WORLD BOWL XX - Sign-up Thread (CLOSED)

[The Sova Empire]

also, I believe I am eligible for the Baptism of Iron because this is my first World Bowl. The signups just say I'm signed up for the World Bowl, but I would like to be in the Baptism of Iron too.

[Taeshan]

I have decided after a bit of deliberation to enter once again.

[The Babbage Islands]

After an extended absence, the World Bowl IX runners-up return.

[World Bowl]

Updated through TBI, with Sova Empire's BoI eligibility added as well.

[The Fanboyists]

Would just like to note that we are less than two weeks out from the deadline to submit hosting bids without a single bid having been submitted so far. Get on those, folks!

[Michael VII]

I'll probably put out a bid for the Baptism of Iron, but should another user want to step up and host it, I'd probably rescind my hosting bid, provided I thought it was a good enough bid.

[Osarius]

Yar, the Firebirds be coming back, says I.

[Schmiegelland]

I'll sign up for the World Bowl and the Baptism of Iron

(First World Bowl)

[Lunar Republic Isands]

Lunar Republic Islands will return for thier 2nd World Bowl

[New West Guiana]

Baptism of Iron 13 bid

Where's West Guiana?

West Guiana is located in the heart of Atlantian Oceania[*1], with a population of 550 million. The national demonym is West Guianan(and it's spelled West Guiana, not West Guinea), the nation has always held in firm and strong belief that no nation should be defined by one single language. The same holds true in West Guiana though the majority speaks English(80%) the next largest spoken is German(7%). Politically speaking West Guianans do enjoy extensive civil and political rights, and many enjoy talking about politics, which all the nations parties are center-left.

Coming to sport the most popular sport in West Guiana is actually lacrosse which is played widely, the second is(american) Football which attendance wise is the largest with over 27.3 million people attending professional games each year. The United Football League is top football league in the nation professionally. If selected as hosts the weather during that time of year is cold, as it's winter. No matter game would be played outside as there are only four indoor football stadiums in all of West Guiana.

Past Experience

Along the lines of (American) Football the only thing I have scorinated was the Celesta conference of the last edition of the Nation States College Football [*2]. Other tournaments range from one edition of the short lived Women's World Indoor Soccer Championships and two editions of my softball tournament West Guiana Softball Invite.

Scorination

I'd be using Xkoranate with the NSFS3 sudden death overtime. Style modifiers would range from -5 to +5. RP bonuses will be commutative with bonuses ranging from 0 to 1.5.

Format

The format that i'd be aiming for would be for a max limit of twenty-four teams, puppets maybe used to get the desired number. The twenty-four would be split into four groups of six to which will play single round robin in West Guiana. The top two of each group, would advance onto the quarter-finals which then would play single game elimination. Concluding with a 3rd place game and then Championship game the next day.

[*1] Where the true heart of AO is located is debatable.
[*2] I do know there will be sour grapes concerning this bid due to the debacle of WB18.
Q&A, TG me, if it's something that you deem extremely important concerning the community post it here.

[Michael VII]

I'll support this bid, one because I believe in second chances, two because I want to see you get back into hosting things after said debacle having learned from past mistakes, and three because the Baptism of Iron is a safer tournament to host if you're getting back into the hosting game.

One minor tidbit, why style mods from only -4.5 to +5? (Instead of -5 to +5)

Not a huge deal, but it's interesting.

[New West Guiana]

One minor tidbit, why style mods from only -4.5 to +5? (Instead of -5 to +5)

Not a huge deal, but it's interesting.

While I was tinkering around with some editing before posting must have change that by accident, not supposed to be that way.

Though my reasons for a 0-1.5 rp bounus is mainly because many "newer" players here haven't the best rping skills and I don't want the rp bonus to strong for that one person whom posts a very nice well done rp then not rp for the rest of the tournament and manage to win(of course who says it wont happen again or hasn't happened before), where else some one else rps for the whole thing but fails to get any further than the group stage or qrt-finals.

Now to add a few more things onto the cap, 24 limit is a hard cap, however though if selected and there are not the desired 24 puppets are allowed as always. When i'd get the 13th BoI under way would be 4-5 days after the winner is selected. Still after that time if we're at 20 i'd proceed with that number. The format then would be two groups of ten single round robin, instead of having the top four from each group, i'd do the top eight overall, so one group may have more teams advancing than the other.

