Sterling is a member of Shining Swarm. They have so far managed to compete in only one Marble League, Marble League 2017, where they and the team finished in seventh overall. After their only medal of the competition, a gold in Fidget Spinner Collision, they rode the fidget spinner to celebrate, one of the more memorable moments of Marble League 2017.
History[]
Pre-Marble League[]
Sterling and the rest of the Shining Swarm come from the city of Galeem on the West African coast. Prior to their marble sports career, the four original members of the Shining Swarm, Shiny, Sparkle, Shimmer and Sterling, were musicians, and the four formed a band called The MarBeats. The band produced may hits such as "Here Comes The Swarm", "Fidget to Ride", and "I Wanna Be Your Marble". Their most popular song is "Roll Over and Roll Out", whose lyrics reference the growing popularity of regional marble sports tournaments, which is why it resonated with marble sports fans. In 2015, the song was used in a featurette about marble sports tournaments, such as the Surculo, the Ramen Bowl, and the Knikkegen Marble League.
During this time, the four started to gain interest in marble racing, and so decided to form their own marble sports team. The team were originally called the Silver Swarm, after the Silver River after the river that runs through Galeem. They eventually had to change their name so they wouldn't be confused with the Quicksilvers, so they opted for the name of Shining Swarm, inspired by the natural beauty of their homeland which shines in the sunlight. They performed their final live concert on a rooftop in Draklin, performing songs from their Marbly Road album. They returned to Galeem in early 2016 and started training as marble athletes. After the conclusion of Marble League 2016, they applied for participation in the Marble League 2017 Qualifiers and were accepted.[1]
2017[]
Sterling in the gates for the Sand Race
The Shining Swarm's first event in the Qualifiers was Relay Race where they finished 12th. Sterling made their individual debut in the second event, the Sand Race where they finished in 7th. Their best result at the Qualifiers was in Block Pushing, where they came 4th. The Swarm finished the Qualifiers in 7th overall, qualifying for the main competition.
The Shining Swarm had a bad start to Marble League 2017 finishing in 12th in the first event, the Funnel Race. This was followed by a ninth place finish for Sterling in Event 2, the Long Jump. The team stayed dropped to 13th overall and were on track to becoming another bottom-half forgettable team.
The Shining Swarm ride a Fidget Spinner during Fidget Spinner Collision
However, the next event, Fidget Spinner Collision, marked the moment where the Shining Swarm truly began to shine. The team have a huge love for Collision events, which is why they have the Swarm in their name – they literally swarm their opponents in Collision events. They had not prepared for the fidget spinners, but neither had any team as rumor has that they were introduced just before the Qualifiers due to their sudden popularity. The team just made it into the knockout stage, coming second in their group after narrowly beating the Chocolatiers.
In the quarterfinals, the Shining Swarm pulled a tiebreaker win against Mellow Yellow, and followed this up with another tiebreaker win against Team Primary in the semifinals. In the finals, they managed to beat the Limers, who had been dominating the event beforehand. This earned the team their first ever Marble League medal. Even through the craziness of the event and Momomomo's injury, the positivity of the team shone through, and the team rode one of the fidget spinners to celebrate. The gold medal from this event took the team into third place overall.
Sterling preparing to jump in the High Jump
Unfortunately, the Shining Swarm failed to keep this up in the next event, 5-meter Sprint, where Sparkle finished in second-to-last. The team dropped to 9th place overall, and proceeded to stay within the middle of the standings with a streak of modest finishes. The final three events, however, saw the team shine again, with a strong fifth place finish in Event 10, Archery, a fourth in Event 11, the Underwater Race, and another fifth in the final event, Sand Rally. The team finished Marble League 2017 in 7th place overall, better than they thought they would.[1]
2018[]
Sterling in the Snow Race where everyone DNFd
The Shining Swarm's next appearance was in the Marble League 2018 Qualifiers, where they were sorted into Group C, and were joined by Glimmer, who became their reserve member. Unfortunately, they were unable to come above 5th in any of the events, and ended up finishing at the bottom of their group, failing to qualify for Marble League 2018. They went on to attend the main tournament and watched from the stands.
