XII Winter Olympics — Roleplay thread

[Mount Pleasant]

Day 0: The Olympic Village

The day before the opening ceremony

Kasey Jewell is nowhere to be seen. Mount Pleasant's main medal hope in biathlon was last seen…well, at the Redline district with a stewardess he courted on the flight

Harry Joyner is dialling up everyone in the Pleasantrian delegation, hoping to find his fellow competitor in the 10 km sprint. After all, it's on the first day. He hears a thud on the corridor outside.

Elias Lee stumbles carrying Jewell back to his room, and crashes against the corridor wall. Joyner pokes his head out of his bunk, only to shake it in disgust as Lee and Jewell are sprawled out on the floor.

Sprawled out on the floor of Antoinette Serafino's bunk are her, Rachel Greenspan and Kelly Morgernstern, discussing if the boys from the Kosovakian delegation or the Elejamie ice hockey team are hotter. Elouise Norman, about 10 years older than the rest and married, just prepares breakfast over the sounds of gossipy fangirling behind her.

Marianela Spight is at a restaurant in the village, fangirling that she is having breakfast with her skiing idol, Jeanine Tasker, asking her questions like "Why did you fall in the Gentle invitational with a three second lead seven years ago?!?!" and "Nooo, you broke up with Kip Cockburn?! You two were my OTP!!!" and "AAH! You're only doing Super-G?"

Celeste Tasker interrupts Spight to tell her elder sister, Jeanine, that she was going to buy groceries with…well…a little help from Jeanine's wallet. Jeanine waves her off.

Walter Wolf and Lazlo Wolf wave off to their parents, who insisted that they buy everything for them to prepare for the Olympics, from detergent to food to mittens to little Olympic souvenir pins. Supportive, yes. But not helpful when the twin bobsledders are 29 years of age.

Luis Hanley eats aged cheese, being from a fairly well off family from Mount Pleasant. He dials a phone to order more rich people stuff.

Johanna Trengove calls home, asking how the garden's growing, if everything's okay, honey, and whether the baby got her breakfast today. Answer is probably no when the baby starts wailing and throws his plate.

Kip Cockburn starts wailing and throws his plate, as someone sent him a picture of Jeanine Tasker with the caption "Does your Cockburn when you see me?".

Codie Jasso sent a picture of Jeanine Tasker to the delegation chat group, with the caption "Does your Cockburn when you see me?". Kory Pavoni slaps him, takes his phone and deletes the picture before most of the group receives the message. Most.

Thomas Yeong slaps Andrew Su's behind on the way back to their room. Yeong wonders if Su will realise that the butt slap is their signal that he spotted a hot girl to talk to. Su wonders if Yeong is homosexual.

Sunny Elliot is homosexual. He's having trouble trying to limit himself chatting up other guys in the delegation.

Fabian Cliff chats with Vivienne Avery backstage before the opening ceremony. Nathaniel Pelley takes spy photos of them and posts them to the chat yelling "I SHIIIPPPP!!!" Cliff tells him that Avery is NOT. HIS. GIRLFRIEND. Avery laughs at Pelley, saying he's very funny. Cliff and Avery continue chatting.

Sammi Gori briefly looks at his phone. What a bunch of juveniles, he thinks, but doesn't say. Sammi Gori never says anything. His grizzled mouth keeps shut as he zips up the navy and light blue tracksuit of Mount Pleasant's delegation. He'll be holding the flag for the Opening Ceremony, and just like in skiing, he'll be the best damn flag bearer there ever will be.

[Furbish Islands]

Furby Island Team Heading For Prescott, Electrum

People are very exited that Furby Island has entered their first Winter Olympics. The team has just left for Prescott, Eletrum. I have recieved special access, with a few other reporters to travel with the athletes. I woke up early today, and went to Furby City International Airport terminal F-3. It is still under construction, but it has a few gates open.

When I arrived to the airport, I met a few of the athletes. I have interviewed a few of them. I started off with Tomas Martinez, the steerer of one of the four-man bobsled teams.

Me: It is a pleasure to start interviewing you. Now for starters, how much do you think you're prepared for the Olympics?

Martinez: Very. I have been practicing this sport for years, and I'm sure I'll get a high score, if not a medal.

Me: So you seem very confident in winning. Are all players like this?

Martinez: Well, most of them. There are a few that know that they won't win. Especially the skaters. Both figure and speed skaters.

Me: OK, so how long have you played the sport?

Martinez: I have always wanted to try it every since the time I saw it on the Olympics 15 years ago. I tried it a week after I first heard of it.

Me: Nice. The whole team would've gotten all gold if they had that much enthusiasm. So what made you interested?

Martinez: I don't know to be honest. And I don't think I ever will.

Me: But one other burning question. When did you decide that you wanted to be in the Olympics?

Martinez: I have always wanted to be in them when I first saw the ones in, what was it? Lake Salt City? But whatever. I wanted to be in them. So I made one out of wood, and rode it off a hill with three other friends.

Me: And who are those friends?

Martinez: They are the other members in my team.

After I interviewed a few more players, I waited to leave to Electrum. There were several large planes, and a lot of fighter jets. A third of the planes won't even have any athletes, but have FIEG troopers.

I got to go into one of the planes. They were very luxurious, and built like the space everything took up didn't matter. Luckily, the plane is the one with the hockey, curling, and bandy teams. I decided to take this time to interview George Wells, the male hockey team captain and flag bearer for the opening ceremony. I also asked him a few questions.

Me: So what do you think of this plane?

Wells: It's a nice plane and all, but I'm used to having more room in my team's jet.

Me: Really? Well I guess that you are all in the same plane for cost reasons.

Wells: Yeah. Both Boeing and Airbus have been calling Furby Island their biggest customer.

Me: Well I'm not surprised. But do you think you'll get a medal at the games?

Wells: I don't know. The team is strong, but so are a lot of teams. There are many teams, including us, that think we're the best in the world. But It's really going to some down to our placements in the groups and bracket. But as much as we want the gold, we all know that it may not be us this time.

Me: But If you had to bet all your money on it, which sport do you think we'll receive gold on?

Wells: My first choices are all the alpine skiing ones. Then, probably the curling teams. And then, a [Martinez's] four-man bobsled team. And then my team after that.

Me: So can you explain, to the best of your ability, why do you think we have a good hockey team?

Wells: I don't know, but I'm guessing that it's because it is one of the first sports everyone tried after isolation ended. That's why we have a good curling team, but it also could've been like skiing and bandy, where versions of them existed during the time of the Furby Empire. I am leaning somewhere in between both of them.

Me: OK then, well good luck in the games.

I'm sure that some people will come home with medals, but we can't be sure. All I have to say is, good luck team Furby Island.

-Courtney Driscoll, FISN reporter





(OOC: The top panel was based off the one made by Kosovakia, so don't give me any credit)

[Furbish Islands]

Will Team Furby Island Come Home With Gold?

This is a question everyone wants to answer to. This is Furby Island's first Olympics, and the people want to get some award. There are many different teams, and we'll investigate all of the strongest entries, not including the demonstration sports, and see which ones have the highest chance of getting gold.

The first one is alpine skiing. On each type, both men's and woman's, Team Furby Island(Team FUI) has some of the best skiers with them. We have checked some other teams, and very few, if any, have skiers as good as Team FUI. In theory, they should get all 3 medals in each type. But of course, in practice, anything can go wrong. However, there are 10 types, 5 for men's and 5 for women, and there is a very low chance of something going wrong on all 10. 95% chance of a gold medal.

The next one is Curling. I won't go on explaining that, since it is mostly the same as alpine skiing. But, what makes it different is the fact that we only have 2 chances of getting gold, as opposed to 10. And also, there are only 2 curling teams, instead of 30 skiers. This makes something going wrong more likely. 85% chance of a gold medal.

Then, we have hockey. Just like curling, we have only two teams. But, what makes getting a medal in hockey harder is the fact that there are many strong teams. Many claim to be the best, including both in Team FUI. The chances in winning gold in hockey will be disappointing many, and they are a lot lower then everyone thinks. 70% chance of a gold medal

Next, is bobsledding. I am putting this one after, since hockey is a disappointment. Many would expect no medals in bobsledding, but Team FUI has a few very good teams. They may not be the best, but are better then most of the entries for Prescott. This may be a huge surprise to many, including me, but here are the reasons. On a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 barely making the qualifications, and 100 being the world's best, half the teams scored in the high 80's and low 90's. And that is higher then a lot of other entries. 80% chance of a gold medal

Finally, there is ski jumping. I shouldn't need to explain that, since its reasons are the same as the ones in alpine skiing. 90% chance of a gold medal.

After my analysis, Team FUI will get several medals, assuming nothing goes wrong. Again, anything can. Also, this analysis is inaccurate, and should only be used as a basic indicator. I hope that Team FUI does come home with gold, and I will be watching on all mentioned sports, especially hockey.

-Newton Norbert, FISN reporter

[Elgenstad]

The flakes danced in the air like leaves on a gusty autumn day. A million crystals fluttering about the steel-gray February sky. Their presence is the norm in Elgenstad, but one could never become accustomed to their beauty. Each snowfall as unique and special as the one preceding it. The feeling of skis cutting through fresh snow is shared by all Elgenstadders. First one learns to walk, then one learns to ski. It is the way things are. Skis are an extension of the person, just as much a part of the body as arms or legs are. Cross-country skiing just as much a part of life as anything else is. Alpine skiing is not practical. Just a diversion you partake in for fun. But you ski cross-country because you have to. Outside of the city centers in Byen and Havnen, one does not find much use for a car. If you want to get anywhere in the depths of winter, it's best to strap on a pair of skis and get going yourself.

Once high school is over, every Elgenstadder experiences a new feeling: a rifle in their hands. Before embarking on to a university or a career, every Elgenstadder must complete two years of compulsory military service. Every Elgenstadder is a soldier and every soldier makes for a natural biathlete. While guns exist in every home, it usually is not until this point that one falls in love with them. It is one thing to know that the gun in your home will protect it or put moose on the table. It is entirely another to experience that power in your hands. For all of that to suddenly have meaning to you. This service is the furnace in which Elgenstad’s elite biathletes have been forged.

Leo Groenvold stood among the mountains in the west of Elgenstad. A hundred feet below was the country’s only major river, Frossenelven. Twenty miles ahead of him, and down the sheer face of the mountain, was Havnen. About a quarter of the country’s two million inhabitants live there. The remainder live fifty miles to the east in Byen, the capital. At ninety miles by forty-five, Elgenstad is not much to behold. Havnen was founded in one of the few sections of the northern coast not covered in mountains much like the ones he found himself among at this moment. To the west of Havnen is just a mass of rock and stone reaching thousands of feet into the sky at the peaks. Everything south and west of the Frossenelven’s bank is rocky in much the same way. In the area immediately south of Havnen, things are a little more open, but the eastern portion of the country features many mountaintops as well. Atop the Frossenelven’s locks in the southeastern part of the country is Byen. Founded there due to access to water by way of the Frossenelven’s oxbow, Byen became the jumping off point for ventures to the Frossenelven’s south and west because it is not possible to scale their face from Havnen.

As the sky began to glow orange, so did Havnen. The soft, warm glow crawled its way down the river and up the mountains. Its tendrils wrapped around Leo and he smiled. In the morning he would pack his skis and rifle and take the train down to Havnen. A single plane with lights aglow lifted off the runway and seemingly floated up into the sky to mingle with stars. The gold glint of the luminescence was one he soon hoped to have around his neck. But for now, back to the skiing.

[Kelssek]

Jean-Luc Lacroix inhaled the crisp mountain air deeply. A line of greyish clouds hung in the otherwise blue sky - another beautiful day in the Singing Mountains, and the last day before heading off to Electrum. Jean-Luc as well as fellow Olympic alpine skiier Evan Mackay and two of their local friends had decided to head into the backcountry for a few runs as the Alpine Kelssek ski team wrapped up its final pre-Olympic training camp. Strapping skins onto their skis to allow them to trek uphill more easily, they'd headed for Geldings Ridge, a short hike out of the Garibaldi ski resort's boundary which they all knew well.

Elise finished sawing out a pit that would allow them to directly examine the snowpack for avalanche risk. Jean-Luc and Evan watched as Elise and Liam did their thing. Elise was a professional ski guide and Liam was a lifelong Garibaldier who piloted a medevac helicopter, so they were the experts. They began examining the cross-section of snowpack revealed by their shovelling and sawing, digging their hands and feeling the layers, and tapping on them with their shovel blades.

Liam turned to Jean-Luc, wanting everyone to be comfortable with the level of risk. "How does that feel to you?"

Jean-Luc got out his own shovel and pressed it onto the snow next to the pit. It gave way but only after strong pressure. "What do you think?" he asked.

Elise interjected, "It doesn't matter. We only go ahead if everyone is ok with it."

Jean-Luc put his gloved hand through the layers. "I'm okay with it."

Elise looked at Evan. Evan hadn't really any idea what to look for, so he just did the same tapping thing with his shovel as he'd seen Elise do. The snow seemed stable. "I'm good to go," he said. Caution was all well and good, but this was the fourth time they'd gone through this process and he was keen to get on with it.

"Good, because I say we go too," Elise said. Liam nodded. They began packing up their equipment and had everyone check their beacons. "Alright. We've had strong winds since the last snowfall, and the left side is going to be more sketchy. So keep to the right. Meet you at the bottom."

