Copa Rushmori XXXV - Sign-Up Thread (ONLY Rushmore)

[Rushmore]

[OOC: This thread is intended to be used exclusively by nations in Rushmore, so if you are not a nation in Rushmore or a moderator performing his/her duties, please refrain from posting here.]

Another World Cup cycle is about to end, and this means it's time for a new Copa Rushmori edition, the thirty-fifth one! With Eura claiming victory in the thirty-fourth and most recent Copa Rushmori, held in Eastfield Lodge, now we move on to a new edition in which a new winner could potentially claim a piece of silverware and inscribe its name in the Roll of Honour, and that winner could be YOU!

Sign up in this thread, and if you wish to submit a host bid, you can do so here as well.

IMPORTANT:

• Regulars returning from CTE status after the moment this thread was posted may join, provided that they have competed in at least two (back-to-back) of the previous 34 Copa editions.
• Only one puppet will be allowed per OOC user (who must declare it as such when entering it) and their final inclusion into the tournament will be entirely up to host discretion.

* Consider this post as a sign-up from Valladares

Nations signed up (28/?):

1. Valladares
2. Kalactanian Rushmore Territories
3. Falkyr
4. Darmen
5. Astograth
6. Plane of Possibility
7. Taeshan
8. Cassadaigua
9. Yuezhou
10. Pasarga
11. Southwest Eastnorth
12. Oberour Ar Moro
13. Mavinet
14. Eura
15. Pridnestrovia
16. Nephara
17. Pedestrian States
18. Savojarna
19. Nethertopia
20. Rea San Vegas
21. Kalosia
22. Ancharmunn
23. Eastfield Lodge
24. Ostralo
25. Graintfjall
26. Sargossa
27. Logria
28. Crystalline Caverns

Puppet nations signed up (Conditional sign-up, master nation in brackets) (2/?):

1. The Askari Union [Nephara]
2. Olastor [Eastfield Lodge]

Host bids (1):

Astograth & Savojarna

[Valladares]

Sí.

[Kalactanian Rushmore Territories]

Ye

[Falkyr]

yuh

[Darmen]

Yo

[Astograth]

Ok

[Plane of Possibility]

Signing up.
Puppet of Chromatika (which is from AO, but still declaring)

[Chromatika]

Signing up.
Puppet of Chromatika (which is from AO, but still declaring)

Confirming. Not entering this nation, obviously.

[Taeshan]

yeah

[Cassadaigua]

Sure.
May not be much of a participant, but we shall see.

[Yue Zhou]

In as Yuezhou

[Pasarga]

Ye

[Southwest Eastnorth]

In.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

Oui.

[Mavinet]

Aye aye.

[Eura]

Eura signs up.

[Trans-Dniesters]

Pridnestrovia is in.

[Nephara]

yea

pre-confirming ASU

[Pedestrian States]

In.

[Savojarna]

Let's go one step further than last time! Also considering a host bid, but let's see about that.

[Nethertopia]

Ja.

[Rea San Vegas]

In

[Rea San Vegas]

Who is hosting the event

[Astograth]

HOST BID - “RUSHMORE IS MY CITY”

BACKGROUND
The footballing federations of the Grand Duchy of Astograth and the Socialist Federate Republic of Savojarna are proud to present their joint bid to host the 35th Copa Rushmori, under the slogan “RUSHMORE IS MY CITY”.

This bid forms part of a strong shift toward further integration and identification with the region of Rushmore, not least through the medium of international sport. For Astograth, this has already meant the reopening of its Football League to the international market, above-average performances from the national team in World Cup 85 qualifying and the subsequent Cup of Harmony, and the successful hosting of the 48th Copa de Campeones final in Rumiatzi. For Savojarna, this is seen an opportunity to open itself to the international community and increase its international profile. The nation has welcomed the international community multiple times in ice hockey, and used the World Grand Prix 2 as a window for its technological development. The Copa Rushmori holds special sentimental value for the nation, as the national team has celebrated its greatest successes in the competition, winning the 31st edition in Mytanija and reaching the final in the most recent edition. Hence, co-hosting the Copa would be a particular honour for the Savojar football association and the country's fans.

