Games of the XV Olympiad — roleplaying thread

by **A Kea** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 4:31 pm

KTV

A Kea managed to win our second ever olympic medal today, another silver. Simeon Kalousis successfully stayed in the second place after the medal race, where he only finished 7th, something that did not affect his placement.

I came in Electrum aiming for a medal, while I'm not satisfied with my performance today, I'm really glad that I managed to get in the podium overall. This silver medal is vindication for my strategy and all these years of practise I had. There's a future for sailing in A Kea as you saw today. I'm also looking forward to my second medal race in two person dinghy with my brother Evristhenis, I know we're not in contention for a medal there but it's great experience for him and a good way to get in shape for next Olympics. As for me, you'll obviously be seeing me again next time.

Our swimming champion Evlambia Hatzilefteris did what no other Kean swimmer managed to do, she qualified to the semifinals as 3rd, unfortunately her luck run out there, where she ended 13th and failed to proceed to the final but she still is the first and only Kean swimmer so far to not get eliminated in the heats.

In team events our men's football team topped their group and are off to the round of 32, while our men's water polo team successfully beat Rapstochje with a score of 10-8 and made it through to the round of 16.

Tommorow's a big day cause athletics start, where our champion and medal hopeful Lila Kofa will be starting her olympic campaign. Triathlete Peter Yosef Papadopoulos Junior will also be fighting for a medal, after our female triathletes, Europa Katsouli and Layla Justine got 24th and 13th respectively.

by **Hannasea** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:51 pm

Five (Geddit!?!?!?!?) Suggestions For Improving The Modern Pentathlon

The modern pentathlon is one of the sports mostly closely associated with the Olympic Games.* But its very name is something of a misnomer: based on the five qualities needed of a 19th century cavalry officer, today it hardly seems ‘modern’ when most cavalry units are armored cavalry fielding tanks rather than horses and fencing is mostly limited to selling off contraband pilfered from the PX. The inaccessibility of its disciplines is also an issue (while many children grow up learning to swim and ride bikes, making the triathlon widely accessible, it’s generally rarer to have opportunities to ride horses or fence with swords). We look at five suggestions for improving the modern pentathlon, though we have limited the suggestions to summer sports given the existence of the excellent winter pentathlon championed by the nation of Ad’ihan, and we have not listed the military pentathlon because pointing out its perfectly alternatives would ruin the point of this article.

Suggestion 1: Change the equestrianism component

Easily the most controversial of the five disciplines is the equestrianism, writes Rose Lester, Hannasean competitor in the women’s modern pentathlon at the 15th Summer Olympics (and apparently finding time to write this midway through the fencing competition). Hannasea does not generally compete in Olympic equestrian events, making me the only Hannasean woman who will ride a horse at this Olympics. The equestrian component of modern pentathlon is unusual in that riders do not use horses they are familiar with, but are given their rides at random on the day. This introduces a high level of randomness in the competition: a leading competitor after fencing and swimming could be stuck with a noncompliant or incompetent horse and lose all medal hopes. Most modern pentathletes are not specialist riders. There’s also a question of animal cruelty: riders trying to force unfamiliar horses to jump a course can lead to scenes of brutal whipping quite unlike the close relationship between rider and horse in the specialist equestrian events.

There are numerous possible events that could be substituted for equestrianism. A modern officer (if that is to be the spirit of the event) is more likely to use a folding canoe or climb a rocky hillside than ride a horse. Why not substitute in a sprint or even slalom canoe event? Or a climbing wall, with sport climbing becoming an Olympic sport in its own right now? Alternatively, if the spirit of “riding” is to be preserved, then far more children ride bikes than do they horses. A mountain biking or BMX course would offer a specialist challenge without the potential intercession of an unruly animal. At the more extreme end, there could be a motorbike race, introducing auto sports to the Olympics for the first time. Far more fitting of a modern dispatch rider!

Suggestion 2: Change the fencing component

Fencing is a specialist sport, and one that has no real relevance to the work of a modern officer, writes Princess Lieutenant Jessika Þorbergsdóttir, who competed for Græntfjall in the foil at the 15th Summer Olympics. I will of course always defend fencing as a sport, but I wouldn’t pretend it had much place in my training. Pentathlon first touch fencing is even less realistic: it simply bears no relationship to any experience in the field. When I was trekking through the Verdean jungle, not once did I wish for a rapier at my side.**

A better suggestion would be a hand-to-hand combat component. This could be one of the Olympic martial arts (boxing, wrestling, judo, taekwondo or karate), another martial art, or a mixed martial arts competition allowing any style to be used. An admitted advantage of fencing is it allows a direct combat component without prejudice to size. Adopting a martial art would probably mean an end to the system of fighting every other competitor, but then this is not integral to the event: after all, the fencing at these Olympics was split across two heats. Splitting by some (fairly broad) weight classes would be a possibility.

