Broom Competition Group
October 06, 2009 3:34 PM
Broom Competition by Broom Competition Group
The broom group had, by and large, run itself smoothly. He would have still probably picked different teammates if he had been given the choice, but Geoff Layne was mostly very pleased with how things had worked out. They wouldn't – or so he devoutly hoped - embarrass themselves in front of an outside school.Because of the nature of their competition, it would all be taking place on the Pitch. This was very convenient, as the Welcoming Ceremony would be held there. Geoff kept checking over the schedule and the supplies until the last moment he had available before, already getting hot in his robes and best clothes, he made his way to the front of the Sonorans.
The introductory ceremonies were, mercifully, kept short, and he was soon able to get back to his station. It was a fairly simple setup (the majority of what they needed had already been available), but he had learned, in a year of managing things, that it was always best to assume that a disaster could happen at any given moment. Since the sign announcing Broom Competition hadn't fallen and he couldn't find anything wrong with the batons, though, his energy finally ended up being channeled into checking the positions of his teammates, doubtless making them want to plot his murder after the third or fourth go-round.
Finally, they had a good-sized group gathered in front of them and it was time to go. "All right," he said, raising his voice for attention. He'd considered the Sonorus, but Helena had vetoed that idea. "Welcome to the Sonora-Rocky Mountain International Broom Competition. If you'll hang on one second..." He flicked his wand to move another set of signs into position. "...You'll see how we want you to sort yourselves out."
Since inter-school cooperation was being stressed, they had figured the easiest way to do this was to pair up Houses. A bit of research had been necessary to more or less match up the groups, but the books he'd read and consults he'd had - evidently, Josiah had connections at the other school – had Geoff convinced they'd done an adequate job. Aladrens were, on his far right, with Lyras. Nearest to them were a mix of Crotali and Dracos. Pecari came next with Aquilla, and then Teppenpaw mixed with Cetus on his far left.
"This is a relay competition," he explained. "Two groups of Houses will compete at a time - first - er - you lot -" he pointed at Aladren and Lyra, really wishing one of them had taken the time to come up with team names - "and them" – a gesture toward Crotalus and Draco - "and then the other two teams. You'll pass the baton one to another until you reach the other end of the Pitch, where you'll loop around one of the outlying goal posts - the middle is neutral – and start passing it back. The two quickest teams will compete in the third round for the prize. Since there’s too many for everyone to go at once, you’ll split up into groups of five inside your teams and we’ll do this a few times over." He thought that covered it. "Is that clear?
"My team and I will be around the parameters to make sure there's no cheating or magic or trys at taking out the other team. Spread yourselves out evenly in the air between this end and the goals, and go on my whistle. Good luck to everyone!" It was an effort not to add, "and allow me to take this opportunity to say 'go Hawks'", but Geoff found it in him to resist the temptation. The Houses were, after all, all represented in his group.
Once everyone seemed set up, he nodded to himself, blew the whistle, and looked up as quickly as possible without doing himself an injury. It had begun.
OOC: So, basically, Aladrens-and-Lyras will compete against Crotali-and-Dracos, handing off a baton from one end of the Pitch to the other, and Pecaris-and-Aquillas will compete against Teppenpaws-and-Ceti in the same manner. The last person will loop around a goal post and then start handing it back. Winners will be judged based on creativity and detail in the posts. Good luck, and have fun!