Liam went first, staying high on the ridge before dropping in, keeping to the right side as Elise had said. Elise went next, following along Liam's trail. Evan grinned as he saw the two of them throw up arcs of fresh powder. After a few more seconds, Jean-Luc gave himself a big push off his poles. Evan followed, keeping Jean-Luc in sight. Evan had not been to this area before, so he was slightly and irrationally worried about somehow losing the group.

To Evan, it later felt like it happened in slow motion as Jean-Luc made a turn and a slab of snow fell away under his downhill ski. Evan lurched backwards, trying to stop, as the fracture line seemed to race towards him and then abruptly end. He became aware of a rumbling, whooshing sound, and a white cloud of snow enveloped him as the avalanche picked up speed. Evan couldn't stop in time and slid through the fracture line, desperately trying to stay on his skis. The smooth, snow-covered slope had become a treacherous, bumpy debris field in an instant. His ski tips caught on something and he tumbled.

He had time to think, Fuck. This could end in the hospital.

Evan landed on his side with an impact he hoped hadn't broken anything. He was sliding downhill at an alarming speed and he struggled to slow down by digging the one ski which remained attached to his feet into the slope. His poles had deserted him. Eventually he came to a stop. His brain took a few seconds to switch out of panic mode before he remembered the situation, setting his beacon to search mode, and started yelling the names of his companions.

The beeps led him to one of Jean-Luc Lacroix's skis. Hands trembling, Evan fit the shovel blade onto the shaft and then realized that Jean-Luc was a little further downhill and only partially buried, but he wasn't in very good shape either. He checked for breathing. He couldn't find a pulse, but his own pulse was racing so he wasn't sure he was doing it right anyway. He levelled out the snow around him as best and quickly as he could and started doing CPR, trying not to think about the rivulet of blood flowing out of the waterproof sleeve of Jean-Luc's jacket.

It was only after a breathless Liam came clambering up the slope towards him, and took over first aid, that he noticed the 12-metre cliff looming above him which the avalanche had carried his friend down.

"Did you call for help?" Evan asked.

"Copter's on the way," Liam said as he pumped on Jean-Luc's chest.

"Elise?"

Liam shook his head.

[Unified Beretania]

Crosscom Beretania Sports Network
http://www.crosscomberetania.co.ubt/electrumolympics




The following is a transcript of the official UBNOC press conference that was conducted at Strauss-Reed Albavona International Airport in Conference Room 104, with Adam Johnson, UBNOC communications and media relations director. The press conference was held at the airport two hours before the delegation boarded chartered flights to Electrum.


Adam Johnson: "Good morning and thank you for coming. I will be making a short statement and attempting to cover a lot of ground as there is a lot to talk about. I'll then take a limited amount questions at the end of the press conference.

As you all know, the Unified Beretania National Olympic Committee decided to accept and support the appearance of several Unified Beretania's junior athletes who have legitimate Olympic hopes in Wrycrev, Kosovakia in the Winter Universiade I. I'll give a brief overview to recap what happened there. Our final medal total was four gold, one silver and four bronze, for a total of nine medals.

The UBNOC set a list of goals, and one of the main goals was set for one of the most talented junior short track speed skaters we have ever seen, Jaguar Rodriguez. We wanted to see her medal to see how she would rise to the challenge of international competition. She won gold in the women's 1500m short track speed skating event by eleven seconds and I think that is a fair and accurate assessment of her talent and ability. It is almost a guarantee we will see her in the Olympics four years from now.

We also sent a handful of athletes that are headed to Electrum to Kosovakia and that includes Jenna Singh, in women's figure skating. She won bronze in Kosovakia and we are hoping that it will translate to a medal here. Unified Beretania has only won two medals in women's figure skating at various international competition, and none in the Olympics. Beretanian men's figure skating has been much more successful, with a male figure skater making the podium in every edition of every international winter sports competition Unified Beretania has entered in, including the Olympics. We set a goal in Wrycrev for Jenna Singh, our best women's figure skater here in Electrum, to medal. Jenna won bronze in Wrycrev, Kosovakia as I said earlier and we are elated for Jenna because it gives her confidence and momentum going into the Olympics. We want to finally be able to see a women's figure skater win an Olympic medal.

So those were our top two goals in Wrycrev, and we accomplished both to great success. We also had the minor goals of rebooting our fledgling Olympic biathlon and short track speed skating programs and I think we were also successful on both counts. We have ten official delegation guests, who all participated in Wrycrev and stood out as exceptional junior athletes. They all represent the biathlon and short track speed skating disciplines and we are very excited that these young athletes are the future of Beretania in the Olympics. By the way, our guests are Homer Zahl, Chip Howell and Doug Sleeper, in men's short track speed skating, and Rhett Soto in men's biathlon, Jaguar Rodriguez, Sadie L'Orange and Nataylia Spiceman in women's short track speed skating, and Jamayka Moss, Jayna Good and Sofia Poland in women's biathlon. All these incredibly talented athletes emerged as the faces of the next generation of Beretanian Olympians. We're all so proud.

Very briefly, on Day 6 in Wrycrev, there was a scandal involving the junior men's and women's biathlon program. Giovanni Prince, Ivory Patel, Buck Stewart and Cristobol Valez were registered in the men's 12.5 km pursuit event. They woke up severely hungover after a wild night of partying and they made the unacceptable decision to pay four of the ladies from the women's biathlon team to take their place. Those young ladies are Chrystal Whitehorse, Gretchen Leibowitz, Erin Montgomery and Charity Hartman. All eight of these athletes are now permanently banned from participating in the Olympics or any Olympic development competition representing Unified Beretania. I will make it absolutely clear, we do not allow cheaters of any kind in our delegation. Giovanni Prince, Ivory Patel, Buck Stewart and Cristobol Valez are also facing criminal charges in federal court for sports rigging, and it is a felony, because the incident happened during an international competition. We want to assure the rest of the world that we DO NOT allow our athletes to cheat in competition, and if they do, that there is swift and just consequence for said athletes.

Now, on Day 5 in Wrycrev, Kosovakia, there was an injury of note. I'll briefly step aside and let Dr. Alexandra Jiminez take this part...

Dr. Alexandra Jiminez: Thank you. My name is Alexandra Jiminez and I am an orthopedic specialist at Albavona University Medical Center. I am one of three official physicians for the Unified Beretania delegation.

On the fifth day of competition, Becky Stevens injured her knee in a crash while competing in the alpine skiing women's slalom event. She has an isolated grade I lateral collateral ligament sprain. At this time, she is making good progress toward being able to compete in the Olympics in Electrum. She is now weight bearing and still using crutches. She is bracing as needed but most importantly, she is resting her knee. I have ninety percent confidence that at this rate, that Becky will be able to compete. We have to take it very careful with the knee. We have placed a lot of conditions on her that she has to follow if she wants to compete. She will be wearing a knee brace anytime she's out and about in the Olympic Village and on her feet for an extended period of time. We are working with a light daily physical therapy program that will gradually be increased as we get closer to her event. Becky will ski thirteen days into the Olympics so there will be a good solid two weeks more for her to rest her knee. She will NOT be allowed to make any practice runs. The only run she is going to make is in the official competition and that's it. She will not do anything skiing related until the day of her event. We are working with Becky to ween her off pain medication and we are making sure that her pharmaceutical intake does not cause an accidental false positive for prohibited substances. When she does compete in the women's slalom here in Electrum, she will have to do it with a knee brace of course. We are getting that together now and Becky is a little worried about how a brace will affect her performance and we're focused on making sure she'll be comfortable for the slalom. There's no getting around it. She won't have the stability in her knee to compete if she doesn't brace it. To sum it up, the injury is healing very well. She should be off crutches in a couple more days. I'm absolutely confident that she will be able to compete in the Olympics. Thank you.

Adam Johnson: Thank you. The last item we want to cover from Wrycrev is the state of the Olympic curling program. We did not see any promising results from Kosovakia from the junior men's curling program to indicate that there is enough depth in the sport to justify the continuation of men's curling at the Olympic level. The junior women's team made it to the bronze medal match, but lost. It is still undecided on the future of Olympic women's curling, but at this time, we are prepared to say that men's Olympic curling will be dropped from the UBNOC delegation four years from now in favor of our revamped biathlon and short track speed skating program. If the women's Olympic team does not medal here in Electrum, the women's program will also be cut from the UBNOC delegation in the next edition of the Winter Olympics. It may be disappointing to some, but realistically, we feel that there is not a large enough fanbase and enough depth to continue to field Olympic curling teams at the elite level we need to see.

Moving on now to Electrum. The situation regarding Gözde Şentürk is being settled right now behind the scenes and we will keep you updated as developments occur. She does have pending litigation against the UBNOC at this time, but we are confident that it can be settled out of court. We are deeply sorry for the pain we caused Ms. Şentürk, and we wish her well in these Olympics. We will allow her to compete despite her litigation against us because it is the right thing to do, and she won her spot on this delegation fair and square. As part of the steps we are now taking to make it up to her, we are giving Gözde Şentürk an all expenses paid trip to the upcoming Summer Olympics and we are reserving a spot for her in the delegation four years from now so she will make the delegation automatically, provided that she can keep the same high skill level we have come to know and love from her. There is absolutely NO truth to the wild conspiracy theory to keep the only Turkish-Beretanian athlete in this delegation from competing in the Olympics in Electrum. It was an honest mistake, and we are all human.

As a result of the scandal in Wrycrev involving the biathlon teams, we are instituting a zero tolerance policy on Beretanian athletes consuming alcohol during these Olympics prior to participating in their events. There is absolutely no need to consume alcohol before engaging in competition and the damage done to the image of Beretarian sport will not be tolerated. Any Beretanian athlete who is found to have consumed alcohol at any time prior to their scheduled events will be banned from future Olympics.

The UBNOC has reasonable expectations for our delegation, but it is the official opinion of the UBNOC that we have the best chances to medal in skiing and snowboarding. We have set a goal of matching the ten medals we won in Kosovakia, here in Electrum. We are confident that we can achieve this, and although this is the first delegation we have sent to the Olympics in over twenty years, we feel that this is one of the best we have ever sent to represent Unified Beretania.

Thank you all for coming. I will now take a few questions.

Amber Schwartz (Albavona Capitol Sentinel): What is the risk of re-injury with the Becky Stevens knee injury?

Adam Johnson: I'll let Dr. Jiminez answer that seeing as I'm not a doctor...

Dr. Alexandra Jiminez: Thank you. The risk of re-injury is actually very high. It is essential that we minimize the impact on Becky's knee as much as possible. So this is the importance of her wearing the knee brace when she competes. It is a stability issue. And I think that the knee won't be completely healed, but just enough to clear her for competition. I think we will be absolutely confident when we send Becky Stevens out there in the women's slalom. She'll be fine as long as she follows what we tell her to do, and we're trying to find a knee brace that she feels comfortable with that will not inhibit her. So, while the risk of re-injury is high, as it would be for anyone just coming off a recent knee injury, I think it will be safe enough for her to compete. We wouldn't put her out there if we didn't all feel that way.

Adam Berg (Crosscom Beretania Sports Network): You mentioned that curling at least on the men's side is getting cut for the next Olympics. What if somehow the men's curling teams happens to medal?

Adam Johnson: Great question. We just do not feel at this time that there is enough depth in the available talent pool to sustain a men's curling team beyond the current Olympic cycle. The same is true of men's and women's hockey. It might upset some, but we have to make room in our delegation for sports that we have an abundance of talent in, like short track speed skating and biathlon. But if the men's team does medal, it won't change a thing. Our decision has been made.

Erwin Kramer (Essex-Frenswell Townships Chronicle Bee): Can you confirm that this is the last Olympics for Mercedes Middleton? There are rumors on the grapevine that she is hanging up the skis after Electrum.

Adam Johnson: I can't comment on an individual athlete's retirement plans. We keep a fresh rotation on our Olympic delegations and bring the best athletes forward so I can't say if Mercedes Middleton will be back in four years. We'll just have to see. She's a great athlete.

John Noble (Red River Recorder): What impact do you think the Winter Universiade I had on the Olympic delegation being sent to Electrum, if any?

Adam Johnson: I think it had an enormous impact. The fact that Jenna Singh is coming into Electrum with a bronze medal is huge. It lit the fire in her to take on the world's best. Royal Wall in men's figure skating, same thing. He won bronze, now he can translate that into a medal here in Electrum. Skyleigh Paramour can take her disappointing results and use that as motivation to better herself. I think just the confidence boost our Olympians got in Kosovakia is tremendous. They can look at themselves and say 'I can do this!' And that is priceless. The extra experience at the international level is always beneficial. Okay, we have to end this press conference but I do thank you all for coming and I hope that you enjoy watching Unified Beretania in the Winter Olympics!

[Kosovakia]

1 day before opening ceremony

Ready?

Focus... Silence..... 'Almost' everyone in Kosovakia looking for it, The 12th Winter Olympics, The first Olympics for Kosovakia. Almost all Kosovakian people loves sports (indeed winter sports). The Kosovakian delegation is already in Prescott, Let's have an look to our athletes in Prescott:

Peter Praves (Biathlon): it's very nice here, Many nice people around here to talk with. I think we have meet almost every Nations here. The first day in Prescott where awesome, We where able to meet the venues and we have trained directly. Puh awesome track!

Martin Sevic (Speed skating): The venue is beautiful, The track is very fast. And i think i can make it here. ''''Make it here what do you mean with that'''''' : Well what you think? To win the Gold nothing more... Oh yaah an Record,, An very big record.

Day 0

Kosovakia will already compete in events tomorrow. The Ice hockey compentition for the Women's will start tomorrow. The Kosovakian Women's ice hockey will play against Natanians and Nosts tomorrow, Can they pick there first points before the opening ceremony will begin? Oh and what about the Figure skating compentition, they also will start tomorrow. Kosovakia will also compete in the Figure skating events tomorrow, So don't miss anything! Kosovakia is ready.. Are you ready to?