Suggestion 3: More properly reflect the role of a modern officer

Most modern military officers do not ride horses or fence with swords, writes Colonel Ríó Emanúelsson, who competed in modern pentathlon at the Græntfjaller Army Academy but now campaigns for the event’s reform. The times they actually have to shoot a pistol, swim lengths, or even run, in combat, are actually incredibly limited, if not nonexistent. These are the five duties of a modern officer:

1. Getting to work on time. (Suggested event: Obstacle course run.)
2. Passing security clearance. (Suggested event: A speed typing challenge.)
3. Sitting at their desk. (Suggested event: A ‘sitting’ event like single sculls rowing or time trial cycling, except the results don’t count for any points.)
4. Waiting for the drone program to load. (Suggested event: Brewing coffee, marked on quality.)
5. Firing at target. (Suggested event: Speed clicking challenge, bonus points for fist pump celebration.)

A sixth event of target discrimination (telling the difference between a rebel camp and a medical aid station) is unnecessary and probably a waste of time as in my experience it won’t come up much in the real world.

Suggestion 4: Lose the whole cavalry officer angle entirely

We all seem to agree that the work of a modern officer isn’t reflected in the modern pentathlon, writes Mia Ellis, Senator for the Liberal Party in the Hannasean Federation, so why not just do away with the fiction entirely? We can have five sports, representing diverse skills, and pay no mind to whether they accurately reflect cavalry officer training. How important was the standing long jump really to ancient warfare? New sports keep appearing at the Olympics. Surfing. Skateboarding. BMX freestyle. There’s talk of breaking (break dancing) at future Olympics. Why are we limited to a program of sports from a 19th century Schutzenphalian gymnasium-schule?

I’ve offered suggestions for new sports: five of which are currently Olympic events, with alternates which would be new entirely:
1. A sport with an endurance component, such as mountain biking or cross-country running.
2. A sport with a sprint component, such as speed climbing or finswimming.
3. A sport with an artistic component, such as BMX freestyle or kiteboarding.
4. A sport with an obstacle component, such as slalom canoe or obstacle swimming.
5. A sport with a ball game component, such as ping-pong or minigolf.

This would be a much more rounded challenge of athletic abilities – and if it no longer resembles the duties of a junior military officer, would anyone really care?

Suggestion 5: Keep it exactly the same!

The modern pentathlon is a noble sport, writes Jasmin von Wolfsfurt, Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland’s domestic female modern pentathlon champion. It combines five disparate events for a challenge unlike any other, demanding of competitors highly specific skills. Unlike the multi-sport athletic events (decathlon/heptathlon/indoor variants) where it is possible for someone to make up for very poor pole vaulting or throwing skills by being sufficiently dominant at the track and jumping events, a modern pentathlete who is a poor fencer, rider or shooter has no chance of winning. The argument that serf children don’t grow up riding horses or fencing is irrelevant as there’s no need for them to compete in high level competition, which is better reserved for a more dignified class of athlete anyway (and if their parents don’t wish for them to be poor, then they should either buy more money, or just inherit a vast estate like I did). The modern pentathlon has featured at all 15 Summer Olympics and is an integral event. It should not be changed!

* OOC: How closely associated, given than in NS Baron de Coubertin nor, arguably, the ancient Greek pentathlon, exist, is a subject for much meta-head scratching.
** Although it might if I ever finish writing the second half of that story.

by **Graintfjall** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 6:15 pm

Article from the In Brief section of the GS SuperSports+ website.

