Green Ducks

The **Green Ducks** are an army green and brown team that first participated in Marble League 2019, and are currently represented by Mallard, Billy, Quacky, Ducky and Goose. They are well-known for being the most successful rookie team, having finished second overall in their first Marble League, Marble League 2019. They were the hosts of Marble League 2022.

Coming from a group of islands known as the Brace Isles, the Green Ducks took Team Plasma's spot for the Marble League 2019 Qualifiers, and would qualify in 4th place. Their debut season would prove to be one of most successful ever, as they finished in 2nd with 5 medals, having never dropped out of the top 4 in the overall standings. As a result, they automatically qualified for Marble League 2020, however were unable to continue their success from the previous season as they finished 12th with no medals to their name alongside the Hornets. In Marble League 2021, the Green Ducks would win 3 silver medals in a row, although they would finish in 11th place due to their inconsistent performances.

The Green Ducks are also well-known for their excellency in Marbula One, as they finished in 6th during Season 1 and Season 3, along with a 3rd place finish in Season 2. Billy is also notable for being the only marble to win a gold medal in all three Marbula One seasons.

In 2023 they surprisingly failed to qualify for the Marble League despite a 3rd place in the Team Pursuit

## Team Members

Mallard, Billy, Quacky, Ducky, and Goose are the original and current members of the team. Mallard became team captain upon the team's formation.

### Coaches

Note: Events include any kind of events (friendly, other tournaments etc.).

## History

### Pre-Marble League

The Green Ducks hail from a group of islands called the Brace Isles. From a young age their members have been fans of marble sports. Mallard, the captain of the team, won tickets to the Tour de Vellis in 2014, where they saw the Savage Speeders win the tournament for the first time. Being at the competition made Mallard very excited. They returned to their hometown of Bermenghank to find one of their parents was sick. Mallard paid a visit to them in an infirmarblery, but they unfortunately passed away two days later.

Mallard's other parent, Bombay, wasn't working at the time and used most of the family's money to pay for the funeral. Bombay continued to struggle finding work, and Mallard found themselves working on Peartree Farm, looking after ducks with their sibling, Billy. During this time, the siblings made friends with fellow farmhands Quacky, Ducky and Goose, who were also working there while finishing off their primary education. The five became close friends over the years working on the farm, and especially bonded over their love for marble sports.

In 2017, Mallard secretly entered a bid to get tickets to Marble League 2017, and won. They surprised their friends with a trip to see the games in Knikkegen and watched from the Jungle Jumpers fan area, the team they supported as their colors reminded them of the grass on the farm. After they returned home, the group decided to start training to become marble sports athletes. They spoke to Bombay, who quit their job in tourism to become their coach. They decided to name their team the Green Ducks.

The Green Ducks started competing in minor leagues across the Brace Isles, a place not well known for marble sports at the time. They emerged as the most dominant team in the region. This earned the team sponsorships, allowing the team to become financially stable. They moved to Draklin in 2018 and started to use Joshdon Stadium as their home stadium.

In late 2018, rumors started to spread that Team Plasma was retiring from the Marble League due to lack of training, leaving an opening in the qualifiers for Marble League 2019. The Green Ducks, who had applied to compete a while ago, hoped to take their place. In early 2019, the team were accepted to take part in the Marble League 2019 Qualifiers.

### 2019

Despite being so new, the Green Ducks attracted a lot of attention from fans as they participated in the Qualifiers. The team proceeded to perform exceptionally. Mallard opened the Qualifiers for the team by coming fifth in the first event, the Funnel Race. In the next event, Block Pushing, the Green Ducks got an unprecedented 117.0 cm, coming first and moving to the top of the standings. They came fifth again in the Relay Race, securing their spot in Marble League 2019.

The Green Ducks decided to conserve energy for the final event, Underwater Race, by putting in Ducky. Unfortunately, they came last, despite the team's best hopes. The Green Ducks dropped to fourth at the end of the Qualifiers, but given their exceptional performance early on, they qualified anyway. The team continued to gain fans, many of whom were fans of the Limers who had failed to qualify.