- Good luck Nations!

[Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic]

By the "SportMagazine-98.ah"

Alinghi at the olymics who the probability to win a medal?

Now, it's the near if the beggining of the XII Winter Olympics and we see where the our nation can catch some medal.

We begin from Biathlon at the Women's 7.5km Sprintwith Kruckel Joye Layla, she qualifing to the olympics with a very good time, she are 20 years old.
Anotehr Gold Medal candiate is from the discipline of Skeleton Simmons Pepk Barakat, he maybe the most famous winter sport's atlete in the nation, winning two consecutive times the Alingher Skeleton Championship.
Women's Curling, she in the national Championship she won won all match with lange margin with all the opposers
Another Man to wast is from Men's 1500, Skating Hirsch Phoul Yusef, what brocke the last national record easly at the qualification match to olympics, and seem determinated to do a fantastic performace at these olympics, declaring in a interview in arrognant way "I have the possibilty and I catch the occation to win the medal at this olympics"

[Teremara Caretaker]

Falkasia is a predominately Nordic and sub-Nordic nation on the continent of Tavlyria in the region of Teremara, containing within it a diverse variety of peoples, landscapes, and climates. The majesty of this land extends from the frozen wastes of the northern Falkasian Gulf, down through the central grassy steppes and forests of the Falkasian heartland, and into the craggy scrubland of the Border Region with neighboring Gragastavia. While prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Falkasia was frequently represented by many accomplished athletes as part of a combined Russian/Falkasian delegation, and has gone on to represent Falkasia and the region of Teremara both equally with great acclaim. In combination with its neighbors and friends within the region of Teremara, the opportunity is nigh to set a new precedent for future generations that the Falkasian spirit cannot, and will not, ever be dominated.

Bobsleigh

Yule Skoog (27)
Full-time commercial fisherman with the Falkasian Crab fleet in the Falkasian Gulf, Skoog has always been an active member in the Falkasian bobsled circuit since he was a child. Skoog hails from the icy island village of Reynir, located just a few degrees below the Arctic Circle. His father is Falkasian, but his mother is Yellosian (The United Socialist States of Yellow Star Republic), from just over the northern border.
He spent much of his childhood with friends sledding on the various static icebergs surrounding the island. As with any self-respecting Falkasian, Yule cut his teeth playing organized youth hockey throughout the northern-most province of Volskaya. Despite being an accomplished skater and offense-man, he found that ice hockey lacked the adrenaline rush free-form sledding had given him as a child. A self-described "speed freak," Skoog is the Pilot for both the Falkasian Two-Man and Four-Man bobsled teams. In recent years, especially with the announcement that Falkasia would again send a delegation to the Winter Olympics, he has taken time off from work and focused on training. Ironically, his team has no formal facility to conduct practice runs. Instead, they ride the same icebergs he grew up with as a child. Not to be deterred, he regularly shows off his hard-won Silver Medal while doing practices runs regardless of the risk of losing it.

Karl Svensson (26)
Son of a baker, Svensson was born in the central Falkasian town of Vilzen; population 257 plus several dogs. As a child, he tended to avoid organized sports and instead preferred to explore the rolling hills and valleys surrounding his home with his childhood companion, a fluffy collie named Sasha. Karl's disinterest didn't matter much however, as the city of Vilzen was only able to afford a small ice rink, and only during the winter. Svensson's adventures fostered within the young man a strong sense of independence and determination, which ultimately led him to school to study business.

While studying at University of Ekaterine, he was approached by a member of the Falkasian Olympic Committee, Dimitri Romanov, who ultimately recruited the begrudging, headstrong young man as their Two Four-man Sled Brakeman. Presently, when he is not training with his two and four-man bobsled teams, Svensson runs a small chain of Falkasian pastry shops, know as Pryanikis, throughout Vilzen and the surrounding hamlets. Since his appearance and Silver medal victory in the past Olympics, Karl has had difficulty keeping up with the increasing demand for his pastries. The locals have lovingly dubbed them “Silver Screamers,” a joke generated by a widely publicized sports image of him screaming down the track in Electrum, all the while showing a look of horror on his face as sled Drive Skoog takes an embankment a bit too high.

Dimitri "Rossiya" Romanov (58)
Known as "Old Man" by his enemies and "Rossiya" by his friends and teammates, Dimitri is the oldest member and contingent captain for Team Falkasia. He is also the oldest ever athlete sent by Falkasia to attend an Olympic Games. However, don't let age fool you. Every one of his 58 years is backed up by twice as many in experience. In fact, Dimitri has participated in several Olympics previously as a Falkasian appointee to the Russian Delegation. He was slated to take part in the Four-Man Bobsleigh during the 1980 Games in Lake Placid, but was prohibited from doing so due to political problems back home in Falkasia. Outside of this, Romanov is directly responsible for re-establishing the Falkasian Olympic Committee and putting together delegations for competition overseas. Officially, Dimitri is retired and lives in a modest town-home on Ulansky Street with his wife, within sight of the Tretiak Arena. Unofficially, he works as the FOC Chairman. In his own words; "This is my dream job."

Jan Holtgren (20)
Young and ambitious, Jan strives to be the best. "Strives," however, is likely an inappropriate word choice. Brash and unrestrained, likely on account of his age, Holtgren did not start out as a Bobsledder. Rather, as a child he played competitive ice hockey for the Crab Kings, a youth professional sports club based out of Volsk. The circuit took him throughout Falkasia, as well as neighboring Gragastavia and briefly into the Yellow Star Republic. Despite what he may say, Holtgren was a C player at best, and was often resigned to the grinder/enforcer role on the Fourth Line. As he said it, being at the bottom meant "he could see his path straight to the top." However, the ladder fell out from under him following an off-ice altercation with members of an opposing team, alongside two on-ice officials who attempted to intervene. He was promptly sanctioned by the Falkasian Youth Hockey Association, and after a similar altercation with several of his own teammates a week later, was permanently suspended from the league. Almost as if by chance, he was approached by a Falkasian Olympic Committee official who was able to offer the youngster a fresh-start. As the team quickly learned, his enormous size, youth, and hockey conditioning allow him to accelerate his sled as a Pusher at breakneck speeds. Outside of the sport, Holtgren does odd jobs to support himself. He aspires to become a Falkasian Marine Raider some day, but acknowledges that neither "[his] academic performance [nor] attitude would allow him to do well."

Truen Gunnarsson (26)
A true trendsetter, 6'6" Truen (Troon) was the first woman to pilot a bobsled to victory in Falkasia. Rather, she was the first woman to enter herself as a competitor in a Men's Bobsledding League and win. Her victory opened up the path for other women, much like herself, to form their own parallel organization for female bobsledding within the country. Born in Provno, a suburb outside of Ekaterine, her first sport was actually basketball. Given her height, this was a natural choice, despite the fact there are virtual no basketball courts anywhere in Falkasia. It presented a problem, and when she and her parents were forced to move north to Volsk, she abandoned her pursuit for other options. Bobsledding, ironically, was not a sport she actively pursued as she grew into adulthood. Her first foray was as a substitute Pilot for a men's Four-man Team, after which she became hooked. While attending technical school in Volsk, she and her friends formed the city's first female-only bobsled team and were frequently seen rocketing through downtown streets against rival teams during winter. Currently, her team trains in combination with the men's team on Reynir Island, but more recently she has been attempting to petition the local government for funds to construct a track in-town. In her off-season, Truen is a registered EMT and frequently works to support helicopter evacuations over the Falkasian Gulf.

Johanna Dahlin (24)
Like Svensson, Dahlin is also a member of the 257 individuals who call Vilzen home. She and Karl were distant friends as children, not so much because they had common interests, but rather because there were so few children around. As such, both share a variety of similar experiences that has created a very strong bond between both of them. Despite only being two-years younger, Johanna tends to regard Karl as her older brother and the two can be frequently seen teasing each other about their relative love interests. She is a fully educated and accredited Mining Engineer, the result of an extensive six-year education at the technical university in Volsk. During her time there, she was approached by her dormitory mate Truen and persuaded to join their team as the Brakewoman.

Selja Heino (26)
Unlike her teammates, Selja grew up with bobsledding as her family's past-time. Her father, a native of the city of Atley in the Falkasian ice fjords, participated in a variety of winter sports in his free time. While ice hockey and skiing were among his favorites, there was always a special place in the man's heart for his small, ramshackle two-man sled. Selja, once she was of age, would frequently go out with her father on some of his less exhilarating runs. From him, she learned every skill a sledder would require in to become competitive. By the time she was a teenager, her and her three sisters had built their own ramshackle four-man sled and were competing against other local children for the title of "King of the Mountain." Many of the tracks she and her friends built over the years have since been framed and turned into actual runs, although the facilities to maintain them have yet to be constructed. Grown up now, she still resides in Atley alongside much of her family and trains sled dogs for a living.

Leyla and Yildirim Sezen (21)
Leyla and her brother Yildirim are fraternal twins, born and raised in the chaotic and oftentimes dangerous city of Stana in the southern border region of Falkasia. Their parents, a Gragastavian father and Falkasian mother, were both career military officers serving as the region's security liaison between their respective governments. Given the city's notorious reputation for being a center of terrorist and separatist activity, the Sezen parents decided that it might be better to raise their children in a safer environment. Both of the Sezen twins might have spent much of their childhood growing up in one of the wealthier districts of the Gragastavian capitol of Al Duhaba, but instead a GLO suicide bomb attack killed their father shortly after the decision was made. A week later, their mother requested re-assignment, and the family was spirited away to Ekaterine.

Devastated by the death of their father, both Sezen children channeled their grief into release outlets. Aside from being an accomplished painter and singer, Leyla quickly became enamored with the sport of bobsledding after a one-time boyfriend introduced her to the sport. Ironically, Leyla regards fellow teammate Truen Gunnarsson as her idol, having watched her compete in the early days of the sport in Falkasia. It was this same idol who would eventually recruit Leyla to the team.

Unlike his sister, Yildirim had a more difficult time coping with the death of his father. While neither of them frequently saw eye-to-eye, his father was the primary driving force behind his passion. Stana, being a craggy landscape of scrubland, washes, and jagged cliffs, rarely ever got snow. Yet, his father was a strong supporter of his early interests in ice hockey and would actively dodge duty to watch his son play. Unable to separate the thought of his father with the game of hockey, Yildirim quit playing and has yet to step onto a hockey rink since. Instead, he poured his efforts into school and hoped to one day become an accomplished lawyer. Instead, his twin sister dragged him into the sport of bobsledding.

At least initially, Yildirim thought of it as a soft sport with hardly any skill involved. Skeleton, a parallel sport often broadcast in accompaniment of bobsledding, captured his attention and held on. When interviewed about this defining moment, he replied, "I like the intensity. It's just you and the sled and nothing else. The purity of it all calls to me. Reminds me if how I felt before my father died." Unlike his sister and the bobsled teams, Yildirim actually trains overseas in Neu Engollon, where he studies International Law at Burgunden University. Despite having taken home a Bronze medal in the last Olympics, Yildirim is excited to be competing once more with a strong hope to add a Gold to his growing collection of medals.

Liljan Mogen (35)
An accomplished skier and sledder, Liljan is the very definition of a backwoods outdoorswoman. Born in the mountainous region of Ikovskaya, her family lived in a homestead with three of her uncles, aunts, and their families. There was no running water, and many of the houses had dirt floors on their lowest levels. Her father was a lumberjack and game hunter, but outside of the occasional elk or deer he brought home, all of his earnings went to pay for family expenses and his own drinking problem. Despite his addiction, Liljan's father was as supportive as he could be of his only child, and encouraged her to come out hunting with him once she came of age. In a bit of homestead ingenuity, he would have her sled between the trees and stir out any critters into the open. Surprisingly, this strategy didn't work at all, but it left a lasting impression on the young girl.

As she grew, the sled was abandoned as she and her father would trek out together on hunting trips, for which her father made sure to pass her some spending money. Lacking a formal education, she poured her funds into books and taught herself a hodge-podge of subjects ranging from literature to mathematics. Sledding however, had returned to the forefront of her life. The nearest town, an Army installation known as Camp Ikov, began offering competitions for local sledders to compete. The soldiers there, having little to do during the winter months outside of watching TV and eating food, offered cash prizes.

It took very little time before they came to regret their decision, as Liljan quickly bankrupted most of the camp's population. Due to this, and despite her homestead's remoteness, Liljan is fairly well-known and respected by the region's community as a whole. This was partly the reason why she was approached by the Falkasian Olympic Committee, hoping that by having her compete would draw popular support for the fledgling organization. However, as Chairman Romanov mentioned to a reporter, her fame was considerably less important than her exceptional skill at skiing and shooting. "She's just that good," he said, "You can quote me on that too."

Having won a Gold medal previously in Electrum, Liljan has become a bit of a hometown hero. While she continues to work trapping furs in Falkasia’s back country as she always has, the otherwise impoverished region has experienced a significant upswing in tourism as faithful fans come to pay their respects to her sporting legacy.

Valerian Larashenko (42)
A literal translation of the "Most Interesting Man in the World," Valerian has pretty much seen and done it all. Born in Al Duhaba to Falkasian parents, he was a curious youngster who frequently got himself into trouble. So much so, that the local FSIS bureau used to rig him with a tiny listening device to counter-act insurgency movements. Nothing is really ever off-limits, especially in Gragastavia. As a child, his parents traveled the world as official sanctioned diplomats of Falkasia. Over the course of his life, he resided in over 30 countries. As a result, Valerian speaks 9 different languages. It was during his late teens, while his parents were posted to the Falkasian Embassy in Salzland, that he discovered skiing.

