Rockers of Rome claim Viking Games 6 trophy

Viking Games 6 will go down as one of the most epic contests so far in the tournament's young history. Winning his second title in two years, captain Nate Holdridge led the Rockers of Rome to viking glory after a closely-fought showdown with the runners-up.

40 centimeters. That was the distance between success and failure in Viking Games 6 as it all came down to one final sprint between two of the leading team captains. Although all the six teams in this year's Viking Games (by now a trademark tradition at the annual Calvary Chapel Scandinavia conferences) competed in three different disciplines, the deciding (and defining) moment of Viking Games 6 came when Rockers of Rome captain Nate Holdridge edged himself over the finish line only an arm's length ahead of Antioch Adrenaline captain Bob Pecoraro in what will forever now be known as "The Sprint".

Former team-mates turned rivals
With the points difference between those two particular teams from all other tournament activities already extremely close, that sprint ended up becoming the tiebreaker that saw Nate Holdridge's team win for the second year in a row.

"I just wanted to do only what I needed to do to win and nothing more," captain Nate exclaimed only moments after catching his breath, while seeing Bob Pecoraro (his former team-mate from last year's championship team but now rival to the 2013 title) laying face down in disbelief and defeat.

"The finish line film doesn't lie - it is there for all to see how he cuts over into my lane just at the last moment. He and his team did a good job overall, I'll give him that, but if we were to run that race again - which I hope we can - he's going down," said Bob Pecoraro afterwards when he had had time to process the defeat.

Championships are like children to you
This year the six teams competed in Beach Volleyball, various water balloon activities, as well as some high-paced relay contests that ended up in a final sprint.

Six different pastors captained each their own team against each other, making for plenty of good-willed banter and heightened competitiveness among them (see photo).

All top 3 finishing teams ended up within a close point margin, with captain David Guzik's Cyprus Saints in third place and Bob Pecoraro's Antioch Adrenaline just short of the eventual champions, Rockers of Rome, consisting of Nate Holdridge (captain), Alex Lahtinen, Richard Mansour, Jacob Scott, Iiris-Maria Murtonen, Emil Riisum-Broegger, John Marsh, Samira Jarrouge, Adolph Karlsson, and Thorvald Allestad.

"Many people have asked me which championship or victory I am most proud of, but it's just so hard to say 'cause all titles are like children to you, they are all special. But this 2013 title was an incredibly special victory indeed which came through a great team effort, my savvy coaching decisions, and the sheer will of all my teammates," captain Nate said.

Can't break a true champion
Later that night, while parading the Viking Games trophy (or, as he dubbed it, "the chalice of victory") around the conference grounds during "fika", the Rockers of Rome captain delivered a clear-cut message to the Games Commissioner.

"Last year in 2012 I was part of a great squad and was able to lead the team of pastors to ultimate conquest and glory in Viking Games 5. This year, due to our dominance last year, the pastors were broken up into different teams, but you know, you just can't break a true champion," he said, all of the above jokingly.















Click here or on the video below to see some of the highlights from Viking Games 6:



The final scores of Viking Games 6:

120 points - Rockers of Rome (captain Nate Holdridge)
109 points - Antioch Adrenaline (captain Bob Pecoraro)
107 points - Cyprus Saints (captain David Guzik)
74 points - Lions of Lystra (captain Jeremy Foster)
60 points - Malta Menace (captain Joel Wickström)
39 points - Corinth Conquerors (captain Stan Marinussen)