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Bermuda's sports

Soccer and cricket are most popular. Water sports are shown separately

By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us) exclusively for Bermuda Online

To refer to this file in your e-mail, use "bermuda-online.org/sports" as your Subject.

This is a basic file. As Bermuda is only 21 square miles in total land area, it  seems appropriate to exclude all Water Sports in this file. Unlike in Britain, there are no leisure centers, only the organizations shown below.

Links to the websites of the organizations concerned will be shown gladly once they reciprocate the link.

According to the Bermuda Olympic Association, only persons who are Bermudians in their own right can represent Bermuda at the Olympics, Pan Am Games or Central American & Caribbean Games. But this qualification is hugely unfair for persons not born in Bermuda and born in Bermuda but not with a Bermudian parent or married less than 10 years to a Bermudian; or not given citizenship in 3-5 years as in all other UN-member countries.

Sports centres and facilities

These include

Archery

There is a Bermuda Archery group. It represented Bermuda at the 2003 Island Games in Guernsey.

Athletics

Bermuda enters the CAC, Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA Games) - although 900+ miles north of the Caribbean, it has always sent a strong contingent and won medals. It will host them in 2004. It also enters the Island Games, Olympic Games and other athletic events. Bermuda has its own Olympic Games entrants. W. F. Chummy Hayward was a superb organizer and an inspiration to generations of Bermuda's athletes.

Athletic clubs include:

• Mid Atlantic Athletic Club, P. O. Box HM 1745, Hamilton HM GX. Founded 1977. 

Badminton

In the Island Games, Bermuda is represented. 

Ball hockey

There is a Bermuda Ball Hockey Association (BBHA). The game is similar to ice hockey in play and rules but on a hard surface instead of ice and with a hockey ball instead of a puck. The teams are mostly Canadians. In 2005 they won the Caribbean Championships for two years in a row, against Barbados, Turks and Caicos and Grand Cayman. They were 9th in the last Worlds in 2003.

Baseball

Once, baseball was a game played locally only by members of the US Armed Forces stationed in Bermuda and their children. Bermudians and other residents are heavily into the game. Currently, there are 35 teams and more than 600 players. The Bermuda Youth Sports Program (BYSP) at website bysp.bm is the main organization. The BYSP plays baseball on fields donated by local schools, who also share their facilities, and from 2008 the Parks Department allowed the charity the use of Bernard Park. The BYSP depends on volunteers to make it run. The organisation runs up to 1,000 games and practices each year in baseball, basketball and soccer, catering for youngsters between the ages of five-17. Officials credit the popularity of baseball in Bermuda to the fact that American television is predominant in Bermuda, American sports have a wider global appeal, and also minor league baseball is family oriented, easy to learn and easy to play. Divisions include T Ball, Rookie League, Little League and Senior (Major) League baseball. All children are welcome, both locals and expats. A goal is to possibly have a national team in Bermuda to compete in the Little League World Series. Japan has won it, Cuba has won it, other island nations have won it, all beating the Americans at their own game. Children start off with T Ball, which teaches them the basics of the game. Youngsters aged between five and seven hit the ball from atop a stationary platform and then run round a 'T' of bases. After a year they then progress to Rookie League, in which the bases are wider apart and a machine throws the ball across the home plate. After three years, at ten, the youngster graduates from these developmental leagues into the more competitive Little League, which is similar to the adult game in that the child pitches the ball across the plate and a catcher stands behind the batter. From the ages of 14-17, players then take part in Senior (Major) League. 

Basketball

Visiting teams are always welcome. The Bermuda Basketball Association (BBA) advertises for interested men and women to sign up for the BBA Winter Basketball League. The league year features both a Premier Division and Adult Recreation Division for anyone 18 years and older. Venues for games are the gymnasium at Saltus Grammar School and the Bermuda Athletics Association (BAA) Gym, both in Pembroke Parish. Interested parties can call the BBA at (441) 291-3760. Indian Summer Basketball Club had a successful 2001-2002 first season.

