World Korfball Classic III - Everything Thread

[Free Republics]

Welcome to the 3rd edition of the World Korfball Classic. A record 16 nations have entered this edition, which will be held in a non-participating nation for the first time ever, as the Federation of Free Republics will be hosting the World Korfball Classic. The teams have been drawn into 4 groups of 4. Each group will play every team in their group home and away. The top 2 finishers from each group will advance to the Federation of Free Republics and a tournament will commence at the Nicholls Enterprises Arena in the city of Baseton, located in the Republic of Amolotopia. The group winners will face off, for the right to advance straight to the semi-finals while the runners-up will face off, hoping to avoid elimination. The winners in the second round will advance to the semis. From there, the final 4 will resemble a regular single-elimination tournament, including a 3rd place match for the losers of the semis. All 16 participants may begin posting their rosters and RPing for the first match day immediately.

Groups (rosters linked)

Group 1

Sicoutimont
Slembana
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Shadowbourne

Group 2

Kriegiersien
Vaugania
New Sideburn
Schmiegelland

Group 3

German zerabithea
The Serbian Empire
Sudagiu
Feministvs Sanctvsterra

Group 4

St Lucoa
Indo-pasif archipelago
Free Swiss States
Some Village

Schedule

Group Stage (home teams listed first)

MD1 (June 5): 1 v 4, 2 v 3
MD2 (June 6): 4 v 3, 1 v 2
MD3 (June 7): 3 v 1, 2 v 4
MD4 (June 8): 4 v 1, 3 v 2
MD5 (June 9): 3 v 4, 2 v 1
MD6 (June 10): 1 v 3, 4 v 2

Tournament (numbers refer to seeds, not groups)

First Round (June 12): GW1 v GW4, GW2 v GW3, RU5 v RU8, RU6 v RU7
Second Round (June 13): GW1/GW4 loser v RU5/RU8 winner, GW2/GW3 loser v RU6/RU7 winner
Semi-Finals (June 14): No First Round rematches allowed
Third Place Match (June 15)
Final (June 16)

Group 1, 2 and 4 Cutoffs will be at 11 PM US Eastern Time. Group 3 Cutoff will be at 4:30 US Eastern Time and will be scored by Sicoutimont

RP Permissions

Code: Select all

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following...
Choose My Scorers: Yes/No
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes/No
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes/No
Godmod Injuries to My Players: Yes/No
Godmod Other Events: Yes/No

OOC Thread (Formerly signups) Keep purely OOC discussion in the OOC Thread. Purely OOC posts in the main thread will be counted as RPs and graded as such.

[Free Republics]

reserved for information about Free Republics

[Feministvs Sanctvsterra]

Feministvs Sanctvsterra presents:

The "Saintland" National Korfball Team
World Korfball Classic II Champions

Captain: Agrippina
Colors: Pink and White
Arena: Nicholls Enterprises Arena
Arena Capacity: 21,608
Location: Baseton, Amolotopia, Free Republics

Starting Lineup

F-ATT #1 Agrippina
F-ATT #2 Catharina
M-ATT #99 Matthaeus
M-ATT #98 Marcus
F-DEF #3 Maria
F-DEF #4 Martha
M-DEF #97 Lucas
M-DEF #96 Ioannes

Reserves

F-ATT #5 Elizabetha
M-ATT #95 Petrus
F-DEF #6 Iulietta
M-DEF #94 Paulus

Notes

Korfball is banned in the Kingdom of Saintland because it is a sport played by mixed-gender teams. The organization Feministvs Sanctvsterra is a banned organization in Saintland that seeks gender equality and separation of church and state. They are internationally renowned for their protests in numerous nations against the Government of King Paulus XV and the Church of Saintland. The players on the team will not be using their last names to protect their identities. These may or may not be their real first names, but these the same names they went by at the 2nd World Korfball Classic. Feministvs Sanctvsterra was driven underground into a compound in a remote area of Saintland and they took up the sport of korfball because it is an egalitarian sport that reflects their ideals. These 12 players were the best players, so they were chosen to enter the World Korfball Classic. They won the 2nd World Korfball Classic, defeating New Sideburn in the finals. They will be arriving in German Zerabithea for their first match by way of Cassadaigua, where they are currently enjoying their opportunity to throw apples at Saintland's National Baseball Team and promote awareness of the oppression of women in Saintland to a sympathetic audience. Feministvs Sanctvsterra was thought to be an all-female organization by most people in Saintland, including the authorities, but males actually make up around 10% of their membership (most of them sympathetic brothers of female members) and this became widely known after the last World Korfball Classic. There are multiple sibling combinations on the team, although they have yet to be identified as such.

