posted Jun 15th, 2012 - The Netherlands and Greece are in the same boat now at the EURO 2012 - at the very bottom of their groups. Germany had no mercy on Wednesday with the host of the Tomscat Trophy 2012, and the team from the Czech Republic defeated Greece on Tuesday. Netherlands and Greece both HAVE to win their last group game on Saturday (Greece) and Sunday (Netherlands) to advance to the next round.

The Dutch team even needs some help from Germany, as Denmark could take the second place by winning against Germany who is qualified no matter what. It's a tough situation and a lot of pressure for the Netherlands on Sunday.

The German 4way team Paratec-Saar, unofficial amateur world champions, is training this weekend and have their own special interest in the scores at the Tomscat Trophy. Thunder has been challenging the unofficial title of the best amateur team in the world for a while, and both teams have not competed directly with each other yet. The Paratec-Saar vs. Thunder duel is very similar to the EURO 2012 situation this weekend, and it is quite unlikely that Germany will try much to help the Netherlands...

The Dutch soccer/football drama at the EURO 2012 touches the two Thunder members from the Netherlands (Paul Hofstee, Jacco van Eerden) probably more than the two Belgian members (Sven Ibens, Wesley Claessens) as Belgium's national team did not qualify for the EURO 2012. They will focus mostly on the Thunder performance this weekend and try to impress the German 4way team once again.

The Tomscat Trophy is also a special event for the Blue Rebels from Greece whose soccer/football team is under pressure on Saturday. The Blue Rebels attended their first international competition after a short trip from Greece to Italy in May 2008 where they were the only team in the Rookie Class. In Fano, they became a part of the international 4way community, and they have continued with their regular appearances ever since.

The Blue Rebels visited the Italian teams in Fano again in May 2009 and then eventually extended the travel distance in September 2009. The ESL Championship offered all four competition classes, as well, and the Blue Rebels competed in the Rookie Class on the island of Texel in the Netherlands.

ESL Championship 2010		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total	Avg
Rank	Rookie	F,K,D	P,J,M	B,N,E	L,A,D	H,G,Q	Total	Avg
1	MACH4 (NL)	13	16	12	8	12	61	12.2
2	High Altitude Heroes (UK)	10	16	12	9	7	54	10.8
3	Blue Rebels (GR)	12	9	10	9	11	51	10.2
4	Tiramisu (NL)	9	15	11	6	7	48	9.6
5	4tune Cookies (NL)	9	11	9	7	5	41	8.2

The Blue Rebels enjoyed the international competition with teams from more different countries, skipped the Fano meet in 2010 and came back to the ESL Championship 2010. Now they competed with four other Rookie Class teams from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and took the 3rd place of five teams.

The ESL Championship 2011 was the third time for the Blue Rebels to travel to the Netherlands, and they decided to try their luck for the first time in the A Class competition. The 9.6 average won the silver medals in a 4-team field.

Winning a set of medals was apparently enough fun to come back to the Netherlands just a few months later. The Grand Prix 2011 at Indoor Skydiving Roosendaal became the highlight for the Blue Rebels in the team's history. They signed up one more time in the Rookie Class to be more competitive and won the bronze medals in a competition with 20 teams. It was also the first time that a second team from Greece, Blue Rebels Family, attended a meet.

World Challenge 2012		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	A Class	6,M	O,K,8	D,F,N	H,4	G,Q,21	A,C,9	19,2	L,7	P,B,J	E,O,H	Total	Avg
1	Raykipo (UK)	19	15	26	14	15	26	11	18	21	30	195	19.5
2	Erosion (UK)	16	14	23	15	12	16	12	14	23	26	171	17.1
3	Lockstock (UK)	16	13	23	11	15	19	10	17	21	21	166	16.6
4	No Rules (IT)	15	13	18	13	12	18	10	13	20	16	148	14.8
5	Blue Rebels (GR)	13	13	18	10	11	11	11	14	20	21	142	14.2
6	NYOL (IE)	12	10	15	11	10	14	7	15	17	18	129	12.9
7	Bodyflight Black Majik (UK)	13	11	12	11	10	14	11	11	15	12	120	12.0
8	Atmosfear (UK)	12	8	14	6	7	13	8	8	13	13	102	10.2
9	Anti Gravity Ninja Swans (UK)	10	8	11	8	9	11	7	11	15	10	100	10.0

Meanwhile, Paul Mayer had also adopted the A Class and the Rookie Class for the World Challenge, and the Blue Rebels did not wait any longer until May or September for the first trip of the new competition season. They visited the United Kingdom in April where they competed in the A Class competition of the World Challenge 2012.

The 14.2 average placed the Greek team right in the middle of the A Class field with nine teams from four different countries. It was the first indoor competition for the Blue Rebels in the A Class.

The Tomscat Trophy 2012 brings the Blue Rebels back to the Netherlands, but much earlier in the year than usual. It's the first time for the Dutch host in Hoogeveen to welcome a team from Greece. The Blue Rebels have signed up for the A Class competition where they will compete with and against six Dutch teams. Saturday and Sunday evening, the Dutch and Greek competitors will join forces and cheer for their soccer/football teams in their desperate situations at the EURO 2012...