uk12points

@bestmen you'll have to wait a week to find out. This time next week we'll be entering some of the last stages of voting! Will we know the winner? Sorry ive been a bit quiet on the thread, only just starting to dawn on me how much organising this thing takes! But we will have more delegations arriving throughout the week and voting templates will start making their way to your inbox as well! Also tomorrow the voting time slots will be announced, as well as the scheduled time for the opening and closing ceremonies!

Not until a couple of days before the final!

I'm still working out timings, but it should be in the evening. You don't need to be online, if you are you can post your votes, if not I will post them for you!

LANCASHIRE (N) The county of Lancashire is located in the North West of England. This county has played a large role in the indusatrialisation of Britain, in particular cotton, as 85% of the cotton manufactured globally in the early 1800s was manufactured in Lancashire's cotton mills. For the next few weeks this industrial county will be home to India @Dolby and Italy @Gianlu33@Henry_Leon@SteveParker@Pablita who will each stay in one of the regions great cities. India - Blackpool Having both travelled across Asia and Europe, the Indian delegation arrived at the seaside resort of Blackpool, a city with bustling promenades, fun fairs and a focus on tourism. Landmarks like the Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park and the Blackpool Tower (inspired by the Eiffel Tower) can be seen along the coast. Blackpool has followed the same journey of many seaside resorts across the country. The journey begins with sea bathing, a trend in Victorian Britain that was said to cure many diseases and became popular with wealthy city dwellers who would come to the coast for respite. But the most significant date for most seaside towns is the date the railways opened connecting these coastal towns to the city, for Blackpool this was 1846. After then holiday makers flocked to Blackpool during wakes week (the week when all the cotton mills closed), piers and amusements were built to cater for the tourists. Sadly, the package holiday abroad has resulted in the decline of Blackpool, but a strong culture remains in the seaside town. One of the fmost famous events in Blackpool is the Illuminations, the illuminations themselves are over 6 miles long and use over a million bulbs. The festival began in 1879 and is still growing today, with greater business interest and a new focus on sustainability. And to welcome the Indian delegation here is the Blackpool Illuminatiosn in all their glory! Italy - Manchester The large Italian delegation required a big host area to cater for the 4 users and additional team, therefore Manchester as the UKs 2nd largest city is a perfect place for the Italian team to stay! Manchester, aptly nicknamed Cottonopolis, is the UKs 2nd most populated city, behind London and was the world's first industrialised city. And each Italian user will discover a little bit about the culture of one of Britain's most important cities. Sport City Manchester's sport is known world wide for the football teams of Manchester United and Manchester City, for the cricket ground where Shane Warne bowled the Ball of the Century in the 1993 Ashes, for being the host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, for the location of the 'medal factory' the Manchester Velodrome where Team GB train for the Olympics and for many more. SportCity itself is the largest concentration of sporting venues in Europe and is rumoured to be preparing a bid for the 2023 European Games. Creative City Manchester's music scene exploded in the 90s, bands like Oasis and Take That were born and Manchester was put firmly on the musical map of Britain. Much of the new wave of culture in Manchester came from bands, painters and acting groups making use of cheap, worn down warehouses and factories in Northern Manchester. Literary City Manchester has a long tradition of producing great writers and poets and also as an important location in the creation of literature. Manchester was where the first meeting of Engels and Karl Marx took place and the two begain writing the Communist Manifesto in Chetham Library in Manchester. The John Rylands Library also holds the earliest known text of the New Testament. Famous books The Clockwork Orange and The Secret Garden were also written in the city. Media City Manchester is an important location in the UK media and film industry, it is one of ITVs and BBCs main studios and shows like Mastermind, Coronation Street and BBC Breakfast, have been filmed there. Salford Quays has been redeveloped as MediaCity and is home to many TV, Radio and print based media companies.

