ERMUDA'S large contingent for the 2006 Commonwealth Games are now making their way down to Melbourne, Australia for the Opening Ceremony which will be staged on Wednesday.

And among them will be the island's newest hopes in track and field.

Bermuda's golden era time in track and field was in the 1980s and 90s when the likes of Nicky Saunders, Brian Wellman and Troy Douglas flew the flag at all three major Games (Olympics, Commonwealth and Pan Am) as well as the World Championships.

Saunders won gold in the high jump at the 1990 Commonwealth Games while Wellman was a World Indoor Champion in the triple jump and Douglas reached three Olympic semi-finals in either the 200 or 400 metres.

Now track and field national coach Gerry Swan is watching the rise of the newest batch of potential champions.

Five athletes ? Arantax King, LaTroya Darrell, Zindzi Swan, Ashley Couper and Michael Donawa ? will be competing at the huge Melbourne Cricket Ground in athletics in the next couple of weeks and for all of them this will be the first time competing at the Commonwealth Games.

While Couper is the senior member of the group, Swan said: "It should be exciting for all of them."

Swan said that he didn't expect any of the athletes to medal but these Games should be the springboard for world-class performances in later Games.

He said: "The Commonwealth Games will be, without a doubt, the sternest athletic test and competition to date for our five athletes. While they are not medal contenders ? and getting to the final will be an arduous challenge ? their personal histories show they tend to produce their best in the most challenging situations. They expect to do no less on the big athletic stage in Melbourne.

"The competition will be at a very high level ? higher than any competition they have had so far ? and some countries that boast the best athletes in the world are among the nations at the Commonwealth Games. While our athletes are aware of the challenges, they are looking forward to the Melbourne competition and experience. Although the chances of advancing to any final will be a daunting task, the competition will bring out the best in our athletes and, at the end of the Games, we could have even higher national records in a few events. That alone would be a tremendous achievement."

King, the 2005 Female Athlete of The Year, will compete in the long jump.

Darrell, who last month received an Achievement Award for her athletic performances during 2005, will compete in the high jump along with Bermuda's women's national record holder Swan.

Couper, who has been peaking just in time for these Games and is also a national record holder, will compete in the 1500 metres.

Swan said: "Couper has been running well in recent weeks setting senior national records at the mile/1500 metres. Last week she bettered her national record again in the indoor mile with a time of 4:33.82. That performance is equivalent to a 1500 metres time of 4:13.56."

Couper will be the first Bermudian athlete to compete in Melbourne and will see action in her 1500 metres heats on Monday, March 20.

Of 800 metres runner Donawa, Swan said: "He is the only male athlete on the athletics team and his is an inspirational story. Donawa resumed training in 2003 after an absence of a number of years from the sport and he, at that time, did not even entertain the thought of competing at the Commonwealth Games. It was, as he thought, too much to do in a very short period."

However Swan said Donawa showed what he was made of when training with the national squad. "He improved significantly each year to the extent that he has earned a place on the team."

Swan added that the Bermuda athletes have much to be proud of so far in their careers. "Couper won the silver medal at the 2005 Senior CAC Championships in Nassau, Bahamas and King is the 2005 IAAF World Youth and Junior Pan American long jump champion. Darrell won silver medals at the 2005 Junior Pan American Championships and Carifta Games while Swan is the national record holder in the high jump and Donawa ran a personal best to qualify for the Games. However the experience the group has at senior, or full international competitions, is, overall, very limited. Couper is the most experienced athlete of the five. She has competed at collegiate and open level competitions in the US on a regular basis, complemented by competitions at the 1999, 2003 and 2005 Senior CAC Championships and the 2003 Pan American Games.

"King, Darrell, Swan and Donawa share collectively only three senior international competitions and no major Games experience. For the youngest members of the team ? teenagers King and Darrell ? the Commonwealth Games will be their first senior international competition. The fact they have qualified for the Games speaks volumes of the extent of their athletic improvements in recent years. The Games will be, undoubtedly, a most exciting period for all the athletes and the distance of the journey will also be a new experience for them."

And the national coach was very happy to see five athletes manage to qualify for the Melbourne Games.

"The contingent of five athletes represents a larger contingent than those that represented Bermuda at the 2002, 1998 and 1990 Commonwealth Games," he said adding, "one of the greatest sports moments for Bermuda and the Commonwealth Games also occurred at the 1990 Commonwealth Games when Nicky Saunders won the gold medal with his record setting performance of 2.36 metres (or 7 feet 8.75 inches) in the high jump. Saunders' 1990 mark in the high jump still stands today as the Commonwealth Games and Bermuda records."

Swan said that Saunders, who was fifth at the 1988 Olympics Games in Seoul, South Korea, was up against some stiff opposition at those 1990 Games in Auckland, New Zealand. "He jumped against people like Milt Ottey from Canada, Dalton Grant from England and Dave Parsons from Scotland. It is also worth noting that Saunders made his gold medal intention publicly known before the Games began that year."

Saunders also won the bronze medal at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Australia and was a legitimate contender for the gold medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Scotland "before the political boycott quashed all aspirations".

Today Donawa, Darrell and Swan, along with Bermuda Track and Field Association president Judith Simmons, will begin their journey to Melbourne, Australia via New York and Los Angeles. The rest of the athletics team departs for Australia on Sunday.

On Tuesday, March 21, Swan and Darrell will have their qualification competition in the high jump while Donawa will have first round action in the men's 800 metres.

King, will compete in the long jump qualification competition on Wednesday, March 22.