XIII Winter Olympics — Roleplay thread

[Ioudaia]

Day 6

Pairs Figure Skating

Deukalion Hatzis and Lois Antoniadis were pleased as they saw their routine's score displayed: sixth place was excellent for first time Olympians. Their plan had worked perfectly: a technically solid but not breathtaking program executed flawlessly. Their side-by-side double Salchow was one for the textbooks, as was their lateral triple twist lift. The worst anybody could say about their double axel throw jump was that it was "nice", and it was hard to find fault with their arrangement of their program's components, their varied tempo, or their artistic use of the available ice space.

They had one "secret weapon" for the free skate: a throw quadruple Salchow. They'd practiced it many times in Ioudaia, and it had thrilled the audiences and more than satisfied technically-demanding judges... when they could land it.

The start of their interview with the Champion Network was interrupted by them being mobbed by all of the distance skiers, biathletes and cross-country skiers both. They'd all come out to watch and support them, and now they simply couldn't hide their excitement that Lois and Deukalion had done so well at an event so popular outside Ioudaia. That was sure to raise figure skating's stature back home, and Amyris ben Hillel could barely hide his hope that it might increase interest in Olympic participation in general. When Sharyn, the overwhelmed Champion reporter asked for his comment, "They've done an amazing thing finishing sixth, and I hope the Olympic light shines a bit wider on the rest of us, too."

Sharyn returned her mic and the cameraman's focus to Lois with, "How do you feel about tomorrow? Still planning the quad Salchow?"

"I'm confident we've got it down... but I don't think anybody competing here would deny feeling butterflies from time to time."


Super Combined

Tamid ben Ebron strode away from watching his score like he'd won the event, raising his own clasped hands as though he was about to be crowned champion. A 33rd place finish? A trifle: this was his weakest event. He practically swaggered his entire way back to the Olympic Village, posing for photographs any time he saw a camera and wangling interviews with whatever TV or web crews were around. Chaya bat Meiri caught up with him during an interview with Champion Network, and he managed to act magnanious when they switched to talking to her, as though he'd tied for 4th and she came in 33rd.

Sarit and Polyxena, who'd congratulated him on his score, stood silently to one side, smiling and shaking their heads. Polyxena whispered into Sarit's ear. "You'd think he's trying to be elected king."

[Dunnes]

The Sports Register

DOUBLE GOLD

With Ellis Win, Dunnes Captures Gold in Mens and Women's Super Combined

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Chris Ellis came from behind to win the Men’s Super Combined compétition at Alfred Manley’s Park yesterday, earning Dunnes its second gold medal and completing a sweep of golds in the men’s and women’s combined. After posting the third fastest downhill run, Ellis used his technical expertise to pick off Salvatoro Imlevesu of Vekaiyu, and Laurence Rux of Britonisea.

“I’m just thrilled. I knew I peaked at the right moment for these games.” Ellis said in the postrace press conference.

The Dunian National Ski Team came into the Prescott as favorites in most events, as overall World Tour Champions. In fact most commentators viewed Luis Gourda and Ryan Dreble as potential medalists, and Ellis as someone who could perhaps medal later in the games. However Gourda and Dreble, perhaps falling victim to changing course conditions, failed to post times that would give them a chance in the Slalom to earn a medal.

“Yeah the course report I got had the wind going in different direction than when I went out.” said Dreble who ended up in 34th.

Ellis on the other hand had the downhill of his life, finishing in amongst specialists. When he saw where he can across in, he knew he had a chance at gold.

“I was thrilled when I saw the downhill run I posted, and who I was around. I knew it was going to come down to the Slalom where I could out ski the other guys.” said Ellis.

And outski then he did. He pulled back all of his deficit from the downhill and then some more as he used his specialty to take the gold. In doing so Dunnes cemented themselves as one of the worlds foremost Skiing countries, as rivals Savojarna have failed to win in a single Alpine event. The Dunians return to the mountain today in the Women’s Super G, with Women’s Super Combined Gold Medalist Mia Parker and Overall World Tour Champion Janis Wallace both looking to add to the Dunian medal haul.

[Kep]

Keep Pounding
Inside the Grizzlies' exciting rebuild

^{SHARE THIS:}

Kristjon Gautursson (@GauturssonTV)(KWS)
^{Odin Centre, Unit AZ-7065 | Sario, Kebec}

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Dominique Rémy (No. 23) battles Cortana S.C.'s Gérôme Clair.
The past two years have been tough ones for Grizzlies fans,
Two years into a rebuild, the question remains whether or not
this is an all-out tank or a slow rebuilding campaign.KWS photo

EDERFIELD — Ederfield is one of the few-remaining majority-English speaking cities within Kebec, a metropolis holding 450,000-ish people give-or-take a few souls, its a city that is a bastion of the few in which English is the first language. A small-market city, the only reason it supports a KHL-1 team is due to the fact its region, within Ten Mountains Country does not support a KHL-1 full-fledged "major league" hockey team. The team itself, the Ederfield Grizzlies have remained an outlier within the KHL-1 in their four-season existence, initially a successful franchise - an HCL berth, a two divisional titles, the team has since fallen on hard times over the past-two seasons, losing key team members and losing elite coach, Johan Mikjall to cancer a year ago. The Ederfield way has quickly eroded, leaving a front office with a mixture of players, none of which were able to gel together last season, resulting in an 18-win campaign last season, also yielding the second-lowest-amount of goals scored for a team, 34, that's a bit above half of what Mercedinian scoring specialist Ayal Ismaat scored during Season 3, a startling number for a franchise who seems stuck in the influx concerning an all-out tank or a slow rebuild. The Ederfield Grizzlies have remained a mainstay within KHL-1 hockey for four seasons, many could doubt whether or not they truly remain with the failed seasons that have appeared within Season 3 and the second-half of Season 2. Bringing in Adrien Rousselot to right the problem has resulted in a failed Season 3 campaign and so far another failed campaign on the horizon, with half the season gone, an early onslaught shows a low total of ten games won thus far, the goal tally also seems a bit under par but healthier than last years, sitting at 26.

The true lack of hockey and victory for Ederfield may lie in the fact simply that Ederfield simply isn't a hockey-playing town, a town that prefers their lacrosse to hockey, while the KHL-1 has tried immensely to appeal to the Ederfield market, with the now-infamous campaign of Hockey is Lacrosse on Ice, this has thus far failed. A lackadaisical ownership within Ederfield does little to encourage the few fans who do go, owned by Sundown Corp., an electronic conglomerate in Kebec, the Grizzlies organization has been in a power-struggle with the Ederfield City Council as to a new stadium, calling the stadium of old, Metropolis Gardens too small, as such, the The Gardens at Parafai Park was built in time for the Ederfield side as a solution, barely any bigger than the Metropolis location, this has seemingly done much to anger the management more-so than before, with heavy threats being unleased by Sundown Corp. over threats to formerly relocate the franchise to a more hockey-susceptible area. The one problem however is concerning that the KHL-1 is obligated to have a team in Ederfield for five years as stipulated by the contract between the city and the Ederfield Grizzlies corporate. Proposals do exist as to cater to this, with other cities pitching proposals as to relocate the franchise, which Sundown Corp. has said it is considering, calling the Ederfield metro area, "A region not viable for our current outreach for culture".

The rebuild has been an extensive one, however, Sundown Corp., who seemingly has rich pockets has been committed to it, warding away Gareth Stubbs, a Nepharan from his Nepharan domestic club to Kebec as to be the 'future' for the Ederfield team, a slue of other young players join him in the hunt for a new team, Izzie Parvenot and also, the young, exciting product out of Atalanta Phoenix Academy, Xavier Williams who has been described as a "more-agile version of Fabien De Saint-Pierre, a slapshot specialist", Williams was invited to WCOH 35 selection camp for Kebec, with the formal roster not-yet announced, he is in the running for a key place on the team, Williams who many hail as a possible successor to the De Saint-Pierre scoring bubble left behind in the absence of him has become truly a star of sorts, gaining acknowledgment and praise for his academy gains. Currently playing on the second-line, there is much excitement for his development, many see the three of Stubbs, Parvenot and most-especially Williams as the future faces of the franchise, due to their high prices, all three were signed to maximum rookie contracts and Williams himself is an official ambassador for Sundown Corp., there truly might be much in store for these three. That's not to take away from others, Jacques Rodgers is another fine talent, snapped-up in free-agency from HK2's side, Eckerbridge Roar for a 3-season N$18 million, there's a premium on Rodgers, who's a well-liked player amongst many of the finer players in HK2, Rodgers also might be a moveable piece later, look for management to possibly dump him at the trade deadline for another skilled player or another developmental tool.

