If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Olympic Nocturnal Zoomies--Team Competition
Tabby: Good evening I’m Tabby Barncat, welcoming you to the final
round of the Team Zoomie Dash here at our Darkened House Venue. With me tonight is Simon Streamline, also known as “Streamline Sime” thanks to his thus far undefeated Zoomie Gold Medals from the 2000 and 2004 games. Some wonder why the Zoomie events are traditionally held at night. Simon, any insights? Simon: Thanks, Tabby for inviting me. Zoomies are always held at night to maximize our natural tendency to go crazy at that hour. It does make seeing the action a little more difficult, of course, but for us cats, seeing in the dark is no problem! Tabby: (Laughing) True, very true, Simon! Now, for our viewers, can you summarize the rules of competition for Zoomie Dashing? What are the important things that contestants must do to accumulate the high scores? Simon: There are three very important elements of Zoomie competition, Tabby. First is unpredictability—creativity is essential here. Then there’s speed—you have to be a high-octane pussycat for the all important galumphing, and thirdly, noise. The routine should involve running, jumping—both up and down—and climbing. You must run either up or down at least one staircase at top speed. Sudden reversals of direction add greatly to a contestant’s score. Sliding for a distance across the floor is highly encouraged. You get extra points if you manage to use area rugs as toboggans. Knocking over piles of books is a bonus point. Polished wooden floors are the best area for sliding, but a good clean stretch of kitchen linoleum works also. They should move from room to room with each other and it helps if they’re doing the same basic things at the same time, but are not required to mirror one another’s actions. In competition Zoomie Dashing, there is of course the element of team work. Both team members should start at the same moment, and end within three seconds of each other. There is a five tenths point deduction if one team member carries on for more than three seconds after the other one has quit. Tabby: Thanks Simon. I do want to touch on something you said a moment ago about noise. Why is that important? Simon: Tabby, we cats are always praised for our ability to move silently, which is of course one of our most appealing attributes. But in the galumphing part of Zoomies, we need to be heard. When you the galumph in competition, you should try to sound like a herd of wildebeests stampeding over the African Veldt. Tabby: Wildebeasts? Really? Simon: Well, that’s the ideal, Tabby. Obviously not everyone can reach it. You have to pick your terrain to maximize the amount of noise you make when you galumph. For some reason, we sound louder from below when we galumph on an upper storey level. This Zoomie course will be excellent for that, as there’s a long upper hallway with a hardwood floor at this venue. Tabby: Ahah, our first contestants have decided to begin their competition on the Bed element. Our first team up consists of Cora Calico, and her littermate Connie. And they’re off! Simon: A very good start, going from apparent cat nap to balletic leaps off the lower right corner of the bed, and almost reaching the bedroom door—Ah, I see they’re going straight into the long galumph. Good speed, and Connie Calico has excellent formation and speed, while Cora Calico is a bit behind her, but I’d say they’re both a little too quiet. This is where thudding is important, they’ll be marked down for that—Ooo, good touch, now they’re thudding down the stairs! Tabby: Oo, I see that Cora used the front door mat as a sled for a minute, there on the hair pin turn at the bottom of the stair case— leaving it nicely bunched up. Connie Calico went a little wide on her turn and they collided for a moment, but they’ve straightened out again and are racing around the dining room, making an obstacle course of the chair and table legs. Simon: They may not make as much noise, but I give them full marks for speed and agility, Tabby. Cora is doing a chair giant slalom with almost no reduction in her speed. Connie has jumped up onto a chair seat and is wiggling her way through the open spaces in the chair back— a nice unpredictable element, but I think it’s slowing her down, too much. Tabby: Yes, Oh dear, the space is a little too narrow and she’s backing up. She’ll have to hurry to catch up to Cora. They’re supposed to enter and leave each room together, isn’t that right? Simon: Yes, Tabby. Oh dear, she ran into the kitchen a full second after her littermate. But look, they both leaped up onto the kitchen counter at the same moment and just avoided a collision! That’s a VERY difficult move, and Cora had to leap over the fruit bowl almost at once, and sent an apple and a plum rolling onto the floor. Excellent surprise element! Tabby: They’ve dismounted the counter and are now tearing into the living room in tandem—they’re galumphing as one, Simon! Simon: They’re really flying now and oo! I think they’re headed for their tower in the corner of the room! Yes! Connie is under the coffee table now and Cora is just above—SCORE! Over goes the knitting basket! Good, now they’re racing one another up to the very top of their tower, Connie up the ladder and Cora climbing the central pole, Connie getting there just a little ahead. Excellent wild looks on both their faces—they’re really rolling and out of control! Tabby: Look at them go! Connie is leaping from the top of the tower to the floor—excellent form on her back arch and she must have landed a good five feet away from the base of the tower—Ouch, that had to hurt, Cora had an uncomfortable encounter with the Venetian blinds on the living room window on her way down. But now they’re out into the front hallway again and are heading BACK up the stairs at a gallop— maybe looking just a little tired, now. Simon: A little, yes. They need more unpredictability to really score high in this event, Tabby, but they have time to polish this. It’s an excellent, exciting starting routine, and as I mentioned earier, they get huge marks for speed and agility. Listen to them go! They’re making a lot more noise on their second galumph run Maybe they just weren’t warmed up enough, before. Tabby: And Cora and Connie Calico finish their routine simultaneously leaping up and curling up around the sleeping Hoomin in the bed, coming back full circle to their starting position. Simon: Their combined finishing score is a 15.75, Tabby. I’d say that’s a bit too generous. They’re both still barely more than kittens and they have a lot to learn about polish, for all their enthusiasm. But our next team is down in the livingroom, having decided to start their Zoomie route from the sofa. Tabby: Our next Zoomer team are Hector and Hilary, a pair of Havana Browns. They were the silver medal team Zoomers back in 2004, weren’t they, Simon? Simon: They were indeed. Hector and Hilary are a team to watch, for certain Tabby. They’re the best, noisiest galumphers in the competition here, and they’d really love to up their standing to finish with the gold medal this time. Where they’re weak is in wildness and unpredictability. They’re very polished, but rather predictable. They don’t make the risky, spontaneous moves. Tabby: And they’re off! Hilary has pounced on the dozing Hector lying on the sofa seat, and they’ve both jumped to the living room floor. Hilary pauses to bat at a ball of yarn knocked to the floor by Cora, but now he’s hurrying to catch up with Hector and they’re neck in neck as they speed into the kitchen— Simon: WOW! What a leap! Hector has jumped up to the top of the refrigerator and from their to the top of the kitchen cabinets and is racing along the kitchen at cabinet level! He sure has excellent hind leg spring! Hilary by contrast has made a flying leap onto the kitchen rag rug and got a good toboggan effect from the slide—he would have gone farther if he’d had more speed and momentum built up— Hector’s dismounting the cabinet and lands on the kitchen Island and from there to the floor, almost landing on Hilary as they both head into the dining room, shoulder to shoulder. I see they’re electing to circle around the dining room table, rather than try to contend with the chair legs. Less difficulty, in running around rather than under, but it doesn’t do to copy one’s competitor’s routines too closely. Variety is the key for Zoomers. Tabby: And they’re racing down the hall! Rather than negotiate the hairpin turn up the stairs at speed, Hector has jumped up to the newel post and from there, to the stairs. Simon: It saves time, yes, but it’s going to lower his stair climbing score—they’re supposed to climb the whole flight, as Hilary is doing. He had to get back under control as he slid into the coat closet door trying to make that u-turn at the bottom of the stairs at speed. And now they’re galumphing in tandem as only Hilary and Hector can! Tabby: I see what you mean about the noise! Would you say they sound like stampeding Wildebeests, Simon? Simon: They sound as close to that ideal as ten pound pussycats can, Tabby. They’ve really set the mark for noisiness and leaping, today. I guess