Bermuda End-to-End

Since 1989, an annual walking race from one end of Bermuda to the other, the island's largest charity event, sponsored by Catlin Insurance.  It raises more than $250,000 each year for various local charities. Run by the Bermuda End-to-End Charitable Trust. More than 2,000 individual participants walk, cycle or otherwise enroll in the 24.1 miles from St. George's to Dockyard and raise money for various charities. In the past, only five or six local charities have benefited, but this year the organisers have bumped up the total to 11 worthy causes. Funds raised in the 2009 event support The Aerie Foundation, Open Airways, Bermuda Red Cross, Coalition for the Protection of Children, The Family Centre, The Reading Clinic, The Menuhin Foundation of Bermuda, Centre for Talented Youth Bermuda, Windreach, BIFF Kids Children's Film Festival, and the Bermuda Public Library.

Bermuda Ultimate Frisbee Federation (BUFF)

Billiards

There are several clubs.

Bowling

Bermuda has many 10-pin bowling enthusiasts and several bowling leagues including the Summer Classic. There is a Commercial Bowling League and Junior Bowling League. Members include Barracuda, Cow Pollies, Dolphins, Goldfish, Hinds, Jellyfish, Mackerel, Piranhas, Porgies, Sharks, Tuna  and Wahoo. Some of Bermuda's bowling enthusiasts participate in international events. Two won the Silver Medal in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Visitors are always welcome. The two facilities are: 

• Warwick Lanes, with 20 lanes. Bermuda Bowling Club, Warwick Lanes, P. O. Box WK 128, Warwick WK BX, Bermuda, at telephone (441) 236-5290.
• Southside Family Bowl. 1565 Southside Road, St. David's. Phone 293-5906 or fax 293-5907.

Boxing

•  In Women's Boxing, Bermuda's Teresa Perozzi was the North American Boxing Council world champion. But on March 15, 2008 at the Maritim Hotel in Magdeburg, Germany, Natascha Ragosina, a Russian woman boxer living in Germany defeated Perozzi, in a 10-round unanimous decision in a multi-belt unification title fight that included the IWBF, WIBF, WIBA, GBU, WBC, and WBA super middleweight title. The judges scores were 100-90, 99-91, and 99-91.
• In men's boxing, also an active sport, with Troy Darrell a hero to local boxing fans. He was once the former #3 middleweight in the world. He has a 26-3 record, with 23 by knock-out. Clarence Hill was once an Olympic bronze medalist. There are several gyms.  Events competed for include the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games.

Commonwealth Games

Every four years. Bermuda won a Gold Medal in one year. Bermuda participates in quantity, via its Bermuda Olympic Association, at Suite 405, International Centre, 26 Bermudiana Road, Hamilton HM 11. Secretary General phone 295-7146. Fax 295-8645. Registered Charity 047. 

Those who qualified for the 2006 Games include the following Bermudians:

Athletics: Latroya Darrell (high jump); Ashley Couper (1500m), Arantxa King (long jump), Zindzi Swan (high jump).
Cycling: Geri Mewett (male road race), Julia Hawley (female road race), Lynn Patchett (female road race), Tyler Butterfield (male road race).
Gymnastics: Kalena Astwood, Caitlin Mello, Kaisey Griffith, Casey Lopes, Hannah King.
Squash: Nick Kyme, James Stout.
Swimming: Keira Aitken, 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, Michael O'Connor, 50m fly, Ronald Cowen, 200m fly, 50m fly, Graham Smith, 200m individual medley.
Target Shooting: Nelson Simons, Walter Trott, Sinclair Raynor, Ross Roberts.
Triathlon: Evan Naude, Jieme Brown.

For the 2010 Games, India has promised Bermuda $100,000 in New Delhi. The 2014 Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Cricket

The Bermuda Cricket Board, 48 Cedar Avenue, Hamilton HM 11, phone 292- 8958, fax 292-8959, or P. O. Box HM 992, Hamilton HM DX, registered charity #350 is the official local organization representing  and regulating cricket locally. Cricket teams in either the regular or Commercial League include Centurions; Cleveland County; Devonshire Recreation Club; Devonshire Stars; Flatt's Victoria; Forties; Jamaican Association; Leg Trappers; North Village; PHC; Police Recreation Club; St. David's; St. George's Cricket Club; Somerset Bridge; Somerset Cricket Club; Warwick Workman's; Watford; West Indian Association;  Willow Cuts; and Young Men's Social Club. 

