Bermuda?s sporting elite will benefit from the formation of a National Sports Foundation, Government has announced.

In Friday?s Throne Speech, Governor Sir John Vereker said the Foundation would be set up in collaboration with the National Sports Governing Bodies. The aim, he said, was to ?help raise and disburse private sector funding for the development of sport and individual athletes?.

In addition, he said workshops would be developed to encourage sporting groups to become self-sufficient by having ?a variety of initiatives from which to develop income sources?.

Expanding on Government?s aims, Minister of Sport, Dale Butler, told that many of the Island?s clubs had desires which were not being achieved because of a lack of resources, financial or otherwise.

?There are a lot of clubs out there who have excellent programmes but they need a facility, they need money, need, need, need, need, need,? he said. ?If we had a Foundation of some sort we would be able to dispense more funding to them. At the moment the Government is only able to give so much.

?I have got groups coming in here and my heart goes out to them because I am locked into a budget and often all they need is $1,500. This fund would help them.?

The Minister said the workshops would, he believed, be of great benefit to sporting organisations. ?It would allow us to brainstorm and give them some ideas of potential business making schemes so that they could make some more money to help themselves,? he said. ?Many a group has come in here and I have had to say to them ?Have you done a survey of your members? Do you know how many people have graphic arts skills? How many people work for exempt companies???