“Battle of the Nations”-2015. The most mass ever! Or THANK YOU, PRAGUE! The World Championship in Historical Medieval Battle “Battle of the Nations”-2015 Czech Republic, Prague (Petrin Hill)

“Battle of the Nations”-2015 was the most mass HMB World Championship in history! Many things were done for the first time, a lot of things were done not “according to the pattern”, but “as an experiment.” And many undertakings came to an end against all the expectations and to spite skeptics. Large-scale participation, intrigue and unexpected outcomes are three points that describe Prague “Battle of the Nations” best. In general, we all have something to remember! But let’s consider everything in order…

FIGHTERS OF “BATTLE OF THE NATIONS”-2015: THEIR NAME IS LEGION!  

First of all, the event was mass in terms of the participants number. It attracted about 700 fighters from more than 30 countries from around the world! For the first time in the history of HMB sport, more than a dozen teams fought in the “Royal” category at one tournament! For the first time “Battle of the Nations” gathered more than fifty five-member teams (52 teams, to be exact). 24 women and 32 men competed in their categories in “1 vs 1″. The list was complemented by 11 halberd men, who fought in a separate category for the first time. And such number of participants, weapons, armor and colored cottes “buzzed” on 3 (three!) lists, which was also for the first time!
 
THE MAIN LISTS OF “BATTLE OF THE NATIONS”-2015: THE HALF IS MORE THAN THE WHOLE!  

This year, all the conditions necessary for the atmosphere of the knight’s tournament, such as sandy arena, dish-shaped stands and roar of the audience were present… By the way, for the first time in the history of “Battle of the Nations”, the stands surrounded the lists on all four sides. The main lists of “Battle of the Nations”-2015 deserves a separate description. In Prague, their dimensions were the following: length – 17.5 m, width – 7.5 m. It means the size of the lists was smaller than in previous years. It was a surprise for the teams, they had to make adjustments in the early days: to change tactics, formations… The only thing left unchanged was a desire to win! However, the fighters got used to the new dimensions of the lists quickly and the audience also liked them. As it turned out, the situation was better than in previous years, when such things as “wearing down opponents by running over rough terrain”, ” corner scuffles” and a large empty piece of lawn right in the center were a norm. Instead, everyone got staginess and dynamism, or even this way: STAGINESS and DYNAMISM! Smaller lists mean more staginess, more fun per square meter!  And, actually, what other choice did the men have?  If you pledge, don’t hedge, which means if you take a sword – use it! The Prague lists showed their best side and were remembered by the fighters and spectators for a long time!

MARSHALS OF “BATTLE OF THE NATIONS”-2015: THEY WERE AT THEIR BEST!

Marshals. This year, they were a numerous group. This year, yellow cottes of marshals and knight marshal could be seen not only on the lists or along them. On the day of final battles when a mistake in refereeing or an oversight could lead to loss of medals and a place in the table, the marshal committee headed by Alexander Davydov made a decision that can be called: “Additional marshals on the stands.” The logic is simple and the effect is maximum: an excellent view from the height allowed to see what could remain unnoticed by the referees who worked on the lists. Instead of batons, marshals on the stands had walkie-talkies to contact the knight marshal. According to the participants of the experiment, the innovation paid off and it is likely that this practice will be continued at the next Championships.

SPECTATORS of “BATTLE OF THE NATIONS”-2015: TRUE FAN ZONE!

And once again, concerning the scale of the event… Secondly, “Battle of the Nations”-2015″ was mass also in terms of fans and guests number. There was full house on the stands. And the thing is not only in tourists, who are numerous in Prague, one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, all year round… Of course, guests of the Czech capital made up a significant part of the audience. Moreover, the “sport” tourists who came to the Ice Hockey World Championship, which was held in Prague at the same time, were doubly lucky: they could turn from modern armor-and-adrenaline show to medieval armor-and-adrenaline one! In general, the festival attracted sooooo many guests, and, as we’ve already mentioned, the point is not just about tourists. The reason is in local people. The Czechs love football and hockey, which are their national sports. And, by the way, the Czech nation has something to brag about and has people to be proud of: their National hockey and football Teams are one of the strongest in the world, and names of many Czech sportsmen are used next to the words “Legend of the world sport.” And despite the Czechs have people to root for, they are open to everything new, including such a young sport as HMB. People of Prague of different age, young and old, could be seen on the stands (they just walked past the venue and decided to drop in)… And families with children chose the venue of “Battle of the Nations”-2015 as a place for family entertainment… There were sports fans, who came to Petrin Hill to look at the new, but increasingly popular sport… And even professionals, Czech ultras, attended the event… The arena seethed and exploded with shouts… That was a TRUE ARENA! As we heard from HMB fighters, they felt part of the BIG-TIME SPORT. The guys remembered roar of the crowd many times and with gratitude, they felt support and were motivated to fight.   Thank you, the Czech Republic! Thank you, Prague! (D?kujeme, ?eská Republiko! D?kujeme, Praho!)