During this time, Shiny, Sparkle, Shimmer, and Sterling reunited as The MarBeats and released one more album called Let it Roll, featuring songs such as "The Long and Shining Road", "Across the Marbleverse", and "Let it Roll", which was the titular song on the album and charted high. The four then officially announced their retirement from the music industry so they could commit to marble sports.
The Shining Swarm competing in the Amazing Maze Marble Race
During the offseason, the Shining Swarm competed in multiple events, the first being the Marble League 2018 Consolation Race. Shimmer was chosen to represent the team and came 7th. Sparkle then competed in the 100 Meter Water Race, finishing in 19th. Finally, the team competed in the Amazing Maze Marble Race. Unfortunately, the team finished last in their group. This led to many of their fans questioning their decision to leave the music industry. Some of the members of the team agreed, but they had decided to move to something they enjoy, regardless of how well they do. Marble sports also brings out the best in the team.[1]
2019[]
The Shining Swarm competing in Block Pushing
Undisturbed by their previous poor performances, the Shining Swarm entered the Marble League 2019 Qualifiers with high hopes. Unfortunately, they performed poorly and only managed to earn five points in the first three events. Shimmer managed to finish 9th in the final event, the Underwater Race, earning 10 points, but it was not enough. The team finished in 19th and failed to qualify for Marble League 2019.
The Shining Swarm prepared for another extended offseason, with several members of the team considering making solo music. However, the team came to hear of the announcement of the Marble League Showdown. They were so excited they started rolling back and forth, mainly because Collision would be returning. As a result, the team went back to training after hiring Gleam as their coach.
During this time, the team also became subject of a meme on the official Marble League Twitter account, naming the Shining Swarm their favorite to win Marble League 2019, despite the team not competing. Their meme status was also helped by the fact that fans keep forgetting the team exist. This actually led to an increase in their fans, nicknamed the "Swarmy". As a result, the team received a newfound determination and were ready to "Rise and Shine".
The Shining Swarm come third in Collision
Unfortunately, the Shining Swarm had a poor start to Marble League Showdown 2019, with an eleventh place finish in the Sand Rally. However, the next event was Collision. The team used the same strategy they had used two years ago to edge ahead of the Kobalts into the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, they lost to the Rojo Rollers in the semifinals, but managed to dominate Team Primary in the bronze medal match. The team got onto the podium for the first time in two years.
The Shining Swarm proceeded to keep this up with a fifth place finish in the third event, the Funnel Race, bringing the team into 5th. However, the team faltered in the final event, Balancing, coming in 10th. They ended the Showdown with 22 points, tied with the Minty Maniacs. However, the Minty Maniacs had a silver medal in their medal tally, and so won the tiebreaker for 8th place meaning the Swarm had failed to qualify for the Marble League 2020 Qualifiers.[1]
2020[]
During the offseason, the Shining Swarm had to get back into the music industry in order to make money and support their team. Following that, they hired a new team manager, Sheen, and it paid off. The team was supported financially, and was ready to make an appearance in Marble League Showdown 2020.[2]
The Shining Swarm competing in the Halfpipe
The Swarm started the Showdown with two bottom half finishes in the Relay Run and the Halfpipe putting them in joint eighth overall with the Turtle Sliders, the final qualifying spot. The second half of the competition saw the Swarm turn things around when Sparkle and Shimmer won a silver medal in the team's first duo event, the Black Hole Funnel, taking them away from the danger zone into fifth overall. In the final event, the Sand Mogul Race, Shiny won their heat and moved on to the final. Unfortunately, they missed the podium by finishing in fourth just behind Hop from the Jungle Jumpers. This was enough to put them into fourth overall, giving the team the opportunity to compete in the Marble League 2021 Qualifiers, their first time since Marble League 2019.
