[RP thread] Games of the XIV Olympiad

by **Liventia** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:51 am

Roleplay thread

Navigation: RP thread (this thread) | Roster thread | Games discussion | Results thread | General NS Olympics discussion

National Olympic Committees registered for the Games of the XIV Olympiad

Sirs and Madams, Dear friends,
Thank you for putting your trust in Orean and Istria to hold the Games of the XIV Olympiad. It is a great honour to be elected the host city or cities for an Olympic Games, and for Istria this is a first.

This is only the second time the Games will be held in two cities in different, distinct regions. Those of you who experienced the XIV Olympic Winter Games in Neverend and Yeaddin will know that Liventia has the requisite experience to pull this off, and be assured that we will provide all the support necessary to our friends in Banija.

We trust you will find our cities and countries welcoming. Nevertheless, please abide by local restrictions as they may differ from those in your country.

Enjoy the Games.

Pearline Jones
Chair, Liventia Olympic Association

This is the roleplay thread for the 14th NS Summer Olympics. Contributions to this thread should strictly be In-Character. Any OOC contributions should be posted in the appropriate Discussion thread, either the general Olympic Games Discussion Thread or specific 14th Summer Games discussion thread.

Information regarding venues can be found in the subsequent posts by the host nations.

NOCs signed up
Ancharmunn (ANC)
The Archregimancy (ARC)
Astograth (ASG)
Banija (BNJ)
Benjamin Mark (BNM)
Britonisea (BRI)
Chromatika (CMT)
Cocoabo Forest (CFT)
Commonwealth of Baker Park (CBP)
Commonwealth Union (CWU)

Omerica (OME)
Saltstead (SAL)

Darkmania (DMN)
Darmen (DAR)
Diarcesia unified team (DCS)

Avicia (AVC)
Chiyginia (CHG)
Castamiria (CST)
Hylvoria (HLV)
Losphortoene (LPT)
Odrioya (OWO)
Palaeodiarcesia (PDC)
Wochaystein (WOC)

Electrum (ETM)
Eraman (ERM)
Estogium (RWH)
Farfadillis (FFD)
Fraglia-Cox (FGC)
The Grearish Union (GRU)
Greater Vakolicci Haven (VKL)
Græntfjall (GRÆ)
The Hannasean Federation (HAN)
Hapilopper and Wreckeria (HNW)
Ioudaia (IOU)
Jeckland (JEC)
The Jovannic (JOV)
Kalosia (KLS)
Kelssek (KSK)
Ko-oren (KOR)
Kriegiersien (KGS)
Krytenia (KRY)
Liventia (LEN)
Lovisa (LOV)
Main Nation Ministry (MNM)
Mattijana (MTJ)
Megistos (MEG)
Nagore (NAG)
New Waldensia (NWD)
North Alezia (NAZ)
Northwest Kalactin (NWK)
Npc West Florida (NWF)
Pemecutan (PCU)
People's Republic of Xabia (PRX)
Plane of Possibility (POP)
Pripet Socialist Republic (PSR)
Renzynistan (RZN)
Republic of Pine (ROP)
Royal Kingdom of Quebec (QUE)
Sargossa (SRG)
The Sarian (TSA)
Siovanija and Teusland (STL)
Sirian (SRN)
South Newlandia (SNL)
Springmont (SPM)
Starblaydia (STB)
Sylestone (SYL)
Taeshan (TAE)
Teremaran Unified Team (TRM)

Arkyatan (AKY)
Austrakia (ATK)
Cedecra (CED)
Falkasia (FLK)
Glisandia (GLS)
Gragastavia (GRG)
Gaul (GUL)
Lacetanya (LCT)
Neu Engollon (NEG)
Taranima (TNA)
Yellow Star Republic (YSR)

Terre Septentrionale (RTS)
Tikariot (TKT)
Togonistan (TGN)
Trolleborg (TRL)
Vdara (VDR)
Vekaiyu (VEK)
Vilitan Union (VLT)
Waisnor (WSN)
Welcomzia (WEL)
West Phoenicia (KWP)
Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom (ZRH)
Zhi (ZHI)
ZSeparatists (ZSE)

Please note that the hosts have instituted the following RP permission:
Any incident involving the safety or security of people or infrastructure taking place within the jurisdictions of the host nations may not take place without prior explicit consent from the host nation involved.
That is to say, within Liventia or Banija, you may not kill or harm anybody or destroy any infrastructure without us having given permission. If your storyline involves this happening within our nations, please inform us beforehand. We will likely give permission if it's limited to your own characters or characters of other users that have agreed to take part in your storyline.

Additionally, the Sars-Cov-2 virus and its accompanying disease Covid-19 do not exist in either Liventia or Banija and should not be introduced to either nation. You may RP about the virus and disease in your nation, but not in ours.

by **Liventia** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:52 am

Orean information
Orean is the capital city of Liventia and has been since the Liventia Act was passed, founding the modern republic. It is technically sited within the Great Folenisa Desert according to government legislation, but as it sits right on the outer boundary of it, daytime temperatures in summer rarely exceed 33°C.

It was the host city of the Games of the VIII Olympiad, and has also hosted two Cycling World Championships, a Summer Paralympics, and a football World Cup Final. It was also a host city for qualifying events in rugby sevens and volleyball ahead of the Games of the XI Olympiad in Aeropag.

There is a 144-station metropolitan railway system to help fans get around. Spectators will fly into Orean Airport, which handily sits at the eastern end of the Central Line. Alternatively, they can fly into any of Liventia's other major cities, from where they will be able to catch National Rail trains to Great Cross, Salisbury or City Hall.

Public transport on the Metro, National Rail and buses within Orean city limits will be free of charge to all ticketholders, athletes and officials during the Games. All public transport is fully accessible and wheelchair-friendly.

Traffic in Orean will be congestion-controlled during the Games, with specially-designed 'Games Lanes' in operation at certain hours of the day to ensure speedy movement for officials and athletes.

There is a total ban on outdoor public smoking and outdoor public drinking. The ban on public smoking extends to bars and restaurants. Sporting events are not classed as “outdoor” and therefore drinking is allowed, although smoking remains banned. The drugs trade is banned, although casual use is not actively policed. The minimum age for smoking and drinking in the country is 17. Ownership of firearms is banned, although athletes requiring the use of firearms for shooting and modern pentathlon events are granted a waiver to carry and import their weapons.

Venues in Orean and other Liventian conurbations
Grovers Olympic Park stadium (ceremonies)
Orean Olympic Aquatics Centre (artistic swimming, diving, modern pentathlon - swimming)
Orean Olympic Velodrome (track cycling)
National Indoor Convention Centre (artistic gymnastics, taekwondo, wrestling, modern pentathlon - fencing)
Orean Great Hall (rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, judo, karate)
National Cycling Centre (BMX cycling)
Widmore Artificial Lake (canoe sprint, rowing)
Langdon Barracks (shooting, modern pentathlon - laser run)
Polarian Gardens (equestrian, modern pentathlon - jumping)
Urban Sports Arena [temporary] (skateboarding, speed climbing)

Outside Orean:
City Centre and Mt Konshua (road cycling)
Madford Redford National Forest (mountain bike, canoe slalom)
Schimpol and Lox Land Island (sailing, surfing)

by **Banija** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:52 am

Banija General Information

The Kingdom of Banija is a country that classifies itself as a semi-constitutional monarchy. A nation that is freshly a member of Atlantian Oceania, it is led by the Kabaka(which translates to King), and the current monarch is Kabaka Mwanga. The Kabaka, alongside with the Waziri(translates to Foreign Minister), whom he picks and dismisses solely at his pleasure, is the Head of State and responsible for the country's foreign affairs. Upon reaching age 25, the Isebantu(Crown Prince), becomes the Waziri by constitutional right. The current Isebantu is Isebantu Mutungi. The full list of members of the Royal Family can be found here.

Kabaka Mwanga ascended into power after the assassination of his father, Kabaka Albert III during World Cup 82 Qualifying. This is, of course, a government with an elected element. The elected unicameral legislature is the Lukiiko(Parliament), and the Lukiiko is responsible for governance of domestic affairs. The Katikkiro(Prime Minister) is elected by the Lukiiko. Currently, there is an elected right-wing coalition that holds a majority in the Lukiiko and rules the country. The present Katikkiro Is Kobe Aziri.

Due to the massive influence of Puritan Mormonism in this nation, they are relatively socially conservative. Abortion in this country is outlawed unless the mother's life is in danger, and polygamy for males is legal. The church's Universal Call to Motherhood, which teaches that the destiny of each and every woman is to give birth to children and raise faithful Puritan Mormons, has heavily shaped the nation's view on the role of women in society, forming the basis for Banija's prior sports gender segregation laws in the first place. Consumption of alcohol and the recreational use of marijuana in Banija is legal. Due to Mormon tradition, however, the purchase/sale of coffee products is illegal within Banija- however, the consumption is not. Fans and teams an ddelegations are allowed to bring in their own coffee products as long as they are declared at customs, where it is then taxed per pound. Any attempt or effort to sell the product, however, can and will result in arrest.

Most people in the country speak both Olusanke, the local dialect, and English. There is a smattering of Korean spoken within the country, thanks to Banija's Quebecois roots. Banija's currency is the shilling. The exchange rate to the NationStates Dollar is 200 shillings to 1 NSD. Conversion kiosks will be available at all hotels and at airports to exchange your money, as well as any banks. However, using the NSDs directly to purchase items is only guaranteed at stadiums and hotels- vendors outside of stadiums or hotels are not required to accept NationStates Dollars. Fans are also advised that street vendors will only take cash, according to Banijan law- as an issue of security to prevent against credit card theft.

Of course, Banija is on its way to developed country status. This is thanks to a recent discovery of large oil deposits in Hangaza, there is movement within the country on building better infrastructure. There has been heavy investment in Istria's public transportation system by the Regional Transit Corporation in the leadup to the games, with better roads and systems being built. One of Banija's unique public transit systems within cities is via the boda boda. The climate of Banija has a lot of natural rainforest and jungle, which means that there is no winter, only wet season and dry season. Temperatures generally range at their coldest around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and at their hottest around 110 degrees Fahrenheit. For the duration of the Games, average high temperatures will range from 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Banijans have a tendency of being relaxed about time. While, of course, things like flights and matches will run on time, this is something that is observed generally, especially at restaurants. It is considered standard to arrive about 15-20 minutes late for a restaurant reservation, which is something Banijan authorities would like to make note of for travelling fans and visitors to the country for this tournament. This is very true for hangouts with Banijans, dates, weddings, etc... Within the country.

In terms of food, Banijans are very heavy meat eaters, and you'll find plenty of chicken, goat meat, beef, pork, and turkey options on your localized menus. In terms of non-meats, popular staple foods are jollof, matoke, Chapati, a rolex, and samosas. Strictly vegan restaurants within the country, outside of Istria and Busukuma, are almost non-existent, though of course you'll find non-meat options everywhere.

Istria information

The City of Istria is far and away Banija’s biggest city, at 3 million strong. It is considered the economic epicenter of the country, as many big Banijan businesses are headquartered in this city. It is in the southern part of the Moravica Region, which lies in the Northwestern part of the country.

It is one of the country’s oldest cities. Being conquered by the Kasanke tribe(the predecessors to the Banijan state) almost 600 years ago, it has a long history as an important city in Banijan politics. It was briefly the Banijan capital around 400 years ago, as the capital moved from further north to Istria, before it moved all the way south to Busukuma.

Public transportation is A-grade in this city, ran by the Regional Transit Corporation, the country’s largest corporate sponsor for these games. While there will be no ability for foreign fans and athletes to earn a temporary driver’s license and drive themselves around, an extensive subway and bus system will help people get around the city. Boda Bodas will also be available throughout the city.

This is Banija’s premier transportation hub, as the country’s busiest airport is the South Moravica Istria(SMI) International Airport. The city itself has played host to numerous major international sporting events, including the most recent NSCAA 11 Final Four, as well as a pair of NSCF championship games. It has recently declared itself the 'City of Champions', as three teams from the city hold major international titles- Loyola-Istria are the holders of the NSCF title, the Istria Black Mambas are the holders of the Champion's Bowl, and Istria City FC are the holders of both the Banijan Soccer League and the Atlantian Oceania Champions League.

There are many reasons why the City of Istria bid to host these Games. For The Olympic Committee of Banija, alongside his Majesty Kabaka Mwanga, they had a desire to improve Banija’s standing when it comes to the Olympic Games. Chronic Olympic underperformers, an Olympiad on home soil would surely do a lot to help Banija climb the ladder. The Kabaka, specifically, wants the Games for his own legacy. His father, Albert III, helped secure his legacy by discovering oil and bringing the World Cup to Banija twice. Mwanga wants to secure his own by bringing the only sporting event that could match the World Cup, which would be the Summer Olympics. The drinking age in the Moravica Region has been lowered to 18 for the duration of the Olympic calendar(from 30 days before the start of the Games, to 15 days after the end of the Games).