Astograth is a unitary absolute monarchy of 89.5 million people on the Goose Coast of Rushmore; its borders are Civil Citizenry to the west, Vermark to the northeast, Kernansquillec to the southeast, and the Modraine Sea to the north. Its territory also includes the Bakartirla archipelago east of Princess Béatrice Island in the Modraine Sea. Geopolitically, Astograth is an important economic and diplomatic force in Rushmore, though not part of the Common Rushmori Community – mainly due to not having a democratically-elected executive or legislature or really believing in the separation of powers. Nevertheless, it is highly ranked by the World Assembly for its culturedness, life expectancy, healthcare system, public education, niceness, corruption, inclusiveness and eco-friendliness. Astograth boasts strong hosting infrastructure, with numerous international airports, high-speed railways, efficient public transport and all necessary amenities for travelling delegations, fans and press. A number of stadiums are currently undergoing expansion and renovation, and all candidate grounds will be reviewed and updated as necessary for compliance with Copa Rushmori standard.

Savojarna is a socialist, democratic nation of 24.1 million people situated on the Northwestern coast of Pavola, bordering Taeshan to the North, the Filopines to the Northeast, Adyatin to the South and The Urain to the West. The majority of its population centres are located on the Savojar Archipelago, situated west-northwest off the Savojar coast. It maintains generally peaceful relations to its neighbours, although there are common hostilities with Adyatin, which used to be a Savojar territory until 1909, and is a member of the Common Rushmori Community. Savojarna is a hub for technology and innovation, famous for its brand of inexpensive and robust NAKA phones internationally and for its high-quality transportation networks, centered around a comprehensive high-speed rail net. It is also known for its natural wonders, which include lush forests, mountain ranges with spectacular glaciers, and three endemic species of dragons living in natural reserves in the North of the country.

EXPERIENCE
Astograth’s national team has taken part in World Cup Committee competitions since the cycle of World Cup 55, and first participated in the Copa Rushmori’s 6th edition. The nation has extensive experience hosting international football tournaments, including halves of World Cup 62, Cup of Harmony 48, Baptisms of Fire 45 & 53, and the whole of Copa Rushmori VIII. Its football federation was also in charge of the Campeonatos Rushmori Juveniles Sub-20 and Sub-17, Rushmore’s youth football competitions, hosting two editions of each in Astograth itself. Iturributa, one of Astograth’s constituent regions, also hosted Baptism of Fire 48, with Ossidiacqua.

Savojarna have competed internationally since around World Cup 77, consistently taking part in numerous sports including all football-related competitions they are eligible for. Savojarna have solo-hosted World Cup of Hockey 34 and 38 and one edition of the Savojar Sevens (Rugby), as well as a minor ice hockey club tournament. They have also completed eight editions of the Savojar Football Series, and created and hosted the Alpine Skiing World Tour. As Ficiscia, the user behind Savojarna ran domestic hockey and football leagues, and completed hosting of minor one-off events.

DETAILS
Scorination will be done with the latest version of xkoranate, NSFS formula, and additive style modifiers. Copa Rushmori ranks will be used for group seeding and scorination, and Max Rank will be set as equal to that of the highest-ranked entry in the competition. Each host's group and potential knockout matches will be graded and scorinated by the other.

RP bonus will be cumulative, non-degrading, and applied through xkoranate’s RP bonus feature in Absolute formula. Rosters will count as an extra matchday for RP bonus purposes. The scale will be set such that an unranked team with perfect RP bonus can be evenly matched against a completely non-RPing top team by the time of the final. RP prompts and opportunities will be offered equally to all entrants, but they will not be compulsory or obtrusive and the simple act of using them will not in itself grant RP bonus.

The format will be of a single round-robin group stage followed by knockout rounds. The exact configuration is hard to pin down given the variable number of signups, but groups would ideally be of 4 and lead into a Round of 16, with the best third-placed teams being ranked to determine advancement if necessary. With 24 signups, the same as last edition, there would be 6 groups of 4. With 30 signups, 6 groups of 5. With 32, which would be ideal, the classic 8 groups of 4. There will be at least 48 hours between each matchday, and we will aim for each hosts' cutoffs to be within a few hours of each other.

Tiebreakers for the group stage, and possible ranking of best third-placed teams, will be head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, goal difference, RP bonus (explained in-character as “drawing of lots”) and finally, if necessary, actual OOC drawing of lots. Knockout rounds will be single-legged, with extra-time and penalties.

[Savojarna]

As my potential host bid would be functionally the same as Astograth's, and they are significantly more experienced in hosting, I retract my interest in bidding. Not that it formally matters, but just figured I'd mention it so nobody will expect a bid that won't come.