Eesti
On 24th November at Pärnu sports hall the second Ylipall took place. It is the first of three-part series of sports events under the name of Ylisport (others are Winter Games and Summer Games) that is organized by the Estonian Academic Sports Federation in order to determine the university who gets to take ownership of the achievement cup and the activity cup. This year there were approximately 400 students from 12 universities taking part of Ylipall.
There are six sports that the universities compete in at Ylipall:
- 3×3 basketball (men)
- Blind volleyball (mixed teams)
- Soft football (mixed teams)
- Dodgeball (women)
- Free throw competition (men and women separately)
- Relay race (mixed teams)
This time our ebsters were represented in blind volleyball, soft football and with two teams in the relay race.
The first sport to kick off the competitions was the relay race. First people from EBS to get in the action there were Marie Heleen Lisette Kikkas, Sandra Paulberg, Martin Mee and Michael Sander. They did a decent time but the top places were left out of reach. The second EBS team to enter the race was composed of Laura Vähk, Eliisabeth Leheste, Karl-Erik Rosenberg, and Davor Tamm. With the tips from the first team they managed to complete the race with a very decent time granting them a high 4th place with only seconds separating them from the top three.
Once the relay races were finished it was time to get on with the ball games and first to start competing was our football team, composing of Marie Heleen Lisette Kikkas, Sandra Paulberg, Martin Mee, Michael Sander, Davor Tamm, Kristofer Kartau and Waltter Onnela.
We started the soft football tournament with great expectations since EBS won the soft football competition already last year when it was held the first time. Then our winning team was composed of Maria Tsenno, Kaidi Kammer, Randy Padar, Steve Luks and Oskar Koha.
This year we managed to come through of very tough situations and defended our title with full passion.
The format of the tournament was composed so that there were four groups, each composing of three teams and the two best of each groups advanced to the play-offs. For us the tournament started with a draw which meant that in order to insure ourselves a spot in the play-offs, we had to win our second match. Unfortunately the football god played tricks on us and due to an unlucky goal we lost the match.
We have to be frank and admit that after that the spirit of the players was really down and it seemed that our trip to Pärnu is going to be confined to two games. It didn’t help the situation the volleyball teams wasn’t doing to good either and had struggles to get their game going.
Basically the situation was that the only way for us to get to the play-offs was if the TTÜ would lose their game against SKA and even then we would have had to count on a bit of good luck since according to the regulations, in case two teams get the same amount of points and goals, the team to advance to the play-off would be determined randomly.
Soon the match of TTÜ and SKA started, but the minutes passed by and there was no sign of a goal to come. Desperately our ebsters watch as with each minute their chances of getting to the play-offs get smaller and smaller and soon the 14 minutes of play time were over and the referee was getting ready to blow the whistle to mark the end of the EBS footballers at Ylipall, but then something unexpected happened. At the last seconds a SKA player got away with the ball, went one on one with the goalie and scored a goal. Probably no ebster has ever been so happy over a win of another Uni as we were at that moment.
We started to feel the joy of life coming back to us and all of the sudden everything didn’t feel so grim anymore. Spurred by the good emotions from the football tournament our volleyball team, composed of Laura Vähk, Eliisabeth Leheste, Rain Kivimägi, Markus Kitsing, Johnny Kamnev, Karl-Erik Rosenberg and Sandra Paulberg went to their second game. It seems that the spark of hope the footballers received also motivated the volley players since all of a sudden our spikes also started to end up in the floor of the opposing team.
And then, a bit time later, when the organizers were looking for the representatives of EBS, Laura just happened to be near the football pitch and thanks to her golden hand we won the draw and got to the play-offs!
After that we all felt as if the universe had given us a second chance and that now we have to give all we’ve got to prove we deserve it.
In the quarter final we went head to head against TKTK Rullud. We managed to play much better than in the group stage. We supported each other and fought for every ball and as a result of that we managed to score a goal with the final touch made by Sandra Paulberg.
The next opponent also wasn’t going to be satisfied with anything less than a win and they also had some real futsal players in the team, so in the beginning of the match we fell under a heavy pressure by them. But although they were more technical, we were playing with more passion and denied them of scoring. Then in the second half something happened that decided the game. The opposing team passed the ball back to their goalkeeper, something that is not allowed according to the rules and we were given a free kick. The opponents did not react to the signal of the referee indicating the free kick and thanks to the fast legs of Michael Sander the ball ended up in TKTK’s goal.
From there on it was only the final – all or nothing. It was a very intense game were none of the teams managed to get the upper hand, so the game ended with the score of 0:0, which meant that it was time for the penalty kicks.
By that time the air was so full of tension you could cut it with a knife. As all the other teams had their games finished by that time there was a quite big crowd watching the finals act of the footy tournament which put even more pressure on the players. But in the crowd there were also our EBS fan club made out of our volley players, whose support had gotten us through the quarter- and semi-final. Which meant there was no question, we could not let our supporters down so we went to kick the penalties with an absolute determination to win.
The referee blew his whistle and both of the teams gathered in the center circle. First one to approach the penalty was spot was Kristofer Kartau. A few steps, strong kick and the ball ended up in the upper right corner – 1:0 to EBS.
Next one to shoot was a player of the TU Pärnu College, who also made a strong kick but unlike Kristofer’s, his shot went pass the goal
The second EBS player to make a shot was Marie Heleen Lisette Kikkas, who with a confident and calm look on her face put the ball on the spot. A few steps and a shot to the center of the goal. The ball went through the goalies legs but the contact with the slowed the ball down enough that for a second it wasn’t sure if the ball would cross the goal line, so everyone was holding their breath and watching how the ball flew almost in slow motion, but in the end it crossed the line and once again the Pärnu sports hall was filled with the cheers of ebster and the score was 2:0.
So there it was, the moment we had worked on for the whole day. Our goalie Waltter Onnela went to the goal knowing that if he denies the opponents of the goal we will have defended the title and the trophy is once more ours. The Pärnu’s player ran, The Pärnus’s player shot and Waltter PARRIED! Then there was nothing left for the rest of the team to do than to run up to Waltter, while screaming of joy, to give him a proper hug which soon turned into a victory circle that jumped up and down and chanted E-B-S, E-B-S, E-B-S!
This was the moment that all the ebsters there got to know what the real EBS spirit is all about. All of the rest the ebsters stormed the pitch and the hug round could begin.
And so it went that EBS was still the champion (and so far the only one) of soft football. Now there is nothing left to do than to keep the same line the next year! Anyways, the EBS Student Council would like to give the biggest thanks to all the ebsters who went to Pärnu to represent their school and bring EBS fame and glory. So see you all, if not sooner then on 25th of January at the Student Winter Games!
More information about Winter Games: https://www.facebook.com/events/917773628421736/
Tickets: https://fienta.com/et/uliopilaste-talimangud-ebs
Authors: Martin Mee and Marie Heleen Lisette Kikkas
Editor: Tanel Rõõm