And then, of course, for the City of Istria. The OCB ran a secretive selection process for bid cities, and Istria beat out Herzegovina City and Busukuma. With recent development thanks to oil discoveries out east, Istria wants to establish itself as one of Atlantian Oceania’s major cities. A great place to do business, a gateway to Banija. What better platform is there to showcase your city than the Olympic Games? Istria officials have also traditionally said that they have gotten the short end of the stick in major competitions before, with tournament Finals being played in Busukuma rather than Istria, and fear that cities like Herzegovina City and Busukuma are more well known than Banija’s biggest city. Istria sees this as a chance to firmly and permanently place itself, in the eyes of both the country and the world, as Banija’s premier city.

Istria Venues
Albert III Aquatics Center (swimming)
Istria City College Aquatics Center (water polo)
Rukunbi Shooting Range (archery)
Istria Olympic Stadium (ceremonies, athletics, football, American football demonstration event, rugby)
Loyola-Istria MBA College (badminton)
Caribou Arena (basketball)
Wakiso Olympic Recreation Center (handball)
Istria City Baseball Diamond (baseball/softball)
Cobo Convention Center (boxing, fencing)
Istria Lighting Yard (American football demonstration event)
Museveni Country Club (golf)
Rukunbi Sporting Gymnasium (table tennis)
Kisangara Tennis Club (tennis)
Royal Banijan Air Force Base (triathlon, beach volleyball)
South Istria Gymnasium (indoor volleyball, weightlifting)
Franklin Indoor Stadium (basketball, indoor volleyball)
Kabonero III Stadium (Football, Rugby)
Eastern Stadium (Football, American Football Demonstration)
Wakiso Basketball Arena (3x3 Basketball)
Istria Olympic Hockey Center (All field hockey events- contains four different courts. Temporary that will be taken down at the conclusion of the Olympiad).

Olympic Village
The University of Loyola-Istria, the main campus of Loyola University, will serve as the Olympic Village for this event. All athletes and other primary delegation members will live on campus either at the dormitories or other on campus housing at Loyola. For the first time in over 100 years, to help prepare for this, Loyola University is not having any sort of summer semester classes, so it can put all of its energies towards creating a good Olympic village.

Loyola University, of course, is the multiverse's premier Latter-Day Saint(Mormon) University, and proudly is a private school ran by Banija's national church. It also considers itself one of the multiverse's premier Christian Universities in general, although that is obviously up for debate. The school's enrollment is just a hair over 41,000, one of Banija's largest. As they do not want to compromise their religious venues, unlike most Olympic Villages, they will not hand out condoms and/or any forms of birth control. While they are relatively easy to find across Istria, they will not be provided by the University. The University also, for obvious reasons, will not provide coffee, nor will the sale of coffee be permitted at the Village. Of course, delegations are encouraged to bring their own coffee beans upon entering the country, that they must declare and the Banijan government will tax.

Map

Map

This is a rough map of the City of Istria. It is divided into five districts- Downtown Istria, Wakiso, Rukunbi, Loyola, and the Lower East Side. Most venues are mapped out on this rough map.

Outside Istria:
Preliminary round & group stage matches in certain team sports(men's and women's football, men's and women's American football, men's and women's rugby sevens, men's baseball/women's softball). These stadia will be announced in due course.

by **Krytenia** » Thu Aug 06, 2020 5:06 pm

Hall of Fame nominees announced

The Krytenian NOC today released their list of nominess for the inauguration of the Krytenian Olympic Hall of Fame, a new project that will immortalise our greatest sportsmen and women at the Olympic Park in Emberton. To qualify, potential entrants must have finished competing at least two Olympic Games before their induction year. The shortlist is as follows:

Michaela Astarloza (cycling)
Andrew Barcali (table tennis)
James Barcali (table tennis)
Harry Bartolo (sailing)
Joanne Benz (swimming)
Leonard Bianchi & Elton Blumer (rowing, joint submission)
Marianne Blanc (rowing)
Gerald Chokroun & Carl Moretti (sailing, joint submission)
Hannah Curtis (swimming)
Maria Donnenberger (gymnastics)
Isobel Ennis (judo)
Karen Etuhu & Lindsay Shaleum (rowing, joint submission)
Christopher Falco (athletics)
Sarah Farnerud (swimming)
Harvey Fillion (taekwondo)
Joanne Gilarmi & Terri Lansivuori (rowing, joint submission)
Elizabeth Guaita (canoeing)
Dana Ireland (badminton)
Paula Joseph (swimming)
Steven Kolokhov (fencing)
Anne Landstrom (cycling)
Tom Lorqvist (cycling)
Andrew Magdalena (hockey)
Lou Markel (cycling)
Scott Moreaux (athletics)
Damon Murdoch (boxing)
Stacey Rosenthal (cycling)
Georgina Russo (judo)
Jonathan Ruschevsky (fencing)
David Santa Cruz (judo)
Georgina Sarrozi (canoeing)
Linda Sparwasser (athletics)
Michael Tegan (rowing)
Carlos Valencia (sailing)
Greg van Outen (swimming)
Mark Walton-Jones (hockey)
Emily White (wrestling)
George Wilson (football)

Ten names will be chosen by a panel of sporting professionals and experts, with the ten inductees revealed over the course of the Games.

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:55 pm

Kazyenko Independence Tower
Ekaterine, Falkasia
7 days prior...

"Soooo...." Vladimir began, drawing out the final syllable to an uncomfortable degree. "The Summer Olympics...."

"Yes." The reply came flatly.

A suited man, probably no older than 30, stood before him. His wore an expression of waned impatience, carefully masked with false politeness. "Yes. The Summer Olympics. You know... the opposite of the Winter Olympics."

Vladimir waved a hand dismissively. "Yes. I know the difference. You may recall I authorized this whole fun endeavor thing three years ago."

The other man shifted uneasily.

"And the reason you're here is because Dimitri isn't." The Premier spat, somewhat acridly while narrowing his eyes.

"Your point being?" He asked, unflinching in response. "I don't have to be here you know. You can just as easily find someone else to do this job."

There was a brief pause. Both men stared at eachother, processing the plays on the field.

"Oh.... wait. That's right. No one else wanted this job. I took it as a promotion." He butt in.

Vladimir exhaled sharply, the building red rapidly fading from his face. He rubbed the back of his neck, releasing the tension as he did and conceded defeat. "Yeah.... I guess you're right."

Just above his ears, the fringy tufts of hair that circled his ears had grown silver. Despite being also in his 30's, the pressure of responsibility was taking its toll on him. While his face and skin maintained its youthful vitality and Kazyenko heritage, the color in his hair and stiffness in his joints begot all that needed to be communicated.

"Ok Andro. You have a point," he began, carefully metering his tone to avoid connoting any further distaste. "You're not Dimitri, and you're not going to do things his way. New manager, new rules. I understand that. I directed a pile of funding your way... and trusted you to allocate it to best use without any degree of oversight. I just hope the new facility pays off. Summer sports aren't exactly our forte now, are they?"

"Maybe not... but we have talent and talent can be sharpened into success." Andro replied confidently. "I have no doubt we'll do fine. Our training programme incorporates the latest and greatest in physical conditioning and training. The Hakkareinen Training Compound is the envy of the world. Everyone in Teremara wants to train with us."

Kazyenko sighed again, although this time silently and inwardly. If realism was a terminal disease, he was already dead and half-rotten in hell.

"The confidence is welcome, but one thing your predecessor was good at was metering it with a healthy dose of pragmatism. He was a bobsledder. You're a businessman. I have no doubt in you ability to do it, but please take a word of advice... don't let you ego and hubris and need to prove yourself get in the way of making rational decisions. You're not Dimitri... but you would be best to at least learn why he acted the way he did in certain situations." Vlad sat on the edge of his, formerly his father's, oak desk. Physical objects, like Olympic medals, were the stuff dynasties were made of.

Andro stood silent and stone-faced. His mood bordered on placation. If he had taken offense to what the Premier had said, he was determined not to show it.

Kazyenko nodded absentmindedly. "I've said my peace. There's a car waiting for you outside which will take you to the airport."

Andro nodded again, emotionless. He began moving towards the door with a haste not too dissimilar from a prey animal evacuating a contested feeding ground.

"And Andro..." Kazyenko chimed in right before the other exited the room. "Good luck, and please be safe."

by **Waisnor** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:23 am

FNC NEWS

Waisnor's Olympic team arrived in Liventia today to participate in NS Olympic Summer Games, which will also take place in Banija. The team consists of 99 people, most of whom will represent the country in swimming and athletics. It also became known who will be the flag-bearer at the opening ceremony - it will be Lyudmila Tatarevich, who will represent Waisnor in judo.

"It is a great honor to represent our country at such a big event like the Olympics. We are just starting to participate in multiverse sports, I hope we can show what we are capable of." - said swimmer Dmitry Strutinsky.

The Olympics in Liventia and Banija will start on August 10th.

by **West Phoenicia** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 5:35 am

CATS MEOW

Norma Mansfield

Welcome back my lovely loyal readers, yes it is I, Norma Mansfield, en route to the XIV Olympiad co-hosted by Liventia and Banija.

I flipped a coin and Orean will have the pleasure of my company for the first half of the games. Then Istria will partake in my fine company.
I'm sure many of you are wondering, how was I lucky enough to have this opportunity fall into my lap again?
To
share with you all the daily gossip at this prestigious international event.
The short answer? I drew the short straw.

I'm kidding! To be a media personality experiencing the opportunity to attend such an event is something I am always thankful. It really is an honour, all the opportunities that have fallen into my lap. Gossip is my bread and butter, anyone who is anyone will be at these games.

In today's article, I would like to share with you some questions my fans have written to ask me.
I would like to share some of those points to ponder with you all in regards to these Games of the XIV Olympiad as I await my flight out of West Phoenicia.

Will the number of West Phoenician athletes attending, be the same number returning?

I thought it best to get that slight unpleasant incident that occurred previously out of the way first.
We all remember the tragedy at the last Olympic Games in Republica; The Free Republics.
Athletes Clare Tan, Jeremiah True, Micah True-Path, Livia Rush and support staff member Miss Teak were murdered by a West Phoenician serial killer and their accomplice.
The answer is hopefully yes.
The deadly duo was executed six months ago. Popular West Phoenician medium, Lady Hathor did advise me and I quote "They have both relocated their spiritual bodies to a much warmer place."
So there is no chance in hell, please pardon the pun, of them resurrecting.
On top of this as a safety measure, all athletes and staff have undergone psychological checks.
Security has been beefed up, so the chances of a new serial killer offing the West Phoenician elite again seems zilch. To reassure all citizens making the journey, I have more of a chance of winning Miss West Phoenicia than a West Phoenician athlete being murdered and ending up on West Phoenicia Crime Watch on Channel 4.
Unless one chooses to defect (why would they, West Phoenicia is a paradise) the number leaving to attend the games, will be the same number returning.

Will any West Phoenicia get slapped at these games?

I certainly hope so! Actions that rival the women from Real Housewives of West Phoenicia is always good viewing and reading. A well-timed slap also increases my viewership and it's delicious to rewatch or read late in the evening as one sips a dirty martini.
However, after the all-female brawl by the Women's Beach volleyball team at the last games, where one girl had her top and weave ripped off. All players have signed a waiver of no slapping, no spitting, no physical placing of hands on another person whether they are from West Phoenicia or another nation and no exposed parts of the body that should be covered up by bra and panties.
Failure to comply will cost a hefty $10,000 fine. In the case of Bunny St Claire, it should be $10,000 per bosom.
So don't expect too much slapping, especially from the poorer athletes, who will need to take out their aggression in other ways, like a class in pottery or random sex with some stranger.

Will West Phoenicia be funding its own entertainment again in the form of a nightclub?

The West Phoenician Olympic Delegation has notified me, that to save money, we will not be renting out a facility and transforming it into a den of sin and every vice under the sun. Last games off field entertainment blew the budget overboard. Some tax payers weren't too thrilled their hard earned tax dollars were being wasted on sin and vanity.
Athletes, staff and fans will be encouraged to take in the Nightlife social scenes of Orean and Istria.
Places of interest will be posted in the common area of the Olympic Village for all interested parties.
If in doubt, just find the nearest bar and help inject funds into the host nations economies.

What to expect from West Phoenicia at the Opening Ceremony?

I don't need a West Phoenician psychic to predict that the official colours will be purple. Yes, I know it's an important team colour, but I'm sure I'm not the only one screaming at the television, couldn't you wear pink this time? Isn't orange and lime green the new purple and gold??

In an added delight for Opening ceremony fans. And aren't well all, nothing sets an Olympics starting in the right direction then a wonderful opening ceremony, where host nations give it all they got to wow us. For these games, there will be two opening ceremonies as we have the pleasure of two hosts. So get your snacks and cup of tea ready as hosts Orean, Liventia and Istria, Banija prepare to wow us. As a fan of fireworks, I look forward to both nations bringing it for their performances.

As for the flag bearers. There was actually some very heated debate a close source for the West Phoenician Olympic Committee told me. No member of the Royal family they begged. Yes, the Royal family helps fund the games and yes members of the Royal family have won medals. But it appears this year, people wanted to go with the average Joe or Jane. Someone who worked hard to get where they are and wasn't born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

The Diversity, Love and Rainbow Party wasted parliament time demanding a newly arrived immigrant, to show the world, hey look how diverse we are, and while we have strict immigration, anyone's dream of carrying a flag can come true.
So diverse the country's flag bearer isn't even a citizen? That idea was shot down pretty quick as ludicrous.

