Games of the XIII Olympiad RP Thread

[The Sherpa Empire]

----‭֎-‬---

Tshering of Fuzhou was a minor noble and the captain of the Sherpa Empire's world champion quidditch team. Quidditch was not an Olympic sport, but Tshering was still in Republica because he worked for the Sports Department and they had sent him to help out with organization and logistics. He was rather surprised when a West Phoenician messenger appeared in search of "Queen Qiang Kai" with an elegantly sealed invitation. His brain did not work fast enough to untangle what was going on, but he belonged to a social class where politeness came easily without much thought. He told the messenger, "I will see that Qiang receives the invitation. Lady Dundas can expect a reply soon. Thank you."

It was only after the messenger had left, when Tshering played back the conversation in his mind, he realized that the messenger thought Qiang was actual royalty. He slowly raised his hand to his mouth, staring at the still-sealed invitation that he held in his other hand. "Oh, Holy Mother... What have I done?" He glanced up to see if the messenger was still nearby, but they weren't.

It wasn't worth chasing them down. Tshering started laughing and once he started he couldn't stop. He just sat there laughing until his sides hurt and he was gasping for breath.

----‭֎-‬---

Kai Qiang and the head of his pit crew, Houzhi Chang, were having brunch at a sidewalk cafe, as they often did. They were talking shop in their usual way when Qiang's phone rang. He looked to see who it was. Caller ID said it was someone from the Sports Department, so Qiang decided he better answer it. "Wei!" he said, even though the caller probably was not Chinese and probably was not used to having their calls answered that way.

"Nin hao Qiang Xiansheng, it's Lord Tshering from the Sports Department."

"Ah, zao an my lord."

"There is an invitation for you here in Republica..." Tshering paused awkwardly, trying to think of the least embarrassing and unseemly way to explain the situation.

"What sort of invitation?"

"It's from a West Phoenician noblewoman by the name of Lady Dundas, but she seems to be under the mistaken impression that you're the queen of the Sherpa Empire."

"You're joking!"

"No, I am not joking," said Tshering. "The invitation is addressed to you, but this woman is nobility and... Well, reputations are important, and this has the potential to be very embarrassing. Would it be all right if I opened it since you're not here and attempt to clear up the confusion?"

Qiang burst out laughing so hard that he couldn't answer. Tshering was not sure if he'd even heard the last question. "I don't believe it," Qiang gasped between fits of laughter.

Across the table from him, his crew chief sat there looking confused. "What's so funny?"

"A noble woman...from West Phoenicia..." More uncontrollable laughter. "She thinks I'm the queen of the Sherpa Empire and she sent me some kind of invitation."

"You're joking..."

"No, I'm serious!"

Chang burst out laughing too. "Why?"

"I have no idea!"

"Qiang!" Tshering yelled at them over the phone. "I know it's funny, but there is a serious misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up! Someone must have shown her a picture of you from one of those drag shows you did and she got the wrong idea. Not everyone has drag queens in their country, and not everyone knows who you are."

"Open the letter and text me a picture," Qiang said, still giggling.

"All right," said Tshering, and he did as Qiang asked.

"Oh, that's great!" said Qiang. "It's so fancy!" He burst out laughing all over again.

He showed it to Chang and there was another round of noisy laughter. "Amazing! She really thinks you're royalty!"

Tshering sighed. "Qiang, we have to explain that you're not the queen of the Sherpa Empire. Are you interested in meeting her or would you like me to keep you out of it?"

"Are you kidding?" said Qiang. "Of course I want to meet her! Ask if she wants me to come in drag."

"You are NOT going to meet her in drag!"

"Oh, come on! She looks stupid either way for sending me that invitation; let her have some fun gawking at me in drag."

Tshering sighed again. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay."

"Zai jian, Qiang Xiaojie."

"Zai jian."

Tshering hung up. The next morning, he would look for Lady Dundas so he could explain (as politely as possible) that Qiang Kai was a farmer's son who had originally risen to fame as a stock car driver, but was also known for his performances at the LGBT Alliance of Guilin's annual charity drag show. He had no connection to the imperial family. The Sherpa Empire was ruled by Holy Emperor Karsang III, and he was married to a respectable woman by the name of Yangji Sherpa, who was related to the Dukes of Himachal Pradesh and was definitely not a Chinese peasant in drag.

Tshering still had no idea how Lady Dundas had managed to get it into her head that Qiang was royalty.

Qiang and Chang spent the rest of their meal laughing and shaking their heads at the bizarre misunderstanding.

----‭֎-‬---

[Xanneria]

Let's see what Xannerians are talking about with the Olympics using the #XanOlympics tag

BobJohnson2020: Damn our swimmers are so unlucky this year #XanOlympics

JohnRobers0202: @BobJohnson2020 Yeah Three spots out of qualifying, both of them had the luck fall the wrong way#XanOlympics

G_Carter_777: Someone lost to Polynesia? Didn't we trash those guys in the Big6 Tournament 10-2? #XanOlympics #bigSix

JayBau_69: @G_Carter_777 Yeah and thats after we played keep away for an hour #XanOlympics

G_Carter_777: @JayBau_69 Yikes! I remember that game, they also lost to East Tennessee Smoky Mountains by 8#XanOlympics #bigSix

Andythestud001:Man the Footy team is killing it!#XanOlympics

Andythestud001: spoke to soon that went from 1-0 XAN to 3-1 VCH quickly, this Vakolicci Haven and Celeria team is legit. #XanOlympics

MakeitRyan: I don't know much about Lacrosse but I assume keeping up with a larger country like Ethane is a good thing. #XanOlympics

G_Carter_777: Man Corporal Hines makes me proud to have served with the Xannerian Army, shame he couldn't medal #XanOlympics

PatTheClimber: Honestly thought the ladies would have contended against a corporate team like Tropicorp #XanOlympics #Suspicious #Pay2win

LadyJane_EarlGrey: I guess Starbladyia isn't as much of a Women's power house as they are in men's footy

MakeItRyan: #blowout #baskettball #RIPLocharianBBall

And thats what the people are saying!

[Kriegiersien]

Olympic News from the Schoenwetter Herald

from our reporter Harald Herald




From the new colonies, the so called stolen lands and tiers, came the new athletes. Harsh wild lands, anarchic, brutal, war- and crisis-shaken. Unstable, chaotic, corrupted. So perfect to be taken over by Kriegiersien. Shared by Warlords who integrated their regions into the nation as reward for their collaboration.

From here not only new soldiers were recruited, but also tournaments, in Olympic and other 'sports', organized.
And the people loved these competitions. Fighting sports and athletics were liked most. And the best of the best, the winners of the regional contests that survived the journey into the capital of Schoenwetter, demonstrated their skills against all other athletes in Kriegiersien. Especially in the athletics they dominated, even against former Olympians of the nation. More then one could have qualified, but the policy was clear:
Only one athlete per discipline would qualify for the Olympics. The absolute best.
And Wildcards for further athletes, mostly Zombiebots.

The new generation of Zombiebots was even weaker and nothing expected of them. But the Champions? They would surely leave their mark, as they had in the national Qualifiers.

But until now, they didn’t. Was it the new big world opening to them? Republica? But they had seen Schoenwetter with their Millions of different people and High-Tech and Civilisation. That was nothing too new.
But maybe the Elite of the Elite of the Elite. The really best of the Multiverse were much more of a challenge than just the winner of the best of the best hardest motherf in a country full of hardened, adventure experienced Barbarians.

This competition would see only the one with the best form of the day winning a medal. Or possibly members of the host.



Momentum and day form

A new theory says that the form and will to win can overflow over a whole team. On some days nearly every athlete of a nation can do better than ever before and in the next moment, they are collectively weaker.
Such a day was the 8th day.
There were exceptions, but overall everyone seemed to be less good then usual. No matter if athletic sport, fighting sport or gymnastics, they failed their expectations.
It is as if the whole delegation inherits a spirit that strengthens or weakens them all.

How this can come to pass is still to be figured out by psychologists and paranormal specialists.

The great exception:

Today on Who is….

Rainer Claas

The Table Tennis Final started with a moment of silence for the death of the bombings in Amuapleye and Claas condoled.
Eddie Daniel from Amuapleye was the feared final Boss, winning the first set, but after that Claas steamrolled him mercilessly with his attack style, nearing perfection. High speed, aggressive Top Spins, always at the right place. Apologizing for an edge ball ending the match with 13:11 in the fifth, he then shouted out his happiness into the world. He was Olympic champion.
With his triumph in the final he had a perfect year. Always known as talented and even more hard working, he had to be past his prime, in his mid thirties, to suddenly win it all. He hasn’t been beaten for over a year now.
Born in a small village, table tennis got soon his attention as his most beloved sport. But never able to leave his birthplace for a longer time, his professional career seemed to be over after promising beginnings. Working as clerk, still training hard every day and playing for the local team in a minor league, he didn’t expect much when he went to the Olympic Qualifiers.
After winning the Kriegiersien championship without problems for the first time, there were tiny thoughts of an Olympic medal. But that he would be not only the first Kriegiersien male medal winner in table tennis, but also first Olympic champion at all, winning Gold, was unbelievable for him.
“I always admired Esther [Ada], but that we would both be in the final, although she sadly lost and I could take Gold here…. it still feels like a dream”, he said.

But the dream is not yet over, as the Kriegiersien team has also hopes for a medal. Even more though now with Claas on fire and with a specialist who only plays in team competitions, Michael Bridgestone.
“His style to play is really … different. I always had problems with it. And his service”, admitted even the new Olympic Champion.

[West Phoenicia]

The Cats Meow

Hello darlings it's me again Norma Mansfield

Wow there has been so much action at these Summer Games it is hard to know where to start.
First off I applaud the West Phoenician delegation for the amazing day, we were dripping in medals like one of the Emperor's wives drips in diamonds.

We had so many The Good, the Bad and the Ugly moments it's hard to know which to choose at the best.

I would like to thank all my fans, I do what I do for you all. And to my enemies, thank you for driving up the sales of my gossip magazine in your pursuit of your own self seeking egotism to see if you were important enough to bare a mention.

I must also thank all the haters who have insulted my appearance. I look fantastic in yellow, this outfit costs more than the rent you pay for your little shack in your little backwards of a nation you come from. So dont be jealous that in your wildest dreams you could not even come close to look as fabulous as moi.

Let me start with the good; Davina Auckland who describes herself in her own blog as a Aquaphile a lover of anything to do with the water. She emerged from the change room ahead of her 200m Freestyle final dressed as Amphitrite, sea goddess and consort of Poseidon to the delight of the West Phoenician fans in the stands and offered a floral wreath with a small clay horse as tribute in the hopes the water deities would bring her the strength and power to win the race.
The sound of the buzzer and her slipping into the water like a warm knife through butter had West Phoenicians paralysed with hope that Davina would be the one to bring home the first swimming medal for these games. Davina did it disappoint when it became clear she was a half a body length in front of her nearest competitor fans were up on their feet shouting out words of support.
Tears could be seeing flowing down Davinas cheek as she reached over to hug her nearest competitor Nova Swimtob from Kriegiersien.

In other golden news niece to the Emperor Princess Candace Bush-Sunbury starved off an attack from Esther Ada also of Kriegiersien to claim the gold in the women's individual table tennis in 4 straight sets. Princess Bush-Sunbury who is apart of the women's team and who claimed the bronze medal at the previous Summer Games is hoping the girls can outdo their last performance.
The West Phoenicians narrowly missed out also claiming a bronze medal in the men's individual when Axel Hobson lost to Vanse Sokolowva of Vekaiyu.
Princess Bush-Sunbury has been in a powerhouse in the sport of table tennis, with her parents hiring the best coaches from around the world to train her.
Princess Bush-Sunbury win was only tampered by the loss of Axel Hobsonz match. The two have been dating for the last 12 months, and are still waiting for approval from the royal family to approve marriage between them both. Sources say this will not likely happen as the Princess needed to be groomed for marriage to another royal household.
A close friend of the Princess who choose not to be named said the Princess is headstrong and would never allow that to happen, believing she had some right who she could choose to marry. Rumour has the Princess planning to elope if the marriage is not granted within the next few months.
If West Phoenicia plans to enter any future Table tennis events than they best not lose the result player they have.

