Switzerland and Bulgaria, who were both relegated last year, are making an instant bid for promotion after day one of the Second League of the European Athletics Team Championships in Riga.
They occupy the top two positions in the table, on 111.5 points and 108 respectively, after a fine afternoon of competition at the Daugava Stadium.
The Swiss won four events and Bulgaria won three amid a series of impressive performances.
The sprints were very much key to Switzerland's move to the top as Pascal Mancini won the 100m in 10.52 ahead of Bulgaria's Denis Dimitrov in 10.55 and Janis Mezitis, of Latvia, in 10.75.
Mancini then ran the opening leg of the 4x100m relay where he was ably joined by Amatu Schenkel, Steven Gugerli and Alex Wilson to triumph in 39.60 from Latvia in 40.40 and Denmark in 40.44.
The Swiss women won their 4x100m relay to bank maximum points as Mujinga Kambundji, Fanette Humair, Joelle Golay and Lea Sprunger, in 44.27, beat Bulgaria in 44.63 and Croatia in 45.39.
Petra Fontanive won the 400m hurdles in 57.57 to add to the Swiss glory while Bulgarian Ivet Lalova, the European 100m champion, demonstrated her power once more at the distance.
Her triumph in 11.34, as she beat Kambundji in 11.53, was the fastest time across all four divisions of the European Athletics Super League.
Vania Stambolova, in a personal best of 2:01.41 in the 800m, and Silvia Danekova, in 9:43.13 in the 3000m steeplechase, were the other Bulgarian winners, while the athlete who had been third in Lalova's 100m had a busy afternoon.
That was Serbian Ivana Spanovic in 11.94 and the World long jump bronze medallist also competed in the triple jump which she won with 13.50m ahead of taking part in her regular event on the second day of the Championships on Sunday.
Serbia sit third in the table with 106 points with Emir Bekric, the European Under-23 champion, winning the 400m hurdles in 49.64.
Amela Terzic contributed greatly, too, to Serbia's challenge as she produced a personal best run to win the 3000m in 9:11.64, breaking her old time of 9:16.59, and also she finished third in the 800m in 2:05.24 while teammate Tatjana Jelaca won the javelin with 61.19m as she beat Latvia's Madara Palameika's 59.54m.
Serbia had another triumph in the men's shot put as Asmir Kolasinac's third round 20.15m saw him defeat Bulgaria's Georgi Ivanov with 19.79m while there were home wins for Elvijs Misans in the long jump with a personal best of 8.05m and Gunta Latiseva-Cudare in the 400m in 53.69.
Croatia's Olympic discus champion Sandra Perkovic won with 64.05m, a victory by over five metres from Dragana Tomasevic, of Serbia, who threw 58.75m.
HOW THEY STAND