As luck would have also had it, for these games, there are two amazing opening ceremonies, this gives West Phoenicia the ability to have two not one athlete acting as go at bearer.

In the end, it was decided in the name of diversity and sportsmanship that gold winner Missy Whelan would hold that honour as flag bearer for Istria Opening Ceremony. A female and a boxer. Something a little different. Very outside the box of what other nations would expect. She also grew up poor, so we kinda ticked all the boxes on that one.

As for the flag bearer for Orean, after careful consideration Christobel Tee was bestowed the honour. Christobel came to the attention of the nation with her gold medal win in the womens skateboarding Park event. The previous games was the first time this sport was added, so it was a great privilege for one of our athletes to take home the gold. It also showed younger citizens that dreams are possible, that the Olympics can be fun and funky. A recent poll showed many younger citizens will be tuning in to watch sports like skateboarding As it ideals to what they enjoy watching . We have Christobel to thank for that.

The House of Gypsy was selected to design the uniform. I went to a special fashion show where the uniform was officially launched. Very bohemian/ Stepford wife and very purple. I would caution citizens watching from the safety of their homes to protect their retinas.

It appears it's a cross between an average citizen who somehow ended up in the 1960s working for a now-defunct West Phoenician airline.
I believe the message they want to get across this year is; you have seen us at our best, in our finest splendour.
But hey, we are just the average, down to earth, non-superficial people just like you.
And please move your trays to the upright position before landing.
For those who have yet to see the team uniform, here is a sneak peek.

Personally, bring back the shimmering gold, the chariots and deity-like personas. A lot of people like the crazy and weird, we should be proud of that.
I'm not a fan of blending in and confirming, it's the international stage, we should bring our best and our wackiness. Save the drab and dull for nations that cherish normality.

How do you think we will go with medals?

Only time will tell if our outstanding results of 106 medals at the last Olympics will be a fluke or if West Phoenicia will be elevated as a team to watch out for. It would be wonderful to bring home a slew of medals for the nation but instead of throwing out an estimate let's get behind our athletes and give them our full support to be the best they can be.
We have some amazing talent in this delegation and I am sure they will make us proud at the end of the day.

So I bid all my loyal readers farewell for now. I'll be in touch soon with soon juicy tidbits. In the meantime get ready to enjoy and immerse yourself in two wonderful opening ceremonies and what is predicted to be another amazing Olympic Games.

by **Krytenia** » Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:25 pm

XIV OLYMPIC GAMES PREVIEW

ARCHERY
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-2-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia have a long history of being “just OK” at archery, usually decent enough to win a couple of rounds in the team contest, and having one – and usually only one – archer reach the latter stages of the individual events without troubling the medal matches. There are two exceptions; the men's team in Columbia, and the women's team in Emberton, both of whom reached (and lost) the gold medal match.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Both teams look strong on the surface, but will likely fall short of winning medals. The women's team, and captain Kat Kristensen, are the best chances of proving us wrong.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x QF (team), 1 x R16 (individual)

ARTISTIC SWIMMING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: We have a proud tradition of managing to not drown.
OREAN PROSPECTS: The team are here to enjoy themselves, and ideally not finish last. Advancing from the first round in any event would honestly be an unexpected bonus, never mind a medal.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

ATHLETICS
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Scott Moreaux, Linda Sparwasser, Chris Falco
MEDAL HISTORY: 10-7-11
HISTORY PENPIC: Though they talk a good game with regards to middle-distance events, and Scott Moreaux gained instant celebrity for winning the 100m in Columbia, where the men and women in sky blue excel is actually the sprint hurdles. They've medalled on no less than five occasions, with the pinnacle being Ashley Krumholz, upgrading his Centralis bronze to Aeropag gold twelve years ago.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Alejandro Hernandez has a score to settle with the sprints, whilst Levi Schanken will be confident of at least reaching the final of the 800m. Stephane Sebastien, Roger Edison, and Eric Saban look on top form in the metric mile, too. James Stefanovic represents Krytenia's best chance in the field events. For the women, look out for Vicki Cunningham, looking for a middle-distance double; Louise Moynahan captains the athletics team, meanwhile, going in – you guessed it – the 100m hurdles. Sinead Black could be a dark horse in the race walking events, too, and look out for Josie Picardo, hoping to emulate Linda Sparwasser in the discus.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 4 x medals; 1 x gold

BADMINTON
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Dana Ireland
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-5-2
HISTORY PENPIC: Nine medals for Krytenia; four at least partially thanks to one Dana Ireland. The “Shruton Shuttle” won the singles in Lasft and picked up a bronze in the same event in Emberton; alongside Myleene Soraya, meanwhile, came Lasft bronze and Emberton silver in the doubles. For the men, Dean Goss picked up the gold in Cafundeu before a silver four years later.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Our racquet-wielding women look up for bagging medals in Banija. Sally-Anne Kohler and Roberta Belletti will be amongst the favourites in the doubles, with Gloria Stephenson hoping for a medal in the singles. Roberto Arroyo, meanwhile, is a potential one to watch in the men's singles.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 2 x SF; 1 x medal

BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Put simply, it's just not cricket. Sadly, though, cricket isn't an Olympic sport. Maybe we can petition for it to be a demonstration sport in four years...
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: The Krytenian teams will indeed attend the Games. That's about the limit, though.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

BASKETBALL
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Don't get us wrong; we don't hate basketball. We're just not very good at it. This would explain the lack of anything approaching a medal. There are simply many nations who take the sport more seriously than we do.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Basketball is another sport where there's no targets set, mainly because getting out of the pool stage would be an achievement.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

BOXING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Damon Murdoch
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-2-8
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenian boxers are akin to Krytenian footballers in that they're adept at losing semi-finals. Eight bronze medals don't lie.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Alice Mallory returns to try and retain her light-heavyweight title from four years ago. David Sealey (men's middleweight) and Alison Klien (women's lightweight) are also decent bets for a bronze. Look out, too, for the heavyweight power punching of Michelle Hennig.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 2 x medals

CANOEING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Lizzie Guaita, Georgina Sarrozi
MEDAL HISTORY: 6-7-14
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia plus boats equals medals. Columbia was our most successful Games in terms of volume, with nine medals – though surprisingly no golds. Georgina Sarrozi soon rectified this, winning the kayak kilo in Aeropag before retaining the title in Outineau; Lizzie Guaita, meanwhile, medalled in the canoe slalom in four consecutive Olympics.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Keith Lavinski and Victoria Miller will both be hoping to tame the whitewater in their kayaks; on the flat, meanwhile, look out for Ryan Keane in the K1 kilometre and Marcia Rowan in the mad rush that is the 200m C1 event. That said, it's a weaker team than the glory days of three decades ago.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x medal

CYCLING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Anne Landstrom, Michaela Astarloza, Tom Lorqvist, Stacey Rosenthal, Lou Markel
MEDAL HISTORY: 21-19-10
HISTORY PENPIC: Yes, you're reading that right. Fifty medals and counting for the cyclists of Krytenia. Just think how many more that might have been if not for Delaclava and (Gods rest them) Sorthern Northland. Surprisingly, though, only one medal has ever been won outside the road and track disciplines – Sally Marsh with a mountain bike bronze on home turf.
OREAN PROSPECTS: The biggest prospect is that of bicycle pumps at ten paces between Krytenia and Delaclava. The Krytenians, especially, are looking to right the wrongs of four years ago, when the team left the Free Republics with the grand total of one medal. On the plus side, mind, it was a gold...
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 6 x medals, 2 x gold

EQUESTRIAN
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 1-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: When it comes to Krytenians in the saddle, it tends towards bike rather than horse. Tell that to Graham Barton, though; the rider from Port Victoria won eventing gold four years ago.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Barton's not only defending his eventing title; he's also leading the team in dressage and showjumping. It'd be amazing if he can medal in the lot, but stranger things have happened.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x individual top 10

FENCING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Jonathan Ruschevsky, Steven Kolokhov
MEDAL HISTORY: 6-3-4
HISTORY PENPIC: Escrime Emberton, the fencing club in the capital's well to do Oakwood district, is almost entirely to thank for Krytenia's success in the sport. The club has produced the vast majority of the nation's competitors on the piste, with Avidia's Juanita Gomez (winner of the individual foil in Aeropag) standing out as the only non-member to medal.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: The team of James Swanscombe, Jonathan Evans, and Robert Olsson, bronze medal winners four years ago, will be hoping to both upgrade their team medal from last time and do well in the individual sabre too. Honey Boden, in the women's sabre, is also a decent medal shout.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x medal

FOOTBALL
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: George Wilson
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: We could wax lyrical for days about the Dragons, but this is Olympic football we're talking about. Truth be told, the Krytenians have underperformed in this department for the most part. The exception was the team forged in Lasft; they scored the gold medal – the first Krytenian national football team to win a major tournament – before the core of the team returned to retain their titles on a memorable day at Oxley Park.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: The underwhelming performance of the men's Under-21s in Baker Park has lowered expectations somewhat, and “Project 87” seems to have passed the men by. That being said, the mixed nature of the game in Krytenia does keep the women's team looking up rather than down.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x R16

GOLF
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: A relatively recent addition to the Games, and a sport Krytenia has never really taken to.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: One good round for Grace Barclay was about as good as it got in the Free Republics. Expect the same again this time.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

GYMNASTICS
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Maria Donnenberger
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-3-1
HISTORY PENPIC: Traditionally a sport in this country that the women have dominated – indeed all six Olympic medals for Krytenia have been won by women, and all of them in the artistic events.
OREAN PROSPECTS: For once, Krytenia's best chance for a medal is in possession of a Y chromosome. Step forward (though not on landing, please - Ed) Damon Armfield, who'll be hoping to get into the all-around and parallel bars final at minimum. The women have greater depth, though, and could be contenders in the team all-around.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x team or individual all-around final, 1 x apparatus final

HANDBALL
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-1
HISTORY PENPIC: Handball has received, over the years, precisely zero central funding, being a niche recreational sport. That was before Melissa Womack and the Ousevale University Women's Student Handball Club decided they were going to put the sport on the map. OUWSH convinced the KNOC to send their team to Republica, and the students repaid their trust with a bronze medal.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: OUWSH technically no longer represent the nation – but that's mainly because those behind it have secured central funding and a semi-pro women's league. The women's team does still contain a very OUWSH spine, with new additions from outside of the University City to boot.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x QF

HOCKEY
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Mark Walton-Jones, Andrew Magdelena
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-2-3
HISTORY PENPIC: Hockey has been a source of both success and frustration for the men's team, having medalled five times without ever getting their hands on the gold. Those five medals came in the team's first five appearances; sadly, their star has waned quite dramatically since.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Neither of Krytenia's sides look medal ready – making it as far as the knockouts would be seen as a success. For once, it's Krytenia's women who look like having the best chance of this.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

JUDO
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: David Santa Cruz, Isobel Ennis, Georgina Russo
MEDAL HISTORY: 9-4-10
HISTORY PENPIC: It may not be the most glamorous or even the most well known of sports, but judo does seem to be a veritable conveyor belt of medals. Only twice have Krytenia left the Games without at least one chunk of judo-related metalware.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Terry Kimmel is looking to upgrade his bronze into something a bit more valuable, whilst Cathy Albanizi will be expecting to pull up trees – and by “trees” we mean fellow judoka – in the under-57kg class.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x medal

KARATE
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: *shrug*.
OREAN PROSPECTS: *continued shrugging*.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

MODERN PENTATHLON
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-1-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Modern pentathlon is a curiously Olympic sport. As such, it doesn't exactly get a lot of love in terms of participants or funding. That being said, Jessica Southern somehow managed to pick up a silver at the first Areopag Games.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Not really.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

ROWING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Marianne Blanc, Michael Tegan, Terri Lansivuori & Joanne Gilarmi, Lenny Bianchi & Elton Blumer, Karen Etuhu & Lindsay Shaleum
MEDAL HISTORY: 22-18-16
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia's most successful sport bar none. The team is so successful at the sport, that their most recent display – two bronzes – was seen as a disaster. Similar failure simply won't be tolerated again.
OREAN PROSPECTS: The entire team. Notably, Roxanne Adams and the team of Bull and Wright return to improve on their third places.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 8 x medals, 3 x gold

RUGBY SEVENS
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-1-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia's men aren't exactly au fait with the odd-shaped ball. The women, on the other hand, seem to have taken to it like swans to Rushmore.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: The women will be looking to upgrade Republica silver to Orean gold.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x SF

SAILING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Harry Bartolo, Carlos Valencia, Carl Moretti & Gerry Chokroun
MEDAL HISTORY: 5-7-3
HISTORY PENPIC: As previously stated, Krytenia + boats = medals. Sailing is no exception: the main exception with them is that it's talented individuals rather than a concerted team effort. Harry Bartolo, Carlos Valencia, and the pair of Moretti and Chokroun account for twelve of the nation's fifteen medals.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Angela Michalis and Ryan Ormondroyd are hopeful in their respective heavyweight dinghy classes, whilst Pierre Malbranque will be gunning for glory in the men's windsurfer.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 2 x medal race

