OlympicIRL

In keeping with tradition, let us call upon our designated oath takers to take the artists' and judges' oaths on behalf or all artists and judges. Artists' Oath: Artists oath taken by 3-time TISC participants, Blaue Blume from Denmark: In the name of all competitors, we promise that we shall take part in this contest, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern TISC, committing ourselves to participate with integrity, honour and respect, for the glory of music and the honor of our nations. Judges' Oath: Jurors oath taken by long-serving jury member from China, @Vic Liu: In the name of all jury members, we promise to judge in this contest with complete impartiality, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern TISC, in the true spirit of fair play and equality.

And yes, these flags are sometimes showing connected to the wrong end of the pole, but at least they look right when viewed from this angle. This is a secret, magical world after all

Parade of Nations Now that we have welcomed fans, distinguished guests and ancient gods and goddesses to the arena, it's high time we welcome our contestants! So without further ado, it's time to welcome our 34 national delegations to the arena! an Airgintín Argentina an Albáin Albania an Bhrasaíl Brazil an Bhreatain Mhór Great Britain an Bhulgáir Bulgaria an Chasacstáin Kazakhstan Ceanada Canada an Danmhairg Denmark an Fhrainc France an Ghearmáin Germany an Ghréig Greece Guatamala Guatemala an India India an Indinéis Indonesia an Iodáil Italy Iosrael Israel an Ísiltír Netherlands an Liotuáin Lithuania Málta Malta Meicsiceo Mexico an Pholainn Poland an Phortaingéil Portugal an Rómáin Romania an tSeirbia Serbia an tSín China an tSlóivéin Slovenia an tSlóvaic Slovakia an Spáinn Spain na Stáit Aontaithe United States an tSualainn Sweden an Túinéis Tunisia an Tuirc Turkey an Úcráin Ukraine Éire Ireland

A magnificent rumble is heard across the Rock of Cashel and all of a sudden a great stir descends upon the venue. Fans have already taken their seats, Séamus has not yet finished his second bottle of Tullamore Dew whiskey so he is still on his best behaviour... so what could this be? Just as the high priests had beckoned, ancient gods and goddesses from near and far make their presence felt.... Ronan Hardiman - Warriors

Shadowy figures enter the venue chanting. Séamus reassures us that scary as they may seem, they bear no harm. They are ancient high priests who are calling to summon the great gods from across the land to bear witness to this magnificent spectacle of music in honour of Ériu-Ceol....

Have we all made it? Don't worry, Séamus and his friends are here to help guide you along the way if you get lost! It's time to enter the venue for tomorrow's Grand Final and welcome fans from every corner of the globe.

Yes, we have learned the story of how this great musical event The Totallympics Annual International Song Contest 2025 came into being and it's true we know that it is to take place in the Rock of Cashel. But dear audience you have another journey to make. You are bound by your physical realm where all these years of Celtic myth and glory are but a distant memory listed in the great annals of history. Ériu-Ceol invites you to her secret world, a plane where myth meets reality. By the time this music video has played, your very spirit will inhabit both worlds and you will have made your way to TISC Annual 2025! Secret World - Ronan Hardiman

So now you know the story of how this great musical festival came into existence, it's time for Ériu-Ceol to extend her welcoming embrace and reveal to you to the location for this year's TISC Annual 2025. Beneath the Rock of Cashel did she sleep one thousand years and it is to this great monument of Ireland we are gathered to bear witness to this beautiful celebration of music! The Rock of Cashel The Rock of Cashel in county Tipperary is one of Ireland's most iconic ancient monuments. It served as the seat of many of the great High Kings of Ireland, the most famous being Brian Boru, who was crowned high King of Ireland in 990 in this ancient kingdom of Munster. It is also said that on this spot, St.Patrick converted the pagan King Aengus to Christianity. Some long-time TISC fans will remember this was also the venue for the TISC Open in 2015 and it holds a special place in my heart as it is where we found our mascot Séamus all those years ago and who has been by my side ever since on our TISC journeys

