World Cup of Hockey 44 - Signup Thread

[Savojarna]

In! Pre-confirming Adyatin as well

[Adyatin]

In! Pre-confirming Adyatin as well

We don't need your approval, dirty communists!

[Nova Anglicana]

Nova Anglicana is back for another crack at getting eliminated on the last day of the group stage.

[Mercedini]

Yessir!

[Equestrian States]

In.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

World Cup of Hockey 44 Bid: Quebec & Shingoryeo

Introduction

After little thought and even less consideration, Hockey Quebec (HQ) presents their bid to host the World Cup of Hockey 44.

OOC Info

As Quebec & Shingoryeo and its puppet(s), I have hosted or cohosted many tournaments. See below:

WCoH and other Ice Hockey events: 5 World Cup of Hockeys (25-26, 29-30, 40, with 30 as Norrehavn-now Gatchingerrak Union) and 3 WJHCs (6, 8, 17), 2 editions of NCAA Ice Hockey
WCC and other football events: Cohost of WC73, WC77, BoF57, BoF62, CoH64, AOCAF 46, CR 21 (as Norrehavn-now Gatchingerrak Union)
Also: IBC 17-18, 21, 33; WB 25, 28; HWC 24, RUWC 30, Qualifying events of XI Summer Olympiad

During the past six months, he has hosted or cohosted the IBC 33 (with Bollonich), HWC 24 (Sylestone), RUWC 30 (Ko-oren), and VWE 12.

The user behind the nation also has extensively served on committee/overseer roles. A longtime member of many international sporting committees, he has served as the inaugural president of the World Cup of Hockey Federation for 6 cycles (WCoHs 24-29). At the moment, the user currently serves as the commissioner of the NationStates College Football board for past 6 editions (20-), and oversees both domestic handball and volleyball, as well as Volleyball World Expo.

IC Info

Located in Northwestern Anaia, Quebec and Shingoryeo is a nation known for its environment, rich cultural diversity and claims one of its region's most educated and cultured population. Led by Her Imperial Majesty, Christine II, the country is a semi-constitutional monarchy, with both the royalty and the democracy playing a huge role in Quebecois politics. With a high HDI rating and affluent economy, Quebec and Shingoryeo is an advanced nation with long years of peace and stability within the nation, while still allowing for societal and economic progress over the course of its history. With a beautiful environment, advanced economy, state-of-art infrastructure and love of sports, Quebec and Shingoryeo is your place to go for your once-in-a-lifetime voyage that welcomes every traveler.

Scorination

As always, I will be using the SQIS Modified Formula with no shootout option. Because of no shootout option being used, draws will be allowed for the course of group stage and overtimes for the playoffs. The range of permissible Style Modifiers will be from -5 to +5.

RPs will be scored on an unstated but generous scale, with the grading criteria based around on how creative and how well written they are, which means that the length of an RP isn't a be all and end all. While relevance to the tournament and the sport would come handy, the grading will not be significantly affected by you roleplaying different content (e.g. Nyowani Kitara Conflict, Yuezhou Civil War, etc), as I have no interest to serve as a limiter to RPers' choice of content. RP bonus will remain cumulative throughout the tournament.

Rosters will also be graded and shall be equivalent to a matchday. The grading will be done based on how the rosters faithfully meet the requirements expected from them- positions, height, home venues, playing style - and additional details, which would come handy for other RPers to come helpful.

To maintain consistency with recent tournaments I have cohosted, the rank will be halved for unrostered sides, whose rank will be restored to their original rank after the roster submission. This is to ensure every RPer is able to have their optimal experience, which may be affected with lack of a roster by the opponent, and thus emphasising the importance of rostering to every participant.

Format

At the moment, we have around 30 signups. Not the most impressive of signup numbers, especially compared to past editions, but it can be worked around. For the sake of discussion, let's assume that we will have around 36 teams, a reasonable number to expect given how many days have passed since the opening of the signup thread. As always, the numbers can be adjusted and I will provide adequate alternative options for bigger numbers.

In the group stage, the teams will be drawn into 6 groups of 6 teams, which will play double round-robin under 10 single-MD matchdays. This means that unlike in last two World Cup of Hockeys, the group stage will be played on each nation's selected home venues. There will be an off-day or two between the halves. As have stated on the scorination section, there will be no shootouts whatsoever under this format, with 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss.