Hector and Hilary realize they have to adjust the difficulty and high-risk element to get the best Zoomie scores—they’re really on tonight. Oooh, that sounded like a painful crash up there, Tabby! That’s the danger of speed, you do lose some control and agility. Tabby: Ah, they’re up again—turns out they knocked over the upper hall table—too bad about that Famille Rose jar that was resting on it—it’s in smithereens. And they’re in the bathroom—Hilary’s in the bathtub, even, while Hector’s poised on top of the shower doors. Simon: You get more points if you hit more rooms, but a bathroom is a dead end, Tabby. They need to get turned around and out of there. Hector is doing some amazing leaping, today though. But we have to remember, variety. As for the Famille Rose vase, the contestants have to knock over something, and get extra points if it breaks. Tabby: Ah, they’re out of the bathroom and are galumphing back toward the staircase—just look at Hilary go! I don’t think his paws have touched a third of the stair treads—ooh, once again he hits the coat closet door at the bottom— Simon: Ouch yes. But he’s playing it cool, Tabby—trying to convince us he meant to do that. But he’s walking, not running now—pretending that he wasn’t running at top speed three seconds ago. Ouch, Hector just landed on top of Hillary—still in Zoomie mode, not having realized that Hilary stopped. That’s going to cost them. Their combined score is a 15.95 Tabby: As is their wrestling fight on the front hall floor. Hilary’s batting at Hector—oh dear. Let’s cut over to Willie, at the Kitchen Bottle Cap Hockey venue. Over to you, Willie: Willie: Thanks, Tabby. We’re here at the quarter final round of the Olympic Bottle Cap Hockey tournament. It’s the Siameses vs the Persians in this round, fighting to see who will advance to the final round. Taking aim at the goal is Mei Chi, a great Hockey player. She’s lining up her shot, she bats it bast Ahaseurus the, Persian goal keeper under the refrigerator and—SHE SCORES!! The score is 3-2 in the Siamese team’s favor— Ah. That’s a problem with bottle cap hockey—you have to get your hoomin to get the bottle cap out from under the fridge. It seems that Mei Chi’s shot was so powerful, the bottle cap is out of paw reach—Oh wait, never mind. Ahaseurus has found a petrified pea over by the stove and the game is back in play! He gives the pea a good swat with his right front paw and it skitters over near the sink, almost out of bounds, but Mei Chi intercepts and knocks it back toward Ahaseurus. But Persian Forward Xerxes sends the pea skittering down the length of the kitchen toward the diningroom doors---EEEK! GREEBLING ATTACK, GREEBLING ATTACK! Run away! Run Awaaaaay! Melissa |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Olympic Nocturnal Zoomies--Team Competition
On Aug 15, 2:10*pm, Shiral wrote:
Tabby: *Good evening I’m *Tabby Barncat, welcoming you to the final round of the Team Zoomie Dash here at our Darkened *House Venue. *With me tonight is Simon Streamline, also known as “Streamline Sime” thanks to his thus far undefeated *Zoomie Gold Medals from the *2000 and 2004 games. *Some wonder why the Zoomie events are traditionally held at night. Simon, any insights? Simon: Thanks, Tabby for inviting me. *Zoomies are always held at night to maximize our natural tendency to go crazy at that hour. It does make seeing the action a little more difficult, of course, but for us cats, seeing in the dark is no problem! Tabby: (Laughing) True, very true, Simon! Now, for our viewers, can you summarize the rules of competition for Zoomie Dashing? *What are the important things that contestants must do to accumulate the high scores? Simon: There are three very important elements of Zoomie competition, Tabby. First is unpredictability—creativity is essential here. *Then there’s speed—you have to be a high-octane pussycat for the all important galumphing, and thirdly, noise. *The routine should involve running, jumping—both up and down—and climbing. You must run either up or down at least one staircase at top speed. *Sudden reversals of direction add greatly to a contestant’s score. Sliding for a distance across the floor is highly encouraged. You get extra points if you manage to use area rugs as toboggans. *Knocking over piles of books is a bonus point. *Polished wooden floors are the best area for sliding, but a good clean stretch of kitchen linoleum works also. They should move from room to room with each other and it helps if they’re doing the same basic things at the same time, but are not required to mirror one another’s actions. * * * * In competition Zoomie Dashing, there is of course the element of team work. Both team members should start at the same moment, and end within three seconds of each other. There is a five tenths point deduction if one team member carries on for more than three seconds after *the other one *has quit. Tabby: Thanks Simon. I do want to touch on something you said a moment ago about noise. Why is that important? Simon: *Tabby, we cats are always praised for our ability to move silently, which is of course one of our most appealing attributes. But in the galumphing part of Zoomies, we need *to be heard. When you the galumph in competition, you should try to sound like a herd of wildebeests stampeding over the African Veldt. Tabby: Wildebeasts? Really? Simon: Well, that’s the ideal, Tabby. Obviously not everyone can reach it. You have to pick your terrain to maximize the amount of noise you make when you galumph. For some reason, we sound louder from below when we galumph on an upper storey level. *This Zoomie course will be excellent for that, as there’s a long upper hallway with a *hardwood floor at this venue. Tabby: Ahah, our first contestants have decided to begin their competition on the Bed element. Our first team up consists of Cora Calico, and her littermate Connie. And they’re off! Simon: A very good start, going from apparent cat nap to balletic leaps off the lower right corner of the bed, and almost reaching the bedroom door—Ah, I see they’re going straight into the long galumph. Good speed, and Connie Calico has excellent formation and speed, while Cora Calico is a bit behind her, but I’d say they’re both a little too quiet. This is where *thudding is important, they’ll be *marked down for that—Ooo, good touch, now they’re thudding down the stairs! Tabby: Oo, I see that Cora used the front door mat as a sled for a minute, there on the hair pin turn at the bottom of the stair case— leaving it nicely bunched up. Connie Calico went a little wide on her turn and they collided for a moment, but they’ve straightened out again and are racing around the dining room, making an obstacle course of the chair and table legs. Simon: They may not make as much noise, but I give them full marks for speed and agility, Tabby. *Cora is doing a chair giant slalom with almost no reduction in her speed. Connie has jumped up onto a chair seat and is wiggling her way through the open spaces in the chair back— a nice unpredictable element, but I think it’s slowing her down, too much. Tabby: Yes, Oh dear, the space is a little too narrow and she’s backing up. *She’ll have to hurry to catch up to Cora. They’re supposed to enter *and leave each room together, isn’t that right? Simon: * Yes, Tabby. Oh dear, she ran into the kitchen a full second after her littermate. *But look, they both leaped up onto the kitchen counter *at the same moment and just avoided a collision! That’s a VERY difficult move, and Cora had to leap over the fruit bowl almost at once, and sent an apple and a plum rolling onto the floor. Excellent surprise element! Tabby: They’ve dismounted the counter and are now tearing into the living room in tandem—they’re galumphing as one, Simon! Simon: They’re really flying now and oo! I think they’re headed for their tower in the corner of the room! Yes! Connie is under the coffee table now and Cora is just above—SCORE! Over goes the knitting basket! *Good, now they’re racing one another up to the very top of their tower, Connie up the ladder and Cora climbing the central pole, Connie getting there just a little ahead. Excellent wild looks on both their faces—they’re really rolling and out of control! Tabby: Look at them go! Connie is leaping from the top of the tower to the floor—excellent form on her back arch and she must have landed a good five feet away from the base of the tower—Ouch, that had to hurt, Cora had an uncomfortable encounter with the Venetian blinds on the living room window *on her way down. But now they’re out into the front hallway again and are heading BACK up the stairs at a gallop— maybe looking just a little tired, now. Simon: A little, yes. They need more unpredictability to really score high in this event, Tabby, but they have time to polish this. It’s an excellent, exciting starting routine, and as I mentioned earier, they get huge marks for speed and agility. Listen to them go! They’re making a lot more noise on their second galumph run Maybe they just weren’t warmed up enough, before. Tabby: And Cora and Connie Calico finish their routine simultaneously leaping up and curling up around the sleeping Hoomin in the bed, coming back