“21 VS 21″, “ROYAL CATEGORY”: ROYAL ALLIANCES and ROYAL RECORD

The “Royal category.” The most mass and spectacular! The most mass and amazing! It was simply the most! First of all, “Battle of the Nations”-2015 is remembered as the Championship where 11 teams competed for the title of the champion. For the first time in the HMB history more than ten teams fought at one tournament in this category, which was a record! Organizers of “Battle of the Nations”-2015 introduced an innovation: the National Teams could join forces and form mixed units wearing cottes of the leading countries. A chance to fight like “grown-ups” was used by the National Teams of Latvia, Estonia, Finland, they formed an alliance under the banners of Israel (the leading country). Spain and Denmark joined Great Britain (the leading country). Austria (the leading country) got fighters from Australia and New Zealand. Hospitality was shown by Italians, who allowed Chileans and Mexicans to gain experience under their flags. After battles in two groups and the playoff, the pedestal was predictable and did not differ from that in Trogir: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. As for the other participants… A breakthrough was conducted by the team from the United States, the guys took the fourth place. The guys from France showed their best and got the 5th place.

“Battle of the Nations”-2015
ROYAL CATEGORY “MASS BATTLES” 21 VS 21

RESULTS:
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Belarus
4. USA
5. France
6. Poland
7. Czech Republic
8. Italy
9. UK
10. Israel
11. Austria

GROUP BATTLES “5 VS 5″: BREAKTHROUGHS  “5 vs 5″ is traditionally the most dynamic and exciting category of the World Championship in HMB “Battle of the Nations.” Fast movements on the lists, unexpected situations, tactical tricks and gimmicks, pressure and excitement… The Prague lists gathered representatives of 28 countries. In total: 52 five-member units, 8 groups. At the end of the Championship, the top lines belonged to the “Big Four”: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland. However, the rest of the participating National Teams also had something to be proud of! For example, the UK made an incredible leap ahead this year! Mark Taylor’s team made it to the top ten. The islanders got the ninth place. (In Trogir, team UK-1 was on the 29th line). A confident advancement to the top places was shown by Team Israel. Mikhail Morgulis’ team improved its performance compared to Trogir: 11th place in 2015. (In Croatia, the Israelites were on the 14th place). A place in the middle of the ranking list was obtained by Team Australia. Paul Smith’s fighters made their way to the 17th place in Prague. (In Croatia, Team Australia was the 15th). “I believe in my men and promise a good fight to any team.” These words were said before the event in Prague by Team Finland’s captain Juri Lönn. And he kept his word. The Finns demonstrated a good result on Petrin hill, they became the twentieth team. (Last year they had the twenty-fourth place). Our congratulations to the team of Heinrich Stefan Wurtsian! The Austrians had drawn conclusions from the past Championships, managed to get into the rating part and shared the 20th place with the Finns. Success crowned the debut of the Hungarian five-member team. Ádám Ujvári and his men returned home with the shield. According to the results of their first “Battle of the Nations”, Team Hungary entered the first 30 teams by winning the 29th place!

“Battle of the Nations”-2015
 CATEGORY “GROUP BATTLES” 5 VS 5
 

RESULTS:1-6th Places
1. Russia 1
2. Ukraine 1
3. Russia 3
4. Russia 2
5. Belarus 1
6. Ukraine 2

7-12th Places
7. Ukraine 3
8. Poland 1
9. UK 1
10. Belarus 2
11. Israel 1
12. Belarus 3

13-24th Places
13. USA 1
14. France 1
15. Poland 3
16. Poland 2
17-18. Argentina 1
17-18. Australia 1
19. Italy 1
20-21. Finland 1
20-21. Austria 2
22. Czech 1
23. Italy 2
24. Czech 2

25-51st Places
France 2
Latvia 1
Slovakia 1
Czech 3
Hungary 1
Switzerland 1
Denmark 1
Estonia 2
Germany 1
Italy 3
Estonia 1
Spain 1
Serbia 2
France 3
Moldova 1
Argentina 2
Netherlands 1
USA 2
UK 2
Austria 1
Mexico 1
Australia 2
Germany 2
Finland 2
New Zealand 1
Serbia 1

“1 VS 1″ ON HALBERDS: WILL WE SEE A CONTINUATION? THAT IS THE QUESTION!
 
