for their debut at the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens tournament.

Three Island players are in the inaugural West Indies squad for the competition which gets underway at the end of the month.

Bobby Hurdle, captain of the side, Jon Cassidy and Danny McGavern have all linked up with the team for a pre-tournament get-together in Canada.

They are based at the University of Victoria in British Colombia and have been using the facilities of the Velox club.

Today they will take part in a sevens tournament arranged by Velox and featuring several sides from around the area.

John Williams, the Bermuda-based manager of the West Indies side, said things were going well. "We have been training all day and all night. We have been doing some bonding, the guys have been going bowling together and just getting to know each other and getting so they feel comfortable around each other,'' he said.

Williams said the team looked "quite sharp''.

"We are trying various squad combinations all the time because when we get to Hong Kong we will have 12 players but we can only nominate 10 for each game,'' he said.

Williams said it would be a thorough workout today.

"It will be a full-on contest and then it will be just light training until we play the sevens,'' he said.

Williams said he was pleased with the attitude of the players.

"They are completely exhausted when they go out at night. There's no question of going out and partying, their focus is on wanting to go home and get some sleep because they know they will have a hard day tomorrow,'' he said.

"From that point of view it's refreshing to see the professional attitude of all of them.''