There was major disappointment in the West Phoenician camp with rowers Captain Derreck Kentley and Lieutenant Colin Kentley of the Men's Lightweight Double Sculls and Alice Mohican and Cora Mohican of the Women's Lightweight Double Sculls failing to live up to their former glory as gold medalists with both teams finishing in second place. While silver would delight some teams, it was a huge disappointment for both sets of rowers to have come so far and now are not living up to their full potential. My advise would be to get drunk and either engage in some sexual promiscuity with each other or get involved in a drunken hit and run so they can stay relevant, cause while they added to the ever growing medal tally the West Phoenician Rowing Federation will come down hard on the two pairs. The West Phoenician government pays sporting federations less for silver and bronze wins. Rumour had the Presidebt of the Rowing Federation had his heart set on a platnium diamond encusted whistle.

Also suffering defeat was Lady Ptolemias Dundas, who founded out the Women’s 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol in 6th place that shocked the assortment of fans in attendance. Also making the rounds in gossip circles and water bubblers today is that Lady Dundas may not be the sharpest tool in the shed after confusing a Sherpa Empire Drag Queen as a real royal queen. Some are saying it was an innocent blunder that could happen to anyone, have you met the Sherpa Empire royalty?
While others suggest that West Phoenician royal and the aristocracy are so engrained with their own petty lives they fail to realise there is a while world outside West Phoenicia.


Aside from the Amuaplye bomber which seems to have no end in sight, kinda like the opening ceremony foreworks something else ugly happened at the games today. Something that even as a fellow West Phoenician I can not support, and something I'm sure the international media outlets will accuse us all of being like. The women's individual archery final and Amelia Defence.

I have always been a fan of Lady Amelia Defence-Heywood, she is a superb archer and she tells it like it is, I admire her brutal honest. She has the looks, money and grace to hold her own and belittles competitors as a way to get in their head. But the final was a train wreck.

With not a female Vangazi archer in sight on the field, I'm sure many were at the finals sitting in solidarity with their bubblegum chewing bovine cheer squad. Amelia who most had prayed would have been knocked out in the early stages of the game survived to glide through to the finals where she took on Rita Giordano of the Free Republics. It was a fierce frosty battle, both there to play hard. Any pleasantries flew out the window when Amelia refused to shake her competitors hand before the match began. Support in the stands was literally 10 to 1 in Rita's favour. No one except West Phoenicia wanted Amelia to win, and that notion hit home when after the last lot of arrows the results clearly showed Rita had won by two points. The crowd grew wild as if they were speaking in tongues at the minor 2 point loss.
The photo opportunity of the three medalists was a somber affair, a sour faced Amelia wedged in between two smiling competitors.
Amelia relieving the photos had all been taken removed her medal and tossing it at the feet of her nearby lady in waiting uttering a sharp insult over the loss, she proceed to storm off unaware a lone photographer had continued to snap pictures of the trio of medalists.
No doubt Amelia will be slammed, and unfortunately I cannot come to her assistance this time as her behavior was utterly vile. One may complain of not pulling in the best medal but that is saved for the locker room and not in front of crowds. What she did was inexcusable, she had talent and no one can deny that, but overall it left many with a bad taste in their mouths, and continues to push the myth that all West Phoenicians are spoiler aristocrats.

Well darlings that is all from me for now. Next time I hope to devulge some more juicy gossip,
Maria Schtenko of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria has even promised some pictures of athletes behaving badly and maybe one or two caught in some very compromising positions. I will have more on that later.

[Vangaziland]

Eye On The Empire
By Marlin Fanser

A lot can be said not just by the sport, but by who is in attendance. Vangaziland's men's basketball team faced Kelssek. It was the third Group B match for the Vangazi. The game was just one tick mark for either team towards advancement. The game still drew attention from some of the delegation's biggest names.

Jenna Vandersen is the daughter of the Jarl of Central Vangaziland. This is the name of a hilly province in the center of the Northern Mainland. It may be known for the University of Auster or Imperial Military Academy, two schools which compete in NSCF tournaments. Liz Marsden currently attends UA. A major duty of Vannish Royalty is to stimulate the economy, partially through investment.

Some say the role of the Baroness in the WGP2 was designed to promote Vannish Motors. Her success also helped VMR win the team trophy. The Baroness did buy her seat on the team with an investment in the company. Wealthy drivers have been known to buy seats in open wheel type leagues. Baroness Vandersen defended the pay seat, claiming she was just 'doing her duty'.

Jenna's other investment is in Royal Clothing Company. The fashion line uses celebrities to model and promote the line. The company made waves by preparing gift baskets for most NSSCRA drivers that advanced into the stock car tournament's postseason. Female racers were given a handbag and shoes. Men were given a rather sharp jacket. Vannish stock car driver and Olympic competitor Ellie Lindskog modeled for the line.

Lindskog in Auto Racing Vangaziland's Race Suit


Lindskog Modeling in RoCoCo

You may be wondering where basketball comes into all of this, savvy reader. A group of cheerleaders were spotted attending the Vangaziland-Kelssek basketball game. This was nothing new. Rumors mentioned Vannish cheerleaders visiting practice sessions to encourage the players. Part of this was an effort to annoy Jessica Franssen, one of Jenna Vandersen's teammates. Franssen's boyfriend is competing in the men's 3x3 tournament.

The fact that the cheerleaders were seen hanging out with Jenna Vandersen shows signs of a truce. Franssen and her boyfriend, IBC starting PG Hectare Yulssen were one row behind Jenna and the cheerleaders. His counterpart Steven Eaglesen runs the PG for the Olympic team.

After living in close proximity, it seems the racers and cheerleaders finally bonded. Jenna Vandersen sat next to 4'11 flyer Liz Marsden. Marsden made news of her own when video showed her shoving gamer Matt Theobold. "I guess I forgot he had feelings too", said Liz. Her cobalt blue eyes were wide with such sadness and regret as she spoke. It should be noted that Liz studied drama throughout high school. "It was just a misunderstanding. The event was a real teaching moment for me", Liz said as she folded her hands.

Liz was seen laughing and joking with the Baroness throughout the game. The Vannish women shared bubble gum and cheered rather loudly for the Vangazi. Since this wasn't professional basketball and was a simple group stage, there may not have been many others cheering as loudly. Surely some would try to match the intensity of the cheerleaders for the opposite team.

Every time a player from Kelssek attempted a free throw, the cheer squad would shout and hold the word 'woah' until the shot was released. If the shot didn't go in, the ladies would yell, "You missed!"

The cheerleaders may have gotten into the mind's of Vangaziland's opponents. A Vannish team that wasn't firing on all cylinders won 71-58. Center Art Vesuvian lead Vannish scoring with 22 points. He was able to spread the floor by bringing the opposing center out to guard him. Vesuvian felt a bit quicker than his opponent, despite his 7'2 height. The center fits more of a modern center mold than most Vangazi who've played the role. This means he is also more lanky than players like Frank Hurcle of old.

Vesuvian also added 5 assists. Part of this was because it was hard for him not to pass to others. Two of his passes went out to Allan Clark for 3-pointers. Clark shot at a high percentage and added 16 points. Many of the shooting guard's points came on the receiving end of play-calling that set up his shots. Clark also converted several key fast breaks into gliding layups.

"Call me, Allan", yelled Taira Yuuko brashly at the shooting guard. The Tainese Isles born cheerleader has become known for her aggressive flirting with Vannish athletes. Unfortunately, Yuuko yelled the sentence as Clark was attempting a free throw. After Yuuko's call went through, Clark laughed as he released his shot. The result was a brick that smashed the backboard. Clark also missed the second free throw as he couldn't quite compose himself.

Jenna Vandersen weighed in on attending the game with the Vannish cheerleaders. "It's beyond this game", Jenna said. "I'm offering Liz a career. She'll start with an internship until she graduates. I want her on our marketing team. If she does well, the sky is the limit." The clothing company has a relatively small marketing department. This will likely result in Marsden earning high pay relatively quickly. The connection she made during the XIII Olympiad will definitely be life-changing.

"It's going to be a dream job", Liz said about working with Royal Clothing Company. "It's the field I studied in college, marketing. It's also great to be with such a fun Vannish company. It'll be awesome to help set trends, as opposed to just wearing them."

Marsden and several of the other cheerleaders are also set to qualify for semi-professional contracts that will see them cheering Vannish teams on in international competition. Women like Karlsson and Yuuko will be seen in tournaments ranging from the IBC to the World Bowl. Baroness Vandersen has mentioned the fashion line is willing to work with Liz's schedule.

Jenna was asked what brought her and the cheerleaders together. "Some trashy gossip mag started picking on the cheer squad to make a buck", Jenna said. "I guess I saw the humanity behind the so-called 'terrors'. They're actually pretty funny."

Olympiad eSports athlete Matt Theobold spoke on the alliance between the Vannish Royal and the woman who extorts him. "It's neat", Matt said. "Liz can't bug me because she has to worry about what Jenna thinks now." The statement caused many comments telling Matt to stand up for himself and not rely on a Baroness.

'You don't understand', Matt responded in his latest social media post.

Stina Karlsson (@FlowerrPuff)
Just now from Republica, Free Republics

@TheCatsMeow
Two Questions.
1)Was the witch crushed by the house in that old movie wearing a yellow robe?
2)Did it hurt when the house fell on you?
Toodles
xoxo
Stina

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[Siovanija and Teusland]

STBC News

Sports

History Made: Schierer Shoots to Bronze

Day 8 of the Republica Olympics will be remembered fondly in Siovanija and Teusland; as it was on this day that our nation won its first-ever Olympic medal.

Liselotte Schierer etched her name into history forever with the medal win today, and let’s take a look at how she did it. After defeating the Vilitan duo of Zelda and Lara Moraia in the Round of 32 and 16 respectively, Schierer earned a match with Republican archer Marcela Vajicova. Vajicova gave a good account of herself in front of the home fans, but Schierer looked unstoppable on the day: a score of 114, her personal best score and just 2 shy of the Olympic Record. That gave her a place in the semifinal, against another Republican, event #1 seed Rita Giordano.

“It will be a very good match,” said Liselotte in the build-up to the day. With the two highest seeds left in the tournament (#1 Giordano vs #4 Schierer) going head-to-head, the match was perhaps the most-scrutinized to that point in the event. In the end, it was the host nation who would win the day: Giordano bested Schierer by only 1 point (113-112), and advanced to the Gold Medal Match. Schierer would instead shoot for bronze. “Of course, when you get to this point in the competition it’s disappointing not to be going for Gold. Rita is a very good archer, though, and I think she’s got a great chance for the gold medal,” commented Schierer after the match. There was no doubt she’d be going all-out for the bronze medal, either: “I know what it would mean for the country, yes, and myself. I’ll get over this quickly, for sure, and then be as strong as I know I can be in the bronze medal match.” The other semi-final saw defending champion Amelia Defence of West Phoenicia defeat Brie of Kriegiersien, setting up Brie as Schierer’s bronze medal opponent.

You could sense before the match had even began that things seemed to be in Schierer’s favour on the day, and that would carry on throughout. Despite recording her lowest total in the tournament from the Quarterfinal on, Schierer defeated Brie 110-102 to capture the bronze medal. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. So many great athletes were in this competition, and to get this medal is...amazing. I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Schierer in the aftermath.

Congratulations began to immediately pour in from across the nation in the wake of her victory. President Joachim Fleiss issued a statement congratulating Schierer, as did Chancellor Kiril Rysinov. The men’s national hockey team, currently in training camp for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, also sent their congratulations, as did several other national celebrities. The bronze medal match became one of the most-watched sporting events in the history of our nation, and watch parties in Stelburg, Borograd and Schierer’s home town of Bad Wittlingen lasted long into the night.

In the gold medal final, Rita Giordano defeated Amelia Defence to earn deserved gold on home soil. Schierer joined them on the medal podium; unable to contain her smile as she received the bronze and then watched as the national flag was raised for the first time ever at the Olympics. “Probably one of the best moments of my life,” as Schierer described it afterwards to STBC News. For an athlete like Liselotte Schierer, we’re sure there is more to come. All of us at STBC wish to congratulate her on the victory, and wish her the best of luck in the future.

Archery was not the only event of the day, however, and the Men’s Football team found themselves in action taking on Illahee in Group B play. Winless through 3, it was absolutely imperative for the Goldhorns to get a win on the day. It was Anton Dimitrov getting the Goldhorns going early, scoring a well-placed volley in the 22nd minute to put Siovanija and Teusland 1-0 up. Illahee would respond well, however, and a storm was unleashed on the Goldhorn defenders. With a goal in the 34th minute Illahee were level, and then after a somewhat harsh penalty decision in the 41st minute going against Roland Plessner, Illahee were 2-0 up.

