Oh, The Games People Play!

Another summer comes to an end and cool winds will bring snow to winter sports fans. Olympic athletes have been training for their events and the 2018 Olympics competition.
                                                             Let the games begin.

Construction begins on the 2018 Ice Revue at PyeongChang, South Korea.

 Three countries France, Germany and South Korea vyed for the honor of hosting the winter games. The winner: South Korea!

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While it may be difficult to be thinking past the colorful season of autumn, the International Olympic  Committee has the task of  searching even farther into the future! Upcoming Winter Games sites are being planned  for the 2022 games! The IOC will announce the host city for the 2022 Olympics on July 31 of 2015 after final detailed bids are submitted in January. The three finalists for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games  will be one of the following: Oslo, Norway; Beijing;, and Almaty, Kazakhstan . Oslo remains in the running at this point,  but its bid may be withdrawn. The Norwegian public has expressed reservations, leaving politicians hesitant to back the bid, and that's in a country where the Winter Olympics are popular with Norway constantly finishing at or near the top of the medal count.

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The latest public opinion poll, conducted by research firm "InFact" for the Tromso newspaper Nordlys, found only three out of 10 Norwegians support the bid.
Opposition is strongest in northern Norway, where 80 per cent are opposed, while in Oslo itself, 50 per cent oppose the bid. The IOC organization has been seen as extravagant and  demanding on Olympic hosts cities, with a report in March calling for IOC members to pay their own costs when attending the Games.
The surging costs of the games ($51 billion in Sochi ) has also been turning many nations off the dream of hosting the Olympics. Apparently, there are  "Fun and Games" at the Olympics.

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Currently, the "Chess Olympiads" are being held in Tromso, Norway.The tournament takes place over two weeks, having begun  August 1st and ending August 15th. The competition involves 2200 players from 170 national federations. That should be a quiet event.

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Agnus Carlesen, World Champion from Norway.

Hou Yifan, reigning Women's Champion from China.

Players who participate at the Olympiad include the reigning World Champion and highest rated player in the world in Norway’s Magnus Carlesen, shown playing on “Board 1” while  Hou Yifan, the reigning Women’s World Champion plays on "board 1" for China. The current champions are Armania in the Open Section and Russia among the Women’s teams.



Who would expect controversy at a chess tournament? But wait, Russia is thinking of suing the IOC!  

Why? Because the Russian Women's team was disqualified .

Katerya Lagnes ,who was transferred from Ukraine to Russsia.

Russia was in the process of transferring a chess-player from the Ukraine Federation to the Russian Federation, apparently to provide more skill and chance for team success. The lengthy process caused them to miss the deadline to apply for competition in the Olympiad and the Russian team was not registered to compete. However, after negotiations, the Russian Women's team was allowed to compete. Nevertheless, the Russians are now suing members of the IOC. The hired lawyers won their contest, but there are costs.
Russian officials have sued the Norwegian organizers of the Chess Olympiad , wanting their Norwegian hosts to cover their extra expenses in legal fees spent fighting the disqualification .
Norway’s TV2 reported that the claim against the Norwegian organizers of the Chess Olympiad is for the equivalent of NOK 1.2 million (around USD $200,000), to cover the team’s cost of hiring lawyers to protest their initial exclusion from the Chess Olympiad . When they missed the deadline, the Norwegian organizers dropped them in accordance with the rules, but later relenting, let them and nine other teams enter the competition despite late applications.

There seems to be games within the games!

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The action around the chess boards in Tromsø continued, meanwhile, with Norway losing its match against Armenia .

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Closer to home, there are more friendly games in the news despite all being wars games! A popular game is

an old Nordic game, which began in Sweden. A friendly competitive outdoors game, "Kubb" ( Coob)  is a lawn game where the object is to knock over wooden blocks by throwing wooden batons at them.This game can be somewhat described as a combination of bowling and horseshoes. The final goal is to knock over the King.