He had in the past dabbled in a variety of traditional and local sports, but the nature of his parents' work meant that he could never stay around long enough to fully enjoy them. Illegal drugs were also proving an issue for the young man, so when his parents saw his interest, the quickly jumped on the opportunity and forced him in. While hardly a natural, the more he practiced the more he realized he loved skiing. "It's a sense of control I never had as a kid," he would later reflect to a reporter, "You're in charge of where you go. So long as there's snow, where ever you go is the right place to be." He served briefly in the Falkasian Navy as a gunboat captain in the Falkasian Gulf, where he had several run-ins with smugglers and Yellosian patrol boats. The ships he commanded, three in total, were all sunk at one time or another with him on board.

Three times each he was fished from the frozen water, ready to jump aboard the next boat to finish what he started. He has stared in a variety of local commercials, held political office as mayor of an Ekaterine suburb, built a successful international alcohol distribution company, and even went undercover as part of an FSIS and Precinct 19 sting operation on a cell of Cardwithian drug kingpins. Currently, his job is skiing. He has devoted himself full-time to practicing his sport in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games, for which he also has a limited minority investment stake in, and travels the world on his own money to ski the greatest mountains known to mankind.
Having won two Gold medals in the previous Winter Olympics, Valerian has been itching to return to the greatest stage on Earth and try his luck once again on the slopes of Electrum.

Boris Vasiliev (34)
Boris is a Falkasian Army Combat Skier by trade, although he failed to see any combat action during his entire tenure with the military. Originally born as an “occupation baby” in the contested Stanaskaya region of southern Falkasia, along the border of the Duhaba Sand Reserve in Gragastavia, he spent much of his childhood bouncing around military bases across both countries. His parents, both career military officers, eventually tired of his poor school attendance and grew increasingly concerned as he drifted from the prescribed straight-and-narrow of military life. By the time he was a teenager, Boris had been enrolled in a military reform school in central Ekaterine where he excelled under the harsh regime imposed upon him by the school headmaster. Unlike his parents, dissent was not tolerated and allowed him to foster, among other things, an intense work ethic.

Shortly after graduating, he enlisted in the Falkasian Army and was quickly fast-tracked through rapid promotion into the professional cadre of NCOs. Assigned to the Arctic Warfare Academy in Volsk, he was deployed alongside his unit to the northernmost border region of Volskaya in anticipation of an assault by Yellowsian forces. While a prototypical experiment unit, Boris quickly found a love for skiing, and among other things, performing death-defying stunts off the lower hanging mountain peaks. “It was all for the ladies,” he joked in an interview. “Otherwise, no one would have even remotely considered the risks I took.” Within the Falkasian skiing circle, Boris is often regarded as borderline insane and has few friends outside of those affiliated with his “blue blood” pedigree.

Ana Krasinsky (21)
Unlike many of her fellow teammates, Ana was born and raised in metropolitan Ekaterine. Equally to their chagrin, she has rarely explored outside the confines of her city’s major urban center. Both of her parents were government bureaucrats, literally faceless and lacking both personality in their jobs and personal lives. Ironically, it would seem tha the most boring of people tend to raise the most colorful. Aside from being stunningly beautiful, Ana quickly asserted herself through her cheerful personality and beautiful art. An accomplished painter, she got her start painting murals at the then brand new Tretiak Arena. Enraptured by the pictures of figure skaters from a bygone era, she was instantly obsessed and requested lessons from her parents. Sure enough, years later, she quickly rose to prominence as one of Falkasia’s most graceful figure skaters.

However, an unfortunate shoulder injury in a car accident ended her burgeoning figure skating career. Her boyfriend at the time, a hockey player for the Ekaterine Thunderhawks, introduced her to speed skating at one of his practices. Although there was a cult following among a small group of people, short track was mostly used as a training regime for speed conditioning in hockey. Realizing that her already impressive ice skating skills and superior balance, coupled with a limited need for upper body movement, had primed her for another opportunity, she jumped and began speed skating full-time. Although such a sport remains a sideshow amid the ice hockey scene in Falkasia, Ana hopes that by skating in the Winter Olympics, she will inspire a new generation of young Falkasians to follow in her footsteps. “Never let a setback keep you from accomplishing your dreams,” she was quoted as saying in an Ekaterine newspaper. “Its cliché, I know, but always be looking for that open door. Sometimes, it isn’t the one you want, but in the end they all lead to the same place.”

[Kelssek]

Avalanche kills two, including Olympic skiing legend
MARCH 1, 2017 | by Julia O'Rourke

Tragedy has enveloped Kelssek’s alpine skiing community after an avalanche killed two people, including Jean-Luc Lacroix, 33, one of Kelssek’s most successful athletes, in a part of Alter Lake Provincial Park just outside the Garibaldi ski resort.

Also killed was Elise McArony, 36, a professional ski guide and mountain climber, a resident of Stawamus, Konoha who was a regular contributor to Kelssek Geographic magazine. They were part of a group of four skiers, which also included Olympic skier Evan Mackay, all of whom were expert skiers with a lot of mountain experience, said Eugenie Thurlow, media director for Alpine Kelssek. Mackay was hospitalized in stable condition and while Thurlow did not comment on his injuries it is understood that they were not life-threatening.

“It’s hard to process right now. We are all just devastated by what has happened,” said Thurlow. “We were working hard all week, and some of the skiers and their friends met and just wanted to have some fun.”

The alpine skiing team were on the final day of preparatory training before departing for the 11th Olympic Winter Games in Prescott, Electrum, which begins in three days. The avalanche occurred on Decker Peak, a backcountry area outside the Garibaldi resort boundary. Lacroix, a veteran of ten Olympics and winner of eight medals including three golds, was set to defend his gold medal won in last year's men’s super-G event.

Search and rescue personnel airlifted Ms. McArony and Mr. Lacroix from the mountain to Burnaby General Hospital, where Ms. McArony was pronounced dead on arrival. Mr. Lacroix underwent emergency surgery but also succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards, according to a statement by the Konoha coroner's office.

“It's very, very hard to believe that this has happened,” said Chuck Hallebeck, who is the owner of a ski guiding company which Ms. McArony previously worked for. “We are talking about some very experienced people who know the mountains, they're very well prepared. I knew Elise for three years. She is one of the more cautious people out there and was certified in avalanche forecasting and control techniques. This is a real shock to me. If something like this could happen to her, it really makes me rethink, what my own behaviours are.”

The avalanche risk yesterday was rated as moderate, the second-lowest on a five-level scale provided by the South Konoha Region Avalanche Centre. The incident brings the number of skier avalanche deaths in the province this winter to seven, although avalanche control experts note that generally snowmobiling is a higher-risk activity.

In Parliament today, Prime Minister Anne Marsha Cressey praised Mr. Lacroix, offering her condolences to his family, friends, and the skiing community. "People across this country are stunned by the loss of an athlete who was an exemplary representative of our nation on the world stage. Jean-Luc Lacroix was a worthy champion and an inspiration to many people here and across the world."

The Kelssekian Olympic Committee plans to have athletes wear black ribbons as a tribute to Mr. Lacroix when they march in the parade of nations at the opening ceremony in Prescott.

[Unified Beretania]

Crosscom Beretania Sports Network Olympic coverage

FADE IN:
OLYMPIC HOUR THREE PROMO INTRO

Narration: Thank you for watching this encore presentation of pre-Olypmic coverage from Prescott, Electrum presented by FlyBeretania, the official airline of the Unified Beretania Olympic delegation.

[Intense music]

Narration: Alavaria, Kelssek. The IV Winter Olympic Games. History was made when more than one hundred eighty Beretanians competed in the first Winter Olympic Games in our nation's history. Fourteen Beretanians returned home with medals.

Stephen Chang: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Stephen Chang, men's figure skating Olympic gold medalist]

Klaus Shumacher: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Klaus Shumacher, men's 1500m speed skating gold medalist]

Alexandros Vassilikos: I won the first Winter Olympics medal in Beretanian history, and I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Alexandros Vassilikos, men’s downhill skiing bronze medalist]

Arlene Concetta Tyler: I am an Olympic champion, and I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Arlene Concetta Tyler, women's speed skating team pursuit gold medalist]

Kathy Copeland: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Kathy Copeland, women’s biathlon 12.5km mass start silver medalist]

Narration: São Jorge, Cafundéu. The V Winter Olympic Games. Over two hundred Beretanian athletes had the honor of representing Beretania in the Olympics. Just six returned as Olympic medalists.

Stephan Chang: I am a two time Winter Olympic medalist, and I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Stephan Chang, men's figure skating silver medalist]

Whisper Piermont: I am an Olympic snowboarding gold medalist, and I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Whisper Piermont, women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom gold medalist]

Corazon Aglukark: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Corazon Aglukark, women's cross country skiing, 15km pursuit silver medalist]

Sierra Loveless: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Sierra Loveless, women's skeleton gold medalist]

Narration: Now...in beautiful Prescott, Electrum...

Ireland Klein: A new generation...
[Caption: Ireland Klein, women's biathalon]

Rey Chen: A new generation...
[Caption: Rey Chen, men's individual luge]

Jenna Singh: ...of Beretanians like me...
[Caption: Jenna Singh, women's figure skating]

Fritz von Reitzenstein: ...and me...
[Caption: Fritz von Reitzenstein, men's speed skating]

Kristina Shannonhouse: ...will compete in the XII Winter Olympics and live out the dream of a lifetime...
[Caption: Kristina Shannonhouse, women's speed skating]

Skyleigh Paramour: ...right here, right now, in Prescott, Electrum.
[Caption: Skyleigh Paramour, women's alpine skiing]

Sonya Graham: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Sonya Graham, women's cross country skiing]

Gözde Şentürk: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Gözde Şentürk, women's cross country skiing]

Columbus Tyler: I am Beretanian.
[Caption: Columbus Tyler, men's freestyle skiing]

Mohammed Azizi: I am Beretanian. And together...
[Caption: Mohammed Azizi, men's snowboarding]

All previously depicted athletes simultaneous on sound stage: ...we are Beretanian!

[Caption: #WeAreBeretanian]

FADE TO: BLACK

FADE IN:
OLYMPICS ONE ON ONE WITH SHEENA JACQUELINE BAKER

Crosscom Beretania Olympic Coverage
Olympics One on One With Sheena Jacqueline Baker

Sheena Jacqueline Baker: Welcome back to Crosscom Beretania’s continuing coverage of the Twelfth Winter Olympics in Prescott, Electrum. I’m Sheena Jacqueline Baker, and tonight we’ll interview Gözde Şentürk, the teenage Turkish-Beretanian cross country skier who won the nation over the past few weeks in regards to her story of being left off of the official Beretanian Olympic delegation. We have her on tonight to talk about the heartbreaking experience, so get ready to go one on one with Gözde Şentürk. It is so great to have you on tonight.

Gözde Şentürk: Thank you so much for having me on.

SJB: It's my pleasure. I know you want to get to your experience with the UBNOC, and talk about the controversy surrounding your Olympic registration, but first let's just take a step back, and, I want to ask you, what does it feel like knowing that you are definitely going to the Olympics and that you will actually have a chance to live out your childhood dream?

GŞ: First, I just want to say it is really amazing how much support I have gotten throughout the entire country. I am just amazed at how united we all are. And the country is just such a melting pot of different cultures and people, it's really inspiring to see how much we all support one another. I am so grateful that I am able to compete in these Olympics. I really was so heartbroken and crushed when I found out I wasn't going to be able to go to these Olympics. The Beretanian Olympic Committee has really come through for me though, and I am happy to represent my Turkish heritage and to represent Unified Beretania in the Olympics. Really, there are just so many different things running through my mind right now. Just the passion, and the fire and you know, the desire to succeed is just so strong in me right now. I don't want to let the nation down.

SJB: Win or lose, you won't let us down. I promise you. I've been there before. It's a feeling few have truly experienced.

GŞ: Yes, and ever since I was a child, my father and I have gone out every weekend during the winter and skied. It's in my blood. It's my life. It's who I truly am. And I'm touched by the fact that I get to represent my country on the biggest stage in the world in sports. It just means so much to me. My father told me over and over that there was nothing in my life that I could not achieve, and the word 'can't' was never in my vocabulary growing up. To be here in Electrum with the biggest winter sports heroes in the world, it's truly humbling for somebody like me.

SJB: You have gotten a lot of support as you said with everything you have been through with the UBNOC. Some though have said that you are being unnecessarily hysterical through it all by filing litigation against the UBNOC. What is your response to the critics?

GŞ: I'd say just try to look at all of this through my eyes. Try to understand spending your entire life preparing for the biggest moment in your life, and then it's taken from you when you've done nothing wrong. This was a preventable mistake and it cost me so much in terms of emotional pain and I lost so much valuable time to train for the Olympics while this was being sorted out. I can't get that back. It's the principle of the matter. It's making the UBNOC take responsibility for causing a mistake that jeopardized my being able to participate in the Olympics. That's huge. Just consider my side of the story, and have compassion. I would stand up and fight for any athlete in a similar situation, and I appreciate people like Skyleigh [Paramour] and Jodan Ochoa who really came to my aid and helped me put pressure on the UBNOC. I don't have time for the haters. I'm too busy preparing to represent the country that I love in the Olympics.

SJB: Well said, sister.

[Baker and Şentürk exchange high five]

GŞ: It's the principle of the matter. It's about making sure it doesn't happen again to someone else.

