XV Olympic Winter Games - RP thread

by **Waisnor** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:03 am

Suddenly we have a first gold

The past day of the Olympics brought first gold medal in NS Olympics and some other results:

Expectations on the good side did live up to Anatoly Rybakov, who was participating in speed skating men's 500m competitions. It was expected that he would finish somewhere in the middle, and the athlete himself, before the start of the Olympics, expected about such a result. But, apparently, just before the race, he changed his mind and decided to give all his 100 percent in this race.
A lot of participants took part in this race - 123 people met in the fight for gold. Combined with the short distance, this race augured to be very intense, albeit very short.
Anatoly in this race immediately entered the peloton of leaders, and then slowly began to overtake his rivals one after another. Thus, he was able to get to the top 10, and then to the top 5. In a few moments, he was already fighting for the gold medal with Lleó Perich from Lacetanya.
In the seconds that have passed since the start of the race, these gave the athlete were able to break away from the rest for enough time to make it very difficult to catch up with them. For some time Lleó could hold the lead in the race, reflecting Rybakov's attempts to overtake him.
However, by the very final Anatoly made the last spurt and was able to overtake Lleó by only 0.02 seconds. It was this gap that allowed Rybakov to earn his first gold medal for Waisnor in NS Olympics. It was clear that Rybakov was incredibly happy about this, especially considering what was expected of him before the competition.

Most of Waisnorian fans we're watching over performance of Robert Omelyanov and Inna Filippova in figure skating's ice dancing competitions. Before the competition, they were assessed as a very good couple, which, with a fortunate coincidence and their good performances, could compete for medals. Moreover, some fans attributed a love relationship to Omelyanov and Filippova, although both skaters denied that there was any between them.
Both skaters entered the rink ready to compete, but apparently something went wrong during their performance. The performance of Omelyanov and Filippova was not as elegant and beautiful as was expected of them; there were quite significant mistakes in their performances and as a result, they received only 72.43 points for the short program.
After they left the rink, it was clear that Robert and Inna were nervous and afraid that they would not make it to the next round. However, in the end they took 20th place, which nevertheless allowed them to go to the next stage of the competition. They overtook the couple in 21st place, Demetro Justin and Diana Pau from Unified Panjuven Team only by 0.23 points.
After completing the short program, Omelyanov and Filippova said that they would work to complete the free dance better than the short one and try to meet their expectations.

OTHER WAISNORIAN RESULTS
Sergey Gulyaev and Pavel Baluyk finished 76th after first 2 runs in two-man bobsleigh competitions
Valeria Tsyganenko finished inly 53rd out of 55 in heat 1 of snowboarding women's big air qualification

by **Diarcesia** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:17 pm

The Clayquot Games continues to be underway in earnest, with the ice dancing portion of the short program set to begin. Some pairs appeared to be very prepared for their performances. Others meanwhile looked like they were scrambling to scrounge up a coherent showing.

Goosebumps.

The fact that they are in their second Olympics surfaced a feeling of both fear and euphoria for Thedebrand Wolfing and Chandra Ichijo. They are part of a rarefied group of Diarcesians competing at the highest level.

"So what about the ice and what we practiced earlier?" said Chandra in a hushed tone. "Needs some more clarifying."

"A few minutes would be enough to summarize what we have to do when it's our turn," said Thedebrand as he looked out to the rink and the pair who's in the middle of their ice dance. He made a rundown of their planned jumps and moves and gave his opinion regarding the rink surface. "A lot of them are concentrating on the particular executions of their moves. It's more than that. We gotta be holistic in our appraisal of the playing field, literally. How will we transition? How quick will we make them? Do we need to make adjustments? Those sorts of things influence how well we'll do. They're not just talking points."

"I'm not worried about how we perform. I'm worried about us, for some reason, forgetting what we need to do in the middle of the dance. Would be annoying if that happens."

Thedebrand smiled at this last statement befor slipping his notes back into his bag. He looked up as the announcer's voice boomed. Another pair had finished and their scores were given.

"Alright!" said Chandra as she clapped her hands. "That's the score. We're next."

They made for the rink and they completed their ice dance minutes later. With a score of 77.39, there was a decent chance that they would make it, which they did.

-Figure Skating in Diarcesia-

The sport existed in the Monarchy for almost as long as ice rinks (or pagodromes in local parlance) existed. On a particular day in the early 20th Century, some enterprising skaters arrived in Diarcesia's first rink in the southern city of Sartoriana. These include Erica Simmonds and Travis Kaufmann. The latter was also a trained ballerino, and started to try some of his repertoire while wearing skates. He also taught Simmonds to help him do moves that required a partner to make. The pair would go on to form a core of people that would compose the pioneers of Diarcesian figure skating.

In the early days of the sport, injuries were relatively common. There were also deaths and career-ending conditions that were attributed to a lack of protective measures or excessive risk taking regarding moves later classified as dangerous. In the 1920s and 1930s, a protocol was put in place to minimize injury. The figure skating federation was establshed to enforce the protocols, and doctors were present on the major sanctioned events.

The below is an excerpt...

The Legend of the Seven Archonates of Old Diarcesia

This is a simplified account of the events leading up to and during the establishment of what is now the major cities of Old Diarcesia anon Palaeodiarcesia. While the sources vary widely, there is general agreement that the first is the trading post of Metanoea. As an aftereffect of Metanoea's thriving activity, more and more towns were founded. The foremost of these secondary towns became a mercantile cmpetitor, named Thera-Thanatus or "The Death of Thera".

One of the ancient Metanoean figures is Queen Medea. Her story, that she once brought down a mountain to the sea, was based upon the murder of her husband. Medea went silent with grief for three days and three nights. On the fourth day, she spoke a curse: that her husband's killer shall tremble and meet his end knowing that the waters will drag him to the underworld. In the years after Medea's death, a strong volcanic eruption occurred near the Pronotus Peninsula and a resulting tsunami engulfed Thera-Thanatus, killing him and destroying much of the place.

by **Siovanija and Teusland** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:43 am

RBC Sports

Olympic Mornings Live with Ronald Mensing

Liselotte Schierer Joins the Show

Ronald Mensing: Good morning Siovanija & Teusland, and welcome back to RBC Olympic Mornings live. With me today is a very special guest - a three-time Olympic medalist, the most in our country’s history, and the first ever person in Siovanija & Teusland Olympic history to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. It can only be one - Liselotte Schierer!

Liselotte Schierer: Good morning everyone. Thank you for having me.

RM: So, 3-time Olympic medalist. Is that still overwhelming to hear?

LS: Certainly. Obviously, I’ve been training my whole life for something like this, but still… you don’t really realize how much it means to you until you’ve achieved it, and for me, it was standing on that podium with my teammates - that’s when it began to sink in.

RM: I want to talk about the event first before further going into that - I had heard from people around the team that this was an event to watch, that you all were fired up for it.

LS: Oh, definitely. None of us performed the way we wanted to in our individual events - I was horrible, haha. So you knew we were going to have to come back stronger and be the best we could be, and everyone could just sense that it was going to come out in the event.

RM: Is that something you guys discussed as a team, that shared drive for redemption?

LS: Not really, no. We focused on our regular practices, but you could tell that we were all super invested in this one, haha. I can’t imagine what the mood would’ve been if we didn’t get a medal after all that, haha, but luckily we did and got the chance to experience it all together as a team.

RM: You finished just under 3 seconds ahead of the bronze medal quartet from Diarcesia. Any nerves for you on that final stretch?

LS: Oh, of course, haha. You can hear the person behind you giving it their all to catch you, and you just have to respond by putting in your best too, and that was what I tried to do. It was a tough one, but I knew I couldn’t let it slip or let my team down.

RM: And in the end, a silver medal to add to your collection.

LS: Yes! So very happy with that, it’s an incredible feeling, and just… yeah, I can’t explain haha. Such a good feeling for me, and I just think of how much it means to my family, all the people who have helped me along the way.

RM: You took a Bronze medal at your first Summer Games in Republica, a Gold medal at your second games in Istria and Orean, and now a Silver here in Clayquot. Looking back on all of them, are there any that mean more to you than others?

LS: I think they’re all special because of their different circumstances. The Bronze medal will always be special to me because it was my first one, and I didn’t really know what to expect in my first Olympics, so that one will always have a special place in my heart. Winning Gold… there’s nothing that can describe that feeling, especially to do it with a good friend like Ferdinand Starker in the archery competition, that one is obviously the crown of the collection, haha. This one will be special too, because of being from the Winter Games as well as whenever I see it I’ll think of all the hardwork and fun times we put in as a team to get here.

RM: RBC Sports did a profile on you earlier in the Games, talking about your experiences and what you hoped to achieve at these Olympics. One of the things you mentioned was that you feel you’re a bit more mature now than back then. Do you think that’s helped you performance-wise, especially coming into a new team?

LS: Definitely, yeah - I’m not as shy or nervous as I was back then, haha, if we did this interview after my bronze medal it probably would’ve been full of one-word answers! So just being able to have a better feel for being a part of the Games - and you’re right, with the team too, because they’ve been training for this event their whole lives, while I’ve been splitting my time.

RM: You mention that - how difficult was it to prepare for these Games, while also having to balance your archery athletic career?

LS: I’ve always kept up with biathlon - and especially because it’s such a huge part of our training with the military. So I always kept my training high on this end. But after Istria and Orean, once I had that gold medal, I knew this is what I wanted to focus on, so it’s been a lot of long days since then, haha.

RM: I won’t ask you to talk about the future, haha - because it feels like every time there’s an interview with you these days that question comes up. But looking at it - the most successful female athlete in our country’s history. What does hearing that mean to you?

LS: So, so much. Thinking about it is just crazy, haha. I’m sure someday someone will come along and achieve more than I did - our country is really just beginning our Olympic journey, to be honest, and over time, records are obviously meant to be broken. But it does feel amazing. I just hope I’ve inspired at least one person back home to go out and do what they love and try to be successful with it.

RM: I know I said no future questions, haha. But now I have to ask - records are meant to be broken, but do you feel they are meant to be extended?

LS: Haha, that might be the best way of asking it I’ve heard! And yes, of course I do! I don’t think I’m done quite yet, I still have that hunger and drive to be better, and so I think you’ll be seeing me again. Whether I’ll shift to focusing on just one event, or keep going with both, I don’t know yet, but I’m not done yet.

RM: Any plans for the rest of the Games?

LS: Just finally getting to relax for a bit, haha, maybe check out a few of the events - I’m going to one of the women’s hockey games, and also a few of the remaining skiing events - I’m really excited for the women’s downhill tomorrow, and also the men’s slalom.

RM: Well, Liselotte, it’s been an honour to have you, and I think I speak for the whole country when I say thank you, and best of luck in the future.

LS: I’m the one that should be thankful, without everyone’s support I could never have achieved this. Thank you all.