full circle to their starting position. Simon: Their combined finishing score is a 15.75, Tabby. I’d say that’s a bit too generous. They’re both still barely more than kittens and they have a lot to learn about polish, for all their enthusiasm. But our next team is down in the livingroom, having decided to start their Zoomie route from the sofa. Tabby: Our next Zoomer team are Hector and Hilary, a pair of Havana Browns. *They were the silver medal team Zoomers back in 2004, weren’t they, Simon? Simon: They were indeed. *Hector and Hilary are a team to watch, for certain Tabby. They’re the best, noisiest galumphers in the competition here, and they’d really love to up their standing to finish with *the gold medal this time. *Where they’re weak is in wildness and unpredictability. They’re very polished, but rather predictable. *They don’t make the risky, spontaneous moves. Tabby: * And they’re off! Hilary has pounced on the dozing Hector lying on the sofa seat, and they’ve both jumped to the living room floor. Hilary pauses to bat at a ball of yarn knocked to the floor by Cora, but now he’s hurrying to catch up with Hector and they’re neck in neck as they speed into the kitchen— Simon: WOW! What a leap! Hector has jumped up to the top of the refrigerator and from their to the *top of the kitchen cabinets and is racing along the kitchen at cabinet level! He sure has excellent hind leg spring! *Hilary by contrast has made a flying leap onto the kitchen rag rug and got a good toboggan effect from the slide—he would have gone farther if he’d had more speed and momentum built up— Hector’s dismounting the cabinet and lands on the kitchen Island and from there to the floor, almost landing on Hilary as they both head into the dining room, shoulder to shoulder. I see they’re electing to circle around the dining room table, rather than try to *contend with the chair legs. Less difficulty, in running around rather than under, but it doesn’t do to copy one’s competitor’s routines too closely. Variety is the key for Zoomers. Tabby: And they’re racing down the hall! Rather than negotiate the hairpin turn up the stairs at speed, Hector has jumped up to the newel post and from there, to the stairs. Simon: It saves time, yes, but it’s going to lower his stair climbing score—they’re supposed to climb the whole flight, as Hilary is doing. He had to get back under control as he slid into the coat closet door trying to make that * u-turn at the bottom of the stairs at speed. And now they’re galumphing in tandem as only Hilary and Hector can! Tabby: I see what you mean about the noise! *Would you say they sound like stampeding Wildebeests, Simon? Simon: They sound as close to that ideal as ten pound pussycats can, Tabby. They’ve really set the mark for noisiness and leaping, today. I guess Hector and Hilary realize they have to adjust the difficulty and high-risk element to get the best Zoomie scores—they’re really on tonight. Oooh, that sounded like a *painful crash up there, Tabby! That’s the danger of speed, you do lose some control and agility. Tabby: Ah, they’re up again—turns out they knocked over the upper hall table—too bad about that Famille Rose jar that was resting on it—it’s in smithereens. *And they’re in the bathroom—Hilary’s in the bathtub, even, while *Hector’s poised on top of the shower doors. Simon: You get more points if you hit more rooms, but a bathroom is a dead end, Tabby. They need to get turned around and out of there. Hector is doing some amazing leaping, today though. *But we have to remember, variety. As for the Famille Rose vase, the contestants have to knock over something, and get extra points if it breaks. Tabby: Ah, they’re out of the bathroom and are galumphing back toward the staircase—just look at Hilary go! I don’t think his paws have touched a third of the stair treads—ooh, once again he hits the coat closet door at the bottom— Simon: Ouch yes. But he’s playing it cool, Tabby—trying to convince us he meant to do that. But he’s walking, not running now—pretending that he wasn’t running at top speed three seconds ago. Ouch, Hector just landed on top of Hillary—still in Zoomie mode, not having realized that Hilary stopped. That’s going to cost them. Their combined score is a 15.95 Tabby: As is their wrestling fight on the front hall floor. Hilary’s batting at Hector—oh dear. Let’s cut over to *Willie, at the Kitchen Bottle Cap Hockey venue. Over to you, Willie: Willie: Thanks, Tabby. We’re here at the quarter final round of the Olympic Bottle Cap Hockey tournament. It’s the Siameses vs the Persians in this round, fighting to see who will advance to the final round. Taking aim at the goal is Mei Chi, a *great Hockey player. She’s lining up her shot, she bats it bast Ahaseurus the, Persian goal keeper under the refrigerator and—SHE SCORES!! The score is 3-2 in the Siamese team’s favor— * * * * Ah. That’s *a problem with bottle cap hockey—you have to get your hoomin to get the bottle cap out from under the fridge. It seems that Mei Chi’s shot was so powerful, the bottle cap is out of paw reach—Oh wait, never mind. Ahaseurus has found a petrified pea over by the stove and the game is back in *play! He gives the pea a good swat with his right front paw and it skitters over near the sink, almost out of bounds, but Mei Chi intercepts and knocks it back toward Ahaseurus. But Persian Forward Xerxes sends the pea skittering down the length of the kitchen toward the diningroom doors---EEEK! GREEBLING ATTACK, GREEBLING ATTACK! Run away! Run Awaaaaay! Melissa WhisperedAnd only a few city blocks away, you can HEAR the silence as the cuddle-sleep competitors go into the second hour of the six- hour short course. This is Hugo Sumwere and I'll be covering the short course, the long individual on Caterday, the two-cat competition on Sunnyday and, of course, the cat-hoomin cuddle sleep on Mudday. With me is eight-time gold medalist Floyd, Sleepy, Shorthair. Who looks most on form so far, Sleepy? zzzz Whispered It looks like Sleepy has gotten into the spirit of the event. We will have reports for you later in the event. zzzz -- Will in New Haven |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Olympic Nocturnal Zoomies--Team Competition
Whispering Willow Walker here, if anycat needs a partner for the zoomie
races, I am very good at them. I get put in the DOG cage sometimes because I go so fast and so long and make so much noise, just let me know. "Will in New Haven" wrote in message ... On Aug 15, 2:10 pm, Shiral wrote: Tabby: Good evening I’m Tabby Barncat, welcoming you to the final round of the Team Zoomie Dash here at our Darkened House Venue. With me tonight is Simon Streamline, also known as “Streamline Sime” thanks to his thus far undefeated Zoomie Gold Medals from the 2000 and 2004 games. Some wonder why the Zoomie events are traditionally held at night. Simon, any insights? Simon: Thanks, Tabby for inviting me. Zoomies are always held at night to maximize our natural tendency to go crazy at that hour. It does make seeing the action a little more difficult, of course, but for us cats, seeing in the dark is no problem! Tabby: (Laughing) True, very true, Simon! Now, for our viewers, can you summarize the rules of competition for Zoomie Dashing? What are the important things that contestants must do to accumulate the high scores? Simon: There are three very important elements of Zoomie competition, Tabby. First is unpredictability—creativity is essential here. Then there’s speed—you have to be a high-octane pussycat for the all important galumphing, and thirdly, noise. The routine should involve running, jumping—both up and down—and climbing. You must run either up or down at least one staircase at top speed. Sudden reversals of direction add greatly to a contestant’s score. Sliding for a distance across the floor is highly encouraged. You get extra points if you manage to use area rugs as toboggans. Knocking over piles of books is a bonus point. Polished wooden floors are the best area for sliding, but a good clean stretch of kitchen linoleum works also. They should move from room to room with each other and it helps if they’re doing the same basic things at the same time, but are not required to mirror one another’s actions. In competition Zoomie Dashing, there is of course the element of team work. Both team members should start at the same moment, and end within three seconds of each other. There is a five tenths point deduction if one team member carries on for more than three seconds after the other one has quit. Tabby: Thanks Simon. I do want to touch on something you said a moment ago about noise. Why is that important? Simon: Tabby, we cats are always praised for our ability to move silently, which is of course one of our most appealing attributes. But in the galumphing part of Zoomies, we need to be heard. When you the galumph in competition, you should try to sound like a herd of wildebeests stampeding over the African Veldt. Tabby: Wildebeasts? Really? Simon: Well, that’s the ideal, Tabby. Obviously not everyone can reach it. You have to pick your terrain to maximize the amount of noise you make when you galumph. For some reason, we sound louder from below when we galumph