SJB: That is honorable. Take us through the moment that you saw that you were not included with the initial delegation.

GŞ: At first, I was in complete shock. And I looked through all the names. Mine was the only one missing. I thought it might be a misprint and they had forgotten my name. The next morning, I phoned the UBNOC and they said my registration was not on file. I just became enraged. I couldn't understand how this could be happening. I thought that there was no hope to fix the problem before Prescott and I just fell into this deep, dark place that I couldn't crawl out of. I lost most of my ambition and aspiration, and all I could do was sleep all day, I was so depressed. Yeah, that moment I found out I was not included in the delegation was one of the worst in my life.

SJB: I can only imagine. Did the UBNOC cooperate and reach out to you, or did you have to fight them every step of the way?

GŞ: Well, at first they didn't want to accept responsibility, and that's the real reason why we had to file the lawsuit. After that though, they were very professional and they were very accommodating. They're flying me out to the next edition of the Summer Olympics as a spectator, as I'm sure you've heard, and they are also saving me an automatic spot on the next Winter Olympics delegation as long as I keep my skill level at least where it is now and hopefully improve. And as far as a settlement, I think my legal team will probably be able to work out an acceptable settlement while I'm here in Electrum, so that's satisfying news. I just want to put this episode behind me. I don't want my Olympic experience to be colored by this one bad thing that happened. I don't want my own personal narrative to be how I was wronged by the UBNOC, instead of how I execute my run for better or worse. And I don't want to be a negative person.

SJB: It's really shocking that they didn't want to cooperate with you at first. That just is so off putting for me. I just feel like if they are responsible for such a monumental error, that they should be bending over backwards from day one to make it right for you. It doesn't matter to me that they are doing it now. They dropped the ball. They truly did, because they should have been doing that from the moment they discovered the mistake.

GŞ: Well, I am thankful that they have righted a wrong. I want to just focus on competing now. And I am kind of tired of the media following me around and hounding me. I just want to be me and to do what I do best, and that is cross country skiing. I just want to make mum and pop proud of their daughter, and hopefully my country as well. That's my number one goal. And secondarily, to just have fun.

SJB: How do you rate yourself against the competition?

GŞ: I am actually a very humble person. I just am happy to be here, but I really respect all the other skiers. I just have to put my best effort into it. I don't really know if I can medal, but anything is possible. Oh...my pop would just shout at me for having said that. [laughs] Of course I can medal. Seriously though, I think I'm going up against so many great skiers. If I can crack the top ten, I'll consider it a good day. That to me is success.

SJB: You will be back in the Olympics four years from now, provided all goes well. If you don't medal here, how do you approach the next four years?

GŞ: Yeah, good question. I always think that there is room for improvement. I have to remove the word 'can't' from my vocabulary again like my father always drilled into me, and I think I just have to accept that I have plenty of room for improvement and at the same time, that if I work my hardest, that I can be even better four years from now. If I apply myself one hundred percent, there's no limit to what I can achieve in four years, and I'll set my priorities and goals even higher. There's really no limit to what I can do.

SJB: Did you catch any of the action from the Winter Universiade I in Kosvakia?

GŞ: Yes! I saw Jaguar Rodriguez win the gold medal in women's 1500m short track speed skating.

SJB: Along with thirty million other Beretanians. Wasn't that just such a precious moment?

GŞ: Yes, and so historical too. It made me so proud to be Beretanian. And that just lifted my spirits and I really needed that. I kept saying if Jaguar can do it, I can too. And speaking of four years from now, she's going to be one to watch. I mean, she finished eleven seconds ahead of the next skater. And she's doing it all at fifteen years old. It was just awesome to see.

SJB: Indeed. And let me just say on the record that Jaguar Rodriguez deserves all the hype and attention that she is getting right now. Gözde, did you see any other events?

GŞ: Oh yes. I saw the women's skiing slalom. I saw Becky Stevens crash. Ouch. My jaw just dropped. I just thought 'Oh no, she's not getting a chance to go to the Olympics,' and I admit I did tear up for her. I did end up calling her and wishing her well, and I was relieved to hear it was just a sprain and not a tear. Yeah, injuries are really tough to overcome when you are competing at such a high and elite level, and they can break you in so many ways. Even a minor injury could cost you a trip to the Olympics or to miss nationals or just so many important things.

SJB: Yes, the Becky Stevens injury was very scary to watch. I thought for sure that she was done.

GŞ: I've had a few in my career. You just have to stay positive and remind yourself that you will recover. These things just take time to heal. You know what, though? Every time I have been injured in sports, it has made me a stronger person afterwards. And I really think it impacted my attitude and made me so much more of a persistent person who doesn't give up.

SJB: Right now, the UBNOC has one unified ski team, and cross country skiing, freestyle skiing and alpine skiing are all under the same management. What is your sense on separating the national ski team into it's different constituent components?

GŞ: Yeah, I support that. I mean, I have a different skill set than say, Skyleigh Paramour or Becky Stevens, but yet we are all skiers. So, yes, I think if we want to develop the ski program, we need separate teams for the different areas of skiing. And I like the direction the UBNOC is going in general.

SJB: Well, and it's kind of controversial considering that the UBNOC is going to be dropping curling and potentially hockey and some other events in the next delegation to make room for a revamped biathlon and short track speed skating program. It has a lot people upset, but, I think not nearly enough to really warrant much more than a second of consideration for their argument. The UBNOC has the responsibility to do what it needs to in order to stay competitive. Now, Gözde, I wanted to give you the opportunity to ask me a question before we go if you have one.

GŞ: Oh yes, I do. [laughs] What was your experience like to win the first Olympic medal in Beretanian history as a black woman?

SJB: Wow. I don't even know where to begin. At first, it didn't register that I had won gold. It felt like a dream. I got up to the podium, and as the Beretanian national anthem began playing it really hit me that, here I was. I was the first Beretanian to win an Olympic medal, ever. And I am a black woman. It just hit me, that as a black woman, I represent two of the most discriminated groups in our nation's history and I have just won not only the first medal in Beretanian Olympic history, but also the first gold medal ever in Beretanian Olympic history. And the tears kept streaming down my face as the national anthem played. I thought 'We have come so far as a nation, and I am so very proud to be Beretanian," and I have never felt as proud as that day I was up on the podium. After I came home, the pressure to succeed was so great, because nobody had expected me to medal, not even myself. So I cracked and turned to alcohol, and I became and alcoholic. I turned it around before the next Olympic cycle came round, but I never got back to the form I had been in and I didn't medal again. So my advice to you young lady is to just take everything in stride. Don't let the pressure be your downfall. And at the end of the day, it's not really whether you win or lose, it is about reminding us all why we are so proud to be Beretanian.

GŞ: Wow, thank you. That is so awe inspiring. I'm glad you could share that.

SJB: I am so glad that I could share my story with you and an entire generation of Beretanians that were born after I won gold in Columbia. I hope it does give you inspiration. Gözde Şentürk, thank you for being on the show tonight.

GŞ: Always. Thank you for having me.

SJB: Alright, when we come back to our pre-Olympic coverage...the Indian-Beretanian community has given us Olympic medalists like Sarasvati Channarayaptra, we will talk about the athletes from the largest immigrant population in Unified Beretania and what they bring to the Olympic delegation. Sudeepta Maharaj is a medal contender in women's snowboarding, as is Indrajit Chatterjee in men's snowboarding. How will they fare in competition? We'll break it all down and look at the other Indian-Beretanian athletes in Prescott, Electrum when we come back...

[Kriegiersien]

An Airport in Kriegiersien. Nearly 200 Bots in black Uniforms standing silently in front of a platform with the Kriegiersien President on it, his cousin and the Chief scientist beside him. It's raining. The President bells into a microphone:

„My dear Kriegiersien athletes. We will start now our mission for Gold. We will conquer the World...the Olympics! There can be only one goal: To be first on the medal table! And for that everyone of you must give more than 50%. You have to excel yourselves and be more than the single parts you are made of. You have to embrace the Olympic spirit and choke it. Show no fear, no hesitation, no mercy. Defeat your opponents. Be better, get better! Go, go and make Kriegiersien proud!”

The bots turned and moved into the giant airplanes waiting for them.

Timon Haudels turned to his cousin, the President.
„A rousing speech. Well done, cousin. Just… these tinheads..”
“Biomechanical enhanced..”, corrected the Chief scientist him.
“.. have no emotions or feelings. I think it’s a bit wasted. But..but I was .. moved.”
“And you should be. And even if our fellow mechanical..”
“Biomechanical enhanced athletes.”
“Yes..Yes.. even if our cyborg friends didn’t get it, our human..er… our Team athletes should take some motivation out of it.”
“Um...the hockey, curling, Bandy teams? You should know that they are already in Electrum and training.”
“What? Why?”
“Maybe because they are real humans and not controlled by the Gamepads of your crazy scientists.”
“We don’t use Gamepads”, grumbled the scientist.
“Doesn’t matter. At least you are now motivated and together we will win the luge competition. And if not, I will cut your head off.”
They both laughed.
“No, seriously, if you weren’t family I would kill you if we don’t win a medal.”

[United Islamic Khanates]

With great anticipation, the delegation of the United Islamic Khanates landed in Prescott last evening, eager to represent our nation and fly its flag in a way which unites competition and fair play. Counting 56 men, the ambitions are limited according to delegation leader Murat Tleubayev but the spirits are high. “It is an important moment to mark our impact on the international scene. As difficult as it is to weigh ourselves compared to the other nations, we should aim for at least a medal and come home having made a lasting impact on the sporting world.”

The presence of the Khanates forms the pinnacle of a three-year process in which, under the initiative of Khan Nuriybaev, a dedicated programme was set up in which the best talents were gathered to develop and become the frontrunners of a larger wave of athletes which should make our country more seen internationally, turning it into a respectable and well-known political and economic partner. The ‘Initiative for the Development of Winter Sports in the Khanates’, or Project Prescott as it was quickly better known, focussed on a few sports which already have quite some interest in our country.

Especially in the northern regions of Salmanduk and Izhbar, where the cold winters in the shallow hills get their typical character from the endless flails of snow, sports like cross-country skiing and speed skating have quite a following, allowing for those behind Project Prescott to select the best few to move forward. Additionally, there were investments in a specially-designed ski jumping hill and a complete overhaul of the previously deplored sliding centre, all located in the vicinity of Ar Mashuk. Said city also became the home of a so-called ‘Athletes Home’, in which specialists and competitors could receive specific training tools and the aid of scientific developments.

For a few other sports, capital was made available for a few distinct athletes to showcase themselves in international competition and to taste the options in the arena which are the Olympics. Lastly, a few teams specialised in the local ice game hemshne were convinced to make the transition to ice hockey. It can be debated whether they will be able to make a huge dent in the competitive international scene yet, but there is no doubt that it will offer an opportunity to raise their level.

---

As none of our athletes appears in any of the events which precede the official opening, the vast majority of them will represent at that moment of international gathering and peace. However, quite a few will have to miss a major part of the spectacle as their competition takes on early on day 1. Even more, with 31 of them already stepping into the events on the opening day, the Khanates can look forward to all programme filled by a diverse series of sports. In order to get to know our representatives, we’ll zoom in on a few contenders already.


Biathlon

The competition kicks off with the Sprint event, a ten kilometre event which sees a large field not only compete for the medals, but also for a qualification to the 12.5 race. Kosovakia, Elgenstadt and Gregoryisgodistan are considered as powerhouses for this event, yet others such as Cosumarite Falenmoor, Kelsekian Tanner and Prince Glenton Bush III are considered dangerous outsiders. For our Khanati athletes, a place in the first half of the field would be an accomplishment.

Kairat Bormatenkov
29 years old – born in Rakhsan, KD

It would be a bit unfair for a man his age to call him one of the veterans of the biathlon sport, but it surely is no lie that he has been the most consistent factor in the competition across the last decade. Before becoming part of the Project Prescott, Bormatenkov worked as a chemist for national producer VruzhnaGas and thanks to the Project, he has been allowed to dedicate himself to his sport. With four titles in the national cup, he is one of the faces of the sport in the Khanates. As is so important to win such a series, Bormatenkov rarely skips a beat and will nearly never make huge mistakes. As a shooter, his consistency is unmatched and although he’s not the fastest on the skies, this allows him to continuously pick up victories. Being present in no less than four events, this grizzled athlete will become one of the most familiar faces, although the Sprint event does bring up a soft spot for him. ”I hope to qualify for the chase,” he shared, ”and I believe such must be possible.

Akbarjon Khvostunov
22 years old – born in Dzemaili, KS

Secretly already dreaming about the XIII Olympics, the Prescott Olympiad should allow Khvostunov to challenge the level for the first time already. After becoming double national champion in the junior category, Akbarjon struggled to juggle both his studies and the transfer to the elite. But a majestic victory in the Gharzle National two years ago formed an admission ticket to the Project and ever since, he has grown. With two stage victories in this year’s national cup and a second place overall, Khvostunov is considered the biggest talent we’ve got around. ”The Sprint is a learning event for me, but it’s one that always has surprises. Ever so often, an outsider can step up with a good result if it is his day and I certainly hope to have one of those.” He made huge steps forward on the skies but the question remains if he can refrain from cracking under the pressure. We’ll see Akbarjon return for the relay event.


Speed Skating

The skating events take off with one of the most demanding confrontation possible with the clock, the five kilometre. An event in which endurance is key and although not a huge field, it certainly makes up in quality with the number four or the XI Olympics, Todd Yeskoviyey returning as a favourite. The Vekuyian will have to compete with athletes such as Braz, Vintal-Morta, Sevic, Ogyu, Jameson, Beaudoin and the often cited Scott Colossus. The duo of Khanati representatives have of the lowest subscription times, so nothing major is expected.

