This weekend, the city of Rhinelander is without a question becoming more diverse.

That's because more than ten countries have descended on the city for the World Ice Fishing Championships.

"This is northern Wisconsin stuff on a world stage," Mike Michalak, director of marketing and communication said.

Ice fishing is what drew competitors from countries like Poland, Russia and Lithuania fishing for the title of World Ice Fishing champions.

But the United States was considered one of the favorites heading into the competition.

"We know the fish, but knowing the fish, you still can't make em bite. We know the water. We've had 2 national championships on this body of water the last two years, but we haven't fished in this area. It was specifically laid out to not give anybody a bigger chance mainly us," Michalak said.

So far, organizers say the event has been a rousing success, with thousands of people cramming downtown Rhinelander for a parade on Friday night.

"It is absolutely huge to have an international spotlight on this city, on this state, on this country, the first time on American ice," MIchalak said.

"They caught a lot of fish bigger than in Europe. It means everybody happy and it means big event and it's great for ice fishing," Greg Wilczynski, coach of Team USA said.

"All the good things for the area you can possibly think of. It's tough to think of a word to put to it. The benefit to the area is immense. To the sport is immense," Michalak said.

While it may have been a little chilly out here, especially on the lake, at least you weren't in Estonia, where the average temperature in March is a cool 26 degrees.

The competition wraps up on Sunday with three hours of fishing before the winner is crowned.