Australia on top at Oceania Para Table Tennis Championships 2017 Australia won 8 out of 9 gold medals at the Championships in Suva, Fiji The dominance of Australian para Table Tennis players in the Oceania region was reinforced over the past few days, with Australian athletes winning half of all the medals. Stars for the Australian team included Paralympians Melissa Tapper and Barak Mizrachi, along with new faces Junjian Chen and Nathan Pelissier. But the championships was not all about Australia, Fiji was the only other nation to win gold thanks to Merewalesi Roden in the Women's Wheelchair class. The host nation had a successful championships winning 7 medals and beating New Zealand into second place in the medals table. Along with New Zealand, 3 other countries won medals at the Championships, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea (all competing in their first ever Oceania championships). The standard of competition at the championships was a huge step forwards from the last 2 editions, which saw athletes from nine nations compete (those mentioned above plus New Caledonia, Tonga and Vanuatu). Building from these championships more nations and atheltes are expected to compete in 2019 at the Pacific Games and Oceania Championships and it seems likely that more Oceanian nations will compete in Table Tennis at the 2020 Paralympics. Full Results Here

No disqualifications here!! There's a little break in the arrival schedule for Easter! Some will arrive over the weekend, but not many!

Oceania Para Table Tennis Championships begin tomorrow (follow results here) Athletes from will compete, a record for the region. There is a big IPC intiative in the region that basically is getting most disabled people into table tennis, for the 2019 championships they want to get lots of competitors so no classes have to be combined, thus qualifying more oceanian athletes from more countries to the Paralympics. Bear in mind that Guam, Kiribati and Tuvalu have never competed at a Paralympic games, so hopefully they will all make their debuts in Tokyo

They're brilliant! And are not pronounced anyhting like they are written! It's very confusing

How did they eliminate Hindes?? He's sat on a sofa somewhere on the other side of the world!

POWYS (WAL) The county of Powys is located in Wales on the border with England. This ancient county used to be the Kingdom of Powys and extended across the border into England. For the next 3 weeks this ancient county will be home to Mexico @mrv86 and Moldova @Ionoutz24 who will enjoy a unique experience together of the dramatic landscape in Powys. Mexico & Moldova - Glyndwr's Way Having both travelled long distances the delegations were expecting a relaxing stay in the Powys countryside, but little did they expect to be going on a 217km hike across Powys for the next 3 weeks! Glyndwr's Way is a popular route that forms an extended loop through Powys, starting in Welshpool, heading to Machynlleth and ending in Knighton. Hikers have completed the route in 10 days, but our delegations will enjoy a more relaxing hike, taking just under 3 weeks and allowing them to stop over in some spectacular locations along the way. Here's a map for the teams, lets hope their orienteering skills will get them to the end in time for the Grand Final! One of the first stops on the route is Lake Vyrnwy, which I have visited and is truely breathtaking! The Lake was the first stone-built dam in the world and still provides most of Liverpool's water today and lying beneath the water is the small village of Llanwddyn that was flooded when the dam was built. The hike includes a variety of natural landmarks from Lakes and resevoirs to waterfalls and valleys. The walk is described as 'challenging' with regular and steep hill climbs and descents, and pack a raincoat, the Welsh valleys are lush and green for one reason alone, rain! Reaching Machynlleth marks the halfway point, a town that claims to be the ancient capital of Wales, but has had it's request for city status declined on multiple occasions, (the Queen has to grant a town 'city status', there's no criteria, just if she says yes!). Why not visit the Centre for Alternative Technology whilst your in town, which demonstartes the potential of renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. As you reach the end of the journey you'll reach the Valley of Nant Clywedog, home to many small villages with very Welsh names. Within the Valley lies Abbeycwnhir, a village with an Abbey that if fully built would have been the largest in the UK, but sadly the Abbeyr never reached its full size and has since remained unknown to most. The journeys end in Knighton will be sad for our hikers, but nevertheless relief that they will have made it in one piece, overcoming some of Wales most dramatic countryside and experiencing the natural, and underappreciated, beauty that Powys has to offer.

I agree with you, but looking at the team they've sent we can't expect much. Most of the big names are taking a year out. The real test will be to see how Callum Skinner and Katie Archibald do.

