An enormous question mark hangs over Bermuda?s 2005 Davis Cup campaign, with no dates, no venue, no coach and no team yet in place.

And with time running out ? the event normally takes place mid-April ? the Americas Group IV tournament is now in serious doubt, while Bermuda have already turned down the opportunity to host the event in which they finished fifth out of six teams last year.

The venue announcement is normally made in November but hurricane damage to the Caribbean meant no offers were forthcoming, leaving all the teams ? Bermuda, Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, US Virgin Islands, Trinidad, Costa Rica ? struggling to properly prepare going into the new year.

With no hosts yet forthcoming, the International Tennis Federation approached Bermuda to host the event, as they did in 1997, but the offer was declined for ?logistical reasons? said Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association president Ross Hillen.

?It is a very unsatisfactory situation,? said Hillen.

?We are still very much in the dark about what is happening. We have confirmed our entry for this year?s event but we have told the ITF that we reserve the right to pull out if they come up with the dates and venue at very short notice.

?It is an event for which you want to be prepared and that is looking unlikely given the lack of host venue at this time.?

Hillen confirmed that neither a coach nor a team has yet been selected for the event, although he admitted last year?s coach Steve Bean had a good chance of being re-selected by the National Selection Committee ?when the time comes?.

?We were approached to host the event but we gave them a polite ?no, thank you?,? continued Hillen, who took over from long-standing administrator David Lambert earlier this year.

?When we hosted the event in ?97, we had 18 months to prepare for it. There is a lot of work that goes in and prohibitive costs, so we made the decision to politely decline.?

He said the coach and the team had not yet been selected as ?there was no official confirmation of when and where the tournament would be? and putting together a team when some of the players have college commitments and live abroad was an added difficulty ? something that angers Bermuda?s Davis Cup number one James Collieson.

?It?s a bit ridiculous not to have a coach and team ready,? said Collieson, who has a 15-31 record in the prestigious international competition.

?It?s not like we are not expecting a tournament. How hard would it be to put a coach and a team together on the off-chance we get the call that the tournament is on?

?These people love having meetings, can?t they have a meeting to decide that? It is the same every year, we are never properly prepared for any international tournament.

?We have the Island Games coming up (in June), we should already be training for that and then a Davis Cup call would just be a bonus. I know it might be a different team because of the eligibility rules, but we could still get a core of players ready and training, even if it is on their own abroad.?

And Collieson, who holds the record for most years played (eight), most singles wins (10) and most ties played (38) in Bermuda?s ten-year history in the event, admitted he would be disappointed if he couldn?t play in the competition this year.

?That would be a real shame if we couldn?t play this year,? added Collieson, still hopeful of picking up a wildcard for next month?s XL Open.

?The Davis Cup is a great event. I?m used to playing tennis for myself, but playing in a team is a good experience. You get to go in the trenches, so to speak, with some of the younger guys and you get a lot out of it.

?There is a lot of pressure playing Davis Cup ? and it would be shame if we don?t go because there would be nothing for the young players to aspire to.?

This sentiment was shared by Hillen.

?The Davis Cup is a very prestigious competition and it would be a real shame not to be able to take part,? he added.

?We have played every year for ten years, meaning people like Gavin Manders was eight when we started and he has grown up in an era where he could dream of playing Davis Cup for his country.

?It would be a shame for players not to have that to aim for.?

The Island?s attempt to enter last year?s event in Costa Rica also attracted controversy after a lack of funding meant Bermuda could only compete after a last-minute cash lifeline was handed out by Government and an anonymous private sponsor.