Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA) president Donna Watson is cautiously optimistic the Island’s Carifta Games squad has medal-winning potential when the competition starts in Jamaica today.Watson has high hopes for Carifta veterans Ashley Berry, Taylor Ashley Bean and Shaquille Dill but has purposefully not placed too much pressure on the younger athletes, many of who are competiing internationally for the first time.The 38-strong squad includes a mix of youth and experience with many of the athletes moving up from the under-17 catorgory to the under-20 division, making medal-winning feats all the difficult.“With this being a team of experience and youth I’m very guarded with my expectations this year,” said Watson. “Also some of our athletes have moved from the under-17 division to the under-20 division so it’s hard to judge how things are going to pan out.“There are some of the experienced athletes who I’m hoping to get on the medal podium like Ashley Berry, Taylor Ashley Bean, Shaquille Dill, Alison Outerbridge, Dage Minors and Bruce DeGrilla. We have some who I have to wait and see how they get on as they have now moved to the under-20 division like Jeneko Place, Juma Mouchette Christian Wright.”Ashley Berry is one of Bermuda’s best bets to win a gold. The under-20 girls 1500m competitor could storm to victory as the number two through seven ranked athletes are not eligible to compete in Jamaica. Compatriot Taylor Ashley Bean won bronze at the 3000m last year and could also be a medal bet in the 1500m.The squad left the Island on Thursday with hopes of at least equalling their tally of ten medals from the last Games, and may have a few surprises with some new faces set to jump on the international scene.“We have some of the younger athletes, first time Carifta Games who I think will do well like Kyrah Scraders, Zakiyyah Showers, Kyle Webb, Justin Donawa, Chas Smith, Tyra Stovell and Victoria Clarke,” said Watson. “Overall I think we may have some surprises in the team also. I’m positive we will bring home some medals but I don’t have an idea this time of how many. There are too many unknowns this year. Looking at the overall performances of our athletes compared to the other athletes in the region our team of 35 will be very competitive.”The competition gets underway this morning and the Bermuda athletes’ compeition schedule is posted on www.carifta2012.com.Bermuda will host next year’s Carifta Games. Last year’s Games were held in the Cayman Islands where Bermuda’s team finished fifth out of 25 nationsBermuda’s squadUnder-17 Girls100m - Victoria Clarke, Taahira Butterfield200m - Victoria Clarke, Tyra Stovell400m - Tyra Stovell, Rachel Fox800m - Kyrah Scraders1500m - Kyrah Scraders, Quasshie Douglas3000m - Zakiyyah Showers, Ashley BerryHigh jump - Khianda Pearman-Watson, Keizhari Knight4X400m - Tyra Stovell, Rachel Fox, Azaire Smith, Victoria Clarke, Alt. Aailyah Nolan, Taahira ButterfieldUnder-20 Girls100m - Shawnae Brangman200m - Shawnae Brangman1500m - Taylor Ashley Bean, Ashley BerryTriple jump - Alison Outerbridge Akeila RichardsonUnder-17 Boys100m - Kyle Webb, Bruce DeGrilla200m - Kyle Webb400m - Karim Creary1500m - Dage Minors3000m - Dage Minors, Daniel OatleyLong jump - Bruce DeGrilla, Chas SmithTriple jump - Justin Donawa, Jaquan CallabrasHigh jump - Chas Smith, Jeremiah SteedeShot put - Jaquan Heatherley4X100m - Kyle Webb, Bruce DeGrilla,Kidane Callender, Jaret Simmons. Alternate Justin Donawa, Jaquan CallabrasUnder-20 Boys100m - Jeneko Place, Jer-quan Simons200m - Jeneko Place, Jer-quan Simons400m - Kyle Godfrey800m - Shaquille Dill1500m - Juma Mouchette5000m - Juma Mouchette, Shawn HermanLong jump - Christian Wright, Tyrone Oswald110m hurdles - Tristan Joynes4X100m - Jeneko Place, Jaquan Simons, Kyle Godfrey, Scott Clarke . Alternate Christian Wright, Tyrone Oswald