Mechanistic Results Regurgitation: Traditional Græntfjaller sports to the fore

The Biggest Fucking Græntfjaller

actually

Moonshadow

Landsmót Hestamanna

tons

by **Britonisea** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 6:23 pm

OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT (INTERVIEWS)

Today At The Games
Games of the XV Olympiad
Day Seven

The opposite to "At The Games: Sunrise" is this show, which will be presented by Nicky Samuels. Nicky Samuels is one of Britonisea's biggest news presenters and a highly popular figure amongst younger people in the country. With a large online presence of over 1.5 million subscribers on Instagram alone, she definitely has a loud of appeal, probably done to her humour and the warmth that she gives off - but can also get into the nitty-gritty of an issue to find out a solution to it. She will be bringing that to the Olympic Games in Electrum as she analyses the best performances from Britonisea and the wider ABEN delegation and also the performances that didn't quite live up to standard. Joining her is former Britonish volleyball player, Alex Hampstead who will also be providing commentary for both indoor and outdoor volleyball coverage on BVC. Alex Hampstead will be brushing up on his knowledge of other sports ahead of his debut as a presenter for this show. Finally, Kat Laurence will join the team. People would know Kat from appearing as a sports journalist both on screen and in written form. Kat has been watching sports for as long as she was alive and for her, an appointment as one of BVC's presenting team is a dream come true.

The studios of At The Games: Today will be in Port Grenville which will be home to 76 medal events at the Olympic Games

The show had been going on for some time during the night and spoke about many of the sports already, including Britonisea's win in Water Polo - including analysis of The Sarian's team who the nation will face in the round of 16. The hosts also spoke about Britonisea's fifth Judo medal in Olympic history, with Daniella Thompson winning a bronze medal against a Waisnorian opponent. Despite Noel Shoultz appearing in a lot of events, it doesn't seem as though he will be picking up any medals in the pool - the team tries to pick apart why this is the case. ABEN Union has qualified in both the Men's and Women's Rugby Sevens - much to the delight of Rugby Sevens Bronze Medalist and 2021 commentator, Matej Kovačević who was brought on to be a guest during Today At The Games. Finally, ahead of tomorrow's Mixed Multihull Race, Rein Biermann and Carla Pitsum are in first place and are guaranteed a medal as the last place can only score 20 and third place is 34 points behind the leading pair. However, Petty Officer Rollins/Serving wench Molly from HMS Onslaught can relegate them into silver if they finish two places ahead of the Britonish pair. Can the Brits hold on? For this portion of the show, Nicky Samuels interviews two of the more popular Britonish boxers about their time in Electrum - starting with Edwin (who was expected to do pretty well at these Games) and then Myles (who is still in the competition to become Olympic Champion). Britonisea has never won Olympic gold in boxing but has won five medals at three different Olympic Games.

Not too pleased: Edwin Magini was kicked out of the Men's Heavyweight tournament by Ricardo Galarza (BNM) 1-4...

Johno Sarza: Hello Edwin - I would just like to start off by congratulating you for getting this far - the Olympic Games...round of 32. What's your thoughts?

Edwin Mangini: Well, I would be a lot more pleased if I had made it beyond this point - I would have loved to have qualified into the round of 16, quarter-finals, and then on to semi-finals at least but it is what it is.

Johno Sarza: Four of the five judges decided that your opponent, Ricardo Galarza, did better than you - there were some crucial jabs that you let in which may have swayed the decision of the judges. What would you change about your performance if you were to redo the fight?

Edwin Mangini: Absolutely knock the lights out of him. (chuckles) No not really....but that would be nice. I think I just need to be a bit more defensive earlier on. This brother came at me all guns blazing and I was like woah, calm down son. He was the better fighter so what can you do?

Johno Sarza: What's next for Edwin? Another Britonish Championships? Another Olympic Games?

Edwin Mangini: I think I'll be back for the next year's Olympic Games - I'll fight whoever I need to fight in order to get back to the Olympics and when I'm at the next Olympics, I will make it my mission to get further than the Round of 32. Not good enough.

Johno Sarza: Now, most Britonish male boxers were knocked out in the Round of 32 - we were good enough to get to that stage...what do you think about that? Does the fault lie with Britboxing or...?

Edwin Mangini: I dunno, dude. We will go back and have a look at all of our styles and see where to go from there. It might be an 'us' issue but I don't think it is...Britonisea just had a bad day in boxing but we will come back fighting. It was the same training that gave us 5 medals in the past.

Johno Sarza: We've got one more Britonish male in the boxing, Myles Raley - what message do you have for Myles as he moves into the quarter-finals?