SHOOTING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 1-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia have a reputation for being absolutely abysmal at shooting. That is, perhaps, a little unfair on our nation's marksmen and women. Though it's true that finals tend to be out of reach – Christina Rovegno's gold in Aeropag notwithstanding – we do tend to be closer to the middle than the back of the pack.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Quite why the shooting events are being held in Liventia – where firearms as a rule are prohibited – rather than Banija is a mystery for the ages. Nevertheless, the team have filled the relevant paperwork to get their (already heavily controlled) guns to Orean, and it's rifle shooters David Verdi and Adrienne Parker who hope to make Krytenia interested in the sport for a change.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x final

SKATEBOARDING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Yes, this is an Olympic sport now. We have no idea why.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Alexandra Layton will be trading the skate parks of Ousevale – blame the students – for the Olympic venue of Orean hoping to contend in both the street and park events.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

SPORT CLIMBING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: This one's new on us.
OREAN PROSPECTS: The best way to describe the Krytenian contingent is “token delegation”, sadly.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

SURFING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Another recent addition that doesn't get the love. Essentially, the good waves are on the other side of the Vilitan Cove.
OREAN PROSPECTS: If Kreuz, Hussein, Smith, or Gibbons even come close to troubling the medals it'll be a miracle.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

SWIMMING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Sarah Farnerud, Greg van Outen, Paula Joseph, Jo Benz, Hannah Curtis
MEDAL HISTORY: 17-7-11
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia do like to keep the medals ticking over in the pool, with their best performance being a twelve-medal haul in Emberton. With six golds, three silvers, and five bronzes, Sarah Farnerud has contributed more to Krytenia's Olympic medal total than the majority of sports.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: The men have Rodney Hayes, Peter Bartholomew, Freddie Verlam and John Carragher leading the charge. For the women, Liz Lowe, Annabelle Mathiassen, Lorraine Imlach, and Vandana Turner are the ones to watch.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 4 x medals, 1 x gold

TABLE TENNIS
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Andrew Barcali, James Barcali
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-3-1
HISTORY PENPIC: Once upon a time, there were two brothers named Andrew and James. They had a part in all six of Krytenia's table tennis medals. They retired after the Emberton Games and Krytenia hasn't been near a medal since.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Glenn Jackson is hoping to reverse this and become the first Krytenian not called Barcali to win a table tennis medal.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x QF

TAEKWONDO
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Harvey Fillion
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-1-7
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia in taekwondo are the Krytenia of the Olympics. Seven of their eight medals in the sport have been bronze – four of those to Harvey Fillion. Oddly, there appears to be a prediliction for larger jin being successful; all eight medals have come in the heaviest class of either the men's or women's event.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Unsurprisingly, it's the top weights providing the best chances of a medal; Guillermo Maldonado will be hoping for a first taekwondo gold for the men, with Veronica Ortiz having similar hopes for the women.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 3 x repechage, 1 x medal

TENNIS
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-1
HISTORY PENPIC: You could argue that Krytenia's almost unique predeliction for grass courts puts them at a disadvantage; the counter argument for that, of course, is that they failed to medal in Emberton on grass. Their only medal, a bronze in the men's doubles, actually came on the hard (and high!) courts of Aeropag's Olympic Tower.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Owen Simmons and Perry Walsh have been tearing it up on the NSTT, and they'll be in the box seats for a medal. Stephen Perez and Sarah Dinsdale, meanwhile, are the best chances of individual glory.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 4 x QF, 1 x medal

TRIATHLON
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-1-0
HISTORY PENPIC: We have decent swimmers and long distance runners, and a litany of world-beating cyclists. When it comes to putting the three together, though...not so much. Samuel King's silver in Aeropag is the exception rather than the rule.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Deborah Heder will be attempting to win the triathlon purely through her cycling prowess. We're not holding our breath.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

VOLLEYBALL
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-1-1
HISTORY PENPIC: No-hopers indoors, but challengers on the sand – the women especially. Krytenia's beach volleyball teams have historically proven hard to beat, with Sarah Davis and Jane George agonisingly close to gold last time the games visited Orean.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Both women's teams are out to pick up some shiny chunks of metal. Jenny Thompson and Tracey Cork are probably the more likely to on balance.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 1 x QF

WATER POLO
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-0
HISTORY PENPIC: Quite frankly, it's a sport that happens to other people.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Yeah, no.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: none

WEIGHTLIFTING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: n/a
MEDAL HISTORY: 0-0-1
HISTORY PENPIC: Weightlifting is so low on the totem pole that June Elting – who finished third in the under-53kg weight class in Outineau – is probably the most obscure owner of a medal in all of Krytenia.
ISTRIA PROSPECTS: Surprisingly plentiful, if we're honest. Ieuan Llewellyn will be the main focus in the men's over 109kg competition, whilst Ricardo Barriqua, Gemma Tadden, and Rosamund Carter could all be in with a chance if they can perform to their potential.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 2 x top 10

WRESTLING
HALL OF FAME NOMINEES: Emily White
MEDAL HISTORY: 2-3-3
HISTORY PENPIC: Krytenia spent three Games not caring about Olympic wrestling – it's nothing like the SWF after all – and then Emily White happened. Since then, there's been a slow trickle of medals in the freestyle. Greco-Roman still remains an impenetrable enigma, mind.
OREAN PROSPECTS: Fernanda Sanchez Amato returns one kilogram lighter to attempt to upgrade from Republica bronze. Graham Armstrong, meanwhile, is looking to win a first Greco-Roman medal in a weight division best described as “brick outhouse”.
KNOC OFFICIAL TARGET: 2 x repechage

World Cup 81/82/83/84

Expanded Olympic effort to spotlight BP
by Wendy Vandenboem
The Western Observer

Belle Haven--The introduction of the members of the Olympic Committee of the Commonwealth's second entry to the Summer Games was a higher profile affair than the previous occasion.

The OCC have more than doubled the participation, expanding the number of athletes in both the events contested previously and bringing in fresh participation through the inclusion several additional sports.

OCC General Secretary Mark E. Zimmerman was pleased to point out the commitment shown by several governing bodies in response to the last Summer Games in the Free Republics.

"The ACC, BP Basketball, and the AFC all made the decision to substantially increase their support to their teams, while CABA and the FAC also pledged to bring more resources to ensure we could present a stronger, more competitive National Olympic Team for the games in Istria and Orean."

There were negotiations by the central governing body which secured an agreement to showcase the two military academies and their respective specialties--2 men and 2 women from both the NSC Academy and the Commonwealth Military Academy will represent the nation in sailing and shooting, respectively; additionally, the individual male & female National Champions at the All-Commonwealth Archery Championships were invited to represent Baker Park for their sport.

There will also be four other national governing bodies that will provide teams for the competition: The Commonwealth Rugby Union will sponsor a team for the 7 player version of the sport, and the CVBA will follow up their participation in the VWE 9 in Cassadaigua by entering the Olympic tournament; GABP has authorized the top 4 finishers in both the men's & women's All-Around Final at the National Championships to make up the Olympic gymnastics team, and the Wrestling Council of Baker Park will be supporting a 6 man team in the freestyle discipline.

In total, that means that 155 athletes will walk under the flag at the Opening Ceremonies; along with other officials & team personnel, close to 300 men and women will mark the Commonwealth's second foray into Summer Olympic Games under the microscope of the multiverse.

by **Main Nation Ministry** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 12:13 am

And now for something completely different..again..
Context: Found starting at this post of Tedium

Previously from the prologue of Tedium

The Leader has mysteriously vanished, literally behind a somewhat direct but suspicious note at his office. While Princess Keller Harrington and the Foreign Relations chew toy Dorbi Truman deals with his absence, with the former loathing being given the amount of power, the nation flows as usual like the oiled machine it is. However, it appears that unknownst to the two and seemingly all of Main Nation Ministry, the Leader is within the barren wastes somewhere in the multiverse, looking for a mysterious artifact known as the Auric Chaser.

Now, while the Olympics are happening, some new developments have appeared.

Princess Keller Harrington and some familiar faces are visiting the nations of Liventia and Banija for a nice trip to visit the sights that both have to offer. While many are at the Olympics for a variety of reasons, the Leader is still continuing his mission. And he will discover that some things aren't what they seem for his quest for the Auric Chaser.

The Heat: Day Tripping

"An announcement, please. Terminals are currently open for the nations of Liventia and Banija for departure. To access the nation of Liventia, please head for gates A1-A10 in terminal sector A. For access to the nation of Banija, please use the transit system to access gates B1-B10 in terminal sector B. And for arrivals, please head to the main security checkpoints for a full search and seizure of possessions, luggage, and your bodies. Thank you." the intercom said, as today was the big day. The Olympics were going to start in a couple of days, so the fine athletes of humans and demons were heading to the departures to head to the Olympic Games. Athletes that needed to head to Liventia for their events were directed to the left side of the airport, while the athletes needed for Banija were directed onto the buses that took them to the terminal sector where the departures were.

Among the crowds were some that stood out. Princess Keller Harrington and several armed soldiers guarding her were heading to Banija, while General Emmanuel Jones and several other important government officials were heading to Liventia. While Harrington saw him as an ally, she wished he was with him, especially since she didn't want to get the whole "VIP" treatment with the soldiers breathing down her neck and some others who might end up getting the wrong idea. Well, maybe it wasn't be all bad at Banija. Since there is the "complicated" relationship with it.

As Keller's flight left the airport, Keller lounged back on her seat, as a soldier was checking an assault rifle close to them, as a steward arrived with airline food. "You're good." the soldier said, after inspecting it. "Can't I have a moment, without being babysitted?" Keller said to the soldier, where he was oblivious to Harrington's intents. However, she managed to get a spot of hope when she heard a familiar voice ask the soldier something, while Keller was staring out the window. "Hey, mind if I sit next to her?"
"Orders of the Ministry is to not allow any-"
"No. She can sit." Keller said, as she saw who it was. Charlotte Huxley, or simply Charlie who liked to be nicknamed was nearby, where Keller had the soldier move, so she can sit next to her.

"You and Jessica Madden are heading to Banija?"
"Not just me and Jessica. The whole band is coming to see, if anyone is interested in doing any gigs. Hadn't really been out at Banija before, so I figured it could be fun."
"It's a bit of a desert in Banija." Keller said, as the airplane was going through a rift in the multiverse. "I hope you don't mind."
"Where I was from, it was much hotter."
"Figures."
"How's things in the Ministry, since the Leader is gone? I heard the announcement, along with Jessica."

"It's annoying on what the Leader does. One moment, he could have me doing some random propaganda speech, then another day he has me be involved in some of the shenanigans that another branch in the Ministry caused. I know I'm the Princess of the whole nation, but if he's the Leader, can't he personally talk about what's he planning without disappearing on me with a written letter that he's going on a vacation?"

"Well...I don't know what he does in his spare time? Do you?"
"No. He just sits in his office all day, writing up rules and laws to terrorize the public, probably using someone as target practice if he has to, or just lounges there by himself with his sick thoughts.
"He did help with the hellgate, though.."
"In the end, he comes to save the day in some trouble that someone gets into. He isn't a hero, but he's still someone who knows the solution to a problem that he sees." Keller remarked, as the flight continued.

After the plane landed at the South Moravica/Istria International Airport, Jessica Madden, her band mates, manager, and her girlfriend all exited the terminal where they all looked around the airport. "Guys! Welcome to Banija!" Jessica said, where upon knowing of the sunny and hot weather, brought some sunglasses. "The AC in here is powerful." Gerald remarked, as he carried his bass guitar in a large case. "We might or might not play some gigs, but we got a whole stretch of hot earth to check out. I'm sure the place near the Olympic Village will have a suite for us!" Jessica said, but as they were about to leave the airport, a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Sports stopped them.

"Are you heading to the University of Loyola-Istria?" the official asked, as some soldiers next to some demon athletes were nearby. "Uhhh, yeah? Do you have a problem or?" Jessica didn't know what the official wanted, until they explained. "Because of the nation's high religious influence in the Olympic Village, all demon athletes in the Main Nation Ministry's Olympic team are to be moved to a building near, but not directly next to or in the Olympic Village. We have already negotiated with the officials in Banija, concerning this issue."
"Oh come on! We can't get autographs with the regular athletes?! This is bullshit! Isn't it Charlie?" Jessica said, a bit frustrated. But Charlie knew what the official meant.

"Actually, Jessica. It's a big issue with us. We don't have a lot of churches in the nation, since your religion is friendly towards demons like us. But there is still nations out there that have churches or heavy religious power and exposure that can harm us greatly."
"How?"
"Well, how should I describe it? You know a vampire, right?"
"Yeah, they are demons also, but they have to avoid the sunlight."
"Well, we are somewhat like vampires who don't have to worry about being in the sunlight. But when it comes to a cross or something else related...well, it doesn't happen immediately, but you can immediately feel the pain of yourself having your body on fire. A lot of demons learned this the hard way.."

"Damn.." Jessica thought, as she forgotten that demons like her girlfriend were still at risk. "I don't like this. I might need to talk to Keller. Like having her on standby, just in case for emergencies.."