RM: Thanks, Liselotte. We’ll be back after this - and don’t miss our preview of today’s men’s bobsleigh final, as well as Oskar Kirsche joining live from Stelburg to discuss a big win for the women’s hockey team as well as previewing an important clash for the men’s team tonight. RBC Olympic Mornings will be right back.

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:51 am

Athlete’s Village
Clayquot, Kelssek

Should he do this? Andro asked himself as he stood in front of the door. He had made his way back into the building prior to sunset, and after a second search of his room, had concluded this was the only real way left. He wasn’t going to order one. It’d cost him far too much, and probably not arrive in time to be of any use. This was the only way.
He lifted his hand and rapped briefly on the door. A quick sigh left his body as he waited.

Jean-Marc roused from the table in his suite where his laptop was open. He had been obsessing constantly on the media surrounding the forced non-retirement scandal and his role in it. He had been cyber searching his name quite a bit to see what articles he was mentioned in. Truthfully, it was only 8 still, with two of them publishing addendums with more current information. Well, 7 articles and a blog post. 6 articles with the blog post and an Olympics wonk chat site, actually.
Most of the rest of the world did not give a fuck about Jean-Marc Koepller, Neu Engollon’s Athletics Ministry, or much even about Teremara, for that matter.

It was a very unhealthy cycle, and he subconsciously realized how even breaking away to answer the door was a welcome break from it. Still he grumbled like an old man as he made his way to the suite door.
“Alec, I’m done talking about this shit. Now go the fu-...”
He swung the door fully open.
“...Oh...It’s you. What do you want, Namestikov?”

Andro looked up at Koepller, who was slightly taller than him. He made uncharacteristic eye contact, and attempted to lean around and see what was behind the man.

“You have a laptop, right?” He asked, still trying to sneak a peek into his darkened room.

Koepller moved with him, blocking his view.
“Maybe. What’s it to you?”

“I need a charger for mine. And I think yours’ is a similar enough model to be cross-compatible. I can’t find one in town, and mine disappeared on the flight here.”

“Ha! Wait? There’s not a single charger in the whole city for your model?! Either yours is so far advanced beyond this very advanced, technological nation of Kelssek, or else, your laptop is such a complete piece of…” He interrupted himself, realizing how harsh he was coming off in a rare moment of self-awareness.
“Why can’t you just order one online?”

Andro was briefly silent. He narrowed his eyes, carefully selecting his words.
“I could not find one in town. I searched every electronics and duty-free store I could find on the map. I need your charger.”

“You don’t even know my charger fits yet...er, if I have one. Why don’t you just have your bosses at FSIS overnight you one?”

“You think I work for the FSIS?” He spat out defensively, his eyes growing wide. “I would never work for them. Those evil fucking bastards. Never.”
He paused again, realizing his façade had been broken. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

“Okay, okay. Dude, even I know how your state security thugs work.” He looked around the hallway. “You better hope there’s no other officials out here on their payroll.”

“Look…. John-Mark, it won’t arrive in time.” He visibly grit his teeth. “I. Need. Your. Help.”

“It’s Jean-Marc.” He gave it the proper Gaulic pronunciation.
“How long would you need it for? I’m kinda doing stuff.”
He was just being obstinate at this point because he really did enjoy seeing Namestikov squirm a little. It was a rare phenomenon to crack the shell of the ‘Robot’.

“The evening will be fine. I can power my laptop, and recharge my backup batteries before the briefing meeting tomorrow morning. I will give it back then.”

Koepller looked at the floor, then back up at Andro. It really wasn’t any skin off his back to go without a charger for a night. He’d actually had his laptop plugged in the whole time he’d been back to his room, unnecessarily. His Neu Engollian made laptop had long battery life, and the chargers were notoriously universal.

Besides, he could buy some good will right now. From anybody.
“Come in.”

The Falkasian nodded wordlessly and entered ahead of Jean-Marc.

Jean-Marc dropped his unseen welcoming hand gesture.
“Let me just...Oh. You’re already unplugging it by yourself. Right. That’s happening. Well…don’t let me get in your way.”

It was quick work. Andro popped the cable input out of the back of Jean-Marc’s laptop, and quickly disconnected the power jack from the in-table strip. In a well-rehearsed maneuver, he quickly wound both cables around the central transformer and secured it with a velcro clip.

“Thank you.” He said flatly, this time refusing to make eye contact. “I will have it back to you in the morning.”

The Neu Engollian responded with his usual humor.
“Yeah, show her a good time. Don’t have her up too late.”

Namestikov returned an imperceptible smile at the comment, and began shuffling towards the door.

“Jean-Marc,” he began tentatively, forcing himself to over-enunciate the proper Gaulic intonation. “Thank you again.”

Koepller nodded.
“Yeah, sure. I know you’ll return the favor one day.”
He watched as Andro went back into his automaton mode, abruptly turning and marching away.
He shook his head. Jean-Marc closed the door and looked back at his laptop, wondering if he could just close it and not get drawn in anymore.

by **Saint-Domingues** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:47 am

Women's hockey: Græntfjall 1–2 Saint-Domingue: Late goal secures four wins in a row

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period
1 0 1
0 0 1
Captain Ivana Iskra scored very late on in the game against Græntfjall to stave off overtime and give the Manatees a fourth consecutive normal-time win in Group C of the women's hockey in Clayquot.

After the loss in game one against New Waldensia (5-3), Saint-Domingue had been in a really strong vein of form coming into their game number five against Græntfjall. The Unified Panjuven Team, Augusticinia, and Koniglich Wasserstein had been cast aside by scores of 4-0, 3-0, and 2-0 respectively. For Græntfjall, things did not look so bright. After beating the side from Juvencus 4-1 in matchday one, they had not managed to get a result since. There was a narrow defeat to Augustinicia by a 5-4 margin, and an agonising overtime defeat to Koniglich Wasserstein 4-3. Græntfjall were thus stuck lingering in 4th with four points, five points behind the top three of New Waldensia, Saint-Domingue, and Augusticinia. A win against the Manatees was crucial for closing the gap, whilst Saint-Domingue would want to maintain that gap and, with Augusticinia and New Waldensia meeting also today, try to take advantage of slip-up by bringing home all three points in normal time.

Græntfjall are known for their attack-minded style of play and have scored plenty of goals so far, leaving the starting defence of Rachelle Paquin and Léa Anouilh with plenty of work to do. For the first two periods the backline held firm, and Saint-Domingue led through Maeva Coquelin firing through the legs of Tullia Jockisdóttir after twelve minutes.

By the third period things had opened up, with Elisa Berntsdóttir electing to make some attacking subs to chase the game and find the equaliser. The decision paid off seven minutes into the final period, when Hannah Thorkildsdóttir scored to make it 1-1. The Ice She-Wolves had already forced one game to overtime at the games - a narrow loss to Koniglich Wasserstein - and looked like they had done so again to earn at least a point, but their hearts were broken at the death. Fabienne Jacoud tried to play out from the back and her shot pinged all over the place, with the captain reacting quickest to score from close range with about fifty seconds to go. It was a real sucker punch for a determined Græntfjall who had put in a good performance and did well to battle level, but ultimately they came away with nothing.

Across the group
There were two concurrent matches to Saint-Domingue's win, whilst the Unified Panjuven Team sat out on this occasion. New Waldensia are still marching on, beating Augusticinia in a clash at the top of the table 4-2. The Waldensians and Saint-Domingue now have a three-point buffer at the top as the Augusticinians lose ground. Lower down in the group, Koniglich Wasserstein thrashed Liventia 6-1. The poor Liventians are left wallowing in 6th, only above UPJ. Koniglich have picked themselves up a bit with that win, rising to 4th and are now four points behind the top two.

Analysis
RTD decided to take advantage of the ranking system utilised by La Statistique, a sports analytics companies which has been ranking teams and athletes at the Games. They gave Græntfjall's team a score of 50/100 - a score which would have them as being about an average hockey side, and has them at 5th (from seven) in the group. Funnily enough, this is their current position too following today's game. By contrast, Saint-Domingue women are ranked at a phenomenal 100/100 - the best team in the group. Yet they remain in 2nd. Here are the full rankings:

Saint-Domingue [SDM]: 100
Koniglich Wasserstein [KWN]: 98
Augusticinia [AUG]: 74
New Waldensia [NWD]: 71
Græntfjall [GRÆ]: 50
Liventia [LEN]:20
Unified Panjuven Team [UPJ]: 00

Some things to take away. First of all, yes, that Unified Panjuven team score really is the one we got from La Statisique. It may be an error with their systems, or perhaps their statisticians really do believe them to be beyond awful. The fact that they are bottom of the group suggests that the stats boffins may be on to something. Liventia are also accurately placed, being the 6th-ranked team (by some distance) and 6th in the group. The major outliers are Koniglich Wasserstein, and New Waldensia. KWM, despite being viewed as the 2nd-best team and only inferior to Saint-Domingue by the tiniest of margins, are struggling in 4th. Koniglich's loss to Augusticinia qualifies as an upset, and they should have really beaten Græntfjall without having to go to overtime. However, with their final two games against UPJ and NWD both winnable on paper, they still have time to turn things around. However, that might not be as easy as first though, considering how New Waldensia have done so far.

The Waldensians have a score of 71, in 4th place but closely behind 3rd. Yet New Waldensia are not only top, but top without having dropped any points. They have won every game, including beating the group favourites, Saint-Domingue. What is to account for the Flames defying the stats and expectations? We at RTD believe that this is primarily due to the tactical nous of their head coach, Heidi Kranz. The 51-year-old former player - a hall of famer who also holds the Waldensian goals record - has overseen four impressive victories in a row, outsmarting the likes of Maïté Deslys so far. Whether Franz will mastermind a way to win top spot, it is yet to be seen. But things are looking good so far for her side with two games to go.

Saint-Domingue head coach Maïté Deslys: "We were very aware of the importance of not underestimating today. Elisa Berntsdóttir and her team are good, they work together well as a team and can produce some very fluid hockey. They're very attacking, our defenders had to work hard to shut them down. Am I disappointed by it being left late? No, because it shows we have the desire and graft to work for the three points right to the last. It was tough but the girls battled hard. We're not going to pull the goalie or anything, and we always had to be aware of the counter-attack so could not overcommit. It's a good win against a team who are better than people say."
Team:
Le Bras
Paquin <- Jacoud
Anouilh <- Bullion
Iskra <- Héroux
Coquelin <- Arias
Seyrès <- Thibodeaux

Græntfjall: Thorkildsdóttir (47:32)
Saint-Domingue: Coquelin (12:12), Iskra (59:10)
Venue: Portage Centre, Clayquot

by **Ioudaia** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 3:10 pm

Figure skating: Ice Dancing Rhythm Dance
Partisans Arena, Clayquot

"What a surprise this is! Two of Ioudaia's rookie ice dancing pairs have qualified for the free dance!

"This is ITV's Berenike Tsafir, and I'm here with both of our qualifying ice dancing couples, Oren ben Deukalion and Gefen Phylis; and Gaspar Eitan and Nili Rumya. Let's start with Oren and Gefen, who scored 78.42, for the seventh qualifying slot. So, what do you think were the keys to your success in the rhythm dance?"