[hide] Joachim Eilers Kristina Vogel Event and Date Gold Medal Winner Silver Medal Winner Bronze Medal Winner Athletes Women's Team Sprint Day 1, April 12th, 2017 China Russia Germany Australia Canada Colombia France Netherlands Spain Any Other Men's Team Sprint Day 1, April 12th, 2017 New Zealand France Germany Australia France Germany Great Britain Japan Netherlands Poland Russia Any Other Women's Scratch Race Day 1, April 12th, 2017 Sarah Hammer Kirsten Wild Elinor Barker Amy Cure Verena Eberhardt Jolien D'Hoore Stephanie Roorda Jarmila Machacova Elinor Barker Rachele Barbieri Kirsten Wild Evegeniya Romanyuta Sarah Hammer Any Other Women's Team Pursuit Day 2, April 13th, 2017 United States Canada Great Britain Australia Canada China France Germany Great Britain Italy New Zealand United States Any Other Men's Keirin Day 2, April 13th, 2017 Gold - :ger Joachim Eilers Matthijs Büchli Azizul Awang Matthew Glaetzer Fabian Puerta Zapata Tomas Babek Francois Pervis Joachim Eilers Callum Skinner Yuta Wakimoto Azizul Awang Matthijs Büchli Sam Webster Any Other Men's Team Pursuit Day 2, April 13th, 2017 Australia Denmark Italy Australia Belgium Canada Denmark France Great Britain Italy New Zealand Russia Any Other Men's Scratch Race Day 2, April 13th, 2017 Adrian Teklinski Someone from Spain Felix English Morgan Kneisky Lucas Liss Cheung King Lok Felix English Adrian Teklinski Evgeny Kovalev Someone from Spain Someone from Switzerland Roman Gladush Zachary Kovalcik Any Other Women's Sprint Day 3, April 14th, 2017 Gold: :ger Kristina Vogel Zhong Tianshi Lee Wai Sze Stephanie Morton Zhong Tianshi Katy Marchant Kristina Vogel Miriam Welte Lee Wai Sze Simona Krupeckaite Natasha Hansen Anastasiya Voynova Tania Calvo Barbero Any Other Women's Omnium Day 3, April 14th, 2017 Sarah Hammer Jolien D'Hoore Kirsten Wild Amy Cure Jolien D'Hoore Lotte Kopecky Tatsiana Sharakova Luo Xiaoling Laurien Berthon Yumi Kajihara Kirsten Wild Anita Yvonne Stenberg Sarah Hammer Any Other Men's Indivudual Pursuit Day 3, April 14th, 2017 Filippo Ganna Andrew Tennant Callum Scotson Callum Scotson Mikhail Shemetau Jay Lamoureux Thomas Denis Kersten Thiele Andrew Tennant Filippo Ganna Artyom Zakharov Dion Beukeboom Sebastian Mora Any Other Men's Points Race Day 3, April 14th, 2017 Raman Ramanau Moreno de Pauw Any Other Sam Welsford Andreas Graf Raman Ramanau Kenny de Ketele Moreno de Pauw Benjamin Thomas Cheung King Lok Regan Gough Eloy Teruel Ian Holt Any Other Women's 500m Time Trial Day 4, April 15th, 2017 Zhong Tianshi Lee Wai Sze Anastasiya Voynova Zhong Tianshi Martha Bayona Pineda Katy Marchant Kristina Vogel Miriam Welte Lee Wai Sze Laurine van Riessen Daria Shmeleva Anastasiya Voynova Tania Calvo Barbero Olena Starikova Any Other Men's Omnium Day 4, April 15th, 2017 Attilio Viviani Aaron Gate Gaël Suter Liu Hao Leung Chun Wing Attilio Viviani Artyom Zakharov Park Sang-Hoon Aaron Gate Dylan Kennett Eloy Teruel Gaël Suter Any Other Men's Sprint Day 4, April 15th, 2017 Callum Skinner Someone from Russia Matthew Glaetzer Matthew Glaetzer Fabian Puerta Zapata Quentin Lafargue Joachim Eilers Callum Skinner Yoshitaku Nagasako Azizul Awang Matthijs Büchli Sam Webster Someone from Russia Any Other Women's Madison Day 4, April 15th, 2017 Australia Great Britain Italy Australia France Great Britain Hong Kong Ireland Italy New Zealand Russia Ukraine Any Other Women's Individual Pursuit Day 4, April 15th, 2017 Amy Cure Katie Archibald Jaime Nielsen Amy Cure Rebecca Wiasak Lotte Kopecky Annie Foreman-Mackey Elise Delzenne Katie Archibald Beatrice Bartelloni Jaime Nielsen Jennifer Valente Ruth Winder Any Other Women's Keirin Day 5, April 16th, 2017 Lee Wai Sze Kristina Vogel Simona Krupeckaite Someone from Australia Someone from China Martha Bayona Pineda Kristina Vogel Miriam Welte Lee Wai Sze Simona Krupeckaite Shanne Braspennincx Someone from Russia Lee Hyejin Lyubov Basova Any Other Women's Points Race Day 5, April 16th, 2017 Sarah Hammer Lotte Kopecky Any Other Lotte Kopecky Ina Savenka Jasmin Duehring Jarmila Machacova Elise Delzenne Someone from Great Britain Minami Uwano Anita Yvonne Stenberg Gulnaz Badykova Kimberly Geist Sarah Hammer Any Other Men's 1000m Time Trial Day 5, April 16th, 2017 Callum Skinner Joachim Eilers Denis Dmitriev Matthew Glaetzer Tomas Babek Someone from France Joachim Eilers Callum Skinner Yoshitaku Nagasako Azizul Awang Someone from Netherlands Someone from New Zealand Krzysztof Maksel Denis Dmitriev Any Other Men's Madison Day 5, April 16th, 2017 Belgium Spain Denmark Belgium Denmark France Great Britain Ireland Italy New Zealand Poland Spain Any Other [/hide]