The Green Ducks started off exceptionally in Marble League 2019, with a silver medal for Quacky in Event 1, the Underwater Race, redeeming Ducky's poor performance from the qualifiers. This was followed by a seventh-place finish for Mallard in Event 2, the Funnel Race. The team then came fourth in the next three events. The momentum built up to Event 6, the Relay Run. In the final leg, Billy lurched forward ahead of Tangerin of the O'rangers to win the team's first gold medal, putting them at the top of the standings.

Over the next four events, the Green Ducks averaged seven points per event, keeping them in the top three, but they lost first place to the Raspberry Racers, who took the lead after Event 8, the Summer Biathlon. The team refocused before Event 11, the Dirt Race. In said event, Ducky boosted ahead of Swifty of the Savage Speeders to finish second, closely followed by Rozzy of the Raspberry Racers.

The Green Ducks followed this up with a record-breaking gold medal in Event 12, Rafting, reclaiming first place. Event 13, the Elimination Race, saw the Green Ducks face off against the Raspberry Racers once more. In the final, Quacky faced Rezzy and Red Eye of the Crazy Cat's Eyes. Red Eye got stuck near the top of the course. Quacky and Rezzy shot down the course, but Quacky got stuck just before the finish line, allowing the Raspberry Racers to claim their first ever gold medal.

The Green Ducks remained in first, but would not medal again. They lost the lead in the standings to the Raspberry Racers after coming 12th in Event 14, Surfing. The team ultimately finished in second overall, behind the Raspberry Racers, with 204 points and five medals. The Green Ducks automatically qualified for Marble League 2020 and became the most successful rookie team in the Marble League. Their fanbase only continued to grow afterwards.

### 2020

#### Marbula One Season 1

The Green Ducks spent the start of the off-season at the farm in Bermenghank, training for upcoming events and inspiring young fans who watched from the edges of the farm, before returning to their headquarters in Draklin. While the team were training for Marble League 2020, Bombay received a letter from the JMRC, saying the team had been invited to take part in Marbula One Season 1. They accepted and sent Mallard and Billy to represent them. Given their outstanding debut season in the Marble League, the Green Ducks had become one of the most favored inaugural Marbula One competitors.

True to their status as a rookie sensation, the Green Ducks had a promising start in the first half of Marbula One Season 1, with a race win and fastest lap for Billy in the O'raceway Grand Prix, followed by a fourth-place finish for Mallard in the Momotorway Grand Prix, making up for their eighth place finish in the opening Savage Speedway Grand Prix. However, multiple finishes outside of the top ten would be the Green Ducks' undoing. The fifth Grand Prix would be hosted by the Ducks at Greenstone, a race in which Mallard placed seventh. The following two races would be run by Billy, in which they placed thirteenth and seventh respectively. However, Mallard went on to achieve a second-place finish in the final Grand Prix at the Midnight Bay Circuit. This lead the Green Ducks to a respectable sixth-place finish overall with Mallard finishing in the top ten for individual racers.

In the time before Marble League 2020, the the Green Ducks made headlines by starting a youth league in the Brace Isles, the Golden Egg. This was to encourage marble sports in the region and to encourage marble athletes to stay and compete locally. The opening of the new league was in Bermenghank and had two divisions: a youth division for those getting started in marble sports and a junior division for those more experienced. The junior league involved a tour around the Isles to prepare the top youth teams for future competitions. Included in the team roster were the Silver Swans, the Green Ducks' youth team. Once they had opened the tournament, the Green Ducks left the running of the games to Honk, a friend of Bombay, and they returned to Draklin to train.

#### Marble League 2020

In the Marble League 2020 Friendly Round, the Green Ducks did not perform as well as expected. They started with a third-place finish in Block Pushing after their heat needed to be redone when the Hazers got hit by the starting gate. Next up was Funnel Endurance where Mallard came last. Then in Balancing they had one finisher but only managed to come third meaning they could no longer finish in the top two. They finished second in the final event, the 5 Meter Sprint but it was futile, and they finished the Friendly Round in last place.

The Ducks continued to fail to live up to the previous year's successes with two bottom half finishes in the first two events of Marble League 2020, Balancing and the Halfpipe. Hope returned after a fourth place finish in Funnel Endurance. However this was followed by a six event spree of bottom half finishes, four of them in the bottom five, culminating in a last place finish by Goose in the Sand Mogul Race. This string of poor performances left them in last place overall, the opposite end of the table to where they had been the year before.

