Members of Teachers rugby club will be out on the road in force for next Wednesday?s May 24 Marathon Derby ? raising funds for a wheelchair-confined schoolgirl.

About 20 of the club?s players have agreed to take part in the gruelling 13.3 mile race from Somerset to the National Sports Centre, hoping to collect enough cash to buy an electric wheelchair for 12-year-old Yushae Simmons who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Currently Yushae, a Sandys Middle School student, has to rely on others to push her chair.

The fundraising idea came from national team player Chris Naylor who teaches at Sandys Middle School.

Naylor said the club thought it was a ?perfect? cause to support.

The runners have received corporate sponsorship as well as support from family and friends.

?We?ve been training over the last couple of months,? said Naylor. ?It?s been painful . . . some of us aren?t exactly built for marathons, we?re rugby players not runners.?

Those signed up for the run include national team captain Derek Hurdle, Chris Taylor, Thomas Greenslade and Kurt Liebel as well as former players Michael Montgomery, Andrew Correia, Andre Simons and Olympic sailing hopeful Billy McNiven. Members of the Teachers ladies? team will also be competing.

Hurdle said that it had been an event which the club had always said it would do ?next year . . . we?ll do it next year,? but by raising money for Yushae it was ?enough reason for everyone to commit to running.?

?I don?t think I am a distance runner by nature,? he added. ?For years I?ve said I?ll do it once. This will probably be my once.

?We?re not planning to break any records, just finish together as a team and enjoy the whole run.?

Tennis celebs confirmed

Three former women?s tennis stars are among a group of famous sports personalities who have been confirmed for this September?s third Elbow Beach Celebrity Tennis Classic.

Former Wimbledon champion turned TV commentator Virginia Wade along with Wendy Turnbull and Hana Mandlikova will be taking part in the Classic along with the likes of the world?s best known female boxer, Laila Ali ? daughter of Muhammad Ali ? and NFL star Curtis Conway.

Former New York mayor David Dinkins will also be flying in for the September 27-October 1 tournament.

The event is a major fundraiser organised by the Bermuda Tennis Development Foundation (BTDF) to help the Island?s top junior players compete in ITF world junior ranking tournaments overseas.

Twenty in ocean race

Officials at St. George?s Dinghy and Sports Club are preparing to host finishers in this year?s Annapolis to Bermuda ocean race, set to get underway on June 9.

The 15th bi-annual race is expected to attract some 20 entries, fewer than in previous years due mainly to the centennial edition of the Newport-Bermuda Race which gets underway the following week.

Hosted jointly by the St. George?s D&SC and the Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis, Maryland, the race has been structured to provide a combination of inshore and offshore racing.

Skippers will be required to pilot through 119 miles of Chesapeake Bay coastal waters before navigating the 633-mile offshore leg to Bermuda.

Meanwhile, the St. George?s D&SC will be hosting yachts competing in the ARC Europe multi-stage event in which some 20 boats set sail from Antigua and St. Augustine in Florida. The fleet will be berthed in St. George?s until May 25 when they leave for Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores.

Caisey the skater to beat

Six-time champion Taur Caisey will be the man to beat when the Island?s in-line skaters hold their annual May 24 race next week, setting off in Somerset ahead of the runners.

This year?s race begins at Hog Bay Park at 9.30 a.m. with the first skater expected on Front Street some 30 minutes later. A race for juniors has also been scheduled, starting on Burnt House Hill.

Caisey won the main event last year in 39 minutes and 48 seconds. Among his rivals this year are expected to be Vince Seaman and Llewellyn Simons.

Skaters can still register for the event by calling 505-1939.