It's a balmy -31º C (-24º F) with the wind chill factor here in sunny Ottawa while I write this note about how our athletes are faring in the somewhat warmer Tampa sunshine.

The first results are in from the Coloplast International, where Canada has two teams in action – The Nordiques, our higher ranked team, and Canada Ice, our team of developing players. The 'Diques ran into the Tampa Generals, while their teammates from the Ice met the #2 ranked team in the USQRA, the Phoenix Heat. The Nordiques beat Tampa by an 11-point margin, by a score of about 34-23. It's worthy to note that Tampa used all four of their timeouts in the first quarter of the game. Meanwhile, in a nearby gym, the Ice were melted by the Heat by a score of 25-32. Guess that means that if they were to play here, in the 2nd coldest capital in the world, the Ice would freeze the Heat. Go figure. ;-)

On a negative note, players noted that several of their cars had been broken into. More word on this later, but at least one member of the National Team has lost a considerable amount of personal clothing and his airline ticket for the next tournament.

2003 COLOPLAST INTERNATIONAL

Pool "A"
Lakeshore Demolition (#1 in USQRA)
Belgium (#4 in the world)
At Large (a composite team)

Pool "B"
Les Nordiques du Canada (#2 seeded team in the tournament)
Texas Stampede (#4 ranked team in the USQRA)
Tampa Generals (#7 ranked team in the USQRA)

Pool "C"
Phoenix Heat (#2 ranked team in the USQRA, featuring "The Kid")
Australian Development (pretty much their world championship team less "The Kid")
Canada Ice (#10 seeded team in the tournament)

Pool "D"
Great Britain (#5 ranked team in the world)
Germany (#9 ranked team in the world)
Hoveround Lightning (#5 ranked team in the USQRA, less David Willsie, who is playing for Les Nordiques)

The next game for one of the Canadian teams is at noon, when the Ice meets Australia. The Nordiques will play Texas at 3:00pm. Tomorrow’s matchups are contingent on the outcomes of today’s results. Check the USQRA Scoreboard for more information on the day-by-day results for all teams, and to see who is on the lineup for each team, check out our roster page. New pools will be formed, grouping the top 8 teams into two balanced pools, while the bottom team from each of the first four pools will meet each other and play for 9th.