Subthreads: Aladren-and-Lyra (nm) by Broom Group with Daniel Nash II, Simon Gallup [RMI, 2nd-year], Jera Valson (Sonora 3rd year), Lia Harper [RMI 4th year]
Crotalus-and-Draco (nm) by Broom Group with Oliver Abbott (Sonora 5th year), Erik Falk (RMI 1st year)
Pecari-and-Aquilla (nm) by Broom Group with Saul Pierce and Jose Hernandez, Kenny Watts [RMI, 1st-year], Cosette Embers (RMI 3rd Year and Aquila Captain), Elly Eriksson
Teppenpaw-and-Cetus (nm) by Broom Group with Katrina Embers (RMI Sixth Year)
After the competition (Josiah) by Hyana Kamiya with Josiah Ashwood
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Broom Competition Group
Broom Competition
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Broom Competition Group
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Broom Group
October 06, 2009 3:36 PM
Daniel Nash II
October 09, 2009 4:16 PM
Feeling obligated. by Daniel Nash II
After visiting the obstacle course, Daniel had wandered back over the Pitch, with the thought that he'd just watch the broom race. When he got there, though, he discovered they were teaming up by House. Given Aladren's ability to fill a Quidditch roster, and assuming Lyra faced similar difficulties, he sighed and moved to stand where the Aladrens and Lyra were supposed to congregate. Besides, his Quidditch Captain was running the thing. It would be bad form to not be involved.He wasn't quite sure how he ended up flying at the starting position, holding the baton and waiting for the whistle to send him off on the first leg of the relay, but here he was. Granted, he was a little more athletic than the average Aladren, but surely there must be somebody better than a muggleborn second year to start things off.
Evidently not. The whistle blew and Daniel pushed forward, folding himself down to create the least air resistance and he sped as quickly as his borrowed broom could take him toward the second person on the relay team. He kind of wished he'd thought to bring down his own broom, but he hadn't expected to need it today.
The school one dragged a little to the right and he spent a little extra effort correcting it. His own could go faster, too. Still, he made reasonably good time to his next teammate, keeping about even with the opposing team, and he held out the baton ahead of him for the pass.
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Daniel Nash II
Feeling obligated.
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Daniel Nash II
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Simon Gallup [RMI, 2nd-year]
October 16, 2009 4:52 PM
Volunteering by Simon Gallup [RMI, 2nd-year]
After the obstacle course, Simon made his way to the Broom Competition. He hadn't done any Quidditch as a first-year, but this year was much different. He'd joined the Lyra Quidditch team; at first it was just to impress Chris, but even when he was still really crushing on her, he really enjoyed the sport for what it was rather than how it portrayed him to the girl he'd been chasing after. And now that he'd decided to completely abandon his lovey-dovey feelings toward Chris, he would be more focused on the game and probably feel a little less pressure to perform as well as possible during Quidditch matches. Of course, he wasn't going to let his game down by any means, but he would really be able to get the most out of the experience.And this was also the way he felt about games other than Quidditch that involved flying, such as a relay race like today's. So when he arrived at the Pitch and joined the group of students on the Aladren-Lyra team, Simon was more than excited.
"Since there’s too many for everyone to go at once, you’ll split up into groups of five inside your teams and we’ll do this a few times over. Is that clear?"
Simon nodded at this, looking around at his teammates. After they split themselves up, the second-year ended up in the first set of relay contestants. He quickly found one of Sonora's school brooms since he didn't have one of his own, then mounted it and took to the sky. Being a muggleborn, this whole sensation never failed to amaze him -- the fact that he was lucky enough to actually be able to fly was truly a gift. He felt like God was really looking out for him.
Having been designated the second relayer, he flew to and then hovered at the second position on the course. Soon, the whistle blew and his group's starting player was off!
His heart pounded a little quicker than usual as he awaited the baton. Once the Sonoran held the baton to Simon in his outstretched hand, the Lyra grabbed it and sped toward the next player on his team. He loved the feeling of the wind rustling through his hair, that perceived invincibility that accompanied the adrenaline-piumping sensation of actually flying through the air with nothing but a long wooden stick to support you.
It wasn't long until he reached player number three, to whom he held out the baton. "Here!" he said, smiling excitedly. He had faith in his team, and he knew that they would be victorious!
