Head coach Walid Mustafa will use this weekend's Bermuda Triangle Challenge to assess the needs of a group of local gymnasts new to competition.

A number of girls at the Recreational Optional Level will be performing under tournament conditions for the first time and Mustafa is keen to see how they shape up.

"Obviously we hope to do well this weekend but I guess from a coaching point of view we'll be trying to assess who are the natural competitors,'' he said yesterday.

"We should be able to see who shines immediately. But there are some children who are very talented who take time to develop that competitive edge.'' The beginner competitors will not get their chance on the apparatus at the new venue of Bermuda College gym until Saturday afternoon when a total of 22 Bermuda gymnasts, including those at the higher levels of 8, 9 and 10, will be performing.

Earlier, on Saturday morning, the six Bermuda gymnasts competing at level seven -- Kalena Astwood, Jasmine Brunson, Alex Furtado, Kristin Heyliger, Casey Lopes and Brittany Repose -- will be on show.

The Bermuda gymnasts take the spotlight after two nights of meets involving college teams from the US. On Thursday evening, there is a tri-meet involving MIT, Cornell and the University of Alaska-Anchorage.

Those three colleges will compete in a NCAA Invitational the following night, along with three other teams from the University of Nebraska, North Carolina State University and Brown University.

Mustafa is hoping that the college meets will help break in the new state of the art gymnastics floor that will be used for the first time at this meet.

The Federation of International Gymnastics-approved floor will now be suitable for any international or club level meet that takes place on the Island.

The 40ft x 40ft floor is made of 100lb fibreglass boards with springs attached to them. These are covered with a thick layer of foam and carpet , all of which will help to protect competitors against injury when they are tumbling.

Following the Bermuda Triangle Challenge, the floor, sponsored by the Bank of Bermuda Charitable Trust, will be permanently located at Toad's Gym at Southside, where the Bermuda Gymnastics Association trains. The floor is expected to last up to seven years.

Mustafa said: "Some of the girls got on it yesterday and found it a bit stiff, but it had come straight out of the box.

"I'm actually looking to have the college girls break it in for us. It has a different spring from what our girls have been used to and I'm hoping the colleges will soften it up a little.

"But we're delighted to have it as it will enable Bermuda's young gymnasts to push themselves so that they can achieve more at an international level.

Bermuda's senior girls will use the Triangle as preparation for a huge meet at Buckeye, one of the college teams competing this weekend, in a month's time.

"Buckeye host a huge tournament with more than 2,000 competitors, so we'll be hoping to use this as a warm up,'' said Mustafa.

Beam prowess: Maria Darby, aged 12, will be competing as a Level 10 gymnast on Saturday.