Netherlands

## Eulogy 1

*By Cam Cain*

The Netherlands is a country in northern Europe

The name means “lower countries” in reference to the fact that the country is very low and flat

Though it is occasionally called Holland, this is incorrect, as Holland is just one region of the Netherlands

Well known symbols of the country include its windmills and tulips

Many famous artists are Dutch, such as Rembrandt, van Gogh, and Mondrian

The most popular sport is soccer, but the country has dominated speedskating in the Olympics

Twelve major leaguers were born in mainland Netherlands, including Didi Gregorius and Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven

## Eulogy 2

*By Cam Cain*

The Netherlands are a country in Western Europe

Their name literally means ‘lower countries’ as a reference to the low lying land. The highest point in the country is only 300 meters above sea level, and 21% of the population lives below sea level in reclaimed lands. As one would expect, climate change has caused all sorts of problems with that

The demonym ‘Dutch’ comes from an old Germanic term meaning ‘of the people.’ It comes from the same word as German ‘Deutsch.’ It was first used in English to refer to speakers of any West Germanic languages, which is why Amish German is known as Pennsylvania Dutch. The language we now refer to as Dutch is spoken by 25 million people and is super weird

The Netherlands has a long history of social tolerance. In 2001 it became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage

The nation has one of the world’s largest and most diversified economies, with large companies including the beverage manufacturer Heineken, the financial services company ING, the petroleum company Shell, and my dad’s employer the electronic machinery company Philips

Lots of famous art has come from this tiny country, and famous artists include Breugel the Elder, Breugel the Younger, Bosch, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Mondrian, and Escher. Basically, about 50% of the artists that us casuals can name are Dutch

Sports are also big in the Netherlands. The Dutch team has always punched above its weight at the World Cup, thrice finishing as runners up. While they haven’t broken through in soccer, they are the world’s dominant force in speed skating. They have won 133 of their 147 winter medals in this event; the next best country has won just 87 speed skating medals. With her gold in Beijing in the 1500 meters, Ireen Wüst became the first competitor in any sport to win a gold medal at five consecutive Olympics. By the way, her time was an Olympic record. Also she was 35 at the time

## Tournament

Netherlands was defeated by Isle of Man in Round 2 Matchup 38 of FlagVote after previously defeating Bolivia. As the 161 seed it was defeated by Manhattan in Round 2 Matchup 6 of FlagVote 2 after previously defeating Grenada. As the 127 seed, it was defeated by Makedonska Kamenica in Round 3 Matchup 66 of FlagVote 3 after previously defeating the Azores.

## Results

### FlagVote

**Round 1:** Win over Bolivia 4-3

**Round 2:** Loss to Isle of Man 6-1

### FlagVote 2

**Round 1:** Win over (352) Grenada 4-1

**Round 2:** Loss to (96) Manhattan 6-1

### FlagVote 3

**Round 1:** BYE

**Round 2:** Win over (386) Azores 6-5

**Round 3:** Loss to (130) Makedonska Kamenica 6-5