While the team of Main Nation Ministry and other tourists were trying to fit in at Banija, it would be a matter of time before the games would begin. Sooner or later in the following days.

by **Waisnor** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:24 am

Meanwhile, on a talk show at First National Channel:

Nikolay Svyadysh (host): "And what do you expect from our team at the upcoming Olympics?"

Ignat Gonchar (participant of the 2012 Olympic Games): "Well, I think we should take at least one gold."

Svyadysh: "In which sport do you think we have the greatest chances?"

Gonchar: "I think it's either judo, wrestling or athletics."

Svyadysh: "I have some doubts about athletics - usually our results there are not the most impressive, although we also have some medals there."

Gonchar: "Well, here I am adamant - we have excellent chances to earn at least some medals in athletics, and gold ones too. Try to convince me about this, I immediately say that it will not work (laughed)"

Svyadysh: "(also chuckled) Okay, I won't try. I also heard that at the opening of the Olympics Arkady Zenin (fencer) will do something interesting."

Gonchar: "Well, we have such fun already becoming a good tradition. Do you want to know what exactly? "

Svyadysh: "Yes."

Gonchar: "Nooooo, it's a secret, bear with me, games will open the day after tomorrow, not much time left. "

Svyadysh: "Well, I'll wait. And that concludes our program, goodbye. "

FNC "NEXT" IDENT:
Two episodes of the "The Office" at once are waiting for you tonight at First National in half an hour, and now is the time for the 21:00 news with Sergei Pravkin.....

by **Sargossa** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:10 pm

SSM | Sargossan State Media

International Edition - Sport

Maribel Varga & The Miracle of Emberton

Blanco Borrayo reports;

Every nation of the sportiverse has those instances that have become forever etched within the public’s sporting consciousness. Those brief, fleeting instances that unite the disparate, that are always brought up when fans reminisce and become staples of the sport’s channels close season clip shows. In Sargossa, in which football maintains a sporting dominance local triumphs are always heralded but nothing can compare to when the Corsairs lifted the Cup of Harmony, their sole senior global title to date. But despite its status as the national game the moment that is regularly voted as Sargossa’s greatest single sporting moment does not come from the football pitch.

The stage for that moment had arguably been set some four years prior when, after a torrid showing at the Sixth Summer Games in Cafundéu, the nation started taking the Olympics seriously. The catalyst for which was the unlikely pairing of the brash boxer turned politician Domingo Ospina and canny administrator Ricardo Aranda. Together they reconstructed, reformed and rechristened the nation’s Olympic governing body, creating the Olympic Authority of Sargossa. New money flooded in to fund facilities, equipment, coaching and the instigation of brand new tournaments. Azure League Athletics, Laguna Azul League of Aquatics and EsportTec Pro Tour Tennis all became staples of the nation’s sporting calendar. With able administration and a Sports Minister willing to fight for them, quite literally if necessary, they flourished and the nation approached the Seventh Summer Games in Krytenia with a renewed sense of optimism.

The investment would reap rewards with twenty one medals won in Emberton, a total to put Sargossa fourteenth in the overall medal table. Five came from the pool, the tennis delegation claimed a gold and, much to Ospina’s personal delight, the boxers added two further medals. But as with most Games it was to the track where all eyes turned. And it was on the track where an unlikely hero was born.

‘Alanis [Valenín] was unquestionably the star of that squad’, former athletics coach Marcos Castillo recalls. ‘She’d led the Azure League all season so there was no surprise when she won at the trials too. Maimara Cuellar pushed her hard though, they’d had some good tussles in the league. With Elena [Padilla] withdrawn to focus on the hurdles we’d all assumed that Fermina Robles would take the third berth. Maribel was ranked fifth or sixth at the time but she made it count when it mattered and claimed that final slot. And we’re now all rather glad that she did.’

‘Maribel was both a dream and a bit of a nightmare’, says Cesáreo Espinoza, Sargossa’s Director of Elite Athletics at the time of the Emberton Games. ‘She had tremendous physical attributes, was excellent in training but had the lowest self-confidence of any athlete I’d ever met. Some competitors require a kick up the backside but Varga needed an arm around the shoulder. Because no one kicked Maribel harder than Maribel herself. And being in the Olympic bubble was about as far outside her comfort zone as it was possible to be. Other than to go to the stadium I don’t think she left the hotel once. And I gave up trying to get her to a press event. I think she hated the experience. Others perhaps took to it a little too well.’

The nation’s hopes took a huge blow when Valenín could only place 55th in the 100m heats. Only the top forty would advance. But Maimara Cuellar advancing in tenth kept the embers burning. Largely unnoticed Varga also went through, in 24th place. Cuellar remained the focus in the quarter finals, advancing to the semis as sixth fastest overall. Varga’s second place in a relatively slow race kept her in the mix too. The two would face off in the second semi final, Varga winning it in eleven seconds dead while Cuellar agonisingly missed out on the final by a hundredth of a second.

‘As ridiculous as it sounds’, Espinoza continues, ‘we had to downplay the occasion. It’s just another race we kept telling her. She’d just won an Olympic semi-final and had looked magnificent doing it but I knew there was no convincing her that she was a contender. With the final held on the same night as the semis happily there wasn’t very long to focus on it.’

The final event of the eighth day of the Emberton Games saw Varga and seven others take to the track for the last hurrah. It was late in the day but there were very few empty seats in the stadium. This was after all one of the showpiece events. The sportiverse watched as a largely unheralded woman from Jucaro nervously waved to the crowd as she was announced.

The image of a kneeling Varga, face in her hands as the emotion of the moment overcame her has become an enduring one. Representing an unlikely hero conquering all. Sadly being an Olympic champion created a spotlight that a shy gal from Jucaro simply couldn’t handle. Varga would defend her title four years later in Liventia, lining up alongside Valenín in the final in Orean. But neither could prevent Euran sprint star Alice Howland taking the gold. And following a disastrous relay heat Maribel Varga elected to quietly call time on her athletics career.

It was a sad end to a career that had tortuously hit the highest height but had left the athlete unable to deal with that same height. But a rare interview much later did reveal that Varga, now married with a children and settled down far away from the media spotlight she so hated, had finally been able to enjoy the achievement she had won so publicly. Her medal, for so long hidden away in a drawer, now had pride of place in her home. The legacy of a truly golden moment.

by **Kelssek** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:29 pm

> Sport / Olympics
A JOURNEY OF FIRE, FROM REFUGEE CAMPS TO PLAYING FOR KELSSEK
by: Martin Girard

In a different world, Êsêkïl dí Völará and Nacuémiró Buené might be playing football under the Farfadillis flag. A turn of history when they were infants, however, sees them about to play for Kelssek’s Olympic team.

The two 18-year olds arrived in Kelssek in the midst of a civil war in Farfadillis, as Rulandese militants began their fight for independence. The lives of dí Völará’s parents were uprooted in an instant as their home was destroyed in the fighting. As the Farf government went on a scorched-earth rampage in Rulandea, they found themselves scrabbling for survival in a refugee camp.

One of over 200,000 who would eventually find safe haven in Kelssek, the family were accepted for refugee resettlement and soon found themselves bundling their remaining worldly possessions into a one-room apartment in Porte-Castille. The frigid winters were one of the first things they had to learn to cope with, and this wasn’t helped because the apartment’s only window kept freezing solid.

“My dad was always chiselling at the window because ice would form on the inside and you couldn’t see out of it. ‘What a crazy country this is,’ he would keep saying. Mother was always having to warn him, ‘don’t break it, or we’ll really freeze’.”

“When I was a kid I thought it was normal, that everyone’s windows freeze like that until I went to a school friend’s house for the first time. His mother was shocked when I asked how come your windows don’t have ice? She is a builder so she insisted to come and see what was wrong. She found a big hole in the part where the window joins the wall, so the cold air was coming in. A few days later she came to fix it and it was like a miracle, we had sunlight and the room was warmer. It really showed me how important it is to have community like that.”

Porte-Castille is often regarded as an extension of Outineau’s Little Ariddia, home to the the largest concentration of the Ariddian diaspora in the country. Although home to people of many different backgrounds, one of the district’s anchors is the Ariddian Association, a community sports and recreation organization that runs, among other things, a competitive youth football program and what was then a semi-professional representative team.

Dí Völará’s talent was obvious to the coaches at an early age, and he often played above his age category. “They were very careful about it, though. I was this tiny little guy at 12, they said, ok, you can play a few games with U-16s, but just be very careful. You have a lot of hot-heads and bullies in that level.”

“Then, last year they say, ok you are bigger now, you can play for the first team. I remember the manager Yvan Sissoko told me, you have the chance to make this a profession if you keep working hard.”

Association Ariddenne's first team were bouncing around the third tier of Kelssek’s football system just four years ago, but had recently won promotion to KFL National, the second tier of Kelssek football, and the lowest league that’s fully professional. It struggles with the need to pay full-time wages to remain competitive, while keeping it affordable for its working-class members to attend matches.

It was in this league that dí Völará made 19 appearances in his debut season, which also saw the team make an unexpected run in the Coupe des Patriotes tournament. For the first time, an Association Ariddienne match was nationally televised as they hosted league champions CS Saint-Rémy with five thousand squeezed into Stade Pailler’s small concrete stand and many more crowding at the fences around the field. They stunned a team that would go on to defend their league title by holding them to a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes, and then knocking them out on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals of the national cup.

While they were knocked out against Strathcona Internationals in the next round, Ariddienne managed an even bigger accomplishment as they qualified for the promotion playoffs and then overcame the odds to win the right to compete in the KFL Championship, the top flight of Kelssek football.

Êsêkïl dí Völará’s journey over the last year has matched the dreamlike ascension of his unfancied football club. His role in the team’s storybook season caught the attention of the national team setup, earning him the chance to play at the Olympics.

The men’s Olympic team complies with the rules for under-23 competition, and has opted to use only two of the three over-age slots. It’s not expected to be in contention for medals, but it’s often seen as an important stepping stone for future stars. The squad at the last summer Olympics featured Colm Ó Tuathail and Gabriel Lapierre, now Kelssek’s first-ever entries on the Galacticos list of the world’s top football players and lynchpins of the senior national team.

Nacuémiró Buené had what he says a bit more of a “normal” route to this milestone, but it truth it’s no less remarkable. His family, too, fled the violence of the civil war and were allocated housing in Burnaby. The Konohan metropole is also where football is most popular in Kelssek, and with that area of cultural accord, when it came time to sign up for extracurriculars in school, it was an easy choice.

“My father was always a big fan of the sport. My first paycheque, I bought my father a Winrôugé shirt because he was always talking about how he had a jersey that was stolen in the refugee camp.”

Kelssek’s most successful football club, Burnaby SC, built its success on its youth academy, the first and still arguably the finest in the country. They keep a keen watch on talent in their backyard and after Buené impressed at an interschools tournament, he was offered join the chance Burnaby SC academy. Of course, progression looks simple from there, but Burnaby SC manager Sean Harrison, who expects Buené to advance to the first team next season, paid tribute to the young player, pointing out that every player who makes it through the system has succeeded where five or six others have dropped out or been cut from the club's youth system.

“It takes a lot of hard work and the thing about Buené is that he doesn’t seem to realize how hard he actually works out there. I think it shows how much he loves the game and how much he’s driven to succeed that he just sees it as what you have to do. The Olympics will be a great development opportunity for him, even if he’s not going to be in the first eleven, some of those players he’ll be with are examples of where he can be in the next four years.”

If they do make it to the senior level with their adopted country, they might well end up playing against Farfadillis someday. Alternatively, they might be asked to choose between Kelssek and one of the world’s best national teams, a perennial World Cup contender.

“Honestly, I have never travelled to Farfadillis. I don’t know about that. Actually it will really be strange if I ever play against Ariddienne. It’s the reality that I’ll have to eventually move abroad to advance as a football player,” says dí Völará.

Buené might find such a choice harder because of his father’s love for La Vherderoja. “It would be a dream for him if his child plays for Farfadillis... But Kelssek is my homeland, and I have never known any other country.”

by **Diarcesia** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:35 pm

A man walks past a mural commemorating the XIII Winter Olympics, Saturday, November 2, 2019 (Mural by David Allan Barker, on Flickr)

ARCESIUS (Arcesius Tribune) — A week after the completion of preparations, the entire delegation of Diarcesians for the XIV Summer Olympics are now on their way to Liventia and Banija Sunday.

"The message here is simple: we are out there to prove the heights of sentient excellence," said King Adrast of Chiyginia, the Heptarch responsible for the Monarchy-wide sports initiatives. "We will not allow ourselves to be daunted in the face of fierce competition."

This marks Liventia's second consecutive hosting of an Olympics in a row, fresh from the successful conclusion of the winter games last year, an eventful time that saw Diarcesia, a tropical country, win some golds despite what many has seen as an underwhelming performance, in addition to the subsequent resignation of Tom Cole as president. Henry Gorch of Wochaystein, a dieresis that is fiercely determined to achieve much in amateur sports, was appointed in Cole's place.

"This new chapter in our nation's sports history is a great occasion for all of us to come together and do our best," said Gorch when reached out for comment. "We are all in support for our athletes overseas, we will do our best to stand out in every way we can. We are a nation of fairly-sized people, and our aim will be to give back to the community in which we reside, through our sports and administration."