Edwin Mangini: You know, I love my brother Myles - I hope he does well and makes Britonisea proud because we need a Briton in the Semi-Finals at least. I think he can do it. He's only got one more fight and then he's got a medal, innit? That's what we need to hear. I also wanna big up my mate Roberto Matula from Togonistan too. I would love to see him go all the way, to be honest. As long as Novapaxians are on that podium, I'm alright.

Johno Sarza: Thank you, Edwin and I hope to see you back in the ring soon...

Celebrating success: Myles Rayley makes it to the quaterfinals of the Men's Super Heavyweight after Jaume Oleastro (NHE) 4-1...

Johno Sarza: Myles Raley - the man of the hour, pulling through for his country. A Briton in the quarter-final of the men's boxing at the Olympic Games in Electrum - we didn't see this coming after what was a disastrous Round of 32, how are you feeling?

Myles Raley: Can you smell those at least six grams of gold in the air because I certainly can. I'm buzzing after that fight and to be honest I feel like nothing or no one is standing in my way. Even if the next round isn't successful for me, it brings me great pride and joy that I am the final Briton in the running.

Johno Sarza: Exactly, that's such a huge feat. Did you believe that you would get this far before starting the Olympic Games?

Myles Raley: I think it's important to have the belief that yes, yes - you can. Did I expect it, maybe not but I kept telling myself that yes, I am going to get the gold and each fight is me working towards it. There's only eight men left in the draw and if I beat the next lad, that's it, I'm touching metal, so I'm excited about that but I've got to remain modest as well. Next round might not go my way...I'm going to try and keep the faith though. I know I can do it.

Johno Sarza: What's your opinion on the state of Britonish boxing? Obviously this year, we've nearly had all of our men wiped out pretty early on in the competition...

Myles Raley: I am not too sure. Johnson Labonte won that bronze medal last year and people seemed a bit shocked about that even though we won a medal the year before that and then three back Paripana Games. It's been a bit of a shame that Britonish women didn't make the cut but the Estogians are showing us how it's done, to be honest.

Johno Sarza: Oh, so you watch the other Abenites during their fights then?

Myles Raley: Well...yeah. Even though I participate in boxing, you've got to remember that I like the sport as well - I love watching it and if there's someone who's on your side, I want to support them - you get me? I think it's important. It also helps me decide what to do for my fights too. Oh that uppercut looked juicy, let me try one of those...haha.

Johno Sarza: You've definitely been getting a lot of support, haven't you, from online? Britboxing obviously loves a bit of you...

Britboxing is quite demanding!: Only one Briton remains in boxing at the Olympic Games - let's hope he gets as far as possible!

Myles Raley: I mean...who doesn't love a bit of Raley, amirite? But, no it's been great having BritBoxing supporting my journey all the way through. I hope I can deliver.

Johno Sarza: Well, wherever you place, you'll be doing the country proud. Thanks Myles for speaking to me!

Myles Raley: No problem, have a nice day!

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 7:09 pm

Qrono Island
The Middle Waters

“Well shit…” Karl moaned. “The clock is going backwards.”

His cellphone, receiving no signal, was losing seconds. Not much, but it was going backwards. And it was disconcerting in the slightest.

“You feel…. Any younger?” Dominick asked.

Karl frowned and shrugged. “No, not really actually. Still feels like time is… well time? I don’t know.”

A slight haze had befallen them in their panic, partially obscuring the island from view. Their attention, however brief, was suddenly on the island as a bright blue beam of light descended from the heavens. It made contact with the ground, and then, in the same split second, disappeared entirely.

“HOLY SHIT!” Karl screamed, throwing himself onto the deck in shock. “Please tell me you got that?”

Nick was silent, mouth agape. The battery indicator light on his camera was flashing red. Clearly not.

“For fuck’s sake,” Karl moaned again, steadying himself on his back. Can you swap the battery?”

“No,” his partner replied, dejected. In both hands he held two spare batteries, both of which shared the same empty indicator. “Best we can do is motorboat close, and try to capture some pictures.”

Karl was standing again, although the residual adrenaline left him wobbly on the already wobbly deck. Dominick passed him, making way back to the wheelhouse to get the small vessel running again.

“Clock’s out in here too,” he called, disturbingly nonchalantly. “Keeps blinking one-two-three-four. All of the instruments are just spinning in circles…”

The engine suddenly roared to life, jolting the boat forward before the anchor and brake caught it”But… the starter still seems to be working. Odd how the disturbance is selective, isn’t it? And the RADAR seems to be OK…. except for when it scans the island. All I see is a blank black space.”