Perplexing to American visitors - 85% of all tourists to Bermuda -  who are used to a baseball or football game lasting no more than 3 hours. Most do not see why a match played for the whole of one day or two days or three days or five days (as is the case in Test matches) can result in a tame draw. 

It is a  British game that originated in England centuries ago, not unique to Bermuda. It originated as a sport of the British Royal Family, possibly with King Edward II in the year 1300. By 1550, the business of the Dukes of Penhurst included making cricket balls. The earliest surviving bat and ball date back to 1729, with the word cricket appearing in an Italian-English dictionary in 1595. Nowadays, the game is popular throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations.

 Its local season is from late April to late September. This sport was first brought to Bermuda in the 1840s by British Army soldiers stationed here. Long before cricket became the hugely popular sport it is today, a match played between the fleet team of the then- resident Royal Navy base and the British Army garrison regimental team was a major event in the social calendar of the Town of St. George. Black persons at the local dockyard, who had been taught the game, included it as part of their picnic activity, The Bermuda Cricket Club was founded in St. George's in 1845 and played its first game against the garrison. In 1872, British cricket arrived for local civilians via Captain J. Moresby of the Royal Navy. He began this 2 day sporting tradition. 

He introduced it at a carnival in Somerset "40 years since the unjust thralldom of slavery." (The bondage was declared officially over in Bermuda on August 1, 1834, by King William the Fourth of England, more than three decades after Britain itself deemed it first unofficially then officially inhumane). For many years until 1902, the unofficial festive game was between two fraternal Lodges and Friendly Societies on opposite sides of Bermuda - in Somerset in the west end and St. George's on the east end. Local legend has it that when the local working class began en masse to take a day off to attend the game, Government declared the first day of the two-day cup match an official holiday. After the second day, Somers Day, was also designated as such,  the second day became an additional public holiday.

But among the cricket-loving nations and territories of the world, only in Bermuda does the whole of Bermuda grind to a complete halt for two days every summer to turn its attention to a cricket game. The festive game began officially in July 1902 between the Somerset Cricket Club in the west end and the St. George's Cricket Club in the east end. Venues of the game change yearly between both clubs. The popularity of the annual game was such that it caused continued absences from employment. As a direct result, the 2-day public holiday was first introduced in 1947 and has been in effect ever since. Since 1999, a celebration of emancipation is now part of the ritual of the first day of Cup Match, formally renamed Emancipation Day. For the 100th anniversary of Cup Match in August 2002, the local jewelry firm of Walker Christopher made cricket bat pendants or pins in 18 carat gold with sapphire and ruby gem stones. St. George's has a light sapphire and dark sapphire and Somerset has a ruby and dark sapphire. About 7, 000 attend the game on each day, broadcast by radio. Despite being referred to in history as the Father of Bermuda, Admiral Sir George Somers is nowadays almost completely ignored  on the second of the 2-day public holiday period, known in his honor as Somers Day.

Whichever team hosts the annual game accepts tenders for the gambling game of Crown and Anchor, one of the many "concessionary" events. It is also an occasion for off-beat mid-summer peculiarities that include awarding a winning batsman with tax-free cash; the wearing of outlandish fashions, much socializing, bands and musical groups participating, and  a carnival atmosphere complete with calypso, reggae, soca, rap and other music.

In the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, Bermuda was in the same group as Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh and, despite losing, played so creditably that the team won great press attention throughout the cricketing world, mostly from the prowess of Dwayne Leverock.

The official Bermuda team competes in the ICC Trophy against teams from Canada, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates and in July 2005 achieved its highest degree of success, finally falling to Scotland. 

Cricket is also a major local sport for  youth. 

The Bermuda Cricket Annual is the complete local guide. In Sandys, the Western Counties Cricket Association is at telephone (441) 236-9000 ext. 4314. All its cricket games are at the spacious White Hill Field. 

There are four streets in Bermuda named in honor of cricket. One is Fielders Lane, in Smith's Parish. It is halfway up Flatt's Hill on the left, veering south from Middle Road. The track takes its name from the nearby playing field of Flatts Victoria Cricket Club. The other three are Bat 'n' Ball Lane, Cricket Lane, and Grandstand Lane, all in Sandys Parish. They diverge from Scott's Hill Road, near the Somerset Cricket Club.