 "Kubb förenar människor och skapar fred på jorden".
(Kubb unites people and creates peace on Earth).

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While being a well-known game in Europe, this game is  catching on in the USA. In 2007, Wisconsin hosted the first promoted and official tournament in the U.S. In 2014, there are 24 tournaments in the U.S., 13 of which are in Wisconsin.

Hosted in Eau Claire, WI, the Kubb Capital of North America, the U.S. National Kubb Championship is one of the largest kubb tournaments in the world. It is one of three two-day tournaments in the world, as the final eight teams return.  It is the second largest tournament in the world with painted kubbs and kings.

The game  is played between two teams, which may consist of only one person per team. Locally, Vennskap Sons of Norway members have taken up the challenge of the game. Competition is fierce, but friendly!

Sheboygan-Manitowoc Vennskap kubb players in action. 
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Another popular war-game might have been invented by marauding Vikings as they trained their men in

battle strategy. Again, the King is to be destroyed.

This boardgame was a popular game  in medieval Scandinavia and was mentioned in several of the Norse Sagas. Hnefatafl ( Hef-eh-TAH-full) literally translates to "king’s table."

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All pieces move like the rook in chess-play and pieces are taken by"sandwiching" i.e. moving your piece so that an opponent’s piece is trapped horizontally or vertically between

two of yours. The battle begins as 'The Huns' attack from all four sides as the king of the opposition is found surrounded by his soldiers in the center of the scene.  Atttackers strive to prevent the king from reaching one of his corner castles, and if they trap him-battle over! As for the defenders, their objective is for their king to escape by reaching any of the four corner squares and safety. Their battle will be won.
 

  Everyone can enjoy this game due to the simple rules, but, like a Viking chieftain might have stressed,

 " Try to think like the enemy!".

   In this photo, while not enemies,  the granddaughters contemplate the action and it appears the king has two paths in which  to escape, and the game goes on.



Ships, Ahoy!

Where is the "Draken Harald Hårfagre"?

This replica of a Viking ship was sailing to Liverpool, England on her maiden voyage when a storm wind and waves broke the mast causing a delay as the ship was forced to use emergency motor power to gain port in Liverpool. Timber for the new mast had to be flown to the craftsmen and repairs are underway as the Viking ship lays at anchor.

The timber has been found and woodworkers have been working to shape the tall mast. At the latest report, the crew has been readying the lines and the sail for installation. Plans to get underway  for the return voyage to Norway are on schedule. The big square sail will be hoisted and the trip underway August 3rd.

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A carving of a 16th century English birlinn

The era of the Vikingship began to ebb in 1100. All throughout the 13th century, European ship designs were moving away from the light, swift, and maneuverable Viking style designs. They began choosing  heavier, stronger, more powerful sailing fortresses capable of ramming other ships, with the ability to become gun-carrying platforms.Using the Viking influence, a ship called a "Birlinn" appeared. This was a wooden vessel using the sail and oars, but modified to fit naval guns designed to attack the opposition while carrying heavy cargo over long distances.

  

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The concept of a ship carrying more than one mast, to give it more speed under sail and to improve its sailing qualities, evolved in northern Mediterranean waters: built by the various East India companies (Dutch, English or Scandinavian) to bring back tea, china, silk and spices.

The trend to additional masts to accommodate additional wind  power led to the three-mast standard that is still  recognized today. Although  modern diesel engines are the most efficient and reliable means of sailing power, the tradition of the three-masters is not to be forgotten.

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At the present time, vessels and sails are popular among watercraft operators both in recreation and those who compete in various annual sailing events. One of these annual European events began in 1956 and is underway this month. A total of 69 sailing vessels are taking  part in the "Tall Ships Race" segment in Fredrikstad, 22 of them so-called “Class A.” They’re the biggest of the vessels and include Norway’s  three high-masted ships Statsraad Lehmkuhl, Christian Radich and Sørlandet. 