on an upper storey level. This Zoomie course will be excellent for that, as there’s a long upper hallway with a hardwood floor at this venue. Tabby: Ahah, our first contestants have decided to begin their competition on the Bed element. Our first team up consists of Cora Calico, and her littermate Connie. And they’re off! Simon: A very good start, going from apparent cat nap to balletic leaps off the lower right corner of the bed, and almost reaching the bedroom door—Ah, I see they’re going straight into the long galumph. Good speed, and Connie Calico has excellent formation and speed, while Cora Calico is a bit behind her, but I’d say they’re both a little too quiet. This is where thudding is important, they’ll be marked down for that—Ooo, good touch, now they’re thudding down the stairs! Tabby: Oo, I see that Cora used the front door mat as a sled for a minute, there on the hair pin turn at the bottom of the stair case— leaving it nicely bunched up. Connie Calico went a little wide on her turn and they collided for a moment, but they’ve straightened out again and are racing around the dining room, making an obstacle course of the chair and table legs. Simon: They may not make as much noise, but I give them full marks for speed and agility, Tabby. Cora is doing a chair giant slalom with almost no reduction in her speed. Connie has jumped up onto a chair seat and is wiggling her way through the open spaces in the chair back— a nice unpredictable element, but I think it’s slowing her down, too much. Tabby: Yes, Oh dear, the space is a little too narrow and she’s backing up. She’ll have to hurry to catch up to Cora. They’re supposed to enter and leave each room together, isn’t that right? Simon: Yes, Tabby. Oh dear, she ran into the kitchen a full second after her littermate. But look, they both leaped up onto the kitchen counter at the same moment and just avoided a collision! That’s a VERY difficult move, and Cora had to leap over the fruit bowl almost at once, and sent an apple and a plum rolling onto the floor. Excellent surprise element! Tabby: They’ve dismounted the counter and are now tearing into the living room in tandem—they’re galumphing as one, Simon! Simon: They’re really flying now and oo! I think they’re headed for their tower in the corner of the room! Yes! Connie is under the coffee table now and Cora is just above—SCORE! Over goes the knitting basket! Good, now they’re racing one another up to the very top of their tower, Connie up the ladder and Cora climbing the central pole, Connie getting there just a little ahead. Excellent wild looks on both their faces—they’re really rolling and out of control! Tabby: Look at them go! Connie is leaping from the top of the tower to the floor—excellent form on her back arch and she must have landed a good five feet away from the base of the tower—Ouch, that had to hurt, Cora had an uncomfortable encounter with the Venetian blinds on the living room window on her way down. But now they’re out into the front hallway again and are heading BACK up the stairs at a gallop— maybe looking just a little tired, now. Simon: A little, yes. They need more unpredictability to really score high in this event, Tabby, but they have time to polish this. It’s an excellent, exciting starting routine, and as I mentioned earier, they get huge marks for speed and agility. Listen to them go! They’re making a lot more noise on their second galumph run Maybe they just weren’t warmed up enough, before. Tabby: And Cora and Connie Calico finish their routine simultaneously leaping up and curling up around the sleeping Hoomin in the bed, coming back full circle to their starting position. Simon: Their combined finishing score is a 15.75, Tabby. I’d say that’s a bit too generous. They’re both still barely more than kittens and they have a lot to learn about polish, for all their enthusiasm. But our next team is down in the livingroom, having decided to start their Zoomie route from the sofa. Tabby: Our next Zoomer team are Hector and Hilary, a pair of Havana Browns. They were the silver medal team Zoomers back in 2004, weren’t they, Simon? Simon: They were indeed. Hector and Hilary are a team to watch, for certain Tabby. They’re the best, noisiest galumphers in the competition here, and they’d really love to up their standing to finish with the gold medal this time. Where they’re weak is in wildness and unpredictability. They’re very polished, but rather predictable. They don’t make the risky, spontaneous moves. Tabby: And they’re off! Hilary has pounced on the dozing Hector lying on the sofa seat, and they’ve both jumped to the living room floor. Hilary pauses to bat at a ball of yarn knocked to the floor by Cora, but now he’s hurrying to catch up with Hector and they’re neck in neck as they speed into the kitchen— Simon: WOW! What a leap! Hector has jumped up to the top of the refrigerator and from their to the top of the kitchen cabinets and is racing along the kitchen at cabinet level! He sure has excellent hind leg spring! Hilary by contrast has made a flying leap onto the kitchen rag rug and got a good toboggan effect from the slide—he would have gone farther if he’d had more speed and momentum built up— Hector’s dismounting the cabinet and lands on the kitchen Island and from there to the floor, almost landing on Hilary as they both head into the dining room, shoulder to shoulder. I see they’re electing to circle around the dining room table, rather than try to contend with the chair legs. Less difficulty, in running around rather than under, but it doesn’t do to copy one’s competitor’s routines too closely. Variety is the key for Zoomers. Tabby: And they’re racing down the hall! Rather than negotiate the hairpin turn up the stairs at speed, Hector has jumped up to the newel post and from there, to the stairs. Simon: It saves time, yes, but it’s going to lower his stair climbing score—they’re supposed to climb the whole flight, as Hilary is doing. He had to get back under control as he slid into the coat closet door trying to make that u-turn at the bottom of the stairs at speed. And now they’re galumphing in tandem as only Hilary and Hector can! Tabby: I see what you mean about the noise! Would you say they sound like stampeding Wildebeests, Simon? Simon: They sound as close to that ideal as ten pound pussycats can, Tabby. They’ve really set the mark for noisiness and leaping, today. I guess Hector and Hilary realize they have to adjust the difficulty and high-risk element to get the best Zoomie scores—they’re really on tonight. Oooh, that sounded like a painful crash up there, Tabby! That’s the danger of speed, you do lose some control and agility. Tabby: Ah, they’re up again—turns out they knocked over the upper hall table—too bad about that Famille Rose jar that was resting on it—it’s in smithereens. And they’re in the bathroom—Hilary’s in the bathtub, even, while Hector’s poised on top of the shower doors. Simon: You get more points if you hit more rooms, but a bathroom is a dead end, Tabby. They need to get turned around and out of there. Hector is doing some amazing leaping, today though. But we have to remember, variety. As for the Famille Rose vase, the contestants have to knock over something, and get extra points if it breaks. Tabby: Ah, they’re out of the bathroom and are galumphing back toward the staircase—just look at Hilary go! I don’t think his paws have touched a third of the stair treads—ooh, once again he hits the coat closet door at the bottom— Simon: Ouch yes. But he’s playing it cool, Tabby—trying to convince us he meant to do that. But he’s walking, not running now—pretending that he wasn’t running at top speed three seconds ago. Ouch, Hector just landed on top of Hillary—still in Zoomie mode, not having realized that Hilary stopped. That’s going to cost them. Their combined score is a 15.95 Tabby: As is their wrestling fight on the front hall floor. Hilary’s batting at Hector—oh dear. Let’s cut over to Willie, at the Kitchen Bottle Cap Hockey venue. Over to you, Willie: Willie: Thanks, Tabby. We’re here at the quarter final round of the Olympic Bottle Cap Hockey tournament. It’s the Siameses vs the Persians in this round, fighting to see who will advance to the final round. Taking aim at the goal is Mei Chi, a great Hockey player. She’s lining up her shot, she bats it bast Ahaseurus the, Persian goal keeper under the refrigerator and—SHE SCORES!! The score is 3-2 in the Siamese team’s favor— Ah. That’s a problem with bottle cap hockey—you have to get your hoomin to get the bottle cap out from under the fridge. It seems that Mei Chi’s shot was so powerful, the bottle cap is out of paw reach—Oh wait, never mind. Ahaseurus has found a petrified pea over by the stove and the game is back in play! He gives the pea a good swat with his right front paw and it skitters over near the sink, almost out of bounds, but Mei Chi intercepts and knocks it back toward Ahaseurus. But Persian Forward Xerxes sends the pea skittering down the length of the kitchen toward the diningroom doors---EEEK! GREEBLING ATTACK, GREEBLING ATTACK! Run away! Run Awaaaaay! Melissa WhisperedAnd only a few city blocks away, you can HEAR the silence as the cuddle-sleep competitors go into the second hour of the six- hour short course. This is Hugo Sumwere and I'll be covering the short course, the long individual on Caterday, the two-cat competition on Sunnyday and, of course, the cat-hoomin cuddle sleep on Mudday. With me is eight-time gold medalist Floyd, Sleepy, Shorthair. Who looks most on form so far, Sleepy? zzzz Whispered It looks like Sleepy has gotten into the spirit of the event. We will have reports for you later in the event. zzzz -- Will in New Haven |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Olympic Nocturnal Zoomies--Team Competition