Alma (Champ) Hunt (above) was the outstanding Bermuda cricketer of the 20th century and such a capable cricket administrator that he led Bermuda's triumphs in the ICC tournament he helped found in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was Champ Hunt who drove the idea home at the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) to have smaller countries such as Bermuda compete against each other for the right to qualify for the World Cup. He, plus Nigel (Chopper) Hazel, made the long journey across the Atlantic to Scotland north of the English border to help promote the game there. Later Cup Match legend Clarence (Tuppence) Parfitt followed in their footsteps. Other Bermuda cricket legends are Cal (Bunny) Symonds, Dennis Wainwright, Colin Blades, Albert Steede and brothers Sheridan and Lee Raynor and Dwayne Leverock. Sheridan Raynor was the first Bermudian batsman to score a century on the international stage

In 2008, Bermuda’s World Cup matches were against Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh in Trinidad, home of national cricket coach Gus Logie.

Cycling

Bicycles first arrived in the l9th century. Despite humid weather and steep hills, this is a popular sport. Bring your own or rent one locally, one of the best ways to explore the Bermuda Railway Trail. In competitive cycling, there are numerous local adherents and races. Visitors are always welcome. Several Bermudians are in demand overseas as professionals. The leading local cyclist is Kris Hedges, who cycled for Bermuda at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Darts

There are several clubs.

Field Hockey

Often referred to, wrongly, in the USA as a "ladies game." This is the third most popular seasonal sport in Bermuda, with a Field Hockey Carnival and a number of teams playing each other competitively in two leagues. Once - but no longer - there was a Bermuda Men's National Team. In the Men's League, they include BCS Panthers, Chameleons, Police Polecats, Rebels, Upstarts and Wasps. In the Women's League, they include Bluebirds, Canaries, Cardinals, Orioles, Ravens, Swallows and Swifts. They also compete in the Central American & Caribbean Games. There is a governing Bermuda Hockey Federation (2003 president is Justin Freisenbruch). Field Hockey is played at three schools. For decades, American men and women field hockey clubs have either hosted Bermuda based teams, or been hosted by the latter in annual events. The only known sport where left-handed items are not made.

Football (American)

Bermudian linebacker for the New York Giants for their successful 2008 Super Bowl game on February 3 against the New England Patriots was Antonio Pierce. He is the first Bermudian to play in the prestigious event and the second Bermudian behind Ralph (Rocky) Thompson to wear a Giants uniform.

Gaelic football

The local Gaelic Football League, planned since October 2006, began in June 2007. It is a game best described as a cross between soccer and rugby. It is attracting both Irish expatriates steeped in the game and interested novices from all nations — some of whom are already showing huge promise. Training is every Tuesday at Somersfield Academy from 7-9 p.m. with around 40 players typically turning up. Games kick off involving four sides with suitably Gaelic/Bermudian sounding names — Devonshire Wolfe Tones, the Hamilton Gaels, Eire Og Warwick and Na Fianna Paget. The balls, slightly smaller and heavier than a footballs, have been imported from Ireland especially although at the moment the goals are borrowed rugby posts strapped to soccer posts. Just like rugby the posts are H-shaped but with a soccer goal at the bottom defended by a goalkeeper. Smash the round ball past him and you get three points, punt it over the bar like a rugby conversion and you will get one point. The ball can be kicked around or thrown but not carried like rugby, unless the player drops the ball and kicks it back to himself on the run, a technique known as soloing. A runner can also bounce it.  

Golf

Gymnastics

The Bermuda Gymnastics Association is for boys and girls of all ages. Its address is 1st Floor, Gibbons Building, 10 Queen Street, Hamilton. P. O. Box FL 203, Flatts, FL BX. Telephone 295-0589. It is  Bermuda registered charity # 296.

Horseback riding

A popular Bermuda leisure sport. There are over 900 horses in Bermuda.  Visitors and locals of all levels of experience can ride horses from stables along bridle and other paths. Stables include Inwood Riding Stables at 36 Radnor Road in Hamilton Parish, with 5 acres and 15 horses. Fees for a couple riding on a separate horse each are $27 per person for half an hour. Other plans are available. Qualified instructors are available, with lessons for the inexperienced. On a horse, avoid the constantly busy, noisy and made dangerous to visitors by constant speeders on main North Shore Road and Middle Road and South Road nearby. See Transportation for Visitors. Horse back riding on certain beaches is seasonal, in winter months only - not in the summer when the great  majority of visitors come. Other places beyond the beaches have horse back riding all year. It's a leisurely way to enjoy Bermuda. For the curious, there are no race horse meetings in Bermuda but there is a well attended amateur harness racing track. A prominent Bermudian rider is M. J Tumbridge, who won Bermuda's first-ever gold medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada in 1999. 

