(Full) 1st Int'l (Playground) Wallball Championship Signups

[Muralos]

The First International Playground Wallball Championship

The United of Islands of Muralos is presenting the inaugural International Playground Wallball Championship, a tournament for the sport of playground wallball. It will be held in Urbego, the capital city of Muralos, at the Zemlinsky National Wall-Sports Center. The IWBC represents the first time in world history that a wallball tournament – with these particular rules – has been open to players outside of Muralos and its region Asian Archipelago.

One court in the Zemlinsky National Wall-Sports Center, configured here for squash.

Playground wallball is a sport akin to squash, racquetball, and its New York City-wide, British, and Irish counterparts. Playground wallball is sometimes called "handball" as well, but the IWBC forgoes that name due to its being shared with Olympic handball, a much more popular sport.

In RL, playground wallball is popularly played by schoolchildren in parts of the United States. IC-ly, the sport made its way to Muralos around the 1980s, not long after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Muralos.

Because this is such an niche sport, please feel free to sign up athletes of any background (professional, amateur, youth, adult). Your athletes do not need to be familiar with the sport of playground wallball; athletes who are new to the sport are equally welcome, though they should ideally have experience in another racquet or ball sport.

In Muralos, playground wallball is conventionally played in the following formats:

• singles, with two players playing against each other
• doubles or "teams," with two sets of players against each other, usually two players to a side
• "elimination," with multiple players playing against each other; this format is not played in official competition, though it is extremely fun.

In playground wallball, players hit a volleyball against a wall by hitting it onto the ground first. The ball must bounce once on the ground before hitting the wall– no more or less. It cannot hit the base of the wall, i.e. by hitting the ground and the wall at the same time. After hitting the wall, the ball may bounce no more than once before the next player hits it.

The wall has two side court lines drawn from its two ends, along with a backcourt line. The ball cannot land outside the side court lines, but it may land outside the backcourt line. The ball cannot, however, land in a region past the backcourt line and outside the side court lines (were the side court lines drawn past the backcourt line). In the IWBC, VAR will be used to determine whether these rule violations have occurred.

Players also cannot allow the ball to hit themselves after they have hit the ball. Players obstructing another players' path to the ball is illegal as well. However, if the ball hits a player after hitting the wall, this is a let, and play is restarted; these kinds of interferences are almost always accidental.

In the IWBC, any rule violations committed by a player will result in one point awarded to their opponent. In each IWBC tournament round, doubles teams will play a best-of-5-game series, with each game played to 11 points. However, games must be won by a margin of 2 points, as in table tennis and volleyball. To win from a score of 10-10, a team must widen their lead by 12-10. Any further ties must be broken by a margin of 2.

There are some other plays that are considered lets, i.e. plays that trigger a replay. For instance, when the ball falls along the wall after hitting it, this is a let. (Such hits rarely take place.) Also, when the ball rolls on the ground after being hit, this is a let, as the ball is impossible to return.

Tournament Information and Sign-ups
The IWBC will be a doubles tournament, with two players to a team.
UPDATE: 8 teams will compete in this tournament in a double-elimination format. Sign-ups for the IWBC have closed.

There will be a "main" bracket and a consoles bracket. The main bracket will progress from a round of 8 to a semifinal (round of 4) and a final. The consoles bracket will comprise two rounds of 4, followed by two rounds of 2. In each round of the consoles bracket, a winner from the consoles bracket will face a loser from the main bracket. If a doubles team loses two rounds in a row, one in the main bracket and one in the consoles bracket, they are eliminated from the IWBC; this is why the tournament structure is called "double elimination."

The winners of the main bracket and the winners of the consoles bracket will face each other in the grand final of the tournament. This match will determine the champions of the IWBC.

Here is a visualization of how a double elimination tournament with 8 teams would look. To be clear, the trigrams here do not represent the seedings for the official IWBC.

Because the scoring scheme of playground wallball is identical to that of table tennis, xKoranate's table tennis scorination will be used to scorinate matches in the IWBC. RP bonuses will be cumulative for each nation, increasing by 0.2 to 0.6 for every RP posted. Cut-off times are expected to be at midnight EST.

