Winter Universiade I - Roleplay Thread

[West Phoencia]

West Phoenicia Times

West Phoenicia continues to perform at an exceeding level vieweship of the Wrycrev Universiade Winter Games has increased by 40% in West Phoenicia as citizens tune in to cheer their athletes on.

Day 3 saw West Phoenicia pull in 5 medals. Two of them gold.

Cooper Admin was out for redemption after a dismal performance at the XI Winter Games, that saw him place 50th. New training facilities, a new coach and a lucrative endorsement deal of $2.5 million with Phoenicia Air Runners saw Cooper push himself to the extreme.

Just as fans were catching their breaths another win was gained. Nadia Francisco pulled off a gold win in the women's speed skating 1000m. With Wrycrev being her first major international event Nadia was estatic, tears steaming down her face as she cleared the finish line.
"Praise goes to God, my coach, my parents, countries and King."
In what could only be considered a miracle both Hockey teams advanced after narrow wins. The Men's hockey team narrowly beat Frestovenia 3-0. While the women’s team had a tighter win beating Kosovakia 1-0
With such narrow wins fans will be lining up to ask for prayers across all religious institutions tomorrow praying for West Phoenicia to outdo themselves. To play as they have been would end with losses. Losses means less investment to Ice Hockey if a team cannot perform.

Over at the Curling Arena. Both Mens and Womens showed why they deserved to be at these games, finishing in the top spot and progressing. Now that the advance the real challenges will begin.

West Phoenicia is leading the way in the Wrycrev Universiade Winter Games and they are fast obtaining their goal of 15. Which could see itself reach at least 20 if they continued to perform as they are.



With the nation glued to their screens, members of the West Phoenician Socialist Party and West Phoenicia Green Party have critised the Minister of Sport for outlandish spending. While they noted sports was good for entertaining the masses the money invested could be better used for assisting displaced refugees and to fund the arts.
The West Phoenician First Party and Antebellum Party fired back citing that participating in world sporting events helped improve diplomacy with other nations and raise awareness of issues that athletes promoted post matches.

[Vamenlac]

The Vamenlac Delegation Report

---

Even though we did not place in the third day the Vamenlac Delegation is still confident that we will get at least one gold.

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

Third Time Becomes The Charm

"In the third day in the Winter Universiade, some of our finest athletes are getting medals. In short track speed skating 500m qualification, Angus Hinkley impressed our nation by winning bronze and Cherryl Boyle had the whole nation watching as she won silver in Women's 1000m speed skating. In other news, the Ministry of Sports in Main Nation Ministry are studying the giant slalom course, due to several athletes not finishing the course."

[Annixe Christos]

Djenghis Nielsen has alot to be thankful for after winning gold in the Men's halfpipe and picking up The Theocracy of Annixe Christos second medal.

"For a small nation it is very humbling to have achieved gold at Wrycrev." Djenghis said during a post interview as his coach Boris Yult and his parents stood nearby.

Djenghis can now add Gold medal to his resume after today. Along with the Wrycrev medal he has obtained;

* Gold in the Annixe Christos Winter Jubilee Games
* Placed 4th in The Confederate Games
* Bronze at the Junior Snowboarding Championships held in The Republic of Blizzardinia
* Placed 9th at the Icicle Snowboarding Extravaganza.


The Theocracy of Annixe Christos face their biggest challenge in the Men's Curling where they go up against powerhouse West Phoenicia.

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

Second Olympian Bound for Prescott Medals

Wrycrev, Kosovakia -- In an encouraging trend, a second athlete who will be attending the upcoming Winter Olympics in Prescott, Electrum, has won a medal. Mercedes Middleton picked up the silver medal in the alpine skiing women's giant slalom event. Middleton was expected to medal here in Wrycrev and is widely considered as a contender to medal in Prescott.

"I feel like I'm on top of the world right now. It took a lot of practice, dedication, perseverance and effort to get to this level. I'm proud of my accomplishments and I feel like I have the confidence to take Electrum by storm," Middleton remarked following her win.

The twenty one year old from Essex-Frenswell Townships in Devalla County is lucky just to be alive. At eighteen, Middleton tore her ACL and broke her tibia and fibula in a devastating crash during training for nationals, in which she veered off course and clipped a tree. That she has made a full recovery and gotten back into Olympic form in just three years is truly remarkable. Though she didn't wear a brace here in Wrycrev, Middleton says she will be wearing a knee brace when she competes in Electrum. For her, it is an extra level of security, though she says her knee is fine.

"It's more a psychological thing, but I'm going to wear a knee brace in the Olympics. I feel the need to play it conservative because I just want to protect all the hard work I put into my recovery and getting back into Olympic form. I almost had to walk away from skiing after my injuries but I pushed myself harder than I thought I could and I'm on cloud nine today with this medal," Middleton said.

Two other Beretanians also headed to the Olympics were registered in the event, but finished towards the bottom of the field. Rachel Santana and Mia Dixon finished fifteenth and eighteenth respectively.

"I'm disappointed in my performance, but I'm extremely proud of Mercedes and what she has accomplished. She is a great friend and a true Beretanian hero," Santana said.

Elsewhere in Wrycrev...