Have a little patience....

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE (MID) The county of Nottinghamshire is located in the Midlands, home to the legend of Robin Hood! For the next 3 weeks this Archery mad county will be home to the delegations of United States @dezbee2008 and Russia @vovanA, some of the most successful competing nations in Archery at the Olympics. You may be thinking what an unlikely pairing, but there is an important history to this region that makes this pairing very interesting.. United States - Sherwood Forest With the longest journey yet Team USA arrived slightly tired, but excited for their next few weeks in the glorious Sherwood Forest, home to the legend of Robin Hood, an outlaw who took from the rich and gave to the poor. The county of Nottinghamshire is positively obsessed with the legend, placing him on their flag, road signs and across the county in statues. But the forest, originally called Birklands and Bilhaugh, has long been a royal hunting ground and is home to the Major Oak, thought to be almost 1000 years old. The importance of Robin Hood to the region cannot be understated, the annual Robin Hood Festival recreates the medieval atmosphere and acts as a celebration of the legend that has put the region on the map. But perhaps for this pairing of countries there is something more important than Robin Hood hidden within Sherwood Forest. There is one place in Sherwood Forest that dates back to Viking times called the Thynghowe, which was only discovered 10 years ago, yet during the 14th-17th centuries it was the place where people and communities came to resolve and settle their disputes. Maybe some of the magic of Sherwood Forest might send this pairing to the opening ceremony as best friends! Russia - Nottingham The Russian delegation arrived early this morning into the city of Nottingham, their home for the coming weeks. Nottingham was originally named Tigguo Cobauc, meaning 'City of Caves' and the famous Nottingham Castle itself sits atop a network fof sandstone caves. It is this castle that has housed Richard the Lionheart, who led the crusades and the Sheriff of Nottingham. But there are a few quirks in this town! Nottingham has one of the smallest cinemas in the world with just 22 seats, the worlds first professional football club (Notts County) and one of the oldest pubs, dating back to 1189, but beware Team Russia supposedly anyone who cleans the Trip to Jerusalem pub will die! Most of the caves within Nottingham are man made and have been used thorughout history for a range of purposes from pubs to air raid shelters and sums. There are over 500 known caves, and over 100 of those have been discovered since 2010. But these cave shave a dark past of disease and revolt. In 1330, King Edward III and a group of conspirators crept through a secret tunnel into the city's castle and took prisoner Roger de Mortimer, a nobleman who had until then effectively been England's ruler. During the Industrial Revolution landlords would house the inlux of workers in the caves, creating slums where disease was rife. Today how about heading to the Hand and Heart pub located in the caves for a drink!