Gefen was all smiles. "Our twizzles worked well. They just seemed to flow as we did them, even better than they were in practice. I think that got the judges' attention."

Oren leaned over towards the mic to interject, "Yeah, we covered a lot of ice and we managed to stay tight and sync'd. It looked good from the inside, which is always a good sign."

"Gefen and Oren are Ioudaia's youngest figure skaters. Gefen is 18 and Oren is 20. Do you think your ages affected your score in any way?"

Frowning, Oren shook his head. "I doubt the judges really noticed that. The only concern we know about was from coach Lias Rachel bat Labda, who wondered if we could take the stress of olympic competition. I gotta say, I was pretty nervous, even though we've practiced hundreds of times. At least it seems that way!"

Gefen hesitated for a moment, and started speaking slowly and quietly. "I'm not sure I should say this, but I'm going to anyway: We know we just barely qualified for the team. Just made the cut ahead of two other couples. So, I had mixed emotions: I was grateful we made it, but I had real doubts we'd qualify."

As Gefen went on, Oren became more animated, and began bouncing up and down. "But now that we have, I'm completely thrilled! We were only four points behind the best couple, so I think we have a real chance tomorrow!"

Gefen agreed, nodding euthusiastically. "I think it looks good for us!"

"And now let's talk to our other qualifying couple, Nili and Gaspar. While you're new the olympics, you're old hands and competition, aren't you?"

Nili took the question. "Oh, yeah! I've been competing since I was nine. And that was a long time ago for me."

Gaspar added, "Same: I started juniors competition at ten. My parents didn't want me to compete too early. They thought the stress might be bad for me, since I really just liked skating. But they warmed up to the idea, and there's been no looking back.

"I've been making steady progress up the Ioudaian adult ice dance ranks, and Nili and I started competing together three--"

"Four!"

"...four years ago, and we're doing well in the nationals. So, it was only natural to try out for the olympic team when it was expanded."

"How do you guys feel about your performance, Nili?"

Nili tossed her head. "It was about average for us." Gaspar nodded as she contined. "I mean! That's really good, but I didn't feel like it was especially good or bad."

"Right, " said, Gaspar. "We were smooth. We did what we wanted to, neither flashy or sloppy. We're about six points out, but all the scores are in a tight bunch so... We're gonna aim for flashy tomorrow."

Nili broke into a smile: "Yeah!"

by **Kelssek** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 4:04 pm

RP cutoff. Day 12 results.

There have been a few schedule tweaks to correct minor errors and weirdness, notably the hockey tournaments having skipped a matchday somewhere and the freestyle skiing halfpipe event was put in a more reasonable sequence.

by **West Phoenicia** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 7:34 pm

If you cannot be an athlete, you can still be an athletic supporter.

The West Phoenician Olympic Committee is always on the prowl for talented individuals to join their growing support team.
Coaches, medical staff, maintenance and members of the spiritual community are the tip of the iceberg, especially for those who want a paying gig.

The West Phoenician Olympic Committee relies on its scores of fans to volunteer to create banners and signs for domestic and international events to help inspire the competing athletes.
Other citizens express their support by attending games or donating at galas and benefits.
Others emote messages of love and support via Vibr on the individual athlete's page or the Olympics Dedications homepage.
Overall vast opportunities are available to do your part in bringing glory to West Phoenicia during the Olympics.

Josephina Solice is another supporter who used her creativity and talents to organise a host of athletes mothers to form the organisation "From Love, Mum."

Josephina Solice and her army of helpers under the "From Love, Mum" banner remind athletes they may be out of sight but not out of mind, and their fabulous mothers are on hand, who have been there since day one supporting their children's dreams.

Josephina Solice is the mother of Chavatangakwunua Splice. A freestyle Aerials athlete, whose results were looking promising and uplifting until the third run of the finals. Going into the final run, he was poised into a medal-winning position, when he suffered a horrible blow during his performance with his flips not executed the way he desired-or practised. Whether it was nerves getting to him, or he suffered from the West Phoenician curse of choking at the finals, it was not the way he wanted the run to end.
Chavatangakwunua finished on a score of only 116.70 for the last run, a far cry from his previous runs and landed in a 6th place finish.

During an interview, Caleb Frederikson, a reporter for WP Sports News 1, was granted an interview by the athlete's mum in her apartment in Arapaho City; the capital of the West Phoenician city-state of Fort Blackfoot.

"It was heart wrenching to watch. I wasn't able to travel to Clayquot due to a back injury, so I watched the qualifiers on television.

While not a rich family, the Solice family are a comfortable middle class.
Josephina had been a pâtissière, a pastry chef before retiring due to back problems. Working in several hotels and bistros where her croquembouche was a customer favourite.
Each school holiday the family would send Chavatangakwunua to a skiing camp, as he was fond of the slopes. Over time a manager of the camp contacted a sports agent to come and observe the boy. Soon after he was offered a placement at the Institute of Sport, where he met the love of his life
Jenny Dorie, a snowboarder who is also in Kelssek competing in the Big Air discipline.

During the qualification stage, he finished second in his grouping. It was one of the proudest moments I have seen in his career, qualifying for the West Phoenician delegation. He is good friends with Matt le Haycourt, a gold medalist in the same discipline, who rose to fame during the XIII Winter Olympics, Prescott, Electrum.
Matt shared a number of his flips with my son and became a personal mentor. I remember holding my breath as he performed his aerials that were so good it landed him in the finals. I had to remind myself to breathe when the event was over."

Before appearing at Clayquot, he qualified at the West Phoenician National level which was a positive achievement in itself. He outperformed 12 other men to make the team.
It was at that moment I thought, I wanted to show my son love and support in other ways while he was away representing the nation. I knew I was not alone in that thinking. Parents love their children and always want to do the best by them. So I thought what other ways could I show him and other athletes we care. That's when I came up with "From Love, Mum."

" I spent the rest of that day phoning and texting other athletes' mothers with my simple yet thoughtful token of love. Many were thrilled with the idea, and signed onboard to assist.

"A few days before the delegation headed off to Clayquot, this special group headed to a commercial kitchen we rented and baked up a huge back of Love cookies and Love Mini-cakes.
A sugary treat to show all the athletes we love and admire them.
While we realise these athletes adhere to a strict diet during training. The treat can be consumed after their competition. A little sweet and tasty snack that won't do any harm, yet will give them a little taste of home and fill their thoughts with the knowledge they are in our minds and prayers.
And for those with an extra sweet tooth, the little gift from "From Love, Mum," comes with six cookies and two mini cakes.
We do hope the athletes will love these wonder sweet surprises."

by **Diarcesia** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:51 pm

I didn't feel nervous, not at all. We're all pumped up and ready to do well. There weren't a lot to lose, and if any of us got caught up in a negative situation, we'll know what to do next. I can't let it be a stumbling block. I'm going to have to take it all in stride, knowing that every time I need to do better, I will put in the work.

The mood was incredible among the spectators. We had the crowd cheering for us and our competitors, but in the end we all knew that we had won something when a particularly visible group of Diarcesians in the finish line were delighted to see us cross it. One could feel they had a great time.

Next up...

Day 13's schedule will include the men's cross-country team sprint. Gisle Jakhelln and Hannibal Morris will lead Diarcesia's effort to earn a medal in this event.

Short track - Men's 500 m
Olympic record: 39.711 - Valentí Bars (LCT), Yeaddin

Qualifying

1 August Halvorsen (VAL)            41.719 Q
2 Marcus Alessandrosson (GRÆ)       41.743 Q
3 Sabas Waite (DCS)                 42.043
4 Akitana Ruta (VLT)                42.074

It was thought at first that the men's speed skaters would be one of the most interesting Diarcesian groups to watch in the entire Olympic games. They had an all-new coaching staff. The old guard from the previous games was out, and the promise of a fresh take on pushing the new talent to greater heights would be realized.

That would not be the case. Compared to the previous edition, all they got so far was a single bronze medal by Atalamir Marković. The very first Diarcesian winter gold medalist Stamenelas Megalus did not return this time and his whereabouts are unknown. Among the female speed skaters, Ligea Giannopulus is the only one to have a medal, too — another bronze.

This is not a good result. Not only had Diarcesia not produced a single gold medalist yet, it has fallen behind other tropical nations as well. If this is a reliable indicator of things to come, then the best that can be expected from this situation is to silently send in future delegations if grassroots clamor is not present.

* * *

At the Olympic village, the majority of the Diarcesian delegation planned to gather at a common area. There were a few who were already there, the ones who have no events to play or to watch in person. Among them were the cross-country relay quartet of Galya Knutsdottir, Jingyi Cheung, Gerd Enger, and Gjertrud Tastad. They were very helpful in preparing the team sprinters Kate Cunningham and Martha Fisher for their upcoming event. It is hoped that they'll go all out for a gold medal. Cunningham and Fisher worked very hard and showed impressive results during the Mytanar training camp and studied every nook and cranny of the rules. The reason for this was simple: they are passionate about what they do. In their minds, this is a defense of their international championship that they won as a prerequisite to the Olympics. They take care of their bodies and as a result are consistently fresh and energetic.

Once they are together, they plan to take the time as a team-building bonding event. They'll discuss on how to adopt to the changing times. What they think about the different events? Could they learn from one another and perhaps build a sort of tradition or interdisciplinary lore among the winter Olympians of Diarcesia? The short answer is that it's great to try. Win or lose, each and every one of them has a particular talent in their own right. Taken as one group, they possess a blend of speed, power, and physical prowess that makes the Olympics a great event to celebrate those attributes.

Cultural Aspects of the Monarchy Diarcesian

Diarcesia is a diverse place and all of the athletes from every corner of the Monarchy has the opportunity to participate in Olympic events. The multiversal nature of the Olympic movement means that any given team will have a completely unique aesthetic and theme. This is especially true for Diarcesia, where the their uniforms of dark crimson and gold evokes the place's ancient and enduring existence.

One of the most recognizable symbols of the Monarchy is the gold lynx that is worn by every member of the delegation. This emblem is a representation of the animal that saved its founder's life. The lynx symbolism is widespread: for instance, the Lynxhead Helm is a traditional token of office of the Monarch, said to be the same original item that was forged more than a millennium ago.

by **Mapletish** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 6:30 am

The Sour Kind
"What was meant to be?"