Men's Curling a Total Bust, Women's Curling Surprises

Mixed notes for Beretanian curling, as the men's team obviously won't be advancing, but in a pleasant surprise, the Beretanian junior national women's curling team has barely advanced to the quarterfinal to be held on the 24th. A 7-4 win over Dragao Do Mar was necessary to make this possible. It is not expected that Unified Beretania will medal, but the women's team has already exceeded expectations. The result adds fuel to the fire regarding the future of Olympic Beretanian curling, but for now, the sport is still on thin ice with the UBNOC. The ladies will face Emerstari in the upcoming quarterfinal.

J.K. Lucas Exposes Weakness in Beretanian Snowboarding Program

Beretania is sending its snowboarding powerhouses like Ludwig Wörner, Storm Hammond, and Geneva Portola-Rodriguez, just to name a few, to Prescott. It's also sending J.K. Lucas, who is ill equipped to take on the world's best. That was all but confirmed here in Wrycrev. Lucas finished an unremarkable nineteenth in the field in the men's halfpipe event. He was the only Beretanian snowboarder sent to Wrycrev. In the upcoming Olympics, Lucas will be one of three underwhelming Beretanian competitors in the men's halfpipe event, a glaring weakness in the snowboarding program. Only Mohammed Azizi has an outside chance at medaling for Beretania in the Olympics in men's halfpipe. The real ability to recruit and develop talent in this discipline here in Wrycrev was severely overlooked, and as a result, the men's snowboarding program will be severely crippled in one of the premier Olympic snowboarding events for at least one cycle.

Day 3
Results

Alpine skiing - Women's giant slalom
1 Eva Percola (KSV) 1:12.08
2 Mercedes Middleton (UBT) 1:12.23
3 Devi Aucks (KWP) 1:12.88
________________________________
15 Rachel Santana (UBT) 1:19.53
18 Mia Dixon (UBT) 1:22.59


Snowboarding - Men's halfpipe
1 Djenghis Nielsen (TAC) 42.3
2 Nathanil Hradecky (WBJ) 41.6
3 Arman Jisomi (WBJ) 41.1
_____________________________
19 J.K. Lucas (UBT) 18.6


Curling - Men's group matches
Unified Beretania 7–10 Dragao Do Mar

Curling - Women's group matches
Unified Beretania 5–7 Kosovakia
Unified Beretania 7–4 Dragao Do Mar

Retractions and Corrections

In an earlier Winter Universiade I brief, staff writer Melissa Cohen incorrectly spelled Beretanian men's figure skater Kristofer Warner's name as Kristopher Warner. In addition, she also misspelled West Phoenicia numerous times in a previous article. We apologize for the unacceptable reporting, and as such, Ms. Cohen has been temporarily suspended.

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

Quiet day for Beretanians, fireworks to come

Day 4 in Wrycrev saw only two Beretanian athletes compete, Olympians Benny Yu and Norris Underwood, in the alpine skiing men's slalom event. Yu finished a respectable eighth, while Underewood finished twentieth overall. The two Beretanians are modestly skilled, but medal prospects in Prescott will be most likely out of range, just as they were here in Wrycrev.

Two of the most highly anticipated events in Wrycrev are still yet to come over the next two days. First, Jenna Singh will take to the ice on Day 5 for the women's figure skating free skate event, where Beretanians will witness Singh's final skate before heading to Electrum. The UBNOC, who has sponsored the appearances of the athletes in Wrycrev is pinning high hopes on Singh and junior speed skater Jaguar Rodriguez.

Rodriguez competes on Day 6, and the excitement for the fifteen year old speed skating sensation only grows by the day. In the Los Palmas neighborhood in the capital city of Albavona, where Rodriguez resides, local artist Rick Sanchez has painted a mural depicting Rodriguez breezing through competition, on a wall at her high school, Salvador Alvarez High School for Science and Technology. On the mural, a jaguar gives chase across the ice but appears no match for the speedy Rodriguez. "I wanted to honor a very talented and special girl, and have a place her friends and fellow students can come to and celebrate when she wins a medal," Sanchez said.

Rodriguez is confident and audacious heading into one of the biggest days of her life so far. She is less than forty eight hours from an event that has the nation captivated. #JaguarSpirit has been the most popular social media hashtag used in the past two days.

Jaguar's parents arrived yesterday in Wrycrev to watch their daughter compete in two days time. "I'm so proud of her. What she has done at such a young age is phenomenal. I am so excited to watch Jaguar skate here, and I know she'll do well," said Maria Rodriguez, Jaguar's mother.

For Singh, Wrycrev is an amazing opportunity to perfect her technical skills before the Olympics, but at the same time, it's a source of tremendous pressure to succeed. Two time Olympic medalist Stephan Chang is Singh's coach, and while he says Singh is ready for the biggest stage she's ever been on, he openly admits the stress of preparing is beginning to take hold.

"She definitely needs a medal here in Wrycrev. I think it will reinforce in her mind that yes, she can do this, she can compete at the highest level," Chang said.

Unified Beretania has a storied tradition of medaling in men's figure skating. A men's figure skater has reached the podium in every edition of every winter sports competition they have entered, from the Qazoxian Winter Sports Festival, to the Winter Olympics, and right here in Wrycrev. The same cannot be said of women's figure skating. In fact, if Singh medals here, it will be only the second medal at the international level for women's figure skating in Beretanian history, period. Amber Fong won bronze at the Qazoxian Winter Sports Festival. The pressure to succeed has never been higher.