*click*

The bulb of a camera filled the cabin with light, followed quickly by the whirling of the shutter aperture opening and closing in rapid succession. “Let me get some pictures here… keep posing!” Karl requested, standing slightly behind the pilot. “I’ll get the instruments on film… hopefully the magnetic field doesn’t spoil the film.”

*click*

“Go ahead and take us in, Nick…” Karl turned and exited the wheelhouse, returning back to the rear deck.

The island seemed much closer than it had only a minute ago, and there was a strange electricity in the air. His cellphone, presumably still without reception, subtly buzzed in his pocket. It wasn’t the kind of buzz one would get from an incoming call, but rather the buzz two objects of metal experience when energized by the poles of a particularly weak magnet. He could feel the same resonance from every metal object on the boat… as if they had crossed paths with a live powerline but had somehow been protected through a latent Faraday field?

“There’s a pier!” Karl pointed and called. Dominick did nothing to acknowledge the notice, save for turning the boat slightly to begin moving towards it.

On the shoreline were several scurrying brown blots, ducking to-and-fro between a couple small open-air thatches on posts, farm fields, and by the looks of it, the back wall of a particularly old, worn, but otherwise sturdy stone fortress. An abbey perhaps? If the legends were true, the island’s inhabitants were not warriors but monks, tasked since time immemorial to guard and protect “time.” Whatever that meant? How could something be “since time immemorial” if the very people were the ones who defined “immemorial?”

Personally, Karl believed them to be a doomsday cult of sorts, obsessing over clocks and timekeeping devices as if they hearkened omens of doom. The blinding blue pillar of energy he and Nick had seen aside, the island only gave off a creepy vibe and some weird magnetic anomalies. The clocks, instruments, even the electricity in the air, could all be explained away. Hell, the blue column was probably just an optical illusion….

In the Abbey

They rounded a corner and they were there...once again. Sebastian braced for the inevitable, but he actually set foot in the room this time without a wall magically appearing to block him.
He looked at the magnificent clock with its large moving black iron looking arms. As he had suspected before, the intervals between the...numbers?...were not even, some were much slimmer than the others. The upraised icons for each interval weren’t even numbers, but characters of an origin he had never seen and couldn’t describe to another if he had the opportunity. It did gleam in a certain light, and had a coppery glow. It was both magnificent and...disconcerting in its alien-ness.

The monk who seemed to be in charge blurted out,
“Oh look, the big oaf did his job so well...again. Why do we feed you if you can’t do anything for us, Brogdar? Everyone must do their part. Security is pretty simple when we do most of the work. All you had to do was keep him distracted, or…away.”

Brogdar didn’t respond to the tall, odd looking white haired monk that was speaking, instead leaning towards Sebastian and whispering...if you could call it that. Sebastian would call it talking less loud.
“This why Brogdar needs friends.”

Sebastian nodded.
“Hey, um...Father. Why do you have to keep me away? Brogdar seems to have privileges here... I just want to talk to who is in charge, and...Yeah, I did want to see the Clock. I don’t see the harm…”

The tall monk sighed. He had a couple other monks around him who were tending to some gadgets that looked at home in some kind of cyberpunk, Victorian-style drama.

Sebastian walked around the base of the Clock and closer. There seemed to be a giant brass telescope that swiveled in the largest window of the room. Next to it was a sort of monitor or mirror with a frame that was attached to the telescope.

“I am Brother Shnard.”

“Shneap? You’re the head guy, yeah. I’ve heard of you from some of the mon-, er...brothers.”

“No, I am not Abbot Shneap. He runs the Abbey. I am Brother Shnard. I am in charge of the Clock.”

“Okay. Yeah. Well, don’t lose heart. You will work your way up one day.”

“Responsibility for this room is much more crucial than responsibility for the whole Abbey. I wouldn’t expect you to understand that, as an outsider, but be aware that is absolute certainty.”

“So, you run this atomic powered Clock?”

“Ah, heheha. Common misperception that it is an atomic clock. We just let outsiders roll with that. Although close, it runs on a more direct, divine power than atomic energy.”

“Eh...What?”

“It is a divine energy clock.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“That not-a-thing is right behind you.”

Sebastian stuck a pin in that one, instead turning attention to the telescope and what he was sure now was an attached monitor screen, as he saw a little boat bobbing in the picture.
“What the heck is this?”

