And his legacy is set to be placed in lasting memory through a sport he most loved with the advent of the Randy Benjamin Memorial Relays in May (26), which will be run somewhat along the lines of the renowned Penn Relays, held annually in Philadelphia.

Indeed, to mention Bermuda track and field absent the name `Randy Benjamin' would be considered sacrilege by those familiar with days of glory the sport enjoyed in the past. Such was the magnitude of the contribution made by the former educator, administrator, coach, competitor that the Bermuda Track and Field Association decided to institute an event in his honour.

"Mr. Benjamin was one of the founders of the Bermuda Track and Field Association as well as the CARIFTA Games, which play a very important role for the Caribbean Islands, with most of the medals won at the Olympics by those from the region came out of the CARIFTA Games,'' said BTFA vice-president Mike Swan in announcing the competition at National Stadium.

"He is one of the fathers of the CARIFTA Games, one of the fathers of Bermuda Track and Field Association, he played an important role in the Olympic movement, and, not only track and field, but was heavily involved in sports in general.

"He was involved in soccer, many don't know of his part in bringing about the Gymnastics Association, and, of course, he was an educator. So I think it's good that we take an opportunity to pay homage to a Bermudian who's played a great role in the sporting community and shaping the lives of our young people.'' Swan went on the explain how the event was being coordinated to involve all facets of the community, from schools, to sporting clubs, to service organisations.

In a society that seems to, more and more, highlight the selfish aspect of our being, Swan noted the format as one that would bring together individuals to form teams with a unified goal.

"The whole idea is to have a relay carnival, a real festive event that brings people in the community together, and somewhere down the road we're looking at, possibly, inviting schools in the Caribbean region or the east coast area of North America to run against All-Star relay teams from Bermuda,'' continued Swan.

"So, yes, we want to make it into a Penn Relays-type event.

"It's going to be all relays and we've opened up to the road running fraternity in that we're offering them a 4x1 mile. Also we've opened it up to sporting clubs and service organisations such as the Bermuda Football Association, or if any soccer club or rugby club wants to enter a relay team they're allowed to.'' Schools will compete against each other on a points system, with each high school, middle school and primary school having to run three relays and the school in each category accumulating the most points being declared champion and awarded a Shield signifying the honour.

There is also the added feature of a mixed relay among the primary schools, with quartets made up of two boys and two girls facing off against each other.