|
 Just
when you thought that the era of Jeux Sans Frontières was over, along
comes a new series to surprise you. Stedenspel (in English, City
Games) is a television show in which Belgium and Netherlands battle
against each other in a competition that JSF fans will find somewhat familiar.
All the editions were recorded in television Studio 12 at the Eurocam Media
Center in Lint, Belgium and is produced by the Flemish broadcaster EXQI Plus
and the Dutch broadcaster TROS. The programme is hosted by Guy Van Sande
(Belgium) and Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen (Netherlands) - pictured above
- and commentary is supplied by Tom Blom. Stedenspel airs in the
Netherlands and in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, Flanders.
Each programme in the 2010 Stedenspel series featured
two teams consisting of five men and five women, representing Belgian and
Dutch towns and cities and they play a set of nine standard games which are
repeated from one programme to the next. The titles of these games betray an
important element of the competition: 'Sponge Game', 'Penguin Game', 'Water
Climbing Wall' and 'Boat Game'... All games were played in, on, next to, above
and even under water. An enormous 25 by 35 metre swimming pool was the key -
and lots of competitors got very wet in their endeavours to prove their home
towns the best!
 All
the games played in this series were standard games, which would be identical
in each and every programme. Game numbers were shown in on-screen graphics,
but the opening and final games were unnumbered, so confusingly the second
game of each programme was referred to as Game 1. Despite not being officially
titled, the opening and closing games in each event have been given titles by
JSFnetGB for reference purposes. Additionally, the two heats of the Water
Climbing Wall game were given separate numbers (Game 3 and Game 7), even
though technically they are two halves of a single game.
The game content was as follows:
Opening Game - 'Stepping Stones': The teams were
introduced in this opening game. The ten team members (5 men, 5 women) descend
the stairs and then use stepping stones to reach the center of the swimming
pool. Three points were awarded to the team with the most players on the
centre float.
Game 1 – Penguin Game:
Four players dressed as penguins had to step through a gate on a carousel to
get on a running belt. At the end of this belt were fish which had to be
collected. Then they had to run back over the belt and put the fish into an
igloo. Three points were awarded to the team with the most fish in the igloo.
Game 2 – Ball Game:
Three players, each inside a ball, had to roll down a slide into the swimming
pool. They then had to roll the ball through a gate and up out of the pool
using a board and then place the ball in a ring at the carousel. After that,
the next player was allowed to start start. Three points were awarded to the
team which had three players completing the course first.
Game 3 – Water Climbing Wall, Part I:
This game was a variation on the Fil Rouge as used in Jeux Sans Frontières,
but in Stedenspel it was played by one team on their own as Game 3 and then by
the other team on their own as Game 7. In the game, the first player enters
the water via the stepping stones, swims to the 7 metre high climbing wall,
climbs it and sound the bell. As soon as he/she had jumped back into the
water, the next player was allowed to start. The aim was to get as many
players as possible to complete the course within a time limit of 3 minutes.
Game 4 – Boats Game:
Two players had to traverse a slide in a little boat to reach a lock, which
three other team members tried to open by filling a leaky tank with water.
When the lock was opened, the player have to row to the little harbour to
sound the bell, allowing the second player to start. The players' progress is
made difficult both by water sprayed at them by their opponents and by
bubbling water in the harbour. Three points were awarded to the team whose
second player finishes the game first.
Game 5 – Tree Trunk Game:
Players had to step on the tree trunk suspended over the pool one by one to
face an opponent who stood in the middle of the trunk. To receive a point
towards the game total, players would have to bash their opponent from the
trunk, while remaining standing upon it themselves. The team with the most
game points in three minutes, would win the game and receive three points
towards their score.
Game 6 – Sponge Game:
Three players dressed as sponges had to step through a gate on the carousel to
stand under a shower from which they had to catch water. Stepping off the
carousel, they then had to put the water in a measuring container. The team
with the most water in the container received three points.
Game 7 – Water Climbing Wall, Part II:
The second team now played this game (see Game 3 for details) and tried to
beat the first team's score. The team with the best score (in either Game 3 or
7) was awarded three points.
The points scores leading into the final game did not determine the winner of
the competition, but would decide how much the trailing team would be
handicapped at the start of this game. Each point that a team were in deficit
to the leaders would mean a two second delay to their start on the final game.
If, for instance, Team A were 6 points behind Team B, then Team A would be
held back and would start the game 12 seconds after Team B. The winner of the
final game would be declared winner of the competition. This meant that a team
could score fewer points than their opponents and yet still win the
competition - something that had previously been a possibility in Simply
the Best and many Intervilles competitions.
Final Game – 'Obstacle Course':
Six players had to tackle an obstacle course one at a time. First, they
had to run against the running belt and then jump on to the series of
suspended tree-trunks without falling in the water. They then had to crawl to
a slope and climb it using a rope, while their opponents sprayed them with a
garden hose. The team which finishes first with all six players wins the
competition.
by Ischa Bijl with Alan Hayes |