RP Permissions

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following...
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes (TG me first, preferably Saintland)
Godmod Injuries to My Players: No
Godmod Other Events: Yes

[The Serbian Empire]

The Serbian Empire Roster

Team Overview

Coach: Gordan "Gordy" Andrejic

Starters
#13 Mihailo Kocevic (M)
#14 Nemanja Pavelovic (M)
#20 Milos Burekovic (M)
#21 Goran Nevinovic (M)
#30 Lidija Marecic (F)
#33 Kira Vrana (F)
#42 Mirela Kovacs (F)
#45 Milica Miranovic (F)

Backups
#4 Mirko Mitjanic (M)
#5 Rok Sasavic (M)
#50 Marisa Antevac (F)
#53 Brigita Mirkovic (F)

[Some Village]

“Ananias, do you actually know why we’re here?”, Talma complained.
“I’ve told you before. To play korfball,” Ananias responded.
“But…”, Yiskah muttered, “we’ve never done that before.”
“Well, there’s a first for everything. Ok?”

Ananias turned around and gave the Lucoan airport official his passport. He has gotten slightly annoyed by the amount of questions asked. Why couldn’t people just accept that they had to be here and perform well? He had selected the squad based on their physical capacities, but if he had known they would’ve been nagging so much, he would’ve selected eleven mutes. A last angry stare made clear the topic was closed, for now.

Prochoros did not partake in the flustered blathering that went on behind Ananias’ back. Not only did they share membership in the Wanderers, the national rugby team, he knew Ananias long enough to know that this wasn’t his usual behaviour. Back when they all were still kids, Ananias was the youngest one of their group of friends. Nonetheless, he didn’t allow someone to push him around and maybe there the root was sown for his ambition and capabilities when it came to sports. Yes, he was stubborn and confident, but hardly ever arrogant or impolite.

“Everything all right, An?”, he asked, attempting to sound as tactful as possible.
“You’re not going to start whining as well, are you?”, was his angered answer.
“No mate, not at all. Just wondered about the tactics,” was the quickest white lie Prochoros could come up with.
Ananias couldn’t hide a deep sigh of relief. “It’s not that hard. You just make sure you match a strong one with a quick one, two girls and two boys on each side of the field. As long as you do that, all should work out.”

They discussed the rules of korfball for quite some time, but Ananias first response still bothered Prochoros. The only thing that was for sure, was that he wanted to get to the Free Republics for some reason or another.


Roster

Attacking four:
11. Yotam (32), son of Naamah
05. Kezia (17), daughter of Pontius and Tamar
16. Ananias (23), son of Zedekiah and Martha ©
03. Yiskah (25), daughter of Petros

Defending four:
12. Prochoros (26), son of Erastos and Edna
06. Basmath (21), daughter of Erastos and Edna
13. Yehoshua (22), son of Timothei and Tabitha
04. Marah (19), daughter of Tekoa and Claudia

Reserves:
14. Moshe (18), son of Erastos and Edna
01. Appolonia (29), daughter of Cenan and Salome
15. Jason (25), son of Cenan and Salome
02. Talma (27), daughter of Cephas and Priscilla

Team Info

Colours: red shirt, white shorts, blue socks
Home stadium: on board of the Some Village, the ship which constitutes our nation. We can only hope for you that we don’t play on a stormy day. We’ll play indoor (below deck, more correctly) but the ship might get shaky. Capacity is somewhere around a hundred people, as the korfball ground is actually the dinner room. It’s just large enough for the field and one row of benches at each side. Balls going high up in the air might constitute a problem, the ceiling is quite low.

Schedule

MD1: at St Lucoa
MD2: vs Free Swiss States
MD3: at Indo-pasif archipelago
MD4: vs St Lucoa
MD5: at Free Swiss States
MD6: vs Indo-pasif archipelago

RP Box

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following...
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes (but nothing grave)
Godmod Injuries to My Players: Yes (but nothing grave)
Godmod Other Events: Yes (but within certain limits)

[Vaugania]

Vaugania Golden Eagles
Style Modifier: +3

Starting ATK

13 M Pavel Skala
21 M Siegfried Strand
24 F Katya Skala (C)
32 F Rayna Romanov

Starting DEF

33 M Jack Hansen
22 M Sten Frei (C)
11 F Sofia Arnesen
25 F Justine Sierzant

Reserves

27 M Markus Schoettmer
32 M Oskar Kunze
14 F Greta Buhr
19 F Jenna Steiber

Home Arena: Yzerberg Gardens (19,033)

RP Permissions: Play hard and have fun.