Shnard turned the scope slightly, and another boat came into focus.
“We have been watching your friends.”
He panned from first, one boat, that held two men with what looked to be like cameras. They seemed pretty innocuous. Likely media types.

Then he gently twisted a dial and another boat came to focus that seemed to hold a handful more men than the first. The pilot was a black man, while the others seemed more Levantine. They all wore scarves around their necks that he recognized as being Southern Tavlyrian in origin. Shemaghs, he was pretty sure they were called. They definitely looked Arab, but for the boat’s captain.

Another quick twist of the dial and the final boat was in focus.
It was another boat that held maybe half a dozen men, but they differed from the second in that they were all in black turtlenecks and pants; and were all brandishing sub machine guns, assault rifles, and grenade launchers. They, in contrast to the previous boat, were very white, probably Nordic, or Celtic which indicated some kind of Northern Tavlyrian origin.

Then finally, Shnard was panning back to the media boat, which seemed a lot closer than the others.

Sebastian shook his head.
“First of all, not my friends. Not a one of them. I didn’t sneak a fifth gen fighter jet into your garden just to distract you from some clowns in dinghies. Also, what the hell? Those guys can’t possibly all be together?”

“No, you are correct on that. They were originally approaching at different times, but we condensed the time so they are all here together. It makes it easier for us to deal with their intrusion from an energy standpoint.”

“I bet that messed with their heads. You sure have messed with mine these last couple days.”

“I’m sorry we have not had enough time to explain things. It’s not our intention to ‘mess’ with you…”

Sebastian frowned at that, not sure how to respond to the unexpected returned sarcasm.

He looked out the window to see Brother Manfred, the first monk who he had encountered in the gardens, wobbling along on a path right outside the Abbey, directly below the Clock Room. Suddenly, a large bull appeared, zapping right behind him. Manfred looked back in terror, grabbing one of the horns as it was about to ram him. Two other monks ran from behind, shouting, then again, as if Sebastian had blinked, but he was sure that he had not, the bull turned into a wheelbarrow that the two monks were pushing, with Brother Manfred inside. They dumped their brother monk out into the grass, and all were cutting up in relieved laughter afterwards.

Shnard pointed down.
“That is happening more and more as we are forced to deal with these matters like boats and your plane intruding. Time is throwing loose threads at us in protest to our manipulations, is the easiest way I can describe it.”

“Well, I’m sorry that my aircraft intruded on you, but...That’s weird and makes no sense. You have all the time in the world to do what you want, from what I can tell. Just zap it back into order, yeah? While you're at it, me and Brogdarz...Brogdar, excuse me, would like to go home to our original timelines.”

“We have it all, but in a blink, we could have nothing. So, you, and all of us on this Island.. Everyone on this planet, and in fact, the whole universe...are in grave danger if the time threads become too tangled. There is a point where we would no longer be able to control such events. We have wanted to send Brogdar home for some time, but...events like this...” He motioned to the telescope. "Make it harder for us to focus on sending you both back, and the others, much as we'd like to."

by **Kelssek** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 7:13 pm

SWIMMING
Róis an Lèigh wins gold in 800m freestyle

Róis an Lèigh has won Kelssek’s fourth gold medal of the Bunjil Olympics with a commanding performance in the women’s 800 metres freestyle. While she didn’t threaten the Olympic record of 8:11.51, an Lèigh left no doubt about the eventual winner.

An Lèigh cruised at the head of the pack for the first 550 metres before starting to pull away from the field, opening up a body-length lead by the final 100 metres. She ended up finishing 4.73 seconds ahead of silver medallist Saka Sudzi (Vilitan Union), who was left to battle with Holli Milne and Ankya Isassi (Vekaiyu) for the other two spots on the podium.

WATER POLO (M)
Sponner leads team effort as Kelssek bites back to best West Phoenicia

Captain Harry Sponner was stellar all match and notched two goals as Kelssek overcame a slow start to pummel West Phoenicia in their last-32 match.

Kelssek found themselves 2-0 down early as overly-casual defending in the hole let Daniel Cortez get a backhand away. Kelssek were then caught out on a counter-attack which saw Raif Gerzahen-Charbon forced to foul Manpreet Sindhu to prevent a certain goal, making Tutakamun Stephens earn it with a penalty shot. Eamon Ó Connail got one back on a powerplay opportunity, but Cortez once again got the better of the battle in the hole to tip a shot from Dillon Franks into the net with 1:33 left in the quarter.

