Invitational Meet this weekend.

Nothing new there; Bermuda have been attending the meet in the southern Ontario town for several years. What's different is the team, which is newer and more diversified than on previous trips.

For one thing, half of the competitors are girls, the first time this many have competed in a while. For another, a half-dozen swimmers come from the Sharks Club and two from Triangles. Harbour Club, although they still dominate the squad, no longer own it.

As well, eight of the swimmers (Ashley Aitken, Kiera Aitken, Paul Murphy, Lesley Smith, Jessica Marwick, Andrew Shaw and Lyndsay Taylor) are making their first trip to the meet. Of those, Taylor and Marwick are in their first year training under coach Gareth Davies with the national squad.

Ashley Aitken and Scott Simmons are the youngest (aged 11 and 12 respectively) while Abigail Madeiros, at 16, is the oldest.

All national squad swimmers are eligible to attend the meet, which is expected to attract about 20 Ontario swim clubs. Bermuda will likely be the only overseas entry.

The meet serves two purposes for Island swimmers: It gives them much-needed experience in a long-course pool (the Island does not have a 50-metre facility) and provides another opportunity at meeting the stringent qualifying standards for the upcoming CCCAN meet, which will attract some 20 Caribbean and Central American nations.

The rest of the squad includes Graham Smith, Paul Fox, Jonathan Herring, Jimmy Pereira and Michael Pantry.