Ronan Kane yesterday tied his colours to Bermuda's mast to join Rohaan Simons as the Island's second competitor in the high jump at the CAC Games which get underway on Saturday.

Kane, born and brought up in Bermuda, but who has represented Ireland at youth level, got clearance to compete in Venezuela after meetings with the Bermuda Olympic Association and Bermuda Track and Field Association.

He was due to have his first training session with national coach Gerry Swan last night.

Kane, who attended Saltus before going to Ireland's Blackrock College at the age of 13, has already reached the qualifying standard for next month's Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a jump of 2.12 metres. But the CAC Games represents an opportunity to prepare for that competition.

"He wanted to do the CAC Games because he's been off the circuit since the end of June and with the work going on at the National Stadium there have been no facilities here for him to train,'' explained his father John, president of the World Rugby Classic.

"It will give him a bit of experience before the Commonwealth Games. He's also hoping to fit in a meet in the US.'' However, Kane senior played down claims there had been opposition to his son's participation in Venezuela.

He said: "Probably people have not understood his position. When he was competing for Ireland at schoolboy level they didn't realise he had Bermudian status.'' Kane junior has an enviable record in competition, having failed to medal only once in more than 50 events, but he will have his work cut out to maintain that record in Venezuela.

Swan says: "You really need to be jumping around 2.20 metres (about 7ft 2ins) to have a chance. Realistically, our prospects in the high jump have got to be pretty slim.'' That means also that Simons' main goal will be to jump high enough to ensure qualification for Kuala Lumpur.

Simons, who represented Bermuda at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada when he was just 16, only returned to track and field ten weeks ago after a four-year absence following well-publicised differences with Island soccer chiefs.

The First Division's top scorer last season decided to concentrate on athletics after he was left out of the senior team which travelled to the Cayman Islands in May.

He qualified for Venezuela with a jump of six feet, eight and three quarter inches (2.05m), which he will need to improve on by two inches to make Malaysia.

Swan says of him: "He's been very diligent in his training. Of course our conditions have been far from ideal with us having to train at the Spice Valley fields without access to a synthetic track.'' Kane and Simons are just two of seven track and field competitors from the Island heading for the Games, which take place largely in and around the city of Maracaibo, 300 miles east of the capital Caracas.

Swan rates Terrance Armstrong, a surprise bronze medallist in the 1500m at last year's CAC Senior Championships in Puerto Rico, and triple jumper Brian Wellman as the most likely to bring home some hardware.

Armstrong has bettered the 1500m national record three times this year and Swan says his running has stepped up a gear. However, he cautions that the competition may also have improved.

Wellman has struggled for his best form this season, finishing a disappointing fifth in the British Grand Prix at Sheffield on Sunday.

Swan spoke to him after the Sheffield meet and reports that he was unhappy about the performance. But he was due to compete in a meet in Sweden today before travelling to Venezuela.

However, he will find the competition equally tough in South America.

"The triple jump in the CAC region is very competitive,'' says Swan. "You could have the guys who won bronze and gold in the World Championships in Greece last year. In fact, with Jerome Romaine of Dominica, you could have four of the top six or seven triple jumpers in the world.'' Elsewhere, Atiba Tucker carries Bermuda's hopes into the long jump, Tariq Hewey will compete in the men's 100m and possibly the 200m while lone female runner Jarita Dill is set to take part in the 400m and 800m.

In all, a total of 38 competitors in seven sports will represent Bermuda in the first CAC Games since Puerto Rico in November, 1993.

Those Games were brought forward a year to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of the Americas.