Then top two teams from each group, as well as the top 4 third-place teams will qualify into the 16-team playoff stage. Seedings will be broken down from 1 to 16, with group winners receiving 1-6 seed, group finalists 7-12 and the third-placers 13-16. The entire playoff stage will be played in Quebec & Shingoryeo, in a magically-constructed site located in middle of cornfields out in northern Quebec named 'Rink of Dreams'. All playoff games until the semifinals and the third-place game will be played as single-elimination, with the finals being played under three-match series format.

Tiebreakers

The tiebreakers work according to this order:
-Points
-H2H Points
-Overall Goal Differential
-H2H Goal Differential
-Overall Goals For
-H2H Goals For

Questions

If you have questions about this bid, feel free to ask.

[PotatoFarmers]

In

[Mapletish]

Can I try?

[Fluvannia]

In

[Fluvannia]

WCOH XLIV - FLUVANNIAN BID

Hosting Experience
I've hosted:

• WJHC 15
• An invitational hockey tournament for nations from embassy regions
• A multi-sport regional tournament, and
• Scorination of a domestic hockey league (ask me about the spreadsheet!)

IC Info

On the far eastern coast of the continent of Poyoinen, on the western shore of the Sarasta Ocean, lies the Federated Principality of Fluvannia. A federal constitutional monarchy and the home of several different ethnic groups, Fluvannia plays home to an impressive display of global manufacturing and industrial enterprises, and as a result the standard of living is relatively high. Relevant to this bid, hockey is the official national sport and is the most popular in terms of both spectators and revenue. Fluvannians are known for being ardent sports fans, motorheads, and foodies.

On the ice, the Fluvannia Hockey League represents the top level of domestic competition. Twelve teams, two of which are based in a neighboring nation, compete for the Union Cup. The Fluvannia Intercollegiate Athletic Association also draws high viewership for its championship tournament each March; most members of the national team currently play in the FHL, with a few in the FIAA.

Scorination

Scorination will be done using xkoranate, using the SQIS Modifiers and shootouts. In the group stage, regulation wins will be worth 3 points, overtime wins 2 points, overtime losses 1 point, and regulation losses 0 points. Style modifiers may range from -5 to +5. RP posts and rosters will be graded qualitatively, mainly on the basis of creativity. One thing I've rather enjoyed from some of the recent WCOH tournaments is the RP prompts, and that's a thing I would continue (especially given that we are looking at a smaller tournament, boosting activity will be helpful and I felt as though the prompting system succeeded in doing that). RP bonuses will be cumulative. Home ice advantage will be turned off to represent the tournament being played at a neutral site (even for the hosts).

Scheduling

The everything thread will go up once the host is determined. Based on the current schedule (including the fact that the signup period has no deadline yet) I would try to target MD1 for Monday, December 8, with groups decided either the Friday or Saturday before. RP cutoffs would be around 10 PM Central Standard Time (UTC - 6:00) on match days.

Format

Based on the number of current signups and participants in previous World Cups, I would expect to have somewhere in the low-40s in terms of participants. For the sake of discussion we will assume a count of 42; the format can be adjusted as necessary.

Participants would be separated based on WCOH rank into seven pots of six, which will in turn be used to draw six groups of seven. With 42 teams, group play would be done in a double round-robin stage. Using the tiebreakers below where necessary, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, where they will be seeded using those same tiebreakers (all group winners as the top six seeds, all group runners-up as seeds 7-12, third place teams as 13-18, fourth-place teams as 19-24). Teams 9-24 will play a round of play-in games (9 vs. 24, 10 vs. 23, etc.), with the winners advancing to the round of 16. In each round, the highest remaining seed will play the lowest remaining seed, etc. -- the bracket is not "fixed". For the purposes of the WCOH rankings, I think it's reasonable to treat the top 8 seeds as having a "win" during the play-in games to represent their bye to the next round; this will keep everyone on the same number of games played for the tournament.