[Shadowbourne]

Shadowbourne's Official WKC III Roster

Starters

#27 - Zolt Andersen (M, Age 26)
#12 - Kev Samakrat (M, Age 23)
#6 - Kym Sutton (F, Age 19)
#9 - Christoph Spnulovic (M, Age 27)
#18 - Cymone Kay (F, Age 29)
#14 - Abby Clemente (F, Age 26)
#10 - Ani Irving (F, Age 20)
#1 - Tanju Stjepanovik (M, Age 22)

Bench

#2 - KL Nakpanich (M, Age 21)
#11 - Pager Archer (F, Age 27)
#23 - Enjang Vesovic (M, Age 30)
#34 - Jussi Medvedev (M, Age 32)
#20 - Lorri Victors (F, Age 31)
#19 - Liv Kroschenko (F, Age 17)
#8 - Marc Stevens (M, Age 17)
#3 - Kallie Krohmal (F, Age 27)

Manager: Volkan Dzugkaev
Asst. Manager: Columbine Emmett

---

Kits courtesy of Kirola Sportswear (Audioslavia)

Kits courtesy of Kirola Sportswear (Audioslavia)

---

---

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following...
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes (TG me first.)
Godmod Injuries to My Players: No
Godmod Other Events: Yes (Within reason.)

---

Shadowbourne's roster has been selected from the KAS (Korfball Association of Shadowbourne) and the CAAS (Collegiate Athletics Association of Shadowbourne). Shadowbourne hopes to improve on their fourth place finish in last year's WKC by taking home the championship this time around.

[St Lucoa]

St. Lucoan National Korfball Team.

Manager: Paul Collins.
Assistant Manager: Mendez Cordoba

Starters-

#1 Ramsden Caddy (M, aged 28)
#2 Paul Ross (M, aged 21)
#3 Caroline Mckenzie (F, aged 26)
#4 Dima Jackson (M, aged 22)
#5 Jenny Carford (F, aged 19)
#6 Michael Johnston (M, aged 27)
#7 Lauren Collins (F, aged 25)
#8 Taylor Danzen (F, aged 42)

Reserves-

#9 Peter Cranberry (M, aged 17)
#10 Vera Monchalivic (F, aged 22)
#11 Steven Wallace (M, aged 23)
#12 Marion Hallison (F, aged 26)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following...
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Gmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP Injuries to My Players: No
Gmod Injuries to My Players: No
Gmod Other Events: No

[Kriegiersien]

Is it desperation if you send the same team that had failed once? Lazy? Or redemption?

This team of 14 has only one secret weapon. Atlanta Johnson.

Coach:
Ivan Medved

Jane Miller
Antonia Rooster
Paula Pudding
Francine Jane
Hanna Hering
Sandra Schlafrock
Atlanta Johnson

Jack Mauer
Frank Tower
Timo Turner
Mike Medved
Stan Solo
Martin Washington
Cider Strongbow


RP: Be creative.

[Sicoutimont]

(OOC: After discussion with Saintland/FR by TG, we've agreed that I'll scorinate Feministvs Sanctvsterra's group, and any other matches involving that team. The OOC schedule for Group 3 will be posted at the end of this article.)

Les Royales Roster for the World Korfball Classic III

Starters
ATT-F-Anna Deslauries
ATT-M-Jean-Luc Deslauries
ATT-F-Emilie de St-Laurent
ATT-M-Nicolas Desjardins
DEF-M-Gilles Coutier
DEF-F-Elizabeth Duceppe
DEF-M-Rene Bouchard
DEF-F-Gabrielle Levesque

Bench
ATT-M-Jean Duplessis
ATT-F-Amelia Trudeau
DEF-M-Hubert Alfontaine
DEF-F-Valery Laporte

So you might be asking, what the heck is Korfball? And we'll be honest, here at the Lac-Drouin Times, we thought the exact same thing. It's a game similar to basketball, with gender-mixed teams. Defenders must stay in the defensive half of the court for the whole game, and attackers the same. If you want more information, look it up. That's what we did. Shout-out to Camile of korballfans.blog.scm for describing the game to us in an e-mail! Anyways, below is the schedule and home stadium for Les Royales.

Home Stadium: Universite-Centrale Campus-Est Korfball Stadium (UCCEKS)
-Located at UC's eastern campus, in LaSalle, one of the largest suburbs of Lac-Drouin, will play host to the national korfball team's home games.

Schedule:
MD1-Sicoutimont vs Shadowbourne @UCCEKS
MD2-Sicoutimont vs Slembana @UCCEKS
MD3-Royal Kingdom of Quebec vs Sicoutimont
MD4-Shadowbourne vs Sicoutimont
MD5-Slembana vs Sicoutimont
MD6-Sicoutimont vs Royal Kingdom of Quebec @UCCEKS

Good luck to Les Royales at World Korfball Classic III!

Group 3 Schedule
MD1 (June 5) 1v4, 2v3
MD2 (June 6) 4v3, 1v2
MD3 (June 7) 3v1, 2v4
MD4 (June 8) 4v1, 3v2
MD5 (June 9) 3v4, 2v1
MD6 (June 10) 1v3, 4v2

RP cutoff will come at about 4:30pm EST, on June 10 the cutoff could be at an earlier time because I have a music exam the next day. If Feministvs Sanctvsterra's team should advance to the next round, I will provide details about that team's next match. Any questions, TG me please.