"I've been thinking about all the ice skaters we've sent to the Olympics, like Cathleen Kim, Katie Yang, Kitti Lori Vang, Svetlana Harkova, Chrystalee Kwong, Amelia McKee...and they were all so good, they were all at the top of their game, and they all came home without a medal. I don't even feel like I'm at their level and it puts a lot into perspective for me," said Singh.

In addition to Singh, Anna Hernandez and Amelia Philippe will also skate. Neither are viewed as serious contenders here or in Prescott, but it will be interesting to see what kind of performance they can deliver without all the stress that is weighing Singh down. Mercedes Middleton, silver medalist here in Wrycrev, will be in the stands to take in all the figure skating action and give Singh some much needed moral support.

"I know in my heart I can medal here in Wrycrev. I just have to be as perfect as I can be and believe in myself," Singh said.



Day 4
Results

Alpine skiing - Men's slalom
1 John Creyme (SWA) 49.45
2 Lenard Blake (VAM) 50.03
3 Fausto Slye (VAM) 50.27
__________________________
8 Benny Yu (UBT) 51.61
20 Norris Underwood (UBT) 55.97

[Abristan]

Abristan Express

Liam Tenilla ruined by first attempt DNF
by Greg Danzel

Liam Tenilla is one of Abristan's hottest young talents who today competed in the snowboard cross at the Winter Universiade. The 16 year old sadly failed to qualify for the final of the event, after he slipped and fell on his first run to record a DNF result. His next two runs were both rather quick, quicker in fact than some of the qualifiers for the final. This comes a day after Zach Cotton, a fellow 16 year old gave a respectable showing for his age in the half-pipe to finish 6th off the bottom of the table. Hopefully these are results they will both improve on in the next couple of Universiades which considering their age they will almost definitely compete in.

With all of Abristans individual athletes eliminated we now are waiting until the 24th when the Mens and Womens Ice Hockey and the Womens Curling compete in their respective quarter-finals. Watch out for the mens ice hockey for the rematch of Abristan vs Kosovakia. Their group stage match ended 2-1 Kosovakia but our money is on the boys in green to upset the hosts.

[Sulimany]

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

Slalom of Concerns

"In the fourth day of the winter universiade, the Ministry of Safety from the Main Nation Ministry are requesting to Kosovakia an full examination of the slalom course, following more athletes having DNF results. The Ministry of Safety are testing theories of if the slalom track is too long for average skiers to complete or if something is making the skiers slow down. The Ministry of Safety are currently waiting for their permission to be granted.

In other news, John D'Anconia has gotten a silver medal in speed skating in the men's 1500m. A small celebration party will be held."

[West Phoencia]

West Phoenicia Times

Golden Day....

Millions of West Phoenicians turned into Day 4 of the Wrycrev Universiade Winter Games to see another day of brilliant results from athletes.

It was a day where one could say "Must we hear that West Phoenician national anthem again" as West Phoenicia pulled off an incredible haul of 4 gold meals and saw the progression of 2 other athletes in the women's snowboard cross.

Golden winners of the day were;

Sir Glenton Parks in Biathlon-Men's Mass Start 15km
Merry Behr in the Ski Jumping Individual normal hill
Mick Dowager in the Speed Skating 1500m
Kimberly Tenn in the womens speed skating 1500m

With the medal tally standing at 15. Many in West Phoenician sporting circles predict West Phoenicia could easily obtain at least a 20 medal haul, with the possibility of 3 more gold.

West Phoenician Sports Minister Predicts we could see 1 medal possibly from Curling. In Women's Slalom Elaine Paige and Mona Le Hobbs will be pitted against eachother for the top spot. While Rebecca Christian has a great opportunity in Biathlon Women's 10km to be a medal placer even after an injury saw her take 6 months off last year. Cain De'Abo is the mens speeding skating 5000m is another West Phoenician male to keep an eye on
And another medal hopefully is the Womens Speed Skating Team Pursuit. While our femals figure skaters have yet to perform this is another area where we see medal potential.

The West Phoenician delegation were in party mode last night with some other nations while others complained the noise that continued to 3am was off putting and disrespectful.
For those in attendance extravagance was the word of the evening champagne flowed and for the non drinkers a creamy chocolate fountain.
A large buffet was prepared where West Phoenician lobster and caviar was flown in along with West Phoenician peaches, cheeses and enough food to feed thousands spoiling the small delegation of athletes, coaches, staff, invited guests and minor West Phoenician royalty and celebrities.

[West Phoencia]

West Phoenicia Times

DAY 5

West Phoenicia is 1 medal away from its 20 Medal goal. With a number of events still to play out, the nation is beaming with excitement that it will most likely outdo the goal it set for itself.

4 athletes helped increase the medal tally today with Rowena Indi obtaining a gold in Womens Snowboard Cross and Cain De'Abo winning gold in the 5000m Men's speed skating.

Bradley Albion and Lydia Kew scored bronze medals in Short Speed Skating helping to boost the tally while there were tears from the Women’s Figure Skating with Honey Barr placing 4th and Angel Wiggs placing 5th. Both girls were upset as the loss of a medal has now decreased their chases at the next Winter Olympics Figure Skating team.

It was a more sombre performance today, whether it was the late hours of celebration the night before but many athletes under performed something the West Phoenician Sports Committee will need to look at for future events.

Tomorrow will see the Ice Hockey Mens and Womens and the Curling Mens and Womens team go up against their competition. There best success will be with Curling but West Phoenicia hopes that the mens Ice Hockey can pull off a shocking win to move to the semi's.