Now, the glaring question is around Gaspard Frère, the 34 year-old who's worn the 'C' on his shoulder for the past four seasons is slowly edging away, finally past his prime as goaltending specialist, he's no-longer the skilled netminder of the past, and as a man who had been expected to be the mentor of the goalies at the World Cup of Hockey, he has yet to have ever made a team and wasn't invited this year to selection-camp - a first. It can be said that this is the end of the road for him, or that its quickly-approaching, he's obviously unusable, too many injuries has plagued his short career and Sylvain Bassot is entering his prime it seems, given the reigns over the past five games, he's demonstrated abilities that Frère simply has no prayer against. Its obvious now that Frère is simply trade-bait, expect a team with numerous holes to dive for him in the offseason, he could demand a high-price during the offseason, anywhere between N$7-12 million/season is his likely minimum, currently, in his contract-year, he'll make N$18 million by the end of the season, and he can't be moved due to his no-trade clause, its safe to say he's making every bit of the money for riding the bench. As the rebuild continues in earnest for the Grizzlies, the offeseason is halfway-home, expect many looming questions to be answered, especially in the aging offense, the defense has its problems sue, but its young, the offense is on its last legs, there will be at least four faces gone from the forward-lines by season-end for the Grizzlies as management comes to terms that no players can be on the roster if they can't keep up with the high-speed tempo of the league. Low-scoring remains a chronic problem for the team, they lost to the Calix City Makos 6-1, a game in which Mathieu Gribelin scored five goals, this should symbol change is fast-approaching for the Grizzlies.

Underneath the exterior of finesse and ease, there's clearly large, looming problems for the team, a chronic failure in the front office has underlined this, exposing four years of mismanagement - paying N$16 million a year to a netminder who gives up more goals than days in a calendar year should truly alert you to the problems that continually face the Grizzlies organization. And while in recent years it seems as though its being stirred in the right direction, some things simply can't be turned, at this point, whenever and wherever they go, the Grizzlies will be laughed-at, a once-talented team which has succumbed to front-office failure. Now, as the front-office scrambles to fix the issue, they need to know - one season isn't going to solve their problems.

Its a quirky rebuild, that's for sure.

Kristjon Gautursson contributed to this article.

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140921 comments

^{FAVORITE THIS DISCUSSION}

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@Eclipse203 · 6 minute ago
As a life-long fan of the Grizzlies, I'd like to say that we're not necessarily a bad team, we have the pieces in place to make a run at the playoffs, but we're missing an able center.

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@AlexiRikij · 12 minutes ago
Nice, lets talk about Ederfield's one bad season but ignore Albertain's complete collapse, lmao.

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@Sharpieeaters_r_FantasticUnicorns · 4 hours ago
Ederfield has done nothing, the minute that Sundown Corp. can sell the Grizzlies to a private ownership group, we can compete.

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[Amuaplye]

THE SYDNEY TIMES
SPEED SKATING 1500M LIVE TONIGHT!

It has come!

Leonard Perry will be competing in Speed Skating tonight. Results are currently unknown, but will be posted tomorrow.

Our prediction is: We'll win a medal in Men's 1500m.

If you miss it, check out The Relay on ATV at 8:00 PM Sydney Time, Live From Prescott at 10:30 PM on ATV 2, 13 on AITV at 9:00 PM, and The Olympiad on ANTV at 6:30 PM.

[Southern Yugoslavia]

Mixed Doubles Curling Team knocked out, Men's National Hockey Team advances to Round of 32

The hopeful mixed doubles curling team was unfortunately eliminated yesterday by Woo Seung-Kyun and Stephanie O'Reilly of the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, dashing their hopes to continue on in the playoffs. While it is the end of their mixed doubles run, Nikita Gorbunkov and Angelika Beskyrostnova will continue on to compete with the national curling teams later in the competition. "It's disappointing. It's really disappointing, but we just didn't play our best when we needed to," Beskyrostnova told reporters after the 9-5 loss. "We'll get 'em next time."

The men's hockey team played Melbergia last night in a tense matchup that would have sent either team to the Round of 32 with a win. Laiatan managed to pull off a win, scoring once in the first period. The men's hockey team lost to Vermark in the 10th Winter Olympics in the quarterfinals, and failed to qualify for the Round of 16 in the 11th Winter Olympics. "We've got to play harder, we can't win every game with just one goal. These guys know the standard they're held to," head coach Taras Retyunskikh told NVT. "We're aren't playing to get knocked out. We're playing for gold. They have to do their hardest."

Laiatan's men will face Ethane on the 25th. The women's team faces Amuaplye today in their matchup in the Round of 32.

Game Summary

[Mercedini]

Potential Medal Opportunities
@ Olympic Village - Prescott, Electrum

After Sam Oika's bronze medal on the opening day in the speed skating, Mercedini have had quite the drought when it comes to medal action and potential medal winning performances, with possible medal favourites falling by the wayside day after day, meaning the Mercedinian Olympic Team sit with only one medal after six days of non-stop sport. So with the number of medal options dwindling by the day, we will take a look at who is left to claim what would be a historic medal for not only themselves but for the nation as a whole.

Men's & Women's Hockey

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One sport where Mercedini could reap benefits of a rigorous sporting programme is Hockey, where both the men's and women's teams have qualified for their respective knockout phases, meaning they have straight run to the gold or bronze medal match, however they must win at least three matches to get to that point, and with plenty of dangerous nations still remaining in the draw, it's anyone's guess as to how far the Mercedinian men and women get in the Olympic hockey, but the MHA have plenty to be happy about as we enter a critical period in the hockey calendar with the World Cup of Hockey quickly approaching.

Men's & Women's Curling

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Following Aprenti and Treepa's surprisingly decent run which saw them top their mixed doubles' curling group before going out to the pairing from Main Nation Ministry by 5 points to 4 following a tense extra end, it wet the appetite of the Mercedinian public, and they are sure to get a banquet from the remaining two rounds of curling. The men's team and the women's team will be in action over the next couple of days as they attempt to overcome countless other teams to a curling medal. Like the hockey, both Mercedinian curling teams will have to come through a group stage and a long drawn out knockout phase before they get a chance at a medal. If the mixed doubles is anything to go by, we could be in for a real treat.

So there we have it, those are the four sports where Mercedini have at least a chance at a medal at the Olympics, although there could be a surprise in any number of the individual events held in Prescott, so we could have a repeat of Oika's tremendous performance in the speed skating and a hero or heroine could emerge from one of a number of sports. While a single medal is a great achievement for an individual athlete, it would be fairly disappointing for a delegation of 200+ athletes to return with only a bronze to show for their efforts. However, there is still plenty of time for another medal to emerge from the chaos.

[Todd McCloud]

This is your Day 7 cutoff.

Don't get caught daydreaming, for before you know it, you'll enter through 23 doors, and spend half your life making something intrinsically beautiful.

[Teremaran Olympics Delegation]

North Yadroskaya, Falkasia
Some years ago…

“Habiba?”

It was her mother; her decidedly nasal tone was unmistakable, even to a child.

Her voice drew nearer, louder, and it inquired again.

“Habiba?”

