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Game 1 - Hitting the Right Notes (Soyez dans la note)
The first game - 'Hitting the Right Notes (Soyez dans la note)'
- was unusual to say the least. The game, if you could call it a game, was for
two brass bands (one from each town) to enter the ice rink playing a tune. The
idea was that they would be marked for artistic merit based upon how funny
they could be on the ice while playing their instruments. The neutral jury in
Paris ultimately decided that both were equally amusing and declared the game
result a draw.
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Running Scores and Positions:
=1st Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (1pt awarded /
1pt total)
=1st Megève (F) (1pt / 1pt)
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Game 2 - Very Special Slalom (Slalom trés spécial) The
second game - 'Very Special Slalom (Slalom trés spécial)' - was held on the
ski-slopes at Megéve. Six skiiers from each team had to descend the slope one
at a time, jinking through the slalom poles and picking up one pole each,
topped with a letter of their town name. As this would have given Megève an
unfair advantage, as their town name comprises six letters to Chamonix's
eight, the Chamonix team had a flag depicting a cat ('chat') and five others,
each containing one letter of 'MONIX'. The event was close fought, and
Chamonix appeared to have finished first. However, they were penalised for a
breach of the rules and the game was awarded to Megève, who had completed the
task as prescribed. As a result, the win was awarded to Megève.
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1st Megève (F) (1pt awarded / 2pts total)
2nd Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (0pts / 1pt) ▼ |
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Comments: The format of this second game was repeated when a similar game
was used in Heat 2 of the international Interneige series in 1965 when
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc competed against Swiss team, Crans-sur-Sierre. |
Game 3 - Human Curling (Le Curline vivant)
The transmission then returned to the indoor ice-rink at
Chamonix for third game - 'Human Curling (Le Curline vivant)'. The game
involved four blindfolded female skaters from each team being pushed down the
rink by a male team member who would let her go at a line on the ice. She
would then career towards the targets, twelve large circles marked out on the
ice with point values ranging from 1 to 10. Remarkably, no single skater ended
up in a scoring circle from their initial launch. The game was decided when a
skater from Chamonix bumped into a Megève skater who had previously come to a
halt near one of the 4pt circles, causing the Megève skater to be knocked into
the circle. This was enough to give the game to the Megève team.
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1st Megève (F) (1pt awarded / 3pts total)
2nd Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (0pts / 1pt)
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Game 4, Part 1 - Ski-Shoot (Ski-shoot)
The fourth game - 'Ski-Shoot (Ski-shoot)' - was played out in
two halves, with one half before the fifth game and the other taking place
after it. The contest was held on an outdoor pitch bounded by haybales and,
being at the Megève location, the ground was covered with snow. Two teams of
four (a goalkeeper and three outfield players) played a straightforward game
of football on the snow, the Interneige angle being that all the
players wore skis and this of course made kicking the ball quite difficult.
The decision to play the game over two halves was sensible, not least because
the pitch was not flat and had a slight incline from one goal to the other. At
the end of the first half, the scores were level at 0-0 and the action
switched back to the ice rink at Chamonix for the fifth game.
Game 5 - Delivery Men on Ice (Livreur de glace)
After a brief commentary by Guy Lux, Simone Garnier introduced
the fifth game - 'Delivery Men on Ice (Livreur de glace)'. This game consisted
of two male team members from each team, one of whom had to skate around the
rink carrying boxes while the other was there to assist in stacking, as, after
the first circuit with one box, the skater then had to add a second box and
skate around the rink again. Finally, he would have the third box stacked and
attempt to complete a final circuit. The first circuit was completed by both
competitors with ease and at speed, though both found the second circuit far
more demanding, although the Chamonix skater built up a considerable lead at
that point. This appeared not to make much difference as by the time the
Chamonix competitors had stacked and lifted the three boxes without dropping
them, the Megève team had caught up. However, the third and final circuit,
while fraught with difficulties for both teams, was dealt with far better by
the Chamonix team and they came home to win with their rivals barely having
made it around a quarter of the rink on their third circuit.
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1st Megève (F) (0pts awarded / 3pts total)
2nd Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (1pt / 2pts)
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Game 4, Part 2 - Ski-Shoot (Ski-shoot)
Directly after the fifth game, the action switched back to the
football pitch at Megève and the football match went into its final two
quarters. A short way into the second half, which was started by a skiier on
stilts, a penalty was awarded to the Chamonix team and the Paris jury were
brought in to discuss its validity. After a heated discussion between the jury
members and Guy Lux at the Chamonix ice rink, the decision was made not to
award the penalty after all and to continue with the game from a drop ball
situation. Almost immediately, Megève were a goal up as they scored soon after
the ball hit the snow. The scores were levelled shortly before the final
whistle after a shot from distance from a Chamonix player ended up in the
Megève goal. The result was 1-1 and both teams were awarded a point, bringing
the competition score to 4-3 to Megève.
