Totallympics Open International Song Contest 2020

[dcro 10,210]

Team	Members	R1 (1-7)	R2 (8-14)	R3 (15-21)	R4 (22-28)	R5 (29-35)
Staverden Ghosts		57
Ermelo Riders		72
Harderwijk Dolphins		68
Elburg Botters		96
Veluwe Vipers		35	Did not advance
Apeldoorn Gorillas		105
Nunspeet Wolves		113

* last placed team at the conclusion of each round will be eliminated

[Werloc 3,171]

Good news is that there won't be time for a coffee break as I don't drink coffee and I don't need a break

[Vektor 3,326]

Well, you know what they say, slow and steady wins the race. (seriously though, I hope that we get at least one point in the next session)

[Werloc 3,171]

1 minute ago, dcro said:

Team	Members	R1 (1-7)	R2 (8-14)	R3 (15-21)	R4 (22-28)	R5 (29-35)
Staverden Ghosts		57
Ermelo Riders		72
Harderwijk Dolphins		68
Elburg Botters		96
Veluwe Vipers		35	Did not advance
Apeldoorn Gorillas		105
Nunspeet Wolves		113

* last placed team at the conclusion of each round will be eliminated

Well, at least it doesn't hurt in a way since we had no chance what so ever and were not even close 

[heywoodu 15,174]

2 minutes ago, dcro said:

Team	Members	R1 (1-7)	R2 (8-14)	R3 (15-21)	R4 (22-28)	R5 (29-35)
Staverden Ghosts		57
Ermelo Riders		72
Harderwijk Dolphins		68
Elburg Botters		96
Veluwe Vipers		35	Did not advance
Apeldoorn Gorillas		105
Nunspeet Wolves		113

* last placed team at the conclusion of each round will be eliminated

I do realize I could have thought this through better in terms of using the same places as team locations and delegation locations, but I am cheering for the Nunspeet Wolves nonetheless  

 

Nunspeet  

[dcro 10,210]

So many things to keep track of, but let's just point out that Indonesia scored from 6/7 juries (including the last five).

[heywoodu 15,174]

Morning break

 

The first of five sessions is already behind us and it's a close race! Canada leads the charge, but Malta and Ireland are close behind, while only three nations are waiting for their first points. Interestingly, already six nations have received a set of 12 points, which promises for a close battle. With that, we take our first break: feel free to grab a cup of coffee or tea, maybe some hot chocolate is more your choice?

 

We're getting ourselves a nice double shot of hot chocolate with some extra cream!

 

Early December is closing in, which in the Netherlands means - or at least used to mean - the national celebration of Sinterklaas, a children's party full of festivities, fun and children getting presents. Traditionally these are delivered in a large bag on 5 December, often done by friends or neighbours to make the children think it came from Sinterklaas. A tradition in the days leading up to this is to put a shoe down somewhere in the house, preferrably with a carrot or something for Sinterklaas' horse, and the next morning a small present can be found there!

 

Sinterklaas on Amerigo, his trusted horse for many years, who sadly passed away aged 30 last year

Anyhow, there's not only gifts related to Sinterklaas, there's also things to eat! Most notably, the so-called kruidnoten: small, mostly round sort of cookies which are the main thing around the Sinterklaas celebrations - hands full of them are quite literally thrown around for example in classrooms. Beware: a lot of people call them 'pepernoten', for some weird reason. Pepernoten are a very different kind of 'snack' though, they taste entirely different - 10/10 would not recommend. Kruidnoten are made with basically the same ingredients as speculaas, another kind of cookie which comes in all shapes and sizes.

 

In the middle we see kruidnoten, the regular ones, with chocolate-covered kruidnoten on the right. The ones on the left are 'pepernoten', avoid them, pick the kruidnoten, which by the way are really easy to make yourself!

As a third option for your snack during this coffee break, there's the stroopwafels - few things are as Dutch as these bits of absolute delight. Basically it's two thin waffles with caramelized syrup in between them, it's magic. Extra magic if one lays a stroopwafel on top of their hot beverage (or a heater) for a little bit, to make the whole thing just a tad softer and even more magical.

 

The goodness that are stroopwafels

 

The last option is a simple, yet very much local one: 'Veluwse Zwienenkeutels', basically translated as 'Veluwe boar droppings'. No, they are not actually made up of pig shit, they are delicious soft chocolates with a tasty and of course chocolatey inside, which one can get in plenty of smaller shops around the Veluwe.

 

A bag with some Zwienenkeutels

 

Our musical entertainment for this short break comes from the mid-90's, the time in which the so-called Happy Hardcore scene was big in the Netherlands. The nation is represented by a song out of this genre in TOISC 2020 after a long internal battle between Rainbow in the Sky and the 1996 song Have You Ever Been Mellow by the Party Animals, one of the leading groups in the Happy Hardcore era.
 

 

That's it for the morning break, enjoy what's on offer and we'll be back at 11:00 CET!

[OlympicIRL 5,532]

I'll have hot chocolate and some of those delicious looking stroopfwafels

[catgamer 117]

1 minute ago, OlympicIRL said:

I'll have hot chocolate and some of those delicious looking stroopfwafels

Me too ?

[heywoodu 15,174]

I'm getting myself some kruidnoten at this very moment