A one millimetre wetsuit with flexible gussets under the arms will shield Jeane Butterfield from the North Sea as she shoots for an Island Games medal next month.

Bermuda?s sole archer in the Shetland event is well-placed to triumph this time around after the disappointment of getting knocked out last time in the early stages due to shoddy equipment and too much practice.

But a lot of practice and a huge amount of coaching and motivation from Great Britain?s coach Tony Drabble, who visited the Island in late 2003, has returned Butterfield to form and re-enthused about the sport in which she is now firing off arrows with Olympic qualifying standard accuracy.

?I think this time I will do much better,? said Butterfield, whose team-mates from the last edition of the Games were unable to make the trip for financial reasons.

?I was worn out with practice last time and my equipment wasn?t exactly the best. But Tony gave me a lot of advice there and then came down to the Island and helped us enormously. I am getting some great scores at the moment and I don?t see why I couldn?t get a medal.?

The 2003 Games provided the first ever international competition for Bermuda?s archers and a second in the Island Games Postal Shoot is giving her hope of a first ever archery medal.

The Postal Shoot sees teams send in their scores from around the globe for a set distance and only a schoolgirl can currently beat Butterfield, whose biggest foe in the Shetlands could be the weather.

?I am a bit of a sissy to be honest when it comes to the cold,? continued Butterfield, an archer since her college days when she ranked just outside the top ten in the USA.

?I hate practising when it?s cold, it affects the bow but it also affects me. But I have got this wetsuit now and I think that should be enough to keep me warm enough to compete.

?It is going to be tough there with the wind but I am staying on a cruise ship ? a first for me ? so if I am still swaying when I get on land then maybe the wind will correct my alignment!?

Butterfield, from the US but married to a Bermudian, will gain status next year and could become an Olympian by the time Beijing 2008 comes around ? not bad for an archer who has plenty of other strings to her bow.

She began as a rifle-shooter, a sporting pursuit cut short by anti-gun sentiment in the States. She then took up archery, following in the footsteps of her brother, who went on to set two crossbow world records in 1997 that still stand today. Butterfield is also involved in competitive dog showing ? not yet an Island Games event.

She put her down her bow after college, only taking it up again a few years ago ? and she?s glad she did.

?It?s a great sport that is all about upper body strength, focus and mental strength,? continued Butterfield, who admitted one of her biggest weaknesses was ?having very short arms?.

?And like golf, it?s all about you competing against yourself as much as against other people. I enjoy that side of it. When I am relaxed I can shoot great scores but if I have something on my mind then there is little point in even trying to shoot straight.?

That means Butterfield will be looking to relax as much as possible ahead of her competition, in a round-robin format followed by a head-to-head knockout over 70 metres, to maximise her chances of a medal.

?Last time around we were easily the best dressed team,? she joked.

?Maybe I won?t be in the wetsuit this time, but I am going to be warm and comfortable and hopefully able to do well. I?m really excited about this, I wasn?t going to miss the Games for the world.

?I just want to stay relaxed, enjoy my time there and make sure I do myself and Bermuda proud.?