“1 vs 1″ on halberds. “Polearm” is a novelty of “Battle of the Nations”    Halberd fighters are cult men in HMB sport :). This year, as an experiment, they were allowed to fight in their own separate category. 11 athletes from 11 countries took the chance. Was the experiment successful? Judging by the words of fighters and spectators, that was interesting. Concerning whether halberd fighters will compete next year again, it’s a question to the organizing committee, it’s up to them to decide, but let them reread the above sentence about words of fighters and spectators

“Battle of the Nations”-2015
 CATEGORY POLEARM “DUEL” 1 VS 1
 

RESULTS:  
1. Russia – Aleksei Naiderov
2. Israel – Mikhail Morgulis
3. USA – Jeff Gallie
4. Moldova – Ilya Dragan
5-6. Australia – Lee-John Harris
5-6. Belarus – Aleksandr Bulynov
7. Spain – Jose Amoedo
8. Poland – Krzysztof Olczak
9.Argentina – Martin Angiolillio
10. Serbia – Stevan Stevanovic
11. Netherlands – Ruben de Regt

“1 VS 1″, MEN: WHAT A TURN! MEN”S “TRIATHLON”.Outcome of this category can be placed in the “Sensations” section. The pedestal had long been firmly occupied by Russian athletes. And the question was not about the champion’s title. The question was, “Who will be the second after Ukolov.” The legend of the world HMB sport Sergei Ukolov, five-time world champion, was considered the favorite of the Championship… In the final bout, the title of the “Strongest triathlon fighter in the world” was taken by Ukolov’s teammate from “Bayard” Yevgeny Lapik. “Sensation,” “Surprise,” “What a turn!” It can be called as you like, but one thing is certain: Lapik has written his name in history! Will Yevgeny Lapik remain on top, will Sergei Ukolov be able to regain the “title” or will “Bayard confrontation” be joined by the third force, namely Alexei Petrik from “Tannenberg”? Time will tell and the more interesting “Battle of the Nations”-2016 will be!

“Battle of the Nations”-2015
MALE CATEGORY “DUEL” 1 VS 1

 

RESULTS:

1-6th Places
1. Russia 3
2. Russia 1
3. Russia 2
4. Poland 3
5. UK 1
6. Poland 1

7-12th Places
7. Ukraine 1
8. USA 1
9. Poland 2
10. Ukraine 2
11-12. Ukraine 3
11-12. Israel 2

13-24th Places
13. Israel 3
14. Belarus 1
15. Czech Republic 1
16. Germany 2
17. Finland 1
18. Israel 1
19. Moldova 3
20. Moldova 1
21. Estonia 2
22. Germany 1
23. Estonia 1
24. Latvia 1

25-51st Places
Austria 1
France 1
Mexico 1
Germany 3
Denmark 1
Italy 3
Italy 2
Mexico 2
Italy 1
Czech 3
USA 2
USA 3
New Zealand 1
UK 3
Hungary 1
France 3
Spain 1
France 2
Serbia 1
Croatia 2
Slovakia 1
Moldova 2
Czech 2
UK 2
New Zealand 2
Croatia 1

“1 VS 1″, WOMEN: A NEW QUEEN  Women’s “Triathlon”. Women officially “took up arms” only a year ago, at “Battle of the Nations”-2014 (Trogir, Croatia). The Russians took all the medals and the final places were the following: 1. Tatyana Guseva; 2. Galina Kokhvakko; 3. Yana Zabolotnikova. In Prague, the pedestal also belonged to Russian women. And the same names were in the top. But! There was a change of places at the top of the rankings! The final battle, Tatyana Guseva (club “Bayard”, Russia) – Galina Kokhvakko (club “Tannenberg”, Russia). In a bitter struggle Kokhvakko took the champion’s crown from Guseva! Women’s “Triathlon” does not have a long history, but the event has already been dubbed “sensational” by experts. During Russian qualifying events, just two and a half months before “Battle of the Nations”-2015, Guseva celebrated the victory, Kokhvakko had the second place. Concerning the World Championship, predictions were the same: “Guseva -“Gold”, Kokhvakko -“Silver”. However, the fate turned its back to experts and smiled upon Galina Kokhvakko’s fans. Prague assigned the new Queen! However, there is a speculation that Prague was just the beginning, that a new countdown in relations of the world’s strongest triathlon female fighters began. The season is long, it will be doubly interesting to follow the “Kokhvakko – Guseva” face-off at various tournaments. And it will be doubly interesting to find out the final outcome! And we will look forward to “Battle of the Nations”-2016 with doubled impatience!

 “Battle of the Nations”-2015
FEMALE CATEGORY “DUEL” 1 VS 1

 

RESULTS:
 
1-6th Places
1. Russia 2
2. Russia 1
3. Russia 3
4. Poland 3
5. Italy 3
6. Poland 1

7-12th Places
7. Czech Republic 3
8. Poland 2
9. Argentina 1
10. France 1
11. Argentina 2
12. Ukraine 2

13-24th Places
13. Denmark 1
14-15. UK 1
14-15. Czech Republic 1
16. Italy 1
17. New Zealand 1
18. Israel 1
19. USA 1
20. Italy 2
21. France 2
22. USA 2
23. Czech Republic 2
24. Netherlands 1

Statistics provided by HMBIA Tournament Committee.Miroslav Eremenko,
Alex Willis,
Christina Korneva,
HMBIA Media