Tiebreakers

Ties in the points standings and initial knockout seeding will be broken using the following criteria, in this order:
- Head-to-head Points
- Goal Differential
- Head-to-Head Goal Differential
- Goals Scored
- Head-to-Head Goals Scored

[World Cup of Hockey Federation]

WCoH 44 - Host Voting

The host bidding period is now closed - we have two bids. It's now time to vote on the bids - Members of the WCoH Federation who are signed up for the tournament are eligible to vote. The options are as follows:

1. Accept the bid by Quebec and Shingoryeo
2. Accept the bid by Fluvannia
3. Re-open host bidding

Members should vote for one of the three options. All votes should be TG'd to Heiliges Bistum by 11:00PM EST on Tuesday, November 30.

Remember that signups remain open! We are currently at 33.

[Sannyamathland]

Yes.

[Taxonomic Kingdoms]

in.

[Kaldtfjell]

In for the first time

[Rocky Canada]

I'm in

[Cassadaigua]

Wasn't going to initially but the timing might work out well. So, in.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Alright. So we have 38 nations signed up, with possibility for more.

Since I originally proposed a 36-team format back when there were 30 nations that signed up, it's time to update them with possible options in mind:

• 40 team format: 4 groups of 10. 9MD Single Round Robin with 1x24 scorination windows. Top 4 placers (16 nations) qualify into the Round of Sixteen. Single-elimination, 16-team bracket onwards.
• 42 team format: 6 groups of 7. 14MD Double Round Robin with 2x48 scorination windows. Top 3 placers (18 nations) qualify into the elimination rounds, with top 14 seeds (all group winners and finalists, as well as the top two third-placers) given a bye. 15th-18th seeds (remaining third-placers) will play each other in the play-off round, with the winners qualifying for the Round of Sixteen.
• 45 team format-Option 1: 5 groups of 9. 18MD Double Round Robin with 2x48 scorination windows. Top 3 and the best 4th-placed nation will qualify into the Round of Sixteen. Single-elimination, 16-team bracket afterwards.
• 45 team format-Option 2: 5 groups of 9. 18MD Double Round Robin with 2x48 scorination windows. Top 4 (20 nations) will qualify into the elimination rounds, with top 12 seeds (all group winners and finalists, as well as top-two third-placers) given a bye. 13th-20th seeds will play each other in a play-off round, with the winners qualifying for the Round of Sixteen.
• 48 team format: 8 groups of 6. 10MD Double Round Robin with 1x24 scorination windows. Top 2 qualify into the Round of Sixteen. Single-elimination, 16-team bracket afterwards.

4 out of 5 proposed formats would be done under double round robin, with the 40-team format being the exception. In the case we go ahead with a 40-team format, I'll probably have the group stage be ICly held in venues across Quebec & Shingoryeo, before elimination rounds being held in the 'Rink of Dreams'.

My preferred format out of 5 given there would be 45-team format (Option 1) or 48-team format, but I am more than flexible with other options. For example, I do think that a 40-team format is probably lot more realistic to expect than 48-team format, and while there is a slight concern that this may make group stage slightly short, it can be adjusted with a day or two of built-in breaks, especially considering that we are inching closer towards the holiday season. It is also to note that we've seen group stages whose single-round setup has seen more than just 4-5 matches, but fallen short of usual 10+ people have come to expect in recent cycles (40-43).

[Patriotlandia]

The national team of Patriotlandia is nervous but excited to step into the international spotlight for the first time.

[Sarzonia]

Alright. So we have 38 nations signed up, with possibility for more.

Since I originally proposed a 36-team format back when there were 30 nations that signed up, it's time to update them with possible options in mind:

• 40 team format: 4 groups of 10. 9MD Single Round Robin with 1x24 scorination windows. Top 4 placers (16 nations) qualify into the Round of Sixteen. Single-elimination, 16-team bracket onwards.

I've got to be honest. If you went with four groups of 10 and a single round-robin, I'd have to re-evaluate whether I'd want to take part in this, in particular since I cast my vote in part on the format you outlined in your original bid.

ICly, I could still cite the whole AO/Anaia thing and perhaps craft a storyline where it might make sense, but OOCly, it would be borne of disappointment in the format change.

[Fluvannia]

The national team of Patriotlandia is nervous but excited to step into the international spotlight for the first time.