Harness racing

There is no longer any horse racing in Bermuda of the type common in other countries. In the 19th century and until the mid 20th century, this was another popular sport and entertainment pursued eagerly by the British military, members of which had a near monopoly on the island's fastest riding horses. The St. George's Stakes were held on January 28, 1846 and featured 10 horses and riders racing in sprints and hurdles. There was a ball after the races. Racing was mostly at the Shelly Bay Race Track, now no longer in use. The only racing today is harness racing, by locals only, but visitors are welcome to watch, at the National Equestrian Center on Vesey Street in Devonshire Parish.

International Race Weekend

Mid January every year

For a local and international sporting spectacular organized by the Bermuda Track and Field Association of P. O. Box DV 397, Devonshire DV BX, Bermuda - telephone (441) 236-6086. 

Events include:

• Bermuda International Marathon, Men & Women.
• Bermuda International Half Marathon, Men & Women.
• Bermuda International 10K, Men & Women.
• 10K Charity Walk.
• Bermuda International Invitational Mile. There are several races, subdivided into under 12, female; under 18, male; under 18, female; adult female and adult male. There are numerous contenders from overseas. Full race results and details of the winners are posted in The Royal Gazette daily newspaper on the days after each event.

International Show Jumping

Local events are held regularly in Bermuda, particularly for the . And at international level, young local jumpers compete in the FEI Children's International Show Jumping Competition at the National Equestrian Centre on Vesey Street.

Island Games

Bermuda will be the host in 2013. The International Island Games Association (IGA) is the event's organizing body and comprises of 25 member countries. The 25 member islands of the IGA include: Aland, Alderney, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Froya, Gibraltar, Gotland, Greenland, Guernsey, Hitra, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Jersey, Minorca (first appearance in 2007), Orkney, Prince Edward Island, Rhodes, Saaremaa, Sark, Shetland, St. Helena, Western Isles, and Ynys Mon (in English, Anglesey) in Wales. The Bermuda Island Games Association (BIGA) - website biga.bm -  was founded in 2001. 

The NatWest Island Games provide an opportunity for athletes from island communities with a population of less than 125,000 to compete at international level. They are now an established biennial international multi-sport event. Bermuda sent its largest ever squad - shown below - 250 athletes --  to the 2007 Island Games in Rhodes, Greece. The event, from June 30, was the biggest Island Games ever staged with over 5,000 athletes from 25 Islands taking part.

• Having been born on that Member Island. (A competitor may be considered to have been born on a Member Island if the mother was normally resident on that island immediately prior to the birth and returned to the island soon after).

• Having been resident on that Member Island for the period of twelve consecutive months prior to the date of the Opening Ceremony of the Games in which it is intended to participate.

• Around 77 percent of Bermuda's 2007 squad are Bermudian. 

  Athletes competing in archery, athletics, basketball, cycling, football, golf, sailing, swimming, tennis, triathlon and volleyball represented Bermuda in 2007, as follows:

Karate

• Bermuda Karate Institute. 

Karting

Bermuda Karting Club. For young racers of miniature cars. Call 234-2473 or 235-0803 or 236-8788 or fax 236-0505.

Lacrosse

There is a Bermuda Lacrosse Association.

Marathon

The Bermuda Marathon Derby, run on May 24 annually, rain or shine, is a classic. The two organizers are Berwyn Cann, a former sprinter and athletics coach, and Richard Tucker. There are many local marathon and half marathon races. Also, many Bermudians and residents habitually enter marathon races in other parts of the world, such as the Boston Marathon.

National Stadium

Frog Lane, Devonshire Parish. The Bermuda Government funded entity for track and field and many prominent sports.

