Difference between revisions of "Kaze Progressa"

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=====Playoffs=====
 
=====Playoffs=====
  
The playoffs have a seeded draw (1v8, 4v5, 3v6, 2v7) but with the two regions mixed. So - for instance - 3rd in the West Region could face 6th in the East Region, and by implication vice versa. A random draw determines which, if any, 'mixed pairings' exist. It is political folklore in Kaze Progressa that if four 'mixed pairings' are drawn in the year of an election - and there is an election of some sort most years in Kaze Progressa - there will be a change in the largest party, and if there are no 'mixed pairings' there will be no such change.
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The playoffs have a seeded draw (1v8, 4v5, 3v6, 2v7) but with the two regions mixed. So - for instance - 3rd in the West Region could face 6th in the East Region, and by implication vice versa. A random draw determines which, if any, 'mixed pairings' exist. It is political folklore in Kaze Progressa that if four 'mixed pairings' are drawn in the year of a party-based (i.e. Local House, National House or mayoral) election, there will be a change in the largest party, and if there are no 'mixed pairings' there will be no such change.

Revision as of 10:38, 14 November 2004

Kaze Progressa
guyana--64.jpg
Flag of Kaze Progressa
Motto: "K for Kaze! Let K Progress!"
National Anthem: not available yet
No Map Available Yet
Region FIFA
Capital Kaza
Official Language(s) English
Leader Hizi Garadi
Population 2.9 billion
Currency kak (K) (K1 = c. $1.50) 
NS Sunset XML

The Sports Mad Community of Kaze Progressa are a nation of over 2.9 billion people, with a near-universal collective interest in sports of all kinds. It is also reknowned for its dramatic eco-friendly policies which have not impacted severely on economic growth.

Geography

Kaze Progressa is located in the northern part of the FIFA region, bordering land to the west once belonging to The Belmore Family before their move to the Alliance of Socialist States. The country spreads east-west across three distinct time zones, known as (from west to east) Farela, Kaza and Quarua time zones after the country's three principal cities. The north-south spread is roughly equivalent to the east-west spread, but narrows to the east with the land to the south-east of Kaze Progressa being part of Dance 2 Revolution.

The country's topography is dominated by rolling hills, with most of the major cities built on plateaus or valleys. There are some isolated high mountains, mostly near the border with Dance 2 Revolution and in the Jauranian region which has briefly attained independence and remains the only area in the country with a Regional Parliament.

Politics

Kaze Progressa operates a bicameral system of government, with each chamber holding relatively equal powers. The two houses are known as the National House and the Local House, collectively called Parliament Progressa. The National House contains 100 MPs elected by proportional representation, with parties allocated seats directly based on the proportion of the popular vote; the Local House contains 500 MPs elected by the single transferable vote system, with 100 five-member constituencies divided into West and East Wings. National House MPs serve a five-year term; Local House MPs serve a six year term, with elections in either wing alternating every three years. In addition, the major cities in the country have elected mayors, which serve four-year terms.

To reduce disputes between the chambers, many key votes are taken in both with the combined tally used (with the National House votes multiplied by three to offset the numerical differences without appearing to give the National House inordinate power). While the political system is ostensibly based around parties - the most important being the Liberals, the National Democrats, the Industria Party, the Greens and the Morality Party - in practice, the conscience of individual MPs (which, of course, largely dictate their party choices in any case) rules, as the use of PR, the thinly spread support for the multiple major parties and the total absence of whips in either House mean that there is no such thing as a dominant government in Kaze Progressa. The country's 'President' is largely a figurehead, as reflected by his (or her -Alinae Warb has recently become the first female to take the role) title 'Global Representative for Kaze Progressa' (usually shortened to 'Global Representative') and his main roles are as a spokesperson for the country in global affairs. As Kaze Progressa is not part of the United Nations, this role is even more limited. The Global Representative serves four-year terms, and elections take place the year before the mayoral elections. A maximum of two terms can be won.