Hihi Willow, Pookie here. I'll be your partner for the zoomie races. I
like to zoom around and try and knock Meowmie down. I'm Mosey's neffew. Right now it's too hot here in Seattle to zoom anywhere, so I'm just flopped on the floor. nosepoink PookieCat Whispering Willow Walker here, if anycat needs a partner for the zoomie races, I am very good at them. I get put in the DOG cage sometimes because I go so fast and so long and make so much noise, just let me know. "Will in New Haven" On Aug 15, 2:10 pm, Shiral Tabby: Good evening I’m Tabby Barncat, welcoming you to the final round of the Team Zoomie Dash here at our Darkened House Venue. With me tonight is Simon Streamline, also known as “Streamline Sime” thanks to his thus far undefeated Zoomie Gold Medals from the 2000 and 2004 games. Some wonder why the Zoomie events are traditionally held at night. Simon, any insights? Simon: Thanks, Tabby for inviting me. Zoomies are always held at night to maximize our natural tendency to go crazy at that hour. It does make seeing the action a little more difficult, of course, but for us cats, seeing in the dark is no problem! Tabby: (Laughing) True, very true, Simon! Now, for our viewers, can you summarize the rules of competition for Zoomie Dashing? What are the important things that contestants must do to accumulate the high scores? Simon: There are three very important elements of Zoomie competition, Tabby. First is unpredictability—creativity is essential here. Then there’s speed—you have to be a high-octane pussycat for the all important galumphing, and thirdly, noise. The routine should involve running, jumping—both up and down—and climbing. You must run either up or down at least one staircase at top speed. Sudden reversals of direction add greatly to a contestant’s score. Sliding for a distance across the floor is highly encouraged. You get extra points if you manage to use area rugs as toboggans. Knocking over piles of books is a bonus point. Polished wooden floors are the best area for sliding, but a good clean stretch of kitchen linoleum works also. They should move from room to room with each other and it helps if they’re doing the same basic things at the same time, but are not required to mirror one another’s actions. In competition Zoomie Dashing, there is of course the element of team work. Both team members should start at the same moment, and end within three seconds of each other. There is a five tenths point deduction if one team member carries on for more than three seconds after the other one has quit. Tabby: Thanks Simon. I do want to touch on something you said a moment ago about noise. Why is that important? Simon: Tabby, we cats are always praised for our ability to move silently, which is of course one of our most appealing attributes. But in the galumphing part of Zoomies, we need to be heard. When you the galumph in competition, you should try to sound like a herd of wildebeests stampeding over the African Veldt. Tabby: Wildebeasts? Really? Simon: Well, that’s the ideal, Tabby. Obviously not everyone can reach it. You have to pick your terrain to maximize the amount of noise you make when you galumph. For some reason, we sound louder from below when we galumph on an upper storey level. This Zoomie course will be excellent for that, as there’s a long upper hallway with a hardwood floor at this venue. Tabby: Ahah, our first contestants have decided to begin their competition on the Bed element. Our first team up consists of Cora Calico, and her littermate Connie. And they’re off! Simon: A very good start, going from apparent cat nap to balletic leaps off the lower right corner of the bed, and almost reaching the bedroom door—Ah, I see they’re going straight into the long galumph. Good speed, and Connie Calico has excellent formation and speed, while Cora Calico is a bit behind her, but I’d say they’re both a little too quiet. This is where thudding is important, they’ll be marked down for that—Ooo, good touch, now they’re thudding down the stairs! Tabby: Oo, I see that Cora used the front door mat as a sled for a minute, there on the hair pin turn at the bottom of the stair case— leaving it nicely bunched up. Connie Calico went a little wide on her turn and they collided for a moment, but they’ve straightened out again and are racing around the dining room, making an obstacle course of the chair and table legs. Simon: They may not make as much noise, but I give them full marks for speed and agility, Tabby. Cora is doing a chair giant slalom with almost no reduction in her speed. Connie has jumped up onto a chair seat and is wiggling her way through the open spaces in the chair back— a nice unpredictable element, but I think it’s slowing her down, too much. Tabby: Yes, Oh dear, the space is a little too narrow and she’s backing up. She’ll have to hurry to catch up to Cora. They’re supposed to enter and leave each room together, isn’t that right? Simon: Yes, Tabby. Oh dear, she ran into the kitchen a full second after her littermate. But look, they both leaped up onto the kitchen counter at the same moment and just avoided a collision! That’s a VERY difficult move, and Cora had to leap over the fruit bowl almost at once, and sent an apple and a plum rolling onto the floor. Excellent surprise element! Tabby: They’ve dismounted the counter and are now tearing into the living room in tandem—they’re galumphing as one, Simon! Simon: They’re really flying now and oo! I think they’re headed for their tower in the corner of the room! Yes! Connie is under the coffee table now and Cora is just above—SCORE! Over goes the knitting basket! Good, now they’re racing one another up to the very top of their tower, Connie up the ladder and Cora climbing the central pole, Connie getting there just a little ahead. Excellent wild looks on both their faces—they’re really rolling and out of control! Tabby: Look at them go! Connie is leaping from the top of the tower to the floor—excellent form on her back arch and she must have landed a good five feet away from the base of the tower—Ouch, that had to hurt, Cora had an uncomfortable encounter with the Venetian blinds on the living room window on her way down. But now they’re out into the front hallway again and are heading BACK up the stairs at a gallop— maybe looking just a little tired, now. Simon: A little, yes. They need more unpredictability to really score high in this event, Tabby, but they have time to polish this. It’s an excellent, exciting starting routine, and as I mentioned earier, they get huge marks for speed and agility. Listen to them go! They’re making a lot more noise on their second galumph run Maybe they just weren’t warmed up enough, before. Tabby: And Cora and Connie Calico finish their routine simultaneously leaping up and curling up around the sleeping Hoomin in the bed, coming back full circle to their starting position. Simon: Their combined finishing score is a 15.75, Tabby. I’d say that’s a bit too generous. They’re both still barely more than kittens and they have a lot to learn about polish, for all their enthusiasm. But our next team is down in the livingroom, having decided to start their Zoomie route from the sofa. Tabby: Our next Zoomer team are Hector and Hilary, a pair of Havana Browns. They were the silver medal team Zoomers back in 2004, weren’t they, Simon? Simon: They were indeed. Hector and Hilary are a team to watch, for certain Tabby. They’re the best, noisiest galumphers in the competition here, and they’d really love to up their standing to finish with the gold medal this time. Where they’re weak is in wildness and unpredictability. They’re very polished, but rather predictable. They don’t make the risky, spontaneous moves. Tabby: And they’re off! Hilary has pounced on the dozing Hector lying on the sofa seat, and they’ve both jumped to the living room floor. Hilary pauses to bat at a ball of yarn knocked to the floor by Cora, but now he’s hurrying to catch up with Hector and they’re neck in neck as they speed into the kitchen— Simon: WOW! What a leap! Hector has jumped up to the top of the refrigerator and from their to the top of the kitchen cabinets and is racing along the kitchen at cabinet level! He sure has excellent hind leg spring! Hilary by contrast has made a flying leap onto the kitchen rag rug and got a good toboggan effect from the slide—he would have gone farther if he’d had more speed and momentum built up— Hector’s dismounting the cabinet and lands on the kitchen Island and from there to the floor, almost landing on Hilary as they both head into the dining room, shoulder to shoulder. I see they’re