WCoH XXXVII(37) Signups (Closed)

[Cassadaigua]

We're in!

[Novaya Zemlya]

In.

[Neu Engollon]

Yes. Preconfirming Austrakia puppet.

[Austrakia]

Yes. Preconfirming Austrakia puppet.

That's me.

[Banija]

In!

[Peoples Republic of Xabia]

Sign up our national team to the competition.

[Bjornoya Islands]

"Allow me to re-introduce myself"
Count the Bjørnøya Republic National Ice Hockey Club in!

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

Alpine Union is in

[World Cup of Hockey Federation]

Signups updated to the Alpine Union.

However, since it's been nearly two days since the host bid deadline cut-off I (Elejamie) have decided to extend the deadline to 18th December. The cut-off time will still be 23:00 CST (05:00 UTC), though. Again, I should've consulted my fellow WCoH president Valanora on this but hopefully she'll be alright with it (if not, she can edit this whole paragraph out).

[Nova Anglicana]

Sign us up!

[Competitive Solitaire]

In

[United States of Devonta]

In

[World Cup of Hockey Federation]

Sign-ups updated to the United States of Devonta.

Also, since we haven't gotten any more host bids since the last deadline I gave (presumably because of finals or getting everything ready for Christmas), I (Elejamie) have decided to extend the deadline yet again. I haven't decided when it'll be, so I'm going to let Valanora decide when it'll be. Besides, I'd submit one as I graduated a long time ago and have plenty of free time but since I have a Chromebook, I can't scorinate any matches due to Xkoranate needin Java, something Chromebooks can't run.

[Krospovia]

In.

[Northwest Kalactin]

In

[Northwest Kalactin]

Confirming flekkefjord

[Flekkefjord]

Confirming flekkefjord

In

[Equestrian States]

The Pony Principality of Equestrian States
Official Bid to Host the 37th World Cup of Hockey

Ice Hockey in the Equestrian States
The Equestrian States first appeared on the international sports stage in the 45th Baptism of Fire prior to World Cup 58, the Equestrians later making their ice hockey debut at the 18th World Cup of Hockey. Since then, the Windigos have seen a fair bit of success in the tournament, frequently reaching the playoffs, with their best performance coming at WCoH 27 where they took the bronze medal. More recently, the Equestrians have struggled a fair bit on the ice, even missing some tournaments due to temporal trickery, but Windigos fans remain hopeful that they'll be back to their status as serious contenders in the not-too-distant future. With Banijan immigrants in Equestria picking up hockey by the thousands and boosting the sport's domestic popularity considerably, the EIHF has decided to bid for the rights to host the 37th World Cup of Hockey, returning the tournament to Equestria for the first time since hosting the 21st edition.

Format

Group Play
We're currently sitting at 37 signups, with 36 and 40 the closest workable numbers. To reach the former, the most recently entered puppet would be removed. With 36 teams, the group stage would consist of 6 groups of 6 teams playing 10 games in a double round robin (home-and-away) format, the top two teams in each group would advance, along with the four best third-place teams. Should a few more teams sign up, we'd go with a 40 team tournament: the group stage would consist of 8 groups of 5 teams playing 8 games also in a double round robin format, the top two teams in each group advancing to the playoffs. I can also work with other numbers if needed, but those are the two most likely formats.

Playoffs & Tournament Play
All playoff and tournament games will be played in the Equestrian States. Teams will be seeded based on their group records (see "Tiebreakers" section for tiebreakers) and group winners are assured the top seeds over other teams. Round winners will not be reseeded each round. With the exception of the Finals, all rounds will be best 2-of-3 series. The championship will be decided in a best 3-of-5 series. There will be at least one scheduled off day between each round.

Tiebreakers
1. Overall Record
2. Head-to-Head Record (Group Tiebreaker Only)
3. Head-to-Head Goal Differential (Group Tiebreaker Only)
4. Overall Goal Differential
5. Head-to-Head Goals For (Group Tiebreaker Only)
6. Overall Goals For
7. One Game Playoff (Neutral Site)

Scorinator & RP Bonus
If chosen, I will use the latest version of xkoranate with SQIS style mods. The most recent version of the rankings will, as usual, be used in addition to the RP bonus to calculate team skill. Speaking of which: this bid will use a cumulative bonus. RPs will be judged based on quality and creativity over quantity and frequency. Daily RP bonus values will be calculated so that a mid-ranked team will have a chance for upsets later in the group stage and in the playoffs against higher-ranked non-RPing or low-RPing sides.

Host Experience
As for my hosting experience, I've only hosted the WCoH once before (WCoH 21), but with 7 WCC tournaments, a few WBCs, a World Bowl, and a smattering of other events under my belt, I think I'm able to say I've got more than enough experience to make this thing work.

Questions?
Thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions you have here, in the discussion thread, via TG, or on discord and I'll try to get you an answer ASAP.

[Ranoria]

In

[World Cup of Hockey Federation]

Sign-ups updated to Ranoria, we just need two more people and then we've got 40 signups. Equestrian States' bid has also been added to the OP.

[Vangaziland]

Since we flunked out of the World Bowl, we might as well sign up for our first season here...

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

Pre-confirming my puppet Équipe nationale du Québec.

[Equipe nationale du Quebec]

Pre-confirming my puppet Équipe nationale du Québec.

Équipe nationale du Québec would like to participate.

[Valanora]

The official bid deadline is Sunday December 30th at 2200 CST, or roughly 47 hours from now.

[Libonesia]

In