The girl clutched the corner of her jacket, which fell to her knees, in a tiny fist, and stared out past the fence of their yard at a lake a little ways away. The air of an autumn twilight stroked her face, and the strands of hair that peeked out from under her hijab twirled about in the wind as she gazed not only at the lake, but also at the promise that the distant towers of city lights, obscured by the horizon, with a feeling of anticipatory satisfaction at what the next morning would bring. Her mother came up behind her and knelt next to the girl, wrapping her arms around the girl’s shoulder.

She smiled and whispered, “What are you looking at?”

“The lake,” Habiba said, “I can’t wait for it to freeze!”

“We’ve got a few more weeks for that yet,” her mother said, her smile growing into a grin, “But winter will come soon enough!” She stood, releasing her embrace, but keeping a hand on Habiba’s shoulder, “Anyway, I came out here to tell you that your Uncle Muhammad is here, and he’s real anxious to see you!”

“Is this the Uncle Muhammad with the beard or the one that smells funny?”

“The beard,” Mrs. Shamoun said, sliding her hand down to Habiba’s back and giving a quick tap, “Come on, let’s go!”

They strode side-by-side across the stone path, making their way toward the warmth and glow of the electric lights coloring the windows of their modest house a glittering yellow. The door was slightly ajar, and the jovial conversant of Uncle Muhammad and Mr. Shamoun radiated into the night, as Mrs. Shamoun pushed the door fully open. Habiba scurried in, slipping under her mother’s arm, and crossing the room to meet her uncle, who was sitting next to her father at their dining table.

“Habiba!” he shouted, bolting out of his chair to kneeling to meet her outstretched arms. They hugged, and Muhammad kept his hands on Habiba’s shoulders, “How have you been, my dear girl?”

Habiba smiled, “Well, thank you!”

Muhammad let go and stood, sliding back into his chair, which creaked as he sat, “Excited for tomorrow?”

“Very much - I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight!”

Both men gave a polite laugh, before her father spoke up, “I should hope not. But why don’t you run along upstairs? Your uncle and I have some things to discuss.”

Habiba nodded her goodbyes, and scampered up the staircase. Once she was safely out of earshot, Muhammad turned his attention back to Mr. Shamoun.

He sat in a silence for a moment, staring at the pendulum of the clock on the wall opposite him. “It just never struck me, figure skating. I can’t fathom that that is where the future lies, that we all will have to be figure skaters or know figure skaters in the next twenty years.”

Muhammad’s face hardened, but he answered resolutely, “I have it on good authority that by the time Habiba comes of age, the figure skating market will be at a loss for qualified candidates, and they will pay top dollar for the best talent.”

“And whose authority is that?” Mrs. Shamoun chimed in from across the room, “If we are going to risk our daughter’s future on someone’s authority, I except their word to have some weight.”

“These opportunities only come very rarely, sister,” Muhammed said, “But if you insist, I heard it from one of the Ministry of Commerce’s permanent under-secretaries.”

Mr. Shamoun frowned, “How does a sewerman like you know the permanent under-secretary?”

“Well, you know what they say,” Muhammad smiled, “Leave two Gragastavians in a room together, and they’ll figure out how they’re related in fifteen minutes.”

Neither Mr.nor Mrs. Shamoun were pleased with his joke, and he quickly recovered with some cautionary rationality: “Just because she got an audition, though, is not a guarantee that she will be accepted. If the committee decides that her skating is up their standards, then we can consider our options then. For now, think of it as a tournament, and nothing more - you wouldn’t deny her the opportunity to showcase her skills to an audience, would you?”

The Shamouns looked at one another, and the consensus was quite clear. Mr. Shamoun let out a sigh, and whispered, “No, of course not.”

Muhammad smiled, and leaned back in his chair, “Then, it’s settled. I’ll take her in my car tomorrow morning just after you two have left for the office. Sound good?”

“Fine,” Mr. Shamoun conceded in a defeated tone.

RP Courtesy of Gragastavia and Falkasia.

[Gryphonian Alliance]

Griffin National News

XIII Winter Olympics: Day 7 Results

We saw some good results for the Gryphonian Alliance delegation today. Aslema Kroso placed in 25th place in Women's 10 km Freestyle Cross-Country Skiing with a time of 26:23.5. Manta Vetrane placed 68th with 28:17.9 and Kaklea Aventua placed 80th with a time of 32:39.2.
In the Qualification Round for Men's Skeleton, Remden Huekmen placed 83rd with a total time of 1:47.16. Chelto Maquanz tied for 116th place with a total time of 1:48.22, while Iortil Quarta was disqualified.
Third, we saw Gerichele Terrmer place 20th out of 108 contenders in the qualification round for Women's Snowboard Cross with a best time of 1:26.19. The rest of the snowboarders the GA delegation sent performed in the middle of the pack, with Kautha Mauelt, Stefanie Melkburse and Clefra Tivire taking 53rd, 61st, and 65th place, respectively. We do not know yet as to whether or not Terrmer qualified for the finals, but we have sent communications to various other delegations for information.

That is all for today. Thank you for reading, and we will be back tomorrow with results for the Gryphonic delegation in Men's 15 km Freestyle Cross-Country, Women's Aerials Freestyle Skiing, and the Final round for Women's Snowboard Cross.

[Laeral]

露水觀察員
Lushui Observer

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City Edition

Saturday, February 24, 2018

International Edition

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Local Skater Tseng Nearly Reaches Olympic Podium
By Yazhu Wang

Lushui, Minsheng, Laeral- Hometown hero Pierre Tseng, speed skater currently competing at the 13th Winter Olympic Games in Prescott, reached his dream of becoming an Olympian with his fourth-place finish. Tseng, born in Lushui, learned to skate at age five on the frozen lakes surrounding the Zhongshui River. He achieved success at the high school and college level. As Chen Che-wei, Speed Skating Coach at Minsheng Provincial University remembers, Tseng "was unstoppable. He had such a passion for victory, he put everything he had into his skating". Tseng subjected himself to a four-hour a day training regime and won second place at the National Speed Skating Championships, before he graduated from college and found a job as an electrical engineer. However, Tseng never forgot his glory days in college speed skating, and kept up practicing on the weekends and in his free time. Tseng had just proposed to his girlfriend Tess Hsu and was preparing for the wedding when he was contacted by the Laeralian Olympic Committee. He practiced extensively with the team in order to get back in shape before the Olympics, and booked a flight to Prescott along with his fiancee.

On February 18th, Tseng placed 11th in the Men's 5000 meter speed skate, ahead of fellow teammates Wang Kuo-yung and Stephane Riviere (who himself placed bronze in a subsequent event). He describes his emotions afterward as "exhilarating", adding that "it's just incredible, playing alongside the best figure skaters in the world". In the next day's short track event, he made it to the octofinals before being eliminated. In the Men's 500 meter speed skate, Tseng placed 20th but was able to cheer on his teammate Riviere, who won Laeral's second ever Olympic medal, a bronze, in that event. After placing a disappointing 71st in the Men's 1000 meter, Tseng says that he met with his fiancee Tess to discuss before deciding to shake off his concerns and just focus on the next race. In today's Men's 1500 meter event at the Ice Palace in Prescott, Tseng says that: "everything just came together. It was just me and the track". He made fourth place, only 11 hundredths of a second behind Timor Eskabal of Kosovakia, with a a time of 1 minute and 45.87 seconds. Following his near-win, Tseng says that he's "only more excited to compete alongside my team and my buddies".

[Kalosia]

Kalosia u l'Olimpiade d'Invernu
Official coverage of the XIII Winter Olympic Games by Lë Punto Kotidianu

LA MEDAĽË DI BRONǦU VA A KALOSIA! / THE BRONZE MEDAL GOES TO KALOSIA!

After an impressive 1st and 2nd places in the ice dancing short program and pairs free skate respectively, Alešandu Kaľari and Mišela Kote came 7th in the ice dancing free dance program with a score of 95.77 and then went on to come 3rd in the Team Trophy. This gives us our first medal in the competition and our first Olympic medal in many years, a bronze.