(By now anyone who may know me to any extent would or should know I don't do those brief summaries, but explain it out in full maybe more than I should but...the more detailed the better.)

two because I want to see you get back into hosting things

While actually i've involved my self into try to revive the World Lacrosse Championships into bring some life back into it, along with my new duties of re-doing the beach cup rankings. Plus i've found my self enjoying scorinating my domestic leagues.

A quick edit i've been spending more time with my main puppet rping and what not (non-sports) filling that empty void, since my full move to ns sports

[Free South Califas]

I'll support this bid, one because I believe in second chances, two because I want to see you get back into hosting things after said debacle having learned from past mistakes, and three because the Baptism of Iron is a safer tournament to host if you're getting back into the hosting game.

I agree with the quoted post: the BoI is a perfect place to get a second chance, if you're sure you're ready for it. If you feel inclined to panic, NWG, you should perhaps cultivate a connection with an active member of the community who you can reach out to for emergency advice (I can't nominate myself for the role since I will have a busy month IRL and am barely ready to host the IGCL )

[The Fanboyists]

Please disregard this bid, as, due to RL circumstances, I do not believe I would be able to reliably run a tournament in World Bowl XX. Thank you for your prior consideration.

An Allamunnic Bid to Host the Twentieth World Bowl

In-Character Information:

The Allamunnic States is a heavily-industrialized nation of approximately 7 billion people, located on the continent of Levantia in eastern Tyrrhenia. Ethnically, the vast majority of Allamunnae come from any of the cultures of the Allamunnic family. The nation is a relatively-recent one, having been founded in 1892 through the unification of a number of previously-independent countries, with the states in the eastern half of the country not joining until 2012. The country is also (relatively) newly democratic, with a democratic-republican form of government being installed in 2009 through the 2009 Constitution of the Allamunnic States. The largest distinct ethnic group within the nation's borders are the Skraelings, whose home lays in the western states of Skraelingia and Rumanika, with large minority populations in the states of Ostrea, Stalhamark, Northwatch, Piekslynd, Vymsaea, Tyrrswatch, and Ostlund. Allamunnae as a whole, especially those in the western states, are passionate about their sports, and of these sports, American Football, better known as Gridiron Football (or, more frequently, just Gridiron) in the States, takes pride of place. The Allamunnic States host a very robust domestic league, the Allamunnic Gridiron League (AGL)(which has forty-eight teams), along with a number of minor-leagues, resulting in most municipalities having at least a minor-league team. Other sports with followings in the Allamunnic States include soccer, lacrosse, and, most notably, ice hockey, but these all come a distant second in the gridiron-crazed nation.

In terms of weather and geography, the western states are, overwhelmingly, mountainous. Parts of Northwatch and the vast majority of Stalhamark play host to the Bluwaald Mountains, a mineral-rich, densely-forested range. Further south is the Ostr River Valley, much of which is taken up by the state of Ostrea. Skraelingia and Rumanika range from being plateau and steppe to foothills, and most of Northwatch that isn't mountain is hilly. Piekslynd and Vymsaea are situated on the Pieks Plateau, which runs off of the Pieks Mountain Range, which, intersecting with the Bluwaalds, helps to form the Ostr Valley. The states of Tyrrswatch, Fililund, Naakstbaen, Ostlund, and Northport all are primarily plain and grassland, while that grassland turns into scrubby desert in the states of Southport, Southwatch, and Valika. Parts of Valika and Iberika hold a higher, craggier mountain range (the Iberikan range which gives the latter state its name). Weather, especially in the northern and further western states, is colder most of the year, with relatively mild summers, and with frequent blizzards, snow, and ice in the western states (Stalhamark, Tyrrswatch, Northwatch, Skraelingia, and to a lesser extent, Ostlund, are particularly bad about this). Given that gridiron is a late-fall to early-spring sport in the Allamunnic States, the weather will be a factor in any games taking place in the States; most stadiums are open-roof, because the Allamunnae regard dealing with the weather as just another part of the game.