Appearances[]
| Year | Competition | Event | Event Type | Place | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Marble League 2017 Qualifiers | Relay Race | Team | 12th | 11.38 sec. | 1 |
| Sand Race | Individual | 7th | 26.59 sec. | 6 | ||
| Block Pushing | Team | 4th | 65.1 cm | 9 | ||
| Marble League 2017 | Long Jump | Individual | 9th | 68.8 cm | 7 | |
| Fidget Spinner Collision | Team | 1st | Winners | 25 | ||
| Relay Run | Team | 6th | 12.01 sec. | 10 | ||
| Block Pushing | Team | 8th | 65.6 cm | 8 | ||
| High Jump | Individual | 8th | 36.5 cm | 8 | ||
| Steeplechase | Team | 10th | 43.81 sec. | 6 | ||
| Archery | Team | 5th | 35.5 pts | 11 | ||
| Marble League 2018 Qualifiers | Curling | Team | 5th | Heat Loss | 4 | |
| Snow Race | Individual | 6th | DNF | 3 | ||
| Halfpipe | Team | 7th | 35.82 sec. | 2 | ||
| 2018 | Amazing Maze Marble Race 2018 | Maze | Team | 18th | Heat Loss | - |
| 2019 | Marble League 2019 Qualifiers | Block Pushing | Team | 18th | 89.4 cm | 1 |
| Relay Race | Team | 18th | 10.91 sec. | 1 | ||
| Marble League Showdown 2019 | Collision | Team | 3rd | 3rd Place Match Winner | 12 | |
| Balancing | Team | 10th | 212 cm | 2 | ||
| 2020 | Marble League Showdown 2020 | Relay Run | Team | 9th | 9.098 sec. | 3 |
| Halfpipe | Team | 7th | 56.84 sec. | 5 | ||
| 2021 | Marble League 2021 Qualifiers | Wave | Team | 6th | 29 pts | 6 |
| 5 Meter Relay | Team | 2nd | 8.681 sec. | 12 | ||
| Marble League 2021 | Wave | Team | 6th | 28 pts | 10 | |
| Balancing | Team | 12th | 206 cm | 4 | ||
| 5 Meter Sprint | Individual | 5th | 5.966 sec. | 11 | ||
| 5 Meter Relay | Team | 3rd | 8.607 sec. | 15 | ||
| Block Pushing | Team | 4th | 160.35 cm | 12 | ||
| Steeplechase | Team | 15th | 27.03 sec. | 1 | ||
| Diving | Team | 1st | 12.76 pts (MR) | 25 | ||
| Elimination Race | Individual | 12th | Eliminated Round 5 | 4 | ||
| Football | Team | 7th | Quarterfinal Loss | 9 | ||
| Marble ManiaX | Extreme Diving | Team | 7th | 59 pts | 1 | |
| 2022 | Extreme Funnels | Individual | 2nd | Final Loss | 8 | |
| Super Collision | Team | 1st | Winners | 10 | ||
| Marble League 2022 Qualifiers | Climbing | Duo | 5th | 69.5 cm | 7 | |
| Balancing | Team | 2nd | 364 cm | 12 | ||
| Marble League 2022 | Balancing | Team | 9th | 281 cm | 7 | |
| 5 Meter Relay | Team | 7th | 8.517 sec. | 9 | ||
| Funnel Endurance | Individual | 1st | 2:28.20 | 25 | ||
| Rafting | Team | 12th | 40.82 sec. | 4 | ||
| 5 Meter Sprint | Individual | 12th | 5.822 sec. | 4 | ||
| Block Pushing | Team | 4th | 170.75 cm | 12 | ||
| Swing Wave | Team | 1st | 37 pts | 25 | ||
| Team Aquathlon | Team | 2nd | Final Loss | 20 | ||
| Collision | Team | 5th | Quarterfinal Loss | 11 |
Career Events[]
| # | Events | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total Podiums |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2022 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 45 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
Note: Events include any kind of individual & team events (friendly events, other tournaments etc.)
Individual Career Points[]
Summary[]
| # | Events | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 2022 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37 |
| Total | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 76 |
Marble League[]
| # | Events | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 2018 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2019 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2020 | Did not qualify | ||||
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 2022 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 |
Marble League Showdown[]
| # | Events | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Did not participate | ||||
| 2022 | Did not participate | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Marble ManiaX[]
| # | Events | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stynth (1st April 2020). RetRollSpective – Shining Swarm. Jelle's Marble Runs.
- ↑ Stynth (8th August 2020). Offseason Moments – ML2020 Showdown. Marble Sports.