electing to circle around the dining room table, rather than try to contend with the chair legs. Less difficulty, in running around rather than under, but it doesn’t do to copy one’s competitor’s routines too closely. Variety is the key for Zoomers. Tabby: And they’re racing down the hall! Rather than negotiate the hairpin turn up the stairs at speed, Hector has jumped up to the newel post and from there, to the stairs. Simon: It saves time, yes, but it’s going to lower his stair climbing score—they’re supposed to climb the whole flight, as Hilary is doing. He had to get back under control as he slid into the coat closet door trying to make that u-turn at the bottom of the stairs at speed. And now they’re galumphing in tandem as only Hilary and Hector can! Tabby: I see what you mean about the noise! Would you say they sound like stampeding Wildebeests, Simon? Simon: They sound as close to that ideal as ten pound pussycats can, Tabby. They’ve really set the mark for noisiness and leaping, today. I guess Hector and Hilary realize they have to adjust the difficulty and high-risk element to get the best Zoomie scores—they’re really on tonight. Oooh, that sounded like a painful crash up there, Tabby! That’s the danger of speed, you do lose some control and agility. Tabby: Ah, they’re up again—turns out they knocked over the upper hall table—too bad about that Famille Rose jar that was resting on it—it’s in smithereens. And they’re in the bathroom—Hilary’s in the bathtub, even, while Hector’s poised on top of the shower doors. Simon: You get more points if you hit more rooms, but a bathroom is a dead end, Tabby. They need to get turned around and out of there. Hector is doing some amazing leaping, today though. But we have to remember, variety. As for the Famille Rose vase, the contestants have to knock over something, and get extra points if it breaks. Tabby: Ah, they’re out of the bathroom and are galumphing back toward the staircase—just look at Hilary go! I don’t think his paws have touched a third of the stair treads—ooh, once again he hits the coat closet door at the bottom— Simon: Ouch yes. But he’s playing it cool, Tabby—trying to convince us he meant to do that. But he’s walking, not running now—pretending that he wasn’t running at top speed three seconds ago. Ouch, Hector just landed on top of Hillary—still in Zoomie mode, not having realized that Hilary stopped. That’s going to cost them. Their combined score is a 15.95 Tabby: As is their wrestling fight on the front hall floor. Hilary’s batting at Hector—oh dear. Let’s cut over to Willie, at the Kitchen Bottle Cap Hockey venue. Over to you, Willie: Willie: Thanks, Tabby. We’re here at the quarter final round of the Olympic Bottle Cap Hockey tournament. It’s the Siameses vs the Persians in this round, fighting to see who will advance to the final round. Taking aim at the goal is Mei Chi, a great Hockey player. She’s lining up her shot, she bats it bast Ahaseurus the, Persian goal keeper under the refrigerator and—SHE SCORES!! The score is 3-2 in the Siamese team’s favor— Ah. That’s a problem with bottle cap hockey—you have to get your hoomin to get the bottle cap out from under the fridge. It seems that Mei Chi’s shot was so powerful, the bottle cap is out of paw reach—Oh wait, never mind. Ahaseurus has found a petrified pea over by the stove and the game is back in play! He gives the pea a good swat with his right front paw and it skitters over near the sink, almost out of bounds, but Mei Chi intercepts and knocks it back toward Ahaseurus. But Persian Forward Xerxes sends the pea skittering down the length of the kitchen toward the diningroom doors---EEEK! GREEBLING ATTACK, GREEBLING ATTACK! Run away! Run Awaaaaay! Melissa WhisperedAnd only a few city blocks away, you can HEAR the silence as the cuddle-sleep competitors go into the second hour of the six- hour short course. This is Hugo Sumwere and I'll be covering the short course, the long individual on Caterday, the two-cat competition on Sunnyday and, of course, the cat-hoomin cuddle sleep on Mudday. With me is eight-time gold medalist Floyd, Sleepy, Shorthair. Who looks most on form so far, Sleepy? zzzz Whispered It looks like Sleepy has gotten into the spirit of the event. We will have reports for you later in the event. zzzz -- Will in New Haven |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Olympic Nocturnal Zoomies--Team Competition
YAY!! The Feline Olympics are ON!!!
Pam S. who wishes she were this good at reporting. "Shiral" wrote in message ... Tabby: Good evening I’m Tabby Barncat, welcoming you to the final round of the Team Zoomie Dash here at our Darkened House Venue. With me tonight is Simon Streamline, also known as “Streamline Sime” thanks to his thus far undefeated Zoomie Gold Medals from the 2000 and 2004 games. Some wonder why the Zoomie events are traditionally held at night. Simon, any insights? Simon: Thanks, Tabby for inviting me. Zoomies are always held at night to maximize our natural tendency to go crazy at that hour. It does make seeing the action a little more difficult, of course, but for us cats, seeing in the dark is no problem! Tabby: (Laughing) True, very true, Simon! Now, for our viewers, can you summarize the rules of competition for Zoomie Dashing? What are the important things that contestants must do to accumulate the high scores? Simon: There are three very important elements of Zoomie competition, Tabby. First is unpredictability—creativity is essential here. Then there’s speed—you have to be a high-octane pussycat for the all important galumphing, and thirdly, noise. The routine should involve running, jumping—both up and down—and climbing. You must run either up or down at least one staircase at top speed. Sudden reversals of direction add greatly to a contestant’s score. Sliding for a distance across the floor is highly encouraged. You get extra points if you manage to use area rugs as toboggans. Knocking over piles of books is a bonus point. Polished wooden floors are the best area for sliding, but a good clean stretch of kitchen linoleum works also. They should move from room to room with each other and it helps if they’re doing the same basic things at the same time, but are not required to mirror one another’s actions. In competition Zoomie Dashing, there is of course the element of team work. Both team members should start at the same moment, and end within three seconds of each other. There is a five tenths point deduction if one team member carries on for more than three seconds after the other one has quit. Tabby: Thanks Simon. I do want to touch on something you said a moment ago about noise. Why is that important? Simon: Tabby, we cats are always praised for our ability to move silently, which is of course one of our most appealing attributes. But in the galumphing part of Zoomies, we need to be heard. When you the galumph in competition, you should try to sound like a herd of wildebeests stampeding over the African Veldt. Tabby: Wildebeasts? Really? Simon: Well, that’s the ideal, Tabby. Obviously not everyone can reach it. You have to pick your terrain to maximize the amount of noise you make when you galumph. For some reason, we sound louder from below when we galumph on an upper storey level. This Zoomie course will be excellent for that, as there’s a long upper hallway with a hardwood floor at this venue. Tabby: Ahah, our first contestants have decided to begin their competition on the Bed element. Our first team up consists of Cora Calico, and her littermate Connie. And they’re off! Simon: A very good start, going from apparent cat nap to balletic leaps off the lower right corner of the bed, and almost reaching the bedroom door—Ah, I see they’re going straight into the long galumph. Good speed, and Connie Calico has excellent formation and speed, while Cora Calico is a bit behind her, but I’d say they’re both a little too quiet. This is where thudding is important, they’ll be marked down for that—Ooo, good touch, now they’re thudding down the stairs! Tabby: Oo, I see that Cora used the front door mat as a sled for a minute, there on the hair pin turn at the bottom of the stair case— leaving it nicely bunched up. Connie Calico went a little wide on her turn and they collided for a moment, but they’ve straightened out again and are racing around the dining room, making an obstacle course of the chair and table legs. Simon: They may not make as much noise, but I give them full marks for speed and agility, Tabby. Cora is doing a chair giant slalom with almost no reduction in her speed. Connie has jumped up onto a chair seat and is wiggling her way through the open spaces in the chair back— a nice unpredictable element, but I think it’s slowing her down, too much. Tabby: Yes, Oh dear, the space is a little too narrow and she’s backing up. She’ll have to hurry to catch up to Cora. They’re supposed to enter and leave each room together, isn’t that right? Simon: Yes, Tabby. Oh dear, she ran into the kitchen a full second after her littermate. But look, they both leaped up onto the kitchen counter at the same moment and just avoided a collision! That’s a VERY difficult move, and Cora had to leap over the fruit bowl almost