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Simon Gallup [RMI, 2nd-year]
Volunteering
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Simon Gallup [RMI, 2nd-year]
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Jera Valson (Sonora 3rd year)
October 18, 2009 10:36 AM
Joining in by Jera Valson (Sonora 3rd year)
All of the activities for the day sounded fun to Jera, but she felt most compelled to join in with the broom racing event. It was a well-known fact at Sonora that Aladren usually had trouble getting a team together. Their Captain couldn't take part because he was running the event, and this assistant captain was running adifferent event, so Jera didn't expect him to take part, either. She didn't know anything about the Lyra House or their Quidditch record, but Jera felt an obligation to help out Aladren with the competition. It turned out the broom race was simply a relay. On some level Jera was relieved; it was easier than she's anticipated. She could fly fast - that was her job, as Seeker for the Aladren team. She wasn't bad at it, either. She had caught the Snitch in the last game (and Jera had been more surprised than anyone else at that turn of events).When they had to break up into groups of five, Jera stuck near Daniel. She didn't know the younger boy all that well, but they played on the team together, so they had the familiarity gained through regular team practises. Among the other players from Sonora and RMI, Jera found herself being third; in the middle of the chain. Just a bit of fun, she reminded herself. It wasn't like a game, when Jera felt the pressure of her whole House. This was just a little competition, no pressure.
Jera watched Daniel start off, and as he passed the baton to the RMI kid, Jera got ready on her broom - well, it was actually a school broom like everyone else was using, but for now she thought of it as her broom. "Here!" The boy held the stick out for Jera to take. She grasped it, gettting a slow start until he released his end of the baton, the Jera put her mind to getting up as much speed as she could. Her knees clutched the broom tightly, and she leant forward, making herself streamlined with the broom.
As she approached the next player on the team, Jera held out the baton for them to tak. She hoped it wasn't getting too sweaty - it would be so humiliating if one of them dropped it. Jera automatically slowed a little on approach, but she tried to keep a reasonable pace as she held out the baton to the next person.
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Jera Valson (Sonora 3rd year)
Joining in
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Jera Valson (Sonora 3rd year)
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Lia Harper [RMI 4th year]
October 18, 2009 6:54 PM
My turn! by Lia Harper [RMI 4th year]
Being an exemplary Assistant Quidditch Captain, Lia had brought her broom Oedipus—a name she found ironic, since it was her birth mother who had given Lia the Nimbus 2001—with her to Sonora. She hadn’t known about the broom competition, planning on simply exploring Sonora’s Pitch on Oedipus, but waste not, want not. At least she would be able to compete on her own broomstick; Lia didn’t know about Sonora’s financial situation, but school brooms were almost always very low-quality. Upon surveying the scene at the Pitch, Lia found that she was one of only a few who was not borrowing one from the Arizona school. All the more advantageous for her team.Team Lyraladren had a decent makeup, though the Sonora students seemed on the non-athletic side. Lyras weren’t muscular as a rule, but she hoped the Aladrens weren’t as wimpy as some of them looked. Lia herself, though slender, had the strong arms typical of her position in Quidditch; Beater’s arms, toned for wielding heavy wooden bats.
Lia was fourth in line, after some Sonorans and Simon. As she watched them each complete their leg of the track, she decided to yell something when she took off; perhaps a patriotic message demonstrating school, team, or House pride. However, when she got the baton, what she ended up yelling was not at all what she had decided upon. It was still a good choice, she felt, because C. S. Lewis had always been her dads’ favorite author, so her battle cry was completely appropriate.
“FOR NARNIA!” she shouted triumphantly as she snatched the baton from the hand of the Sonora kid on her team and shot off to complete the fourth stretch for Lyra and Aladren. Too preoccupied to notice whether the kid she was racing against was from her school or the other, the fourth-year flattened herself against Oedipus for more velocity. The world ceased to exist. The only matter of any importance was that she delivered this baton to her teammate. Her broom was superb, almost definitely better than what the Draco-or-Crotalus-competitor was flying, and she made it to her final team member in what seemed like no time, handing off the baton and hoping that the fifth group member would take their team to the next round.
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Lia Harper [RMI 4th year]
My turn!
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Lia Harper [RMI 4th year]
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