After the government's completion of the 'test runs' of the partial delegations in the prior Olympiad, the XIV Olympics sees the Diarcesian national team compete in all sports for the first time. Banners throughout the Monarchy commemorating the 'Liventia and Banija Olympics' can now be seen in almost every city. In this iteration, certain diereses like Palaeodiarcesia, Chiyginia, and distant Wochaystein opted to send some athletes competing in their own sub-delegation, separate from the unified pan-Diarcesian team.

In the pan-Diarcesian delegation, there are a few familiar faces. First is the gymnastics sensation Olivia Rodriguez, who hasn't ceased to amaze everyone after winning her gold medal in the Free Republics. Another will be the dual chrysolyncophori slated for the opening ceremonies: the Wochaysteiner Princess Lilli Garver will be at the forefront in Liventia and Cepheus of Arkess, son of the Archon of Arcesia, will lead in Banija. Also present would be the tennis duo of Glaucy Görög and Annis Vanderbeek. However, their fellow tennis veteran, Eutaur Jordaniscus, will not be a part of the team. He has chosen a full-time stay in the NSTT over a reprise in amateur tennis.

by **Tikariot** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 5:36 pm

The stage is set, or rather the studio, where the team of TSG TV (Short for Tikariot Sports Gazette TV) will be spending most of the next four weeks. The desk the main anchors are sitting at has the Tikariotian flag in its centre, flanked by the ones of Liventia and Banija. Behind them is a huge screen that slowly rotates through images of the venues, the countries, the athletes.

Damian Caravalo: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and hello from Banija for our coverage of the fourteenth Olympic Summer Games in Liventia and Banija. I'm Damian Caravalo and I bid you welcome in the name of the whole TSG TV team. Over the next few weeks our team will be giving you news, results, analyses, maybe even gossip, you never know what else. Both our crew and the Tikariotian delegation have arrived in Orean and Istria and are settling in. Our main studio is here in Istria, but since the different disciplines are divided between the two countries we obviously also have an outpost in Liventia, but I think for now it is time to introduce you to our team that will be covering our main areas. With me in the studio here as Command Central, if you want, are Julian Sovran, Lisa Carr and Matt Novak.

Julian Sovran: Hello from me as well. So before we take a look at our athletes and their chances in the competitions, let us see who is going to be there for you.

One by one faces pop up on the big screen behind the four anchors.

Lisa Carr: Covering Tikariot's favourite sport, football, are like at the IFC, Alistair McIntosh, Duncan Haldane and Martin Seagrave, while baseball will once again be represented by Angelo Mori, Kenneth Burgess and Sara Ladle.

Matt Novak: Our athletics team consists of Aidan Frago, Grayson Heard and Giovanna Philipoussis and for all things wet, at least in terms of aquatics, Mina Soroka, Angelina Volkova and Sean Minter.

Caravalo: Archery and shooting are covered by Nell Dunbar and Walt Hanson, cycling by Josh Abercrombie and Sabine Yardley, handball by Vaclav Svirida and Morris Ogilvy.

Sovran: Our hockey specialist Nick and Betty Crumhorn will keep an eye on things just like Faitalia Sauiluma and Mitsuko Kamamoto will be keeping you up to date on the whole shebang of judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling and boxing. And our final two dedicated teams are Hampton Slough and Norm Schumann for rugby and American football and for rowing, sailing and everything attached to that, there's Selima Morrigan and Frankie Holdingsworth, the rest will be covered by different correspondents to make sure that you will not miss one thing out here.

Caravalo: Alright, so now that our introductions are made, let's have a look at the matter at hand - the Olympic Games and the first ones for Tikariot to take part in to boot. So, what are the first impressions everybody?

Carr: It is an almost surreal feeling to be here, knowing the sheer enormity of the event and the number of athletes. I remember being glued to the TV watching the Olympics on TV, but now being actual part of this here is just taking it to the extreme.

Sovran: Now I've covered the Olympics in the past, but like Lisa said, it gives them a completely different dimension to see our own athletes competing, it makes you so much more invested into the whole spectacle. And what makes these Games different, too, is that we have two co-hosting nations, which forced everybody to make quite different arrangements as the disciplines are split up between the two countries. Now in itself it is not something new to not have all events happen at the same place, just strictly geographically, but even though we will have technically one opening ceremony, every nation will have two flagbearers, one here in Banija and one over in Liventia as well.

Novak: Speaking of which, the leader of our Olympic delegation, Bartholomew Carlson, has officially announced the two flagbearers for Tikariot tonight. Here in Istria our sprint star Roibéard Dhomhnaigh will be hoisting the purple and black, while in Olrean cyclist Spencer Buitimea shall do the same.

Caravalo: We do not have a time table yet as to when which events will take place, but going with preparations there are a few disciplines where I think we might have at least some hopes for medals in these games. One obvious choice for us to focus on is football, so right over to you Alistair and your crew, how do we look in this?

Alistair McIntosh: Thanks Damian. Well, football is undoubtedly one of our biggest assets, but that being said, it also is one of the most contested in all of the Olympics. Our advantage, well, actually it's two advantages, is that we are coming right off winning the IFC1, which is only a small event I know, but it still is putting our team on an endorphin high, and despite that people will not really expect much from us either as this is the first bigger tournament for us to enter.

Duncan Haldane: It's extremely hard to make any predictions for this particular discipline, just because there are a lot good teams, but I'd hope that we can at least get into the knock-out stages and maybe even a bit further in them.

Martin Seagrave: There's something to that, Duncan, because Stuart Ekstrom has decided to bring a few youngsters on board that have been tearing up the TPL so far and this could bring an exciting element to our team, because they will be burning to show everybody what they are capable of on the international stage.

McIntosh: Winston Ahlgren for goal, Rohan Vance for the defense, Jenson McTierney, Travis Chalbaud and Lloyd Cumberland in midfield...

Seagrave: ...Iain Aspinall, Jesse Liljestrand and Morris Nighthorse in front of goal, they're all some of Tikariot's biggest hopefuls and let's hope that they can light another fire under the rears of the more established players, even though I must say that we have a pretty young team to begin with, so the sky's the limit! And I have heard rumours that we might be bringing in a third goalkeeper, just in case, and here Romain Chatelet from Baraldhur AFC is the most likely candidate at this point.

McIntosh: And we also will have to keep an eye on our ladies' team that is entering the competition as well and while they have received a lot less spotlight than the men, they definitely also are a definitive threat for the podium in the Games!

Carr: Thank you, gentlemen! Next up let's head over to our athletics specialists, because there are not just one, but several bright medal hopes in this camp. So on to Aidan Frago, Grayson Heard and Giovanna Philipoussis for a little look at how things are looking for Tikariot on the track and field.

Grayson Heard: Thank you Lisa. Welcome to Istria, where we hope to be able to see some beautiful stories spun as we are having a look at some of Tikariot's most hopeful prospects.

Aidan Frago: Our probably brighest hope is one of our flagbearers, Roibéard Dhomhnaigh, who will represent us in the 100 m, 200 m and 4x100 m relay race (together with Grayson Harridan, Thomas Hulse and Sam Kingsley-Smith) and many experts see him as a viable threat for the gold medal. Same goes for Brandon Lauriaitis in the men's long jump, who has shown some extraordinary results in events leading up to the Olympics. On the men's side we should also keep our eyes on Blair Renfrew in the 110 m hurdles, Harridan in the solo 100 m, Stuart Hammarskjold in both the 400 and the relay with Nico Onovetti, Greg Mansfield and Leonard Oakley, high jumper Sebastien Pelletier and javelin launcher Constantin Valatyev as well as decathletes Etienne Marais and William McAllister.

Giovanna Philipoussis: But our ladies, too, have some medal hopes, like Michaela Ronstad in the 800 m, Meredith Spetsmark and Carin Thackeray in high and long jump respectively as well as Simone Brondberg in the heptathlon, but that obviously does not mean that there can't be any surprises from other athletes, but I think that Damian would not be very happy, if we took up half the air time just for that, haha. So directly over to Nell Dunbar and Walt Hanson.

Nell Dunbar: Thanks Vanna, in the shooting competitions we have one really hot iron in the fire with Myfanwy verch Owain in the women's archery, she has been one of the role models for Archery Tikariot in getting youngsters, especially girls, interested in archery and it would be a great achievement, if she could show them what is possible.

Walt Hanson: Our second biggest medal hope is Frederick Castlethwaite in the 10 m men's air rifle competition, but we'll also keep tabs on Lennox Armstrong in archery as well as Sierra Holdsworth with the guns to see, if they maybe can crack the top three.

Faitalia Sauliuma: And I'll take that as the cue for us, Faitalia Sauiluma and Mitsuko Kamamoto, to shine the spotlight on some of our martial artists that we hope can go a long way in the competition. Starting out with karate, Fukina Sameshima leads our hopefuls, followed right by Mei Iwabuchi and Atsutaka Miki, while judokas Sauma Kalaihea and Pandora DiSabatino also are hedging their bets to surprise their competition.

Mitsuko Kamamoto: In these disciplines it is not just discipline that will help on top of talent, but also many factors that can affect your focus, such as fans, food, climate etc. So we hope that, for example in Taekwondo, it is not only going to be Lucinda Faraday or Krystal Scarratt to compete for the podiums, but also a Hank Sharay or Naori Fukuoka in judo or our karatekas like Shun Otsuki, Junya Sato and the others.

Sovran: Now what would triathlon and modern pentathlon fall under?

Caravalo: Good question, we'll have to figure that out, but both are definitely two disciplines we should make sure not to forget.

Sovran: No, and for good reason, because in triathlon Nicola Scamurra is considered one of the biggest favourites for gold and Alex Limniatis also has been touted for at least some precious metal. For the pentathletes, Anthony Coulthard and Janine Chabot are sent into the competitions with high hopes by fans and officials alike, so it will be fun following their journey through these really diverse disciplines.

Mina Soroka: Same here!

Everybodys head swivels towards the screen.

Caravalo: Ah, our swimming specialists seem to be eager to add their five cents so the floor is yours, Mina!

Soroka: Thank you! And indeed we are eager, because we have some very hopeful medal candidates in and around the pool, starting with Daniel Morrison in the 100 and also 200 m free style, but there are more.

Angelina Volkova: Ffion Pothro in 1500 m free style, Lavinia Franchitti in the 100 m and 200 m free style, Amanta Winters in the 200 m butterfly, they all will be in medal contention as well, so I think that it will be exciting following the events here in Istria, but not just because of our athletes that the general public sees as favourites, but also the potentially unsung heroes that might surprise everybody! Sean, you've been unusually quiet over there, care to join in?

Sean Minter: Of course, but I did not want to interrupt you ladies. So I get to take a look at the underdogs that might have a fighting chance to wrest some of the metal away from the favourites, eh? With pleasure. Let's start with the vertical competitions, namely diving. Now traditionally this has not really been one of our biggest strengths, but Clarissa Hampstead has shown some promise from the 3 m springboard, so maybe there is something there. Doing into the pool now, where Ramon Ybarra has been on the rise in the 200 m Individual Medley. Also there's always the relay, where the 4x100 m free style with Morrison at the helm is trying to stage a surprise, especially as the relay always has an additional risk factor of false starts, which could eliminate some favourite along the way.

Soroka: Fiona Clinton in the 100 m backstroke has some faint hopes as does Amanda Winters in the 100 m butterfly or the women's 4x100 m free style relay, the 4x200 m free style relay or the 4x100 m medley relay. That's all from us over here, who's left?

Sara Ladle: That would be us! After Tikariot sensationally won the International Baseball Slam and reached the group of 16 in the World Baseball Classic the world's eyes are on our baseball team and what they might be capable of in the Games. And to be honest, so am I. They are quickly gaining experience and that can only help them.

Kenneth Burgess: But this time around we also have the ladies in action in their first international appearance to see, if they can take the softball world by storm or at least create some sort of a breeze.

Caravalo: OK, ladies and gents, thank you so much for your insight as to what we might expect from the first ever Olympic Games that Tikariot is part of, we are running out of our allotted time, but rest assured that once the Games are started we already made sure that we can overrun, if needed. I hope that you took some time off work, because there will be a LOT of coverage and hopefully some beautiful stories to tell. Until then - Up the Irons!

by **The Jovannic** » Sat Aug 08, 2020 9:44 pm

Olympics Preview---The Jovannic to go far?