SOMERSET (SW) The county of Somerset is located in South West England, home to the Glastonbury festival, Roman Baths and the Wurzels! For the next 3 weeks it will be home to the delegations of Denmark @Agger and Lithuania @Werloc, both former TISC host nations, but their contrasting experiences of urban and rural Somerset will make them wonder if they really are just a matter of miles away from each other... Denmark - Somerset Levels As the mist rises on the Somerset Levels at dawn the Danish delegation are about to arrive in an area renowned for its natural beauty and biodiversity. However, Team Denmark need to watch their step as the Somerset Levels is one of the most flood prone areas of the UK and by travelling to the Levels Team Denmark are helping the communities across the region who are attempting to increase tourism and gain World Heritage Site status in order to get better flood defences. There is a long history in the Somerset Levels, with perhaps the most interesting tales of all being the legend of King Arthur. The Hill Fort at South Cadbury has long been thought to be Camelot, the home of King Arthur. Arthurian legends surround the region and many locations have some link to the legend. TOP TRIP: Exploring the Arturian Legends at South Cadbury and Glastonbury Cathedral. Glastonbury Festival - a celebration of british culture, music and a whole lot of mud! Somerset is internationally known for its flagship music festival, but the music culture in Somerset extends far beyond the tents of Glastonbury. The hippie and folk music scene across the region is long established, and even in the humble beginnings of the Glastonbury Festival, the Pilton Pop, Blues and Folk Festival celebrated the music of Somerset. Whilst team Denmark may be thankful to miss the thousands of festival goers they will certainly not miss the music. The ceilidh folk music of the South West can be seen in local pubs and small festivals and to welcome Team Denmark to the Somerset Levels here is a special performance by the aptly named Somerset Levellers. Enjoy a jig to the music and a local cider! Lithuania - Bristol On a beautiful Bristol evening some of the last balloons return from the skies as the Lithuanian delegation arrive! But not without panic, as the team had to rush back to the Bureau de Change minutes before the flight was set to depart, as they had forgot to buy their Bristol pounds, a local currency only for the city. But it is not the skies, but the water around Bristol that has brought the city is brightest and darkest times over the years. The first English ships to land in North America set off from Bristol, but at the height of the slave trade over 500'000 slaves were transferred through Bristol from Africa to North America. But it is modern Bristol that has really made a name for itself. Street art, the home of Banksy, Bristol's rebellious streek. The city is not one to conform, but one to push boundaries and ask questions. Banksy has left his mark all over the world, yet some of his original work remains in Bristol and his work has inspired others creating a booming graffiti scene. Bristol has also been at the forefront of animation, with Wallace and Gromit proud products of the cities innovation. The question now for the Lithuanian delegation is what to do will it be Banksy or Brunell, Boats or Balloons. But really there's only one iconic choice in Bristol, it has to be balloon, so Team Lithuania better not have a fear of heights because its up, up and away!!

I had the same issue on the World Games thread. I asked Sindo about it and he said he could try and increase it but it hasn't worked so far!

Some more qualification criteria: Roller Speed Skating Sport Climbing Break Dancing Karate

Youth Olympic Weightlifting World Championships Quota: Men: (http://www.iwf.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/04/101MTEAM.pdf) 2 - 1 - Women: (http://www.iwf.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/04/100WTEAM.pdf) 2 - 1 -

ROAD TO TISC 2017 With just under 3 weeks to go before the TISC final the time has come for the delegations to begin to head to Great Britain! Each country will find their temporary home in one of Britain's historic ceremonial counties and each county will be shared by 2 nations, but the experiences of each country will be totally different! 17 counties in 7 regions have been chosen and every day a new pair of countries will arrive, with the last landing just hours before the opening ceremony on Friday 28th April. So welcome to Britain and I hope you can make your county feel like home!! The arrivals begin today and the first pair to arrive will be based in.... SOMERSET

It's like @bestmen can read our minds! Just getting on top of stuff and then all should be ok!!