[Feministvs Sanctvsterra]

OOC: Time for an RP to summarize the events between WKC II and WKC III. Consider this a reminder that the cutoffs for MD1 are tomorrow. For Groups 1, 2 and 4, the cutoff is approximately 24 hours from the time of this post. For Group 3, it is approximately 17 and a half hours from the time of this post.

The members of the Feministvs Sanctvsterra korfball team, which won the 2nd World Korfball Classic, had been among the numerous members of the organization that protested at the Cup of Harmony, which was the culmination of their series at protests at World Cup qualifiers and the World Bowl. During the event, the St. Ioannes cell had been discovered in an abandoned farmhouse, thanks to a tip by Sister Polus, a nun who had been stationed at a local high school for foreign residents, and delivered a reputation as one of the craziest nuns in Saintland and that was saying something. They went into hiding.

Then, the Sanctii swamp soccer team played Cassadaigua's male national team in the finals. Before that game, the Saintland Press wrote that the Dagan men should convert to the Church of Saintland, which would help them put their women in their "natural" place. The SP had the lack of sense to reference rape allegations against a Dagan soccer player and a Dagan basketball player in a manner that offended both sides. This final passed without incident as Cassadaigua became the champions of swamp soccer.

Shortly thereafter, Cassadaigua and Saintland met in the quarterfinals of the International Basketball Championship. Cassadaigua finally responded to the editorial statements of the SP, criticizing Saintland. They also endorsed Feministvs Sanctvsterra, condemned their treatment by Saintland's authorities and invited them to visit Cassadaigua. Around that time, Sister Polus made an inflammatory video denouncing Cassadaigua and referencing the Biblical account from Genesis about the Garden of Eden, interpreting the Biblical account in a fashion that most non-Sanctii would consider misogynistic. The Dagans responded by throwing apples at Sanctii players, leading to a blowout in game 2. Cassadaigua went on to finish 2nd in the IBC.

Meanwhile, the Sanctii advanced to the playoffs of the WBC and Feministvs Sanctvsterra took up Cassadaigua on the offer to visit their nation. Arriving, they did their best to irritate the Sanctii, but it seemed like they rose to the occasion, beating Cassadaigua in 2 straight in the opening round and then beating Saugeais to tie that series at 2. After that, Feministvs Sanctvsterra had to leave Cassadaigua to travel to German Zerabithea for the WKC opener. They celebrated when they heard that their homeland, which they regarded as an oppressive patriarchal theocracy, was eliminated from the WBC. They just hoped their korfball skills weren't rusty as they prepared to open the WKC on the road. This time, the WKC would offer them the opportunity to visit 4 nations and draw attention in those nations to the oppression of women in Saintland. Although the constant travel would be tough, they were looking forward to promoting their cause in more than 1 nation this time around as they sought to defend their WKC championship.

[New Sideburn]

NEW SIDEBURN KORFBALL ASSOCIATION

Style Rating +1
Established relatively recently and in much haste, the New Sideburn Korfball Association (NSKA) has found a new sport for its athletes to prove themselves in. While korfball is relatively unknown in southern Sideburn, the northern territories border Echidnation, where it is an extremely popular sport, and some of its appeal has slipped below the border. There is a Korfball league in Echidnation, and much like foreign football teams flock to the New Sideburn leagues, KC Treason and Laithland Terrorism both compete in the Echidnation league.

Mind you, it's a damn shame they won't let strength dominate the competition...

At any rate, runners-up last time around, they're determined to do just as well this time.

My opponent MAY
Choose my goalscorers
RP injuries to my players (maximum one)
Hand out cautions to my players

My opponent MAY NOT
Godmod scoring events
Godmod injuries
Godmod other events

Six players of each sex have made the cut.

1 - Mike GUNSTOCK - 30
A tall, lanky, stubbled figure, immaculately skilled with the ball in possession. He's been playing the game the longest of everyone, and he knows what to do and when to do it. A natural.

2 - Jess VIRTUE - 28
Rather short and somewhat plump, Virtue's physique defies her sheer quality with the ball in possession. Probably the second-best player in the ranks.

3 - Ash LANTERN - 24
Young, and picked up the game fairly late having switched from football due to a weak physique, Ash Lantern is pacy and skilful, and a worthy bearer of the indigo shirt.

4 - Miriam ASHORE - 26
Miriam Ashore lost an eye in a car crash at the age of 19, but that didn't stop her from fulfilling her ambitions. Now she plays for the national team, notable for having a glass eye with a bright orange iris. Indirectly began the rivalry between Saintland and New Sideburn; cousin of Lukas Strongnesse, who directly began the rivalry between them.

5 - Andrew LOCKE - 21
Nothing gets past Locke; at an improbable 6'7" and with amazing reach, he's a demon on the field. He's not without skill, either; it's not for nothing he's made the starting lineup over Destrier.