 The Sørlandet is the oldest of the three Norwegian Tall Ships and the oldest full- rigged ship in the world still in operation.

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Thousands of spectators were expected in Bergen to admire the ships and follow the regatta as it continued from its starting point in Harlingen in The Netherlands, July 6th to its final port in Esbjerg, Denmark, August 5th.

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The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training on sailing ships. The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a "cruise in company". Over one half  of the crew of each ship participating in the races must consist of young people.

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The three legs of the race.

All ships are manned by a largely  trainee crew who are partaking in sail training, 50 percent of which must be aged between 15–25 years of age with or without previous experience. Thus,"tall ship" does not describe a specific type of sailing vessel, but rather a sailing vessel of at least 30 ft that is conducting sail training and education under sail voyages.

Norway's Christian-Radich" , the winner in 2010.

There have been some changes since the Vikings began their voyages, however, sea-travel traditions continue.

The Nordmen Are Coming! The Nordmen Are Coming!

The nordmen are coming....

English sentinels scanning the ocean horizon sighted the dreaded dragonships of the invaders from the east, known as The Vikings, and rush to spread the warning.. Constant invasions have resulted in complete chaos, pillage and bloodshed as the men from the north, upon landing, overwhelmed the helpless defenders. Fierce dragon-heads on the  bows of the invading ships were meant to scare away ocean monsters and succeeded to also terrify any opposition. Their arrival was not a good event, and this has been going on  since the year 793 .

But this is the year 2014, and again, a Viking ship has set sail from Norway on a mission bound for English soil. However, this mission has a very different outcome.

On-board the Dragonship

The world’s largest Viking ship, The Dragon Harald Fairhair set sail in early July, 2014 for England on a voyage was expected to last three weeks.
The Dragon Harald Fairhair ( In Norwegian: Draken Harald Hårfagre) and named for the Norseking is a replica Viking longship built in the municipality of Haugesund, Norway. The Dragon Harald Fairhair brings the seafaring qualities of a warship from the old Norse sagas to life. It is a ship that combines ocean-crossing sailing capabilities with a warship's use of oars .Building began in
March 2010 while the launching of the longship took place in the summer of 2012. Because no one today has real experience handling a Viking ship of this size, the initial period was one of exploring how to sail and row the ship. By summer 2014, it was expected that the longship should be ready for its first real expedition.The Dragon Harald Fairhair is the largest "Viking ship" built in modern time and this was to be the maiden voyage.

A typical Viking Ship at sea.

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All went well for the first three days and the crew was settling in for the long voyage when, approaching the Orkney islands, they sailed into stormy seas and  a huge wave driven by high winds. The wave and winds broke the high mast, sending it, along with the huge 2,800 sq. foot sail of pure silk overboard. There would be a slight change of plans!

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Ship's crew including the Liverpool Victoria Rowing Team

This longship is a '25-sesse' (25 pairs of oars) – in other words, it is equipped with 50 oars. Each oar is powered by two men and the ship must have a minimum crew of 100 persons. When under sail, it requires a crew of 18–24 people. Luckily, on this voyage, the crew includes the Rowing Club, a team from Liverpool Victoria who had

travelled to Norway last year to train onboard the Viking ship in order to take part in the maiden voyage of The Dragon Harald Fairhair. They put their talents to good use as they rowed the large boat aided by modern motors that had been installed for an emergency.
They rowed and motorized to the nearest port, that being Orkney, the site of a Royal Navy site at Scapa Bay, which played a major role in World War I and II. However, timber to replace the huge mast was not available, and their rowing, motorized journey had to be continued from The Shetland Islands. The Draken left port using the motor,
 voyaging south past Orkney, then down the east coast of Scotland, crossing through the Caledonian Canal to the west coast of England.