The team started to improve for the second part of the season. A sixth place finish by Billy in Event 10, the 5 Meter Sprint, lifted the team out of last into 14th overall. Billy and Quacky then just missed the podium with a fourth place finish in the Black Hole Funnel. A string of mid-table finishes took the Ducks to the end of Marble League 2020 where they finished in a disappointing 12th overall, a completely different season to the previous year. Fans began to question whether the previous year had been beginner's luck or whether this performance was a sophomore slump.

The Ducks returned to the Brace Isles and made appearances all over the region, continuing theit community work such as organizing clean-ups of the Larkey National Park in Draklin to visiting young marbles in the infirmarblery. Bombay had set up the Peartree Fund, named after Peartree Farm, to help fundraise for families in the process of looking for work.

#### Marbula One Season 2

Mallard and Billy returned for Marbula One Season 2 and had a strong start with a bronze medal for Mallard at the Minty Mania Grand Prix and a fifth place finish for Billy at the O'raceway, keeping the team in third overall. Mallard qualified well at the Honeydome Grand Prix in third but fell down the ranks and only managed 14th place finish. Billy returned the team to form with a sixth place finish at the Aquamaring Grand Prix and a fourth place finish for Mallard at Tumult Turnpike. The first half of the season ended on a high note with Billy getting the double by both qualifying and finishing in first by almost two and a half seconds at the Arctic Circuit Grand Prix, taking the team into second behind the dominant Crazy Cat's Eyes. The Ducks had set a record by making it into Q3 of the qualifiers in every Grand Prix of the season so far.

### 2021

#### Marble League Winter Special

During the mid-season break of Marbula One Season 2, the Green Ducks were invited to compete in the Marble League Winter Special, featuring sports the team had not competed in due to having formed after the last winter edition of the Marble League in 2018. They travelled east to the Himarbleayas with a brief stop at Isle Hyu to raise awareness for the Indigo Stars' conservation project.

The competition began with two seventh place finishes for Quacky and Mallard in the Ice Dash and Snowboard Cross respectively. Hopes of a medal in a Marble League style event were crushed after two fourth place finishes in the next two events, Speed Skating and the Bobsled. The Ducks had a disappointing thirteenth place finish in the final event, Ice Hockey, losing to the Savage Speeders in the first round. The team finished medal-less in eighth overall.

#### Marbula One Season 2

The Green Ducks got off to a slow start after the mid-season break of Marbula One Season 2 as they only managed to get four points in the next two Grands Prix. Bad showings from other teams kept the team in second place, 71 points behind the dominant Crazy Cat's Eyes, making it almost impossible for the Ducks to clinch the championship. Things got even worse as Billy shockingly placed 17th in the qualifiers of the Palette Park Grand Prix despite qualifying in the top five for the first four Grands Prix. This Grand Prix cost the advantage the team had as the team dropped to third, with the Thunderbolts again two points ahead and Team Momo close behind. Mallard's silver in the Misty Mountain Grand Prix enabled the team to jump to second, becoming the only team mathematically able to win the championship with 51 points behind the Crazy Cat's Eyes. Billy wasn't able to live up to expectations and only finished tenth in the Savage Speedway Grand Prix, dropping to third once again. They were able to keep in third until the end of the season, with both racers finishing in top ten of the individual standings.

Following their successful Marbula One season, the Ducks returned to the Brace Isles in time for the second season of the Golden Egg. Before setting off on the competition's tour of the Isles, the Ducks announced that Honk would be moving to the team's headquarters in Draklin to become the team's manager, while also keeping their role as commissioner of the Golden Egg.

Mallard was sent to participate in the Marble League 2021 Practice Race and finished 19th.

#### Marble League 2021

The Green Ducks arrived in Felynia for the Marble League 2021 Qualifiers and competed in Group B. The team had a good start to the Qualifiers, finishing fifth in the Swing Wave and second in Funnel Endurance, taking them to third overall. Two bottom half finishes in the final events dropped them to fifth overall, enough to qualify for Marble League 2021.