Present party divide in Parliament Progressa

Seats in National House

  • National Democrats: 29
  • Liberal: 25
  • Industria: 15
  • Morality: 15
  • Green: 12
  • Farmers: 3

====Seats in Local House==== (the value before the slash denotes the West Wing, the value after it the East Wing)

  • National Democrats: 80/76
  • Liberal: 55/65
  • Industria: 50/49
  • Green: 45/21
  • Morality: 14/32
  • Farmers: 5/7

Global Representative Votes

  • Alinie Warb 298,521,782
  • Mert Worlia 257,993,036
  • Jaulinta Garisu 191,445,772
  • Zazta Canduda 175,567,853
  • Kata Ijyu 167,377,389
  • Jaruna Yitazi 161,069,966
  • Quaza Tantaboz 132,248,890
  • Inato Bariltok 13,450,252

Economy

Kaze Progressa operates a unique economic structure, which the Economics Professor at Farela University dubs 'state-run eco-capitalism'. Direct tax is average, strongly progressive and funds the various governmental departments, mostly holding self-explanatory titles such as Arts Progressa, Sport Progressa, Jobs Progressa, Learn Progressa and Stats Progressa. The rest of the economy is run by a series of large nationalised companies, often several differentiated in each field if a natural monopoly does not exist. These companies are directly run by the Government as this was seen as more cost-effective than large-scale regulation to prevent environmental damage - which may, in any case, have been ignored. To the casual foreign observer, Kaze Progressa appears to be a capitalist economy, as the government-run businesses competing against each other will often advertise (though in another peculiarly Progressan trait, nearly all advertising is informative rather than persuasive).

The country is one of the very few economically prosperous nations that has banned cars. A gargantuan rail network, run by the nationalised monopoly K-Train, spreads to all parts of the country and it is estimated that less than 2% of the population are less than 750m from a railway station. Some major lines between, and especially within, cities have two levels, and a three-tier link between the centre of Kaza and the Sports City complex was built for World Cup 17, with either direction served by 40 trains an hour. All factories have railway links, and goods are generally carried by special carriers from a railway station to the destination.

Sports

Kaze Progressa is, of course, a nation reknowned for its love of sport. The national sport - if the country could be said to have only one - is football (soccer, as it is also called). Such is the popularity of the sport that there are more than a dozen stadia in the country with over 80,000 seats (some of which are also used for athletics), most of which sell out every home game. Despite this huge support, the Progressans have struggled in the World Cup, never making the quarter-finals (although at the time of writing, they are in the last 16 of World Cup 18). It is perhaps no surprise that recently, attention has focused on the domestic scene, which is almost dramatic enough for the World Cup to be ignored.

Other popular sports include but are not limited to athletics, American football (usually called 'gridiron' by Progressans), basketball, swimming, field hockey, cricket (the country was a founding member of the INSCC), handball and gymnastics. The education system has a heavy sport quotient and all students are exposed to numerous sports; as a result, gender biases that seem to be evident in certain sports have a basis in biology, not sociology, as everyone interested in sport will have the opportunity to pick the one in which they are best.

Domestic Sports

Football/soccer

Progressair League

The Progressair League (sponsored by the nationalised airline Progressair) is the national football league. It comprises of three divisions - a 14-team Premier Division, a 16-team First Division and a 16-team Second Division. The top team in the First and Second Divisions gain promotion, and the bottom team in the Premier and First Divisions are relegated. There are also four playoff matches, played over two legs with the winner playing in the higher league in the following season, between:

  • 13th in the Premier Division and 2nd in the First Division
  • 12th in the Premier Division and 3rd in the First Division
  • 15th in the First Division and 2nd in the Second Division
  • 14th in the First Division and 3rd in the Second Division

The bottom two teams in the Second Division are relegated to the K-Train Regional Leagues. This is a complex system divided between Western and Eastern Divisions, with the winners in each division gaining promotion to the Second Division.

KPFA Cup

The KPFA Cup is the national knockout cup in football. This usually includes several hundred teams in qualification, the structure of which is edited to suit the number of entrants. However, from the first round onwards follows the same pattern every year:

  • first round - 48 teams from the K-Train Regional Leagues; some teams auto-qualify for this stage dependent on the qualifying structure. Hence 24 matches.
  • second round - the 24 first-round winners are joined by the 16 Second Division teams, thus 40 teams and hence 20 matches.
  • third round - the 20 second-round winners are joined by the 16 First Division teams, thus 36 teams and hence 18 matches.
  • fourth round - the 18 third-round winners are joined by the 14 Premier Division teams, thus 32 teams and hence 16 matches. Beyond this stage a straight knockout applies.