Netball

An American game very popular in Bermuda. The International Federation of Netball Associations has a website and includes Bermuda as a member. The Bermuda Netball Association has three leagues, Winter, Summer and Junior Leagues. All games are played at in Bernard Park, in Pembroke Parish, near the City of Hamilton. The Winter League plays Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.  The Summer League plays Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the summer months and the Junior League plays on Saturday mornings during November and March. Contact Secretary, Bermuda Netball Association, P. O. Box HM 1416, Hamilton HM FX. Bermuda. Or telephone (441) 296 8674 Ext. 6 ( employment) or fax (441) 295 4927.

Olympics

Bermuda Olympic Association, Suite 405, International Centre, 26 Bermudiana Road, Hamilton HM 11. Secretary General phone 295-7146. Fax 295-8645. Registered Charity 047. Bermuda always sends a small delegation, including to the 2008 Olympics at Beijing. 

Pan American Games

Roller Hockey

Played locally, under the auspices of the Bermuda Roller Hockey League (BRHL) at phone 236-9710 or fax 232-0699. 

Racquetball

Not played at all in Bermuda, no rackets courts on the island, but in 2008 Bermuda resident James Stout, the New York Racquet and Tennis Club professional, became World Rackets champion after defeating Harry Foster at Queen's Club in London. Similar to squash, the sport is rarely played outside the USA, UK and Canada. It is contested on a 30 by 60 foot enclosed court with a ceiling at least 30 feet high. The walls and floor of the court are made of smooth stone or concrete and are generally a dark color to contrast with a white ball.

Rugby

This British game popular in Bermuda was originally played by members of British Army regiments present until the mid 1950's, and then spread to the civilian sector. There are two types of Rugby - league rugby - for professional players, with this type of rugby originally from the Midlands and north of England - and rugby union for the amateur teams. Only rugby union is played in Bermuda. 

There is an active Bermuda Rugby Football Union (BRFU). It has an Annual Awards Dinner, black tie. Unlike in American football, rugby teams don't wear helmets or padding Teams include Mariners, the always-exceptional Bermuda Police Rugby Football Club, Renegades and Teachers. From October to April is the season. 

International rugby began in Bermuda 1973 as The Easter Classic and continued as such until 1989, mostly as an Irish Select versus a Bermuda Select on St. Patrick's Day every year. Its finale was always on Easter Sunday at the former National Sports Club in Bermuda, which became such a popular event until Easter began to have a much more crowded overseas sports calendar. Famous rugby players induced to come included Gareth Edwards, Fergus Slattery, Tom Kieran, Rob Andrew and Clive Woodward. In 1989, to keep the friendships developed in Easter Classic Days, it was decided to begin the annual Bermuda-based World Rugby Classic.  The annual Classic is held every November when teams from Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, France, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, United Kingdom and USA compete.

Soccer

Football in the UK.

The Bermuda Football Association (BFA) is at (441) 295-2199 or by airmail at Cedarpark, 48 Cedar Avenue, Hamilton HM 11, or P. O. Box HM 745, Hamilton HM CX, Bermuda. Fax (441) 295-0773. Voicemail (441) 291-0690. Bermuda Registered Charity 331.Write to it directly for any specific questions about football in Bermuda. It has a president, first vice president and second vice president. The senior men national coach has a UEFA B License or USSF B License or equivalent. There is a National Football coach.

Soccer - for both men and women - was invented in Scotland at least as far back as 1540. The women's version was recorded in Scotland in an all-woman league in 1795 but was not played in England until about 1820. The sport was introduced to Bermuda by the British Army in Victorian times and was originally played locally purely between competing British Regiments and the local facilities - now also gone - of the Riyal Navy. It spread outward and is now a Bermuda national sport. 

Bermuda made the third biggest leap of any country in FIFA’s/Coca-Cola World Rankings in October 2006. Following a successful Digicel Cup first round qualifying campaign in the US Virgin Islands in September, the Island’s national soccer team climbed 41 places from 163rd into a two-way tie for 122nd with Surinam.