For centuries, while Ériu-Ceol had been in her slumber, her sister Fódla kept watch over the wild, the quiet places of the land. It is from this calm and serenity of the wilderness that Fódla first senses the awakening of her sister. No war, no reckoning, no judgement does Ériu-Ceol embark on her re-awakening. Instead she stands upon the Hill of Tara, her voice amplified by the wind, calling forth the musicians from all corners of the globe to descend upon the Emerald Isle and create music so great and pure so as to deafen the noise of machine, the destruction of war and banish the silence of despair. She declares a great music contest shall commence and the victor shall bear the Ór geal (the crown of gold) and the very wind itself will carry their melody across the land for another millennium until Ériu-Ceol will next return. Fódla follows the whispering winds of Ériu-Ceol and is led to the Ór geal and sets forth to announce news of the great Song Contest across the land and overseas.

Over the years, the Irish dreamt of the great occasion when their great goddess Ériu-Ceol would awaken from her slumber. One prophecy recorded in the Book of Inis Mór recounts that a great tremor beneath Ireland, known as the "Awakening Chord", will signal the return of Ériu-Ceol, and the island will begin to hum with melodic vibration. Generation upon generation speculated as to what seismic event would bring upon the awakening. However, just as they sung Ériu-Ceol to her slumber, it would be the Spioraid Ceol who would awaken their goddess, not through earthquake or cataclysm, but by invoking her return through song, and just as Ériu-Ceol had foretold, she would awaken on the 1000th winter's thaw.... Invocation: The Awakening:

For centuries, the Spioraid Ceol maintained a tireless vigil over the mountains to pay homage to their goddess Ériu-Ceol until the day that her sweet soothing music will return to the valleys once again and restore the serenity that once prevailed. Generations of Irish men and women, upon walking the hills in early morning and late evening, would recount stories of hearing the distant harmonies of the Spioraid Ceol, a most beautiful choir who sang their goddess to her slumber and will one day awaken from her long sleep.

Introduction In the mist-shrouded peaks of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, legend tells of Ériu-Ceol, the Celtic goddess of music. While her sisters Banba and Fódla claimed sovereignty over the soil, Ériu-Ceol claimed its spirit - the Amhrán Beatha or Song of Life. Along with her choir, the Spioraid Ceol, they filled the air with harmonious melodies that nurtured the land and all that inhabited it began to flourish. The Great Slumber: In the ancient days, when the Tuatha Dé Danann walked the land, the lilts of Ériu-Ceol and her choir were deafened by the din of iron and conquest. To preserve the pure melody of the land, Ériu-Ceol retreated to a hidden chamber beneath the Rock of Cashel. There, she instructed that her choir, the Spioraid-Ceol, cast a spell declaring that she would sleep for exactly one thousand years. Before closing her eyes, she whispered into the earth, "When the thousandth winter begins to thaw, my heartbeat shall beat once more like a drum and the winds shall summons musicians from every corner of the earth to herald my return".

Totallympics Annual International Song Contest 2025 Opening Ceremony Good evening and welcome to the Opening Ceremony of the Totallympics Annual International Song Contest 2025! 34 nations have made their way to the Emerald Isle to participate in the 24th edition of this great musical extravaganza! Stay braced for a mystical-themed ceremony this evening where lines will be blurred between old and new, myth and modern as we make our way towards our host venue which will be revealed later. All music included in this ceremony comes from Irish musicians and composers as we celebrate the return of TISC to this nation for the first time in over 10 years! As we say here in Ireland: Céad Míle Fáilte.... One hundred-thousand welcomes Opening Theme: Battle of Cúl Dremne - Shaun Davey

Ok, I have added links to the rules for the team and pairs event in the first post in the thread. Please note, the team and pairs events will only be updated after every 3 juries during the Grand Final. I am planning to begin the Opening Ceremony at 19:30 GMT tomorrow but if it runs a bit later I will post on thread to let you know. Please don't expect wonders from the opening ceremony. When taking on the organisation I said we will have a slimmed down version of TISC this time as I have been juggling it with my work, Christmas, holidays and now exams too . I wish I could have prepared more but I prioritised what was important and essential. But the main thing was I wanted to get TISC up and running once more after a hiatus of over a year and I'm sure you will agree that's the most important thing and hopefully we will have a fun day together like we usually do. See you all soon, if you have any questions, let me know!

