A great new article which highlights the games held in the recently completed back-to-back tournaments in the US is available on USQRA web site. The article was written by 2.0 Brian Sterner who plays for the Tampa Generals, who were the host team at the Coloplast International.

This past weekend saw Ian Chan, Adam Frost, and Say Luangkhamdeng suit up for the California Quake Shakeup tournament, sporting the colours of the British Columbia Bandits. Their BC teammate, Garett Hickling, played for his US team, the host California Quake. Ian Chan, who also plays for a US-based team in San Diego, was able to play for the Bandits as his US team was not registered for this tournament.

Four teams were registered for this tournament, with the #4 USQRA ranked Texas Stampede leading the way. Other teams included #6 California Quake, #11 Portland Pounders, and the #2 CWSA ranked team in Canada, the BC Bandits, without their 'G-Factor'. The Bandits kept it close in three out of four games, but in the end, maintained their seeding. The G-powered Quake rumbled their way through the opposition, going undefeated despite the return to the lineup of Texas Stampede stars Mark Zupan and Steve Pate.

The next tournament for our complete set of national team programs athletes will be at the Vancouver Invitational, to be held in Burnaby, BC next month. Meanwhile, several of our best players will compete with their US teams in order to qualify their teams for the USQRA Nationals.

News from the sunny south:

The Demolition Derby has wrapped up for another year, and the Lakeshore Demolition have returned to the top of the field, with a convincing bakers dozen sized win over the Phoenix Heat, who were the champions of last week's Coloplast International. Lakeshore placed 4th at that prestigious tournament.

Phoenix beat the Nordiques by two points in the final crossover game, which saw the Demolition blow by the Belgian National Team by just a regular dozen points. The loss to Phoenix was the only loss the Nordiques would have in this tournament, and they wrapped up 3rd place honours by getting past the Belgians by a two point margin.

The 'Diques, led by All-Tournament Team 3.5 Garett Hickling, went 6-1 at the Demolition Derby, and combined with their record at the Coloplast International, came out of their back-to-back tournaments with an impressive 12-2 record.

The Ice lost to Australia in their cross-over, and were to play the Texas Stampede for 7th, but the game was never held due to an illness to one of the Texas players, which cost them to forfeit three of their final four games of the tournament. The Ice beat their seeding for the 2nd straight tournament.

The final results of the tournament were:

Final Standings and their (original seedings):

1st - Lakeshore Demolition (1)
2nd - APVA Phoenix Heat (3)
3rd - Canada Nordiques (2)
4th - Belgium (5)
5th - Great Britain (4)
6th - Australia Development (7)
7th - Canada Ice (8)
8th - Texas Stampede (6)
9th - USA Development (10)
10th - *Lakeshore Foundation (11)
11th - *Denver Harlequins (12)
12th - *Germany (9)

* (Final positions decided on head-to-head games in a tie-breaker)


All-Tournament Team:

Eddie Crouch (0.5) – Lakeshore Demolition
Scott Hogsett – (1.0) – APVA Phoenix Heat
Ronny Verhaegen – (1.5) – Belgium
Cliff Chunn – (2.0) – Lakeshore Demolition
Troye Collins – (2.5) – Great Britain
Ludwig Budeners – (3.0) – Belgium
Garett Hickling – (3.5) – Canada Nordiques
Brad Dubberley – MVP – APVA Phoenix Heat

All the Canadian players on both the Nordiques and the Ice got a lot of court time and much needed seasoning in an international calibre tournament, which fares well for the future of the national team program in Canada, and the outlook of the team when it plays as a single 12-man unit at future international competitions.