(Organised by Sport)
Diving
Prospects: Jonathan Selsti and Mart Sugarli could have a chance of making waves in heir group category, but the others may not make the cut. Jonathan Selsti could also go far in his individual event, but that really depends on his current form.
JoSports Prediction: 1x R16 (team), 1x QF (Indi)

Swimming
Prospects: This will be an interesting one. There are many good swimmers in this contingent, including the sensation Joseph Schooler and Freestyle specialist Qonghai Sashin. We should get a few medals, especially in events such as the Men’s 100 m Butterfly, Men’s 100 m Freestyle and the Mixed 4×100 m Medley Relay.
JoSports Prediction: 5 medals, 3 golds

Artistic Swimming
Prospects: The men's team probably can't go far, but the women's team will be the black horse in the Jovannic contingent for a medal placing. Probably won't happen though.
JoSports Prediction: 1x Semis, 1x Medal

Water Polo
Prospects: With Swezia Meroco coaching, the Men's team will be one to be reckoned with. Rener Fath will be a huge threat to opponents defences, but the defense will need work.
JoSports Prediction: 1x semis

Archery
Prospects: Mignu Chánce will be the best hope for a good placing in the Olympics for Archery, but it's not very likely given the current competition.
JoSports Prediction: 1x R16

Athletics
Prospects: Young star Kennet Diboloca will be looking to get medal placings while Issoe Budoli will be looking to upset some.
JoSports Prediction: 1x R16

Badminton
Prospects: Hoo Leng Sheet has a powerful arm and paired with Iosak Gisaloci, they make some mean plays. However, all eyes are on Ezela Werion, the player who got severely injured in a car crash before miraculously recovering. This contingent will be one to watch.
JoSports Prediction: 2x QF, 1 Semis

Basketball
Prospects: Hard to see both teams going anywhere but the group stage.
JoSports Prediction: None

Baseball-Softball
Prospects: The Emperors did have a bad result in the last competition, but they still have some good power and conviction to go pretty far
JoSports Prediction: 1x QF

Equestrian
Prospects: Novern Lion is an interesting jockey, his jumping is decent, but it will still probably not be nearly as enough.
JoSports Prediction: None

Fencing
Prospects: Jovan Ki will probably be the mainstay for Jovannic Hope for a medal in fencing, hard to say though, he is surprisingly inconsistent lately.
JoSports Prediction: 1x QF

Football
Prospects: Having already rocked The Jovannic with their superb goal scoring abilities in the U21 DBC before being knocked out unluckily in the R16, Juyt Dersa and Sami Ning will be looking to lead the charge for a Jovannic Medal. The Women? Not so much...
JoSports Prediction: 1x Medal

Hockey
Prospects: Still new to International Hockey, the Jovannic will have a hard time coping.
JoSports Prediction: None

Rowing
Prospects: Napoleo Galade will be the one leading the Jovannic Contingent for rowing. The men's chances look decent in the Double Sculls, but that's probably it for high scoring teams.
JoSports Prediction: 1x QF

Shooting
Prospects: The Shung triplets are coming in pretty warm, with Shung Me being most heated. Rita Skeet also looks pretty in form, but I think none can reach the Semis.
JoSports Prediction: 1x R16, 2x QF

Skateboarding
Prospects: Mark Halaco will arrive for the Jovannic, but that will be for show.
JoSports Prediction: None

Surfing
Prospects: No. Just No.
JoSports Prediction: None

Table Tennis
Prospects: The Jovannic have been traditionally pretty good in Table Tennis. Bai Tu and Lin Lin Zhi will probably be the ones to get medals for The Jovannic. Lin Lin Zhi could go one step further.
JoSports Prediction: 2 medals, 1 gold

Volleyball
Prospects: Beach prospects aren't very good but Indoors, the Women could disturb the QFs. Will be a miracle to get past the Semis though.
JoSports Prediction: 1x QF

American Football
Prospects: Not looking good for the females, but the men look poised to go pretty far.
JoSports Prediction: 1x QF

by **Hannasea** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 4:21 am

Selection of articles from Hannasean news media.

Mechanistic Results Regurgitation: Bitter memories revived by football friendly loss

friendly

General Athlete Profile Bandwagon: Lily Brooks

Hannasean National Olympic Trials results (top four qualifiers only)

			       V      UB      BB       F       A-A				  
1 Lily Brooks (HAN)       15.475  15.325  16.225  15.425    62.450
		          15.800  15.650  15.200  15.750    62.400
2 Hannah Horner (HAN)     15.125  16.500  15.050  15.675    62.350
                          15.525  14.550  15.850  15.850    61.775
3 Mya Maxwell (HAN)       14.750  15.125  15.275  15.275    60.425
		          16.050  15.175  15.050  15.550    61.825
4 Lily York (HAN)         14.875  14.275  15.600  15.675    60.425
   		          15.450  15.275  14.700  15.100    60.525

Remarkably Humorless Sports Review Hackery: Hockey squad gears up

SuperSport

* In Hannasea, football is commonly called ‘hateball’, because of how much we hate it.

by **Ioudaia** » Sun Aug 09, 2020 3:50 pm

Runcast

This is Runcast, and I'm your host, Gabi Charis. This is Edition 14.17 of my video podcast, for the start of the XIV Olympiad. We're off to a great start for the Olympiad, because I've got two amazing guests here with me, Shachaf bat Demetria, gold medalist in the women's steeplechase and now Ioudaia's head coach for running, and Nitzan Tros, the Ioudaian Gazelle, again contending for gold in the men's steeplechase.

Coach Shachaf, I'd like to start with the question on everybody's mind: tell us about your decision to become Ioudaia's head running coach. After last year's unbelievable performance in the last Olympiad we expected you'd return to defend your title.

Shachaf: When I started competitive running nine years ago, I had one goal in mind: win gold at the Olympics. That was it. It had a bit of a false start trying to run the 5k, but my coaches pointed me at the steeplechase, and I've been working my way the competition tree ever since: first my local races, then the regionals, and finally, competing in national events.

Last Olympics, I expected I'd learn what it takes to compete in the Games. Instead, I won. I took a month off after the Games to celebrate and decide what to do next. One thought filled my days and nights: I did what I set out to do. I was done. Defending my title seems unnecessary. Winning gold once is enough, and there's nowhere to go but down.

But I can't get away from the sport. It keeps calling to me. So, I went to the coaching staff and asked about trying that.

Nitzan: She's really good at it!

Shachaf: Well, I'm OK as a coach...

Nitzan: Oh, c'mon! You're great! You didn't get to be head coach because you're just OK. You really helped me develop since the last games.

Shachaf: All I did was help you develop your gifts a little more.

Nitzan: That's all any coach can do. Gabi, Shachaf has really helped me pace my races. I no longer fade at the ends of races like I used to do sometimes. Now, it's all gazelle, all the time. I'm really confident.

Gabi: That's great! Do you think the whole team feels the same?

Nitzan: They have to! Shachaf has helped all of us, steeplechase, hurdles, 5k, 10k, and marathon. We're all a lot stronger than we were last time.

Gabi: Wow! With that in mind, I'm looking forward to a lot of great running from the team.

Thank you both for being here, and until next time,

Keep on Runnin'!

by **The Grearish Union** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 3:28 am

Jeff Rogers in Istria, Janine Bullock in Orean

The official Grearish delegation jacket by Aer Sportswear

ISTRIA: As the order of the marching contingents were declared last evening, with The Grearish Union marching immediately after Fraglia-Cox and before Greater Vakolicci Haven respectively, the Grearish Olympic Association wasted no time in announcing their flagbearers for the two opening ceremonies. The contingent at Istria will be led by the Grearish tennis star, Jeff Rogers; while Janine Bullock of the Women's 70kg Judo event will lead the march for The Grearish Union in the Liventian city of Orean.

It is widely believed that the selection of Rogers to lead the contingent was not only fair to the charisma of the person who has since debut evolved into a national hero, but also a testimony to the fact that the Sports Office is taking the Salvador Hills Open very seriously, and will now leave no stone unturned to ensure that the tournament reaches it's maximum marketability. When asked about it, Rogers politely brushed off the marketing side of things, reiterating the fact that he was very glad to have been given this honour of leading his country in the stage as big as the Olympics. "It is a pride, an honour, and the utmost privilege to be given this opportunity, and I'll look to make the most out of every moment with the tricolour", he said to our correspondents.

Janine Bullock on the other hand, is touted to be one of the favourites for a medal at the Olympic Games, as she takes part in the 70kg Judo event for women. It is seen as a severe blow to the orthodox micro-minorities in the country advocating against women's and other non-adequately-represented genders. "I have been fighting for my fair chance all my life, and this is our new Grearia, where we roam free and leap like our beloved dolphins." The sense of hope and freedom was clear in her unwavering voice, as she spoke to us from Orean over the phone. It will be a life-changing event for her, as she herself said, and we believe it will be so for our whole nation.

The official attire for the opening ceremony was also announced, with all male participants wearing a white shirt, golden tie, and black suit; while the female counterparts will be wearing the same, except the ties substituted with scarves and trousers for formal skirts. Aer Sportswear has also launched the official Olympic delegation tracksuit, the top half of which has been shown alongside. The design has raised a few eyebrows in the multiverse, and it remains to be seen whether the Grearish contingent can replicate the same with their performances!

by **Kriegiersien** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 5:37 am

Olympic Stories

Kriegiersien is on its way to its 13th Olympics, not missing one since their first in Orean (VII Summer Olympics). After missing the old days of the very first Olympics, Kriegiersiens love for War and conflict later changed to a battle in sports, especially Olympic competitions. While isolationistic in Diplomacy, broader war affairs and opening to other nations, the Olympics always showed the world the Kriegierisen pride: It’s athletes and its greed for medals. For this Olympics even other international events were attended beforehand, to test the Kriegiersien teams.

Population and it’s struggle:
While Kriegiersien is a gargantuan nation, ruled by Timey with an even hand, the hard-nosed, humorless population of 16.411 billion Kriegiersiens is made up by mostly humans.
But in many sports entities of other species can be found. Orcs, elves and dwarfs are in some athletic, but mainly more physical team sports like American Football present and often the backbones.
Ponies are a minority that are almost entirely found in Equestrian and other creatures, from some called “Fantastic beasts”, like mermaids can be seen.
The Zombie population which emerged in ‘the great Outbreak’ is, enhanced with cybernetics, very present, if not with mind, at least with muscle.
And cybernetic enhanced and artificial beings which are sometimes not, sometimes more distinguishable from the ‘normal’ human athlete, are very present.
Philosophical questions rose like ‘What is allowed’, ‘when is man a woman’, ‘what is approved to strengthen the “human” body’?
The answer for the Kriegiersien Sport Committee was: Everything what can’t be held against us.

The representation of many species is also a point of criticism.
Why are there so few Orcs or Ponies playing soccer or Rugby, why are Bigtopians still not present in coaching or higher staff positions?
The presidents standpoint here was always: “As long as they deliver medals, I don’t care who suppresses who’.

A small staff and stuff (equipment):
Kriegiersien never had too many (or enough) officials, but with only 9 doctors, technicians and physios for the whole delegation the team is extremely small.
All paper and official work goes directly over head of mission Atlanta Johnson, only the team sports have Coaches to support the athletes.
In a nation were nudity is mandatory, the athletes can be happy to have sort of a uniform and equipment that works.

A new minimum requirement:
For the first time a certain skill level was expected from every Athlete.
Had there been place holder athletes before to just support the Top Athletes, pure aides without much abilities of their own, the new agenda demands from every Kriegiersien athlete and team to have a skill level to at least survive the first rounds and maybe able to come in range of the final rounds.
Only exception was the Men’s Quadruple Sculls which claimed to be partly National Champion in something, but didn’t have enough time to achieve the demanded result, as it wasn’t communicated early enough and no adequate competitions available.
After a long trial, much paperwork and roaring fans and petitions demanding the four rowers to be send to the Olympics, they got the starting place.

The expectations:

In Rugby (were the men won Gold), Handball (where the women won Gold) and Softball the hopes for a medal are high. Waterpolo (where the women are World Champion), Basketball (especially 3vs3) and of course soccer are the sports that are followed by the fans.
In swimming, with the two androids who are not distinguishable from humans, Nova and Alf Swimtop are expected to win again some medal, as in the World Championships.

Athletics have seen a drop in quality. Critiques say it is because the new drugs aren’t working as good as before, what one of the doctors of the team, Dr. Seltsam Strangelove, denied:
“The drugs are still working fine, I mean there are no drugs, no drugs that are illegal, I mean…. it is too hot today…. behind you! A three headed monkey!”

Badminton is a beloved leisure sport in Kriegiersien, but no great player has emerged there in decades.

Adventures, fighting and weapons are in the blood (sometimes quite literally in their body) of a Kriegiersien. All sports that demand violence have many Top Athletes.
Before the Olympics a special, brutal and unforgiving qualification mode brought only the best of the best to the final contest. Murderous Arena fights let just the strongest of the toughies advance and survive.
That also did cost many athletes, that would have been at the top in many other nations, their lives and only the Champions made it to the Olympics.
Boxing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Wrestling, Shooting, Fencing and Archery sees some of the most vicious, dangerous and best Athletes of the whole Multiverse competing for Kriegiersien.

Aim Malebot and Aimy Fembot are interesting cases in shooting. Famous as Slayer99 and MorfineshotXY, known hackers and GOATs in the E-Sport FPS Scene, both had strange accidents and to be ‘enhanced’ with cybernetic implants and new AIs to save their lives. The project was later cancelled as they didn’t became the great hope at the shooting range. They still qualified behind the Kriegiersien champions in many shooting contests.

All sports with boats or other swimming vehicles lost, after a controversial between the powerful Pirate Union and the Kriegiersien navy, many of it’s top contestants and equipment. Not much is expected from the most starters here.
The same can be said from the Cycling scene. Even though the Pi Family, which have a total grip of everything related to bicycles, said that they reinvented their performance level and gear, analysts think that they got more stable, but overall lost in skill level compared to the last Olympics.