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

#JaguarSpirit #believe

Busy Day 5 provides plenty of drama for Beretanian athletes

Stephan Chang: "We're ready for Electrum"

Wrycrev, Kosovakia -- In a jam packed Day 5, there were certainly highs and lows, and lots to talk about round the water cooler this morning. Skyleigh Paramour had a tough day, Jenna Singh got Beretania's second ever women's figure skating medal, Doug Sleeper snuck into the men's 1000m short track speed skating final, the first gold medal for Beretania in Wrycrev trickled in and the women's 1000m short track speed skating event probably speaks for itself.

Olympian Skyleigh Paramour had a legitimate opportunity to head to Electrum with a medal from Wrycrev, but her effort was less than stellar. The alpine skiing women's slalom, held in the morning session, started the day off for the Beretanians on a sour note. Luckily, the disasterous results were not an omen of things to come for the rest of the day. Becky Stevens crashed on the course and did not finish her run. She came up injured and the extent of her injury is not known at this time. Beretania's top skier in this event, Skyleigh Paramour, was off her game and she finished eleventh overall.

"I don't know what happened. Maybe I was just shaken by what happened to Becky, but after I finished I was just in awe. It was one of the best courses I have ever skied on, and I was just out there having fun," Paramour said.

Jenna Singh won the second ever medal in international competition for Beretania in the women's figure skating discipline. Photos of the huge bear hug Singh shared with her coach, Stephan Chang, after her skate were the most shared item on social media from Day 5. Singh finished just under twelve points behind the gold medal winner, Jukiso Janikota, of Kosovakia. Of note, the two West Phoenicians that Chang and Singh feared, Honey Barr and Angel Wiggs, finished fourth and fifth respectively. Singh said following the event that the competition was fierce and that she had expected either Barr or Wiggs to medal, if not both. "I have tremendous respect for my opponents and the rivalry, so it is an outright honor to have earned bronze in Wrycrev," Singh said.

"It was just so great to see Jenna beaming. She really worked hard for this. Beretania has proved this morning that they can consistently medal at the international level in figure skating, but now we need to break that barrier in the Olympics. I am elated for Jenna. We're ready for Electrum," Chang commented.

Singh's bronze medal win prompted a statement from Unified Beretania National Olympic Committee President Sofia Waldeck. "[Jenna] Singh has accomplished one of two goals we set out to accomplish in sending select young Olympic athletes and some of the brightest junior athletes our country has to offer. In order to consider our participation in Wrycrev, Kosovakia to be in the least bit sucessful, we expected a medal from Jenna Singh, and expect one from Jaguar Rodriguez. Thanks to Singh, half of our main goals have been accomplished," the statement reads in part.

Anna Hernandez and Amelia Philippe also skated but turned in poor, mistake ridden performances. Hernandez finished twenty seventh, while Philippe finished twenty second.

In what was the surprise of the day, Doug Sleeper qualified for the final in the men's 1000m short track speed skating event. Nobody in the delegation expected Beretania to be competitive in the event. Sleeper ended up in fourth, just barely missing out the bronze. The UBNOC has undoubtedly been giving Sleeper a second look for a possible Olympic future.

The women's 1000m short track speed skating event was dominated by Beretanians and West Phoenicians. Five of the six qualifying athletes were from Beretania or West Phoenicia. Three Beretanians made the final, Sadie L'Orange, Loreena Kelly and Lataylia Spiceman. There were smiles all round for the Beretanian ladies after the qualifier.

Beretanian fan favorite L'Orange was disqualified during the final when she got a little too agressive and bumped into West Phoenician Ariana Phillipans. Spiceman came away with the gold and the junior's Olympic dream is rapidly becoming a reality. With gold in hand, she may just have surpassed L'Orange in popularity.The podium would have looked dramatically different had L'Orange not been disqualified, but the cutthroat nature of the event played out to Beretania's disadvantage.

Day 6 will surely bring more drama, surprises, letdowns and triumphs. Beretanians are going absolutely crazy for Jaguar Rodriguez in women's 1500m short track speed skating. The nation has #JaguarSpirit fever. Beretania has medal contenders in biathlon in Ivory Patel, Jayna Good and Jamayka Moss. The Unified Beretania women's junior curling team is still alive, though not expected to advance.


Day 5
Results

Alpine skiing - Women's slalom
1 Louanne Selig (VAM) 50.91
2 Tjeva Parvalos (KSV) 52.05
3 Muriel Allan (MNM) 52.06
___________________________
11 Skyleigh Paramour (UBT) 54.05
Becky Stevens (UBT) DNF

Figure skating - Women's free skate
1 Jukiso Janikota (KSV) 147.34
2 Inka Suckers (LZO) 146.87
3 Jenna Singh (UBT) 135.82
________________________________
22 Amelia Philippe (UBT) 89.81
27 Anna Hernandez (UBT) 83.70


Short track speed skating - Men's 1000m Qualification
1 Clif Tozer (MNM) 1:24.648 Q
2 Mark Hemilton (KSV) 1:24.938 Q
3 Doug Sleeper (UBT) 1:25.103 Q
4 Martin Magnus (KSV) 1:25.182 Q
5 Bradley Albion (KWP) 1:25.184 Q
6 Dennis Herhuvel (SWA) 1:25.221 Q
___________________________________
9 Jose Vegas (UBT) 1:25.723
16 Stephan Brander (UBT) 1:26.286
21 Shon Weinberger (UBT) 1:27.861