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1st Megève (F) (1pt awarded / 4pts total)
2nd Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (1pt / 3pts)
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Game 6 - Skating Cows and Balloons (Tarrine-ball) The
sixth game (the fourth to be played on the ice rink at Chamonix) - 'Skating
Cows and Balloons (Tarrine-ball)' - saw two skaters from each team inside cow
costumes. On the backs of each of the two cows were six balloons, which had to
be burst by opposing team members, who took to the rink wearing ordinary shoes
and therefore did not have the level of stability enjoyed by the skaters in
the cows. The idea was for the cows to evade the rival 'bursters' for as long
as possible. The Megève cow was not terribly good at this and quickly had five
of its balloons burst, compared to the Chamonix cow, which had five still
intact. As the time ran down, the Chamonix players failed to burst the
remaining Megève balloon, but this did not matter as their cow ended the
competition with two balloons remaining, beating the Megève score. The scores
were now level at 4-4.
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=1st Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (1pt awarded /
4pts total) ▲
=1st Megève (F) (0pts / 4pts)
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Game 7 - Springboard Basketball (Tremplin-baskett) The seventh game - 'Springboard Basketball' (Tremplin-baskett)
- involved ski-jumpers from both teams skiing down the piste carrying
footballs and launching themselves into the air from a small ramp. While in
the air, they had to drop the ball into one of three nets, the first worth 1pt
on the game, the second 3pts and the third 6pts. The Chamonix competitors
scored as follows 0pts-0pts-0pts-6pts-0pts-0pts-0pts-0pts (6pts total) over
their eight runs, while the Megève team scored
6pts-0pts-6pts-6pts-6pts-0pts-0pts-6pts (30pts). This clear victory moved
Megève into a 5-4 lead.
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1st Megève (F) (1pt awarded / 5pts total)
2nd Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (0pts / 4pts) ▼ |
Game 8 - Broom Football (Balai de Glace)
The eighth game - 'Broom Football' (Balai de Glace) - was
staged on the ice rink at Chamonix. This was another variation on football,
but with players using brooms to control the ball and direct it towards their
opponents' goal. The goal itself could be moved across the rink, left or
right, by a member of the opposing team, to help their own team's chances of
scoring. Players wore normal shoes and were therefore not as mobile on the ice
as they would have been on skates. The four minute game ended in a 1-1 draw
and as such both teams received 1pt for their troubles, bringing the score to
6-5 to Megève.
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1st Megève (F) (1pt awarded / 6pts total)
2nd Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (1pt / 5pts)
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Games 9 & 10 - The Cultural Game (Epreuve Culturelle)
The ninth and tenth games were in fact two halves of the same
game - 'The Cultural Game' (Epreuve Culturelle) - the first being staged at
Megève and the second at Chamonix. It was a variation on Intervilles'
'Game of Questions'. Four questions were asked with each having a value of 1pt
or 2pts if correct (dependent upon the decision made by the Mayor of each town
before the questions were asked). Incorrect answers saw the selected points
value deducted from the score. Megève got to go first, went for a 1pt
question, but answered incorrectly, bringing the score down to 5-5.
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►CG Megève - 1pt Question
Answered Incorrectly◄ |
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Running Scores and Positions:
=1st Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (5pts total) ▲
=1st Megève (F) (-1pt penalty / 5pts total)
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The Mayor of Chamonix opted for a 2pt question and his team
member in Megève answered correctly, and Chamonix gained the lead for the
first time in the competition.
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►CG Chamonix-Mont-Blanc - 2pts Question Answered Correctly◄
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Running Scores and Positions:
1st Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (2pts awarded /
7pts total)
2nd Megève (F) (5pts total) ▼ |
The game then moved to the ice rink at Chamonix (which was just
as well, as the snows were falling quite heavily by this point in Megève) and
the Megève Mayor opted for the 2pt question. The question was answered
correctly and the scores were equal before Chamonix's final question. The
winners' trophy could go to either Megève or Chamonix!
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►CG Megève - 2pts Question Answered Correctly◄
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Running Scores and Positions:
=1st Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (7pts total)
=1st Megève (F) (2pts awarded / 7pts total)
▲ |
The Chamonix Mayor sportingly opted for a 2pt question, risking
a 7-5 loss for his town, but his faith was rewarded when the question was
answered correctly and the game won for Chamonix.
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►CG Chamonix-Mont-Blanc - 2pts Question Answered Correctly◄
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Final Scores and Positions:
1st Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (F) (2pts awarded /
9pts total)
2nd Megève (F) (7pts total) ▼ |
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