at once, and sent an apple and a plum rolling onto the floor. Excellent surprise element! Tabby: They’ve dismounted the counter and are now tearing into the living room in tandem—they’re galumphing as one, Simon! Simon: They’re really flying now and oo! I think they’re headed for their tower in the corner of the room! Yes! Connie is under the coffee table now and Cora is just above—SCORE! Over goes the knitting basket! Good, now they’re racing one another up to the very top of their tower, Connie up the ladder and Cora climbing the central pole, Connie getting there just a little ahead. Excellent wild looks on both their faces—they’re really rolling and out of control! Tabby: Look at them go! Connie is leaping from the top of the tower to the floor—excellent form on her back arch and she must have landed a good five feet away from the base of the tower—Ouch, that had to hurt, Cora had an uncomfortable encounter with the Venetian blinds on the living room window on her way down. But now they’re out into the front hallway again and are heading BACK up the stairs at a gallop— maybe looking just a little tired, now. Simon: A little, yes. They need more unpredictability to really score high in this event, Tabby, but they have time to polish this. It’s an excellent, exciting starting routine, and as I mentioned earier, they get huge marks for speed and agility. Listen to them go! They’re making a lot more noise on their second galumph run Maybe they just weren’t warmed up enough, before. Tabby: And Cora and Connie Calico finish their routine simultaneously leaping up and curling up around the sleeping Hoomin in the bed, coming back full circle to their starting position. Simon: Their combined finishing score is a 15.75, Tabby. I’d say that’s a bit too generous. They’re both still barely more than kittens and they have a lot to learn about polish, for all their enthusiasm. But our next team is down in the livingroom, having decided to start their Zoomie route from the sofa. Tabby: Our next Zoomer team are Hector and Hilary, a pair of Havana Browns. They were the silver medal team Zoomers back in 2004, weren’t they, Simon? Simon: They were indeed. Hector and Hilary are a team to watch, for certain Tabby. They’re the best, noisiest galumphers in the competition here, and they’d really love to up their standing to finish with the gold medal this time. Where they’re weak is in wildness and unpredictability. They’re very polished, but rather predictable. They don’t make the risky, spontaneous moves. Tabby: And they’re off! Hilary has pounced on the dozing Hector lying on the sofa seat, and they’ve both jumped to the living room floor. Hilary pauses to bat at a ball of yarn knocked to the floor by Cora, but now he’s hurrying to catch up with Hector and they’re neck in neck as they speed into the kitchen— Simon: WOW! What a leap! Hector has jumped up to the top of the refrigerator and from their to the top of the kitchen cabinets and is racing along the kitchen at cabinet level! He sure has excellent hind leg spring! Hilary by contrast has made a flying leap onto the kitchen rag rug and got a good toboggan effect from the slide—he would have gone farther if he’d had more speed and momentum built up— Hector’s dismounting the cabinet and lands on the kitchen Island and from there to the floor, almost landing on Hilary as they both head into the dining room, shoulder to shoulder. I see they’re electing to circle around the dining room table, rather than try to contend with the chair legs. Less difficulty, in running around rather than under, but it doesn’t do to copy one’s competitor’s routines too closely. Variety is the key for Zoomers. Tabby: And they’re racing down the hall! Rather than negotiate the hairpin turn up the stairs at speed, Hector has jumped up to the newel post and from there, to the stairs. Simon: It saves time, yes, but it’s going to lower his stair climbing score—they’re supposed to climb the whole flight, as Hilary is doing. He had to get back under control as he slid into the coat closet door trying to make that u-turn at the bottom of the stairs at speed. And now they’re galumphing in tandem as only Hilary and Hector can! Tabby: I see what you mean about the noise! Would you say they sound like stampeding Wildebeests, Simon? Simon: They sound as close to that ideal as ten pound pussycats can, Tabby. They’ve really set the mark for noisiness and leaping, today. I guess Hector and Hilary realize they have to adjust the difficulty and high-risk element to get the best Zoomie scores—they’re really on tonight. Oooh, that sounded like a painful crash up there, Tabby! That’s the danger of speed, you do lose some control and agility. Tabby: Ah, they’re up again—turns out they knocked over the upper hall table—too bad about that Famille Rose jar that was resting on it—it’s in smithereens. And they’re in the bathroom—Hilary’s in the bathtub, even, while Hector’s poised on top of the shower doors. Simon: You get more points if you hit more rooms, but a bathroom is a dead end, Tabby. They need to get turned around and out of there. Hector is doing some amazing leaping, today though. But we have to remember, variety. As for the Famille Rose vase, the contestants have to knock over something, and get extra points if it breaks. Tabby: Ah, they’re out of the bathroom and are galumphing back toward the staircase—just look at Hilary go! I don’t think his paws have touched a third of the stair treads—ooh, once again he hits the coat closet door at the bottom— Simon: Ouch yes. But he’s playing it cool, Tabby—trying to convince us he meant to do that. But he’s walking, not running now—pretending that he wasn’t running at top speed three seconds ago. Ouch, Hector just landed on top of Hillary—still in Zoomie mode, not having realized that Hilary stopped. That’s going to cost them. Their combined score is a 15.95 Tabby: As is their wrestling fight on the front hall floor. Hilary’s batting at Hector—oh dear. Let’s cut over to Willie, at the Kitchen Bottle Cap Hockey venue. Over to you, Willie: Willie: Thanks, Tabby. We’re here at the quarter final round of the Olympic Bottle Cap Hockey tournament. It’s the Siameses vs the Persians in this round, fighting to see who will advance to the final round. Taking aim at the goal is Mei Chi, a great Hockey player. She’s lining up her shot, she bats it bast Ahaseurus the, Persian goal keeper under the refrigerator and—SHE SCORES!! The score is 3-2 in the Siamese team’s favor— Ah. That’s a problem with bottle cap hockey—you have to get your hoomin to get the bottle cap out from under the fridge. It seems that Mei Chi’s shot was so powerful, the bottle cap is out of paw reach—Oh wait, never mind. Ahaseurus has found a petrified pea over by the stove and the game is back in play! He gives the pea a good swat with his right front paw and it skitters over near the sink, almost out of bounds, but Mei Chi intercepts and knocks it back toward Ahaseurus. But Persian Forward Xerxes sends the pea skittering down the length of the kitchen toward the diningroom doors---EEEK! GREEBLING ATTACK, GREEBLING ATTACK! Run away! Run Awaaaaay! Melissa |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Olympic Nocturnal Zoomies--Team Competition
"Will in New Haven" wrote in message ... WhisperedAnd only a few city blocks away, you can HEAR the silence as the cuddle-sleep competitors go into the second hour of the six- hour short course. This is Hugo Sumwere and I'll be covering the short course, the long individual on Caterday, the two-cat competition on Sunnyday and, of course, the cat-hoomin cuddle sleep on Mudday. With me is eight-time gold medalist Floyd, Sleepy, Shorthair. Who looks most on form so far, Sleepy? zzzz Whispered It looks like Sleepy has gotten into the spirit of the event. We will have reports for you later in the event. zzzz -- WTG Will and Hugo. I look forward to reading more results from the various venues in The Feline Olympics. Pam S. awed by how good the reporters and commentators are for all the events thus far |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Olympic Nocturnal Zoomies--Team Competition
On Aug 15, 4:06*pm, "tanadashoes" wrote:
YAY!! *The Feline Olympics are ON!!! Pam S. who wishes she were this good at reporting. "Shiral" wrote in message ... Tabby: *Good evening I’m *Tabby Barncat, welcoming you to the final round of the Team Zoomie Dash here at our Darkened *House Venue. *With me tonight is Simon Streamline, also known as “Streamline Sime” thanks to his thus far undefeated *Zoomie Gold Medals from the *2000 and 2004 games. *Some wonder why the Zoomie events are traditionally held at night. Simon, any insights? Simon: Thanks, Tabby for inviting me. *Zoomies are always held at night to maximize our natural tendency to go crazy at that hour. It does make seeing the action a little more difficult, of course, but for us cats, seeing in the dark is no problem! Tabby: (Laughing) True, very true, Simon! Now, for our viewers, can you summarize the rules of competition for Zoomie Dashing? *What are the important things that contestants must do to accumulate the high scores? Simon: There are three very important elements of Zoomie competition, Tabby. First is unpredictability—creativity is essential here. *Then there’s speed—you have to be a high-octane pussycat for the all important galumphing, and thirdly, noise. *The routine should involve running, jumping—both up and down—and climbing. You must run either up or down at least one staircase at top speed. *Sudden reversals of direction add greatly to a contestant’s score. Sliding for a distance across the floor is highly encouraged. You get extra points if you manage to use area rugs as toboggans. *Knocking over piles of books is a bonus point. *Polished wooden floors are the best area for sliding, but a good clean stretch of kitchen linoleum works also. They should move from room to room with each other and it helps if they’re doing the same basic things at the same time, but are not required to mirror one another’s actions. In competition Zoomie Dashing, there is of course the element of team work. Both team members should start at the same moment, and end within three seconds of each other. There is a five tenths point deduction if one team member carries on for more than three seconds after *the other one *has quit. Tabby: Thanks Simon. I do want to touch on something you said a moment ago about noise. Why is that important? Simon: *Tabby, we cats are always praised for our ability to move silently, which is of course one of our most appealing attributes. But in the galumphing part of Zoomies, we need *to be heard. When you the galumph in competition, you should try to sound like a herd of wildebeests stampeding over the African Veldt. Tabby: Wildebeasts? Really? Simon: Well, that’s the ideal, Tabby. Obviously not everyone can reach it. You have to pick your terrain to maximize the amount of noise you make when you galumph. For some reason, we sound louder from below when we galumph on an upper storey level. *This Zoomie course will be excellent for that, as there’s a long upper hallway with a *hardwood floor at this venue. Tabby: Ahah, our first contestants have decided to begin their competition on the Bed element. Our first team up consists of Cora Calico, and her littermate Connie. And they’re off! Simon: A very good start, going from apparent cat nap to balletic leaps off the lower right corner of the bed, and almost reaching the bedroom door—Ah, I see they’re going straight into the long galumph. Good speed, and Connie Calico has excellent formation and speed, while Cora Calico is a bit behind her, but I’d say they’re both a little too quiet. This is where *thudding is important, they’ll be *marked down for that—Ooo, good touch, now they’re thudding down the stairs! Tabby: Oo, I see that Cora used the front door mat as a sled for a minute, there on the hair pin turn at the bottom of the stair case— leaving it nicely bunched up. Connie Calico went a little wide on her turn and they collided for a moment, but they’ve straightened out again and are racing around the dining room, making an obstacle course of the chair and table legs. Simon: They may not make as much noise, but I give them full marks for speed and agility, Tabby. *Cora is doing a chair giant slalom with almost no reduction in her speed. Connie has jumped up onto a chair seat and is wiggling her way through the open spaces in the chair back— a nice unpredictable element, but I think it’s slowing her down, too much. Tabby: Yes, Oh dear, the space is a little too narrow and she’s backing up. *She’ll have to hurry to catch up to Cora. They’re supposed to enter *and leave each room together, isn’t that right? Simon: * Yes, Tabby. Oh dear, she ran into the kitchen a full second after her littermate. *But look, they both leaped up onto the kitchen counter *at the same moment and just avoided a collision! That’s a VERY difficult move, and Cora had to leap over the fruit bowl almost at once, and sent an apple and a plum rolling onto the floor. Excellent surprise element! Tabby: They’ve dismounted the counter and are now tearing into the living room in tandem—they’re galumphing as one, Simon! Simon: They’re really flying now and oo! I think they’re headed for their tower in the corner of the room! Yes! Connie is under the coffee table now and Cora is just above—SCORE! Over goes the knitting basket! *Good, now they’re racing one another up to the very top of their tower, Connie up the ladder and Cora climbing the central pole, Connie getting there just a little ahead. Excellent wild looks on both their faces—they’re really rolling and out of control! Tabby: Look at them go! Connie is leaping from the top of the tower to the floor—excellent form on her back arch and she must have landed a good five feet away from the base of the tower—Ouch, that had to hurt, Cora had an uncomfortable encounter with the Venetian blinds on the living room window *on her way down. But now they’re out into the front hallway again and are heading BACK up the stairs at a gallop— maybe looking just a little tired, now. Simon: A little, yes. They need more unpredictability to really score high in this event, Tabby, but they have time to polish this. It’s an excellent, exciting starting routine, and as I mentioned earier, they get huge marks for speed and agility. Listen to them go! They’re making a lot more noise on their second galumph run Maybe they just weren’t warmed up enough, before. Tabby: And Cora and Connie Calico finish their routine simultaneously leaping up and curling up around the sleeping Hoomin in the bed, coming back full circle to their starting position. Simon: Their combined finishing score is a 15.75, Tabby. I’d say that’s a bit too generous. They’re both still barely more than kittens and they have a lot to learn about polish, for all their enthusiasm. But our next team is down in the livingroom, having decided to start their Zoomie route from the sofa. Tabby: Our next Zoomer team are Hector and Hilary, a pair of Havana Browns. *They were the silver medal team Zoomers back in 2004, weren’t they, Simon? Simon: They were indeed. *Hector and Hilary are a team to watch, for certain Tabby. They’re the best, noisiest galumphers in the competition here, and they’d really love to up their standing to finish with *the gold medal this time. *Where they’re weak is in wildness and unpredictability. They’re very polished, but rather predictable. *They don’t make the risky, spontaneous moves. Tabby: * And they’re off! Hilary has pounced on the dozing Hector lying on the sofa seat, and they’ve both jumped to the living room floor. Hilary pauses to bat at a ball of yarn knocked to the floor by Cora, but now he’s hurrying to catch up with Hector and they’re neck in neck as they speed into the kitchen— Simon: WOW! What a leap! Hector has jumped up to the top of the refrigerator and from their to the *top of the kitchen cabinets and is racing along the kitchen at cabinet level! He sure has excellent hind leg spring! *Hilary by contrast has made a flying leap onto the kitchen rag rug and got a good toboggan effect from the slide—he would have gone farther if he’d had more speed and momentum built up— Hector’s dismounting the cabinet and lands on the kitchen Island and from there to the floor, almost landing on Hilary as they both head into the dining room, shoulder to shoulder. I see they’re electing to circle around the dining room table, rather than try to *contend with the chair legs. Less difficulty, in running around rather than under, but it doesn’t do to copy one’s competitor’s routines too closely. Variety is the key for Zoomers. Tabby: And they’re racing down the hall! Rather than negotiate the hairpin turn up the stairs at speed, Hector has jumped up to the newel post and from there, to the stairs. Simon: It saves time, yes, but it’s going to lower his stair climbing score—they’re supposed to climb the whole flight, as Hilary is doing. He had to get back under control as he slid into the coat closet door trying to make that * u-turn at the bottom of the stairs at speed. And now they’re galumphing in tandem as only Hilary and Hector can! Tabby: I see what you mean about the noise! *Would you say they sound like stampeding Wildebeests, Simon? Simon: They sound as close to that ideal as ten pound pussycats can, Tabby. They’ve really set the mark for noisiness and leaping, today. I guess Hector and Hilary realize they have to adjust the difficulty and high-risk element to get the best Zoomie scores—they’re really on tonight. Oooh, that sounded like a *painful crash up there, Tabby! That’s the danger of speed, you do lose some control and agility. Tabby: Ah, they’re up again—turns out they knocked over the upper hall table—too bad about that Famille Rose jar that was ... read more » Bump thread |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Nocturnal Parade | Kreisleriana[_3_] | Cat anecdotes | 2 | January 20th 08 12:34 AM |
Sammy's competition... Time with Daddy | GraceCat | Cat anecdotes | 3 | December 29th 04 09:01 PM |
The result of the funky feline competition 2004 | Heather-SCOTGIRL | Cat health & behaviour | 4 | February 22nd 04 08:53 PM |
FUNKIEST FELINE COMPETITION | Heather-SCOTGIRL | Cat health & behaviour | 12 | February 14th 04 11:53 AM |
Nocturnal howler. | Sue | Cat health & behaviour | 14 | October 10th 03 06:38 PM |