Short track speed skating - Men's 1000m Final
1 Clif Tozer (MNM) 1:25.631
2 Mark Hemilton (KSV) 1:25.873
3 Bradley Albion (KWP) 1:26.275
_______________________________
4 Doug Sleeper (UBT) 1:26.816

Short track speed skating - Women's 1000m Qualification
1 Lydia Kew (KWP) 1:29.904 Q
2 Loreena Kelly (UBT) 1:31.197 Q
3 Lataylia Spiceman (UBT) 1:31.637 Q
4 Ariana Phillipans (KWP) 1:31.756 Q
5 Sadie L'Orange (UBT) 1:31.829 Q
6 Pearl Wickett (MNM) 1:32.406 Q
___________________________________
— Jo Ann Hanson (UBT) DSQ

Short track speed skating - Women's 1000m Final
1 Lataylia Spiceman (UBT) 1:30.643
2 Pearl Wickett (MNM) 1:31.029
3 Lydia Kew (KWP) 1:31.891
___________________________________
4 Loreena Kelly (UBT) 1:32.451
— Sadie L'Orange (UBT) DSQ

[Vamenlac]

Vamenlac Delegation Headline
We are proud of our gold and team.

[Annixe Christos]

Annixe Christos Figure Skater Rita Muchka has expressed disappointment at finishing 6th place in Women's Figure skating. Tears flowed as she was interviewed after the medals were awarded.

The Annixe Christos was pegged for a winning spot but has expressed that technique and creativity were overlooked in favour of host nation nepotism and bigger nation dominance that has left smaller better nations out in the cold, while bigger nations have saturated the events at times 3-1.

"At least two calls between 1-5 place stumbled, one even fell on her butt. My performance was clean, showed technique and my triple axels wooed the crowds and came off sharp and on point. I don't want to say rigged, but i will. I feel cheated. "

Rita Muchka has decided to leave the event early and head home instead of waiting for the Closing Ceremony.

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

First Gold For Main Nation Ministry

"In a successful moment, Clif Tozer had won gold in short track speed skating in 1000m. He has beaten both qualification and the final in 1st place, determined for the gold. He was the fastest in the track, as his skating almost became a sprint on ice, as he sped away and in front of the other skaters. Other althetes that did successfully well in Day 5 was Muriel Allen who gotten a bronze medal at woman's slalom after the Ministry of Safety gave extra training to the skier on the course. Another speed skater in Main Nation Ministry named Pearl Wickett has become the second fastest speed skater in Main Nation Ministry with the time of 1:31.029 while Clif Tozer has the time of 1:25.631."

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

Evening sports commentary: Jaguar Mania sweeps nation...but how much is too much?

Wrycrev, Kosovakia -- With perhaps the exception of Olympic swimmer Sarasvati Channarayapatra, the buzz and hype surrounding an individual athlete has never been stronger than it is right now with Jaguar Rodriguez. More than twenty five million Beretanians are projected to watch the 1500m women's short track speed event when it airs on tape delay. The numbers in terms of viewership are on par with World Bowl championship games and some Summer Olympic disciplines. A new phrase has entered the popular lexicon in Unified Beretania: Jaguar Mania. Apparently, it's a big thing.

Nobody is asking one glaring question. What happens if she fails to medal? Sure, where there's smoke, there's fire. Rodriguez is simply put one of the most phenomenally talented junior short track speed skaters we have ever seen in Unified Beretania. The skill behind the hype is definitely there, but what if the hype is a little overblown? Are we putting a realistic expectation on this young athlete with bright Olympic dreams in her future?

I think we as a nation need to take a step back and say it's okay if Rodriguez doesn't medal in Wrycrev. She is here to stay, and by no means is this the last we'll hear from her. Many a career of a blooming athlete has been cut short by expectations that couldn't be met. While Rodriguez shows no signs of burning out or slowing down, it's best that she not be pushed in that direction.

The true gift that Rodriguez brings to the table is a rejuvenated interest in winter sports that will inspire a younger generation to greatness in the sporting world. I've come to realize that Jaguar Rodriguez is the Sarasvati Channarayaptra or Sheena Jacqueline Baker of this up and coming generation. It's been two decades plus since we've last seen a Unified Beretanian team in the Olympics. Beretanians need new sports heroes to rally behind. Jaguar Rodriguez is the perfect fit. Even the UBNOC expects her to medal in Kosovakia, because let's face reality, Jaguar Rodriguez is the face of Beretanian short track speed skating and its future.

The humble, down to earth and soft spoken teenager from Albavona has the chance of a lifetime in front of her, but if things don't break her way, let's all be calm and rational about it. After all, she is doing something at age fifteen that the majority of us could never do. Let's all keep things in perspective and just enjoy the Winter Universiade I.

Winter Universiade I injury report: STEVENS, BECKY
Becky Stevens was taken to hospital complaining of knee pain after her accident while participating in the alpine skiing women's slalom. Emergency room staff determined Stevens to have a mild knee sprain. She is currently on crutches and non-weight bearing at this time. Further details to come, including her status for Electrum, as they are available.

Winter Universiade I retractions and corrections
In an article earlier this morning, short track speed skater Sadie L'Orange was reported to have accidentally bumped into West Phoenician Ariana Phillipans during the women's 1000m short track speed skating final, the contact drawing a disqualification for L'Orange. L'Orange in actuality bumped Lydia Kew of West Phoenicia. We apologize for the inaccurate reporting.