New people: sign up

No but seriously, welcome

[Fluvannia]

Alright. So we have 38 nations signed up, with possibility for more.

Since I originally proposed a 36-team format back when there were 30 nations that signed up, it's time to update them with possible options in mind:

• 40 team format: 4 groups of 10. 9MD Single Round Robin with 1x24 scorination windows. Top 4 placers (16 nations) qualify into the Round of Sixteen. Single-elimination, 16-team bracket onwards.

I've got to be honest. If you went with four groups of 10 and a single round-robin, I'd have to re-evaluate whether I'd want to take part in this, in particular since I cast my vote in part on the format you outlined in your original bid.

ICly, I could still cite the whole AO/Anaia thing and perhaps craft a storyline where it might make sense, but OOCly, it would be borne of disappointment in the format change.

I’d gotten the impression a few cycles ago that groups on the larger side are nice because they offer the ability to do more RP and soften the impact of an individual game. Is the general preference for larger groups and single-RR, or smaller groups and double-RR, to be able to RP home-and-home matchups?

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Alright. So we have 38 nations signed up, with possibility for more.

Since I originally proposed a 36-team format back when there were 30 nations that signed up, it's time to update them with possible options in mind:

• 40 team format: 4 groups of 10. 9MD Single Round Robin with 1x24 scorination windows. Top 4 placers (16 nations) qualify into the Round of Sixteen. Single-elimination, 16-team bracket onwards.

I've got to be honest. If you went with four groups of 10 and a single round-robin, I'd have to re-evaluate whether I'd want to take part in this, in particular since I cast my vote in part on the format you outlined in your original bid.

ICly, I could still cite the whole AO/Anaia thing and perhaps craft a storyline where it might make sense, but OOCly, it would be borne of disappointment in the format change.

Personally, I agree with you that the said 40-team format isn't ideal. Personally I do prefer double RR group stages over single RR, mostly on the merits of there being more games at the group stage level in general, and also because of single RR creating humongous groups, something I have not always been fond of (barring WCQs, where it makes sense to have bigger groups). Still, I would say that 8 groups of 5 teams, even with a double RR, would only see 8 matchdays as well.

That said, it is probable we go for a larger format. With 39 teams signed up, we can certainly aim for a 42-team format, which would give us a rough 14MD, double RR format.

In that situation, the 2x48 would preferably be trialed, especially with probable need for more time between cutoff windows due to how close we are getting to holiday season. It has not been tried with WCoH before, but considering how it went with the IBC 32, I would say it would be a good option to consider.

I’d gotten the impression a few cycles ago that groups on the larger side are nice because they offer the ability to do more RP and soften the impact of an individual game. Is the general preference for larger groups and single-RR, or smaller groups and double-RR, to be able to RP home-and-home matchups?

Unlike IBC or WBC, there is no clear cut group stgae format for WCoH. It has always seen a wide range of tournament format changes over the years, which include many cycles of both options. In past, I have hosted WCoHs with both formats in past and would not advise a cohost to stick too closely to one.

[Delaclava]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySb1f9zWJkQ

(this is a signup just so we're perfectly clear...)

[World Cup of Hockey Federation]

WCoH 44 - Host Voting Results

It was an incredibly close vote for the hosting rights of the WCoH. 6 votes were cast originally, and they broke in a 3-3 tie between the two bids. There was nothing in the constitution about a tiebreaker, and given I had voted in the election I felt it would be unfair if I also cast the tiebreaker vote. So I asked the VP, Banija, to break the tie.

1 - Accept the bid from Quebec & Shingoryeo (4 votes)
2 - Accept the bid from Fluvannia (3 votes)
3 - Re-open bidding (0 votes)

Thank you to both bidders, and congrats to the new hosts! Signups have been updated and are currently at 40, the tournament is now handed over to Quebec & Shingoryeo.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Thank you all for your faith in me.

Since we have 40, and with the way tournaments are spaced out right now, we could go for a bit more push to at least reach 42 teams. Of course I would prefer 48, as that'd make the numbers easiest to handle, but 42 and even 45 would be more than fine on my front as well.

Since I have a major conference presentation coming up in less than 24 hours time, I'll give people at least 24 hours of signups before we reassess the situation.