Halftime saw some changes for the Goldhorns, with Horst Hackl and Vidyo Avramov coming on. An all-out attacking effort was needed, and with big man Hackl beside Dimitrov up top, you could sense goals were coming. Sure enough, it was the two new boys who would put the Goldhorns level: Avramov cross met by the head of Hackl, into the net. Time wore closer and closer towards the 90 minute mark and it looked as if the match would end 2 all. Thorsten Kramer, however, was not content with that and after making a strong run into the box blasted a shot past the Illahee keeper in the 85th minute to give the Goldhorns a 3-2 victory. Siovanija and Teusland now sit 6th in the Group B standings, level on points with Sargossa in 5th but behind due to goal differential. 3 matches are left in the round robin, and if the Goldhorns hope to advance to the knockout rounds wins are necessary in each.

The final event of the day saw Arnold Alt take to the waters in the Men’s Windsurfer final race. While Alt would finish 8th, quite a ways behind the eventual medal winners, that was still good enough to see him earn the rarely talked about Olympic diploma. Not as much fanfare for Alt as there was for Schierer, naturally, but the nation is still quite proud of the athlete who was certainly never expected to make it this far.

The saying goes that lightning never strikes twice, but that could be proven wrong by Siovanija and Teusland at these Olympic Games: on Day 9, Thomas Fischer will compete in the Men’s One Person Dinghy Final Race with a great shot at a medal. Fischer is currently ranked 1st in the event after 10 races, and on a score of 71, he has a very real chance of winning a medal. Any colour works well for us, Thomas, but there’s one in particular that would extend the party from Schierer’s medal into next week. For an athlete who wasn’t expected to be a big contender, Fischer has certainly proven the nation wrong and now has his own chance to enter the history books.

That’s it from Republica today, we’ll be back to cover all the major events of Day 9 from these Games of the XIII Olympiad.

[Sargossa]

“… another successful qualifying session here in the stadium. All three of Sargossa’s men safely through to the semi-finals of the 800m. Agilmar Sylvester of Main Nation Ministry is the fastest qualifier and the Olympic champion Todd Langeveri is in the mix too. The Long Jump though, not quite so successful. Joaquín Aguinaldo and Mateo Velázquez both fell narrowly short of the top twelve. But Alberto Moreno is through and will contest the medals.”

“Thanks Carlos. Will be returning for further updates from the Athletics throughout the day. Or you can find our live coverage on the blue button service. But now we’re off to the Assembly Chamber at the New Legislative Building. It’s the Men’s Light Flyweight quarter final, Luis Olalla in action against Awstin Thomas. And taking you through the action it’s Hector Luís and first Jaime Godín…”


* * * * * * * * * *


“… and they're away clean and it’s a good start for Amengual. Robinson and Morris hot on her heels but Qiao is fading after a strong opening. And Carolina Amengual takes first place! With relative ease too. That’ll be a big boost to the confidence. Stella Robinson and Charlotte Morris look impossible to split in second, that’ll be one for the judges to sort out. But for Sargossa the equation is easy. Carolina Amengual joins Ximena Braga and Alba Cazalla in the semi-finals.”


* * * * * * * * * *


“… a one goal cushion always produces a nervy end to a match and sure enough Mitra & Soma enjoyed a late flurry but the Corsairs held out for their first win of this campaign. There’s still plenty of work to do but the nation has at least moved away from the bottom of the group. Not quite the heady achievements we were hoping for but there we go.”

“Thank you Roberto. Sargossa hang on in the football but surely we’re out of contention at this stage. The hosts looking pretty solid at the top of the group. We’ll reflect on that a little later but first here’s Carlos at the Athletics.”

“Where we’ve reached round five of the Shot Put final. Maria Obregón just readying herself now. She had a tricky start, she had the shortest distance of all the legal attempts after round one and then faulted round 2. But a distance of 20.24 with attempt three moved her up into fifth. And fifth is where she sits now. She goes through the motions. It’s a clean release. She bellows after it. It’s cleared twenty metres! 20.40 gets her in medal contention. On no! It’s 20.29. It’s an improvement but not by enough. She stays in fifth with just one round to go.”


* * * * * * * * * *


“Disappointment in the Shot Put Final but Cristina Japón will contest the medals in the Hammer Throw. And there was another impressive Sargossan effort in the Heptathlon. Yesterday it was Covadonga Fonseca, today it was the name of Noé Atenas that came to the fore. 16.88 wouldn’t have got her noticed in the Shot Put final but it was the furthest distance in the Heptathlon discipline. Fonseca was seventh and Sabrina Ros thirteenth. In the 200m, the fourth event of the contest, Atenas claimed fifth place overall. Ros took ninth, with Fonseca some way back in 27th.

“All of which has moved Noé Atenas up into fourth place, level on points with the day one leader Tanisa Ezere. Covadonga Fonseca stays in second, but it’s Eraman’s Nabila Salwa who has put just a little bit of daylight between herself and the rest at the top. And spare a thought for Sabrina Ros. That disaster in the opening day’s hurdles has meant that today’s solid work still sees her way, way back in 83rd.”

[Diarcesia]

Opinion: Diarcesia Should Continue Competing in the NS Olympics
By Kristen Dassyne

It has been said that sports is an antidote to war.

I have been a constant visitor to the various sporting events: World Cups, previous NS Olympiads, our regular inter-dieresis games, the NSTT, among others. The common thread continues to run through them which never ceases to amaze me. Seeing the various groups face each other, animated with emotion, and at the end both victor and the vanquished expressing magnanimity and graciousness reflects what humans can achieve.

One thing that dampened my mood a bit is talks or rumors of talks that the XIII Olympiad will be the only one where the Lynx will announce its presence. Was it the expense? How the athletes fared? Something more sinister? I firmly believe that we should send more in the future.

I am not alone with this. Last week I had the fortune to meet and speak with the Heptarch Adrast, the King of Chiyginia. While eating lunch at a Hylvobrigian restaurant, we discussed the sports scene here in general and the Olympics in particular. The Heptarch is very positive about it. It looks like his passion for sports still runs through his blood even after being called to the realm of governance. He told how intensely the event is discussed, the fate still undecided whether to create an Olympic committee and tender the application to compete. In the end a significant push towards the final verdict came from a statement made by Adrast himself; partly why that adage is in the introduction of today's piece.

"Our forebears thought of war as if it's a contest: to the winner belong the spoils, or that the win accords the distinction that our governance is just. We have been fortunate that we rightly steered from the road of subjugation of other peoples, and instead we embrace them if they saw fit that their desires fit ours, and letting go amicably once that's no longer the case, secure in our safety and well-being. However, these lessons must to be passed down to every generation as they continue to hunger for the progress of humanity. It is inevitable, that one day, we will try to test our abilities with foreigners. And what better way to control these than sports?"

He is right.

[Ioudaia]

Runcast

“This is Runcast, and I'm your host, Gabi Charis. This is Edition 9.21 of my video podcast, for Day 8 of the XIII Olympiad. Tomorrow we'll have one of my favorite races, the 3000m steeplechase. Ioudaia is fielding a full team of six runners for the event, but I'd like to talk about two of them, Nizan Tros and Polymedes ben Shachal.

Now, I don't mean to say that there's anything wrong with the rest of them. They're all excellent runners, and every one of them has a good shot at a medal. So why those two? Well, Nitzan Tros isn't called the Ioudaian Gazelle for nothing, and Polymedes is regarded as the fastest Ioudaian off the blocks in any middle- or long-distance race.

Nitzan has to be seen to be believed. Here he is during the olympic qualifiers: look at how he just soars over the barriers! He doesn't even break stride! And that water landing: he's so far up the ramp he barely gets his shoes wet!

So is he guaranteed a medal? Nope. He's actually kind of slow on the straightaways, and he seems to fade late in races. Let's watch the ends of his three last races side-by-side, at double speed. Nitzan's highlighted, and look at how he slowly gets passed in each race. He's our best overall steeplechase runner, consistently placing in the top five, but he doesn't have the most first place finishes.

But guess who does? Polymedes! He's just incredible off the blocks. Look at this series of starts: Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! He's like a machine! And he always has a plan for the end of the race; he studies all the other runners' races, and times when to make his move. It's different in every race, but he always gains at least 3-4 places. But man-oh-man, the water obstacles do not love him. He's fine on the regular barriers, but something always seems to go wrong on the water barriers. When it doesn't go too badly, he ends up with a medal, usually the gold. But that doesn't happen often enough for me to be confident that he'll get one in these games.

I said I was going to talk about two runners, so just a shout-out to Nili bat Leucothea. Keep an eye on her during tomorrow's heats. She's got the basics down pat and has moments of running brilliance. I want to see if she's brilliant in these races.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

---

To: Prince Giovanni of Celeria, Chief Organising Officer, Cycling Haven
From: Onesicritus ben Iair, President, Ioudaian Cycling Federation
In Re: Your Open Letter of Protest,
further in Re: Our Summary of Disciplinary Hearing for Actions during the Road Race of the XIII Olympiad

We are rather puzzled by your statement that Havenic athletes are satisfied with merely “crossing that finishing line and seeing no other competitors ahead of [them]...from the gold medal that is placed about [their] neck and the cheers of an adoring crowd.” If that is all they seek, they they can ride the course solo. Cheering crowds are inexpensive to hire, as are medallions, even ones made of precious medals. If need be, 'competitors' can be hired for verisimilitude; most countries have an abundance of cyclists, so hiring a group should be no problem for a National Olympic Committee.

However, we believe cyclists want to be awarded gold medals for athletic achievement, and that they want to know that they are the best cyclists in the race, and that only that makes the gold medal, and the respect that goes with it, worthwhile. To properly reward them, then, we must distinguish athletic achievement from all else. To do that, we make rules about what constitutes athletic achievement, and make judgements about whether actions have broken those rules when needed.

Perhaps we set our sights too high, seeking athletic glory through athletic ability. But if so, it is our athletes who will be remembered through the ages, long after others are forgotten.

I remain,

Onesicritus ben Iair

[Todd McCloud]

Blessed be the (Almost) Tie that Binds Us
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

REPUBLICA -It was spectacular, it was invigorating, it was breathtaking... and it was expected. The Vekaiyun women's underwater hockey team had secured another victory, this one in close fashion, to Eastfield lodge by the score of 3-2. In what has already shown to be a low-scoring affair in Republic thus far, especially considering the offenses we witnessed in Provinsk during the last Olympiad, the Vekaiyun attack was swift, efficient, and quick, if not a bit... atypical.

"I swear I wasn't blinking!" starter Ivalsa Oyestero said after scoring the game-winning goal with only seventeen seconds to go in regulation. She muscled her way through a jam when a 3 on 3 standard Vekaiyun attack approached the Eastfield Lodge side and crashed into a a pair of defenders. "I thought for sure we'd go to regulation, but nope! Once I saw that puck squeak through, I tried to kick free, but couldn't. I finally reached around and sunk the puck into the gutter with just a little bit of time to spare!" When asked about the tough fight before scoring her goal, Ivalsa added, "Well, that was kind of a problem during the whole game. See, the other team has these wide fins, and they're not really typical for underwater hockey play. They kind of just get in the way. It doesn't really matter what fins you use if you don't kick your legs anyway."

"It wasn't too hard so long as we didn't get so many shepherding calls against us," forward Sayli Relasessi remarked at the end of the game. She had one goal and one assist in the contest. "I swear the one ref had it out for us. The first thing they teach you back [in Vekaiyu] is to play the puck and not the stick. That's super-easy to remember. But the second thing they teach you is not to shepherd - you know, use your body as a blocker in between the runner and the opponent. That's a super-sketchy rule when you think about it, and it's all about how it's interpreted. In Vekaiyu it's about the direction of the head. Here? You so much as have an errant fin and they call you on it! It's ridiculous!" Relasessi received three minor penalties that stemmed from shepherding, none of which involved a fin, but upon inspection, could have been considered borderline calls at best. Some more obvious events stemmed from

Ikrisia Levinile, wearing the Vekaiyun underwater hockey team
uniform as she enters as a mid vs. Listonia at Provinsk.

The coach of the Vekaiyun woman's squad, Riyna Emlestravu, was a bit more cautious in complaining about the officiating, and instead brought up another important point altogether. "We just need to get on the same page with how they will be officiating. If the referees have a keen eye to how one places one's body, then we can definitely comply. What I won't tolerate is jeopardizing the safety of our players. Their team absolutely must keep their sticks on the bottom of the pool floor! You can't just wantonly flail your stick whenever you want!"