6 - Joan GUILDER - 26
Prematurely grey, with a rather austere expression, Guilder is quick and intelligent in defence, and when it comes down to it almost competent on the attack.

7 - Bernhard PALISADE - 26
Tall, with an elegant mustachio and a noble bearing, Palisade is fearless in attack and tireless in defence. An unselfish player.

8 - Elisabeth TURNSCREW - 28
Elisabeth Turnscrew may have a more or less shattered nose from her last collision with a player, and a reputation for rough conduct, but she's still a more than capable defender. Sister of James Turnscrew, AFC Treason goalkeeper in football.

9 - Paul RIFLING - 31
He may look unassuming, but back in the Laith he lives in a cabin and eats what he hunts. This is his only release from his hermit-like life. He was not happy to be put on the bench.

10 - Helga VIGNETTE - 32
An artist in her spare time, generally working with stained glass. When she's not making beautiful art, however, she doubles as New Sideburn's 6'1", broad-shouldered, athletic bulwark. Can stop anything dead in its tracks.

11 - Kent DESTRIER - 27
A man who looks about ten years older than he is. Built like a brick outhouse, with a playing style to match. You want to get past him? Forget it. Demoted to substitute defender for insubordination in the last competition.

12 - Steph CREST - 23
A late entrant to the game, but one blessed with remarkable pace and energy. Without a doubt among the best recent prospects to join the team of late.

MANAGER
Bryan RIVERS - 40
Rivers has had a wealth of experience managing Echidnation sides before being called back home to do his duty. His response to the press? "Finally, the food over there was starting to actively depress me."

[Sicoutimont]

Group 3 Matchday 1

-Tables to be up on MD2.

German Zerabithea 13-25 Feministvs Sanctsverra
The Serbian Empire 13-8 Sudagiu

[Vaugania]

VauganiaSportsToday

WKC III Preview

Vaugania: Our very own team reached the quarterfinals of the 2nd World Korfball Classic that were hosted in Vaugania. They were eliminated by New Iskander, Vaugania's own military colony. The Golden Eagles have returned sporting the same roster as the last time. That means it again includes basketball stars Pavel Skala, who recently competed for the national team in the IBC, and Jack Hansen. We are expecting a similar outcome in this Classic, but we wouldn't be too surprised if there was improvement during the off period.

New Sideburn: On Matchday 1, New Sideburn will be playing their 5th consecutive WKC match in Yzerberg extending back to WKC II where they were defeated by Feministvs Sanctvsterra in 4 games during the championship series. There is no reason for anyone to believe that they can't accomplish the same in this tournament. New Sideburn will likely be the toughest opponents the Golden eagles have to face during the group round.

Kriegiersien: Kriegiersien mustered a single win in 6 matches during the last WKC. They are being brushed aside by most sportswriters, but you never know. However, the Golden Eagles are expected to steamroll the green smileys.

Schmiegelland: If you thought Kriegiersien was bad, have a look at the other smiley faced team. Schmiegelland finished last in Group A with a record of 0-1-5. They were also where Kriegiersien earned their only win. They would have been the worst team in the tournament if not for Slembana's 0-6 record. As far as predictions go, we are saying the same for them as we did for Kriegiersien.

[Free Republics]

Matchday 1 Results

Group 1
Sicoutimont 16–12 Shadowbourne
Slembana 19–13 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec

  Group 1                     Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Slembana                      1   1  0   19  13  +6    3
2 Sicoutimont                   1   1  0   16  12  +4    3
3 Shadowbourne                  1   0  1   12  16  −4    0
4 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   1   0  1   13  19  −6    0

Group 2
Kriegiersien 15–13 Schmiegelland
Vaugania 12–12 New Sideburn

  Group 2                     Pld   W  L  D   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Kriegiersien                  1   1  0  0   15  13  +2    3
2 New Sideburn                  1   0  0  1   12  12   0    1
  Vaugania                      1   0  0  1   12  12   0    1
4 Schmiegelland                 1   0  1  0   13  15  −2    0

Group 4
St Lucoa 10–14 Some Village
Indo-Pasif Archipelago 14–9 Free Swiss States

  Group 4                     Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Indo-Pasif Archipelago        1   1  0   14   9  +5    3
2 Some Village                  1   1  0   14  10  +4    3
3 St Lucoa                      1   0  1   10  14  −4    0
4 Free Swiss States             1   0  1    9  14  −5    0

[Some Village]

"Miss!"
"Goddamned, Yiskah, start getting some points in that korf!"