Nations signed up:

Muralos (MUR)
Sofia Tremojosa/Georgo Chu
Daniel “Lerta” Donaldson/Georgo Zhong

North China (NCR) (The Northern Chinese Republic)
Kecheng Liu/Mai Chen
Shi Zhang/Dai Dong

Grey County (GRC)
Joe Schmo/Tom Schmom

Crystalline Caverns (CCN)
Steinarr Hanssen/Jon Beck
Kasper Axelson/Viktoria Losnedahl

Hebitaka (HTK)
Jessica Axerman/Natsume Byodo

About Muralos
Muralos (Esperanto: La Unuiĝintaj Insuloj de Muralos) is a cosmopolitan collection of islands located in the corner of the Far East. Despite having been the center of many geopolitical struggles between China, Russia, and Japan-- motivated by its wealth of resources and because of historic territorial claims-- the country enjoys relative stability today. Despite being rather industrialized and urbanized, there is still much that has remained untouched on this island, and there is a certain beauty even to the cities themselves.

Cities:

(Orange indicates land under Muralosian control.)

Note: A number of groups are arguing against the renaming of cities from their former Russian names into their current, rather prosaic names in Esperanto. NSWikiTravel does not assume any stance on this issue; it only lists the names of cities as they are officially known within the nation and abroad, as well as their former names (for reference).

Muralos is divided into two main provinces: Sahaleno and Kurilo. All but one of the cities listed below, however, are located on the large, most populated island province of Sahaleno.

Urbego (formerly known as Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and before that, Toyohara)- the capital and largest city of Muralos (lit. "big city" in Esperanto)
Havenurbo (formerly Korsakov)- the southern seaport connecting Muralos with the island of Hokkaido in Japan (lit. "seaport" in Esperanto)
Okcidenta-Havenurbo (formerly Kholmsk)- the western seaport connecting Muralos with Russia
Saĥalena-Urbeto (formerly Alexandrovosk-Sakhalinsky)- the town where the noted writer Chekhov stayed (lit. "Sakhalin Town" in Esperanto)
Oleo (formerly Okha)- the northernmost city and the coldest city on average of Muralos (lit. "oil" in Esperanto)
Kurila-Urbo (formerly Yuzhno-Kurilsk)- a remote city located on Kunashira Insulo, a tiny, but populated island of the Kurilo province. For those adventurous travelers who make it there, the weather is invariably rainy or snowy, but the geography and scenery are infinitely rewarding.


(Sunset at Kurilo)

Understand:
Prior to the settlement of Russian, Japanese, etc., present-day Muralos was inhabited by a number of indigenous tribes, most notably the Nivkh, who now mostly reside in the northern portions of the country.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the island (then called Sakhalin) was fought over in back-and-forth fashion by Russia and Japan, who governed the territory's southern portion. Chinese settlements had also been established on the island, and the land was indeed ceded from Imperial China to Russia in the early days of China's formation; however, due to mounting internal issues, China did not make any concerted attempts to conquer the island after its cession, and has not ever since.

(A guard stands at the border between Russian and Japanese Sakhalin.)

In 1945, the Soviet Union gained complete control over Sakhalin, designating it as an oblast of Russia; however, it backed down two decades later due to widespread lack of support for its administration, particularly the government's treatment of the oblast as a "lesser territory." A brief, but bloody Muralosian Civil War also discouraged outside powers from intervening in the island. The residents of the island collectively decided to form the country now known as Muralos-- the name is a corruption of the Esperanto word for "walls." The new nation was recognized by the World Assembly in 1963. (N.B. Despite having been ejected from the WA in 2014, Muralos retains rather great international respect.)

Note: The Muralosian currency, the stelo, is worth approximately 0.26 US dollars. When inverted, 1 US dollar is equal to about 3.8 steloj ["STE-loy"].

(Muralosian steloj from 1959)

Talk:
The presence of the various groups on the island and the delicate issue of handling the divisions between them was of top concern to the newly established government after independence. In the early 1950s, it was voted to adopt Esperanto as the official language of the country. So as a result, Esperanto is the predominant language. While it is certainly not taken very seriously anywhere else in the world-- at least, not on a national level-- within this country the people have certainly achieved Zamenhof's ideal of uniting people of different cultures.
However, English is taught widely, and Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian are all heard around the island. Muralos' powerhouse education system dictates that citizens learn a foreign language outside of Esperanto and their "ancestral" tongues.