Emlestravu was likely referring to the incident that occurred in the second half of the bout, where omni-sub Ankya Ibikastre took a strike to the right ear during a contested puck as it entered the Vekaiyun side of play. She seemed okay after coming up for a clean tube. A quick adjustment to her red-and-black ear guards was all the alternate needed to dive back into the fray.

"I'm fine," she remarked after the game, "it was only my ear. It would've hurt a lot more if it was on my head. It's... weird playing in a pool with no windows. These things are nothing like the [aquatic] arenas we have back at home. Here, they're kind of dark and dingy, kind of like playing in a morgue. When I turn around, I want to see people cheering, not just tiles."

Such an infraction was missed by the officiating crew, and likely will require some kind of review or alteration in order to more adequately protect players. Something that may not help are the all-black with red pipping uniforms that Vekaiyu wears (see right image for the sake of clarification). While Vekaiyun-made sticks will generally have a sort of light-gray look to differentiate between black uniforms and the typically beige or perhaps light blue pool floor, other sticks are generally a black type or a black type with a different-colored tip, as in the case for the Listonian team during the Provinsk Olympiad.

"What the heck is this?" Leina Irlavistre asked when we asked the female swimmer what her thoughts were as to a potential uniform change for the underwater hockey team. "We had a finals match today, Ivalsa [Beraseri] and I! We worked hard! Though we came up just a bit short, we are giving it our all every time we enter the pool! Underwater hockey - sure, I've played it, but don't you think it's a little strange to ask a swimmer about their uniforms? They play a team sport! Here, the medal is won or lost on an individual performance, an individual performance that has an entire supporting staff behind it! Why don't you write that in your columns instead of saying how we keep losing all the time!"

Indeed, swimming events have taken a slight back-seat when it comes to coverage, as gymnastics heated up with a handful of stellar performances by the men's team and the women's team seems poised for another strong showing. Despite that, and despite the nation's fervent fanaticism when it comes to its national sport, one can't help the Vekaiyun swimmers seem a bit... off this year. They have certainly won a fair share of silver and bronze medals, sure, and the competition is indeed still early, but expectations were a bit higher than what has been produced thus far, especially as the home nation is marooned in 24th place, off the pace from the co-hosting nation of Kelssek (9th), former host Electrum (6th), and especially current host Free Republics (1st). It remains to be seen if the swimming game will pick up, and if it does, we at V3 News Services will certainly answer the clarion call with an eruption of praises for the delegation. We, of course, reserve the right to report on the events as we seem fit, however.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

HCMP Kelmiros, Southeastern Celeria
3 weeks prior to the Olympics
It was a normal day for Anton Scelmintero, junior guard, eastern wing, maximum security. He loved where he worked: although the Celari prison system was renowned for its 'softness,' few international observers expected a maximum security prison to be quite this soft. Inside the high walls that surrounded its leafy valley home, men played tennis; worked on personal projects; learnt masters-level courses...if daily life could be replicated inside inside a maximum security prison, they managed it inside Kelmiros.
Anton kept a lazy eye on his surroundings, leaning against a fountain beside the man his colleagues had taken to referring to as his boyfriend. Of course, Veldomir Schtenko was not his boyfriend; Anton was a guard, Veldomir an inmate; but both men knew why some made the comments. The two were certainly weirdly close friends for such a relationship: Veldomir was an eastern noble with a love of debate and his own voice; Anton a university graduate who always loved somebody to argue with long into the night. Arguing was done preferably over a cold beer, something Veldomir also enjoyed; the two shared a similar sharp whit and sense of humour, and quite possibly the most important reason for the taunting...thy were both openly homosexual and single. Anton would not be lying if he said he wished that the tall, handsome and fiery noble had found him the slightest bit attractive; after all, there was nothing worse than being left in the friendzone by a man you legally were entitled to shoot if he made a bolt for it.

The two talked amiably, not watching there surroundings as much as they should have been; of course, Veldomir already knew what was going to happen...Anton had only been told that morning. As he had promised his friend, he'd said not a word about it, and nobody could possibly know he knew...and it wasn't as if people were going to get...

The first bullets hit Anton's fellow guardsmen before his thought was all the way formed, and before it could be finished, pandemonium erupted. Guards rushed to man the heavy weapons on the walls: prisoners tried to take shelter, Veldomir stood gazing serenely up into the sky at the 4 aircraft which circled the prison. Orange hands were visibly painted on the aircraft from such a low altitude, a Schtenko symbol that prison guards feared more than any other. Clan Schtenko loved to 'liberate' prisons, and the orange hand symbol could mean little else than what he now saw jumping down from the aircraft.

The 3 cyborgs landed in a crouch, and began to pen in groups of guards, creating clumps of prisoners who were unharmed while more Schtenko soldiers parachuted down. Within minutes, they were overrun; the aircraft taking out the heavy gun emplacements with apparent ease and Maria and her comrades in arms making easy work of the guards. The final blow that marked a 'liberation' were the large gates opening to allow for the passage of Schtenko evacuation vehicles.

Anton stared around the carnage, bodies lying like forgotten autumn leaves on the formerly pleasant gardens. More, he knew, would be inside or lying burning beneath broken defencive machinery. He took in the faces; he'd worked with these men for years now, drank with them...knew the names of their wives and children. Such wives and children had no husband and father now, and wasn't it all his fault? For he loyalty of a known terrorist-sympathising nobleman, and some wishes for what...his love? Anton had sacrificed lives. He began to walk through it all, so dazed from the experience that he didn't notice the figure walking alongside him, but he noticed the soft and strong hands pressing against his cheek...and at that point they could have been those of his mother or of a mass-murderer for all he cared.
He began to sob long and hard now, muttering self-hating irrelevancies to himself and to whoever was holding him; he didn't know when the tears had made his eyes so blurred to see properly, but they must have done, right? He wasn't in that much shock...he wasn't blacking out....was he?

The last thing that he felt before oblivion claied him was a pair of lips pressed against his own...the last glimpse he got, Veldomir Schtenkos long blonde hair swaying in the wind of departing aircraft.

[Anollasia]

Father and Son Talking About Olympics: A One Act Play

Son enters the house. Father is sitting at the table doing paperwork.

Father: "Hey, Tom! What did you learn at school today?"

Son: "We talked about the Olympics!"

Father: "Well, what did you learn about it?"

Son: "I learned that it takes a long time to get there, but it sounds fun. You get medals if you're good."

Father: "What's that in your hand there?"

Son: "The teacher made us write something about the Olympics, I wrote a story."

Father: "Can I hear it?"

Son: "No."

Father: "Why not?"

Son: "Because it's bad."

Father: "I don't care, I still want to hear it."

Son: "Ok...Once upon a time, there was an athlete. His name was Tom Jenkins. He wanted to go to the Olympics. His favourite athlete was Mehmet Demirel. When he grew up he wanted to be just like him. But Tom was sad when Mehmet lost the match. So Tom went and gave Mehmet a hug. Mehmet became happy and so did Tom. The end."

Father: "That was a heart-warming story. I was also sad when he was eliminated from singles tennis. Can you give me a warm hug to make me feel better?" Father extends his arms, expecting a hug.

Son: "Here you go!" Son hugs father tightly, smiling. Father also smiles.

Father: "Yay, now I'm happy too! Now go and play, if you want to go to the Olympics you'll need to be big and strong."

Tom runs off and father continues working on paperwork.

[Vilitan Union]

The Report from Republica :: Vilitan Union Seeks first Gold of Summer Games on Day 9

Eight days into the XIII Olympic Games in Republica and the Vilitan Union is still searching for their first Gold Medal. While it may on the surface seem like doom and gloom for the Vilitan Union athletes, there have been some recent rays of optimism that lend credence to the hopeful idea that the anthem of the Vilitan Territories will soon be playing at an Olympic Venue. Day 8 in particular showed much promise for the Vilitan Union though it most certainly did not start out very promising with the Women's 3m Springboard Synchronized Diving being a low point for the delegation at these games. With a medal on the line, the duo of Sali and Mali Mota; the defending Olympic Silver Medalists in the 10m Platform Dive, posted the worst score of the 33 competitors in the event.

Later in the morning, however, things would start to look a little brighter for the Vilitan Union as they had qualified two simmers into the Womens 200m Individual Medley Final. Inflipia Kulafin was certainly the favorite for the Vilitans as a former Silver Medalist in the event and the Vilitan Union record holder at 02:08.71. Joining Kulafin in the final would be Ali Morala, a surprise amongst the last 8 looking to make their mark at the longer distance after having previously only been considered a serious medal threat at the 100m distance. Morala would hang with the leaders for the first half of the event but began to drop pace after the second turn and would ultimately finish in 8th place, last amongst the finalists. Kulafin, however, was putting the pressure on challenging for an Olympic Medal as well as a Vilitan record down the stretch only to fall agonizingly short of both marks. Had Kulafin matched their personal best it would have been good enough for the Bronze medal but at 2:09.07 Kulafin was out touched by Kelssek's Sophie Brent for the final spot on the podium behind the winner Erika Stanton and the Vannish runner-up Lara Luckerbjorn. While the Vilitan Union had been shut out of the medals the momentum gained would seem to carry on to other Vilitan Union athletes throughout Day 8.

Over in Athletics, Leega Adeera comfortably advanced to the Men's Long Jump final with the second best Jump during the Qualifiers. Adeera is a multi-discipline athlete and skilled at the art of allowing the ground to pass beneath their body for long stretches of distance without making contact with it as Adeera also competes in the Hurdles where they earned an Olympic Silver medal in Vekaiyu for the 110m distance. Now, if Adeera can duplicate their performance from qualifying, they will be in line to earn their first Olympic Medal in the Long Jump and perhaps even the first Gold Medal of the games for the Vilitan Union.

Kennex Wilisii will compete for the Vilitan Unions 1st Gold in Republica

In the ring there was disappointment for the Vilitan Union as fan-favorite Kay Beane was eliminated early in the Men's Super Heavyweight boxing competition in a close contest against Joshua Watts denying the 3-time Olympic Medalists the chance to fight for their first Gold Medal. Beane's teammate on the Boxing roster will have a chance however as Paypa Flieh won a unanimous decision over Park Ha-joon to advance to the Men's Light Flyweight Semi-Finals. Being in the last four Flieh is assured the chance to compete for a medal but will square off against Liventia's Awstin Thomas in the Semi-Final with a spot in the Gold Medal Fight on the line. Thomas is the gold medal favorite in the competition and will likely prove a difficult foe for Flieh in the Semi-Final round. Thomas had the most dominating performance of all boxers in the quarter finals not conceding a single round to Luis Olalla.

The biggest excitement, however, would come at the Capital Country Club. While there were limited Vilitan fans in attendance, a small contingent was on hand to cheer on Kennex Wilisii and Kiko Moreto in the Mens and Womens Singles Semi-Final rounds. Interest in the two local Tennis Stars Medal Quests had hit full stride back home, however, and with the Olympic games being multicast across multiple broadcast channels, over 90% of streams were focused solely on the Tennis courts on Day 8. After dropping the first set, Kennex Wilisii stormed back to shutout Electrum's Samuel Gates in the second set before taking and early lead and holding on for the win in the third and deciding set to advance to the Gold Medal Match where they will play the defending Olympic Gold medalist Kamal Dallas who will be seeking to repeat as Olympic Champion. Wilisii will have some familiarity with their opponent as it was Kamal Dallas along with Wissam Dallas who denied Wilisii and Kiko Moreto from claiming an Olympic Medal in Vekaiyu defeating the duo in the Mixed Doubles bronze medal match in the previous Olympic Summer Games. Now, however, the two would square off for Individual Glory on the court with a medal already guaranteed, the only question would be who would come away with the Gold?

Beyond the medal events there will be an interesting matchup in the final of the Camogie Hurling Demonstration competition where the Athletically inclined Vilitan Union team will square off against their new Camogie Hurling arch rivals, Vangaziland, in the 1st Place Match. Both teams will be playing for more than just 1st place as they look to declare themselves the best in the World at this unique competition but, more importantly, don't want to have to return home and say they lost to their rivals on the other bench. The Vilitan Union team advanced to the final by defeating Main Nation Ministry while Vangaziland were victorious against their Esportivan region mates Ethane to advance to the 1st place match. There could be a second Vilitan Union v. Vangaziland Demonstration Final on the cards as well in the near future as the Korfball competition is down to their last four with the Vilitan Union taking on the host nation while Vangaziland square off against Diarcesia in the other match.