Each time someone wasted an open opportunity, Ananias got a little bit more angry. It seemed as if he was the only one on the field who was taking this game way more serious than necessary. The opposite team knew a bit better what they were doing out here, but in every other way, they were as green as us. A few hundred Lucoan were supporting their home team in the Crookshank Arena but they weren't as dedicated as their football counterparts. The fans rather enjoyed the game, with a drink and friends, as if it was a fun sunday afternoon out. When thinking about it, it actually was. Not seldomly, laughter rolled off the stands, but never in a discouraging way. Most even applauded the attempts made by our team, which were on average low quality.
Analysing our first half, we had more weak links than strong ones on the team. Yiskah and Basmath both were powerful ladies, but their aiming on target was off. We even started to suspect coach Collins to instruct his team to let them try, as there wasn't any danger in it. Yotam was a proper blocker, but seemed to be uncapable to grab hold of the ball and Marah appeared to be a little too scared to do more than run around. Even Prochoros, being quite athletic, had to recognize that this wasn't his game. Throughout it all, he had been struggling with where to run to and when to throw. Only the class from Yehoshua, the talent from Kezia and the unstoppable efforts from Ananias caused a tight scoreline at the break, 6 to 5 for the home team.

"That," Ananias fulminated, "was a disaster!"
"We're doing quite well, I think," Yiskah disagreed, "for first timers, that is."
"We're not doing well. You're not doing well, in fact. We're going to shake up this team or we'll be heading home with a defeat."
"Why so glum? It was a nice trip, being on an airplane and all. When we landed, man, I was going to piss myself."

All laughed with Yotam's confession, except for Ananias.

"A little more concentration, ok?! We're here to represent our nation, not to hear about you being a pansy. Moshe and Jason, you replace Yotam and Prochoros. Appolonia and Talma, you're coming in instead of Yiskah and Marah. Basmath, you don't throw towards that basket ever again, just pass it. Now get ready, we're getting started again."

Some muttered whether he was a dictator and that being the king's son had made him presumptuous, but none dared to protest in his face. Not the least of all, Prochoros got worried. His winner's mentality had been an advantage throughout the rugby season, but this behaviour... He had to find out what was bothering Ananias before it boiled over.

During the second half, we saw our gameplay becoming gradually better. Both Jason and Talma were spot on when it came to passing and scoring. With a penalty and a far score each, they changed the balance. Saint Lucoa had to try and keep the space limited but as time went by, they couldn't keep up with our two hares, Ananias and Kezia, who had perfected her running in technique. Point by point, a decisive gap was created and triumph ensured. We could go home with three points, but the atmosphere was far below zero. The cause of that was a last minute incident. With 14-10 on the board, victory couldn't escape us. Encouraged by the progress made by the entire team, Basmath did an attempt on goal. It hit the inside but leaped out, unfortunately. The "ooh's" hadn't died down on the stands when Ananias fell out with her.

"Basmath, you're awful and I told you, you cannot shoot so don't shoot!"

Three points indeed, but at what cost?

Scores

Ananias  3 (4', 18', 47')
Kezia    3 (13', 45', 57')
Yotam    1 (22')
Yehoshua 3 (27', 38', 55')
Jason    2 (34', 42')
Talma    2 (40', 52')

short note: a king is elected in Some Village, hence the "had made him"

[Kriegiersien]

Schoenwetter Herald

Kriegiersien beats Schmiegellands no name Team in a grin( ) Battle. Next opponent Vaugania.
The team controlled the match most of the time and played cautious but missed many points after a long preperation for the shot. Some players, especially Jane Miller seemed pretty nervous and caused travellings and simple turnovers, so that Schmiegelland could stick with them until the end.

It was close, but in the end the Kriegiersien team prevailed with 15-13. The secret weapon of the team, Allroundstar Atlanta Johnson, was retained.

Coach Medved made a challenge in the direction of Vaugania:
"We are not the unexperienced team from the last tournament anymore. We have constantly trained and improved exactly this girls and boys and are now on a higher level. And with Miss Johnson we have an ace up sleeve. They will see that tomorrow."

[Sicoutimont]

Group 3 Matchday 2

Feministvs Sanctvsterra 11-9 Sudagiu
German Zerabithea 11-12 The Serbian Empire

Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Feministvs Sanctvsterra    2    2   0   0    36   22  +14     6
2 The Serbian Empire         2    2   0   0    25   19   +6     6
3 Sudagiu                    2    0   0   2    17   24   −7     0
4 German Zerabithea          2    0   0   2    24   37  −13     0

[New Sideburn]

Fate
The first time New Sideburn had entered korfball, they hadn't brought along many fans.
This time they brought an army.
There were two reasons for this. One, the Free Republics were the kind of place you could get all of the benefits of their ridiculous system with none of the drawbacks of actually being a citizen there. Like Brenecia, you'd want to visit it and maybe use it as a tax haven, but not live there for good. Two, New Sideburn was good at korfball. This was established as a fact, and any sport that New Sideburn can't get better than .500 on ain't one worth following.

Therefore, the indigo shirts trotted onto the pitch with a horde of supporters bellowing "GET IN THERE!"

Which is nice, because it's good to feel appreciated.