When referring to locals, referring to them either by state of origin (I.E: Stalhamarker, Northwatcher, Skraeling, Rumanikan, Tyrrswatcher, etc) or as "Allamunnic" is pretty good bet, especially in the west. In the eastern states, especially Ostlund, most prefer to be known by their state of origin, but even in these cases, it's rare for anyone to take offense at being referred to as Allamunnic or as an Allamunn.

Games would be played in a number of cities throughout the Federation: the tentative host cities would be Thomasburg, Northwatch, Skarrsboro, Koenigshalloe, Triple City, Old Bastion, Northport, Antioch, Inneville, Dunnmaar, and Tyrrswatch. More information will be given if I should be selected as host.


OoC Information:

Hosting Experience:

Unfortunately, the only tournament I have hosted did not run smoothly (one of the World Lacrosse Championships) due to a mess of it being made when I decided to, unwisely, make it a joint bid; the problems resulted from communication problems between myself and my cohost, not from an inability to scorinate on either's part.

I have considered World Bowl hosting bids repeatedly in the past, and I have made an effort to learn the procedures and the type of work that goes into hosting a World Bowl; I have also had the opportunity to see a large number of formats come and go while I have participated in thirteen World Bowls (VII through XIX) and two peripheral competitions (the QGI and Silver Bowl). Having also accrued some amount of time scorinating my own domestic league, I have at least had experience with scorination, and I've done my homework on formats and putting together the tournament itself. I am willing to answer any questions anyone might have about my experience (or lack thereof).

Scorination:

I intend to use Xkoranate, NSFS formula, sudden-death overtime, to scorinate World Bowl XX. I am picking this because I have never managed to use NSFS 2 with any success, and NSFS 3 does not permit style modifiers or have any easy means of distinguishing ranking from RP bonus, while I've never had any notable problems with Xkoranate.

Style modifiers ranging from -5 to 5 will be used. For those unfamiliar, -5 being most defensive and (+)5 being most offensive.

I will use a mix of cumulative and decaying RP Bonus. I'm going to take a leaf out of M7's book from last time and use a scale of 0 to 2 for RP bonus. The (somewhat subjective) scale which follows is a rough scale on quality, not a hard and fast precise one (because once you reach a certain point, a certain amount of hair-splitting becomes inevitable).
~ 0 - no RP at all.
~ .1 - .5 - a poorly-executed, minimal effort RP.
~ .6 - 1.2 - solid RP.
~ 1.3 - 1.9 - good or above-average RP.
~ 2.0 - the best RP that can be reasonably expected from a player within the allotted time.

These points will add up between scorination days, but they will also decay by .4 (this may be adjusted after I run some tests) each scorination day, thus encouraging RP for each scorination day. RP bonus will never drop below zero. I'm not going to get after anyone on RP style, since that's an individual choice. It's mostly going to be related to apparent effort and coherence. I'm not too picky on spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but the better it is, the more favorably-inclined I will be, generally. That said, don't worry too much about being perfect. The only time bad grammar, spelling, or the like will count against you is if I cannot understand what you are saying. Creativity, originality, and coherence will be the orders of the day for RP-grading.

Tie-Breakers, in order, will be win-loss record (only across groups for seeding or qualifying for non-group winners and non-runners up), head-to-head record, overall point-differential, points forced, points allowed, and head-to-head point-differential. There will be no ties permitted for games. These will be used both within groups and across groups.

I would tentatively say that cutoffs will be around 11:30 pm, Central Standard Time. This may change as we move forward and I see how my schedule is shaping up, so please keep checking.[/spoiler]

Format:

Currently, we have just shy of 50 sign-ups as I write this. I am projecting that by March 15th, when Host Bids are put to vote, that we'll have somewhere between 56 and 72. So, without further ado...

Qualifiers:

Scenario 1) In the event of either 50 or 70 sign-ups at closing time:
- Double round-robin, home-and-away.
- Qualifying groups will have five teams.
- Eight qualifying-round games, two BYEs, resulting in ten total matchdays.
- Scenario 3A) Ten groups (50 teams) - 24 teams advance (ten group winners, ten first-runners-up, and four best-finishing remaining teams).
- Scenario 3B) Fourteen groups (70 teams) - 32 teams advance (fourteen group winners, fourteen first-runners-up, and four best-finishing remaining teams).