Despite a good finish in the Swing Wave during the Qualifiers, the Green Ducks opened Marble League 2021 with a last place finish in Event 1, the Swing Wave. The Ducks immediately turned things around by winning gold in Event 2, the Balancing, mirroring their fellow 2019 rookies, the Indigo Stars, who had won Event 1 and finished last in Event 2. This medal was also their first since 2019. Despite a poor start, the gold medal boosted the Ducks into third behind the Raspberry Racers and the Hazers, reminiscent of the podium of Marble League 2019.

The team's next five events unfortunately mirrored Event 1. Billy finished seventh in the 5 Meter Sprint despite breaking the Marble League record in their heat. This was followed by four bottom half finishes inlcuding another last place in Jousting, dropping the team to 12th overall. However, the team had a brief taste of their 2019 peformance with a run of three consecutive silver medals in Block Pushing, Triathlon and Steeplechase, lifting the team up to fourth.

Unfortunately, the Green Ducks continued to be inconsistent, with another five bottom half finishes, once again dropping them down the table to 11th overall. Despite their good Marbula One performances, Billy could not turn around the team's fortunes in the final event, Marblocross. Despite leading the race a few times and at one point being high enough to win Marble League 2021, Billy could not keep the lead. After a poor conveyor belt exit on Lap 13, Billy started to fall down the rankings, ultimately finishing the race in eighth and keeping the team in 11th overall.

After the Closing Ceremony, it was announced that the Green Ducks would be hosting Marble League 2022, auto-qualifying them for the competition. Mallard, the captain of the Ducks competed in the ESCAPE2021 Marble Race, where they came in last place.

### 2022

#### Marbula One Season 3

Soon after Marble League 2021, the Green Ducks received an invitation to participate in Marbula One Season 3. They accepted once again, and decided to retain their familiar roster of Mallard and Billy.

Mallard had a rocky time in the qualifiers at the Tumult Turnpike Grand Prix as they qualified in 17th out of 20 runners. During the race though, they were able to move up the order and finish the race in 7th. Billy had a rough time in their first race of the season as they qualified in 14th and finished in 13th at the Sleet Street Grand Prix, which was disappointing for the marble that won at the Arctic Circuit Grand Prix the previous season. Mallard then continued the teams terrible qualifying runs by qualifying in 16th at the Misty Mountain Grand Prix and finished in 18th. At the O'raceway Grand Prix, Billy didn't repeat their previous success an ended in a disappointing 14th place. These poor results made the team drop all the way down to 19th out of 20 teams. Mallard then only missed out on Q2 by 0.234 seconds at Mellow Meadows but managed to finish in 7th, while Billy had another zero-point outing at the Honeydome Grand Prix to cap off the first half of the season. The Green Ducks were in 19th overall, only above the Pinkies whilst Mallard and Billy sat in 22nd and 36th individually heading into the mid-season break.

Coming into the second, half, Mallard represented the team at the Momotorway Grand Prix where they gave the Green Ducks their first appearance in Q2 for the season. Although Mallard had the 5th fastest time in Q1, they quickly fell to 10th but recovered well in the race to finish in 7th. At the Stardust Accelerator Grand Prix, despite qualifying in 15th, Billy managed to claw themselves up to 1st place in 3 laps which is where they stayed for the remainder of the race, capturing fastest lap in the process and finishing over 7 seconds in front of the second place finisher, Aryp. This outstanding finish rocketed the team up 11 spots to 8th while Billy jumped up 22 spots in the Individual camptionship. Mallard continued this amazing run with a third place finish at Short Circuit whilst also grabbing another fastest lap for the team. In just 2 races, the Green Ducks went from 19th up to 5th; a jump of 14 positions, an outstanding comeback. Billy then had a finish of 8th making the team one of only six teams still in contention to win while Mallard gained another medal at the Midnight Bay Grand Prix by ending in third. In the final GP, Mirage Meowntain, Billy had a below average finish of 14th to end the season and the team remained in 6th overall with Mallard and Billy ending up 9th and 20th respectively in the individual standings.

#### Marble League 2022

The Green Ducks returned to Bermenghank, their homeland for the 2022 Marble League. With the team hosting, they had automatically qualified and competed in the friendly round instead with the top three teams of Marble League 2021: Mellow Yellow, Raspberry Racers, and Gliding Glaciers. They finished in 1st with two golds.