Aidos Bogdanov
31 years old – born in Khrugh, KS

One of the oldest competitors in the squad, Bogdanov is often seen as the wise leader of the group of speed skaters that will partake in the competition. His former best time was 6:22.19 but this winter he has only gone below 6:30 once, during the national championships. With six titles, four in this event and two on the ten kilometres, he has been one of the most successful domestic skaters of this decade. Nonetheless, he remains honest in his ambitions. ”I could have made a dent in the previous Olympics, but it will be hard to truly shine here. However, making it to this stage is already a dream for me.” We nevertheless see him as a contender for a good result as he remains notoriously calm under pressure. According to all presumptions, this race will be his last at the elite level as he will take up a role in the further development of the second part of Project Prescott. With the right partner on the ice, Bogdanov could make it the run of his career.

Kamoliddin Bakaev
22 years old – born in At Humaa, KI

This aspiring railroad engineer has halted his studies to prepare for these Olympics and that did allow him to raise his level substantially. Although he claims himself that his focus will be on the 10 kilometres event, he could not miss out on the one where he became national champion in this year. It will, admittedly, not be easy for him to break through the ranks of the more experienced participants as he subscribed with one of the lowest qualifying times of the whole field. Nonetheless, Kamoliddin remains confident in his chances, “I’m at my best when there is a lot at stake and such is certainly the case here in Prescott.” Presumably our long-distance ace for the future, Bakaev is often described as self-assured and even borderline cocky but he has the star value to make speed skating more popular than ever. Hailing from the heartland of Izhbar, he is certainly assured of a ton of supporters rooting for him back home.


Cross-Country Skiing

Easily the most popular of winter sports across the Khanates, we look forth to the action in the skiathlon with great anticipation. Being decided by an exciting sprint of four last time around, it will feature a diverse field in which Malachi DeWitt, Emil Eriksen and not in the least Ethani Newt Greene have been cited as favourites, but keep an eye out for Bakken, Shannon and Farmer as well. With two ambitious Khanati athletes at the starting line, this is the key event for all to follow.

Asror Suyunov
25 years old – Axtanesh, KR

Our most visible participant throughout the whole Olympic tournament, partaking in four of the six cross-country events, Suyunov immediately aims high when it comes to the skiathlon. ”There is a small circle of favourites at the starting line but behind them, one can easily cite ten names that could end up with a medal – and I consider myself one of them.” Although this rather sounds like overlooking the capacities of the Elgenstedter, Darmeni and Nova Zemblyaic delegations, it is that confidence which made him a triple national champion on the distance so far, plus an overall title two years ago. After a difficult season, he’s reaching peak form again but it remains to be seen whether Suyunov can put his money where his mouth is. He hopes to limit the damage in the opening section before turning to his preferred style, the freestyle. If no major attacks are being done straight from the opening, such could not even be an extremely ambitious plan. Either way, we’ll see Suyunov as our main medal candidate for the opening day.

Sergey Shemyakin
27 years old – born in Luvna, KS

This long-distance specialist carries quite a reputation when it comes to the noble sport of cross-country skiing. Often dubbed as the Luvner Locomotive, Shemyakin only gets better with every kilometre added to the counter. His main aim is in the Classical event, where he should be one of the medal candidates as a nine-years reigning champ. Yet, don’t think that this national hero considers the skiathlon as just a preparatory event. ”No Olympic race ever can be. With the tough course presented, I should be able to showcase my endurance and in a nervous event like this, such could give me a lot of extra places in the last few miles.” It is not an unfair assumption to make, especially with his capacities. The son of a deer hunter, Sergey got used to covering great distances at a young age and he claims that this was the root cause of his incredible stamina. Quite surprisingly, Shemyakin will also appear in the relay, a decision which was met with some disaccord from the other team members but with a fine performance, he could overturn their doubts.


Luge

With an unseen field of over a hundred competitors to slide down the challenging track at Mount Buckley, the male luge races already present themselves as a key event in these Olympics. An important reason for that is the presence of home favourite Lorenzo Cruz who aims to do better than his silver medal last time around. Nonetheless, such will not be a slide in the park as opponents such as Caeso North, Seri Rovikare, Aramis Ashante, Rigby Oliverson, Harry Leah & Stanislaw Kurkic take up the glove. For our duo of Khanati candidates, a midtable result seems the highest possible.

Zhambyl Kochetkov
21 years old – born in Khrugh, KS

Frontrunner of a fresh and sparkling generation of lugers, few have benefitted so much from the complete overhaul of the sliding centre at Ar Mashuk. Had the sport previously dropped to an amateur level of a small in-crowd, then the investments came just in time for Kochetkov to turn his potential into results. Arguably our best luger ever, not a claim that will make a deep impression internationally, Zhambyl can aim at a proper result and a fine learning curve towards the next Olympics. ”The course is very technical and that should float my boat, but I think the same can be said of the lion’s share of those present.” As a member of Project Prescott, it seems that the main target is to widen the pool of lugers from which the bigger talents can be drawn and few fit that image as Kochetkov, an outgoing athlete who is often perceived as friendly – probably one of the few Khanati who will easily get in conversation with the other competitors.

Maxim Mustafaev
17 years old – born in Ar Mashuk

It was widely debated whether it was clever to send such a young athlete to this event in which focus is so important. With the speeds reached in mind, it’s even downright dangerous to do it with a slider who is known for his strong aerodynamics but who could use a lot of extra work on the technical aspect of the competition. He himself defended the stand from the luging federation fiercely, ”this unique learning experience could make the difference between a mediocre and a quality XIII Olympics.” In a way a fair point as making it down in one piece four times in a row will be valuable towards his further development. Mustafaev is still a student and his youthful attitude did clash with some of the professionals in the Khanati selection – for some this is an adventure, for others the pinnacle of their career. It is a wide open question if he can maintain the needed concentration but if he does so, any result will be a success.


Short Track Speed Skating

Kicking off with the heats of the shortest of distances, 83 athletes crash in what could well be the least predictable tournament of the whole Olympics. With the field being widdled down to a meagre 32 remaining skaters, every single mistake could be extremely costly and the smallest hesitation could shut one out for the title. No wonder that it is difficult to scale how far our sole competitor could go.

Erzat Bikmaev
24 years old – born in Gzuh Knel, KI

This story starts with frustration and tragedy as Bikmaev seemed ready to retire with the skating sport at 21 when he was not selected for Project Prescott. A talented yet too often underachieving skater at the short distances, he seemed destined to focus on his work as a bioplant production employee but decided to turn a dire situation into something valuable. Considering that no one really cared for short track, it merely being a prep event for hemshne players and not taken as ‘full’ for actual skaters, he decided to carve our his career in that field. With success, it must be said as his explosiveness and guts often bring Bikmaev out of impossible situations. But the escape king is aware that he’ll need a bit of luck to advance as well. ”Some call it a lottery and that’s true. But some get better tickets than others, that’s a fact as well.” Considering his prowess on the shorter distances, it is a fair hope to baffle the field and if a few favourites drop out early, Bikmaev might turn out to be this year’s surprise of the tournament.

[Electrum]

Northcote Oval, Prescott

The eyes of the multiverse were once again on Prescott, for the second time in a row, the sleepy city of Prescott opened its doors to welcome another group of athletes. History was going to be in the making for the second time in Prescott. Only 104 sets of medals were up for grabs, 104 chances for athletes to be immortalised in the history books. Some of those athletes were just happy to be there. Some athletes had been training their whole lives for this one singular moment. And some were destined to become Olympic champions.

A timpani once again was the signal for the audience to quieten down as the Olympic Ceremony was about to begin... instead of going straight to the countdown, a small clip was played. Set to the tune of some wintry music, the clip started off with a young boy and girl on snowy ground... the camera hovered upwards to reveal it was Aether Gardens. The gardens, full of metallic sculptures and frozen pine and fir trees was a new outdoor venue for the Bandy and the Yukigassen events. The boy was holding hands with the girl, who was herself flying a kite. The boy asked the girl, "Do you think dreams will ever come true?"

All of a sudden, there was a huge gust of wind, and both the girl and the boy lifted from the air by the kite, lifted as if they weighed nothing at all. The two soared above the city of Prescott, showcasing the various landmarks in the area, including the geometric Ice Palace, next to Madison Square, the blue district before flying away into the mountains. They flew over the small resort towns, showcasing the various facilities that the athletes would be using. The kite soared above skiiers in the Mount Buckley National Park, the jumpers at the Jumping Centre, and the brave snowboarders and skiiers on the halfpipe and slopestyle pipes. There was little talking from the children, the scenery below being to awe-inspiring to say anything.

With each passing shot in the video, the background slowly turned from day to night. At the very end of the music, it was shown that with another gust of wind, the kite flew its way back towards the lights of Prescott.... flying into Northcote Oval itself. As soon as the music ended, the official broadcast showed the two children landing onto the middle of the Oval. The girl finally had an answer: "They do. They really do. But before dreams can come true, they need to begin. I wonder who will help us begin them?" The children looked at the audience, pointing at random parts of the crowd and saying, "We're going to need your help!" That's when the seating around the arena started to light up. On all sides, the number 20 appeared. It zoomed to the side as 19 appeared. The countdown had finally arrived. All together now, the audience was one, counting down the numbers to the multiverse's biggest event. With the children, they counted.... ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, THREE, TWO, ONE, ZERO!

Teal and silver fireworks lit up the night sky, as well as the hearts and minds of the audience. All around the Oval, eleven sets of fireworks were fired, one for each of the Winter Olympics that were played, and one more for Prescott itself. Triumphant music was then played, then, "Welcome to the 12th Winter Olympics in Prescott, Electrum! Welcome back everyone!", and then in French, the other official language of the Olympic Council. The two hosts for this evening were the famed Electrumite duo who usually commentates WorldVision for Network ENN, Max Hardwell and Sonya Portelli. They had a short speech on how lovely the people were, which was a guise for the stage to be set to the next phase of the opening ceremony: the artistic program. The pair then announced the next section of the Ceremony would be called, "Creation Story."

"Creation Story" is another name for the stories that described how this nation was shaped, as explained by the Indigenous peoples of Electrum. Conspicuously left unexplained in the opening ceremony of the Games of the X Olympiad back in Centralis, this segment of the ceremony would be left explaining how the Electrumite mountains was formed, including the very peak of Electrum, the Jarangal - Mt. Nixon mountain. A large scroll was unfurled across the entire stage. The dancers from out of nowhere, started to appear on top of the scroll, making it come to life.

"Ciantha was a noble man who lived with his wife, six sons and six daughters at the place we call Prescott. He was a great warrior who saved us from Yolngu, the large green snake who swallowed the moon." The dancers on stage replicated the story thus far, which was in the Opening Ceremony of the X Olympiad. "But when he came back, he was rewarded with a large towering rock by the gods. The hero did not know what to do with the rock, so he started carving it into a mountain using his sword."

At the same time a large boulder was lifted on stage, as the dancers and actors played out every move that was being said.... "Done for the night, Ciantha went back into his house to sleep... little did they know that the snake's blood, imbued on the sword, had enlargening powers... by dawn the next day, it was no longer a plain, but a fully sized mountain. This was Jarangal." All of a sudden on stage, the boulder turned out to be a balloon, and it quickly increased in size to become a large mountain shaped object. From the air, another boulder fell in front of them.

"Just like the previous day, Ciantha carved the rock, and in the night it grew into yet another mountain. It took forty days and forty nights, but when it was finally done, their house was completely surrounded by mountains. As a reward from the gods, Ciantha received a golden sword and each of the mountains were filled with so much gold that Ciantha and his family only had to walk into one of the caves and grab a gold bar at the entrance. That is where Electrum's riches comes from."

On stage, by the time the program was finished, there were massive mountains surrounding the central area. One-by-one they moved closer towards the middle until they converged. Once there was a big mass of inflatable mountains in the centre, they all deflated straight away.... revealing the Olympic Estoile! The Olympic Estoile then flew through the air to the top of the stadium, where it would stay. There were even more fireworks as people got prepared for the next portion of the Games, the Parade of Nations. Max Hardwell and Sonya Portelli returned and said, "It's time to give a warm Prescottian welcome to the athletes who will be competing in the 12th Winter Olympics!"

One by one, Max and Sonya would say the names of each of the nations, the first time in English, the second time in French. The volunteers and dancers made a large circle that the athletes would walk around, all of them dancing under their ski clothes. The parade started in the English alphabetical order, starting with Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic, and then Amuaplye and so on. Delegations that entered under a unified delegation came out together at the same time. The nations that did the best at the time, as well as prominent sporting and Olympic nations had the biggest cheers of all, including for the Teremarans, the Kelssekians, the Mattijanans, Vilita, Valanora... The final delegation, and the delegation with the largest roar of them all was Electrum -- headed by the ageing yet still strong Loreen Kim, the two-time defending gold medallist in the women's skeleton.

After the long lap around the entire stadium, the athletes were settled down for the next phase of the ceremony, the speeches. Only the Paripanan Olympic Council President as well as Maximilion von Trier, the EOC President were allowed to talk. This time, there weren't even any politicians present at the ceremony -- they were all busy instead dealing with the Euran war crisis across the border. This came to the relief of the organisers, who always wanted to avoid what happened in the opening ceremony in Centralis when two politicians started bickering with each other. They talked about the usual fluff about being thankful for Prescott for stepping up to the plate once again to hold a world class event.

