With a silver medal, a world championship title and now an award from Government in the bag, Malcolm Smith is arguably the man of the moment.

And while the Island?s Sunfish supremo is in the spotlight, what better time than now to seek to boost the profile of his class.

For Smith, who took silver at the Pan Am Games in the Dominican Republic in August, was on top of the world in St. Maarten this month and was yesterday presented with an Outstanding Athlete Performance Incentive Award, would like to see some of the region?s best Sunfish skippers battle it out in Bermuda.

All it would take for his dream to become reality is a little local backing.

?I want to approach the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and see if we can get the Sunfish in International Race Week next year,? he said. ?There is a lot of interest from some of the Caribbean countries, Peru in South America, possibly Colombia and Venezuela.

?They really like me down there so I am going to try and work with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and get the class back into Bermuda Race Week.

?Being a part of Race Week would definitely help the class grow again.?

That is Smith?s ultimate aim, to see some youngsters coming up behind him, both metaphorically and literally speaking.

?There are tonnes of kids coming up through the Optis (Optimist Dinghys) now, I am just hoping that maybe I can grab a few of them and give them a little taste, a little feel for the Sunfish boat. Maybe we can get some younger kids involved in the class.?

But that is then and this is now, and yesterday was all about Smith and his achievements this year.

The skipper was the guest of honour at a special luncheon at La Coquille restaurant in Hamilton, which was attended by Minister of Sport Dale Butler, Bermuda Olympic Association officials, Michael Cherry, Judy Siddle-Simons, Chef de Mission Christine Hoskins and Bermuda Sailing Association President Tim Patton.

Presenting Smith with his $4,500 award, the minister said he was ?a Bermudian who has made the sacrifices and commitment necessary to be the best that he can be.

?While I do not wish to prejudice any subsequent decisions likely to be made in this year?s Sports Award Programme, Mr. Smith, on behalf of Government and people of Bermuda, I do wish to congratulate you for your outstanding performances on the world stage this year.

?There is a lesson to be learned from the consistency Mr. Smith has exemplified in his chosen sport as evidenced by the many times over the past decade that he has appeared in our Sports Award programme.

?That lesson, I believe, is summed up in the words of (American playwright) Maxwell Anderson, who said ?If you practice an art, be proud of it, and make it proud of you . . . it may break your heart, but it will fill your heart before it breaks it. It will make you a person in your own right?.?

Smith said he was very grateful for the award, which will go towards the cost of his regattas.

?I think it?s an honour,? he said. ?It will give a lot of the younger kids coming up an opportunity to see what you can achieve when you put your heart into it and make a go of it. You have to stay focused at whatever you are doing.

?Hopefully the young kids will see what I have achieved and set their own goals accordingly.?

Smith is quick to point out that his results this year are not only down to him. At the Pan American Games he linked up, for the first time, with Argentine coach Dino Weber. The latter was Smith?s second set of eyes, watching his movements on the water and giving him pointers to fine-tune his performances.

?One of the biggest assets was having a coach at the Games. That really paid off in the end result,? he said. ?Normally I don?t get a coach and hopefully everything I have learned in the two weeks I spent with him I can use down the road.

?The way he used to coach me was going through my head pretty much every morning when I hit the water (at the World Championships).?

Smith has been associated with the Sunfish since his early teens and, despite suggestions to the contrary, he has no intention of giving up yet.

?I just love competing in the class. It?s a great class and it has served me well ? three world championships, two silver medals and two North American championships,? he said.

?People keep asking me ?When are you going to move on (to another class)??

?But why should I? I am having a good time doing what I am doing . . . I have been competing for over 30 years now. I guess I started sailing Sunfish when I was about 13-years-old and I am 44 now and my enthusiasm is as high as it has ever been.

?I may not have as much time to train as much as I used to and spend as much time in the water, but I just like sailing the little boats you know.?

The Outstanding Athlete Performance Incentive Programme was started eight years ago when the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation, in collaboration with Bermuda Olympic Association, developed a scheme to encourage athletes. A formula was developed to offer incentives on a graduated scale, in accordance with the international profile of the sporting festival that the athlete was participating in.

The programme provides cash incentives to Bermuda?s elite athletes who achieve the required standards to compete and earn a medal in either the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games or Central American and Caribbean Games.

The Bermuda Olympic Association is the sole arbiter of the Athlete Performance Incentive Programme and they provide the proof of the performances achieved.