Bermudian Clyde Best once played as a striker for the Somerset Trojans, the English team of West Ham United in London, Ajax and Feyenoord Dutch team. He was Bermuda's technical director of soccer until December 1999. Randy Horton, now the Hon. Randy Horton, JP, MP, Minister without Portfolio, played for the New York Cosmos in the USA Indoor Soccer League. David Bascome plays professionally as a mid-fielder for a USA team. Shaun Goater played professionally as a striker for the English Premier League team of Manchester City (It was in the First Division until April 2002) until he officially left the club in June 2003. He returned to Bermuda to lead and coach the Shaun Goater Grassroots Soccer Festival in June 2003. In mid-2003, he joined Reading in the English First Division and in mid 2005 signed for Southend United. He played his last game for them in May 2006, on retirement from UK football. Kyle Lightbourne used to play professionally for Stoke City, then for English Third Division Macclesfield Town until April 2003. Bascome and Goater operate the Bascome/Goater Pro Soccer Clinic at various times when they are in Bermuda. At college level, John Barry Nusum dominated US soccer and now plays professionally in the USA and Ranieka Bean was one of the top five players in women's soccer at Howard University.

Since April 20, 2007 there has been a Bermuda Hogges professional football outfit, playing in Bermuda and the USA. Stephen Astwood and Damon Ming were confirmed as the Hogges’ two franchise players, while former English pros and team co-owners Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne were was also included among a squad of 22 players. The non-playing co-owner is Paul Scope. The full squad is as follows: Timmy Figureido, Jason Williams, Darius Cox, Robert Wilson, Jelani Scott, Dennis Zuill, Jared Peniston, Damon Ming, Omar Shakir, Stephen Astwood, Shaki Crockwell, Lashun Dill, Ralph Bean Jr, Devaughn DeGraff, Raymond Beach, Kwame Steede (captain), Michael Parsons, Domico Coddington, Shaun Goater, Kyle Lightbourne, Seion Darrell, Clevon Hill. The team is in the USA's United Soccer League (USL) Division Two.

Shell Youth Soccer League

The three divisions are Under 11; Under 13; Under 18. All are active.

Soccer referees

Snooker

There is an active league, with Old Colony Club, St. George's Dinghy Club, Spanish Point Boat Club, Queen's Club, Warwick Workmen's Club and Watford Sports Club among the participants.

Softball

A popular game, like baseball but with underarm pitching. Divisions include Central, East, North and South and West. There are about 38 teams in total.

Squash

The British game, more correctly called squash rackets. Similar to US racquetball  -also played in Bermuda on squash courts - but played with a different-size ball. Bermuda, with year round squash fanatics, hosts some international events. The Bermuda Open has attracted some of the best-known names in squash and international tournaments are now held periodically in Bermuda, including the Endurance World Open squash tournament held at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel in 2007. Former squash world champion James Stout, the New York Racquet and Tennis Club professional, is a Bermuda resident.

The best-known squash clubs locally are:

• #1. The Bermuda Squash Racquets Association (phone 292-6881) has its Bermuda Squash Racquets Club.  It is at 11 Middle Road,  Devonshire DV 06, just east of the Montessori Academy. Or P. O. Box HM 176, Hamilton HM AX. Phone 292-0291 Fax 295-8718. It is open to the public from 10 am to 10 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 4 pm on weekends, but open 24 hours a day 7 days a week to members. It welcomes new members and charges an annual fee, plus an initiation fee. It has coaches, at additional cost. he Junior Program is registered charity 549. 
• #2. Moresby Squash Club, Dockyard. Call 234-5794. Newcomers are welcome, from beginner to expert. It too welcomes new members and charges an annual fee, plus an initiation fee.

Some leading private sector employers also have squash courts, for their employees only; for use only before or after working hours or during lunch hours, and by appointment in advance.

Swimming

Bermuda was well-represented in the 2003 Island Games. Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association (BASA). P. O. Box PG 149, Paget PG BX.  Or P. O. Box DV 577, Devonshire DV BX. Phone 292 1713. RC 148. There are no professional swimming teams. All amateur swimming events. It has its own swimming pool at Canal Road, Pembroke and a White's Island Aquatic Program.

Table tennis

An established sport locally, with some facilities at some community and other centres. Bermuda Table Tennis Association, P.O. Box HM1636, Hamilton, Bermuda HM CX, (441) 535-4864 Fax (441) 236-4931.

