Championships in Puerto Rico.

With two members of the team based in the US and one in Europe, the national team was further weakened when an injured Atiba Tucker was not able to make the trip.

That left just five athletes -- Kavin Smith, Jay Donawa, Devon Bean, Xavier James and Sheldon Thompson -- plus national team coach Gerry Swan, assistant coach Roger Dill and BTFA vice president Bob Oliver embarking for the only major competition of the year.

They met Terrance Armstrong and Troy Douglas -- coming in from Holland -- in New York before taking a connecting fight to San Juan, where they will hook up with Arkansas-based triple jumper Brian Wellman.

The eight-man squad had yesterday to get used to the facilities at Sixto Escobar Stadium -- adjacent to the hotel in which they're staying -- before beginning the competition today. The meet wraps up on Saturday.

While it's known what the Bermudians are capable of, medal prospects are unknown because there is some question about the calibre of opponents from the 20 other Caribbean and Central American countries partipating.

"We really don't know what the competition is like,'' Oliver said before leaving. "It's safe to assume that some countries won't be at their best.'' Alberto Juantorena, president of the Cuban Athletic Federation and a gold-medal runner in the 1976 Olympic Games, said he expected the 56 Cubans at the meet to win 20 events -- and that's without Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder in the high jump, who said yesterday he will skip the meet because of an ankle injury.

A strong Cuban team could be bad news for Wellman -- Bermuda's Athlete of the Year for the past five years. Wellman is one of the top triple jumpers in the world -- although injuries and poor form have haunted him over the past year -- but Cuba have about three jumpers who are his equal.

Wellman will get an additional medal shot in 4x100 metres relay, in which he'll team up with Douglas, Bean and James. Bermuda seldom run the relay and Wellman seldom competes in sprints but the quartet has the makings of a potential medal threat. "The guys are excited about it,'' said Oliver.

Douglas, Bean and James will compete in the individual sprints, while Bean can expect to see double duty in the long jump, particularly now that Tucker has pulled out.

Tucker, who was also an alternate on the relay team, recently came down with an injury and on Monday visited a physiotherapist, who advised him not to travel, Oliver said. A wild card for Bermuda is Smith, who has long been the Island's top distance runner but has quietly gained a reputation for being reluctant to test himself internationally. But Smith's form of late -- he demolished the Marathon Derby record last month -- indicates he could turn some heads in the half-marathon. "We're happy to have Kavin going,'' Oliver said.

ON THEIR MARKS -- Sprinter Devon Bean and an eight-man Bermuda track and field team are in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the Caribbean and Central American championships beginning today.