They were then forced to motor on to their destination of Merseyside,Northwest England, trying to keep to the original schedule on their 115 foot vessel that had a displacement of about 70 metric tons constructed of oak.
The longship had been set to arrive, after a three-week passage under sail, on July 18 to be a highlight of the nationally recognized  British Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool golf club in Hoylake, but arrival times had to be revised as the Norse longship made its way through the Caledonian Canal.
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The shipbuilders sailing with them were expected to fly on to Scotland after reaching port to begin  the search for timber for a new mast, which will have to be constructed and then delivered for installation.

Awaiting repairs...waiting.

Once the Draken arrived , repairs were expected to be undertaken  and ready for the longship’s long journey home to Norway. Their "tee-time" mission to highlight the golf tournament in England was missed and the  remainder of their maiden voyage was in doubt.

 However, English Rowing Club members proved invaluable as mission plans were changed and their voyage probably not forgotten.

The rowers will get a rest, as the replacement mast will be installed, the new sail will be hoisted and The Dragon Harald Fairhair will be homewardbound  for Norway August 3rd.

A Day To Show The Flag

July 4th is the most celebrated national holiday in North America. Much has been written, documented and  respected by every American schoolchild and adult.

History lessons tell us of the colonists who arrived from Europe to The New Country banded together for survival and, in time, began to resent the demanding ties to Europe.
This resentment grew when European authorities imposed a new tax on the imported tea, a commodity loved by all. Rebelling colonists decided to take action .

           
 The  Boston Tea Party  was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773.  They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor, ruining the tea. The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution.
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 The Declaration of Independence is the usual name of  statements adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America.

The first official U.S. flag was created during battle on August 3, 1777 at Fort Schuyler  during the siege of the fort . Soldiers cut up their shirts to make the white stripes; scarlet material to form the red was secured from red flannel petticoats of officers' wives, while material for the blue union was secured from Capt. Abraham Swartwout's blue cloth coat.Although the Betsy

Ross legend is controversial, the design is among the earliest 13-star flags featuring a circle of stars of 5 points. The story credits Betsy Ross for sewing the first flag from a pencil sketch handed to her by George Washington, however no evidence for this exists.

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The design of the flag has been modified 26 times officially since 1777. At the time of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress would not legally adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year.

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First section arrives

The latest flag-raising activity has taken place in Eastern Wisconsin. Sheboygan-based Acuity Insurance company has raised  the tallest free-standing flagpole in North America, this being a  400-foot flagpole flying an American flag measuring 60 feet high by 120 feet long.
 This is the third attempt to build such a flag pole to accomodate such a large flag. Their  first flag-pole attempt was  erected in 2003, and was 150 feet tall. Later, it was extended to  200 feet, but winter lakewinds sent it to the ground.  The next attempt  was 300 feet, and again, replaced by a 338-foot pole. In April of 2008, it also was succeptable to the winds and was considered unsafe and dismantled. This newly constructed flag-pole has been built by a Manitowoc company known for wind-turbine towers and engineered for Wisconsin winds and winter temperatures.The pole is eleven feet in diameter at its base, and five feet in diameter at its end.

Each star is 3 feet high and each stripe is 4 1/2 feet long in this flag that weighs 300 pounds. Acuity employees took part in the dedication In April 2014, Acuity announced that this latest attempt at the nation’s largest flagpole was to be erected in time for the 2014 July fourth celebration.The flag was raised for the first time on May 22, 2014.
More than 1,000 people filled the Acuity parking lot to take in the pole’s dedication. Danny Gokey, an “American Idol” finalist from Milwaukee, sang the National Anthem.

President Reagan proclaimed 1986 the Year of the Flag. “The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish,” Reagan said. “Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice.”

Enjoy the celebrations and remember....

And The Games Begin!

                           It’s summertime! 
This year has been so strange that nothing can be taken for granted! Outdoor sports are underway and everyone has their favorite. Europeans  and Central Americans are in World Competition in their sport called ‘Football’, or, in the US, known as soccer. US spectators are more involved in Our National Pastime..baseball!

