SAILOR Tim Patton might have ruffled a few feathers, but his point was valid.

His argument that sailing is more worthy than either cricket or soccer to carry the banner of Bermuda's national sport is difficult to counter, taking into consideration the contrasting fortunes of all three.

It was just a couple of years ago that Government declared what most observers already took for granted - that cricket and soccer be officially recognised as the Island's national sports.

Given their respective popularity at opposite ends of the calendar, nobody had ever questioned their status.

Yet times have changed.

It's been some years now since either cricket or soccer have enjoyed any success on the international stage, and domestically both have floundered - the recent debacle involving the touring Barbadians perhaps indicative of how cricket, in particular, has fallen on hard times.

Football, to be fair, is in yet another development phase under a relatively new administration which has put a heavy accent on youth, thereby investing in the future.

But, make no mistake, crowds at local Premier Division games aren't what they used to be. Generally, the standard is noticeably lower than 20 years ago and it's going to take a considerable amount of time and effort to regenerate the passion and enthusiasm which was once all too apparent.

Conversely, sailing has gone from strength to strength.

Because of our geographic location, it's hardly surprising that such a sport should prosper and through the years Bermuda has always maintained a reputation as something of a sailor's paradise.

We've frequently produced international class sailors, never moreso than in the last few years.

As Patton pointed out, hardly a week went by this summer when a sailor from one class or another wasn't making headlines.

The successes of Peter Bromby and Paula Lewin have been well documented. They became the first Bermudians to qualify for next year's Olympics and in all probability will remain our best hopes for a medal.

Malcolm Smith snared a silver medal at the Pan-Am Games in the Dominican Republic last month and were the Sunfish considered an Olympic class, he too would be on his way to Athens.

But it's not so much the established sailors, but the new kids on the block who have caught the eye in recent months.

A carefully developed crop from Bermuda Sailing Association's youth programme suddenly produced a bumper harvest.

Laser enthusiast Zander Kirkland has rapidly moved up the world rankings, his younger brother, Jesse, came away with a silver medal at the Optimist Worlds in Spain, and literally dozens of other youngsters have been competing - and competing successfully - all around the globe.

While Patton himself is sailing at the Etchells Worlds off Connecticut this week, a group of Optimists will be heading to the Atlantic Coast Championships off New Jersey.

Meanwhile, domestically, fitted dinghy racing, comet racing, Bermuda Offshore Cruising Association and the various class racing events continue to thrive.

If there's a downside to this apparent surge in popularity, it's that sailing is still perceived as a 'white' sport and thus not reflective of the Island's make-up.

Yet some would argue that the sport has never been more racially mixed than it is now, particularly at youth level, and more opportunities exist for all segments of the community than ever before.

Given Bermuda's tiny population, those partaking in an individual sport are always going to have a better chance of succeeding internationally than those in a team sport where lack of depth puts a severe limitation on what can be achieved.

And of all of the individual sports, sailing is undoubtedly leading the way.

Whether Government agrees or not, its recent record makes it deserving of the title 'national sport'

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NICK (Sports Voice) Jones keeps a keen eye on the local sporting scene and his recent contributions to the news website 'mbermuda' make for interesting reading.

But on the question of what constitutes a sport and what doesn't, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

In his latest report, Jones asks why The Gazette sports pages recently featured a story on a Bermuda darts team heading to the world championships but failed to acknowledge the Island's participants at the CAC Bodybuilding Championships.

Darts is competitive and requires a degree of skill.

Bodybuilding, in its purest form, is no more than a beauty contest with too many of those involved relying heavily on their friendly pharmacist.

Case closed.

- ADRIAN ROBSON