However, it wasn't the end of their Olympic journey together as a pair. They came 8th in the short program, with a score of 73.31 — perhaps it wasn't the best idea to skate to the Kalosian songs the pair chose — and combined with the free skate (a score of 129.64) they came 5th overall, narrowly missing out on a medal.

However, their chances of winning are far from over, as they compete individually as well. Alešandru Kaľari came 1st in the men's individual segment with a score of 90.22, it is however not a final event and thus no medal has been given out yet. Mišela Kote, meanwhile, came 8th out of 15 participants in the women's individual free skate, with a score of 125.87, placing right in the middle of the table.

Not to be forgotten are fellow skaters Vinšenzu Alberti and Laura Mendež. They had also participated in the pairs short program, coming 15th with a score of 70.85, and qualifying to the free skate, where they came 24th overall, getting 112.40 points in the free skate alone. There is also Kristianu Dalesu and Alisia Dakafalon, who unfortunately came 71st in the pairs short program with 41.10 points, and did not qualify in an event where only the top 25 went through.


Spararë per l'oru / Shooting for gold

Ignaziu Dalmani came 41st in the 12.5km men's final, just 39 places short of a podium finish. Better luck next time Igna!


V komë Vinšerë? / V for Victory?

In Ice Hockey, the Kalosian Men's Team was defeated by the Imperan Olympic Athlete team, placing 3rd in Group A standings. However, this was compensated by a 1-0 victory against the Free Swiss States, placing us 2nd and thus qualifying from the group stage. Will we win gold? Although there is a long way before we approach that credible possibility, we can hope for the best.


No, V komë Vilitë / No, V for Vilita

Meanwhile, the Women's team came 2nd in Group L in the group qualification stage, also qualifying. However, their dreams of winning gold were brought to an end not long after, as they lost 0-1 to the team from Vilita in the Round of 32.


Pju kortu / Shorter

After not qualifying in the 1500m heat, Stefan Garfalu tried his luck in the 1000 qualifying heat, but again finished last with a time of 1:26.421.


Volarë, oh oh... Saltarë, ohohoho... / Flying, oh oh... Jumping, ohohoho...

In Ski Jumping, the Men's Individual Normal Hill qualification event was held today, with the top 50 making it to the next round. Unfortunately, our athletes Sebastianu Kosta and Antonio Galia failed to make it, coming 71st and 99th respectively with scores of 118.0 and 110.5 each.


La meta inferiorë dël tubo / The lower half of the pipe

In Snowboarding, Benedetu Korsikanë competed in the men's halfpipe event, but came 98th out of 115, near the bottom of the list.


Kwalifikarë o në kwalifikarë / To qualify or not to qualify

In Cross Country Skiing, Leonardu Kalderon came 28th in the Men's Individual Sprint, an event where only the top 30 qualifies to the next round, with a time of 3:38.65. He later came 5th in the quarterfinals, failing to qualify in an event where only the top 3 do so, with a timing of 3:36.2.


Andarë u dešentë / Going downhill

Ǧovana Roši, an alpine skiing athlete, came 40th in the women's downhill event, in which medals were distributed.


Le Sporte Demonstrative / Demonstration Sports

Kalosia has sent a men's and women's team to the demonstration sport of Synchronized Skating, coming 14th and 17th respectively.

[West Phoenicia]

The Ice Palace in Prescott was the place to be for fans of Figure Skating. After pulling in a silver medal win in the Figure skating team trophy, West Phoenicia looked to expand its wins in that event.

Two couples Gypsy Parks/Bo Grahame and Meiah Huysman/Merry Baroda qualified to attend these Winter Olympic Games in the Figure skating pairs.

Both couples are household names for fans of the figure skating circuit.

Gypsy Parks and Bo Graeme are the more consistent and dominant of the pairs. Taking out gold at the Federations Council Winter Games, the win was a major morale boost that had them looking forward to the Winter Olympics to shine on the ice once more after narrowly missing out at the last Winter Games when they finished 6th.
Too many 6th place would seem a lost but for the pair it allowed them the opportunity to grow and rethink their routine.

After qualifying in 18th place it allowed them to progress.

The duo performed to the song Dear Future Husband, a campy tune the performance was pure vaudeville, leaving audience members a show to remember. And certainly helped reward them artistic points.

The pair shone on the ice winning a silver medal attired in light purple and gold costume. Gypsy Parks felt the reduction of points that had them miss out on the gold was during a final lift where she was shaky on the lift and wobbled as she moved into the star position. While it allowed audience members to ohh and ahh, judges were quick to notice she was not entirely comfortable and the wobbling ruined the whole effect. However the dismount with both of them skating on one skate in unison certainty aided their ability to stay in second place.




Meiah Huysman and Merry Baroda could be described as more old school and technique focused.
At the previous Winter Olympics they ranked 22nd. Their performance has since declined and they were disappointed at finishing 67th place.
The due really need to learn from past mistakes. Figure skating has grown and expanded, relying on old routines and techniques will no longer give them the points they require to rank higher. With Merry Baroda retiring, Meiah would be in a prime position to team up with Arragorn Allie.
Arragron performed at the XII Winter Olympics under the West Phoenicia Unified banner. He was a citizen of Annixe Christos at the time. But has since applied for West Phoenician citizenship. He missed out on these games due to awaiting his citizenship ceremony. He would be a top choice to team up with. Fresh and forward thinking, he is also a professional when it comes to triple axels and his muscular upper torso allows carefree holding of his partner in a one hand lift.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Olympic Village

Lauritz was coming back after getting some coffee to keep himself warm in Prescott, when he noticed a familiar face that he saw at the Ski Jump. "Nicolle!" Lauritz ran towards her, as she notices him. "Lauritz, what do you want?" she said, confused. "You got the same rank as mine. I need to give you advice, otherwise you will end up being out of reach, just like me." he explained to her. "Why should I take your advice? I was only qualified, though." she said.

"No no no. The reason I.. Ok, being I'm the superstitious or religious type. Though I don't follow any religion. But listen. I prayed for some angels to help me. It was the reason I got that good first jump."
"Then, what caused you to go 4th place, then?"
"I felt like I didn't need the angels anymore. But the wind just changed. It changed on me."
"Laurtiz. Look. I know you're frustrated for not getting third place, but you always need to accept your mistakes. So you can learn from them."
"But can you at least take my advice. Please?"
"...Fine."

Meanwhile..



"Two golden doves! I never felt so proud at you two! Fate has truly helped you come this far!" The Leader was hugging the two figure skaters, as cameras were taking pictures of the trio. "Well. You can say we did it for patriotism. I'm not sure about the whole fate thing, though." Matteo Lawson said, rubbing the back of his head, while holding Nicholle Sheikh. "Nonsense! I can say that you both have been blessed. To harness my power to bring forth victory for Main Nation Ministry!" The Leader, said in response.

The Truth News journalist was trying to get a snapshot of the trio, however it looked like The Leader's bodyguards has had enough, as he is escorted and tossed out of the building into the snow. "Can I say something? Are we going to go to space? Because we won gold? I mean, I'm not a coward, but it's something I never thought of doing." Nicholle, looked concerned. "Nicholle. The Ministry provides things with testing. We will tell you two, when it's properly safe to use. You can thank the Ministry of Science for that." The Leader said. For the remainder for the day, the trio were posing for pictures in a winter of victory.

And the continuation of the fall of Thorstein Call

While Thorstein Call was drunkenly asleep in his room, having drank himself a large pint of booze, an air horn filled his room where he immediately awoke hungover. "Rise and shine! Thorstein, I'm here to congratulate you for winning our "raffle" to go to the final frontier!" Thorstein looked at the end of his bed to see the Leader holding an air horn while several burly men entered the room. "W-w-what? What is this? How did I win?" Thorstein had no idea what the Leader was talking about. "You forgotten about our raffle, Thorstein. Don't worry. You won, that's all. That all that matters." the Leader said, as Thorstein was escorted from his room.

"Wait, where are you taking me?!"
"Oh don't worry. You're heading straight home! We getting you all prepped up for space! It's what you really wanted." The Leader said, ominously, as an uncomfortable smile was on his face.