 Every batter is trying to hit anything the pitcher can throw at them . When too many batters are successful, the pitcher is replaced. Hitting the pitcher’s offering is of highest importance. The pitcher is somewhat like the king of the team while surrounded by his defenders and the opposition has to get to the king. 

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As youngsters, perhaps you played “King of the Hill” while trying to dislodge the King from the heights. When playing “Tag”, one might yell “ “King’s X!” and everyone would automatically stop for a breather until  “King’s X, over!” Where did we get this stuff? No adult was needed to teach that action! We have ‘Kings’ in our heritage. Our competitive games often include kings. Kings were, of course, extremely important people in our history. Competition for the kingly  title caused constant wars and the competition goes on. Wars continue, as do the games.

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There are some relatively unknown competitive games that have been popular  in Europe and now becoming practiced in America . Two Scandinavian events are finding great acceptance in our society.
   Kubb, a Swedish game  ( pronounced 'koob') is  fast-growing in popularity, coming from Scandinavia. Kubb is a lawn game where the object is simply  to knock over wooden blocks by throwing wooden batons at them.
The king is placed upright in the center of the ‘pitch’, and the ’kubbs’ are placed on the baselines while two teams take turns to knock down the defending warriors, or ‘kubbs’. This game is rapidly gaining popularity and easy to make. The kubbs are 4X4 inch woodblocks while the batons are  3 inch dowels about eight inches in length. The

main character, the King, is a larger kubb with a crown! Find a  fifteen yard long  field , some teammates and start the attack. Kubb is no-longer an unknown game!
The ultimate object of the game is to knock over the kubbs on the opposing side, and then knock the “king” over, before the opponent does.If a thrower successfully topples the king, his team has won the game. The game is easily learned.

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Tournaments in the U.S. have exploded since 2007, especially in the Midwest. In 2014, the U.S. tournament list includes over 20 tournaments, with the majority of them being held in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. In 2013, the U.S. Midwest Championship was re-introduced and annual tournaments will  travel throughout the Midwest. In 2013, it was located in Rockford, IL, and it will be held in Decorah, IA in 2014 and Madison, WI in 2015. 

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Eau Claire team in 2013 Nat.
 Semi-final kubb competition

On December 13, 2011, Eau Claire, Wisconsin declared itself to be the Kubb Capital of North America. The city has hosted the U.S. National Kubb Championship since 2007, and is home to “Kubbnation Magazine”, and  many kubb clubs and kubb leagues. In addition, kubb sets are in the local schools, with some schools having kubb units in physical education classes. There are also kubb clubs at some schools, including Eau Claire Memorial High School.

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Numerous tournaments are held throughout Europe (Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy and more) and most countries have their own national championship tournament.

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Vennskap Lodge members of The Sons Of Norway in Sheboygan celebrated their annual

Summer Solstice by taking part in a game of kubb. First, instructors had a lively contest just by agreeing on the instructions!

A toppled King and a winning team.

But, someone has to lose!...

          

 Scandinavians enjoy competition, and this game brings out the true nature of  our heritage.

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 For those wishing a competitive game indoors  or  in the evening, the game of Kubb can be condensed to a board game given the tongue-twisting name of “Hnefatafl”.

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This Scandinavian  game (pronounced hef-ah-TAH-fel) is similar to chess with all pieces moving as rooks.  Invaders are trying to get to the other team’s King, but this time, the King has  a few tricks up his  sleeve, so the invading ‘Huns’ have to be clever. 

This game is considered to be over 1,000 years old and might have been played by the Vikings, and maybe even invented by a marauding group planning a raid. The Hun chief might have gathered his men, while drawing a square in the sand saying “Listen up, here’s  the plan. You twenty-four guys will split into groups of six on each side to kill that King.

They only have twelve guys, so we got them outnumbered and surrounded already! Their king is in the middle. Surround him.    If he gets to any corner, we lose the battle”.

 The battle begins and warriors are captured.

Two ancient Scandinavian warriors

Remember...It's just a game! It's just a game!