Scenario 2) If we have 48, 56 or 64 sign-ups at closing time:
- Double round-robin, home-and-away.
- Qualifying groups will have eight teams.
- Fourteen qualifying-round games, for 14 total matchdays.
- There will be either six, seven, or eight groups, respectively.
- Scenario 2A) Six groups (48 teams) - 24 teams advance (six group winners, six first-runners-up, twelve next-best teams, regardless of group). Group winners and top-two runners-up receive BYEs, all other teams paired up in first round of playoffs.
- Scenario 2B) Seven groups (56 teams) - 24 teams advance (seven group winners, seven first-runners-up, ten next-best teams, regardless of group). Group winners and top runner-up receive BYEs, all other teams paired up in first round of playoffs.
- Scenario 2C) Eight groups (64 teams) - 32 teams advance (eight group winners, eight first-runners-up, sixteen next-best teams, regardless of group).

Scenario 3) In the event of 54, 60, 66, or 72 sign-ups at closing time:
- Double round-robin, home-and-away.
- Qualifying groups will have six teams.
- Ten qualifying games, resulting in ten matchdays.
- There will be nine, ten, eleven, or twelve groups, respectively.
- Scenario 3A) Nine groups (54 teams) - 24 teams advance (nine group winners, nine first-runners-up, six next-best teams, regardless of group).
- Scenario 3B) Ten groups (60 teams) - 24 teams advance (ten group winners, ten first-runners-up, four next-best teams, regardless of group).
- Scenario 3C) Eleven groups (66 teams) - 32 teams advance (eleven group winners, eleven first-runners-up, ten next-best teams, regardless of group).
- Scenario 3D) Twelve groups (72 teams) - 32 teams advance (twelve group winners, twelve first-runners-up, eight next-best teams, regardless of group).

NOTE: I'm not even going to touch 68, since it either results in seventeen groups (headache for me) of six, or it results in six groups of seventeen (absurdly-long qualifiers). If we get stuck between 66 and 70, I will either drop puppets as necessary, starting from most-recent sign-up to earliest sign-up. If there are not enough puppets signed up to make the numbers work in this manner, I will ask for the submission of a sufficient number of puppets to bump us up the next number bracket.

Playoffs:

As you see now, there are two possible numbers of qualifiers: 24 and 32 teams.

Scenario A - 24 teams qualify.
Teams are seeded #s 1-24. Under this scenario, seeds # 1-8 receive a first-round BYE. Seeds #9-24 will be paired up to face one another in the first round appropriately by seeding. The winners of the first round will face the #1-8 seeded teams in the Round of Sixteen, matched up by seeding. From there, a normal single-elimination-style bracket will be played.

Scenario B - 32 teams qualify.
Teams are seeded #s 1-32. Under this scenario, there will be a play-in round for seeds #s 32-17. The winners of that round will then face seeds #s 9-16 (meaning seeds #s 9-16 receive a single-round BYE). The winners of that round will then face seeds #s 1-8, at which point the playoffs will be a standard single-elimination bracket.[/spoiler]

Please direct any questions, criticisms, suggestions, and/or hate mail to me either by TG or by posting them in the World Bowl Discussion Thread.

Thanks, and cheers!
~TF

[Franklin Delano Bluth]

Weren't we, like, kind of good at this thing once?

We'll try to be, like, kind of good at this thing again.

[Cassadaigua]

Signing up.

[Karditan]

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to...
Karditan's WBXX Bid!

Experience: I've been around the block for a while now, actively participating in several editions of the WB, WBC, and World Cup--notably qualifying for both the WB and WC proper in each of their last editions. My hosting experience lies in the running of the Third International Chess Championship, as well as running my own domestic leagues and general testing with xkoranate.