[Central Shaneville]

CENTRAL SHANEVILLE HOPEFUL FOR GOOD FORTUNE FOLLOWING DAY 7.
Well yesterday in Prescott, The Central Shaneville athletes found themselves with hardly anything to do, however for Katie Jenkins, Julia Bolton and the Mens Yukigassen team it was business as usual. The Men's Yukigassen team arrived at the event only to find out they had a bye on this matchday, meaning a wait until Monday was in order. One event that did go ahead and in fact the only event for Central Shaneville of the day would be the Womens Snowboard Cross Qualifying. However neither athlete from Central Shaneville made it to the final, which made Central Shaneville's mood go down, this day leaves us with many questions...Will Central Shaneville's mixed fortunes continue? Will they get their hands on a medal? And will this bad morale effect the events of today?

Coming up on Day 8 theres a lot more action for Central Shaneville to get into, which should boost morale quite a bit. The main source of action will be the Short Track Speed Skating events taking place and according to many athletes around the village, Central Shaneville has the best chance of getting at least one medal in the Short Track. This is due to the dominant performance in the qualifiers by Jeff Shreeves in the 1000m. So whilst he and Olly Kenyon continue to the 1000m heats, Tommy Vance marches on in the 500m to the Octofinals and with Quarter Final places up for grabs he could be more focused than ever. However all 3 of these men along with fellow 500m Skater Shane Wray will join forces in the Relay heats later today.

In terms of team sports, we have more action from the Womens Yukigassen, of course Central Shaneville aren't doing the best in the womens side of the event but they look to turn this around today. Its also a big day for the Mens Ice Hockey team as they enter the Round of 32 and tensions are sky high right now before the game later today as they look to stay on winning ways. Which leaves us with one question: What will happen on Day 8?

[Kriegiersien]

NALAL TV (National Life and Love) Kriegiersien. Patriotic Television showing the Olympic Games.


Hello! Donny Familiar here, with the Winter Olympics. Today many events await us, so we are going directly to the reporter on site. Alpine Skiing, Men's Super Combined with Donald Snow.

Hello, SilverBot and Goldbot are on Place 2 and 3. If the last three who are coming make mistakes, they can get medals. Vitya Alogrin from Laitanese made a great slalom run surpassing our sportsman, he had excellent conditions on the track, starting earlier after an ordinary Downhill performance.

Chris Ellis from Dunnes now. An excellent Skier, but always room for failure….good until now, but he could topple anytime….anytime... He is not that perfect under way, best time yet… but I think he might have been a bit slow there .. that could be enough for our Bots ..no … no...best time for him.

Well, Laurence Rux from Britonisea next, he is a blank page for me. His downhill was good, but I don't think he can overtake both of our Bots. Still best time, but again, a mistake can happen any time….now maybe… nearly missed the flag...goddammit..I think I saw a blunder there, maybe he is slower...noooo….second place. It is over. All of our sportsman are out of the medal ranks. Salvatoro Imlevesu from Vekaiyu is still coming, first after the downhill, but that doesn't matter anymore for our athletes. Back to the studio.

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Thank you, Donald. We will now show you some Bandy. Sadly we can't broadcast any live pictures any more. Kriegiersien lost 0-5 in the first match against Neu Engellon and had to win against Asraelia, who had drawn against Neu Engellon. Lara Witt please.

The ex World Champion Kriegiersien showed a match that was not expected after the debacle against Engellon. But today they overrun Asraelia 12-2. Clearly the early blue cards helped, so that the Asraeliens had to play with fewer player from the start and a red card for their captain after the 4-0, when he complained over the third clear offside goal in the row. 2 further players from Asraelia had to leave the game In the first half with red noses and cards, after headbutting the skates of their opposing player.
“We maybe had some luck with the referee, but we did something for that. We just had an eye-opening class for that”, said Defender Bernd Bonebreak smiling.

The goals 7 to 12 in Half Time two were well created against an outmatched and demoralized opponent.

The team will now face Natanians and Nosts in the round of 16.


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We are now showing the summary of Biathlon — Women’s 15 km Individual. Tony Torpedo.

Sadly FemaleBronzeBot missed 3 shots and with that a better placement. Every time one of our athletes came to the shooting range the climatic conditions were bad for them, it was too cold, too sunny, too much wind or not enough, it was a lottery I say, a lottery and our athletes lost it, even though they had Top speed. I don't know if a medal is anything worth then. Back to the studio.

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Cathy Wit with Figure Skating the Pairs Short Program.

It was a stunning performance from Timon Jobst and Faoel Oscar. They tried many new, self developed figures and showed them in a fresh, exciting way, with a great smile on their faces. The spectators showed their respect with soft toned applause at the end and some threw vegetables to show their appreciation.
Sadly the incompetent jury gave inappropriate scores, so they ended on place 24. We hope they can still show a great performance in free skating.


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You can't win them all. Sarah Demirkov at the skeleton track.

FemaleGoldBot as 8th and FemaleBronzeBot as 16th ended without medal, but in both cases the track got blunt and stopped them in their run, while after and before them the other athletes had better conditions, preventing a better result. Back to you, Donny.


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Eddy Crow for us at Ski Jumping, Men's Normal Hill.

Goldbot, Silverbot and Bronzebot, who dominated the qualification, ending on places 6,7 and 8, a perfect synergy and team performance. Again the wind situation was against them, still they managed to perform great jumps. That is it from here. We will be back soon.


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Now to a great sport. Snowboarding. I heard you have great news, Samantha Booth?

Yes, thanks Donny. FemaleGoldBot won her first medal, bronze in the Half Pipe. Her stunning performance could only be beaten by misjudging her visual perfect show. It was still too good to get her out of the medal ranks. We are proud of our girl, who shortly before had performed in the skeleton track and was send here by express.


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And finaly a brief look on Yukigassen.

The Kriegiersien ladies won their first match 2-1 against Mattijana. We can show some pictures how our athletes hit the bodies of their opponents with snowballs. In slow motion. Glorious, don't you think? And here, in her face, but that happens, everyone seems to have fun and our team won their first battle and victory in this demonstration sport.


This was a great day for our athletes, even if not always rewarded as it should have been. Today here at National Life and Love TV. But stay tuned for our next segment about the Immigration and criminal Problems with Bigtopians.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

The centre of the Olympic village was a place usualy given over to quite milling around, last-minute team huddles and general boredom; most of it admittedly relating to sports. To say that today this was not the case was an understatement; to say that the transformation was remarkably quick was another.
Throughout the last fw days, large sound and lighting gantries, food and drinks serving stations, sectioned areas for the press and athletes and the like had taken over the area; and at this oment the centerpiece would be built. Large friendly security men kept people away as hundreds of Havenic workers turned the central quad into a large elevated stage area. It was aligned perfectly to allow the audience to watch whatever musician or dancing group performed their: and like anything that was done using the primitive but effective power of mass indentured labour it had come up very quickly.

Eli Acky stood smiling as he watched the preparations take effect. He had spent the day when he should have been preparing for his event instructing workers, talking to the press, greeting artists and generally being a good host for this party...it was his job to ensure that it went off without a hitch.

All that was left to do was make sure that their were enough people to attend it. This was a moot point of course;the haven had brought so many support staff to Prescott that their was guaranteed to be a crowd of well over a thousand people, however Eli wanted this to be a grand success. And that was why, all around every delegations compound their were now a few members of the Havenic service department going doorknocking.

[Amuaplye]

THE SYDNEY TIMES

LEONARD PERRY PLACES 66TH PLACE IN THE 1500M!

It was a bad day for Amuaplye yesterday, as Leonard Perry placed 66th in the Men's 1500m.

According to footage, it seems that Leonard had a lead for the first 100m, before falling, losing his lead, and placing 66th.

We think his skates were defective, according to footage shortly before the fall, when the blade broke off and he fell to the ground.

Fortunately, he was unscathed.

"I'm very disappointed that my skates were faulty, but I could take them back to Melbourne and get a return of about 1,000 Centoes." He said after his game.