Pairs Event The pairs event will kick-off in the second-half of the contest at the beginning of the third session. It will involve nations from the teams eliminated from the team competition after the first 2 sessions. There will be 8 pairs participating so in addition to the 12 eliminated nations from the team event (13 in the event that the 4 nation team are eliminated), the remaining 3 or 4 places will be awarded to the lowest ranked nations individually who are still in the team event. All rankings will be taken from the halfway stage (end of session 2). Pairs will be formed by ranking the 16 participating nations and balancing them as follows: Highest ranked nation of the 16 will be paired with the lowest ranked of the 16. 2nd ranked will be paired with the 15th. 3rd ranked will be paired with the 14th, and so on in this fashion.... The format will mimic a madison cycling event. There will be 6 sprints in total (5 intermediate sprints and a final sprint). The intermediate sprints each will run over the course of 3 rounds of voting. For example: Sprint 1 (votes from the 18th-20th juries) Sprint 2 (votes from the 21st-23rd juries) Sprint 3 (votes from the 24th-26th juries) Sprint 4 (votes from the 27th-29th juries) Sprint 5 (votes from the 30th-32nd juries) There will then be a final sprint which will be worth double points and will consider the votes from the 33rd and 34th juries. How sprint points are won?? The 8 pairs will be ranked after each sprint is completed by the following criteria in order of importance: - total medals won - gold medals won - silver medals won - bronze medals won - points won - highest point value from a single jury Therefore, the pair that won the most total medals during that sprint will be ranked highest. If there is a tie for total medals, the pair with the most gold wins, then most silvers, then most, bronze medals. If there is still a tie we then consider how many points the pair won during that sprint. After each sprint, the highest ranked teams will be awarded points as follows: - 1st ranked = 5 points - 2nd ranked = 3 points - 3rd ranked = 2 points -4th ranked = 1 point Bonus points: Pairs will win 5 bonus points every time both pairs win medals from a single jury. Pairs will win 2 bonus points every time both pairs win points from a single jury. Pairs that win 5 bonus points for medal doubles, cannot also claim points doubles in the same vote, i.e. they won't receive 5 and 2 points, they will just receive 5 points. In the event of a tie in the overall standings after each sprint, the pair that finished highest ranked in the most recent sprint will be ranked higher. Therefore, if there is a tie in the overall standings at the end of the competition, the pair that finished highest in the final sprint will be ranked higher overall.

I will do my best to organise a pairs competition also involving nations from the 4 teams that are eliminated in the first half of the team competition along with the lowest ranked individual nations at the halfway point (end of session 2) to form 8 pairs. Pairs will be balanced so that the highest ranked nation in the competition will be paired with the lowest ranked nation, second highest with the second lowest and so on. All of that will be based on the individual ranking at the halfway point. This way every nation will have at least interest in some event until the end of the 3rd session. I will probably base it closely on @mrv86‘s proposed rules, and have sprints every 3 rounds of votes. The pairs with most medals from those 3 rounds get the points along with an extra bonus for medal and points doubles. I do only have 1 day to organise this now so I can’t promise anything though.

Ok I have come up with some team nicknames ..... Wicklow Wolfhounds @Vic Liu @Agger@Wumo@mrv86@Topicmaster1010 Belfast Titanics @Belle@Bohemia@Benolympique@heywoodu Clare Banners @Bailer@hckošice@Fly_like_a_don@Roamingrover86@dezbee2008 Limerick Leprechauns @Griff88@amen09@justony Galway Girls @Dragon@kungshamra71@Memo Waterford Crystals @Henry_Leon@SteveParker@Gianlu33@Pablita@maestro@Yannakis@Erigert Dublin Druids @Cobi@Dnl@Glen Donegal Dannys @Ruslan@NikolaB@OlympicIRL Derry Oakleafs @Illya@IoNuTzZ@konig Mayo Mariners @Federer91@hoversaBR@Bearas Kilkenny Cats @catgamer@rybak@Fer GUA Q1 Pts Q2 Pts Q3 Pts Q4 Pts 1 Wicklow Wolfhounds 0 0 0 0 2 Belfast Titanics 0 0 0 0 3 Clare Banners 0 0 0 0 4 Limerick Leprechauns 0 0 0 0 5 Galway Girls 0 0 0 0 6 Waterford Crystals 0 0 0 0 7 Dublin Druids 0 0 0 0 8 Donegal Dannys 0 0 0 0 9 Derry Oakleafs 0 0 0 0 10 Mayo Mariners 0 0 0 0 11 Kilkenny Cats 0 0 0 0