Miriam Ashore certainly felt appreciated at the moment. It was hard not to when you were in the warm embrace of a fellow player, and it certainly wasn't a day she wanted to be out in the cold.
Her cousin had retired recently for her nation, soon after winning the Market Cup. She'd missed coverage of the match at the time, due to training, but was catching up on it now in full knowledge of the result. Fortunately, Miriam wasn't one to be set aside by spoilers.
"Yes!" she yelped as Lucia Oakwood scored the winning goal, which jolted Jess awake.
"Mmmh?"
"Oh, nothing, dear," said Miriam, absently. "Just... thinking."
"Yeah?"
Miriam flicked off the television, then sank back into the bed. "Well... New Sideburn's done really well recently. We've taken on everything and won, seems like. In football, at least. Champions of new arrivals? Champions of Esportiva? Champions of... merchandise?" Miriam shrugged. "I just think... you know, maybe this is our year."
Jess absently scratched her chin. "Yeah, I guess. But there's others, y'know. I mean, the ... Women of Saintland, or whatever they called themselves."
"Feminists Sanctusterra-"
"Yeah, Sanctus- is Saint, -terra is land," said Jess, irritably. "I did an English major in this shit, alright? Anyway, they're probably gonna be as good as ever. They take this thing really serious-like. Kinda ... fanatical, aye? Yeah, and we're playing for glory. Ain't the same thing on the pitch. You can't fight someone with nothin' to fear, which is why they trashed us last season. 'S Q.E.D., innit."
"Yeah, yeah... look, we're better prepared this time. The league's even expanded!" That was no lie. Rhagant and Newrook were preparing to introduce korfball teams as well, leading to four Sideburnese sides in all. It would be a while until they could set up their own league, but... maybe if they raised the profile of the sport here. "We're fighting for the sport itself to get profile back home, after all, and you can't say that ain't worth fighting for!"
"One can dream, Miriam," sighed Jess. "One can dream."

[Free Republics]

Matchday 2 Results

Group 1
Shadowbourne 19–24 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Sicoutimont 13–8 Slembana

  Group 1                     Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Sicoutimont                   2   2  0   29  20  +9    6
2 Slembana                      2   1  1   27  26  +1    3
3 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   2   1  1   37  38  −1    3
4 Shadowbourne                  2   0  2   31  40  −9    0

Group 2
Schmiegelland 2–16 New Sideburn
Kriegiersien 13–12 Vaugania

  Group 2                     Pld   W  L  D   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Kriegiersien                  2   2  0  0   28  25  +3    6
2 New Sideburn                  2   1  0  1   28  14 +14    4
3 Vaugania                      2   0  1  1   24  25  −1    1
4 Schmiegelland                 2   0  2  0   15  31 −16    0

Group 4
Some Village 13–11 Free Swiss States
St Lucoa 15–12 Indo-Pasif Archipelago

  Group 4                     Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Some Village                  2   2  0   27  21  +6    6
2 St Lucoa                      2   1  1   25  26  −1    3
3 Indo-Pasif Archipelago        2   1  1   26  24  +2    3
4 Free Swiss States             2   0  2   20  27  −7    0

[Some Village]

OOC: I'll hope you pardon me for this extremely silly RP.

"I... I don't feel well."
"Doesn't matter, Kezia, it is eleven each, you cannot give up now. The whole nation is looking at you, literally!"

Despite the fact that she went a bit more pale every minute, Kezia did an attempt to get ready for the final push. She had played rather well, marking twice again, but throughout the second half, she had gone seasick. Astonishing, as you wouldn't expect it from someone who lived an ark for several years already. But normally, she would go out in the open in this sort of cases. Now she was stuck in the dining room, or korfball arena for the occasion, with no view on the outside world. The ship was rolling through an awful storm and the room was swirling. Producing proper passing was impossible and it was remarkable that so many points had been scored. You could blame the low ceiling, which had created a new way of scoring, with bumper.

Oh god, no. Don't pass me to me now, I'm getting sick. I grabbed hold of it, much to my surprise and looked frantically for someone to give it to. Jason was covered and Basmath was exhausted, luckily there is Ananias who broke through the defense. I'm trying to fling it into that direction. An abrupt manoeuvre of the ship smacks the ball in his hands and a score follows.

"Great pass, Kez! One more minute, com'on."

Don't look to the floor. Don't look to the floor. Look up. Look up. Another Swiss attack but I can't even be bothered to follow. I'm getting a dirty taste in my mouth... No. Not here, with everybody looking. My eyes try to find an exit, I'm turning and twisting... I'm losing my balance.

"Kezia, yours!"

In a reaction, I turn around to see who's shouting. The ball hits me straight in the face and in that split second, I'm going sick. No. Noooooo...

...

"She's lost consciousness. Get a doctor!"
"Poor girl, she's looking like a sheet."
"Not sure whether a score with the front of your face counts... But the way she diverted her direct opponent by throwing up all over her was most certainly a novelty."