Late Night Thoughts| Timothy Jozua

Have you wondered how did she move on so quickly after this relationship ended?
While you struggle to get by, as you struggle at every moment.
You walked past the places "us" used to visit.
Your mind spends every waking moment fixated on her.
While your inner dramas take over your heart,
That "her" who once was your everything might have moved on.
She might be moving on with another guy.
You wonder how did she do it.
You should learn from her.
You should learn how to let go.
You should do ...
You should do ...
You should do ...
There aren't that many "should"s in this world.
If I had known, I wouldn't have taken the plunge.
If I had known, we should not have met.
If I had known, we should not have talked.
If I had known, we should not have been at that place.
If I had known, ...
If I had known and foreseen what there is,
I wouldn't have been where I am.
I wouldn't have to wonder why she had moved on so quickly.
So quickly.

by **Hannasea** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:44 am

From the rolling news channel SuperBusiness.

did

really

by **Waisnor** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:19 am

Honestly, nothing special today

Previous day of the Olympics did not bring any particularly outstanding results, although we can tell about some of them:

Waisnorian men's hockey team from the very beginning of the tournament, she showed excellent play and did not allow any misfires. Team's next game with Flexanewmega, which in the group had already taken the place of an outsider, did not foreshadow that the unbeaten run would be interrupted.
In the first period Waisnorian team immediately started attacks at the gates of Flexanewmegan goalkeeper, however, no one succeeded in completing them. Flexanewmega seemingly decided to bet on the fatigue of the enemy and subsequent counterattacks against the exhausted team, but she did not have such a chance.
The first period, in principle, went like this - a lot of attacks from Waisnor, a little - from Flexanewmega. With the beginning of the second period, Flexanewmega played a little more confidently, but exactly in the middle of regular time, Waisnor managed to open the score in the match - in the 10th minute David Blokha was able to take advantage of the moment presented to him and redirected the puck directly into the goal.
However, Flexanewmegan team did not remain in debt and was able to equalize the score very quickly - 5 minutes after David's goal Flexanewmegan forward was able to unexpectedly break through the Waisnorian defense and send the puck into the goal with an accurate throw and equalize the score.
After 2 goals in 5 minutes, the game stalled again for the remaining time of regular time, and during this time nothing special happened.
It came to overtime, where 2 minutes after it started, David Afanasevich scored the decisive goal for the second time and brought another victory to Waisnorian hockey team.

Talking about other results, we have performance of Robert Omelyanov and Inna Filippova in free program of ice dancing competitions. After they barely got into the free program, Omelyanov and Filippova said they would try to do much better. And we can say that they did it.
The pair went on the ice as confident as on the short program, but unlike her, nothing went downhill during the performance. They worked out their program well, without strong mistakes. After finishing their performance, they looked just as confident.
As a result of the free program, they earned 98.83 points, which was the 8th best result in it. However, due to not such a good result in the short program, Omelyanov and Filippova were able to take an average between 8th place in the free program and 20th in the short program - 14th.
The skaters themselves said that they were not disappointed with this result, although they wanted to perform better.

OTHER WAISNORIAN RESULTS
Sergey Gulyaev and Pavel Balyuk finished 66th after last two runs in bobsleigh two-man competitions
Maria Ermakova barely missed qualification to the final of freestyle skiing women's halfpipe competitions, finishing 14th in the qualifying round, Lyubov Kotova finished 71st there

by **Srednjaci** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:54 am

WORLD ARENA SPORT 1

REPORTER IVAN JURLINA: Dear viewers, good afternoon and welcome in Clayquot.
Another Olympic day behind us, we were unlucky again and we experienced a disaster yesterday.
With us in the studio are Nina Mandarić, Olympic champion, Mr. Siniša Čunko, president of the Olympic Federation Srednjaci and Zrinka Ljutić, Olympian in alpine skiing.
Good day to you all.
Nina, mixed relay in biathlon fourth, new fourth place, close to the medal but without it.

NINA: Unfortunately we didn't succeed, we were in that group for medals but we lost a step.

REPORTER: Sutov and Ivana two misses each, you and Lucian Matković 100%. Four misses is still a lot for the relay.

NINA: Yes, that's enough to make up for it. Everyone was wrong somewhere. Despite that we were in the medal game all the time but unfortunately we lost.

REPORTER: let's look at the shots, the parts of the fight for medals.
we see Lucian hit his targets in a standing position.

REPORTER : here we were still in the race for a medal, Sutov was ahead before shooting

NINA: yes, we still had a small advantage, but it later melted away, we just tried and it didn't work.

REPORTER: Today is a team for boys, what do you expect from ours?

NINA: anything is possible for the boys because Lucian has just gotten in shape, Sutov is great on skis, he has an amazing technique and if he reduces the number of misses we are in a position to win a medal.

REPORTER: Let's look at the results of that event.

Biathlon - Mixed Relay

-1 Daniel Burkhard/Jan Wulff/Nikoletta Pohl/Irma Kuhn (KWN)                                   1:08:39.7  GOLD
 2 Oto Sindelar/Alois Sedlacek/Elsa Menger/Liselotte Schierer (STL)                           1:08:48.2  SILVER
 3 Kurt Naslund/Noé Gérin/Izyaslava Bohšsa/Nicolette Ballesdens (DCS)                         1:08:51.0  BRONZE
 4 Lucian Matkovic/Ivan Sutov/Nina Mandaric/Ivana Mandaric (SRE)                              1:08:54.5

REPORTER: Mr. Čunko, the inevitable topic of bad luck is Darinko Bučić.

ČUNKO: yes, I feel sorry for that guy because I know how much he works and how much he trains, a great ski jumper, first a high temperature, then a gust of wind and now again without a medal in a team event.
Always there somewhere but not to the podium.

REPORTER: Did you talk to him?

ČUNKO: yes, he was also depressed, although I told him that fifth place is great at the Olympics but as a true champion, he is not satisfied with that.

REPORTER: Ivan Čučić told his colleague that he had certain problems with the suit, the suit was torn at the seam of the left thigh. How much this affected performance.

ČUNKO: it didn't affect because we noticed it before Ivan even got to the runway.

REPORTER: Psychological effect?

ČUNKO: No, there was no effect. The guys jumped in and did their best but the others were better.

REPORTER: let's look at the results.

Ski jumping - Men's Team Large Hill

1 Thomas Tannenberg/Oleg Korinek/Kvido Vasicek/Elias Hofle (STL)		550.9	532.9	1083.8  GOLD
2 Owal Armdoch/Rodolfo Cerdà/Anders Brzinski/Boris Vasiliev (TRM)		554.4	525.5	1079.9  SILVER
3 Cocoabo #W71/Cocoabo #W73/Cocoabo #W67/Cocoabo #W65 (CFT)                     516.2	554.3	1070.5  BRONZE
5 Darinko Bucic, Ivan Cucic, Salazar Nagyovy, Ratko Lozunic (SRE)		533.8	532.4	1066.2

REPORTER: And then yesterday.
Very bad performance of ours in the Nordic combination. Maybe we expected more from such a team.
What happened ?

ČUNKO: The equipment technicians made a mistake. They confused everyone’s settings. They wrote the instructions incorrectly. Unfortunately in the end it was the way it was.
It's all a tribute to inexperience in performing at competitions like this.
Things like this must not happen again! Inadmissible.

REPORTER: it was obvious to the naked eye that something was wrong, the guys were angry ...

ČUNKO: yes of course, you are in the top 20 and you end up in 75th or 82nd place due to someone's mistake.

REPORTER: Have they recovered from that blow because more competition awaits them?

ČUNKO: yes, yes, they are in training so everything will be ok.

REPORTER: Let's look at those results as well.

Nordic combined - Men's Individual Large Hill
1 Archie Warren (MAP)		113.3	0:43	20:43.1	21:26.3  GOLD
 2 Gerry Mitt (CMT)		123.3	0:03	22:37.7	22:40.9  SILVER
 3 Cole Hardy (NWD)		121.8	0:09	23:08.0	23:17.2  BRONZE

75 David Luther Hoerl (SRE)	62.6	4:06	23:38.9	27:44.9
82 Sanjin Patokovic (SRE)	76.7	3:10	25:05.4	28:15.0
86 Ivan Milanovic (SRE)		91.2	2:12	26:46.4	28:58.0
89 Anton Jarni (SRE)		35.9	5:53	24:33.1	30:25.9

REPORTER: Let's see what awaits us today from the competition.

Day 13 - 8 Feb
Alpine skiing - Women's Downhill - [medal]
Bandy - Women's - MD 3
Biathlon - Men's 4x7.5 km Relay - [medal]
Bobsleigh - Two-Woman - Runs 1 and 2
Cross-country skiing - Men's Team Sprint - [medal]
Figure skating - Women's Individual - short program
Freestyle skiing - Men's Halfpipe - qualification
Ice hockey - Women's - MD 6
Ice hockey - Men's - MD 6
Snowboarding - Men's Big Air - qualification
Speed skating - Men's Team Pursuit - final [medal]
Short track - Women's 1 000 m - qualification
Short track - Men's 500 m - final [medal]

REPORTER: Zrinka, in the women's downhill we have two girls capable of great things.
Young Marija Hercigonja, skis getting better ...

ZRINKA: Marija is great, she achieved her third time in training this morning and she really likes downhill.

REPORTER: let's look at the video from the training ...

ZRINKA: it was almost a perfect ride, Tatjana was in 12th place, but not far behind the top 6.
So anything is possible.

REPORTER: Do you think Maria is the favorite for the medal?

ZRINKA: Marija is the favorite for the medal. She is very determined in that.

REPORTER: We still have to tell us, Mr. Cunko, how the training for biathletes went today.

ČUNKO: Nobody complained about anything, so everything is fine.

REPORTER: We hope for great news from Claquot. We are hoping for a fourth medal and maybe a fifth for the Srednjaci because we have athletes for that today who could bring it.
Dear viewers, I thank you for your attention and our guests.
Stay tuned to our program.

by **Aboveland** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:49 am

Sami had met Janne at the Abovian Sporting Gala, organized by the national government in Tyttebærsby, in early January. Under the guise of being an event to celebrate Abovian sporting achievements, both he and 'the WGP2 guy'--as he and his friends had called him--had been invited to serve as props, as a backdrop to the main event of the night: of course, the presentation of Terho Talvela's third drivers' championship trophy and of Tropicorp Racing Ælund's second piece of silverware. To keep the event somewhat removed from simply being "the Terho and Edvin Circlejerk Show Where the New President Seeks Relatability With 'the People'", a retroactive award would also be given to Axel Novikov, of Avsidelsiggendevuoret, for his Hodori Rally Championship drivers' title--no small feat at all, as even Talvela had tried and failed to conquer the Hodoran domestic rally scene, but that had happened over a year ago, and Novikov had lost his title in the last season of the HRC.

The tables at the dinner, held to the surprise of absolutely not a single soul at the recently renamed Talvelærkilpiiri, grouped athletes accordingly to their sporting disciplines, which for the racing drivers alone worked quite well. In fact, there were a number of folkrace tables, themselves segregated according to hometown, region or league, where appropriate, along with a few grand prix tables, where as far as Sami knew only Laukkanen, Talvela and Novikov sat as drivers. He himself was seated along with the recently assembled Abovian Olympic Committee's picks as speed skating and figure skating coaches; thus, with him also sat the Nooras, Rafael Pellikka and Lars Andersson, and his speedskating teammates Markku Salminen and Risto Vuohensilta. He'd met Risto and Markku before, though only in practice, and had only heard of the rest of the table, though as the event began in a characteristically Abovian low-key, unobtrusive manner, he found himself naturally gravitating towards the figure skating gang. It wasn't that he didn't gel with his teammates--far from it, in fact, though Sami had never struggled to make friends or meet new people--though something about the figure skating team sparked in him some sort of residual emotional flame, suddenly discovered like how hydrogen peroxide fizzes on a seemingly clean wound.