Just like the previous year, the Green ducks opened with a dead last in Climbing despite winning it in the friendly round. Unlike 2021, they didn't win the second event, Balancing, but came away with a respectable 7th. Mallard then gave the team their first medal of the year, a silver, in the 5 Meter Hurdles before they got two more consecutive bottom half placements. This included another dead last appearance, this time in the 5 Meter Relay. Mallard represented the team a second time in the Funnel Endurance and gained another silver medal to the team, just losing out to Sterling of the Shining Swarm. In Event 7, Rafting, they finished in a medicre 7th to keep them in 7th overall following the event. To cap off the first half, Billy was chosen for the 5 Meter Sprint and ended in a lackluster 10th, dropping the team one position into 8th overall after the first half.

Starting off the back half, the Green Ducks finished 8th in Block Pushing and dropped to 9th which is where they stayed for the next two events. The team though managed to turn around their fortunes by gaining a third silver medal on behalf of Billy and Goose in Event 12, Domino Bowling. This moved them up two spots back into 7th. Unfortunately, after a Round of 16 loss to the Bumblebees during Team Aquathlon, they had their third 16th-place finish of the year and again fell to 8th. Ducky was chosen for the Sand Rally in Event 14 and came away in 6th, staying in eighth but being only 2 points behind their former 2019 rivals and champions, the Raspberry Racers. With only two events remaining, the Ducks' were hoping to prove the host curse wrong and end top half for their fans.

In Collision, the Green Ducks finished top of their group and made their way into the semi finals before being knocked out by Team Primary. Unwavered, the team faced off the Minty Maniacs in the third-place match and won, capturing the bronze. While they rose up 2 positions, the team were knocked out of both championship and podium contention. The final event of the league was the Elimination Race where they lost to Rezzy of the Raspberry Racers in 2019. This year proved success for the Green Ducks as Mallard made it all the way to the final round against the Racers but this time, they won to end the league on a high for the team as they ended in 5th. A bonus was that Mallard captured Most Valuable Marble for their efforts, becoming the first time that the host team had won the prestigious award.

During the offseason, the Green Ducks, along with all the other Marble League Teams, travelled to Hailfern to participate in the Xmas Marble Race. The team sent out Ducky to represent them and finished 2nd in their heat, advancing to the semifinals. Sadly, they were knocked out but resided in a respectable 10th out of 32.

### 2023

#### Marbula One Season 4

The Green Ducks had received an invitation to Marbula One Season 4 to which they accepted and retained with Billy and Mallard becoming one of only a few teams who have kept the same roster for four seasons straight.

#### Marble League 2023

The Green Ducks started the 2023 Qualifiers with a 3rd place finish in the Honeycomb Team Pursuit, they followed this up with a 7th place finish by Billy in the 5 Meter Sprint. Unfortunately, things all went down from there. the Green Ducks finished dead last in the Leigon March Wave and was followed by a 8th place finish by Mallard in the Funnel Endurance, which was the nail in the coffin for their perfect attendance streak, where the Ducks for the first time in their history, failed to qualify for Marble League 2023 after finishing 9th in their group.

The Green Ducks had a strong start to the 2023 Showdown, by finishing 1st and 2nd respectively in the first two events, however they finished 14th in both the Funnel Endurance and the Leigon March Wave. followed by a 4th place finish for Ducky in the Sand Rally, and Billy finishing in 14th in the Honeydome Grand Prix which landed them to a 3rd place finish in the Showdown.

### Qualifiers

The Green Ducks qualified for Marble League 2019.

### Main Tournament

The Green Ducks went on to medal 5 times in Marble League 2019 and come in 2nd overall, the best performance yet by a debuting team, sans 2016.

## Marbula One Season 1

*Main article: Marbula One Season 1*
The Green Ducks took part in Marbula One Season 1. Their team consisted of Mallard and Billy.

## Marble League 2020

*Main article: Marble League 2020*
The Green Ducks pre-qualified for the Marble League 2020.

### Main Tournament

The Green Ducks had a lackluster 2020 Marble League. They didn't manage to win any medals and spent almost the entire tournament in the bottom half of the standings.

## Marbula One Season 2

*Main article: Marbula One Season 2*

\*Billy qualified for pole position, earning them one extra point.