[Kriegiersien]

Kriegiersien 13–12 Vaugania

In a tough and thrilling fight Kriegiersien beats Vaugania. Star Atlanta Johnson scored no points, but was an important spinning point and key element as playmaker and decisive passes. After the game it was stated that she played with a sprained ankle.Topscorer was Timo Turner with 6, who also scored the last point. The first half time saw less points scored (5:5), before the heat (35 C) in the small Arena in Schoenwetter took its toll, leading to more flaws in the defense. In the last minute Kriegiersien was able to delay the game, so that no more points were scored.



Antonia Rooster denies a throw seconds before the end.

"We are now on the right path. I hope we can preserve our form in the next games", said Coach Medved.
Adddressed about the clear win from New Sideburn in their last game he answered:
"We are not Schmiegelland."

[Feministvs Sanctvsterra]

The members of Feministvs Sanctvsterra's korfball team had just picked up their second victory, but by a much narrower margin. In their first match, they had looked very much like defending champions, defeating German Zerabithea in German Zerabithea 25 to 13. Now, they had barely pulled out an 11 to 9 victory against Sudagiu at Nicholls Enterprises Arena.

Catharina had scored 10 korfs against German Zerabithea. Against Sudagiu, she was held scoreless until scoring a critical korf in the 55th minute to put her team up 10 to 9. She would add an 11th korf 2 minutes later to clinch the victory. After the match ended, Agrippina addressed her team:

Agrippina - We came back to the World Korfball Championship for 2 reasons. First, we want to promote our cause and bring more international pressure on the Patriarchy back home. We are accomplishing that goal. Today, we received the support of countless girls from this massive city of Baseton when we were out protesting. I can't count how many girls walked up to me today, asking how they could help our cause. Even though they are youths who don't have much spending money, they were willing to donate some of their money toward our cause. I appreciate their support. We all do. Secondly, we came here to defend our championship. While we may have won today, let's face facts. Sudagiu is not New Sideburn and, as much as I may respect them, I want to beat their korfball team again. As you may have heard, New Sideburn apparently visited Schmiegelland today and held them to just 2 korfs. Can you believe that? That group looks very tough, as Kriegiersien, New Sideburn and Vaugania are all serious contenders to win the entire thing. Tomorrow, we will visit The Serbian Empire. They defeated the same teams that we have defeated and a victory would put us atop our group at the midway point. Tomorrow, we will promote our cause in The Serbian Empire and then we will play their korfball team. We need to get better if we expect to beat whichever 2 teams come out of New Sideburn's group and we need to beat The Serbian Empire if we want to guarantee ourselves at least 2 additional games. We've been here before. Let's show that tomorrow.

The members of Feministvs Sanctvsterra were focused, as they prepared to visit The Serbian Empire for their 3rd group stage match. After this match, only 1 team could have a perfect record in Group 3 and Feministvs Sanctvsterra was determined to make sure it would be them.

[Sicoutimont]

Group 3 Matchday 3

The Serbian Empire 10-8 Feministvs Sanctvsterra
Sudagiu 9-16 German Zerabithea

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Serbian Empire         3    3   0   0    35   27   +8     9
2 Feministvs Sanctvsterra    3    2   0   1    44   32  +12     6
3 German Zerabithea          3    1   0   2    40   46   −6     3
4 Sudagiu                    3    0   0   3    26   40  −14     0

[New Sideburn]

Putting Paid to Criticism
I'll 'ave you, thought Elizabeth Turnscrew, gritting her teeth as she watched Schmiegelland defence. She had good pedigree, in a sense, being the sister of a goalkeeper with a solid record. This was presently manifesting itself as her team being 16-2 up. This didn't mean she necessarily wanted to let them make it three. I'll bloody 'ave you, just try me...
She was tried, and flattened the Schmiegelland attacker in response. Despite a brief attempt at a counterattack, the final whistle blew.
Frankly, if it was ever going to come down to goal difference, they'd done well for themselves.
"Nice work, lads and lasses!" said Mike Gunstock, with a hearty/paralysing smack on the back for the lanky, slender Liz. "With this form we'll have won the cup in no time!"
"Yeah, that's what you say..."
Liz was still angry at herself. A mistake on her part had allowed them to score the second of their goals. The fact that they'd only scored one other wasn't much consolation; if anything it made things worse, as that meant she'd effectively let in half their conceded goals.
"I need a bloody drink," she muttered.
Mike shrugged. "Well... okay, but we figured that'd come later-"
Liz spat. "A drink, a packet of smokes and a victory next week. Today was a disaster."
She didn't say anything else, just listened wordlessly to Bryan Rivers' enthusiastically victory speech, then stormed out the door at the first opportunity.
Miriam raised an eyebrow as she fled. "Bloody hellfire, she's well out of it. We ain't gonna have... problems with her, are we?"
"Probably," sighed Mike. "Probably."