While the entire Vilitan Cove region awaits their teams first Gold Medal performance of the games - and will have plenty of opportunities to support their fellow countrymen pursue that goal, there will be Citizen pride on the line in the Men's Football Competition as the Vilita & Turori team take on the Cocoabo Forest contingent in Group C action. It is no surprise that the two delegations currently sit atop the Group C table though the Cocoabo currently hold the tiebreaker over the defending World Cup Semi-Finalist and Champion combined entry. Perhaps the only surprise thus far in Group C is that the Esportivan champions Mattijana have not been able to keep pace and challenge the Top 2 for their place in the next round. The Cocoabo will be out to prove something after being left out of the World Cup and forced instead to compete for Tropicorp in the AOCAF Cup as their only major competition in the build up to the Olympics. As defending Olympic Silver Medalists, however, they won't fear the Vilita & Turori Citizens and their head to head clash should be one of the highlights of the Group Stage in the Football competition.

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Familiar Stranger: Acting Normal

"I'm sorry, miss. But according to this, Main Nation Ministry has temporarily cancelled all flights to the region. Apparently, under the orders of the Ministry of Tourism." a woman at a ticket desk explained at the airport, as Daphne was trying to obtain a ticket. "But, you don't understand! I need to get there! It's...uh. It's my home! I need to head back there this instant!" "I'm sorry, ma'am. I know you're keeping your cool, but the nation is under a national emergency. You can order a ticket, when the emergency has been lifted." the woman explained.

Leaving the airport, Daphne felt concerned that Napier might be unsafe. "How am I supposed to get to Main Nation Ministry now?" Daphne said pouting, trying not to get too mad. "Maybe I can try to convince one of those security folk back at where the athletes are staying? Napier did say that they were all at a large hotel somewhere." Daphne thought, as she walked away from the airport. The walk through the city of Republica was a bit tense, even though Daphne wasn't being followed. Daphne could smell some meat from a restaurant nearby. "No, gotta let my hunger not get the best of me." Daphne thought, since she tended to be tame when it came to protein. Though, most other demons back in hell were fanatics for that stuff. Daphne had to admit it tasted good as a demon. Eventually, she found herself back in the hotel which Napier tried to pass through, but had his outfit removed, revealing himself. "Maybe I can convince an official in here." she thought as she entered. When she walked in the front lobby, she was greeted by the voice of Jessica Madden.

"The fuck is happening back in Main Nation Ministry?! The Leader is currently at-large? How is he wanted, if he's the leader?! Seriously?" Jessica said to Brenda, sipping some juice with a twirly straw, while planning on heading out. "How are you supposed to get used to paper?" "What's going on about the Leader?" Daphne asked Jessica, who raised an eyebrow. "Hadn't you heard from The Monterra Gazette? The Leader is apparently at large for some unknown crimes! Hell if I know!"
"It's funny how you said that last bit."
"Which bit?"
"You know the- Nevermind. I'm taking to get back to Main Nation Ministry, but they shut down all flights to there." Daphne explained to Jessica and Brenda.

"You want to go back to the nation? What for? Aren't you here to watch the Olympiad?" Jessica asked, where Daphne can see the teeth whitener she's using. "It's for..personal reasons. The Leader is currently somewhere, but I need to get back to the nation." Daphne said. "Look, you need to get some frickin chill. I don't have any since I'm on a cleanse, but try to find that Taichi guy! He practically runs one of those "educational facilities", instead of the modern term schools. He's probably in his room, flexing his muscle to kill some people when the performance wrestling event happens!" Jessica said. "Alright, I see what I can do." Daphne said, keeping her cool when dealing with Jessica. As Daphne headed towards the front desk, Jessica shouted something before she walked out. "Oh, by the way, if you see Jason Masami, tell him to I said thanks for telling me about the juice!"

"I'm looking for Ryuu Taichi, please?"
"His room is on the 14th floor, room 14." the receptionist said. "Alright, Ryuu. Maybe you can help me." Daphne thought.

[APOC Coalition]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Olympic Opinions
with Graham O'Doherty, David Norton, Dara Keane, Aisling Keane, and Ibrahim Ahmadinejad

FROM REPUBLICA, THE FREE REPUBLICS - Guess who finally made it to Republica? Yep, Cousin Aisling's here! The Gamer Gang is back together again! Bet you've been wondering where she's been these past few days. That's actually a strange story, that. Cousin Aisling told us that she was fresh off of watching the World Lacrosse Championships, and then when she came over here she finds out that the WLCs haven't even happened yet! I mean, none of us even know what to think of it. It's like she's a traveler from the future, which she probably actually is! And she's carrying around the knowledge that the winner of WLC 30 is--

Women's Baseball Game Three: Diarcesia vs. APOC Coalition (Ibrahim)
More baseball coming our way from Republica, and this time the Coalition women's team squared off against Diarcesia. Haven't heard much about Diarcesia, I have to admit, but they were game for the game, and that was a nice thing. We all love a game where both sides want to go for the win. None of this tanking business. Malvina Shackelford, of the Mydeuzey Sand Lizards and a very fierce competitor according to personal experience, was the starting pitcher for this game, but she had a below average start, giving up four runs in just the first two innings. Thank God our hitters were swinging well as well or else this could've ended a bloodbath on the part of the Coalition. But don't try to tell me that that boxscore wasn't weird though, because it fucking is. Never in my whole life have I ever seen both teams mirror their innings so well like that. One run each in the first inning, then three runs per team in the second inning. Of course that meant Malvina had to go for the Coalition, but Diarcesia also pulled their starting pitcher and replaced her because come on. Your pitcher gives up four runs, three in the second inning. Wouldn't you take him or her off too in that situation?

That seemed to do the trick though as the next innings flew by just like that. *snaps fingers here* Nobody scored any more runs, but there were a few close calls. And then come the eighth inning, with Yasmin Bensoussan hoping to get the field ready for Linnie Husain's usual ninth inning appearance. Well, that didn't work out as planned. It's another uncharacteristic performance from Yasmin as she gave up three runs in the eighth inning and seemingly gave APOC the mother of all mountains to climb in order to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in this one. Then Zinobiya Zaporozhets scored a three-run home run to erase the Coalition's deficit, and thus the stage was set for possibly one of the best finishes I've ever seen in baseball. Linnie Husain finally got onto the plate for this game, in the ninth inning as usual, and just as usual she kept the other side scoreless. The onus is now on the Coalition to make something of this break and end the game right then and there, and to not think about the prospect of extra innings. Knowing that both the game itself as well as the potential for Olympic honor was on the line, Julin He became Miss Clutch and hit the game-winning walk-off home run. I'd love to say that I taught Julie a thing or two but I don't know anything about scoring walk-offs. I'm more the type of player to strike out after two outs in the ninth. And don't remind me of the times I gave up a few walk-off runs myself. No man must endure that kind of torture. Sometimes I just have the worst luck in endgame situations.

Basketball Events: Amuaplye vs. APOC Coalition (Men's Basketball) & Vangaziland vs. APOC Coalition (Women's 3x3) (Davey)
Time some for basketball action now! And once again the Coalition basketball team have triumphed against their opposition! Sure, it's not an absolute demolishing like the last game against Liventia but it's still a big victory! 15 points, to be exact! But really, I'd say that this performance was just par for the course for the Coalition. It was the kind of performance you'd expect them to pull off. Toni Cag was the top scorer in the game with 28 points while Jazz Higgs was as always a monster in the paint, pulling down 9 rebounds and scoring a few crucial points in the paint as well. Fotij Nochevski was no slouch either, and once again he made posters out of the Amuaplye defenders as he tallied 12 points, 10 of them coming from dunks. And that's literally all I can say for right now. APOC had a plan and they executed it to the best of their ability. It may not have gotten them a result quite like the one against Liventia but I'm not complaining. I swear I aren't. And the less said about 3x3, the better. High hopes don't mix well with the reality of it all, so good luck getting me to talk about 3x3 after this.

Men's Football Game Four: APOC Coalition vs. Cosumar (Graham)

  APOC COALITION 3 - 1 COSUMAR
  SCHERMER (20')       JIMENEZ (31' og)
MAGNANELLI (51')
 WEYVERLEY (71')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
APOC Coalition: 52%
Cosumar: 48%
Shots
APOC Coalition: 23 (12 on target)
Cosumar: 20 (10 on target)
Corners
APOC Coalition: 7
Cosumar: 7
Fouls
APOC Coalition: 17
Cosumar: 15

Football action next! And the Coalition is basically tearing through their group men's football at the moment! After that slow start against Ethane and the lone goal by Schermer, the Coalition has simply exploded into action. Goals are simply flying in from everywhere. Heck, we're so good at scoring, we're even scoring against ourselves! At least that's how it's seemed to me, what with the recent glut of own goals, but who cares about own goals and clean sheets? Well, Guildenstern Cardew, maybe, but he's not here to talk about any of that stuff, is he? And 12 points from 4 games! What a haul for the Coalition. If this kind of form continues then maybe the Coalition might just enter the World Cup as a unified team as well! Not that the four member nations would ever agree to that. But by God! A win against Cosumar! I know that they're one of the bigger powerhouse nations in the World Cup, but here in the Olympics, right now, they're sitting in 7th place out of the 8 teams in Group D, having conceded only one less goal than Ethane. Kind of like what happened to Brenecia when the Fhulghamous and Copper Cuprum hosted the Campionato Esportiva. This Olympics has seen quite a few results that you most probably won't see in NSWC-sanctioned competition, but the Olympics are the great equalizer after all. As the saying goes, KPB don't mean squat when the five rings come knocking.

But on to the game itself now. Peter Schermer, Peter Schermer. When, oh when, will you finally not find the back of the net? Hopefully never! At least when he's playing for the Coalition. That's what I like about the man, even though he plays for Sporting Ceneisis and always, without fail, finds the back of the net against Ludogorets. However, mate, when you're playing against Markovsky, can you please lose your shooting boots for the next 90 minutes? Thank you! Except his goal against Cosumar wasn't even scored with his feet. The cross from Suwaba Bumata was coming in low so he had to stoop down a little bit so that he could have a smack at it with the top of his head. Still resulted in a top world-class finish. Man's unstoppable if he wants to be.

Then that cheeky backheel goal from Solomon Jimenez. Man makes it look so easy. He wasn't even looking when the ball came towards him and clipped his left heel before going into the back of the net. Shame that he put it into his own net but what can you do? Have a collective mini panic attack as the Coalition team tries to sort themselves out while figuring out how they got into that mess in the first place for the next twenty minutes of gameplay. Thank God Mauro Magnanelli scored from that free kick when he did or else Cosumar could have taken advantage of the obvious momentum swing and ran away with the result. But instead it was us, the Coalition, who managed to run away with the result just like how Weyverley ran away from his marker and slammed home the goal that secured all three points for the Coalition. Shame that he didn't really work out when Antslinngs Islands went down to Unang Liga, but the Unang Liga is a very tough league to adapt to, tougher than even the FPL, and it's no surprise that Weyverley decided to go back to Oontaz once his contract with Antslinngs was up. Maybe this Olympics performance could be the key to him coming back. Or maybe he's content where he is now. I wouldn't know. I'm not Weyverley.

Men's Gridiron Game Three: APOC Coalition vs. Monsa (Dara)

APOC Coalition     10 21  7 10  48
Monsa               3  0  7  7  17

Jesus Christ, APOC! That Monsa had a family! What did they do to deserve this!? Nothing, that's what! Monsa just had the unfortunate honour of playing the Coalition just as the team were finally getting on the bounce after that loss against the hosts to open their Olympic gridiron campaign. Simply put, Monsa didn't know what him 'em. They were completely blindsided, taken by surprise. And of course this was when APOC chose to unleash that explosive offense. I mean, the first quarter was just your textbook first quarter. Touchdown on the opening drive followed by a field goal after a crazy long pass from Stan Serban to Jeremy Lacazette. But it was the second quarter where APOC's dominance truly showed.

How do I start telling you all the story of the second quarter of the APOC/Monsa gridiron game in the Olympics? Let's start from the beginning then. APOC gets the ball at 14:17 left in the second quarter after a three-and-out from Monsa. After getting a start at their own 40-yard line, APOC gets into the end zone after only 5 plays, culminating in Jeremy Lacazette's second touchdown of the game. This naturally gives the ball back to Monsa. And once again they fail to do anything with it, except maybe move back a few yards thanks to an Attila Marely sack. With Monsa on a 3rd and 20 just five yards away from the APOC end zone, the Monsa QB cocks back his arm and throws... straight into the grateful hands of Anthony Aragones, who practically beelines it into the end zone to add even more misery onto the Monsa gridiron team. That really shook Monsa up, so much that they couldn't do anything with the ball yet again and gave it right back to APOC, who scored yet another touchdown to put the Coalition up 31-7 at the end of the half. And yes, I could add in some more stuff like that tight end Dmitri Medvedev bashing through Monsa's goal line stand to add even more points or that 59-yard field goal from Cleveland Hyneman that was clearly just us taking the piss but I wouldn't. I've talked about the really important parts and that's all we're having.

