likely to benefit most from financial grants.

Sports Minister Pam Gordon unveiled her ministry's "Sport Recognition Policy'' at a Government-organised seminar at Stonington Campus on Saturday, attended by some 60 representatives from the Island's various governing bodies and other sports organisations.

She explained that in future the Island's sports would be placed in one of three categories with those in Category I most likely to get the lion's share of Government funding.

Those in that category included soccer, cricket, swimming, yachting, track and field, netball and equestrianism among others.

Category II sports included mainly those that do not fall under the Bermuda Olympic Association umbrella and therefore do not compete at the three major international Games -- Olympic, Pan-Am and Commonwealth -- or at other high profile international events.

Examples cited by the minister were bowling, golf, triathlon, martial arts, go-carting, darts and chess.

Category III, said Gordon, was intended for those activities considered more of a hobby, such as walking and model boating.

The Minister explained that Government financing and advice would be made more readily available to those national governing bodies of sport who met all of the new policy's criteria and fell into Category I.

Those in Category II could quickly be upgraded if they too met the necessary requirements.

She mentioned the cases of gymnastics and triathlon, both which are currently considered a Category II sport. However, gymnastics is already a well-established Olympic event and triathlon is about to be accepted by the Olympic movement. And should the national governing bodies in Bermuda prove they have athletes capable of competing at international level, the sport would likely be promoted to Category I.

Gordon also informed representatives of Government's "definition of sport.'' "Sport,'' she said, "is an activity which involves aerobic and anaerobic activity which can be structured or unstructured for the purposes of declaring a winner or simply for relaxation, personal enjoyment, satisfaction, physical health and emotional growth and development.'' The following characteristics, she added, were also necessary. The sports should: Involve formal rules and procedures.

Require tactics and strategies.

Be competitive involving two or more participants engaging for the purpose of competitively evaluating their personal performances.

Require significant involvement of large muscle groups.

Require trained coaching personnel with specific skills related to the activity.

Be or have been traditionally regarded as a competitive sport; and Require specialised neuromuscular skills which can be taught or learned.

National governing bodies whose sport fell under that definition, said the Minister, would then have to meet other criteria to be deserving of recognition by Government.

The governing body would have to have a minimum representation of 25 registered members; it would have to be incorporated as a non-profit organisation; it would have to be a properly constituted body with open membership; it would have to demonstrate a willingness to coordinate/cooperate with other national sports bodies within the sports system; and its rules and constitution would have to be consistent with that of the world governing body.

Added Gordon: "This Sport Recognition Policy is presented as a guide to national governing bodies of sport regarding the criteria that must be met in order to be recognised by the Bermuda Government.

"It illustrates the criteria to be met in order to determine the sport's viability and the level of support it will receive.

"It also advises national governing bodies of sport the criteria which must be met to retain or improve their current classifications.''