Team Event I have come up with a quick team competition to allow me time to organise it in the short amount of time I have between now and the Grand Final. I will come up with some names for each team in the coming day (hopefully ). Nations will be divided into 10 teams of 3 and 1 team of 4, making 11 teams in total. For the team of 4, one of those nations will sit on the bench for each of the 4 sessions meaning only the scores of the other 3 nations of that team will count towards the team competition for that particular session. (Canada will sit on the bench in session 1, Denmark will sit on the bench in session 2, China in session 3 and Mexico in session 4). Teams were assigned based on voting position to help distribute when each team has a voting member as evenly as possible between each session. The team event will be an elimination-based event where the scores of the team members will be accumulated for that session or quarter and the teams with the lowest combined score will be eliminated and play no further part. Scores will be reset to zero after each quarter but in the event of a tie-break, the team with the highest ranking in the previous session will win the tie-breaker. In the event of a tie in the first round, all teams involved in the tie will be advanced to the next round. See details below about how many teams will be eliminated after each quarter 1st Quarter: 11 teams Top 9 teams advance to next round 2nd Quarter: 9 teams Top 7 teams advance to next round 3rd Quarter: 7 teams Top 5 teams advance to Final 4th Quarter: 5 teams No elimination Q1 Pts Q2 Pts Q3 Pts Q4 Pts 1 Team 1 0 0 0 0 2 Team 2 0 0 0 0 3 Team 3 0 0 0 0 4 Team 4 0 0 0 0 5 Team 5 0 0 0 0 6 Team 6 0 0 0 0 7 Team 7 0 0 0 0 8 Team 8 0 0 0 0 9 Team 9 0 0 0 0 10 Team 10 0 0 0 0 11 Team 11 0 0 0 0

Yes agreed, resetting it would help make it more dramatic as no one would be running away with it. We could also set it that there is a small reward for ranking higher after each round… maybe they start the next round with a “head start” so they bring a few points into the next round? But starting from scratch each round might be cleaner

I like the concept a lot. My only worry would be that the nations doing the best individually would also end up at the top here as teams are only made up of pairs. Whereas in a bigger team it gives the nations not doing so well individually to have another chance if they are lucky enough to be placed in a good team. Any way we can balance it?

Probably the teams of 3 (and one team of 4) with elimination format is easiest to organise at short notice. Should scores reset after every elimination? Or is it better to accumulate the scores throughout?

Ok I finally have all the scoreboard templates ready to go for the Grand Final too. Now need to come up with something for the Opening Ceremony . I will probably use much of the material I used for my hosting of TISC Open 2015 so any of you oldies who are tuning in since the old Totallympics forum, you might remember some of it. But since we can no longer access it, why not bring it back (if I can remember any of it ). Also does anyone have any ideas for a team competition with 34 nations that would be quick and easy to organise?? Still not sure I can fit it in but open to suggestions on how we can get one in as convenient and easily as possible

Take care Belle. So sorry for your loss Our thoughts and prayers are with you now. Grieving and healing is all that matters right now. We are all here for you.

Because I wasn’t sure if I could commit to the team competition due to time constraints I didn’t plan for it. However, I will reassess in the next couple of days and if I believe there is time to prepare it then I will see if I can fit one in. It may be more stripped back than usual though. Same goes for the opening ceremony, I’ll do my best to create something but I am juggling it around other personal commitments.

Thanks for letting me know! No problem, I will post them on your behalf