CASSADAIGUA/EQUESTRIAN STATES
I. Introduction
The nations of Cassadaigua and Equestrian States would be honored if members of the World Cup Committee vote for this bid to co-host the upcoming World Cup. We strongly believe in our ability to put on a great sporting experience for everyone who signs up.
This is a historical Cup for Cassadaigua. As we use a 4-year calendar, this would be the the 100th anniversary of our first foray into World Cup competition. Naturally then, nations that qualify for the World Cup and play in Cassadaigua would be part of this celebration. In those 100 years, the nation has won two World Cups, as well as a Cup of Harmony championship. If chosen as the winning bid, the championship game will be held in Concord Heights, Cassadaigua. The culture of the nation, with the female being the dominant gender can provide some inspiration for RP for nations that might otherwise be looking for something to talk about. It has a proud history in many sports, and was one point away in the most recent International Basketball Championships from becoming the first nation to win the World Cup, World Bowl, World Cup of Hockey, World Baseball Classic, and International Basketball Championship.
The Equestrian States, hasn’t been around as long as Cassadaigua, but is hardly new to NS Sports. First appearing in the Baptism of Fire prior to World Cup 58, the nation has competed in every World Cup since, as well as participating in five Cups of Harmony. For a long time, the Equestrians did not have much success in the World Cup, failing in six attempts at qualification and coming up one goal short in the playoffs on three separate occasions. Finally, in World Cup 64, the Equestrian States reached the group stage and has qualified for each of the two World Cups since, finishing third in its group each time. In other major tournaments, the Equestrian States has seen considerably more success, making regular knockout stage trips in the World Baseball Classic, World Bowl, and World Cup of Hockey, as well as claiming victory in the 27th Di Bradini Cup. The Equestrian States also offers a different cultural setting, with the majority of its population consisting of sapient ponies and other intelligent non-humans (though small communities of them do exist, contrary to popular belief).
II. Format
Ok, I kid. We are using the normal and conventional format. Give us a “blah” for originality if you want, but you know this format will work. You don’t have to think, “how will they pull off a standard qualifying session with 20 groups of TBD number of teams where everyone plays everyone home and away, once?” Know your groupmates. Know who you’re playing, where, and when, at all times. Ahhh, the joys of predictability.
The target is TWENTY GROUPS. Not thirty. Everyone plays everyone at home and away, and the 20 group winners advance to the World Cup. Now, those 20 second place teams? Yep, you guessed it. They play a home-away playoff against a seeded rival* and the team who advances will be decided on aggregate. (*seeded rival= 20 second place teams are sorted by record, and seeded so that the best second place team plays the worst second place team, point wise). We are of the belief that this provides a better qualifying experience, even if a little longer, then a 30-group “win the group or else format”, that may be a little shorter.
That gives us a 32 team World Cup to be played in Cassadaigua or Equestrian States.
Hosts will be seeded in accordance to their rank. For example, Cassadaigua would probably be a “pot 4" team. Therefore in the World Cup draw, Cassadaigua would be in pot 4, not pot 1.
Tiebreaker will be: Wins, H2H (H2H points then H2H GD), GD, GF. If all else fails, then a tiebreaker game.
III. Scorination & RP Bonus
Xkoranate, with SQIS formula will be used. Without going into specific numbers, we will be using a generous system of per-day bonus, which will be cumulative throughout qualifying.
What about that RP bonus you accumulated during qualifying carrying over into the World Cup, you ask? I like reading minds, after all. We will not completely reset your RP bonus, and you will get some carryover into the World Cup proper. This amount will typically be equivalent to one MD worth of bonus.
When it comes to evaluating RP’s, we respect that everyone has their own unique styles. But whatever style you prefer, we are looking for: originality, creativity and usage of all information in which you have at your disposal. In other words, if you provide a game report with an opponent that has provided a roster, but you use none of their player names, don’t expect a high grade. Quality > Quantity.
IV. Experience
The proposed co-hosts have successfully worked together in the past, co-hosting Cup of Harmony 57. If elected as the winning bid, there would be no shortage of experience.
Cassadaigua has hosted three WCC-sanctioned tournaments (World Cup 54, Baptism of Fire 47, and Cup of Harmony 57). Experience also includes hosting two editions of the World Baseball Classic (18 & 26), and World Bowl 16, competitions which are often regarded as the next biggest tournaments within NS Sports. Additionally, Cassadaigua is highly active in hosting smaller collegiate tournaments, such as NSCAA 5.
The Equestrian States has hosted a number of events, most notably the 57th Cup of Harmony with Cassadaigua. Elsewhere on NS Sports, the user successfully hosted the 25th World Baseball Classic, 21st World Cup of Hockey, and currently is hosting the 29th Di Bradini Cup. Other, less well-known tournaments the user has hosted include Market Cup VI, Quidditch World Cup 5, and all four editions of the Equestria Cup. Non-hosting duties on NS Sports include acting as the current Vice-President of the World Bowl Committee and calculating the rankings for both that tournament and the World Cup of Hockey.
Feel free to ask questions at any time!
Thanks to Paradystopia for providing the above logo!