It is unknown if the ANOC will allow him to compete for the XIV Winter Olympiad.

[Ioudaia]

Women's Super-G

"Not bad, not bad at all!" Polyxena bat Gina turned to Tamid, who was waiting with her for all the scores to come in. "Not even point-seven off the leaders. I'll definitely be back for the next Games!"

Tamid flashed a smile and nodded once. "As will we all." They both stood in silence for a minute, rereading all the times on the scoreboard.

"Now what?" Gina turned back to the other downhill skier.

"Well, you could go into Prescott. Vered, Avdon--"

Polyxena rolled her eyes. "I saw, I saw. It was impossible to avoid. That's not what I mean. Yes, I could go into town and kill some time, but... These Olympics are we've been working towards for the past two years. We knew what we had to do, and every day we did it.

"Now I've done it. I skied my race, and it's over. Training won't start again until the end of the month. There's a lull, a hole in my life, and I'm not sure what to fill it with."

Tamid could think of a dozen glib answers to give her, but none were the one she wanted. How does make up for a lack of purpose? He'd never lacked one; he felt too many purposes. He didn't know, so he went back to looking at the times on the scoreboard.


Pairs Free Skate

Everything had been going so smoothly. The first part of their routine was perfectly polished, right down to their gleaming, happy smiles. Deukalion thought they might even take a medal!

And then came the release for the quadruple Salchow. Something seemed wrong: did he let go a moment too soon? Deukalion got his answer immediately. Lois stumbled on the landing. Not a big stumble, but her timing was off now. He adjusted, but that knocked something else off.

The rest of their routine unwound. There were no disasters, no falls, no broken legs, but lots of stumbles, slips, and mistimings. One wouldn't have been so bad, but they just kept coming, and it would be impossible to hide from the judges.

The final score hid some of their disappointment: they were 17th overall. But their free skate was actually 22nd. There was nothing to do but pick up the pieces and move on, move on to practicing their individual programs.

[Anollasia]

Olympic Village

The Anollasian Olympic medalists were hanging out, sitting on a long couch, talking about their performances. Bethany Demirkol and Gamze Henderson came in, having just competed in Women's Super G Alpine Skiing.

"Hey, Gamze! Are you feeling alright?" asked Diane Barton.

"I'm fine, I just have some bruises and my cuts have clotted up."

"What happened out there? You were doing fine until that accident." asked Ali Demir.

"I honestly don't know. I think I just lost control after landing off a ramp and tumbled over."

"Well, thank God you weren't seriously hurt." Diane said.

"How did you two do today?" asked Ali.

"Not as well as I wanted. I came in 62nd." Bethany said, slightly disappointed. "At least I still have that bronze medal though. I will forever cherish it." she added, with her face lighting up.

"I did surprisingly well," Gamze said, "I came in 15th."

"Good job!" Diane and Ali said in unison. "What a comeback!" Diane added. Gamze smiled and Ali added with a grin, "You have redeemed yourself."

Gamze and Bethany sat on the couch and Bethany turned on the TV. "Let's see how others did today." She changed the channel to NATV Sports, which was the official channel broadcasting the Winter Olympics in Anollasia. Although the official broadcaster is NATV, the Olympics are being shown on NATV Sports so NATV can continue its regular programming. As no event was happening at that moment, there was a short sports commentator show on, hosted by Mark DeLago and Laura Collins. At the bottom it read "BREAKING NEWS: Anollasia wins bronze in Cross-Country Skiing - Women's 10 km Freestyle."

Diane commented, "Looks like someone managed to grab a medal today."

Mark: Karen Gillian won bronze today in Women's 10 km Freestyle Cross-Country Skiing as she finished with a time of 25 minutes and 19.5 seconds, surpassing Vera Lang of Britonisea by 4 milliseconds.

Laura: And what an exciting event that was! Gillian was so fast and precise throughout the whole thing, she just kept on going, without a sign of getting tired.

Mark: Don't forget about our other athletes who competed in the event! Hayriye Solmaz also did very well, coming in 9th with a time of 25 minutes and 39.4 seconds! Dana Patterson also placed 28th with a time of 26 minutes and 30.3 seconds.

Laura: I was just getting to them, Mark. Solmaz also performed very well, she demonstrated good speed and endurance throughout the event. Patterson was much slower than the other two athletes and lacked the same momentum that they had. Nonetheless, she did quite well. 28th out of 80 competitors is no small feat.

Mark: Absolutely. Anyone complaining, I'd like to see you do 10 km of cross-country skiing, then we'll talk after.

Laura: Haha! Good job, ladies! You have made Anollasia proud.

"Good job indeed." commented Bethany.

"I guess we have another medalist among us." Ali said.

Just as they were talking, Karen Gillian entered the building and approached them. "Speak of the devil," Diane shouted, "there's our medalist right now!"

Karen smiled, "Hey!" She waved around her bronze medal.

The medalists each congratulated her. "This is probably the best day of my life!" Karen exclaimed with joy, "except maybe that one time I met my idol, Stephanie Goran."

"The Stephanie Goran? The famous skier?" Diane was astonished.

"Yes, I met her while I was training one day. Apparently she happened to be skiing at my training ground that day."

"Wow, you're so lucky! I wish I was able to meet her! I'm so jealous right now!" Diane exclaimed.

"You're jealous? You have a freaking gold medal!" Karen joked around. Everyone laughed.

"Well, she's my idol too. She made me want to ski and be as awesome as her. I'd even trade my gold medal just to meet her!" Diane said with a dreamy look on her face.

"That can be arranged..." Karen murmured, with a smirk on her face.

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Diane's eyes were wide open.

"I happened to get some of her contact information that day, like how could I not?"

Diane started screaming with joy and jumping up and down like a little girl, "I'm meeting Stephanie Goran, I'm meeting Stephanie Goran!" she chanted with excitement.

Karen, with a smirk on her face said, "But first, you have to give me your gold medal."

Diane, without a second thought, immediately started taking off her medal. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I was just joking." Karen laughed.

Diane put her medal back on, "You're such a jokester."

Hayriye Solmaz and Dana Patterson then entered. "Hey congrats, Karen." Dana said. Hayriye followed up with "Yeah, congratulations."

"Thanks guys." Karen accepted the congratulations with a smile.

"Are you guys up for some more hot chocolate?" Diane asked with enthusiasm.

"I always am." Karen responded, followed by Ali saying "Count me in!"

"I love hot chocolate!" Dana said, licking her lips. "I could use some hot chocolate right now." interjected Gamze.

They all looked at Hayriye, yet to respond. "Sure, why not?" Hayriye shrugged.

"Hot chocolate it is, then!" Diane said. The group went to celebrate over some hot chocolate.

[Mattijana]

A Brief History Of Mattijanan Winter Sport-Part 1

Mattijana is a nation with a rich history and heritage in anything involving snow, ice and physical activity, but the history leading up to today's passion for winter sports is a largely murky, unknown and unreported one. Despite that, the stories behind the sports are fascinating and certainly well-worth telling.

In part one of the series, we explore the crude beginnings of winter sports in Mattijana.

PuljanaBirjke

The undoubted hotbed of Mattijanan sports is the ZentraleAlpe, a mountain range in the middle of the large country. The regional capital is MatBirjke, the first settlement in the area on the banks of the river Petrovi.
Despite the reasonably high altitude, Matbirjke is too low to have regular snowfall, so more exploration would be needed before snowsports could really take off. Luckily that came as pioneers looked higher into the mountains for resources and eventually nestled down in the valley next door. That one was on the edge of the river Pul and boasts rich iron ore and timber resources. It is also surrounded by snow.
Those pioneers were the same people who also realised that ordinary shoes sink into the snow, but long planks of wood do not. That would be a useful start.