The final always takes place in the Progressair Stadium. All matches must be played to a conclusion with extra-time and penalties if so required.

Battle 1 Shield

The winner of the KPFA Cup and the winner of the Progressair League Premier Division play each other in the Battle 1 Shield in the weekend preceding the start of the following season. The match is always held in the Progressair Stadium and is played to a conclusion with extra-time and penalties if so required.

Notable Progressan teams

The best-known and most successful side is Kaza X-Teem, who have won the Progressair League Premier Division title 27 times. The next most successful, Quarua Lakeside, have 20 titles to their name, and are best known for producing the country's best-known sportsman, Faiwe Irafma - who remains the top Progressan goalscorer of all time for club and country. Other notable teams include Chedar-Edma - reknowned for their youth policy and the current Premier Division champions - Farela City, Paninara Kick and Islanders.

Basketball

The country's basketball league, B-Ball League National, comprises 30 teams, ten in each time zone. Each team in each time zone play each other home and away twice (36 games per team).

League Decision

The bottom two teams in each zone then face the top two teams in the requisite League Regional division (West, Central or East), again playing each other home and away twice (6 games per team), in the so-called League Decision. The top two teams in the League Decision earn the right to play in the League National the following season, while the bottom two must play in the League Regional. Hence between zero and two teams can be promoted/relegated in any region (and hence between zero and six - usually two or three - across the nation).

Playoffs

The top four teams in each zone automatically qualify for the playoffs. The next two teams in each zone play each other home and away twice (10 games per team) in the Pre-Playoffs, which occur at the same time as the League Decision. The top four teams in the Pre-Playoffs enter the Playoffs, which take place as a straight knockout with a random (as opposed to seeded) draw, and are played as four-legged ties - each team playing twice at home and twice away, with the aggregate score determining the winner.

Cricket

There are three separate competitions in Progressan cricket, falling under the umbrella of Progressa National Cricket: Cup 20, League 50 and League Infinity. League Infinity matches are four-day, two-inning, unlimited-overs matches. Cup 20 is a 20-overs-a-side knockout competition. League 50 is a league with 50-overs-a-side matches.

League 50 and League Infinity are divided into Divisions A, B and C with A the highest and C the lowest. Each contains ten teams who play each other on a home and away basis, with two-up, two-down promotion and relegation; these thirty teams plus two government teams (one representing Sport Progressa, the other the remaining departments) contest Cup 20, a straight knockout competition.

League Infinity matches take place between Monday and Thursday, Cup 20 matches take place on Friday evenings and League 50 matches take place on Sunday. The season lasts 18 weeks starting on the last Monday in April and hence ending in late August.

Field Hockey

While Progressan domestic leagues can be very complex (for instance, in basketball), the Progressa Field Hockey League comprises simply of four leagues of 16 - entitled simply Leagues One, Two, Three and Four - that play each other on a home and away basis, with three-up, three-down relegation. No teams can be relegated from League Four.

Ice Hockey

By contrast, the Ice Hockey National League has a relatively complex structure, caused - as with the B-Ball League - by regional divisions: six teams in each time zone that play each other home and away twice (20 games each team), with the top two advancing to the playoffs.

Wild Card League

The Wild Card League determines the final two teams in the eight-team playoffs and comprises the teams placed third and fourth in their zone, this time playing each other home and away only once (5 games each team) with the top two in this league completing the eight-team playoffs.

Playoffs

These playoffs take place as best-of-five series, alternating home and away, with the exception of the final; all five matches in the final take place in the Indoor International Arena, Kaza. There is no promotion or relegation.

Gridiron

The league structure for the Progressan League of Gridiron is divided into two regions identical to the West and East Wings of the Local House, rather than the three time zones. Each region has fourteen teams playing each other home and away (26 games per team), with the top eight entering the playoffs.

Playoffs

The playoffs have a seeded draw (1v8, 4v5, 3v6, 2v7) but with the two regions mixed. So - for instance - 3rd in the West Region could face 6th in the East Region, and by implication vice versa. A random draw determines which, if any, 'mixed pairings' exist. It is political folklore in Kaze Progressa that if four 'mixed pairings' are drawn in the year of a party-based (i.e. Local House, National House or mayoral) election, there will be a change in the largest party, and if there are no 'mixed pairings' there will be no such change.