Things were very different in the second quarter as Kelssek seemed to take exception to how the first eight minutes had transpired. Angelo Dossena imposed himself in front of the net to score the first of five unanswered goals. Harry Sponner burned his check repeatedly to earn three powerplays in the second quarter, and converted on one of them as Kelssek responded with venom.

KELSSEK 10
Sponner (2), Dossena (2)
Tetsu (2), Ó Conaill (2),
Gerzahen-Charbon, Paterson
WEST PHOENICIA 4
Cortez (2), Stephens (2)
(1-3, 4-0, 2-1, 3-0)

“There wasn’t really any adjustments as such, we all just felt like we weren’t playing to our ability at the start of the match and it was just a question of getting that corrected and playing our game.” Sponner said after the match.

West Phoenicia didn’t seem to have a response and were held to one goal in the last three quarters, allowing Kelssek to dominate the rest of the match. Angelo Dossena scored two goals getting free at the post, while Aguri Tetsu also got a brace from the prime perimeter shooting position on the left point. Hunter Paterson also scored his first international goal at 5:16 in the fourth quarter taking a cross-pool pass and shooting it first-time low to the keeper’s right.

The eighth-finals will see Kelssek up against Vilitan Union, who disposed of Græntfjall in a close-fought match.

With no judo medals so far, Kelssek stares ippon in the face

There was a sharp intake of breath from the Kelssek camp as Céline Durocher tumbled to the mat in her first round match in the women’s over 78 kg event and lost on ippon to Mòrag Mucklehose of the Licentian Isles. With just the mixed team event to go and little confidence in Kelssek’s chances on current form, Kelssek could be held off the podium in judo for the first time since it entered the Olympics.

More disheartening has been the manner of the losses. Only Riley-Anne Jenkins and Yara Abukwane have come close, each losing in bronze medal matches. And along with Claire Larnach, these are the only three judoka to have even reached quarterfinals. While most regarded the current crop as among the weaker teams that Kelssek has put forth in recent years, they were still regarded as likely to be strongly competitive and few expected a disappointment of this magnitude.

by **Diarcesia** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:10 pm

Diarcesia 2-2 Sylestone in Women's Football: Advancement Stays in Life Support

AURAS, ELECTRUM — The women of the Diarcesian Olympic Football team lost their first game in a spectacular way, being beaten by Hopal 2-1. Smarting from the defeat, they tried to shift gears and take a more reliable 4-4-2 formation in their Matchday Two game against Sylestone.

"We thought we found a winning formula. Instead we only drew 2-2 against Sylestone, a country that co-hosted the 78th edition of the Cup of Harmony," said coach Mbali Schwartz. "I am not pleased. The result is not good enough, and this is on me. I have to help the players be in their top shape again."

The draw left a sour taste in the mouth of the Team Diarcesian footballers. After Adriarulia Sacagrius made the inaugural score via a well-placed penalty kick, they were constantly on the defense with the more experienced Sylestoneans keeping possesion of the ball longer.

"We were not able to score as much as we wanted. Soon after taking the lead at the 22nd minute, we conceded a goal made by Rose Fleetwood. Since then, we didn't score at all until the very end. The circumstances behind the result, they were much less than ideal," Schwartz continued.

Football analyst Callias Michelack noted that while the women's individual mechanics and game sense improved from the previous match, they appear to be confused in executing even a simple formation like the 4-4-2.

"There was enough time to think and plan, but the coach was very slow in identifying when the formation is no longer working for the team. The team is also lacking in spirit," he said.

Advancement is considered to be highly unlikely, but possible: Diarcesia has to win against the Hannasean Federation and Sylestone has to lose to Hopal.

Article by: Jake Hassani
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Wanted: A Diarcesian Sporting Spotlight on Judo

ARCESIUS, DIARCESIA — Judo is one of the more underappreciated sports in the Diarcesian public, who tend to flock to watch professional tennis or (more recently) motor racing. But the indefatigable judokas of Team Diarcesian made their mark since their entry in the XIII Olympics in the Free Republics.

The judo scene has undergone a complete makeover in the last two Olympiads, and its well-oiled program helped Diarcesia become one of the most successful countries in the discipline.