General Info on Karditan: First off, yes, we have intelligent ponies. Much mixing has happened between cultures, but the north is still predominantly human and the south is largely equine. You can generally refer to citizens of any species as 'Karditani'. Secondly, Karditan is based upon an idea I fondly call "SpacePunk," an awkward technological limbo. Railways are the dominant mode of transportation, closely followed by airships. Cars are around, just not that popular; our automotive corporations make most of their profit in exports. Planes are spreading and becoming more common, but are solely propeller-propelled. Jet technology exists nowhere in Karditan; however, our scientists have managed to push propeller technology to slightly insane levels (IE, close-to-but-not-quite jet efficiency). We also have some space exploration abilities that utilize an odd mix of technology and magic; having a large unicorn population has its upsides. The cities that will be hosting games are heavily industrialized, mostly made of concrete and steel, with human-to-pony ratios ranging from 70/30 to 40/60. The populace is generally genial, but can be extremely rude and hostile if you act in a particularly annoying fashion. They also enjoy one of the most cultured societies in the world; it's not uncommon to hear phrases such as "Get out of my ****ing way! I'm tryin' ta get to the Opera!"

Have a slightly-out-of-date map: http://s490.beta.photobucket.com/user/G ... sort=3&o=0
Region - Human/Pony Ratio - Climate - Terrain - Major Industries
Northwest - 55/45 - Cold, wet - Forests - Shipping, Timber, Fishing
Northeast - 90/10 - Hot, dry - Desert - Mining
West-Central - varies heavily by city - Moderate - Plains - Farming, Manufacturing
East-Central - 90/10 - Cold, dry - Mountainous - Mining
Southwest - 30/70 - Warm, wet - Plains - Farming, Fishing, Shipping
Southeast - 50/50 - Tropical - Jungles - Fishing, Film, Music

Football in Karditan: While baseball is the clear-cut favorite sport in Karditan, the general distaste for basketball and the official ban on soccer has left football in the perfect position as major-minor sport. The Karditani Football League does play regularly and brings in large profits; they have simply declined to go international and enter the wider world of club football. The sport is extremely popular in the central industrial cities--Moscolt, Detrot, Sinsinatti, Indianeighpolis, etc--which also house the best stadiums designed specifically for football, meaning that's where the finals are going to be held. Due to Karditan's strict environmental laws, the march of industry actually hasn't done much damage to the natural beauty of the area; however, the air still tastes a little... chemically. Perfectly safe to breath, we assure you.

Scorination: Will be done using the latest version of xkoranate, SQIS formula, IFAF overtime, with additive style mods [from -5 to +5]. Cutoffs will be at 10:30EST (3:30UTC). RPs will be graded up to 2 points per day, depending on quality, creativity and length (in that order). Rosters will be awarded between 1 and 2 points, depending on the effort put into them. All bonuses are cumulative and non-degrading, with RP bonus being cut in half at the end of the group stage.

Format: Any way you slice it, the group stage will be double round-robin, home-and-away. I'm aiming for groups of 6. 54, 60, or 66 preferred. 54 would see 9 groups with all first-placed teams and the seven best second-placed teams advance; 60 means 10 groups with all first-placed teams advancing, the two best second-placed teams auto-advancing, and the eight remaining second-placed teams will have a play-in game to determine who fills the final four slots. 66 teams means all first-placed and the five best second-placed teams advance.

If necessary, I could also work with 56 or 64 teams--7/8 8 team groups, guaranteed advancement for the top two teams, with the two best third-place teams advancing the 56 teams setup. The finals would be a simple 16-team knockout format. The round of 16 would be organized on a best-faces-worst system (while avoiding group stage rematches) followed by a bracket system for the rest of the tourney.

Tiebreaks! Wins, Overall Point Differential, H2H Results, H2H Point Differential. In that order.

If you've got any questions or concerns, feel free to voice them in the discussion thread.

[World Bowl]

Sign-ups and hosting bids updated through Cassadaigua and Karditan, respectively.

[The Fanboyists]

Much as I hate doing this...
Bump to get back onto page one, since sign-ups seem to have stalled.

[New West Guiana]

I'd sign my puppet Zomni up.

[Zomni]

I'd sign my puppet Zomni up.

Yep.

[Consigahria]

We would like to compete!

[Lymantatia]

Lymantatia withdraws.

[Grandterre]

Lymantatia withdraws.

Grandterre signs up instead of Lymantatia.

[Catholican Catholica]

Catholican Catholica gladly competes!