Get in:

It is fairly easy to travel to Muralos. Citizens of countries who are members of the Asian Archipelago are able to travel to Muralos with no visa restrictions. Outside of the region, Muralos also maintains friendly relations with most Western and Asian countries, as well as countries in embassy regions of the Asian Archipelago.

By plane- This is the best bet. There is little reason to travel in any other way. Muralos' "Presidential International Airport" in Urbego (formerly "Capital International Airport," but renamed to avoid confusion with the airport in Beijing) is one of the busiest, with nonstop flights from almost every major airport imaginable. (Most flights with one or more stops make landings in Tokyo or in Vladivostok.)

By boat- Travel by boat is not especially practical unless you are some kind of hardcore enthusiast or are travelling as part of a comprehensive tour. You will most likely also need proficiency in Russian or Japanese.

Ferry services from Wakkanai, Hokkaido in Japan to Havenurbo are fairly organized, though; they run daily. So do services from Vanino in Russia (accessible by rail from Vladivostok) to Okcidenta-Havenurbo.


(Eins Soya, the ferry running from Japan to Muralos)


(Presidential International Airport)

Get around:
Muralos has well maintained roads, even out of the major cities, as well as public transport.

By car:

(A stretch of the Muralosian K1 road)
Rental car services are available at almost all major airports in the country. Driving is not hard: traffic is not often congested, roads and lanes are exceptionally wide, and drivers are rarely aggressive. Cities use the grid system whenever they can, which makes places incredibly easy to find.

- K1 is the major highway that connects Urbego from Urbo, with its western terminus at Okcidenta-Havenurbo. It is one of the largest and grandest highway projects in Muralos, and arguably the world.
(N.B. the three most major highways are all called "K1," with certain prefixes attached to them to signify their direction.)
- SN-K1 is the major north-south highway which connects Havenurbo to Oleo.
- M-K1 connects Okcidenta-Havenurbo to Oleo, and is fairly scenic on the way, being both a coastal and mountainous route.

By rail:
Muralos is astonishingly well-connected by rail, thanks to the efforts of the Russians and Japanese who had previously occupied the islands. One can travel easily from city to city.

Light rail:
Well-developed subway systems (many are double or even triple-deckers) exist to connect most cities, and stops are built specially to be near tourist attractions. In Urbo, a suburb of Urbego, there is also a monorail that connects even to residential neighborhoods. It deserves checking out in itself.


(The Orange Line of the Urbo monorail, in the Nord neighborhood of the city.)
By Hyperloop:
Hyperloop is a fast-growing option in the big cities of Muralos (it first rolled out in Urbego). A distance that would normally take 10 or 20 minutes by car would take merely 30 seconds by Hyperloop. As the method of transportation is still new, though, and some people may not find traveling at such speeds very comfortable, many people are wary of Hyperloop. Still, it is undeniably convenient and while it takes you to other tourist attractions, it serves as a tourist attraction in itself in a way- much like the monorail in Urbo.

See:

(St. Mary's Cathedral, Urbego)
(Yes, there is a notable Gothic-style cathedral in a historically Russian Orthodox city!)

Do:
incomplete

(Whale watching on a tour organized by the Muralosian Maritime Association. Prices for whale watching are 100 steloj for adults and 80 steloj for children, seniors, and members of the Muralosian military.)


(View of Zhdanko Ridge from a helicopter; image courtesy of Zamenhof National Tours. 1000 steloj)

Eat:

(Esperanto restaurant, Urbego)

In Urbego

La Krokodilo - A cheap, but amazingly clean restaurant that specializes in selling Chinese "steamed buns" (baozi) usually filled with ground meat, vegetables, mushrooms, and even truffles. It has been awarded an "Archipelago Star," which are usually given to much more upscale restaurants. Its takeout lines are just as long as the lines to reserve dining seats. The menus and packaging are especially interesting: one could read them over and over and still find things they've missed. But most importantly, the steamed buns are too savory and delicious to describe. Prices range from 12-30 steloj.