Extra Stuff: APOC Coalition vs. Monsa (Men's Handball) & APOC Coalition vs. Mitra & Soma (Men's Lacrosse) (Aisling)
Hello. So I'm the last one for today. Okay. Handball and lacrosse. This is gonna be interesting. So in handball, Monsa got their revenge against us for the gridiron humiliation. Can't say that I'm surprised. Barring our run to the finals in the 20th Handball World Cup, our handball team has always been a bit shit. Hurts me to say it, but it's the honest and unfortunate truth. But I'm actually surprised that our men's lacrosse team is doing as well as they are at the moment. Darmen, not really known for their lacrosse, are currently top of our group. The Coalition is second, but we're not yet through if I'm interpreting these tables correctly. Darmen are top of the group and will remain there since they hold the head-to-head advantage over us, while APOC could still slip if, God forbid, the men lose against the Vilitan Union. And it's a distinct possibility. I've already said many times that men's lacrosse has a lot of catching up to do if it wants to reach the same status as women's lacrosse over here, but if the men can pull off an Olympic miracle, then that might just be the key. Plus maybe the all-male teams in the LLA (Lacrosse League of Abanhfleft) could help too.

And thus ends this Olympic Opinions. Cousin Aisling may not do goodbyes, but the rest of us do. And that's unfortunately what we'll have to do until the next part. So XOXO from Graham, goodbye from Davey, and the Armored Dinner Jacket says ciao, peace. Go catch us in our next post. Fragiskos Lebesis, Fragiskos Lebesis, Fragiskos Lebesis...

[Electrum]

The Turnip - EXCLUSIVE: NEW SONG RELEASED IN DIMENSION JUST SOUTH OF FREE REPUBLICS
by Unrelaxed Parade

In an exclusive The Turnip first, in a dimension found just south of the Free Republics, a new song has been discovered from ancient texts, which tell the story of how boring life is. It is reportedly the national anthem of the alternate dimension nation of Febrile Spruce (Free Republics), where people there are just so bored of life in general! Radical!

It is a quite unique and never-before-seen song, which also has strange resemblance to "Born to Fry," a song that was featured prominently in these Olympics' opening ceremony and is apparently a quadruple-platinum awarded song in the Free Republics. It is also was a song that featured in a WorldVision song contest, and whilst it didn't do well, in this alternate dimension, because Febrile Spruce is the only nation in this dimension, it actually won that dimension's WorldVision song contest, being the only entry. Scarlett Nicholls who penned the "Born to Fry" version of this song is a consul in this universe, while in the other universe, Scarlett Nicholls is actually a High Priestess of the Church of Iesus Christus! Neato!

Tune of Born to Sigh (1:09 onwards), based off "Born to Fry"

Pre-chorus and Chorus

You make me sad, you make me cry
Don't follow the commandments and you're sent to hell
Can you understand why
I want to be pious, let’s go and pray
Life is short but salvation awaits so
Let's try to have boredom in the meantime

Never take a walk on the dark side
Feed some ducks in the pouring rain
They like the bread soggy...
Choose your last words,
This is the last time
Cause you and I
We were born to sigh

This just goes to show that history would have been very different if Scarlett Nicholls was a nice person who believed in the true Church of Iesus Christus, the one true church! Sad! Unfortunately, because the cassette that held this song had to go through an interdimensional space-time warp, most of the song was irretrievable except for this one specific section above. Luckily, no one ever cares about the verses, bridge and introduction anyways, so bye!

[Vangaziland]

Olympiad Watch
Linda's Long Day, Co-Hosts Debate Demonstration Entries

Day 8 proved an eventful one for Linda Henshmen. It started early in the morning with a quick breakfast. She would need to eat light, but get enough carbs and protein to fuel her. It was time for her to show up as an Olympian and test her endurance. She was used to having more time between fights on the MFC and Vannish Pro circuits. Every day was an event.

Her first match was in Judo - Women's 63 kg. Henshmen squared off against Meliana Kepi of Eraman in the Round of 16. "I was glad to start the day off with the medal event", Linda would later say about her efforts.

The battle for position soon began. Linda's experience helped her avoid all but one full throw. Her opponent did score 3 half throws. Linda had a tough time gaining position on her opponent for much of the match. It took a great effort just trying to gain proper position for a move. Linda scored 2 half-throws. She scored one early throw and knew she was behind for much of the match.

Linda finally gained position with time running out of the match. She gripped her opponent swiftly to score a second full throw. Ippon! The late move saw Linda advance to the Quarterfinals against Anne Coughlan of Krytenia. Once again her opponent caused her to constantly battle for position.

Neither opponent scored a full throw for much of the match. The battle for half throws was close with Linda up 4-3. Both fighters were great at defending space and guarding against throws. They often clung to the other and dragged them down to avoid being tossed on their own back. Linda finally managed to score a full throw, but there was still plenty of time left in the match.

Henshmen fought a defensive fight. After her opponent scored another half throw, Linda took the fight to the ground. One way to score in Judo is by pinning an opponent. Linda knew she couldn't pin Coughlan. She could still run enough time off the clock to avoid a full throw. Since Linda was behind in half throws, her oppnonet's ippon would give Linda a loss. The clock ran out with Linda using her ground game to stall her opponent.

The constant grappling drained more energy than it may have seemed. It took a lot of strength to battle another Olympian for dominant position. Linda's win saw her advance to the semifinals. Linda will face Nergüi Kermode of Diarcesia next.

"I respect my opponent", said Henshmen. "It will be a tough match. I look forward to the test."

Although her judo portion was done, Linda only had two hours to recover and prepare for a mixed martial arts fight. She was fighting Thamar Gülşen of Main Nation Ministry in the women's lightweight category. "Judo is definitely a workout", Linda said while speaking of fighting both events. "But it luckily doesn't have as much of an impact on the body as MMA does. It would have been much harder to fight mixed martial arts and then go to judo. I caught my second wind. I'm not too sore either."

Linda had spoken of wear and tear after her last MMA event. It appears she is recovering quickly enough between matches, since she spoke of feeling ready now.

The first round came and went fairly quickly. It was closely fought for much of it. The judges each scored the round 10-9 in favor of Linda. A big part of this was because of the way Linda controlled the tempo. Her striking style is mainly boxing. She recently fought another fighter from the Ministry in the Boxing - Women's Lightweight round of 16.

Linda's boxing match was so close that it was scored a draw. The judges had to come together to decide the victor. Two judges voted in favor of the Vangazi, giving Linda the win. "I knew this fight would be close", Linda said after her match with Thamar. "I had to take the initiative and end things early."

The second round started off just as close. A few big hits were scored on Linda which may have seen her lose the round. She also got taken down and had to fight her way out of it. She twisted from a guard position, taking more punches while trying to shield herself. Linda eventually managed to shift into a side mount. Her opponent ended up kicking out of her hold soon after. The fight was back in standing form as they seperated.

Henshmen shifted into boxing. She was prepared for opponents with more extravagant martial arts in their striking discipline. She refined her style of blocking against kicks and other tactics in the MFC. Linda shifted her lead body position throughout the match, as she had a fair bit of strength with either arm.

A big part of the stance shift was to throw off her opponent. They might not know which hand was her strongest. After a flurry of lefts, Linda shifted her feet. This returned her right hand to the dominant form. The Vangazi threw her back behind the bunch as she twisted into a violent right jab.

The straight punch connected right on Thamar's jaw. She was dazed and soon fell onto her hands. The official started the KO count. Thamar was done. Linda had now defeated two opponents from the Ministry in two different events. This was not considered easy, given the high medal tally reached by the Ministry.

Linda beat the odds to advance into the 1st Place Fight. Her opponent is Erica Rhodes from Cassadaigua. Linda's weakness has been strong female fighters. A win for Rhodes would prove her status as one of the toughest fighters in the world. Much has been said about Linda's two current titles. One title is in this weight class. Rhodes is taking on a literal prizefighter.

"If anyone can beat me, a Dagan can", said Linda. Henshmen missed a chance for a third title when losing in the Multiverse Boxing Organization. The thing about these titles is that male fighters were also included in these tournaments. Henshmen is undefeated against international male opponents. Less than a handful of women have toppled the Vannish dynamo.

None of this will come into play when Henshmen faces Erica Rhodes. The Dagan will have had time to scout against Linda. Henshmen is also likely not at full speed after competing in several events so closely together. She took several big hits in the fight against Thamar. Her ability to recover will be tested once again.

"I learned long ago not to mess with anybody named Rhodes", said Henshmen. The Vangazi was speaking of former sparring partner Daniella Rhoades. The short and squirrely fighter was arrested for assault after bashing her friend unconscious over a minor dispute. Many who knew Daniella thought she always seemed like a loose spark.

"An Olympic victory would mean a ton", Linda said about potentially winning a MMA title. "Some see this as 'just some demonstration event'. There are many nations which really invest in combat sports. An Olympic championship would say great things about any nation's fight program."

Not all Vangazi were behind Linda Henshmen and Vangaziland's demonstration events. Controversial co-host of the show 'Last Minute' Chip Maydress mentioned Vangaziland's competitive demonstration athletes.

"I'm not saying I don't want to see Linda Henshmen fighting in mixed martial arts. I'm just asking if money spent to enter that delegation couldn't have been used to submit competitive Vangazi in other sporting events. Nations like Vangaziland get creamed in medal totals by nations who simply send more athletes."

Maydress is known for being controversial. He stands behind his teams and questions any athlete he doesn't like. He's been know to annoy his co-host Deter J. Piff five days a week on the cable broadcast.

"Think about Auto Racing Vangaziland. What a waste of Olympiad resources", Maydress continued. "Some low tier teams will probably still get lucky and win all the medals. So where does that place Vangaziland as a whole? Not the race team. The rest of the delegation? This seems more about business. Vannish Motors. A race team and their track record. This comes at the expense of the Vannish Empire."

"Blasphemous", said Deter J. Piff. "An outrage! Are you telling me that you don't want to see Vangaziland's best athletes show up? Look. I know what you mean. Vangaziland could double the delegation just by scouting throughout the Empire more. Table Tennis. We can send scouts to search the Tainese leagues."

Piff paused as he stared dramatically at his co-host. "Here's the thing. I want to see Vangaziland's best. A great as our hidden table tennis players might be, they'll never be like Henshmen or Franssen. They're more exciting. They'll probably never get the chance again either. Racing is good for the economy anyway." Vangaziland's main car company with partial ties to the state had seen it's stock rise consistently since the announcement of the Olympic event.

"You're telling me you don't want to see Linda Henshmen fight?" Piff raised the question. Maydress couldn't give an answer right away. He eventually wormed his way into an answer.

"Linda is fighting in judo and boxing", Maydress replied. "I can just watch her there."

"Stop it Chip!" Deter J. was shouting. "The title is on the line, Chip! I don't wanna hear it..."

[Mattijana]

The Olympic Review: Day 8

MFO SPORT

By Katarina Markovic, comedienne and sports writer.

Why hello everyone. I'm back for another look at what happened at the Olympic Games in the Free Republics. We're into week two of competition now and there's great news for Mattijana as our most successful sport from the last games gets underway. Yes, we're among the best in the world at running round in circles, jumping over things and chucking objects into a field.

We'll go to the aquatics first though, as to go alongside the swimming, there was some diving on at the University of Republica Aquatics Centre. No not the sort of diving that certain international footballers do, but proper jumping off a platform into a swimming pool diving. You know, the hardcore stuff.

Annoyingly there was only one event and our duo finished 11th, so we'll move onto the swimming, where there's good news and bad news for our athletes.
Do you want to start with the good news or the bad news is always the question posed at various comittee meetings across the world. This is not a comittee meeting, so I shall be starting with the bad news first.

That nugget of bad news is that last Olympiad's gold medallist in the 100m freestyle, Julian Svetlanic, could only manage the 65th fastest time in the heats and is therefore eliminated. This however, is not entirely down to him just swimming slower than most other people. After an elbow injury, Svetlanic faced a battle to get fully fit for these games and it appears that battle was just one too many.
There is good news from the men's 200m breastroke however. Despite dissapointment in the 100m event, Matej Grinsko got back up and comfortably won his heat to make it through to the semi-finals and he was joined by fellow Mattijanan Dominik Draganov who faced a nervous wait to see whether he would qualify after coming second in his heat. He did, albeit with the 15th fastest time out of 16.