In Equestrian again medals are expected. The ponies always delivered and even though some criticise that sentient mini horses with weights on their back riding against normal horses with Humans on their back would be unfair, nearly nobody can be angry with such cute creatures.

Golf is a sport that is as upper class as it is without much hope for a medal, as is Modern Pentathlon, Sport Climbing (but Marcus Rich is an insider tip) and Beach Volleyball.
Skateboarding on the other hand is not only very popular, it has also some really great athletes, with not only a big fan base, but also tremendous skills.
The same goes with Triathlon, were hopes for a medal are always present.

After a new young generation swapped with the older guard everyone was optimistic that Gymnastics would stay one of the biggest guarantees for medals at the last Olympics. In the end the pressure seemed to have been too high.
“I think this time they will perform better, they are more experienced now”, Head of Mission Atlanta Johnson said.
Table Tennis has with the grand old dame, Esther Ada, 3 times medal winner and last time finalist, who should have ended her career long ago and the winner of the men’s singles, Rainer Claas best chances for a medal. But behind these two giants, even though Table Tennis is played in many cities and villages, small or big, in the whole country, talent is missing.

Tennis.
Ming Pournikova, one of the greatest names in Kriegiersien tennis, furthermore bisexual model and icon of a simple minded generation ended his career after being said to have an affair with the president, drug abuse, driving fully clothed and nearly roadkilling two teenagers. But that wasn’t the biggest loss for the Kriegiersien tennis scene.

The Kriegiersien champions Amanda Acemonster and Min Driel didn’t perform neither in the last Olympics or international tournament Beçonailles, different to Basti Falk and Tim Tim, who won the doubles in the Championnats Nationaux de Reçueçn and are favourites for a medal.
Esther Ada, table tennis champion, will again prove that she is also a good tennis player and that Kriegiersien really needs new talents here.
With Sia and Mese Twin conjoined Twins are playing in the women’s double, making the tennis squad maybe the most colourful in the already varied Kriegiersien delegation.

In Weightlifting Malik Ibn Harun is the only hope in a sport that should be an easy task for a bruiser nation like Kriegiersien, but all other slots went to Male and Female Zombiebot, two seasoned veterans in athletics in general and especially in lifting things and putting them down. Medals are less of an expectation, than a dream here.

by **Todd McCloud** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:33 am

Vekaiyuns Arrive, But Not Without Difficulty
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

OREAN - Hard to believe it was only six Olympiads ago when Vekaiyu and other competing nations last set foot in Orean for the Summer Games, especially as the city has adopted a type of familiarity with hosting international competition. One would expect that many of the initial bumps in the road, to coin a more English phrase, would have been ironed out by now, again coining an English phrase, by the vulpine faithful. Yet each voyage seems wrought with its own adventures and follies.

It all began back home, in Eldura, where traveling athletes awaited to enter composite frameworks of Vekaiyun engineering and take flight, somewhere, out in the ether, in order to land in the lovely host nation. That was supposed to occur about two days prior. Of course, the Vekaiyun weather patterns had other ideas, as recent flooding brought on from particularly wet updrafts from the Uleviru Mountains brought extreme eastern Vekaiyu and Listonia extensive rain. Irrigation and, no doubt, further Vekaiyun engineering staved off much of the rain, but levies can only take so much, and byways were congested and at times impassable. Why did those from Provinsk and Fek opt to bus over to Eldura?

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Riyna Yovisktre, the Olympic Chairwoman of Vekaiyu, admitted in a Q&A session with V3 News Services shortly after the announcement was made. "We can normally rely on our optimum transport systems. Everyone will recall how well Provinsk was equipped to handle the diverse and international crowds over the course of its hosting of the Olympic Games. Sometimes, though, things don't always go as planned. Buses are less expensive to travel on, and when it comes to our budget, we prefer to spend money on training and pooling rather than luxurious travel accommodations."

So, the Vekaiyun delegation was delayed. Perhaps the first two planes could have arrived on time, but it was determined that it would simply be easier to go all at once as is typical. Luckily, all seemed to go off without a hitch as the crew touched down early in the evening, though not in Orean due to security constraints put forth by the Vekaiyun nation. They then traveled via the National Rail trains and arrived at City Hall station.

"You get used to it after a while," swimmer Ikrisia Sulevire quipped as she exited the plane with a grouping of aquatic athletes, no doubt primed and ready to display Vekaiyun dominance once again as is an annual (well, mostly annual) tradition. "Everything in a lot of the other nations is just big. The seats are big. The portions are big. The beds are big. The walkways are big. You understand, do you not? I used to think it was intimidating, but we're just not exactly big [people]. I think most of us realize that over time, but it becomes an observation impossible to ignore after a while."

The group then departed and expectations were high. Yet deviations occurred when the group traversed the impressive subway transit system of 144 gleaming and clean stations. Everyone started at City Hall station. But trouble with reading the large map proved difficult for the Unonian-speaking group. Sure, most understood English well, and, well, likely not a lot had changed since their last trip here, but for some reason, travel was difficult, and many different routes were taken.

"It was like playing Mornington Crescent," explained Yeromo Reslaveru, gold medalist and Olympic record holder (along with teammate Ikleva Husheri) from the Thirteenth Summer Olympiad. "I guess now it makes sense to go up the Inner Northern line and then head over to the Central Line and head east to get to Grovers Park. But at the time the blue line made sense to me, especially since that train arrived early. So, some of us took that, we split up a bit more at Great Cross, then some of us realized the blue line kind of does a loop, so some went backwards while others went forwards. I went up to Northgate, then got off at Stratham. But I guess some of us rode around a bit until the morning. At least it's all free, right?"

Evidently, some did take quite a journey around the city, but all did eventually convene at Grovers Park. Some opted for a smoke once there, while others simply hit their large beds and fell into sleep. Nothing ever goes smoothly for the Vekaiyuns during the Olympiads. Perhaps this time they're ironing out the loose ends early? One would hope so, as the nation looks to start out strong with the bevy of swimming performances populating the early schedule of these games!

by **Trolleborg** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:04 am

Greetings, compatriots!
It’s TTV, and we are broadcasting live from the event of a global scale, the grand opening of the Olympic games. As you all know, this is the first Olympicsin which our country is participating, and we all, of course, are waiting to see how things will go with keen interest. Football players, hockey players, basketball players, rugby players have already shown themselves in the world, now it is the turn of those whose sports are not so visible, and, as we know from the example of rugby, any success of athletes on the international arena immediately arouses great interest in their sport, so that for them it is a chance to take three steps forward in popularizing their favorite activity. We will provide maximum support to each of our athletes, but the returns on that must be serious. It is no secret that serious conclusions on the high level are expected, and the country intends to refuse to send abroad delegations of the sports, whose representatives will not show due zeal in the struggle for the honor of the flag. Such a fate has already befallen the hockey team and youth football teams, so this is not empty threats.

Trolleborg sent a real big delegation to the Olympics both to the field and to the stands, and planes with fans continue to arrive, the entire available fleet of “Trolleborg Wings” is thrown into the battle. The king and his family are in the guest box, and the national leader Vladimir Finn, as you all know, got into the national fencing team and will march along with the rest of the athletes. The ceremony is about to begin, vicinity of the stadium is full of people, a huge number of journalists from all around the world cover event in all languages. Everyone, of course, is interested in how the start of the games will be arranged. As we have seen from experience, usually international tournaments open rather dimly, almost routinely, and let's say that in Trolleborg such events will be appropriate maybe only for a celebration of the beginning of the academic year in the school. We would like to see this tradition to be broken today, the soul asks for a holiday, bright colors, something unusual, reflecting the history, spirit and thought of the Olympic movement, traditions and culture of the host countries.

We all are waiting impatiently, with only a few minutes remain.

by **The Archregimancy** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:10 am

A STATEMENT FROM THE MONASTIC OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

The Monastic Olympic Committee wishes to express its pleasure at being the third delegation to march in the parade of nations in both host cities.

The Monastic Olympic Committee notes that long-time Olympic observers may be surprised that the MOC is expressing pleasure at something rather than roundly denouncing the hosts, fellow participating nations, and sundry other individuals as heretics involved in an anti-Orthodox conspiracy. However, the deep trinitarian symbolism of the number three is of profound importance to the members of the Archregimancy's Olympic team, and as such the news has been received with a mixture of pleasure and surprise by the athletes and accompanying hierarchs.

We do not mention coaches because only nations that are trying to win would sully the Olympic ideal with such modern and unorthodox (though not, as far as we can tell un-Orthodox) methods as 'practice' and 'coaching'.

While some might claim that the Archregimancy's placement in both parades is a simply accident brought about the alphabet in use by the host nations, we prefer to see it as a sign that perhaps the hosts of the XIVth Olympiad will not be as open in their opposition to Orthodoxy as some past Olympic hosts. We note that neither host nation has objected to the construction of a small Orthodox chapel in the Archregimancy's Olympic Village quarters. Likewise, no objections have been raised to the monks marching in the opening ceremony carrying individual icons, with one commentator simply describing these as 'colourful aspects of national dress'; a description that we perhaps object to on theological grounds, but will let pass this once due to the conciliatory intent of the statement.

The Monastic Olympic Committee would like to stress that our opinion of the religious beliefs of the majority of hosts and participants has not fundamentally changed, but that we enter these Olympics in a slightly more ecumenical spirit due to clear attempts of the hosts to accommodate our unique culture, and the trinitarian symbolism of our place in the marching order.

The Monastic Olympic Committee +

by **Kelssek** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 9:35 am

WATER POLO (W)
Going for the next step of the podium

After winning bronze at the 13th Summer Olympics, the national women’s water polo team placed second in the World Championship event held in Kirkenes. Needless to say Kelssek hopes this trend holds. But never is it a smooth ride as the team looks forward to the Olympic tournament in Orean without one of its ever-present figures.

Amber Linsdale’s knee injury late in the Women’s Premier League season left a major gap in the team and a decision about the captaincy to be made. Head coach Jean-François Treppanier decided to entrust Emma Davies with the position. Although this is the first time Emma Davies will be in the national team, the 29-year old Clayquot Neptunes veteran has three national championship medals and knows what it takes to win.

“It might look odd from outside, but water polo fans and more importantly the other players know Davies well, she commands a lot of respect as a teammate and an opponent, and it’s more overdue than too soon,” said Treppanier.

Also named to the Olympic team for the first time are Marilou Torche (Club aquatique de Langlois) and Avril O’Shea (Redswyth Marlins).

“Selection camp always presents difficult choices. This year was particularly hard. Even though you say, no one’s place is guaranteed, it’s hard to tell players who you’ve relied on and who you’re used to working with that they won’t be going this time.” said Trepannier, who leads the team into the Olympics for the third time.

In their last international tournament Kelssek lost 8-4 to Kriegiersien in the gold medal match despite the support of a friendly crowd at the World Aquatics Championship in Kirkenes. West Phoenicia were the ones to knock out Kelssek in the last Olympics and they will again be a key contender to watch out for. The 9-7 loss in the Republica Olympics semifinal sticks in the craw for Kayley Hatter, who had a chance to equalize with 19 seconds left but saw her shot stopped on the line.

“I really thought it was in. It’s been in my mind a little, yeah. Of course, we’ve prepared for the matchups against the other top teams, but if we end up playing against them again, that’s a team we’ve been planning for, asking ourselves how to overcome that obstacle.”

“We need to be better at keeping our focus and concentration in key moments. We have all the skill and ability on this team to win the gold. The challenge is mental and it’s going to be about finding that fortitude to hold on when the other team is making a comeback, or when things don’t go our way.”

Another key contender Kelssek will have to look out for is Vekaiyu. A third Olympic championship for either would put them in sole possession of the title of most successful team in the event. Some of the team's veterans remember well the loss in the gold medal game at the 11th Olympics in Aeropag, and a repeat of that matchup is sure to be an intense one.

by **Graintfjall** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 10:17 am

Excerpt from The Olympics Show with Jessika Jünkindietrünk.

A woman with a notable Schutzenphalian accent, familiar perhaps to viewers from past Olympics though then associated with a different nation, is talking to a man and a woman.

The studio guests smile, too polite to note that Jessika’s problems with pronouncing Olympic host names don’t seem to have improved since the days of ‘The Cuttlefish Penisenlargement’.

the man says, the caption identifying him as ‘Adam Thorbergsson, national hurdles champion’.

He searches for a phrase that’s more delicate than ‘drunkenly chasing a badger through a hedgerow.

She turns to the woman. A caption shows: ‘Árnheiður Elisdóttir, Gunzlach water polo’.

Jessika says.

Splooooosh

Árnheiður nods enthusiastically as a promo caption for Splooooosh appears directly below Jessika. Well, not quite ‘directly’ below her.

says Jessika, her pronunciation no better when it comes to her own adopted country,

She stands up. They both take a look. Then they realize she was talking about the display board behind them.

GTV only hires the TOP graphic artists

concludes Jessika

[RP thread] Games of the XIV Olympiad

[RP thread] Games of the XIV Olympiad

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