As soon as von Trier finished his speech, the large screens which were on all four sides of the arena showed the Olympic Torch coming closer and closer to the Oval. Instead of opting for the more dramatic option last time of dropping the torch from the helicopter, instead, it was run in by Rosalind Corby, a former Sports Minister and gold medallist, as well as athlete in the nordic combined in these games. There was a large cheer for her: she had always been a popular politician and a popular athlete. She ran right to the centre stage next to the politicians, awkwardly holding onto the torch while the ceremony continued. Evidently the Olympic Committee didn't plan this portion well, as it was time for the final section of the ceremony: the oaths.

The Electrumite governor-general, as head of state, administered the oaths. On behalf of the athletes, relative newcomer Anette Akana, a biathlete from Electrum promised to stay faithful to the Olympic values. On behalf of the judges, Michael Lavoisier, an Electrumite figure skating judge would promise to be unbiased and to stay faithful to the Olympic values. Once the official parts of the Opening ceremony were over, there was only one thing that remained. Rosalind Corby stood up from her seat, and leaned forward with her Olympic Torch, where she lit up a rope. The rope spiralled up and up into the sky and straight into the cauldron, which was attached to the stadium, next to the Estoile. The Electrumite governor-general, Daniel Hawthorne declared the Winter Olympic Games open for the second time in Electrum, as fireworks thundered in the sky.

The true competition was to start tomorrow, but already athletes had their first taste of success and failure in the women's ice hockey and the team trophy figure skating competitions.

---

This is your Day 0 cut-off, so roleplays prior to this point as well as rosters posted prior to this point will count. If you have substantially changed your roster in the next few days, please let this be known to me.

[Mount Pleasant]

Day 0: The Opening Ceremony

Backstage, in the doldrums of Prescott Oval

Marianela Spight reties her tie. As much as she ties it, it just isn't...right. She unties and reties. Unties and reties. Maybe it's the blazer. Take off blazer, adjust tie, put on blazer, take off blazer, put on blazer, untie, retie, retie, untie blazer, put on tie, readjust blazer, untie, take off blazer put on blazer untie retie untie adjust blazer adjust tie retie untie take off blazer put on blazer

Celeste Tasker puts a hand on Spight's shoulder and tells her to get it out of her head. You look alright, Marianela, and then they both continue preparing themselves for their opening ceremony.

Sunny Elliot prepares himself for the opening ceremony. Though be it in Mount Pleasant's respectful navy blazer (with the national crest, the Flame) and tie, light blue top and white trousers, one has to look good for such an occasion, he thinks as he wears his right earring.

Luis Hanley wears his watch, then takes it off. Should he go for the patriotic Asimont Barker series or the flashier Dai Diamond?

Rachel Greenspan mutters "His eyes are like shining diamonds!" to Kelly Morgenstern.Morgernstern asks if it was one of those hot Elejamie hockey players from earlier today. To Morgernstern's disappointment, the guy is just someone from Gregoryisgodistan.

Elias Lee is lost. All he needed was the bathroom.

Harry Joyner washes his hands in the bathroom when his phone buzzes. It's from Elias. "HELP!". Oh god, not again.

"HELP!", shouts Antoinette Serafino. Lazlo Wolf rushes to her aid. She wanted her relay teammates to help tie her tie, but she didn't mind one of the Wolfs. They're cute, after all.

Kasey Jewell can't get that stewardess from two nights ago out of his head, even with his heavy training today. She's cute, after all. Plus, she didn't know the girls from Pleasant Flight^TM could be such...animals.

Codie Jasso has brought an animal in the Mount Pleasant delegation area backstage. It's a rat he found in a Prescott back alley. Kory Pavoni facepalms then slaps Jasso for the second time in two days. Thomas Yeong and Andrew Su nope right out of the room.

Kip Cockburn dashes outside to receive a call and sits on a bench with two others on it. He hangs up as the chilly air howls outside. As the man in the middle gets up and out, he looks over to the other side of the bench.

Jeanine Tasker is on the other side of the bench, as Mount Pleasant's favourite female Wintersports athlete takes out a cigarette. The two glance at each other then instantly away. Tasker flicks her lighter, sparking it. Fireworks explode, breaking the silence. Another flick, another spark, another firework breaks the silence. A flick, a spark, a firework. A flick, a firework. Tasker gets up from the bench and ducks back inside, cigarette in lips still unlit.

Walter Wolf bites his lips. Just hurry up already. I can't wait to go back to the village. He snaps his fingers.

Johanna Trengrove snaps a pic of the ceremony to send to her husband. Only, instead of sending it to Sam Trengrove, she's sent them to Sammi Gori.

Sammi Gori takes one final look at his phone when Mattijana is called out. Johanna's sent him a pic. Why? Nevermind. Straighten your back, straight face, small smile, wait for Mecredi and then it's your turn to hold your flag in front everyone at Prescott Oval and the entire world.

Nathaniel Pelley kinda stops in absolute awe at the spectacle in the Prescott Oval. Elouise Norman has to grab his hand and pull him to avoid blocking Natanians and Nosts' delegation.

Fabian Cliff and Vivienne Avery hold hands as they form up in the stadium, just as rehearsed. Vivienne corrects her friend's collar just a little. Fabian looks down at his friend's blazer, with the crest of the Mount Pleasant Flame on the left breast, where the heart is. As the torch-brearer, Rosalind Corby went up towards the cauldron, Fabian looked at Vivienne. Vivienne looked at Fabian.

The flame is alight. The fireworks go off. The Winter Olympics have begun.

[West Phoencia]

The Cats Meow

Day O


And so starts a glorious time of year the Winter Games.. held in the beautiful city of Prescott. The stadium was filled to capacity with audience members from across the globe, all present to cheer on their nation.

The teal and silver firework exploded into the air mesmerizing the crowds as they fizzled into the night air, a perfect portrait of a winter wonderland.

Than began the pride march of each nation, marching into the stadium like Centurions marching into war their banners and flags waving high, boasting each nations greatest winter athletes.

West Phoenicia patiently waited their turn, being at the end of the alphabet spectrum they got to view their competition. Unlike the previous Winter Games, the West Phoenician team was far larger and were unified with Scarlett Orient Isles one of their external island territories that had been autonomous until recently where a referendum had been held to officially become the 31st state of West Phoenicia. Also along for the ride was athletes from Annixe Christos, a country recently becoming a protectorate state of West Phoenicia.

West Phoenicia marched out with pride, men in their pale lavender suits and women dressed in dazzling silver with sapphire highlight dresses.
West Phoenicia marched in 4 rows in military precision there Flag Bearer Minister of West Phoenician Olympic Sports Baron Callum DeVine waved the flag at the front of the procession standing alongside him, 3 lucky children, each held a small flag representing the 3 unified nations, as two West Phoenicians dressed in traditional country attire raised the horns they were carrying and blew into them, sending out a sound of triumphant entry. Being visitors to the nation they had to show their best to the majoroty pro- Electrum crowd, the home nation itself was minutes away from their own triumphant entry.

At the sound of the horns, four women dressed in white outfits speckled with gold dust wearing red masquerade masks cart-wheeled into the stadium behind athletes. They performed an array of cartwheels and back flips as the team took their walk around the stadium. The last athlete of West Phoenicia to enter wore a decorate golden crusted fur, he held a long golden leash chain attached to the chain a tame Snow Leopard lumbered into the stadium a low friendly growl as its eyes darted around at the packed stadium.

West Phoenician Politicans, celebrities and dignitaries slowly raised to their feet, in their reserved section in the stands waiving to their athletes.
Queen Angelique Baroda-Bush, the Head Queen of West Phoenicia was in attendance surrounded by ladies in waiting and a security details was the highest ranking member of the West Phoenician Royal Family in attendance, representing her majestic and magnificent nation.

[Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic]

Fehrnsehen Kanal nummer 1 adn Fehnsehen Kanal Sport (FS-1, FS-S)

Presenters: Kuessermann Heer Markus, Ambor Jaqueaut Amelie

Kussermann Welcome to the openin ceremony at the XII WInter Olympics
Ambor Yes, and it the first Olymic partecipation of our nation. And in this first partecipation the our Olimpic Comitee had send ca. 200 athletes, in all disciplines, exept for the demostration events
Kussermann Now begin a music, the introducion music
Ambor And the introduction prestation, a boy adn a girl

...

Kussermann Ohh... it's fantastic
Ambor Fantastic is also the sculptures and the stadium, what is full of specaator who waving the flag of their nation.
Kussermann And remembre, as wajt say the kid all the dream can become true if you want
Ambor Obvius, and surely all the athlete who partecipate had see realzied their dream to go to Olympics. This mean that you can do everything, if you want...
Kussermann Ah the kid say what they ahve need a help...
Ambor to do a countdown... 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4... three... two... one... and officially the olymics begin!!!

....

Kussermann Now begin so called "Creation Story"
Ambor Yes, is a part of the ceremony who talk about the host nation, histoly, culture, geography, etc...
Kussermann I love this part, you kniw the particularity of the host nation, and you'll know it from the nation itself
Ambor And is very fantastic to see the coerography done by the artists.

*the presenter talks of the Electrum history, and culture to do undertood to people the coerography, etc...*

Ambor Faaantastic, now will becin the nation's athlete parade
Kussermann Yes, an the first nation to parade is the our, Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic
Ambor The our flag bearer is Al-Kaiyla Zachermann Julie, who vawing the our flag proundly



*the presente comment the other nation parade"

Kussermann Now the last country to parade, the host country Electrum
Ambor Now will talk the EOC president, and after the Electrumite governor-general

...


Kussermann The opening ceremony is ended, and in the FS-1 ans FS-S you can se 24/7 the event, and from the FS website and the official app you can see all event of this olympiad, bye

[Kosovakia]

Day 0, OPENING CEREMONY

Opening ceremony

After the beautiful opening ceremony, Where only 140 Kosovakian athletes entered the stadium. Because why? Because some athletes have to perform the next day and they really wants to focus for there events. But there was already some action today, Well a lot of action on the ice. Figure skating and the Women's ice hockey compentition was going to start, A hour before the start of the Women's ice hockey compentition the Kosovakian women's team told me "It's so awesome to compete here, I think we don't can train on better ice than here. That's why we love Prescott' Also the coach says some things 'Wow i didn't expect that it's so great here, My ladies going for gold here, Well for an good result. But first we have to survive the group stage'.

Hour after the first group match

'It's very hard to lose against an team in this way, We expect mutch more from us. Losing points here is not what we want, It's our job to secure the top of the group stage' So the 2-1 loss against Natanians and Nosts was hard. Almost 700 Kosovakian fans where in the stadium during the group match, One of the Kosovakian fans told me that they have watched to most hardest match in there lifes. Well is this the beginning of an very hard tournament, Our the end of the story in Prescott for the women's ice hockey team? We will see... in the next few days.

Figure skating

The figure skating events where also not that good, In the pairs short program the pair of Jana Klein and Martin Klein have finished 18th, And in the other Figure skating event s Kosovakia also did not very well, (bad).. The men's individual program was not the event for Martijn Cortogg, He finished 22th, And have currently no points. So that's Day 0, Tomorrow a lott more action, And hopefully even an medal in the Biathlon men's 10km sprint, And in Men's 5000m speed skating event. See you than!

---

News:

1. Kosovakian Women's ice hockey team losing first olympic match
2. XII Winter Olympic official started in Prescott
3. Terrorist attack Swatzeland, 8 people died
4. Why sport is so important for Kosovakian people?


Wheater in Kosovakia

5 °C

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

Olympic Brief: Brilliant start to Electrum Olympics

It was genuinely an electrifying sight in Electrum at last night's XII Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony. For the first time in over two decades, a Beretanian Olympic delegation was on hand to march in the parade of nations. As a nation much more successful in the Summer Olympics, many faces in the crowd of Beretanians will have an uphil battle to challenge for medals. Hayleigh Farmer, part of the women's 4x5 km relay team in cross country was the proud flag bearer for Unified Beretania. She was beaming with joy as she led the delegation. Just a step behind her, Sonya Graham, Asia Lawrence and Natasha Valentine, her teammates.

It was very inspiring to see Gözde Şentürk, tears of joy streaming down her face. Columbus Tyler pumped his fist, not with arrogance, but in the celebration of the triumph over the darkest of days just to be here. Becky Stevens, the trooper she is, marched with the delegation on crutches and braced knee. Ludwig Wörner, arm in arm with long time girlfriend and fellow snowboarder Storm Hammond, took in all the extravagance with admiration and wonderment. Newlywed snowboarding couple Indrajit Chatterjee and Sudeepta Maharaj jubilantly waved to the crowd. Lizabet Weiß sported a face painted German flag on her right cheek and a Beretanian flag on her left, honoring both her heritage and her country simultaneously.

The current delegation is one of the most ethnically diverse that Unified Beretania has ever sent to an Olympics, a testament, for better or worse, to the rich multicultural nature of the country. We are a country that fought a civil war in its early history over immigration, an oft tough subject to broach. Yet, after three civil wars throughout our history, including one since our last Olympic appearance, we are united under one flag as Beretanians once again. It makes the official delegation social media hashtag #WeAreBeretanian, that the athletes will be using during Electrum, all the more special.

Soaking it all in from the stands, an awestruck Jaguar Rodriguez, gold medal short track speed skater in the Winter Universiade I in Kosovakia, and almost guaranteed Olympian four years from now. Rodriguez is one of ten elite junior athletes who are official delegation guests sent to Electrum to experience the Olympics firsthand before making the trip themselves as athletes in just four short years.