Sami was born and raised in Pysyväräntä, in the western Järvi-maakunta; as most boys do, the 'most' becoming an 'every' starting from the middle of Aboveland towards the west, he was thrust into folkrace competition from a young age. In his hometown--a sparsely populated, quasi-rural suburb of the also-small city of Kylmajärvi (and specifically where he lived, a couple minutes from the nearest neighbor)--there was little else to do during the summer months after school than toil around the logging backroads in a dinky duroplast two-stroke beater as practice for the bi-weekly folkraces. During the long winter months, the order of the days was the same, just on ice, though it was away from the steering wheel that Sami discovered his passion for ice skating.

Located between the large Lake Kylmäjärvi, upon which its northern shore lies the city of the same name, and the smaller lake of Kirkkanvansilampi, the residences and main buildings of the town of Pysyväräntä are huddled along their shorelines, with central or administrative buildings placed between both bodies of water. Along with the harsh, endless winters of Järvi-maakunta, and the relative isolation that such weather might cause, many Abovians of the region opt to move about their daily lives around their towns using ice skates as opposed to dog-driven sleighs or motorized vehicles (the former for the relative un-ease of use compared to using one’s own legs, and the latter as a result of historically problematic fuel scarcity in western Aboveland).

Thus, through his daily commutes from his house to his school, from school to his friends’ places, from there to the market and then back home, Sami had grown massively fond of ice skating across Kirkkanvansilampi and Kylmäjärvi beyond the fact it was a necessity rather than a choice. He’d frequently challenge his school friends to races across the ice, dodging grannies, grandchildren, and dawdling families as they sprinted from school over to Kylmäjärvi city and back, and though in longer races he’d let up some pace, on shorter stints he was absolutely unbeatable. His love for skating quickly escalated into amateur competition, and from then on into proper regional championship contention, where at 16 he’d already made quite the name for himself on the domestic scene against seasoned rivals like his olympic teammates.

(Now, with the backstory out of the way:)

At the Abovian Sporting Gala, though sat separately and without any sort of indication of the others’ presence, Sami had been informed the reason why he wore a golden satin bowtie while his winter sports colleagues had free choice of their accessories. He, along with “a select few others”, had been chosen as one of Aboveland’s “up and coming sporting stars”, distinguished with a special colored tie among the rest of the attendees. Before the big Terho appreciation event of the night, all five of the up-and-coming athletes were called up to the main stage mid-dinner, still chewing on their buttered trout, to be lauded for their sporting achievements. As they made their way to the stage, Sami and Janne had ended up side by side in the floodlights.

It was the first time he’d seen Janne up close: the Kylmäjärvan, just a few months older than he was, was a shorter height than Sami, around a meter-seventy-something compared to his larger -eighty-something frame, and less muscular, save for his shoulders and his neck. Though they were both wearing tightly tailored suits, the differences in their builds were evident: Sami, taller, and lean but intimidatingly toned looking, had the strength in his back as Janne had in his neck, apt for the high g-forces of formula racing. Apart from that though, he was jockey-like, short and thin and looking like he could easily contort into a suitcase… and rather cutesy, too. They weren’t too dissimilar looking, both being western Abovian, but Sami’s eyes were more narrow and hooded, though Janne’s were a lighter shade of blue than Sami’s deep ocean color; Sami had a darker blond center-part cut, while Janne’s hair was honey blond and not quite styled in any way; and the Pysyväräntän had slightly more weathered skin around his cheeks--perhaps early aging signs, but nothing to make him any less confident in his looks.

Among the five young athletes, one was to be chosen as Aboveland’s top future star, and to the surprise of nobody again it was Janne who took the honors, receiving nothing but a small bronze colored medal and a round of applause. The award, though, served as a perfect springboard for Sami to slide into conversation with the Kylmäjärvan. Of the two, it was the skater whose social skills were sharper, whose stride was more confident, and whose miniscule differences in his facial expressions had the power to strike first and allure, as Janne’s attempts to woo--unbeknownst to Sami--had failed the one time he’d tried. The little he knew of Janne was enough to reassure him that his advances, should they be rejected, would be because of disinterest rather than owing to a grossly erroneous prediction of the older Abovian’s preferences. Despite his self-assurance, however, Sami was less open about his life than Janne certainly was, as he’d grabbed minor headlines before during his WGP2 stints and had brought about a slight trickle of representation to the Abovian sporting scene. The skater, though without a doubt in his mind concerning his identity, wasn’t quite open about it. Actually, scratch that: he wasn’t actually quite sure where his label really landed, anyway, despite his illustrious experimentation history pushing the needle heavily towards one specific side.

Nevertheless, there was no need for openness, since as he approached Janne in the penumbra of the dining area, with the seemingly inconsequential aim of congratulating him on his recognition, both teens’ radars blipped with delight. Janne’s touch starved, receptive self was no match for Sami’s irresistibly proactive introduction, and it didn’t take very long for the two to ditch the droning gala for activities a few notches more exciting.

Yet since that day, both their schedules began to conflict by virtue of their specific activities: Sami was stuck training for the Olympics, while Janne had had to fly urgently back to the Nexus Wardship in anticipation for the arrival of a cheery Nykipik to the young drivers’ academy program. They’d stayed in touch, sporadically--though not for a lack of trying--but it seemed as if Janne’s schedule was truly packed, because it was by now day twelve of the Winter Olympics and they’d spoken less than a handful of times since the start.

Now just under a week from the end of the competition, he’d also grown frustrated, beyond the fact that his performances weren’t quite where he wanted them to be (although 22nd in speed skating wasn't so bad); despite his relationship being in the talking stage, he’d been curious to discover whether the rumors about the wild promiscuity rampant in Olympic villages was really true--thus far, his search had come back empty handed, and his attempts at people in (people being Kuldar) had failed as well. Kuldar was a bit of an enigma, perhaps too secretive for his own good, who sent his senses into overdrive and perhaps overwhelmed them into believing things that weren’t so. They’d already gone to the gym twice, Sami trying his mightiest to keep his eyes to himself, and both times they’d headed for the showers together as well, but nothing^{and no-one} had gone down at all. He was almost certain Kuldar was hiding something, but thus far, it seemed as if it were just wishful thinking on his own part.

But it was refreshing to see Kuldar, by now already starting to learn some Abovian and getting closer to the team, comfort Sami, head in his hands, during the 500m short track event. A paperwork mishap meant he hadn’t been entered in his favorite length short track race, his specialty event, and though the whoops and hurrahs from inside the arena sounded like things were going well, Sami couldn’t bring himself to sniffle his tears away and join in the celebrations. Sat outside the arena, inside the complex on a little rubber-coated bench, Kuldar (also not racing), approached him gently. His soft words and gentle back rubbing were unprecedented, and yet again Sami’s senses peaked past their redlines. He played along to the Nykipik’s words of comfort, all the while biting his bottom lip and hunching further forwards in his seat. Was he, or was he not?

A MEDAL AT LAST | Winter Olympics: Day 12 (we skipped a few)
After a few low-intensity days for Team Abovian Union, the delegation returned to action in style as the Lundgaard/Ritter bobsleigh pairing took Aboveland's very first Olympic medal home. The short track team's fortunes continue to impress, as well.

Despite a run 3 scare, the veteran 35-year-old bobsleigh duo of Storm Lundgaard and Oliver Ritter defied the test of time to clinch Team Abovian Union's very first Olympic medal, securing the bronze podium spot in the two-man bobsleigh race. Though the Brukkifordeter and his naturalized Abovian teammate (respectively), well known in local circles as among Aboveland's most celebrated athletes, were expected to do well, the Winter Olympics were seen as their swansong competition before retirement, yet their performance proved they still have what it takes to compete among the best.

Sitting third after their first two runs down the course at the Etiner Sliding Centre, Lundgaard and Ritter plunged down the order after a sloppy third run, where the rear of their sleigh struck the outer sidewall coming out of the penultimate turn. Still determined, however and within touching distance of regaining their podium spot, an inspired fourth run, third fastest overall, was just enough to clinch the bronze medal by a hundredth of a second over the Chromatikan duo of Ki-Bum Dong and Min-Sung Dong.

”It’s a dream come true,” confessed Lundgaard through a knot in his throat. “Oliver [Ritter] and I, we’ve achieved great things back home, but nothing will ever compare to this feeling. We love the fans, we love our country, and we hope this is just the beginning for our Olympic team.”

Ritter, born in Pushkinskaya but settled in Aboveland after the Pushkinskayan War ravaged the Baltic nation in 2013, had a similarly excitable reaction. “So much hard work has really paid off,” he assures. “We all thought this would end in a bit of a slump, to be honest. We had little warning and little preparation time, so definitely experience played a part in our result compared to our teammates [Mõlder-Murkku/Kurku, Nykipik duo, finished 50th; Korhonen/Pykälistö, finished 69th], but it’s still an overwhelming result. I couldn’t be happier.” Both sledders swatted away speculation concerning their possible retirements, leaving Abovian sporting fans awaiting the announcement whether they’ll retire or return in future competitions.

In the men’s 500m short track event, Miikka [note from the editor: previous articles incorrectly said Markku] Salminen picked up where Risto Vuohensilta left off in the 1000m event to win each of his qualifying heats of the first day of competition to move closer to the final heats, and with a chance to score Aboveland’s first skating medal. Vuohensilta himself, despite winning his first round heat, was eliminated in round two after a slip at the start left him trailing too far back to make up ground in such a short race. Tragically, flag-bearer Sami Katjamäki, known to consider the 500m race as his specialty, was excluded from the start of the event after a signup error committed by the Abovian Olympic Committee meant he was not even registered to compete.

Team Abovian Union’s Olympic endeavor resumes on day 13 of competition: Lundgaard and Ritter’s protege sledders Solveig Skjeggstad and Laika Aaltonen spearhead the two-woman bobsleigh offensive; Hermann Sohlberg returns along with Jarmo Laaksonen in the cross country skiing men’s team sprint; the Nooras face off once more in women’s individual figure skating; and Miikka Salminen takes his last shot at Olympic glory in a packed short track competition day, along with the start of women’s 1000m races.

by **Saint-Domingues** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:55 am

XV Olympic Winter Games, Clayquot: Women's hockey - Analytics
After matchday four in the women's hockey at the Winter Games in Clayquot, RTD decided to partner up with an sports analytics company, La Statistique, to offer some information on the teams that the Manatees were to face in Group C. Now, with the penultimate matchday 6 upon us, we are back by popular demand with another round of analytics. This time, we will be taking a closer look across all of the groups to examine the teams that lead Groups A through F.