[West Phoencia]

West Phoenicia Times

West Phoenician Rebecca Christian was the one athlete to secure a medal for her nation today, a rather disappointing performance from other athletes who fell short in Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Biathlon.

Miss Christian was able to secure a silver in Biathlon Women's 15km Pursuit. The win has propelled West Phoenicia into a total of 20 medals. A goal the nation was aiming for.

In other areas The Men's Ice Hockey Team beat Western Bjornaic 2-1 in the Quater finals to move to the Semis. The Female Ice Hockey team did not fair so well losing to home team Kosovakia.

In the Men's Curling West Phoenicia lead the charge moving into the semi finals by taking out Annixe Christos 9-5.

While the Female Curling Team were able to progress after defeating Sulinamy 5-3.


In other news....

West Phoenicia Cola has signed on for future endorsement deals in relation to the Winter and Summer Universiade Games. Funding sport programs totalling $5 million to better assist up and coming young athletes.

Bourbon-Versailles Chocolates have also invested $1 million into the Universiade Games.

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

JAGUAR!

Wrycrev, Kosovakia -- The nation's attention focused on Kosovakia, Jaguar Rodriguez secured the biggest gold medal of her young career. The momentum gained here will propel her to the next level. Only an injury can prevent her from making the Olympics for Beretania in four years. In the women's 1500m short track speed skating final, Rodriguez came in eleven seconds faster than silver medalist Lara Thompson of Emerstari, with a time of 2:25.083. Fellow Beretanian Ladonna Battle won bronze with a time 2:37.530.

Jaguar's mother Maria burst into tears of joy in the stands as she watched Jaguar win gold. "I am the proudest mother in the world right now. I can't think of a more deserving person than my daughter. She has been so blessed and stuck with her passion all these years and there are no words right now to describe how I feel," Maria Rodriguez said.

There was some concern when Rodriguez finished fifth overall in the qualification round, but she had a perfectly logical explanation. "I really wanted to play it safe and comfortable and skate at a speed I knew was good enough to qualify, but really conserve my energy and willpower for the final."

Elsewhere in Wrycrev...

Good prognosis for Becky Stevens knee injury

It has been confirmed that Becky Stevens has a grade I lateral collateral ligament sprain. According to Dr. Sentrell Higgins, the delegation's primary physician, a mild knee sprain like hers can take from a minimum of three weeks to heal. It appears if she heals well, she just might be able to compete in the Electrum Olympics.

"Becky does have an isolated grade I LCL sprain, which are rare. Becky is following the RICE protocol: rest, ice, compression and elevation. She is taking pain and anti-inflammatory medication. Right now, we have her in a knee immobilizer brace and she is staying off her feet.

Becky has a few factors in her favor that will shorten her recovery time. She is young and resilient, as well as physically fit. Obviously, with a compressed recovery time, as to if Becky can compete in the Olympics in Electrum, it is a day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute situation. The determination to clear Ms. Stevens will be made literally on the day of her event. Her event is fourteen days into the Olympics and so we have just over three weeks for her knee to heal enough to compete. I'm not saying she will, and I'm not saying she won't. I'm saying she has a chance.

If she does compete in the Olympics, she'll obviously have to brace her knee for stability and that could potentially affect her performance. She's not getting any practice runs in. That is a definite. We are monitoring her pharmaceutical intake during this process so that she will not test false positive for performance enhancing drugs. We are doing everything we can, just in case Ms. Stevens can recover in a three week time frame. So there is a lot to consider," Higgins said at a morning press conference.

"Injuries happen. It's part of sports, especially in skiing. I'm thankful it wasn't a more serious injury. I appreciate all the get well wishes and I am recuperating nicely. I will make a serious attempt to compete in Electrum. #GetWellSoonBecky," Becky Stevens wrote on her various social media accounts this morning.

Bizarre drunken biathlon scandal

Biathlon competitors Giovanni Prince, Ivory Patel, Buck Stewart and Cristobol Valez woke up on Day 6 violently hungover after a night of wild partying. That should be alarming enough. What happened next resembles a bad comedy movie plot and is absolutely shameful. Prince, Patel, Stewart and Valez actually paid Chrystal Whitehouse, Gretchen Leibowitz, Erin Montgomery and Charity Hartman to take their place in the men's 12.5 km pursuit. The only Beretanian who showed up to the start of the event and was actually legally registered was Rhett Soto, who was surprisingly sober. The aforementioned ladies had previously participated in the women's 15 km individual. Chrystal Whitehouse actually "won" bronze in the men's pursuit event creating a real headache for the officials in Kosovakia.

Sofia Waldeck, president of the Unified Beretania National Olympic Committee immediately released a statement upon learning of the incident.

"We do not allow cheaters to participate in the Olympics or any Olympic development events while representing Unified Beretania. We will take swift action to resolve this issue, including banning all involved athletes from participation in future Olympic Games and all other international competitions sanctioned by our organization. We officially appeal to Kosovakian officials that Chrystal Whitehouse be stripped of the bronze medal that she did not earn, and instead, award the bronze medal to John Vergas of Kosovakia," the statement in part reads.

Prince, Patel, Stewart and Valez also will also face criminal prosecution in federal court upon return to Unified Beretania on charges of sports rigging, a felony since the incident took place in international competition.