That's the chlorine-concerned action out of the way. Onwards to what many Mattijanans have really been looking forwards to.
Which was not the men's 4*0 metres! Yes, of all the brilliant feats of athletic strength and speed, the muppets organising the athletics schedule decided the first event to be contested should be one that should in fact be banned internationally, not just in our safe haven of a country.

Katarina's handy guide to: the 4*0 metres

I always get asked stupid questions about the 4*0m whenever I am abroad, particularly at sporting events.

For context, running between 300 and 500 metres under any circumstances is illegal in Mattijana. This covers competitive races, recreational running and desperate attempts to catch the train. The distance window was introduced shortly after the rise of competitive athletics to stop people sneakily running 401 metre races.

Many people ask me 'why on earth' the 'event' is banned in Mattijana when the answer should be obvious. The 4*0m is an event that has no purpose at all and never has done. Whilst being able to jump a long way is an invaluable life skill and the pole vault used to be a convenient method for huntspeople chasing prey across rivers and over bushes before the age of agriculture, the 4*0m is just pointless. Scientific studies have shown that 100m is sufficient to outrun an angry cow, 200m is enough to escape a lazy serial killer, whilst fitter criminals will be willing to chase you at least 600m. Of course if you get caught by said serial killer between 300 and 500 metres (the illegal distance window for running), you will probably die, so the charges against you for running that distance are null and void. If you are the serial killer, running between 300 and 500 metres will be added to your original murder charge and will probably be treated with more public contempt than the original crime.

A counter-argument against me is usually as thus: surely your national sport, of hockey, also serves no practical use. My response to this is that is it an incredible spectacle to behold and one of the most entertaining things a visitor to Mattijana can see whilst in the country. The 4*0 metres is neither a show of blistering speed or dogged endurance. Uness you are a total sadist, you will not enjoy watching a 4*0 metre race.

So there!

If you are a total sadist, you're the sort of person that will commit the crimes that leave you in prison, running the 4*0 metres daily. The distance is reserved as punishment for many crimes, with the 4*0 h**dles reserved for the most serious.

In general, Mattijana is a fairly liberal nation and the only other banned Olympic sport is ice 'hockey', a blatant insult to the sacred game of hockey. The 4*0 metre law is one of the quirkier ones across the multiverse, but necessary to protect the population from having to watch people running up the home straight feeling like their legs are running through treacle. More importantly, the suffering of these people must also be avoided.

Where were we again? Ah yes, the proper athletics. In the long jump, one of the most popular field events in Mattijana, Danil Fredjansson provided a surprising result by being the sole Mattijanan representative in the final, ahead of Matej Bergkaler.

Dominika Tamic and Sara Meraki both guaranteed their progress to the semi-finals of the women's 100m whilst Ekatarina Ritzuber barely broke into a sweat on her way to winning her heat of the 1500m.

Racewalking is an event that is inherently hilarious and the women's 20km was no exception. 80 competitors strutted their way around the course like constipated velociraptors. Nikita Ceska of Mattijana turned out to be the third-fastest of these constipated velociraptors, winning bronze.


Mattijana's women's hammer throwers also looked in ominous form. The hammer throw is of course the epitome of useful athletics as allows you to throw basically anything as long as its attached to a piece of rope. Jasmin Radlic threw a 73.32 to lead qualifying whilst Katija Shawnasee was second with a 72.95.


Back to the HOCKEY! Mattijana's men all but guaranteed their progress into the knockout stage with a win against Titaniumland. Despite the name, the marmot's opposition looked anything but strong and light with Mattijana able to repel a toothless looking attack and putting two goals past a fairly flakey defence to leave Titaniumland bottom of the group. Mattijana sit three points clear at the top of the group and are unbeaten in their first three matches.

Back to the rowing and Mattijana's defending champions in the coked 8s waltzed seamlessly into the final, both winning their semi and setting the fastest time of everyone by well over a second in the process. They aim to be the first Mattijanan to defend an Olympic title in the final tomorrow.

There'll be some more beef, there'll be tears and there'll be excitement. Hopefully for our Mattijanan athletes, there'll also be a fair bit of success.

[Free Republics]

Day 9 Cutoff

OOC note: The RP by Indusse that was sent to me via TG was counted. Its possible that the problem preventing its posting is related to this known issue (while that thread is about Cuneiform characters, emojis also don't work with the version of phpBB used by the NS forums for the same reason).

[West Phoenicia]

Duchy of South Phoenicia,

Clear blue skies welcomed Royal West Phoenicia One as it landed at the Duchy of South Phoenicia International Airport.
Unlike the poorly received arrival in The White Rose Confederation, the citizens of the Duchy of South Phoenicia were out in great numbers waving flags that burst with the colours of the Empire.
Mobile phones were held high in the air to click an image of Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II and his first wife Empress Angelique. Who arrived in full royal attire waving to the crowds as they were led to the waiting cars that would drive them to the hotel.
The population of the Duchy of South Phoenicia would always be grateful of their alliance with West Phoenicia who had stood with them against Greater Phoenicia who had spent years raping the natural resources of the nation.
It was the smartest choice to infuse themselves into the Confederate Empire of West Phoenicia, it allowed a stronger military to protect them from the aggression of Greater Phoenicia and other enemies.
West Phoenician investments to boost their economy as well as increased trade which allowed their dairy, cheese and strawberries industries to flourish.

The Emperor had appointed Viceroys across all of the nation's of the Empire. Jocasta Mountbatten had been appointed as Viceroy to South Phoenicia. It was seen as a plum role being that both nations had strong bonds of friendship and nothing dramatic had ever come up between both nations.
Viceroy Mountbattens role was to liaise between West Phoenicia and Duke Solomon Chauvechanteau. A royal that Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II had decided to keep on when the nation joined the Empire as he was friend and ally and the population loved him.
Jocasta Mountbatten had a successful career, first within the Ministry of Trade where she worked up to the role of Eastern Trade Director; dealing with trade deals towards nations east of West Phoenicia. She then moved to the role of Deputy ambassador to the World Assembly.
She caught the attention of Prime Minister Jimmy Bain who added her name as a nominee for a Viceroy role. When she received enough votes and the endorsement of the Emperor.

“Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II,” Viceroy Mountbatten said bowing her head in respect, she then turned to the Empress and bowed to her. Please come this way, we shall get the royal delegation settled in your hotel. I have booked the entire floor and security is in hand. Once we get you all settled I will pass on your itinerary. Duke Chauvechanteau has arranged a cocktail party at his palace tonight. The best of South Phoenicia society will be there.”

“Wonderful, this is kind of reception that we expect. Duke Chauvechanteau has gone out and his kindness will not be forgotten. And we shall announce tonight that he will be awarded the West Phoenician medal of friendship.”

“Unlike the White Rose Confederation, I have never seen such disrespect,” Empress Angelique said as she slipped into the waiting limousine. “I hope you do not find it rude of me, but how long is it to the hotel?”

“About 20 minutes your Empress”

“Perfect. I am wanting to catch the women's tennis final. I adore Renee Richardson and all her dramatics on and off the court. I don't want to miss her match, she must be thrilled she is finally in chance of earning a number one spot and a gold medal.”

The Empress sat back as one of her personal attendants travelling with her poured her a glass of champagne and topped it off with a strawberry.

The Emperor smiled and wound down his window to wave to the crowds that had gathered on the streets. The citizens were crazy for the royals.

“Tell me Viceroy what is the Duke's stance on going to war with Greater Phoenicia and the Kingdom of Rhodes?”

“The Duke is a pacifist, he is still terrified that Greater Phoenicia will attempt to retake the nation for their own. He hates them, but he doesn't want to be seen as the aggressor.”

“None of us do, but peace in this region will continue to be unstable while those two nations play their war games and taunt us of possible invasion. They must be dealt with swiftly before they get the upper hand.”

“The Duke is happy for us to use the nation to support needs. He said the population is tired of war and won't be happy unless those two nations make a move on South Phoenicia or the Empire. Only then can he justify a boots the ground campaign.”

The Emperor sat back, a plot coming to mind, he too knew it would look more better on the world stage if Greater Phoenicia made the first move. He also felt it was time to teach the White Rose Confederation a lesson for being so haughty and anti-empire. He could kill two birds with one stone.

“When we get to the hotel, I want you to patch me through to the Minister of Defence on a secure line,” the Emperor said with a sly smile.

[West Phoenicia]

The West Phoenician Surfing world is over the moon that Surfing has been introduced as a sport at the Olympic Games in Republica, Free Republics.
Mrs Sunny Ashbirch, a former surfing champion in the 1970’s who took West Phoenicia by storm in being the first female to win a major title. She now spends her time as President of the West Phoenician Surfing Federation.
Sunny Ashbirch has been a huge driving force in arranging national tournaments as well as fundraising to get West Phoenician surfers into international tournaments.

“I was on cloud nine when I heard that Republica had won the Olympic bid and that Surfing would be included. For a West Phoenician Surfer to meet the eligibility, they needed to be ranked high in the overall West Phoenician rankings and had participated in at least three national or international tournaments this calendar year. It was a long process but the top two men and two women have been selected.”

Kai Logan; 22 year old. Born and raised in Hellenistic Roads; Ptolemaic Haven. Where he had a strong passion for water. He was a member of his high school swim team and would spend his weekends down at the beach as a volunteer lifeguard. It was there he found his new passion for surging, especially early mornings. He started to enter local tournaments where one of the prizes he won was a free coach for a year. The training he received was invaluable, he worked hard pushing himself to ensure each wave was attempted and kept the coach on after the year had ended. His latest win was first place in the Deception Bay Surfs Up Tournament.


Gil Chi; 25 originally from Scarlet Orient Isles. Whilst in school his parents wanted him to focus on his studies. Their hopes and dreams would be that he would follow in the footsteps of his father and become a lawyer. Gil said in many interviews, he never had the passion to study law like his father. He enjoyed surfing and wanted to focus on that as a career. Without his parents support he moved to the city-state of Deception Bay. He secured a part time job as he went about exploring his passion. He was excited she he was selected to represent West Phoenicia at the NS Surfing Championship. However the event crashed and burned when major sponsors pulled out of the event. Gil was lucky enough to be sponsored by How Wow dog food which gave him the financing to end international tournaments, allowing him to rise in the ranks and secure a spot on the West Phoenician Olympic team.


Bunny St Claire, 27 she is the oldest member selected to enter the surfing event and represent West Phoenicia. Born into a hippy family she spent her teen years engaged in beach missions and hanging out at the surf clubs. She was 14 when she won her first junior competition. And she hasn't stopped winning since. She has over 50 titles to her name in longboard, shortboard as well as wakeboarding. Coming onto the games with a positive attitude that she will pull in a medal. With her long honey blonde hair, toned physique, she looks like a typical beach girl. While out on the waters she could pass herself off as a beautiful mermaid as she rides the waves on her shortboard which is her favourite type.


Joni Malone; 17 is new to the scene. Spending most of her life being labelled a surf bunny for spending all her free time on the beaches in the city-state of Savannah Grove. With her golden tan complexion and firey red hair she certainly has been noticed on the small amount of tours she has attended. A natural surfer, she came out running as competitive and willing to take risks which has secured her two second places in national competitions throughout West Phoenicia.
“I never thought I would have reached the level as quick as I have. There is so much female talent in surfing throughout the nation. I am just thrilled to be given the opportunity to represent this great Empire.”


Sunny Ashbirch is in attendance at these Olympic Games where she is hoping her small team can pull some great moves to push them in contention for a medal. A medal win will really boost our portfolio within West Phoenicia and the international community in the sport of Surfing.

[Cassadaigua]

Marrero Sets Olympic Record,
by Hannah Marshall, Olympic Correspondent

Within our delegation, the biggest story of the Olympics, other then the hazing incident, has been the incredible performances of our male athletes. In years past when Cassadaigua was a more frequent fixture in the Olympics, it was a pretty safe school of thought to think that others needed to look out for us in most of the women’s events, but on the men’s side of the equation, we were not to be feared. We had won gold medals in men’s events before, so that is nothing new, but this year, it is noteworthy to see the quantity in which we are gaining them. At first, we started winning them in weightlifting, which by nature of the event, was seen as quite a victory in its own right. Now, our men can take it a little further. Not only did Michael Marrero win the gold medal in the 800m Freestyle. He set an Olympic record in doing so.