Analysis
RTD decided to take advantage of the ranking system utilised by La Statistique, a sports analytics companies which has been ranking teams and athletes at the Games. Teams and athletes are rated with a score out of 100. A team with a rating of 50 would therefore be seen as a pretty average team, whilst one with 100 would be viewed as one of (if not the) best competitor - expect 100s to be in and around the medal placings. By contrast, a score of 0 means you are perceived as one of the worst.

Saint-Domingue [SDM] - 2nd in Group C: 12 pts from 5 games - 100/100
Valanora [VAL] - Group A: 10 pts from 4 games - 100/100
Vilitan Union [VLT] - Group B: 12 pts from 5 games - 90/100
New Waldensia [NWD] - Group C: 12 pts from 4 games - 71/100
Royal Kingdom of Quebec [QUE] - Group D: 12 pts from 4 games - 100/100
United States of the Adirondacks [ADK] - Group E: 9 pts from 4 games - 50/100
Xuande-Xiphoi [XXO] - Group F: 9 pts from 4 games - 85/100

There are a few important disclaimers, because a simple side-by-side comparison does not give the full picture. Not every group has the same number of teams. Groups A, E, and F have six teams, whilst Groups B-D have seven teams. The teams in each group may have also played a differing amount of fixtures so far. Some may still have two games to be played from the final two matchdays, and others just the one. Therefore for some there are a maximum of six points to be played for still, and for others, three. To eschew this, we have decided to sort teams by their points per game (PPG). The results are as follows:

SDM - 2nd in Group C: 2.4 PPG (100/100)
NWD - Group C: 3 PPG - (71/100)
QUE - Group D: 3 PPG - (100/100)
VAL - Group A: 2.5 PPG - (100/100)
VLT - Group B: 2.4 PPG (90/100)
ADK - Group E: 2.25 PPG - (50/100)
XXO - Group F: 2.25 PPG - (85/100)

To start, we shall look at the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. The leaders of Group D, they have won all four of their games so far and have already confirmed a top two finish. They lead Nurkama on GD, having played a game less. A top finish looks very likely, and their 100% record so far lends credence to La Statistique's ratings. The performances of Valanora and Xuande-Xiphoi also appear to fit the model - each has a good score of more than 2 PPG, and has only dropped points in one game so far.

The other team with a score of 100 that is leading their group is Valanora. However, their rating and placing hide a vulnerability - they actually lost their most recent match, falling to 2nd-placed Fluvannia in overtime. They lead the Fluvannians by two points but have played a game more and boast an inferior goal-difference - two wins for them would give them the top berth instead.

Now we can take a look at the serious outliers, New Waldensia and, most of all, United States of the Adirondacks. We have examined the Waldensians already in the previous article, so will focus on the latter. Their rating has them placed as a middling side, about on a par with Saint-Domingue's Group C companions Græntfjall who have just four points from four games. The Adirondacks have not only blown this out the water, but look set to progress from a group of much stronger competition. There is the likelihood of overtaking them, but still, the overperformance is very impressive.

What can we learn from this? Not so much, ultimately. It can be hard to trust every stat. As we argued in looking at New Waldensian, when we credited the coaching staff for their victories, there are factors which fall outside of La Statistique's remit of ranking athletes. The fans in the stadium, the state of the ice, the atmosphere, the morale, the coaches can all have an effect. However, some of the rankings do seem to hold true, as class shines. Even our two apparent 'underperforming' 100 ranks have only dropped points on one occasion, a blip is more than possible. You may trust stats more after reading this, or trust them less. Or you may find this utterly pointless. Stats can be selective and open to interpretation. But at the end of the day, they are definitely fascinating.

by **Mytanija** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:07 pm

CURLING TEAMS IMPRESS IN LAST SIXTEEN
FOLLOWING A SILVER IN THE MIXED DOUBLES, BOTH THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TEAMS ARE PROGRESSING IN CLAYQUOT

by Ilya Zivalvyuk

After a couple of disappointing days for Mytanar athletes it is both the men’s and women’s curling teams who are acting as a tonic for that disappointment as they both progressed through testing last sixteen games against Cassadaigua and Quebec respectively. The OKM should be quite pleased with how the curling teams have done thus far, a silver medal in the mixed doubles event meaning Mytanija is already on the board in curling and now the men’s and women’s teams are looking like contenders for additional medals. Their hard work could still be undone and the competition is fierce, but both look comfortable when playing against Olympics-standard competition.

The men required an impressive final end from skip Momcilo Strincic to see them past a determined Cassadaigua team. Mytanija had the hammer and made great use of that advantage by using their final stone to knock in another that was already handily placed by the button. Cassadaigua’s stones had been placed very well but Strincic’s accuracy allowed Mytanija to take the final end 2-0 and shade past their rivals. The 9-8 victory was one of the toughest games the men have had so far in Clayquot and sets up a clash with Chromatika in the quarter finals. The Chromatik team saw off Quebec 6-4 in their last sixteen match. The quality of both the Mytanar and Chromatik teams is a reminder that the level of competition will only get more difficult from here.

The women made hard work of things at times against the Quebecois team and needed a gutsy performance to come from behind to win 7-5 after trailing 5-4. Intelligent defensive positioning allowed Vita Brglez to steal an end 1-0 to draw Mytanija level before Amela Zohar mimicked Momcilo Strincic with the men’s team by using the last throw of the final end to great effect. Zohar’s stone decimated the Quebecois presence in the house and secured two vital points for Mytanija to seal the victory. The women will now face an all-Rushmori clash against Darmen, who negotiated a tough game against Taeshan in the round of sixteen.

Securing the hammer is one of the most important aspects of international curling and both our men’s and women’s teams seem to have it down to a fine art at the moment, their draws to the button have been solid throughout the tournament for the most part and if they can continue with that through the knockout rounds they will be difficult opponents for anyone. They probably represent two of the better chances Mytanija has left to secure a gold and the OKM will be hoping that Branko Lazarevic and Danika Savicevic’s silver in the mixed doubles is a good omen for future success both in Clayquot and in years to come.

by **Krytenia** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:27 pm

FIGURE SKATING: Ladies and gentlemen, this is medal number five

There's something about the combination of skating and dance that seems to bring out the best in Krytenia. The nation's fifth medal of these Games is their third all-time in figure skating - and all of them have come in the ice dance competition.

Breaking a sixty-four year drought in the event were the pair of Ellis Beckton and James Kay. Sitting in a respectable fifth place after the short competition, their free routine - a tribute to the early days of rock and roll - was a hit with the judges, whose score of 107.71 put them into the lead. Though they gave up that lead to the very next pair, Sam Alvarado and Cythnia Park of Mapletish, whose routine was simply untouchable, the remaining three pairs failed to match up to the bar set by Beckton and Kay. Their silver medal is Krytenia's first in Clayquot, and means they have now matched their total from last time they competed in the Winter Olympics twelve years ago.

CURLING: It's official - we can't beat Valanora at anything

Krytenia's medal hopes in curling are officially over after both teams lost their round of sixteen matches at the University of Etnier. The men's side were, put simply, played off the rink by a rampant Valanora team. Whether it's a psychological block or simple coincidence, it seems that regardless of sport, the Vanors are an obstacle that Krytenia just can't hurdle. Zoe Lyons' women's team, meanwhile, were victims of a team wanting it more on the day, Glisandia picking up the two they needed with the hammer in the final end to secure their quarter-final spot. It means the wait for a curling medal goes on, with the last success being the double gold earned all the way back on home ice at the Ashton Games.

Want to try figure skating? Find details of local organisations for this and other Winter Olympic sports, and get active at www.kbs.kt/sportforall

Watch all the action from Clayquot at www.kbs.kt/smartview[/quote]

by **Ioudaia** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:39 pm

Freestyle Skiing: Women's Halfpipe

Chaya bat Meri turned away from the scoreboard and wiped tears from her eyes. Her teammates tried to console her, but she brushed them off, seeking Kedem ben Tebaeus in the front row of the stands. He lifted her over the barrier in front of the stands, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Ssshhhhh, it's all right!"

She opened up some space between them. "No, it's not all right. It's one thing not to keep my championship, it's another entirely not to qu-qual--". Clinging to Kedem, she broke down in tears, and buried her face in his jacket, so that nobody would see her crying.

"Ssshhhh! Kedem rocked them back and forth, stroking her hair. "We'll look at the video, fix what... happened, and then we'll be back in two years, OK." He got no reply. "You did win a medal already, so you're doing better than I am." Chaya said something he couldn't quite make out, but could guess at. "I know, it's not the medal you wanted, but it's a medal."

And what am I going to say if I keep my title? And how am I going to get Chaya calmed down so that I can get my head clear for my own quals tomorrow. Oooohhh, boy! He continued rocking both of them, trying to figure out what to say and do.

Men's Nordic Combined: Individual Large Hill
Entauren Mountain Resort

Crossing the finish line, Meleagros ben Alon saw no reason to check the leaderboard. He was fifth to finish, with the leader far ahead. "Oh, well, time to hit the showers and get something to drink."

He headed for the course exit, but slowed as he neared it: a single, large Ioudaian flag was waving in the crowd, and whoever was holding it was pushing forward to meet him. As Meleagros got closer, the flag-waver became clear: Matan ben Utz.

Matan shouted across the distance between them. "You did well." Meleagros made a non-committal grunt.

"No, really! If I'd tried to ski 10 klicks after jumping, I'd fall over dead."

"Are you trying to patronize me?"

"No! Absolutely not! Combined events are hard. Yeah, I do better at the jumping part, but that's because that's all I have to think about. You've got to add distance skiing to that. Totally different animal! I don't have the endurance for X/C skiing."

"Oh!" A grin crept onto Meleagros' face. "Thanks!" After a silence, he added, "I didn't expect to find anybody out here. The sport's not very popular at home, not like skating or regular cross-country. Or the biathlon."

"Nor is just plain ski jumping." Matan flashed a smile for a moment.

"So, uh, how do you think I did at the ski jumping part. I have my own coach, but hey, you're the specialist, the olympian!"

"It's not bad!"

"Oh, come on!"

Matan looked away for a few seconds, then turned back. "A better V on the skis wouldn't hurt."

"Okaaay..."

Matan looked at Meleagros in disbelief. "Uh, if you really want to talk about it, let's find somewhere inside to talk. I'm getting cold out here." Meleagros gave him a thumbs up, and they headed off.

by **Kelssek** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:02 pm

RP cutoff. Day 13 results.

by **Diarcesia** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:49 am

Short track - Women's 1 000 m
Qualification
Heats

1 Mascana Demetriing (DCS)   1:29.090 Q
2 Elvira Maldonado (MAP)     1:29.667 Q
3 Eugénie Favre (SDM)        1:30.594

The track gave Mascana confidence today. She had been very consistent from start to finish, with only minor mistakes being made. She was able to launch herself quite ahead and gave her enough breathing room to continue to be a part of the journey to a 1000 m short track medal.