The entirety of the opening ceremony was a sensational affair, quite moving and breathtaking. The Olympic organizers should be commended for their outstanding planning and execution of the ceremony.

Day One Preview

Beretanians will be particpating in seven events on day one, and are realistically competitive in two of them. Ludwig Wörner, Indrajit Chatterjee, Bhargyaraj Gupta and Zachary Barr all have a high quality opportunity in men's snowboarding slopestyle. In men's speed skating, Ed Reinhold and Austin Zyskowski both have a great shot in the 5000m event.

Elsewhere, day one will see Zoe England and Kaylynn Reese compete in women's freestyle skiing moguls. England is the best chance in that event. Rey Chen in men's luge has a chance to do well, as does Joe Rizzo in men's 500m short track speed skating. The prime event to watch however remains men's snowboarding slopestyle.

[Asteran]

"Her new album, Gold, available now in stores and on Shockwave. Marijke, thank you so much for being here this morning."
"Thank you, Marie."
"Over to you, Jack!"

"Thanks, Mar. Time now to check in on the excitement and pageantry of the Winter Olympics, and for that we have the ABC Olympics power couple, Alan Eagle and Hanna Baker, live and still awake from Prescott. Guys, good evening - or is it morning there?"

"Not quite morning yet, Jack. But a good morning to Asteran from the International Broadcasting Center here in Prescott, where we have taken in a phenomenal opening ceremony at Northcote Oval this evening."

"It was stunning, Alan. Mar and I watched it ahead of the show today."
"That it was, Jack. But not the only action from Prescott today, as my partner will tell you all about right now. Hanna?"

"Thanks Alan. And I'd just like to say how wonderful it is to continue my broadcast partnership with you at the Olympics. Asteran's figure skaters hit the ice today to open the Olympic competition program, with the first events of the team trophy getting us started here in Prescott. Kira Hansen and Bjorn Toller opened things for the team with their pairs short program, but a fall by Toller and little mistakes by the pair left them adrift in 13th place, 15 points back of the top spot. Dani Breyten spoke with the pair after their event."

"Tough luck out there today, guys. How did you feel about your performance out there?"
"Just a bad day all around. We made too many mistakes out there on the ice, and Bjorn's fall was just part of that. Both of us are to blame for that performance, and we're disappointed with how we did out there today."
"It was difficult for both of us, to be sure. My fall was just one issue out of many, and we ended well down of where we know we can be. We let ourselves and the team down today, and now we have to regroup and get ready for the free program."

"Bjorn Toller and Kira Hansen there. Following them in the men's short program was Jeremy Loisel, who had to put up a good performance to help keep the team in the hunt for the title. Loisel responded with a phenomenal short program, scoring a season's best 88.84 to give him 1st place in the event and a crucial 12 points for the team. Dani Breyten spoke with him afterwards."

"Jeremy, a brilliant skate by you out there today. Did you feel any pressure on you following Kira and Bjorn's performance?"
"A little, yes. The coaches told me not to worry about it, which is always their speak for 'worry about it.' Once I hit the ice, I felt good out there and carried that into my program. As soon as I hit that first jump, I knew I would have a good run out there. I just watched the program back with my coach, and it's the best I've done in a while. I'm happy for the team as well, you know. Getting those points to keep us in position helps a lot."

"Loisel's performance has helped keep Asteran in striking distance in the team trophy, the Blue Lions sitting 4th overall, just 5 points behind the leaders Terre Des Gaules with plenty of skating to come. Alan?"

"Thank you, Hanna; brilliant as always. A full day of action is coming your way on the ABC networks: the first medals of the Olympics will be handed out tomorrow, and you can see them all live on the ABC. Men's Biathlon from Mount Buckley National Park, with legends Steve Dallas and Hugh Eastin calling the action for you. Men's Downhill, the Men's 30K cross-country, Women's Nordic Combined, and the Men's 5000 meter speed skate; all live across the ABC and on our website, abc.as/olympics. Back to you, Marie and Jack."

"Thank you, Alan and Hanna. Up next here in the One Show studio, chef Greg Tolliver will join us to discuss his new program on ABC Two and prepare us a great breakfast treat; you don't want to miss this."

[Tobiasia]

TTV Sports at Prescott

So what happened on Day 0? Well no medals, but a fantastic opening ceremony plus women's hockey matches and the team trophy event. Tobiasia drew 1-1 with Turori in the hockey, and is not competing in the team trophy.

The opening ceremony was fantastic as usual, featuring a marvellous 'creation story'. Around 100 Tobiasian athletes are competing at Prescott, in 76 different events. That's 76 potential golds! The flag bearer was Andrew Frankson, supporting the Tobiasian flag as the athletes entered the stadium.

Tommorow the real action begins, with 5 golds available. Tobiasian eyes will be on the Men's downhill where Artur Ty-bal and Peter Ta-pyn will be competing for gold.

Now foreign listeners you may be wondering why there is a hyphen between so many athletes names, which you didn't see at the summer Olympics. That's because in the Tob-An mountain range which cuts Tobiasia in half, a hyphen between surnames is very common. And the Tob-An mountains are where most Tobiasian Winter Olympic contestants come from, and where they all train.

[Kriegiersien]

Orange NEWS!
The true alternative facts! They are great!

Olympics

The Opening Ceremony was great. Beautiful. With many stories. When the Kriegiersien Bots marched in in perfect harmony, the crowd went wild. The cousin of the President received much deserved laughter when he deliberately stumbled and dropped the flag. Everyone was amused.


Lisanski hockey teams went missing.
The Lisanskis asked for help from the Host to find them, what Electrum did, after answering with an annoyed note.
Are we some sort of babysitters? We asked before “Is anyone missing?” and no one answered “Yes, we do.” If your representatives are drunk all the time and not listening, it’s not our problem.
Later the teams were found by the police in a Casino and brought into the Olympic Village.
“We have redrawn your teams into the group stage and they can start later, if they repay the mafia the money they have won. We only arranged that because we are nice”, said a stressed NOC Offical of Electrum.
In the meantime the team of Redvale was asking for entrance to the rink in the Landry's Arena. „We are very good! We want to play. We demand entrance to the competition now.“ The referee from Mount Pleasant, who was at the moment running the match Frestovenia against Krytenia, had to tell them that they just had a day off and would start into the competition later.

Female Kriegiersien Hockey Team nearly wins against West Phonecia (0:1).
Especially the outstanding performance of the goal keeper, saving 42 shots, was impressive. Also 2 goals for Kriegiersien were denied by the obviously bribed referees, explaining why the team lost in the end with 0 shots.

Fitness and Health
Scientist proves: Smoking is good. At least for the heirs.

Fashion
Orange is the new black.

Politics
Survey shows: Only boring people, rapists and lunatics don't like the President.

For more truth follow us on the Internets.

[Furbish Islands]

Opening Ceremony and Day One

Today was the Opening Ceremony and the first day of the Olympics. Besides the opening ceremony, nothing else significant happened for team Furby Island besides the opening ceremony. The women's hockey team had a bye, and our country is known for a not so good skating team.

But the highlight of the day was the opening ceremony. The trophy hunting team has already performed, and the women's hockey team will not play today.

Electrum had prepared a nice opening ceremony, and all the athletes could agree that they liked it. Though it is mainly because they had nothing to compare it to.

The parade of nations then came, and the team came on when the announcer called Furby Island. The announcers said everything in English and French, but everything was translated to one of the 433 form of Furbish on TV, depending on the viewer's location.

The team members walked out wearing uniforms that have the stripe pattern that appears on the flag. On the chest on the right side, there is the crown that is on the flag. On the other side, they have a flag of the province, territory where they live. The ones who live in Furby City have its flag. All the outfits were handmade, and the athletes themselves made the crowns and flags.

The flag is also completely handmade. All the stars were made by people from the regions that they represent.

The team marched through Northcote Oval, and then they called Gregoryisgodistan. At the end of the opening ceremony, the team went back to their hotel in Prescott.

Tomorrow, be sure to pay attention to men's downhill alpine skiing, men's ice hockey, and women's curling

-Courtney Driscoll, FISN reporter





(OOC: The top panel was based off the one made by Kosovakia, so don't give me any credit)

[The Redvale]

Kam Winters, Corinne Winslow, Emilia Priest, Michi Hanari
Prescott, Electrum

It was the day before the Opening Ceremony, and the players of Team Redvale still had some time to relax and check out the city before the pressure would be cranked up to a hundred with the start of the games. Four players in specific were out in town, enjoying the coffee that Prescott was known for and talking about their chances in the upcoming events. There was a friendly rivalry between men's and women's hockey, after all.

"I'm sure that whatever happens, Corinne here is going to keep up her trend of being the top scorer in whatever competitions she competes in," said Emilia, who had been trying to get with the most likely straight Corinne for the whole night.

"But we all know the best player is still Kam," said Corinne, flicking her fire red hair to the side and glancing with a small smile at the young centerman who was playing for the same school that she was, back home. She'd previously been too nervous to approach him, but these Olympics provided a good chance, and like Emilia, she was here to get with someone else. In this case, that someone else was her fellow Marisian.

"Awww, stop it, you're going to make me blush, Rinne," Kam said, uncomfortable with all the attention. Both of them were outgoing and awkward at the same time, and that made their interactions hilarious to the fourth member of the group, Michi Hanari. The Crush goalie who was a reserve with the Olympic team was just here for coffee and snacks, not to flirt. Still, the others were amusing to him, especially watching Emilia Priest flirt with a straight girl who was eight years younger.

"You guys still haven't told me what you think of the coffee," muttered Michi, with a chuckle. "I didn't know I was invited here to be the third wheel for all of you. Or if there's three of you, does that make me the fourth wheel? Wait, that doesn't make sense-"

"It's good, Michi. But maybe you should've brought along your own special someone, and you wouldn't have to feel awkward," Corinne said, punching him in the arm. "Or you could try flirting with the waitress next time she comes around... Now that would be entertaining to see."

"I feel like you're making fun of me-"

"Just a little, I'm serious when I say it would be entertaining though," chuckled Corinne, filling the room with that laugh of hers again. There was something carefree about her, more so with her than the rest of the team. "I'm not saying you don't have people skills, I'm just saying something about you brings out funny reactions."

They all snickered, except for Michi, who was blushing, and there was a silence at their table as they ate away at their food. Corinne took another look over her shoulder, and Emilia caught her in the act and pointed it out to everyone. "Why so jumpy, C? By my count, that's the ninth time this evening that you've turned around to look over your shoulder."

Corinne ran a hand through her red hair, looking down and sighing. "I just don't feel good about those guys in the blue sweatshirts. When I see three guys in blue shirts like that, moving around as a group, it makes me think of Legion. You know they use blue to identify themselves, right? The coaches told us to be on alert because Legion is expected to try something during the games."

Legion was, of course, the pro democracy rebel group that had sprung up in Redvale and that had acted by freeing political prisoners and getting into battles with the Federal Police. There were well sourced rumors, however, that they would soon be much more active than that, and that they were planing to do something that would make a huge splash soon enough. "Yeah, right. Take the tinfoil hat off," Emilia said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "You wear blue when you play with Mount Maris. Does that mean I should be calling los Federales and telling them that you're a Legion member?"

"I just have a really bad feeling that I can't explain," Corinne said, looking over her shoulder again. She grabbed her coffee glass and downed the rest of the drink in two gulps, before setting it down. "Something about those men is off and I'd rather be safe than sorry, whether they're Legion or not. I think I'm going to head back to the village and hang out with Aurora a bit before bed-"

"You're being a pussy, Corinne!" Emilia called out after the redhead, as she stood up and pulled her leather jacket on and started to leave. "You're seriously acting like you've got on a tin foil hat, you know!"

She ignored the older player and kept going, feeling her heart flutter as someone that she really looked up to insulted her for leaving. They'd insulted each other plenty that night, but it had been in jest and that had been easy to tell. Now, Emilia's tone had an edge, and Corinne couldn't help but look down and not look back. As she was walking away, Michi stood up too. "You know, I think I should be getting to bed soon also. I might as well walk back with her," he said, running to follow her after pulling on his Skybrough Crush coat."

"Pussies..." muttered Emilia, watching the two leave and turning to Kam. "You don't believe that Legion is out to get us, do you? That's just fearmongering from the government. Michi believed it, though. You could tell from the look on his face."

Kam shrugged, and the other two players continued out of the coffee shop and onto the street. It was there, on the sidewalk as the players passed an alleyway, that the first man in the black and blue hoodie jumped out and threw a damp bag over Corinne's head. The next man moved quickly afterwards, doing the same to Michi Hanari. Before either of them could fight back or shout to alert anyone else of what was happening, they felt themselves becoming very sleepy. Both of the, tried to scream, but before they did, the darkness of sleep overtook them.

The real battle had begun between the Redvali government and the democratic movement, and Legion had drawn first blood.

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

Blunder on Ice

"In what the Leader admits to be an embarrassment and insult towards the nation, itself. Nicholas Bill and Donna Bowen has became the nation's worst figure skaters in Main Nation Ministry's sports. Witnesses reported the two, repeatedly failing the simplest of tricks and at one point, colliding with one another while skating. The leader remarked that even though he classified them as the worst, he noticed that the skaters from the Island Emirate of Turori were in dead last place. "Bill and Bowen just didn't care at all, Turori Pair might have intentionally lost on purpose." he remarked at the results.

While Leader tried all of his best into getting to the top, he stumbled a bit costing him from getting a single point. Nicholas Bill and Donna Bowen are to head back to the nation after the Winter Olympics are over for punishment. More news will come at Day 1."