## Marble League Winter Special

*Main article: Marble League Winter Special*

## 2020/21 Offseason

### Qualifiers

The Green Ducks competed in Group B. They qualified for Marble League 2021.

### Main Tournament

At the end of Marble League 2021, the Green Ducks finished in 11th in what was called their redemption season, and they were announced as hosts at the end of the closing ceremony, auto-qualifying them for the competition.

## Marbula One Season 3

*Main article: Marbula One Season 3*
The Green Ducks took part in Marbula One Season 3, represented by Mallard and Billy. The team finished in 6th despite a poor start to the season, after earning 3 medals within 4 races.

\* Billy set the fastest lap, earning them one extra point.

## Marble League 2022

*Main article: Marble League 2022*
The Green Ducks automatically qualified for Marble League 2022 when they were announced as hosts.

### Main Tournament

The Green Ducks finished the tournament in 5th with 165 points, winning one gold, three silvers and one bronze.

## Marbula One Season 4

*Main article: Marbula One Season 4*
The Green Ducks took part in Marbula One Season 4, represented by Mallard and Billy.

\*3 bonus points for securing pole position.
\*\*1 bonus point for fastest lap.
\*\*\*1 bonus point for qualifying in third.

### Qualifiers

The Green Ducks competed in Group A. They failed to qualifiy for Marble League 2023 despite high expectations.

## Marble League Showdown 2023

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2023*
The Green Ducks qualified for the Marble League 2024 Qualifiers.

## Team Members' Individual Scores

### Marbula One

 Mallard | M1S1M1S2M1S3M1S4 | Savage Speedway GP (S1)Momotorway GP (S1)Greenstone GP (S1)Midnight Bay GP (S1)Minty Mania GP (S2)Honeydome GP (S2)Tumult Turnpike GP (S2)Momotorway GP (S2)Misty Mountain GP (S2)Midnight Bay GP (S2)Tumult Turnpike GP (S3)Misty Mountain GP (S3)Mellow Meadows GP (S3)Momotorway GP (S3)Short Circuit GP (S3)Midnight Bay GP (S3)Razzway GP (S4)Sakura Garden GP (S4)Tumult Turnpike GP (S4)Electron Expressway GP (S4)Casino Square GP (S4)

## Gallery

Team Profile 2020Team Profile 2021Team Profile 2022Marble League Team Profile 2021Marbula One (S1-S3) PosterMarbula One (S4) PosterThe Green Ducks' Second Place Finish in ML 2019Mallard, the captain of the Green Ducks.Bombay, Green Ducks' coach.Greenstone, home of the Green Ducks.
## Trivia

* Their name honors Hank Green, who helped Jelle's Marble Runs regain monetization, and JoshOG, a streamer who regularly promotes the Marble League.
	+ It also is an indirect reference to the Mighty Ducks hockey team, from the movie of the same name.
		- The team's coach, Bombay, is also an indirect reference to the movie, as they share the same name as the Mighty Ducks' coach - Gordon Bombay.
* With the exception of the original Marble League performances, the Green Ducks hold the record for best overall performance by a debut team, finishing 2nd in their inaugural year.
* The Green Ducks were the second expansion team to host a Marble League, the first one being Crazy Cat’s Eyes in 2021.
	+ Both of these teams finished 5th during their host season, which is the highest placement by a hosting team in the Marble League.
* Billy is the only marble to have won a race in the first 3 seasons of Marbula One by winning at:
	+ Season 1 O'raceway Grand Prix
	+ Season 2 Arctic Circuit Grand Prix
	+ Season 3 Stardust Accelerator Grand Prix

## External Links

* Green Ducks on the JMR Website
* Green Ducks RetRollSpective

## References

1. ↑ Skystrykr (15th March 2019). 2019 MarbleLympics - Team Members. Reddit.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Stynth, Roilan (24th August 2021). RetRollSpective – Green Ducks. Project Marblearth.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Project Marblearth. GREEN DUCKS (GDK). Jelle's Marble Runs. Retrieved on 13th August 2022.
4. ↑ @hankgreen. Twitter (1st January 2019). “I've got a team in the Marblelympics!”
5. ↑ @JoshOG. Twitter (1st January 2019). “This is one of the coolest things EVER!!! OUR COMMUNITY IS IN THE MARBLELYMPICS 2019!!!!!!”