Marble League 2019 Event 1: Opening Ceremony and Underwater Race

The final of the Underwater Race, won by Rapidly of the Savage Speeders

The first event of Marble League 2019 was held on the 19th of April 2019, not only featuring the first event: the **Underwater Race**, but also the **Opening Ceremony**.

## Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony started with the entrance of the Marble League trophy, with 2019 being the first Marble League year consisting of a trophy for the overall winner. It then followed by King Triton, the king of the Oceanics' nation, followed by the mascot of this year's Marble League, Alvin. The 16 members of the Marble League 2019 staff then made an entrance, including commentator Greg Woods and members of the JMRC. Then the 16 qualified teams entered the ceremony one by one with their team, led by their coaches. Finally, the Oceanics walked up a tower to light the Marble League torch to indicate the start of Marble League 2019.

## Event

The Underwater Race is similar to the one used in the qualifiers; however the track was shortened due to the competitors having trouble holding their breath underwater. The marbles roll down the starting ramp into the water and then roll along the track until the finish line. The first two teams to cross the finish line move on to the next round.

## Preliminary Stage

### Heat 1

In this race, King Triton fired the starting gun to get the event underway. This is was the only race where the king started the race as the remainder of the event was done by the officials. This race consisted of a close photo finish between Choc from the Chocolatiers and Quacky from the Green Ducks, with only a 0.01 second margin. This race also saw the hosts Oceanics being eliminated in last place, continuing their ironic reputation of performing bad in water events.

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### Heat 2

Mellow Yellow had an early lead down the ramp, but was then overtaken by the Raspberry Racers, who takes the lead. Crazy Cat's Eyes then comes in from the outside to take a brief lead, but the Raspberry Racers gained back their lead and finished first in another close finish with Wispy from the Midnight Wisps. Crazy Cat's Eyes are unable to finish in the top 2, and Mellow Yellow finished last, despite a great start.

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### Heat 3

This race was very close from start to finish. The Jungle Jumpers took the lead after the turn, but gets overtaken by the 3 other teams. Team Galactic, the Thunderbolts and the O'rangers only had 0.02 of a second separating all three teams. After a long wait due to a photo finish, it was revealed that Team Galactic and the Thunderbolts tied for 1st.

 1st
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### Heat 4

The Hazers had a great turn after the slope, however the Savage Speeders and thr Indigo Stars came very close to overtaking them near the finish. The Hazers however held on by 0.01 seconds to the Savage Speeders.

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## Semifinals

### Semifinal A

All 4 teams paused pretty long after the bump against the wall after going down the ramp. The Green Ducks then took the lead after the turn, but were overtaken by the Hazers. They took the lead back again after a push from behind by the Thunderbolts. However, the Hazers yet again took back the lead again and finished first with a time of 14.96, the fastest time in this event.

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### Semifinal B

The Savage Speeders took an early lead after the turn and stayed there for the remainder of the race. The race for 2nd place and the spot in the final was very intense, with Team Galactic nudging the Midnight Wisps, slowing both teams down. The Chocolatiers advanced to the final.

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## Final

The Hazers made a lead down the ramp early in the race. However, after the turn the Savage Speeders took the lead, and held on for the rest of the race, winning them their first gold medal in Marble League 2019.

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### Medals

* **Gold**: Rapidly - Savage Speeders
* **Silver**: Quacky - Green Ducks
* **Bronze**: Choc - Chocolatiers