Marrero, a 26-year old out of Rutland, is a great example of the gender equality strides that have been made within Cassadaigua. Male Equality Now (MEN) has kept a low profile lately, mainly because their visions are being realized by the Queen. We saw men begin to penetrate our rosters in sports such as the World Cup and World Baseball Classic, and they were not just ceremonial additions. Funding for men’s sports has increased throughout the country, as Queen Cassie II, seven years ago, declared that college sports must spend equally on men’s and women’s sports. Michael Marrero was 19 then, and a freshman in college, attending Rutland University. The school had to make some adjustments to become compliant with the Queen’s decree, and one of them was hiring Alexis St. Clair, a champion swimmer and swim coach at the University of Concord Heights, doing so win the women’s team. St. Clair, now 42, resigned from UCH so that she could return to her hometown, that being Rutland, to care for her three kids. That worked out for a little while, but soon St. Clair became bored and wanted to get back into coaching, as long as she stayed home. When the men’s job became available, she jumped on the chance. “The University listed it as a new opportunity,” St. Clair said, “but the timing of it showed that they were increasing funding on the men’s side of the pool events, and wanted to see what they could get. When I applied, I got the job nearly instantly.” St. Clair says it has not been weird coaching men, and that Marrero was someone she knew would become a star. “With Michael, even when he was still a freshman, you knew he had in it him to be something special. He had really perfected his stroke, and it did not surprise me that he was best at freestyle. We worked on some things, primarily in regards to preparation, and soon his times were setting school records. Now, to see an Olympic record have his name on it, that’s even more special.”

Back In Republica, Michael Marrero climbed out of the pool, and saw that he has set the new record. “I thought it could fall this year,” he said, “Not necessarily by me, but by anyone that was in this final. I was talking with one of the other guys, and we both saw that time is being beatable. I think seven of us actually were better then it, too.” Marrero could not celebrate that long, as he had to participate in the 4x200m relay as well, but they could only finish fifth. Afterwards, he went back into a celebratory mood, “Hearing that anthem, and seeing the flag rise, hoping that others will see what we have experiencing in Cassadaigua for a while now. Greater gender equality, and a chance for all. The weightlifters proved it many times, and now I am truly honored.”

[Kriegiersien]

Hard work in the background.

Two foreign volunteers resting outside.
“Where is my medal?”
“Hm?”
“All day working, helping out, pushing buttons I didn’t know how they worked or what they did two month ago and the only thing I get is insults and no thanks. ‘Why hasn’t it started?’, ‘I got screwed’, ‘this is at the wrong place’, ‘the graphics are wrong’, ‘I should have won’, ‘Oh, I lost because I was blinded by lights’, ‘We got the wrong schedule’, ‘There are too many people in the final.’ How is too many a problem, if it were too few, but too many?”
“These are games with rules. They make the difference. You can’t change them on the go.”
“Okok. But maybe they could tell me nicely then.”
“When I showed some cyclists the wrong way first and then corrected them, they thanked me.”
“They showed you the middle finger, that is not friendly.”
“Oh, it is? In my nation it means ‘Well done’.”
“Look, we work for nothing here..”
“I get paid.”
“What? How much?.”
“Don’t know how much it is in your currency, but 50 bucks a day.”
“I get nothing, only the food is paid and living quarters.”
“And we get the autographs of the stars.”
“When I asked one of the athletes to sign, he wrote my and his own name wrong on my shirt. It was my best shirt, I wanted him to sign a form.”
“I had a nice chat with an athlete from West Phoenicia. Maybe we will meet later.”
“What? Who?”
“Can’t tell, sorry.”
“I don’t believe it. Next you tell me you had a date with this cute mascot from Basketball.”
“Didn’t you?”

Security to sector 3. There is an assault from one volunteer on another.


This is the land of confusion

When Nova Swimtob came out of the water, seeing that she had won a shared bronze in the 200 m freestyle, she looked scared at the coach in the stands. His face gave away no emotions, even though he was clapping. But to her confusion the winner, Davina Auckland, came to her and hugged her, crying. She had just won, but still cried, what shocked Nova. Maybe they had expected more from her, too. A new record maybe? She tried to carefully tap her back and whispered: “I am sorry.”

The noodle accident

Chess. Hubertus Schimmel (KGS) vs Romcol Tak (AKY)

Hubertus Schimmel scratched his big head. Playing the Teremaran defense? Against this opponent pretty ironic. He could sacrifice a bishop. He again had the feeling that his opponent was staring at him. All the match long. Ok, it was not common for the most people to play against a sentient, living Strawberry with the size of a dwarf, even at home people found that strange.
“Can I help you?”, he finally asked.
You have a noodle at your.. nose”, his opponent from Arkyatan said.
Schimmel smeared it away with his small fingers. How embarrassing.
“Thank you.”
He shouldn’t have eaten at this fancy restaurant an hour ago. Did he have that fat, slimy noodle on his face the whole time? Even at the press conference? When he talked with this nice lady from the Sherpa Empire? He made his move.
Romcol Tak lifted an eyebrow, hesitated a moment and moved a pawn.
“Check?”
Now Hubertus stared. At the board. Checkmate in five. He had given the game away. He let his big head sink on the table and stretched his arm out to congratulate his opponent.

Football (Soccer) is the most beloved Sport in Kriegiersien.
And the Kriegiersien Team is fully focused on the Olympics. This is the most important contest for them.
The league even has to adapt their schedule, so that the Olympic National Team can train together and prepare for the Olympics.
In difference to earlier the team has no Stars like Timon or Jobst Haudels, Marco Wimmer or Di Bradini clones.
You could call them a faceless squad of team players, who have to accept their role for the greater good of the team and country.
The same goes for the female team, who are not quiet as strong as the men’s squad and already under big pressure to make it out of the group.


To get out of the group stage is already hard, here some mentionable opponents in the colourful Group of death F (men).

Indusse is an enthusiastic team, at least for a short time. It is important to early put the idea out of their head that they stand a chance.

Starblaydia is a renown Footballnation, Record World Champions, but seems to work now according to the motto: If you had success once, you can rely on it. The same good looking manager for all teams, the same background in everything. Hopefully their missing flexibility will be their downfall.

The Grand Holy Empire of theoretic.. March (or something) and El Chupacabras have not attracted attention until now and already been beaten. Only Polynesia is left, another underdog.

But of course there is still Electrum , the only team they lost a point against. Electrum is despite their lower skill level maybe the strongest team in the group and to be feared, always good for a joke. You never know when one of them is trying to goose his marker or giving a wedgie.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Frequently asked questions about Havenic athletes

Q: How is Maria Schtenko so good at so many different sports?
A: she isn't. She's just a lot stronger and a lot faster than the average competitor, on account of her being a cyborg. The reason that she doesn't do so well in every event she enters...is because her technique is rubbish.

Q: And Robert strong?
A: He's just really strong. His technique is a bit better than Maria Schtenko's...but yeah, just really strong.

Q: How can I tell if I'm competing against an athlete from the Vakolicci Haven, Celeria, or (not applicable to this competition,) Velstrania?
A:Celaris are very softly spoken, polite, and have accents that have been linked to the mythical country of 'Italy.' They are a proud people, yet not overly so, and there only problem in sporting competition is that they give up much too early when they think they've lost; often quite clearly not trying 100 % if they're finishing 8th in a race. They are whitty, often drunk, and extremely respectful of opposing athletes. If your competitor bows to you, regardless of the event, his or her finishing position or whether it is actually required, they are probably Celari. They tend to be of a lightly tanned skin complection and wear their hair impractically long. Maria Schtenko and king Blacksen are Celari.
Vakolicci will not generally bow, and talk constantly throughout their events. Robert Strong, the most recognisable Vakolicci athlete, is well known for asking very personal questions of opposing athletes prior to and during his events in an attempt to get his opponent to crack and do something stupid...it usually works. Vakolicci are known for their short temper, and lack of both discipline and respect. If your opponent refuses to shake your hand after you've beaten him, he's probably Vakolicci. No general vocal style, complection or distinguishing features mark Vakolicci apart from all others, due to the Haven being of a comparable size to the Federation of Free Republics. Robert Strong and the Puller Family of canoeing fame are Vakolicci.

If you do not know you are facing a Velsturman, as people from Velstrania are known, you are blind. Velsturmen are generally over 7 and a half feet in height, are covered with ritual scarring and move in the oddest and most graceful mannor imaginable. Their religion, compelling them to move with the grace of God, fight the tyrant and whip themselves amongst other things is central to their society; affording them a greater level of respectfulness than even Celari athletes. The average Velsturman will probably offer to by you a drink if he/she beats you, in order to try and make up for your 'loss.' They are also recogniseable by their unique naming structure, comprising a first name, the word 'nos' (meaning 'of' or 'from') and the name of their father or mother, for men and women respectively. For example, famous Velsturman athletes include Seicannu nos Varipma and Elosqir nos Vandriel.

Q: Why are Havenic athletes always late?
A: We don't know, they just are. If you have been waiting for a sparring partner to show up, or checks to be carried out due to the fact an athlete is late, you can bet which flag he or she is competing under.

Q: When/where is the Olympics party this year?
A: The famous Havenic Olympic party will take place. Stay tuned!

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

XIII Olympiad: The Alpine Union beat Taeshan in women's football

Republica, Free Republics - (NAP) The Alpine Union women's football team beat Taeshan 4-1 on day 9 of the XIII Olympiad in the Free Republics. The Bisons attacked at the 15th minute when Taylor Zemanski passed the ball to Roksana Kolodziejczyk who dribbled with the ball and made a cross to Sandie McCracken who shoots and scores and it's already 1-0 Alpine Union! At the face off circle, Taeshan's #10 passed the ball to #8 who passed to #7 who tries to pass to #11 but Alicja Jedrzejczyk intercepts the pass, she dribbles with the ball and shoots. The ball is in, the Reprezentacja Alpejski scored 2 goals in 15 seconds! 10 minutes before then end of the first half, the Purple Knights attacked when #9 passed to #10 who made a header pass to #11 who heads the ball right into Anamarija Vucemilovic-Vojkovic's hands and the score is still 2-0.

Taeshan attacked at the 47th minute when #6 passed to #8 who shoot. Anamarija Vucemilovic-Vojkovic makes the save but doesn't control the ball, #10 takes the loose ball and shoots and it's a goal for the Purple Knights. The score is 2-1 Bisons. The Alpine Union attacked at the 68th minute when Krystyna Wisniewska made a long pass to Sandie McCracken who dribbles and made a short pass to Alicja Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk kicks the ball but Goalkeeper #1 deflects the ball over the net and it's a corner kick. Elizabeth McQueen takes the kick. She kicks the ball in the penalty area and it goes directly into the net, it's a goal for the Alpine Union and the score is 3-1! At the 84th minute, Zuzanna Trzeciakiewicz passed to Roksana Kolodziejczyk who dribbled with the ball and passed to Alicja Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk made a short pass to Katarzyna Grzywinska who dribbled with the ball and shoots. The ball is in, and the Bisons are leading 4-1! This is the final score.

The Alpine Union, who had 2 goals in 3 games, scored 4 in just one game against Taeshan. The Bisons are in 2nd place with 7 points in 4 games, while almost all other teams in the group only played 3 games, which means it will be difficult for the Alpine Union to distance Teremaran Unified Team , Darmen and Taeshan.

BOXSCORE
15th minute: Sandie McCracken assisted by Roksana Kolodziejczyk
15th minute: Alicja Jedrzejczyk (unassisted)
47th minute: #10 assisted by #8
68th minute: Elizabeth McQueen (corner kick)
84th minute: Katarzyna Grzywinska assisted by Alicja Jedrzejczyk

YELLOW CARDS
Alpine Union: Krystyna Wisniewska, Klaudia Kamczyk
Taeshan: #4, #9

RED CARDS
Alpine Union: None
Taeshan: None

What's to look for on day 10?

-Some women's synchronized diving but we aren't good at it.
-Some swimming finals but no Alpines made it
-Some athletics but the Alpine Athletics Federation boycotted the games because they're held in a capitalist nation.
-Women's baseball.
-Men's basketball.
-Boxing but the Alpine Boxing Federation also boycotted the games.
-Women's chess but it doesn't interests anyone. We're more interested in women's chest.
-Cycling, but none of our athletes made the final.
-Equestrian but what a boring sport.
-Esport but this is not a sport.
-Men's football , be sure all Alpine TV will show this game live.
-Women's gridiron, be sure it will be live on tv too.
-Men's rugby, something almost as much interesting as gridiron.
And so on...