The technicalities of the early skis would change and be refined, but competition was yet to develop. That would also change though. Through competitiveness, boredom or possibly both, labourers began to race each other down from the mountain mines to the river. As an ego boost, the first (semi)-official competition took place on a course from near the top of the mountain to the bottom, roughly resembling the current downhill course as seen in the Alpine Ski World Tour earlier this year.
The competitions continued year by year in the town and although the mining is long-gone, PuljanaBirjke is now seen as both the birthplace and spiritual home of Mattijana winter sports.

Up Next: Part 2, bobsled and imports

[Dunnes]

Television Anchor: And welcome back to This Morning Dunnes, live from Prescott at the Games of the 13th Winter Olympiad. We’re joined in the studio with Dunnes’ first silver medalist of these games, Ella Causer, who finished second in the Women’s 10km Freestyle.

Television Anchor: Ella, while Dunnes is viewed as a powerhouse in the skiing events, most commentators didn’t necessarily have you as a medal favorite going in. How’d you pull off the upset?

Ella Causer: I think I really just believed in myself. I know there’s a lot of talented ladies out there, but I think when I hit the 2.5km check and I was in fourth I just knew I had a shot at a medal and drove it home.

Television Anchor: Did the fact that the race was so close make a difference in how it felt?

Ella Causer: I mean it was definitely more worrisome during the race when you get splits and they are so close but when you take a medal by such a small margin it’s amazing. Absolutely thrilling.

Television Anchor: What other events do you have for these games?

Ella Causer: I’m doing the rest of the cross country skiing events besides the 30k, that’s just crazy long, so it’d be the team and individual sprint, and the team relay. I’m really pumped that we’ll be racing as a team in some of these events that I really think we can medal in.

Television Anchor: You mentioned the team relay, some your fellow skiers in that event have had a rough go of it in the skiathlon and in yesterdays race, how do you think they’ll do in the relay?

Ella Causer: I have utmost confidence in my teammates. We’re all here after the same thing, and hopefully we can share another medal as one.

Television Anchor: Are there any other events these games your looking forward to watching these games?

Ella Causer: I don’t know yet, us cross country skiers have a pretty spread out schedule, so I think I’ll have to wait till the end to see my compatriots. It’s great living in the village though, although we all compete in different sports I think we can all appreciate what we had to go through to get here.

Television Anchor: Well thank you for your time Ella, and we here at This Morning Dunnes wish you the best of luck in the rest of your events. When we come back we’ll have your hourly news, and Dunian weather, as well as a preview of todays Olympic events.

[Southern Yugoslavia]

Women's Hockey Scores

Athlete Spotlight: Gold medalist Olezhka Osinov

Olezhka Osinov became an Olympic gold medalist on February 22, winning the Men's 20 km individual biathlon and gaining Laiatan's fifth medal at the 13th Winter Olympics. With a time of 48:14.4, Osinov set a personal record and beat second place by a full nine seconds. He was full of emotion at the end of his run, nearly breaking down as he was lifted onto the shoulders of his team when the times were finalized and his medal was guaranteed.

A native of Leksa, Norvos Oblast, Osinov is one of the oldest members of the Laiatanese Olympic delegation. Born August 8, 1975 to Anastasi and Magdalina Osinov, Olezhka attended West Leksa High School before going on to Leska Federal University, where he majored in political science and graduated in 1997. From there, he joined the Leksa Police Department - where he still works as a criminal investigator. He married his wife, Verinka Tsitnikova, May 5, 2001. Their twin children were born three years later on July 10, 2004.

Olezhka got started in biathlon late compared to the other members of the biathlon team. Instead of competing in high school or university, he started getting into the sport in 2006 during a trip to the Federation's northern reaches. He met several biathletes practicing for an upcoming national competition. He knew biathlon was a thing, but never really showed an interest in it until he saw it in action. It piqued his interest, and from then on would go on ski trips with friends from the department. His first competition was January 3, 2009. He finished ninth in a field of nearly 50 competitors.

"I was just happy to be out there competing. I was definitely the oldest guy on the field, and finishing top ten was enough for me to keep doing it. I was having the best time."
-Olezhka Osinov, Sports Magazine, October 2016

He found it difficult to juggle work and play, occasionally unable to practice or compete for a few months at a time due to work and family. When he wasn't able to get out in the snow, he was working hard in the gym. As he moved up the ranks in the police force and his kids grew older he found more time to practice biathlon. His first intention wasn't to try and compete, he used the sport an escape from the stresses at his work.

"It helps keep my mind off of some of the things I see in my line of work. It's really hard sometimes, but biathlon gives me an escape from all that."
-Osinov, January 2017

At one competition in late 2015 where he finished fourth, he was approached by scouts from the national biathlon team at the Norvos Oblast Biathlon Championship. They were curious to learn his story, and extended an opportunity to try out for the 2017 delegation. "The 2016 team was already picked, but they still wanted to see what else I had to offer. I was excited." He was nervous for the tryouts but absolutely tried his hardest. Being the oldest one trying out, he had something to prove to the much younger crowd. He did just that as he finished second overall, getting himself a spot on the national team and a spot in the 13th Winter Olympics.

With his winning of a gold medal he has become Laiatan's oldest medal holder. "I didn't think I'd even medal. Maybe top 20. I'm shocked and can't believe I can say I'm an Olympic medalist. It's an amazing feeling."

[Banija]

Banija defeat Royal Kingdom of Quebec 2-0; earn spot in knockout stages for Men's Hockey


A picture of a few Banijan hockey fans in Prescott

PRESCOTT- Going far in the Winter Olympics was always going to be a tough task, and the Banijan men's ice hockey team always knew that. As hockey is so young in Banija, their debut at the World Cup of Hockey ending in a miraculous quarterfinal run really kickstarted the sport of hockey in Banija, or should we say, among Banijans. Then, of course, a whole host of things happened. It became the first winter sport to have its own governing body within Banija, the Banijan Hockey Federation. Then, the formation of the Greater Banijan Hockey League, the formation of a hockey league of Banijan diaspora communities alongside the Banijan college hockey scene, whose model will likely have to change as Banijan courts have ruled it inpermissible for Banijan college hockey players to be playing in a professional competition.

Martial Odongo, the team's head coach, set out a simple goal going into the Olympics- qualify for the knockout stages. Once you hit the knockout stages, of course, anything can happen. Just look at the last World Cup of Hockey, where we shockingly took down Esparmuran by a score of 4-0, and then played Savojarna brilliantly, until we fell to the hosts and eventual tournament runner-ups by a score of 3-2, and it took quite a late Savojarna goal to put away our pesky squad. That was confidence building and, of course, a decent performance in the Hockey Champions League didn't hurt.

Banija was the pot 2 side, so while the nominal favorite, we had an uphill climb that we had to take to get to this point. Firstly, we played pot 3 side Alinghi, and a 1-0 win for our squad was a huge first step towards eventually qualifying for the knockout stages of men's hockey. Then, of course, came the pot 1 squad, Nuovo Juvencus. A 0-0 game, it featured tough defense, great goaltending, and lots of hard hits, with very few opportunities to score. Some aggressive penalty kill tactics from both squads helped greatly, and with neither team able to put the puck in the back of the net, they were destined for a shootout, where Nuovo Juvencus held their nerve, and defeated the Banijans 2-0 in a shootout to send their squad atop of the group.

Lastly, was a do or die game against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. A win, at any point, would put the Banijans through to the knockout stages. A loss? Well, even a shootout loss would see Banija eliminated in favor of the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, thanks to head to head. That meant everything was on the line in their last game, and moreover, it was against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, which metasized the importance of the game. The nation that introduced hockey to Banija, the nation where many of Banija's hockey players were born, a nation that lives and breathes hockey, would be the final one standing in between the Kingdom of Banija and the knockout stages.

For the third straight game, Banija kept their opponents off of the scoreboard, as they won 2-0, including an empty netter with 33 seconds left, to send their squad to the knockout stages of this tournament. They had a stunning run through the group stages, gathering 7 points out of a possible 9 in their group. William Beheras had three straight shutouts in the group stages, making an eye popping 99 saves on 101 shots throughout the group stages, with the other two simply being shots that hit the posts. He did not allow a single goal in regular play, only allowing goals in the shootout against Nuovo Juvencus. Excellent defense and goaltending were the hallmark of this squad, and that is why Banija finds itself at this stage- in the knockouts.