It truly adds a somber note to what should be a day of jubilant celebration acknowledging the brilliance of Jaguar Rodriguez.

Good as gold, but anger all round women's biathlon

Jayna Good took gold and Jamayka Moss bronze in the biathlon women's 10 km pursuit. Good finished with a time of 30:28.5, while Moss finished 31:08.6. Their results were overshadowed by the biathlon scandal that broke earlier in the day.

"I'm really pissed off about the men's 12.5. It really detracts from what Jayna and I did today, and it reflects poorly on Unified Beretania. What those guys did- it's not what Unified Beretania is about. I'm so angry right now," Moss said after winning bronze.

"I can't celebrate this. I can't go celebrate with Jaguar. I can't go check in on Becky. I can't do anything right now because I am so full of rage. I just won a gold medal and instead of being happy, I am so furious at what these idiots did in the name of our country," Good added.

Mara Martinez choked back tears and had to be consoled by teammate Misty McBride upon learning the news. "Why? Why would you do this?! We came here to Kosovakia to develop the biathlon program and these guys have ruined all of our progress by cheating," Martinez said.

Emma Barber just carried a stoic face throughout the day and didn't bother to talk to anyone.

Day 6
Results

Biathlon - Men's 12.5 pursuit
1 Avery Lopez-Baines (AVC) 32:40.9
2 Avery Aquateck (AVC) 33:10.0
3 Chrystal Whitehouse (UBT) 33:45.9*
*Result not officially recognized by the UBNOC

Biathlon - Women's 10km pursuit
1 Jayna Good (UBT) 30:28.5
2 Rebecca Christian (KWP) 31:08.4
3 Jamayka Moss (UBT) 31:08.6
______________________________
8 Mara Martinez (UBT) 32:13.1
9 Misty McBride (UBT) 32:24.7
15 Emma Barber (UBT) 33:38.7

Short track speed skating - Men's 1500m Qualification
1 Chip Howell (UBT) 2:14.229 Q
2 Homer Zahl (UBT) 2:14.634 Q
3 Lucas Vargas (SUL) 2:15.328 Q
4 Jairo Conziga (SUL) 2:15.800 Q
5 Darwin Fischer (EME) 2:15.851 Q
6 Christian Germania (KWP) 2:15.897 Q

Short track speed skating - Men's 1500m Finals
1 Chip Howell (UBT) 2:14.787
2 Lucas Vargas (SUL) 2:17.121
3 Jairo Conziga (SUL) 2:17.198

Short track speed skating - Women's 1500m Qualification
1 Genesee Duke (EME) 2:21.632 Q
2 Martina White (KWP) 2:24.156 Q
3 Silvia Mergdanzu (SWA) 2:24.857 Q
4 Lara Thompson (EME) 2:24.887 Q
5 Jaguar Rodriguez (UBT) 2:24.929 Q
6 Ladonna Battle (UBT) 2:25.260 Q

Short track speed skating - Women's 1500m Finals
1 Jaguar Rodriguez (UBT) 2:25.083
2 Lara Thompson (EME) 2:36.197
3 Ladonna Battle (UBT) 2:37.530

Curling - Women's Quarterfinals
Emerstari 6 - 7 Unified Beretania

Women's curling semifinal
25 February
Unified Beretania - Vamenlac

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

Peter Bell Wipeout's

"In an embarrassing moment in the men's biathlon, Peter Bell has managed to wind up in last place. Spectators report him, constantly falling on his behind as he skied in the biathlon. Peter Bell had to defend the claims, stating that Averyickan City Avery Lopez-Baines caused him to constantly fall, however blatant security footage of both his equipment and the race itself, shown otherwise. Peter Bell is to be discharged from the Ministry of Peace military force after the Winter Universaide is over.

In other news, only the Main Nation Ministry Women's Relay got bronze, expect for the Men's relay. Many report that Dean Tubbs and Dewitt Silva did not work with each other and neither did Clif Tozer and Angus Hickley as they gotten fourth place."

[West Phoencia]

West Phoenicia Times

Ahmed Salani has become the latest athlete at the Wrycrev Universiade Winter Games to pull a medal. Beating out two home nation athletes to obtain gold in the Men's Speed Skating-10000m.
Ahmed finished on 13.01.30 a mere 00.00.38 seconds behind Giel Verboom of Kosovakia.

Ahmed become the 12th West Phoenicia to obtain gold at these games. That currently sees the medal tally as;
Gold: 12
Silver:4
Bronze: 5

Further excitement trickled throughout the delegation with Men’s Ice Hockey and Women’s Curling winning and moving to forwadd to contest the gold medal and Men's Curling fighting for a chance to win bronze. The power and persistence of these teams has paved the way for West Phoenicia to at least obtain 23 medals a huge haul in an international sporting event.

With so many young people paving the way it will not be long before West Phoenicia is seeing simillar results at the Winter Games and possible Winter Paralympics.

[Abristan]

Janine Rankin-Prestova, captain of the Abristani women's ice hockey was tired, and ready to go to bed early for a strong start tomorrow, where she and her team-mates would be taking part in the Bronze Final of the Universiade. The tournament certainly hadn't gone Abristan's way, and the mens ice hockey side, who should have challenged for gold went out in the quarter-finals to the hosts, Kosovakia. Now it was up to the women to salvage something, anything from the tournament. They were going up against Dragao do Mar, in what would surely be a challenging match. She passed keeper Shayley Fox on her way up the stairs to bed, and smiled at her teammate and said good night cheerily. At least team spirits were good in the camp, something she attributed to the positive outlook the team seemed to share. Or so she thought.

