MONDAY'S front sports page this week not only made interesting reading but again highlighted the depth and variety of sporting talent which exists on this small island.

A gold medal for Brian Wellman at the CAC Track and Field Championships; 25th place and 15th place respectively for Tyler Butterfield and Karen Smith at the World Triathlon Championships; a $3 million-plus offer for Bermudian soccer star Shaun Goater; and news of two of our swimmers competing at the World Championships.

And that was just the first page.

On the same weekend our national under-15 cricketers won their opening two matches in the Western Caribbean Classic against Cayman and Barbados; Sarah Lane Wright returned from the World Laser Radial Sailing Championships with a bronze medal and more than a dozen young runners and jumpers from the Pacers Club flew home with medals from a US East coast athletic meet which attracted more than a thousand competitors.

Meanwhile, two young golfers, Aaron James and Jarryd Dillas, narrowly missed the cut at the World Junior Championships in San Diego, both no doubt hoping one day to follow in the footsteps of Michael Sims whose prodigious talent has earned him two major titles in the US and just this week a spot in the hugely prestigious US Amateur Championships.

All this from a population of just 60,000, a community no bigger than your average American city suburb.

Yet as critics we're often harsh on our athletes, this writer being no exception.

We sometimes forget just how much we accomplish from such a small pool of talent.

Are there any other countries this size which compete so often and so successfully on the international stage?

It's highly unlikely.

And for that reason, Bermuda's recent decision to become a member of the Island Games family might be seen as long overdue.

If we can hold our own at the various world championships, Central American and Caribbean competitions, Pan-Am Games, Commonwealth Games etc, as we regularly do, then there's no telling how successful Bermudians could be at an event which is restricted to islands with a population of less than 125,000.

The Island Games are wide-ranging in terms of the variety of sports contested and offer opportunities for those in Bermuda who rarely get chance to represent their country abroad. Our first foray will be in two years' time in Guernsey.

That gives us ample time to prepare. And if we prepare well, the results may surprise a fair few of our island rivals.

* * *

CUP Match celebrates its centenary at Wellington Oval next week .^.^. or does it?

According to St.George's Cricket Club, this will be the 100th year the match has been played, the first having been contested in 1902.

But will it be the 100th match?

That's a question nobody seems able to answer and with no accurate historical records to call upon, the subject has aroused much debate.

The official Cup Match website claims that no games were played during the Second World War. That is clearly wrong. Matches were played every year during the 1940s. A historical review written by Ira Philip records that the 50th anniversary was held in 1948, further adding to the confusion.

Unclear is how many matches were played the very first year. Some argue there were two, others three, while another version is that there was just one match which consisted of three innings per team.

Whatever the case, it would be nice if the record could be set straight once and for all before the centenary celebrations actually begin.

- ADRIAN ROBSON