"I'm glad to shrug off the earlier results and today, it showed," Mascana said. "If we keep this momentum going, we have a good chance at winning."

A Diarcesian gold medal continues to be an elusive goal in the Clayquot Games. It is never easy to come by, but this time, the competition is particularly fierce. Despite all that happened, the Olympic committee believes that it is still quite attainable.

Medal or no, this is not the sole goal of Mascana Demetriing. "It's great to keep competing and see the positive influence that sports can have on your life," she continued. "This is what we are constantly being reminded of in our country. We want to be known as the nation that explores the limits of human capability and pushes the envelope further each time. This is the legacy that we leave our children and grandchildren."

Her older sister, Claudia Demetriing-Madić, is a member of the Diarcesian Olympic committee's exectuive committee and serves as one of the organization's public faces. They are arccomplished individuals, with a wide variety of skills. I'm proud to call myself their father. I learned a lot from my role model, who is someone that both Mascana and Claudia also strive to emulate. For this, I am glad.

The television station Arcesius Teleorasi showed pictures of the wreckage strewn across the road, which was deserted save for the black car which was still on the spot. The camera showed that the car was completely totaled.

"I'm just glad to be alive", said Neu, the car's driver.

"You got me shaken up. I was really scared for who knows how long.", said Hector, his friend.

"Sorry to get you so worried. I'll be more careful next time."

"We'll find a way to move forward from this debacle."

They decided to call a taxi and got in once it arrived. The driver gave them a lift to the nearest helipad. There, they called their boss and told him about the accident.

"Did you see the news?" Hector asked his boss.

"Of corse we saw the news. The governor was kind enough to send two investigators to look at this further. There's reason to believe there is foul play."

"Are you serious?"

"It's nothing like a personal grudge. More like an attempt at insurance fraud. The investigators did not elaborate."

Hector was visibly shaken.

"Neu, you got some beneficiaries?"

"Yes, I do. One of them is my father. Poor mom died in another car accident. Her head was hit the steering wheel the wrong way. Turns out she was using a cellphone while driving. It was suspected that she was distracted, staring at her phone without noticing what was about to hit her."

"Oh... sorry." Hector couldn't think of better ways to convey his apology.

"Don't be. If my dad is behind this, I hope his head turns into stone in shame. It won't be pretty."

"I know. I'm just... feeling sorry for him. He deserves better than this," he said thoughtfully.

"He did his part. If you don't mind I'm just going to say this for you: I really hope dad is not desperate enough for money that he'll try to get me killed for it. I trust him. I hope it is not a misplaced trust." Neu paused, looking out at the helicopter that was coming to pick them up. "I also trust that this won't be the last time I see him. He has some dignity left, and may his greed or grief not evaporate what shred remains."

by **West Phoenicia** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:42 am

The musings of Melissa Saint-Yves, West Phoenician Short Track speed skating athlete.

S: Skating into second during qualification; concentration and visualization in the oval rink. 1000m goes by in the blink of an eye. Keep an eye behind to keep rivals in their place while you outpace.

H: Heartbeat pounding, louder than a cheering fan. Skates at the ready, poised for the starter pistol, avoid a false start, two and you're out. Breathe in, breathe out, relax and feel my warm breath in the chilly rink.

O: Only nine laps to victory, your feet the private your mind the general, in the short track war. 111 metres is my territory, speeds at 35miles per hour; my skates my only weapon to secure victory,

R: Round the rink like a graceful swan, low and beautiful on the ice, spreading my wings to avoid catastrophe. A hazy blur of purple and gold to those who watch and ponder, finish line in sight, forbidden to founder on the ice.

T: The hunger to win, whirling through my mind like an unforgiven storm. Glory to my nation, push yourself to the limits for that glint of gold. The gold easing the hunger pains.

T: Two heats warming up the rink. Two heats, repeat second place. Time to fly ahead, lead the pack not follow. Worst time in heat two; hate myself, luck blessed my stride to keep my dream alive.

R:Race as your life depends on it. Skate as if all else is crumbs. Embrace the love of fans and absorb their vibes to replenish your soul. Treat the finish line as your destiny.

A:All suited up for the races. Dressed liked a sporting debutante, Haute couture of helmet, gloves, skin suit tight, painted on; an illusion of nude amethyst dancing in the daylight.

C:Champions are not born, created from the earth. Coaches, terrifying on their outside skin Hearts with devotion and love; strict and sharp-tongued correction, transformed into a sunny glow of approval when obedience is followed and victory prevails. Never give up, and neither will they.

K: Kicking out and impeding, simple moves to gain a win. No glory in dishonour. Righteous skating will win the day. Victory in the heats. Final looms.

by **Kriegiersien** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 5:46 am

Letter to: The Kriegiersien National Olympic Committee

Subject: Olympics

The Olympics in Clayquot are nearly 2/3 done and Kriegiersien is on the road to have some of the worst results in recent time, far away from given goals. Looking at the performance of the delegation in the moment, it seems unlikely that the situation can be stabilized or even improved.

There was a good start, but now the luck has run out. Even two joined resting days for the whole delegation didn’t help. On the contrary.

Following are the suggestions for improvement.

The biathletes haven’t ‘delivered’ as expected.
Sure, they brought the most medals until yet and a gold in a team event, but don’t let yourself fool by that, we are falling behind.
That is partly a problem of the fact that the scene is dominated by just four families who have more infighting than team spirit. That monopoly and others in the nation has to be broken by forcefully closing the gap with new talents given the chance to compete.

To encourage further athletes, not only in Biathlon, the bulk of not in Winter Sport interested races in the nation have to be attracted to winter sports, with new facilities and movements of talents into these regions.
The scouting has to be increased even more, on the whole nation, all corners and with more skilled scouts.

As Curling with the Hamsters has shown, Kriegiersien has many other races that could contribute to Winter Sports. The human dominated sports have to be given more access to really everyone again.
To creatures in the ‘new’ colonies, in the Underworld or the Kriegiersiens freelancers in the massive fleets and isles all over the oceans.

The ‘naturalization’ of further Top athletes should be propelled. Maybe not by kidnapping like with athletes from Brancaland, Bigtopia or Ausblic, but with maybe monetary and other temptations for athletes from nations like Cassadaigua, Chromatika, Mapletish, Mytanija, West Phoenicia, Kelssek or New Waldensia. Nations who did good in this Olympics and could be further weakened by baiting their Top athletes.
This will of course be much harder as in cases like Zomba la Bomba from our former puppet Zombiestan.

Further combined training camps with these nations and exchange of knowledge would be useful. But I know that our isolationist president would sadly never let this happen.

The investment in equipment has to be increased. A lot. For the Bob and Skeleton teams especially, but also the Ski teams and Skater need better material and technicians to support them. We had nearly none and mostly amateurs.

The Ice hockey team of the men didn’t play with the absolute best players of the KHL, but instead with the team that won sensational silver at the last Olympics. Expectedly they didn’t do that well a second time.

That is of course only a sideshow. The sports with big teams but only one medal should be supported much less then the big medal sports, where one athlete can win may medals.

Furthermore the structure of qualification should be renewed. Instead of enforcing a minimum quality, ~~more bad~~ a wider variety of athletes should be given access to the Olympic dream together with absolute exceptional World Class GOAT athletes.
And new evaluated statistic to this topic proves that these athletes do as a team better than the range of athletes send this time.

Of course hosting Olympics would be another step to improve in the medal table. But as our nation isn’t even able to host decent regional Scorpionball Games, that is an improbable hope.

Also the head of mission should be replaced by someone else.

Atlanta Johnson
Head of Mission

by **Saint-Domingues** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:16 am

Men's hockey: Mapletish 1–0 Saint-Domingue - Men's side eliminated

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period
0 1 0
0 0 0
Rodolfo Shaw scored in the second period as Mapletish easily defeated Saint-Domingue in Group D of the men's hockey, a result which eliminated the Dominguans from contention for the round of sixteen.

Having been as high as 2nd place after matchday four, Bertrand Favre's team have since suffered two consecutive losses which have put them out of contention for the next round. This is in contrast to the women's team, who have looked imperious on the ice, are top of their group, and look very likely to move on to the knockout rounds. These results have led to some commentators and figures on social media criticising Favre's side and questioning the gender pay gap when the team's fortunes can be contrasted so starkly.

However, there must be a matter of blanace. For instance, the ratings which RTD has utilised by La Statistique rank the men's hockey team at just 50/100, a stark contrast to the women's 100/100. With this in mind, it is harder to judge Favre's team harshly. Three wins from the first four games was a good achievement, and the two resultant losses merely a return to what was expected. Furthermore, it should be noted that the men have been placed in a rather tough group - there is no other group where the top two can boast 15 and 14 points respectively (not to mention 3rd place has 13). In all of the other groups except for F, Saint-Domingue would not be eliminated from contention for top two, let alone top three, and in many of them would be in third place.

Across the group
The Teremaran Unified Team remain top as they tasted victory again, this time defeating Equestrian States of Poland by a narrow 2-1 margin. TUT are now on 15 points, whilst their opponents are left struggling on 1 point, having lost every single game. Fluvannia are close behind in 2nd, winning their match against Abovian Union 2-0 to stay a point behind the leaders. The Abovian Union have been eliminated after this round of results.

Darmen followed the lead of the top two by winning their game against already-eliminated Northwest Kalactin 5-2 to stay in third. Curiously, all of the top four teams won their games this matchday, having faced off against the bottom four. There have therefore been no movements in the table this matchday despite every team playing.

Saint-Domingue head coach Betrand Favre: "I think it is a most unusual storm. Yes, the women's team has done very well, but we are not the women's team and we do not play against the teams that they play. You should be giving lots of credit to Maïté Deslys for how she has got her team playing, but that has nothing to do with me and is not an accurate or fair way of comparing success. There is a stark gender gap.

"As for our own hockey, we struggled today. Mapletish had a very tight defence and we did not make many chances. It was a bit of an easy goal to give away but I did think Mapletish deserved the win, we were too sloppy and we were going to get punished for it at some point. We're looking at the final game as the chance to show how good we can be, those three wins did not come out of nowhere. They were the product of hard work and the class of the players. It has been a tough group and we are trying to sign off in the best way possible."
Team:
Grappelly <- Dieulafoy
Jamrog
Lebas <- De Guignes
Vacek <- Linné
Auch <- About
Pugliesi <- Barreau

Mapletish: Shaw (23:49)
Saint-Domingue: N/A
Venue: Portage Centre, Clayquot

by **Srednjaci** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:19 am

REPORTER IVAN JURLINA: Finally a new medal for DR Srednjaci.
Great day for our men’s biathlon relay from Clayquot!
Our boys won bronze and thus brought the first men's medal from the Olympic Games for Srenjaci!
With us in the studio are the bronze Lucian Matković, Ivan Sutov, Goran Šimičić and Saša Čorić.
Apart from them, the indispensable Siniša Čunko, the president of the Srednjaci Olympic Committee, is in the studio.
Guys welcome and congratulations on behalf of the entire WAS TV team.