Trish Carter, the left wingman, was rooming next to Janine, and as she opened her door she heard sobbing coming from her neighbours room. She thought about ignoring it, but she had duties to fulfil as captain, and she went and knocked on the closed door.

"Trish, are you all right in there?", Janine asked. "It's me Janine. Can I come in? Please?"

"Hang on, I'm coming", came Trish's muffled voice through the door. Strangely to Janine it didn't sound as if she had been crying at all. And when Trish opened the door it was clear the sobs were not hers. Sitting on her bed was the men's captain JJ Reid, eyes red rimmed, and shoulders slumped. Trish leaned and whispered in Janine's ear: "He took their loss pretty hard you know. This was supposed to be our tournament to win. It was just a bit much really to lose in the quarters for him".

"But how come he is in here with you, rather than drowning his sorrows at the bar with the rest of the team?", Janine said, raising an eyebrow.

Trish looked up annoyed. "Really. You're gonna ask me that now. We're engaged if you must know. We are gonna marry after we return. Just help me console him will you? I want to sleep. I need to sleep if we want to stand a chance tomorrow".

Janine sighed but entered the room and sat down on the bed next to JJ.

"JJ, listen. Sometimes stuff goes wrong. All the time. Stuff a lot worse than what happened to you. Think of all the sh*t people deal with everyday in some countries. Terrorism, murder. You lost a hockey match. A hockey match you should have won maybe. But still a hockey match. Now I'm not saying it doesn't matter. I know how much this tournament meant to you and the team and I'm sure you feel you personally are to blame. But you're not. You are the captain of a great team. And it wouldn't be such a great team without a great captain, and a great player, like you. You are the idol of everyone on both of these teams, and whether you have one sh*t game or not, we are all still on your side. Always".

JJ's tears had stopped flowing, and now he was just occasionally sniffing in the way people do when they have been crying. Janine continued:

"But right now JJ I need you to shove off back to your room. Because your fiancé has a big game tomorrow, and you wouldn't wanna mess that up for her would you". JJ shook his head. "Now go, before I kick you out forcefully. Go!"

JJ grabbed his coat from a chair and fled from the room. Trish turned to Janine with an amused look in her eyes.

"Thanks, I guess. Not quite what I was expecting though", she said, and a grin appeared on her face. Janine walked over to the door and was about to close it when Trish spoke again. "Captain?". Janine turned,

"Yeah Trish?"

"We're gonna win".

[Main Nation Ministry]

Training in Ice

Somewhere in the private training area set up by Main Nation Ministry..

The convict shivered in fear as his hands were super glued to the hockey stick and feet to ice skates. The women's hockey team got their sticks and pucks ready as a row of convicts were lined up for training purposes. A player immediately rushed towards a convict and kicked him directly into his chest, as the player's ice skate pierced into them. It was completely normal for Main Nation Ministry to use prisoners and convicts for training purposes, target practice, and other arrangements.

Emmanuel Jones, the new general replacing Winston Harrington blew his whistle as the players lined up quick. "Alright, ladies! We are at the semi-finals here! Don't screw this up and we might each get a lovely gold medal to be in the history books. If we fail, then we might start investing in having all athletes ride in treadmills! Are we going to let that happen?!"

"NO!!!" The whole team shouted.

"Then let's do this!" "Yeah!!!"

[Abristan]

The team looked like group of broken men and women as they walked out across the tarmac of the airstrip to where the Abrisair Learjet waited on the runway to carry them home to Carthage airport. The only happy souls were the womens curling side, who had come away with a decent bronze medal in their event, despite their relative inexperience. It was hard for Jenny Field and her team to celebrate though, with the other sportsmen and women so depressed. It was especially hard for Jenny to see the impact their loss had had on the Abristani women's ice hockey side, who had lost 1 - 0 to Dragao Do Mar thanks to a buzzer beater goal.

Jenny spotted Trish and JJ walking together ahead of them. They had announced to the team that they would be marrying upon their return, and Jenny wished for their sake that they had a more successful tournament to reflect on before their wedding. Jenny rushed ahead to catch up to them, as she had been straggling at the back of the group.

Trish smiled as she approached. "Hey Jen. Congrats on the medal, I don't think I've had a moment to talk to you about it before. Im sorry".

Jenny shook her head. "I am the one that should be congratulating you. Both of you".

They both smiled, embarrassed. Trish turning to Jenny said, "I hope you'll be coming to the wedding Jen, we would both love to have you their".

Jenny laughed. "Oh I'd love to. But you know what training is like. If I can get off I will, but after this result maybe we'll be competing on the big stage soon". Jenny blushed, realising the insensitivity of her remarks, and moved on quickly.

"So, how long have you been together?"

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

Winter Universaide Ends!

"After 8 days in the Winter Universaide, it has come to a close. Both men and women teams in speed skating both gotten bronze medals in the team pursuits. The women's hockey team, however, lost the chance to win in the finals due to Kosovakia beating them. This was a kick in the teeth to them as they trained very hard to get to the finals. Nevertheless, Main Nation Ministry said farewells to Kosovakia as they went back to their home nation."

[Sulimany]

Good participation of Sulimany