Great work @dcro!! I think there might be a few contest records broken this time.... but you'll have to wait to find out what those are!

2 North Korean cross country skiers have just both scored under 300 points in a race in Russia, Han Chun Gyong (251 points) and Pak Il-Chol (295). Their women both got around 350 points. So it definitely looks like we will see North Korean cross country skiers in South Korea for the Olympics!

Mixed Team Event Qualified Nations: Canada China France Israel Italy Germany Japan Olympic Athletes from Russia South Korea United States Total Athletes Qualified Total Nations Qualified 10

Mixed Ice Dance Qualified Nations: Canada - Piper GILLES/Paul POIRIER Canada - Tessa VIRTUE/Scott Moir Canada - Kaitlyn WEAVER/Andrew POJE China - WANG Shiyue/LIU Xinyu Czech Republic - Cortney MANSOUROVA/Michal CESKA France - Marie-Jade LAURIAULT/Romain LE GAC France - Gabriella PAPADAKIS/Guillaume CIZERON Germany - Kavita LORENZ/Joti POLIZOAKIS Great Britain - Penny COOMES/Nicholas BUCKLAND Israel - Adel TANKOVA/Ronald ZILBERBERG Italy - Anna CAPPELLINI/Luca LANOTTE Italy - Charlene GUIGNARD/Marco FABBRI Japan - Kana MURAMOTO/Chris REED Olympic Athletes from Russia - Ekaterina BOBROVA/Dmitri SOLOVIEV Olympic Athletes from Russia - Tiffani ZAGORSKI/Jonathan GUREIRO Poland - Natalia KALISZEK/Maksym SPODYRIEV Slovakia - Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA/Lukas CSOLLEY South Korea - MIN Yu-RA/Alexander GAMELIN Spain - Sara HURTADO/Kirill KHALIAVIN Turkey - Alisa AGAFONOVA/Alper UCAR Ukraine - Alexandra NAZAROVA/Maxim NIKITIN United States - Madison CHOCK/Evan BATES United States - Madison HUBBELL/Zachary DONOHUE United States - Maia SHIBUTANI/Alex SHIBUTANI Total Athletes Qualified 48 Total Nations Qualified 17

Mixed Pairs Qualified Nations: Australia - Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA/Harley WINDSOR Austria - Miriam ZIEGLER/Severin KIEFER Canada - Meagan DUHAMEL/Eric RADFORD Canada - Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS/Michael MARINARO Canada - Julianne SEGUIN/Charlie BILODEAU China - PENG Cheng/JIN Yang China - SUI Wenjing/HAN Cong China - YU Xiaoyu/ZHANG Hao Czech Republic - Anna DUSKOVA/Martin BIDAR France - Vanessa JAMES/Morgan CIPRES Germany - Annika HOCKE/Ruben BLOMMAERT Germany - Aljona SAVCHENKO/Bruno MASSOT Israel - Paige CONNERS/Evgeni KRASNOPOLSKI Italy - Nicole DELLA MONICA/Matteo GUARISE Italy - Valentina MARCHEI/Ondrej HOTAREK Japan - Miu SUZAKI/Ryuichi KIHARA North Korea - RYOM Tae-Ok/KIM Ju-Sik Olympic Athletes from Russia - Kristina ASTAKHOVA/Alexey ROGONOV Olympic Athletes from Russia - Evgenia TARASOVA/Vladimir MOROZOV Olympic Athletes from Russia - Natalia ZABIIAKO/Alexander ENBERT South Korea - KIM Kyu-Eun/Alex KAM Kang-Chan United States - Alexa SCIMECA KNIERIM/Chris KNIERIM Total Athletes Qualified 44 Total Nations Qualified 14