Frustrated by inadequate support in his preparation for and during the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, James Collieson is calling for a shake-up in the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) - either in their personnel or in their procedures.

Outlining a litany of problems he faced in El Salvador, the Island's only touring pro tennis player says he felt a chance slipped through his and Bermuda's fingers to give a better showing at the regional championships. Much of this, he believes, is the BLTA's fault.

First, he was told "quite late" he would be playing in the tournament and had a "hard time" getting information about it. Only about two weeks before his departure did he learn it would be on hard courts and not clay - which he prefers - and only in El Salvador did he discover it would be played at altitude which makes balls move faster.

Also, Collieson had no idea the CAC event was an Olympic qualifier before reaching the tournament.

In addition, the absence of a manager or coach led to problems with his seeding which he had to sort out himself.

On top of all this, the lone Bermudian tennis representative found it tough to practise since other countries had full squads and practised among themselves.

"If this was a one-off thing I might hold back (on the criticism) a bit but I see this year after year . . . If it's too much responsibility to deal with what's going on in local tennis and international tennis then it (the responsibility) should be divided up among people who can take it on.

"The tennis world is constantly changing and maybe it's time for some new blood (in the BLTA)," declared Collieson who returned home recently.

Despite the fact that it's a "volunteer organisation" on which people serve "out of the goodness of their hearts", he charged that "incompetence has to be accounted for".

"I don't know what their goals are as far as international tennis: Is there an international tennis coach in Bermuda? Are there national team practises? I don't think there are and I think people need to step up and find out what's happening."

Collieson, seeded ninth at the Games, got a first round bye and then won his second round fixture against Lenin Mongerie of the Virgin Islands 6-3, 6-4. He then succumbed to Venezuelan Kepler Orellana 7-5, 6-1. The latter, who was seeded fourth went on to win the silver.

What hurts the Bermudian most is that he had four set points in the first set against Orellana and that the outcome could have been different with "one or two points". Added to that, knowledge that the Venezuelan has likely now booked a spot in the 2004 Athens Olympics adds insult to injury.

"All things aside I was happy with how I played but this was also an Olympic qualifier. I didn't know that. Would I have been in Bermuda playing a local tournament if I had known it was an Olympic qualifier?

"It's very likely he (Orellana) just earned a place in the Olympics. It's a fine line at this level between doing well and doing mediocre. It was just frustrating.

"Unless you are phenomenally talented, you need to have all the things leading up to a tournament go right," noted the 25-year-old.

Matters might have been worse had he not caught an oversight on the officials' part which resulted in him not originally being seeded. Since he had no manager or coach, Bermuda's chef de mission Joan Taplin attended a coaches' meeting on his behalf. However, as she was unfamiliar with seeding regulations, players ranked lower than Collieson received seedings at his expense.

"It's not her fault that her expertise is not in tennis so when they did the draw I ended up not being seeded the first time . . . so they had to redo the draw.

"The difference between being seeded and not seeded is getting a bye. If it had been left how it was I would have had to play an extra match.

"Having to sort out those things can be stressful. That could have been overcome if somebody had gone with me. I think I was the only one there - out of 6,000 people - by myself, without a manager or coach. Our TaeKwondo representative had a manager and a coach with him," said Collieson.

Citing a lack of communication coming from the BLTA as a major issue, the local top gun noted he first heard about the Games via newspaper articles and that "tennis wasn't mentioned until quite late though a Bermudian representative was in El Salvador this summer looking at the sporting venues, including the tennis courts".

He also lamented the Island's "missed opportunity" to expose its leading players to world-class competition. The Bahamas, for example, sent two 14-year-olds on their squad.

"There were some very good teams - Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia. It seems like a huge opportunity missed to send a full squad - regardless of win or lose - to get the exposure that other countries got.

"So what if you send a 17-year-old and he gets whipped? It's the experience and getting to play in a pressure situation," he reasoned, adding that there were doubles and singles for both men and women, mixed doubles and also a national cup.

His Davis Cup colleague, Jenson Bascome, he noted "would like to have gone but was informed too late and had already made plans".

"But they (the BLTA) have known about CAC for a year," charged Collieson. "I want to represent Bermuda well but I've had to say `I'm playing for myself' because I don't feel like I have any support."

The final straw for Collieson was having to pay $600 for a flight change. His return ticket was for December 8 though the men's singles finished in late November. He wonders if whoever booked his flight saw a Games timetable and, if so, did they check his playing schedule?