We're playing the Alpine Union, who went a stunning 3-0 in the group stages. They had a 1-0 win over the host nation, Electrum, which means they had to battle the crowd in a tight game for a full 60 minutes. They followed that up with a win over perennial sporting powers Vilitia, which was also a 1-0 game. And, finally, they defeated Eastfield Lodge, another household name in the world of sports, by a score of 2-1. Two excellent defenses will square off in this knockout stage matchup, with the winner guaranteed at least two more days in Electrum, while the loser is guaranteed booked flight back to their home country.

Can the Banijans win this matchup? We expect this matchup to be low-scoring, as both teams boasted excellent defenses and goaltending to get themselves to this point in the first place. But what happens in this game? Well, Banija needs to figure out a way to generate offense. They scored one goal against Alinghi, and twice against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, but in reality, that second goal was an empty netter, so they scored a practical two goals in regular play. We need to get the puck to players like Chausson, our playmakers, and give them the space to make a difference. We need to be able to take advantage of our power plays, and convert on those. One goal may be enough to seperate these two teams, and if we trail, there's not enough offensive firepower to make a true comeback

Ultimately, we predict a 2-0 Alpine Union victory, with their second being an empty netter as the clock ticks to 0 at the end of the third period. This will be a tough, grind it out kind of game, but the experience of Alpine Union will allow them to stick their necks just past the Banijans, as this squad will stay behind to root for Banijan athletes like John Nampoza for the rest of these games. We will be able to hold our heads high, however, and hail this tournament as a success, as we look to build on our hockey resume going forward.

[Todd McCloud]

This is your Day 8 cutoff.

You didn't have to cut me off. Oh wait, yes we did actually. Sorry about that. Last Vek scorination day approaches!

[Teremaran Olympics Delegation]

Alpen Regimental Training Center
Ciavno, Tavino, Neu Engollon
Two Weeks prior to the Winter Olympics
Alpine Skiing World Tour

Laubmann moved down the line, meandering between people in the crowd, taking his time to get in position. He had nothing but time right now, at least the whole afternoon. The crowd went wild. Laubmann looked up at the monitors to see a Mattijanan skiier flit past the flags. He focused back to the path in front of him, beyond the flags and bright colored coats and scarves.

Soldiers, Alpen troopers they called them sometimes. They stood guard in their snow camo parkas and shell covers over fatigue pants at certain intervals on the other side of the orange ropes, NEG 26 assault rifles or SMGs strapped around their torsos. There had been signs warning the entering public that such would be the case, but it still seemed extremely overbearing, if anyone asked Laubmann about it.

The Neu Engollon Defense Militia. Such an antiquated holdover term for an highly militarized, technological, offensive force that had transgressed the Bundesrepublik’s borders many times. They were trained to invade his country, to infiltrate the mountains and disrupt the infrastructure, sabotage transport lines and ambush Austrak defending forces.

This, the Ciavno training grounds, was the heart of where they trained the Alpen troopers that would lead that invasion. Hence why it was so important that Laubmann aka Liebsgott get as many photos and log as much information as possible about the facility. He would do just that, despite the high risk with all the soldiers and government personnel around.

---

“Orange Team? Do you have eyes?”

“Roger that, Gold One. Moving towards Purple Zone.”

Major Eckhardt began to pick up his pace, but careful not to overplay his hand. Were his team to suddenly close in, it could spook Liebsgott, and whatever other BND agents were on the team. They were still considering the possibility that the BND had a soldier turned inside the facility and aiding the Austraks right now. It had happened before, and in turn NESA had done it with their Teutonic neighbors, too.

When it came to gaining the upper hand, both sides played with little rules and restraints within each others’ borders. Things had gotten extreme on several occasions. Open firefights had happened between the two sides government and military forces, and it could boil over into something much more serious. The stakes were very high, at least politically.

“Gold with me. Purple four and five, push up. Orange, move to secondary positions.”

“Roger.”

“Copy that.”

“Eyes on target’s hands?”

“Is that a phone in one?”

“Copy that. Phone up.”

Liebsgott seemed to raise up the smart phone in his hand, then lower it. It was almost as if he was playing with them, knowing he was being closely observed. Several other people in the crowd were using phones to record, text or chat within the orange lines, but they were not deemed suspicious...nor were they Austrakian.

“Move in! Put the pressure on.”

Liebsgott was now parallel with the communications center. His phone was up and he was focusing it on the facility. The smart phone was a very advanced model with some enhancements done by the BND technical department. He clicked away, a smirk on his face. There was nothing they could really do about it, but politely ask him to put his phone away. He would milk it for all it was worth until that moment.

---

The crowd burst into cheers as the top Savojar skiier shot down the slope. There was some jostling and jumping, then suddenly, Laubmann was slammed hard in the back, launching him forward. Somehow, with dumb blind luck as he reached for the phone launched into the air, his gut hit the orange rope and he was flipped over.
He was spun around in a full 360, then with an extra quarter turn he flopped on his butt. As he attempted to get up and reach for the phone in a clump of snow, he felt another slight nudge to his backside. His mouth opened in horror. He began to slide, leaving the orange roped section far behind.

There was a flattened level below, just for incidents like this one. Inflatable berms were set up to keep people from going over the edge. Laubmann managed to fly diagonally across a staircase and hit one of the berms, which launched him rather than buffering him from a further fall.

He rocketed up, spinning so that he was backwards. He was doing his own run, but not down the official slope course. Rather, he was hurtling quickly down the side towards the facility down below.

As he spun around, he had a view of several onlookers watching him, one talking into a walkie talkie was standing over the vantage point where he had felt the helping nudge down the slope. It was more than coincidental. Right away, he knew what had happened. Impatient with trying to catch him out of bounds, they’d propelled him far offsides and to where he would have a difficult time defending the legality of his actions. If he survived, anyway. It was all registering within seconds as bumped along.

He continued to feel more battered as his body was slammed around by the icy, rocky outcroppings down the side of the competition course. He stopped trying to reach out to break his fall and curled up, opting to ride it out. His head was winged a couple times, and he felt the nerves in his elbow go numb as he jammed against another rock. Finally, his momentum slowed and he looked up dazed in mild curiosity. The communications center was just a mere few meters from where he had ended up, and his camera phone was nowhere in sight. He tried to prop himself up and every muscle, bone and nerve in his body screamed in response.

One man held it up a couple minutes later.

“Looking for this, ya Austrak bastard?”

“Put your hands up where we can see ‘em!”

“Give me an excuse! I will fuckin’ blast ya!”

He felt hands grabbing his arms, then he was flipped over. He moaned with the pain that brought. A warm saltiness trickled down into his mouth. He managed to mumble,
“I’m not resisting. I surrender!”

“Hands behind your back!” They manhandled his hands into plastic cuffs, regardless if he’d been intending to cooperate or not.

“Walther Liebsgott? On behalf of the Militia Intelligence of the NEDM of the Confederacy, I declare you under arrest for violating the Espionage Against the Confederacy Act of 1943..”

“Ngkkkhhh...You got me. Now you have to....gah!...patch me up and explain to the world why you beat me up.”

“You beat yourself up. We have your graceful tumble all on tape.”

“I was shoved and you know it!”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

Major Eckhardt rushed up quickly.

“We got him, sir! We g...”

“What the shit is this?! We’re not putting on a production here! Get him out of sight now! Get him in the fucking wagon. Let’s go!”

They dragged him to his feet, blood was trickling down the back of his head and down his neck.
Eckhardt moved between the Austrakian and the top of the slopes where media cameras might be filming.
“Jay-zuss! What the shit? What did you guys do to him?!”

“Well, um...that’s from the fall, Major.”

“Shit! Get him to the wagon. We need to take care of this at the center….NOW! Do it now!”

RP courtesy of Neu Engollon and Austrakia.