Esperanto - A casual, but pricey diner with cuisine from various nationalities, as its name may suggest. Some goods to try are the shabu-shabu with curry-flavored broth, as well as the "breakfast ramen" – ham and American cheese melted in the traditional Japanese noodles. Prices range from 40-80 steloj.

Thank you for your interest, and have fun!

[The Northern Chinese Republic]

Nation and trigram: North China (sometimes just called China), NCR
Doubles teams (up to 2):

Kecheng Liu/ Mai Chen
Shi Zhang/ Dai Dong

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Godmod scoring events: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes


I'm not sure if I'll RP or not, so it's OK to cut these guys if you get too many sign-ups. I just figured it made IC sense since Muralos and this nation are both in northern Asia.

[Muralos]

Nation and trigram: North China (sometimes just called China), NCR
Doubles teams (up to 2):

Kecheng Liu/ Mai Chen
Shi Zhang/ Dai Dong

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Godmod scoring events: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes


I'm not sure if I'll RP or not, so it's OK to cut these guys if you get too many sign-ups. I just figured it made IC sense since Muralos and this nation are both in northern Asia.

Yeah, both of our nations are in Asia! I understand too about not being sure if you’ll RP. Confirming your sign-up for now, though!

[Muralos]

My own RP permissions, for the record.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Godmod scoring events: No
Godmod other events: No

[Muralos]

Bumping with new information:

• The sign-up deadline has been moved to April 1, 2021, at midnight EST. It may be postponed further, depending on nation's availability.
• You may withdraw from this tournament at any time before the start of the tournament.
• Know that your players do not need to be experienced at the sport of wallball! They can be entirely new to the sport, or established players of another sport who are playing this tournament as a diversion– or for glorified training purposes. (One of my doubles teams is composed of two Muralosian tennis players, and the other is composed of two well-known players in the Muralos national football team.) I hope this creates multiple possible reasons for your nation participating in the IWBC. Note as well, however, that your players can be seasoned veterans the sport who have never been documented in your factbooks or in NS Sport until now.

[Banija]

EDIT: I had a question about scorination, but I stand corrected. Good luck to you!

[Grey County]

Nation and trigram: Grey County (GRC)
Doubles teams (up to 2):
Joe Schmo
Tom Schmom
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Godmod scoring events: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes
OOC: Since its your first event mabe try for eign nations and do double elim so you can do it sooner. Just a suggestion

[Muralos]

Nation and trigram: Grey County (GRC)
Doubles teams (up to 2):
Joe Schmo
Tom Schmom
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Godmod scoring events: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes
OOC: Since its your first event mabe try for eign nations and do double elim so you can do it sooner. Just a suggestion

Confirmed your sign-up; thanks!

That's a good suggestion; I will consider having 8 nations in a double elimination, and I will update the OP if that happens. (Edit: already updated the OP!)

[Crystalline Caverns]

I'll give it a go

Nation and trigram: Crystalline Caverns (CCN)
Doubles Teams

---

Steinarr Hanssen/Jon Beck
Kasper Axelson/Viktoria Losnedahl

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Godmod scoring events: Yes
Godmod other events: TG First

[Muralos]

I'll give it a go

Nation and trigram: Crystalline Caverns (CCN)
Doubles Teams

---

Steinarr Hanssen/Jon Beck
Kasper Axelson/Viktoria Losnedahl

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Godmod scoring events: Yes
Godmod other events: TG First

Confirmed your signup. Thanks so much!

Any takers for the 8th and final spot in the 1st IWBC?

[Hebitaka]

we sign up

Hebitaka(HTK)

Jessica Axerman/Natsume Byodo
Bris Tenker/ Giresh Ramendu

[Muralos]

we sign up

Thank you! Could I have the names of your two players on the doubles team? (edit: your sign-up is confirmed, but don't forget to provide those before the tournament starts!)

[Muralos]

Thank you everyone for your sign-ups! The Everything thread for the IWBC (to contain the schedule, RPs, and scores) will be up today. This post will be edited to link to the Everything thread.

[Hebitaka]

we sign up

Hebitaka(HTK)

Jessica Axerman/Natsume Byodo
Bris Tenker/ Giresh Ramendu

Updated

[Muralos]

The everything thread is now up! Here it is: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?ns=1&f=7&t=500191