Week Ten

Well guys, as I stated at the last Tribal Council, we have now eliminated half of the original 40 contestants. I thank the people that are still around for their willingness to participate in strategy, and their devotion to checking in as well as making comments. I really appreciate it, and I am totally happy that this game has been so successful.

For all the people who have been voted out thus far, I also appreciate your devotion to the game. I will most likely be doing a third Survivor Hamilton next fall, so by all means join up. Here goes Week Ten…

Kichagani Tribe

Winning Immunity last week couldn’t have been better for the morale of Kichagani. Scott and Chelsea made a big dinner for the tribe, and together they feasted on crab and pineapple. Cowin and Micah had brought fresh water from a spring, and the meal was complete. Everyone was happy that they were safe last week, and were not focused on strategy. Cowin and Jill were a little nervous however, because their close ally/son Graham was voted out two weeks ago, and they hadn’t made any headway on new alliance. Jill, who had an alliance with Chelsea in their old tribe, told Chelsea that she would join with her. Cowin decided to talk to Kyle and Scott to explain his importance to the tribe. Cowin had done fantastic in almost every challenge to date, and was not going to stop now. Mandy, still not involved in any strategy to this point didn’t see a point to start now. Despite the fact that a couple people were desperate, the mood was still light and the tribe had a nice day.

Margolo Tribe

After losing both weeks since the switch, Margolo is desperate for a win. Steve, Elliott and German had a terrible surprise last Tribal Council when Tyla, their fourth vote, did not vote. This left the three of them, potentially pitted against Beckie, Nathalie and Jord. This was a problem for Elliott in particular who had an alliance with Beckie and was getting worried that she was turning away from him. Beckie wasn’t sure exactly where she stood, but she knew she didn’t want to vote against her close friend Nathalie. So Jord, who has done very well in the challenges, knew he needed to milk this friendship for all it was worth to get Beckie on their side. Steve, who had felt pretty good about his chances thus far was getting quite anxious. His alliance with German and Elliott was strong, but now it was only the three of them. He was quite useful to the tribe in challenges, but if they kept losing, no one would make it to the merge. Two second places in a row so far, hopefully this time they can take it.

The Harteema Gang

They lost last week, which was no fun, but some people were quite happy. Pitman, Tyler and Silas had not lost their partners, but Dirks’ partner Hinton was sent home. He didn’t vote, but the plan in the tribe was to vote him out anyway. Dirks didn’t really like that his “allies” went behind his back, but what was he to do about it? If he stepped to hard to them he could get voted out. So he simmered. Lauren, Cait and Trotman knew it was only a matter of time until their turns to go home, so they knew they had to make sure their tribe continued to win challenges. Trotman talked to Silas about his involvement and success in the challenges, and Silas noted that Trotman had been good, and that he will try to keep him around. Cait talked to Dirks and Tyler whom she was acquainted to and tried to reason with them about her importance to the tribe. Lauren could see that the tribe was week in PS, Strategy and Teamwork, all of which she excelled in, and she made that known to the tribe.

Immunity Challenge

This week’s challenge is a straight up three way water polo game. Three tribes, three nets and one ball. The object of the game is to score as many points against the other teams as possible. When one tribe scores, they get a point, and it also takes away a point from the tribe that is scored on. Pretty straight forward eh?

The attribute weightings are as follows:

Speed: 20%
Strength: 20%
PS: 0%
Strategy: 20%
Teamwork: 40%

Because this water polo game is a six person one, and each of Kichagani and Harteema has eight tribe members, they each must sit one person out. Kichagani has decided to sit out Jill, while Harteema has decided to sit out Lauren. So everyone gets in the water, the ball is thrown out, and the game begins!

Quickly Beckie grabs the ball swims through Kichagani’s defenses and scored one for Margolo. Heidman takes the ball, swims out towards Harteema but is stripped by Trotman, who takes it, and launches it towards Kichagani and scores. This time Kyle takes it out, but like Scott, doesn’t pass and the ball is stolen by German, who passes it to Jord, who scores on Harteema. Chris takes the ball, passes it to Tyler, who passes it to Dirks, who scores again on Kichagani. Things are not looking so hot for the teamwork-impaired Kichagani. Scott takes the ball again, this time passes it to Micah, who passes it back to Scott and he scores on Harteema. Margolo’s defense is too strong with Steve and Elliott holding the fort.

Halfway through the game the points are as follows:
Kichagani: -2
Margolo: 1
Harteema: 0

Beckie has the ball again, passes it to German, who passes it to Jord and they make it look too easy as they score on Harteema. Tyler, Pitman and Silas go towards Kichagani together and score another on Kichagani. But then Silas realized that scoring on them isn’t doing much good, they have to start scoring on Margolo. Micah comes out with the ball again, and this time is able to score on Margolo. German passes the ball the Nathalie to give her her a try, but she is stripped by Silas, he passes to Trotman, who scores again on Margolo. This time Peter and Jord come out and after some give and goes are able to score on Kichagani again. As of now, Margolo and Harteema are tied at 1 point. Kichagani’s Mandy takes out the ball towards Harteema, but is stripped by Tyler, who takes the ball through Elliott and Steve and scores again on Margolo. And that could be the difference maker as the whistle blows and the challenge ends.

Final Standings:
Kichagani: -3
Margolo: 0
Harteema: 2

That means The Harteema Gang wins Immunity and Margolo and Kichagani must go to Tribal Council this week.

Keys to Victory (defeat):

The Harteema Gang: Sitting out Lauren turned out to be a very good decision for Harteema in this challenge and they won, however just barely over Margolo. Trotman once again killed the challenge, and all of the other people in the tribe pulled their weight. Tyler and Pitman were second best, while Dirks, Silas and Cait all contributed as well. Good work Harteema.

Margolo Tribe: This was the third second place in a row for Margolo and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The tribe actually worked very well as a team, but the weak link was Nathalie, whose attributes were just not suited for this type of challenge. Beckie was astonishing in the challenge, and Jord was also quite good. German, Elliott and Steve did not hold the team back, but were not difference makers like Trotman.

Kichagani Tribe: Micah and Scott were really the only people in Kichagani who made any impact in this challenge. Jill’s teamwork was needed, but her physical weaknesses kept her out of this challenge. Kyle and Cowin, who are both strong, fast as well as good strategizers, just didn’t have the teamwork for this game, while Mandy and Chelsea didn’t have the physical attributes. Next challenge will be different, but its time to go to Tribal Council.

Well, since I posted this one early, I am going back to the Wednesday night at 11:59 time limit to vote by. Here are the people who need to vote by Wednesday night:

Kichagani Tribe:
Cowin
Kyle
Scott
Jill
Chelsea
Mandy
Micah

Margolo Tribe:
Steve
Elliott
Beckie
German
Nathalie
Jord

Good luck.