Tennis

A racket (racquet in USA) sport. Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association, 2 Marsh Folly Road, Pembroke HM 13. Tennis was a pastime of British Admirals and Governors, their wives and their guests long before it became much more popular. The island's earliest private tennis courts were at Admiralty House, Spanish Point, home and command center of the resident Royal Navy Admiral, and Government House, residence of Bermuda's Governors. Unlike cricket and soccer, tennis was not introduced to Bermuda as a popular sport via the British military apparatus. It was the pastime of its colonial administration. Thus was tennis was exported from Britain via Bermuda to the USA. A Bermudian merchant who visited England in 1871 indirectly pioneered tennis as a popular local sport. Thomas Middleton was impressed by what he saw in England of the game of lawn tennis as a development of a much older game. He acquired in England a set of the equipment with every intention of having his wife play it, to keep her amused and physically active. Then he changed his mind and donated the equipment to his friend, Sir Brownlow Gray. He built Bermuda's first home based private tennis court in the grounds of his manor home in Paget Parish, Claremont, overlooking Hamilton Harbor. His daughter Mary was once Bermuda's first female tennis champion and made it popular locally. However, it was Mary Outerbridge who liked the sport so much in Bermuda that she took her equipment to the USA and managed to persuade the Staten Island Cricket Club to build a court on its grounds.

From there, tennis spread throughout the USA, eventually as a national sport. Davis Cup tennis was established beyond Bermuda for nearly a century before there was any Davis Cup Competition in Bermuda. Top local players battle with the Caribbean or Central America. Tennis is year round on more than 100 public and private courts, some for nights. International invitational tennis events are often in Bermuda.

Australian Pat Rafter, a former champion, has a home in Bermuda.

Bermuda's # 1 seed is James Collieson. Top young tennis players include Javon Whitter and Gavin Manders.

• Coral Beach Invitational. 
• Inaugural Bank of Bermuda Foundation International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Ranking Junior Tournament (June 14-21, 2003)
• XL Bermuda Open. P. O. Box HM 3073, Hamilton HM NX. Phone 296-2554. Fax 296-2551. Funding dropped: Government ended its $50,000 a year sponsorship of the XL Tennis Tournament in 2007.

W. E. R Joell Tennis Stadium

The only public facility. Cedar Avenue and Marsh Folly Road, Pembroke Parish. Phone 292-0105. Government-owned and known as the Government Tennis Stadium until July 2003. Then it was renamed for the late Bermudian who pioneered the integration of blacks on this tennis stadium's courts. His daughters, Eileen Simmons, Rosemary Cann and Joyce Hayden were present at the ceremony conducted by then-Premier Jennifer Smith. In 1953, his tennis lessons attracted many children and produced two champions, Shirley Davis and Arnold Todd. In 1957, when the Social Welfare Board turned down his request for funds to pay for overseas coaches to come to Bermuda to teach tennis, Mr. Joell organized the Bermuda Tennis Development Fund. As a result, several overseas coaches came and Mr. Joell opened up his own home on Brunswick Street in the City of Hamilton to accommodate them. He was an Associate Member of The Professional Lawn Tennis Association of the USA and the Field Secretary of the American Tennis Association. He helped organize several local clubs including the Castle Harbour Hotel Tennis Club, King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Club, Unity Tennis Club and Salvation Army Tennis Club.  He accompanied Bermudian teenagers to the USA to compete in tennis tournaments at Central State College. In 1973, he received the Queen's Certificate and Badge of Honour for his valued services to tennis in Bermuda.

Anyone can play here by appointment and for a fee. (Visitors will find tennis courts at many places to stay). There is a pro. Lessons are $30-$50. There are 3 clay and 5 plexi cushion courts. Tennis attire is mandatory.

Triathlon

This sport has many participants locally. The Bermuda Triathlon Association - hotline  299-6709 - holds a major triathlon every year, one of the most important sports events. There are also others, such as the Bank of Bermuda Triathlon. Registered charity 416.

Track and Field

Bermuda has hundreds of runners who take to the roads in the early morning or by day, evening and night. You too will be welcomed. There are competitive invitational events held throughout the year, beginning in January, involving runners from Bermuda and around the world. Numerous road races include the Evian 10 Mile every March. There are numerous track and field events.

Volleyball

The system of playing here is administered by the Bermuda Volleyball Association, at voice-mail (441) 291-1898. Bermuda was well-represented in the 2003 Island Games by separate teams of men and women.

 Women in Sport

Committee appointed in 2002 by the Bermuda Government to promote the positive role of women in sport.

Water Sports