obviously right now there are a number of things that are behind. The most worrying one is the main stadium ? the (Greek) officials want a glass roof on the main stadium and I do not know whether there will be time to put that into place. Right now it looks as if it will be months away but they do plan to finish it."

The glass and steel roof over the main stadium is expected to cost $149.8 million. The design by award-winning Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is planned as the Games' legacy to Athens.

Hoskins said he noted that while the majority of venues have still to be finished, he thought that it might turn out to be a similar situation to that of the Dominican Republic which hosted the Pan American Games last summer. Leading up to those Pan Am Games many believed that there was no way the Dominican Republic would be ready to host the Games such was the amount of time they were behind schedule. But in the end they pulled it off.

Hoskins said: "I think we may see a similar thing in Athens. Right now there are a lot of things to do and you have a lot of people working on a large number of projects. But as one or two sites get finished then there are more people available to work on the other projects and so those sites get finished faster."

The Athlete's Village is on track although the Greek authorities have yet to put up the temporary catering facilities and the International Centre. "But they will be temporary buildings so I do not think they will take too long to be put up," said the BOA chief who has been to practically every Olympic Games since his first one in Munich in 1972.

Hoskins believes that the one major problem Athens will face will be transportation. "Athens is a smallish city which has a large number of vehicles and transportation will definitely be a problem."

And because of all those vehicles, Athens may not be the greatest place for athletic performances. Noting that he was in Athens only a week ago when the weather was "surprisingly cold" Hoskins said that come summer the city could be very polluted. "The environment will not be conducive to good athletic performances," he said.

This past week International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said he was confident Athens could pull off a successful 2004 Games.

"I remain confident. It going to be challenging but it is feasible," said Rogge.

The IOC boss said that despite doom-mongering from certain sections, experts had assured him that it was possible to finish all the necessary work in time for the August 13-29 Games.

"We want a secure Olympic Games in a peaceful environment. We want a good Olympic village, a smooth transport system. These are the core needs. If we have nice things beyond this then that is nice but I am interested in the core of the Games.

"Will there be problems at the Games? Of course there will be. There are problems at all Games.

"Am I concerned? I am always concerned until the last athlete has left the stadium at the end of the Closing Ceremony.

"Am I more concerned? No.

"I was concerned in Sydney we had problems in Sydney and solved them. If we have problems in Athens we will solve them."

Only 15 of the 39 sports venues are ready, while another 13 are about 90 percent built.

Of the high level of security at the Games, slated to cost over $800 million, Hoskins said: "We were not told that much about security for obvious reasons. But you get the feeling that a number of security agencies will be involved. Many countries will also have their own security ? I expect that seven major countries will have large security groups with them."

Much attention has been focused on security for these Summer Games, the first since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. US athletes are being warned to prepare for a hostile reception in Athens, and more than half of Americans surveyed in a recent Associated Press poll say they believe a terrorist attack is likely. Four out of 10 said American athletes are most likely to be the target of any such attack.

The main worries have been about international terrorists, yet last week's firebombing of two environment ministry trucks showed that dangers lurk within the country. A group calling itself "Phevos and Athena" ? the names of the Olympic mascots ? said in a call to an Athens newspaper the attack was tied to the meetings of the IOC and the Association of National Olympic Committees which Hoskins and Siddle Simons attended.

"This is a welcome message to the members of the International Olympic Committee," the caller told the newspaper.

The attack was in the western suburb of Ilion, about six miles from the central Athens hotel where the Olympic meetings took place.

Going to the Olympics is steadily becoming more expensive, said Hoskins. And that is because of the strength of the Euro to the dollar. "Our costs have gone up by 25 percent at least because of the Euro," he said.