BOYS: thank you and thank you to everyone who watched us.

REPORTER: today we are only in male company hehe

ČUNKO: Today is men's day after all.

REPORTER: but it won't just be men's by the end of the day but let's get back to bronze.
Guys, you must be excited. Lucian?

LUCIAN: Me first? hahaha Ok, yes we are excited, at least me. A great career to which I also added an Olympic bronze after three golds in a regional competition and 3 golds and one silver in state competitions. But this Olympic medal always shines with a special glow.

REPORTER: Ivan, in the mixed relay of two missed targets, now in the men's relay 100% hit all ...

IVAN: We knew before the start that the medal must be done to the maximum, there is no tactics. Just look at how strong those teams are. It was in my head that I had to reset my entire system and forget about everything that was before.

REPORTER: here we look at how the first change was tied, everyone was on the first shot in the line, really the Olympic cream of this sport.

LUCIAN: that this is the very top of world biathlon.

REPORTER: Goran and Sasa, you are quiet, something hahaha

GORAN: everything has already been said haha

SAŠA: a difficult race, the hardest for me in my short career.
But everything is so well organized, the whole Olympics in Clayquot are well organized and we all had equal conditions and that is why the quality came to the surface like this.

ČUNKO: young Sasha notices very well.
Great Olympics! Great organization and the host really put everything on top level!

REPORTER: let's look at the results of that race now ...

Biathlon - Men's 4x7.5 km Relay
-1 Nicola Nude/Norbert Nude/Nathan Nackt/Desmond Desnudo (KGS)                     1:21:28.0  GOLD
 2 Aleksy Duneighski/Emilian Jediynak/Albert Kravysck/Hieronym Smolak (EQP)        1:21:32.2  SILVER
 3 Lucian Matkovic/Goran Simicic/Ivan Sutov/Sasa Coric (SRE)                       1:22:02.9  BRONZE

REPORTER: We see that only the first two relays went below 1:22

ČUNKO: Yes, very well-coordinated relays, but as you watched, the medals were literally shared on the last shot, because we were all very close.

REPORTER: a great race is behind us, really great!
The rest of our competitors also performed. We will start with figure skating. Short program for women, Simona Dimitrova finished in 43rd place and Jana Ivezić in 45th place.

ČUNKO: Yes, that is the range at the moment.

REPORTER: let's look at part of Simona's performance.

ČUNKO: two large ice rinks are currently being built, so there will be conditions for separate training in hockey and figure skating.

REPORTER: You said that speed skating halls are also planned?

ČUNKO: That's right, three halls will be built, one in Catania, one in Bistua Nuova and one in Kula.

REPORTER: here are the maps of our country with larger cities and the capital of Catania. Purely to give foreign viewers the impression of a country.

REPORTER: in the women's downhill, Marija Hercigonja failed to get a better result than 25th place and Tatjana Ljubić 90th place.

ČUNKO: yes, the descent was very good and the track was well prepared, Marija was great in training but she didn't manage to turn it into a race.
Ljubić made a mistake after the compression that threw her out of the ideal trajectory, after which the first jump was bad and there was no room for repair.

REPORTER: let’s look at the results of that race.

Alpine skiing - Women's Downhill
--1 Jana Eichberg (STL)               1:44.66  GOLD
  2 Claire De Lune (CMT)              1:45.28  SILVER
  3 Mary Black (KRY)                  1:45.86  BRONZE

25 Marija Hercigonja (SRE)           1:47.06
90 Hélène Jardin (LEN)               1:54.91
   Tatjana Ljubic (SRE)              1:54.91

REPORTER: The Mutavdžić sisters were solid, even surprisingly good in the first two bobsled races.

ČUNKO: yes, they did much better in the first two races than the boys. I am satisfied with their performance considering all the logistical and technical problems we had with their bob.

REPORTER: Of course, hockey attracts the most attention, do you follow the matches?

ČUNKO: I follow of course.

REPORTER: Let's look at the first group.

Ice hockey - Men's

Taeshan 0–2 Banija

  Group A                          Pld   W OW OL  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Banija                             6   4  0  1  1   12   8  +4   13
2 The Hannasean Federation           5   2  1  1  2   11   9  +2    9
3 New Waldensia                      5   3  1  0  2    7   6  +1    9
4 West Phoenicia                     5   2  1  0  2   11   7  +4    8
5 Taeshan                            5   2  0  1  2   11   9  +2    7
6 Augusticinia                       5   1  1  0  3    5  14  −9    5
7 Cocoabo Forest                     5   0  1  2  2    8  12  −4    4

REPORTER: Banija vs Taeshan derby ...

ČUNKO: Banija is playing great and this justified the derby. A solid and strong match that Banija won and we see that they are leading convincingly.

LUCIAN: They aspire to the title.

ČUNKO: yes, they are strong and I would not be surprised if they get a medal and maybe even gold.

REPORTER: Another derby in the second group, host Kelssek vs. Valanora.

CUNKO: Yes, an extremely strong match, a great match. Kelssek failed to take advantage of the home field.

REPORTER: Let's look at the group.

Valanora 4–0 Krytenia
Flexanewmega 3–0 Central Shaneville
Kelssek 0–2 Waisnor

  Group B                          Pld   W OW OL  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Waisnor                            6   3  3  0  0   12   3  +9   15
2 Valanora                           5   3  0  1  1    9   3  +6   10
3 Kelssek                            5   2  1  0  2   11  10  +1    8
4 Flexanewmega                       5   2  0  1  2   10   9  +1    7
5 Nurkama                            5   1  1  2  1    9  10  -1    7
6 Central Shaneville                 5   2  0  0  3    5  10  −5    6
7 Krytenia                           5   0  0  1  4    3  15 −12    1

REPORTER: for the end, we left the most interesting but also the most difficult group ...

Group E
Britonisea 1–0 Npc West Florida
Chromatika 0–1 Tikariot
Siovanija & Teusland 0–2 Mytanija

  Group E                          Pld   W OW OL  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Britonisea                         5   2  1  2  0    6   8  -2   10
2 Chromatika                         5   3  0  0  2    9   7  +2    9
3 Mytanija                           6   2  1  0  3    6   7  −1    8
4 Siovanija & Teusland               5   2  1  0  2   11   9  +2    7
5 Diarcesia                          5   1  2  1  1   10   9  +1    7
6 Tikariot                           5   1  1  2  1    7   8  -1    7
7 Npc West Florida                   5   1  1  1  2    5   6  −1    6

ČUNKO: In my opinion, the derby of the tournament was played by Siovania and Teusland against Mytania.
This is a group of deaths. Siovania and Teusland before the start of the tournament with Mytania were known as the number 1 favorite, this group is full of great teams and Mytania was better in this match. Everyone is so close, a couple of points difference and everything can still change.

REPORTER: Speaking of Siovanni and Teusland, they are great in women's hockey.

Ice hockey - Women's

Group F
Krytenia 2–5 West Phoenicia
Banija 0–3 Siovanija & Teusland
Kelssek 4–3 Xuande-Xiphoi

  Group F                          Pld   W OW OL  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Siovanija & Teusland               4   4  0  0  0   16   4 +12   12
2 Kelssek                            4   3  1  0  0   16   8  +8   11
3 Xuande-Xiphoi                      5   3  0  0  2   21  13  +8    9
4 West Phoenicia                     4   1  0  0  3   10  13  −3    3
5 Banija                             4   1  0  0  3    7  16  −9    3
6 Krytenia                           5   0  0  1  4   11  28 −17    1

ČUNKO: yes, they are absolute favorites in women's hockey, but there are also great teams, everything is open and women's hockey is more and more watched and popular.

REPORTER: dear viewers, stay with our program, we will be back in our studio in an hour.
We will talk about what awaits us today.
In the meantime, watch the basketball match between TJUN-ia and Srednjaci.

by **Waisnor** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:01 am

No medals, but good qualifications

Previous day, as usual, didn't bringed any medals to Waisnorian delegation, but what we have are really great results in qualification rounds of various competitions:

We'll start from Arthur Pavlovich who was participating in smowboarding men's big air competitions. Arthur is considered the kind of person who can compete for medals in competitions, but he does not often come across such chances. And apparently Pavlovich had just such a chance.
In his first run, Pavlovich showed all his skill - he perfectly performed a rather interesting program and thanks to this he earned exactly 97 points, which was the best result in run. After the 1st run ended, Arthur looked very happy that he was able to take first place, albeit intermediate.
However, in the 2nd run Pavlovich did not perform as impressively as in the first - there were some mistakes in his performance. As a result, he earned 86.25 points, which was not a particularly outstanding result, but it was not terrible either. However, despite this, no one could surpass the result of Pavlovich of the first run and overtake him in the rankings.
Thanks to his excellent performance in the 1st run, Arthur took first place in his qualification group. His result was not only the best in the group, but also the best in qualifying in general. Now Arthur, according to him, is aimed at winning a medal.

From the women side we have Sofia Kulishkina in figure skating individual competitions. Unlike Arthur, Sofia was not considered the kind of person who could compete for medals, but in other competitions she had already proved that she could show good results. And today she just showed it.
Sofia said that she was very lucky that she got to the Olympics and she went out on the ice in a suitable state - quite happy. Feelings were of great importance in her performance as well - she showed a very wide range of emotions. However, she did not forget about the performance either - her performance stood out beautifully and performed with complex elements, among which two triple too loops in a row stood out.
When Kulishkina got off the ice she was still happy, now because she was able to perform her program very well. And the marks became another reason for happiness - Sofia earned 74.08 points. Such points practically guaranteed Kulishkina's access to the free program.
According to the results of the competition, Sofia became the third, losing only to Jessica Carmichael from Cassadaigua and Maria Tukar from Renzynistan. Kulishkina herself has already said that she will do everything possible to win a medal.

OTHER WAISNORIAN RESULTS
Lilia Butkevich and Angelina Nikitina finished 6th after fitsr two runs of bobsleigh two-woman competitions
Another Waisnorian skater in women's figure skating individual short program, Marya Sitko, finished 75th
Sergey Slepko finished 6th in freestyle skiing men's halfpipe qualification round and went to the finals, Yakov Dyadechkin finished 50th, Dmitry Bardashov finished on 65th place
Waisnorian men's hockey team won another match in the group B, now beating hosts, Kelssek, 2-0
In another qualification group of snowboarding men's big air tournament, Daniil Ivanov finished 23rd and Alexander Selyava finished 30th
Both Waisnorian in short-track women's 1000m heats, Galina Savina and Kristina Kritsa, finished 3rd in their heat

XV Olympic Winter Games - RP thread

SREDNJACI IN THE HUNT FOR NEW MEDALS

ANOTHER MEDAL FOR SREDNJACI

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