Below is the current tally from the time Diarcesia fielded a judoka in the Olympics. Kriegiersien is one of the countries to beat here. With Graciano Rios's win against Holzkopf Baumfaust from said country, Diarcesia inches closer to matching them, in the process overtaking Liventia for the third most successful recent entrant. It would be reasonable to assume that the Monarchy does well in this sport.

Judo Medal Tally Since the XIII Olympics - Top Seven
As of XV Olympics Day Seven

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Kriegiersien (KGS)	7	11	8	26
2	Electrum (ETM)	5	3	1	9
3	Diarcesia (DCS)	4	3	3	10
4	Liventia (LEN)	3	6	4	13
5	Free Republics (FFR)	3	3	1	7
6	West Phoenicia (KWP)	3	1	5	9
7	Scornerse (SCR)	3	0	1	4

The team competition is the last remaining judo event in the current Olympics. Should the Monarchy attain gold there, they will sit comfortably at second behind Kriegiersien, something the Diarcesian judokas can be proud of. They shouldn't be complacent, though. Scornerse in their judo debut already earned three gold medals. But this drives home the point of having our sights in this sport in the future.

And yet, even here in the Olympics, all eyes are on our rowers and sailors. No offense to their abilities: they worked very hard to be an Olympian and nothing can that away from them. But isn't it a fact that Diarcesia prides in its archa and telus? I remember that we're supposed to quickly adapt when we know something is not feasible. Should we give our judokas their due? We are looking for a niche in this most august of competitions where we are most comfortable in. We are looking for something to fill the blank in the statement "Diarcesians are good in ____". Maybe, just maybe, it is judo.

Article by: Germana Sharrow
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by **Beaverriver** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:12 pm

Why is Beaver River so good at rowing?

In Beaver River's first Olympics, the Rowers have been one of Beaver River's shining stars. So far, two Beaverite boats have qualified for the medal finals with several more competing in semifinals tomorrow. Many college-aged Beaverites are excited as the excellence in Beaver River rowing are finally being known across the multiverse. However, rowing was not always considered an athletic event.

Early in Beaverite history, rowing was a vital transportation method as it allowed ancient Beaverites to move along the rivers in the region. Records from a thousand years ago indicated that the Beaver River was used frequently to connect to the forests of Forset and Forestly. Eventually, rowing companies were set up to ferry Beaverites across the bigger rivers in the country such as the Beaver River and the Castores River. Additional historical records found that ancient Flounderers regularly rowed across the Sound to trade with mainland Beaverites. When the industrial revolution came to Beaver River, steam powered ships replaced many rowing services and relegated rowing to being a recreation activity.

With the lost of rowing as an occupation, students and faculty at Corvan State University started a rowing club to preserve the tradition of rowing. Eventually, more colleges started their own rowing clubs and started rowing competitively. The first inter-collegiate rowing regatta occurred on the Beaver River between the Corvan State Rowing Club and the University of Mapleton Rowing Club upstream of them which Corvan State claimed victory. The Rowing Collegiate National Championship was started ten years later with the Green Coast University Rowing Club claiming the first championship. Today, the championship is hosted on the Beaver River in downtown Corvan with the Clover Bridge acting as the finish line. Meanwhile, the biggest rowing event in Beaver River is the Sound Regatta located on the Sound off of Flounders Island where more than a thousand rowers compete in 20 events. It yet to be seen if any Beaverite rowers will earn a medal in these games.

by **Pemecutan** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:28 pm

Saturday, 21 August 2021 (Saniscara Wage Wuku Dukut, Pawukon 1781)

Evaluation for the Better

Somer - Almost a quarter of the event have been proceed and we can see how Pemecutanian athletes manage to put and pull themselves out in this year Olympics. Some sports have ended their run and some other have yet to begin. And for some associations, it is time to evaluate their athletes performance.

A yellow flag is given by the association for Archery performance in the current Olympics. This because they failed to reached the same foot as before with the Mixed Team failure to advance to Knockout stage. However, a side note is Gede Artha Wiguna who is success to reached Round 32 which is a better result for him. Basketball on the other hand is given green flag after their team success to advance to Knockout stage in 3 events. A great accomplishment for the 3x3 team in which both men's and women's team are advancing. While the men's standard team continue their previous success to advance to Round 32.

Although it is still in contention, but Rowing Association of Pemecutan have given a green flag for their delegation. Placed in 6 semifinals events is a great result. It's doubled than their XIV accomplishment. The similar situation also given to Swimming. Winning a gold have been a great upgrade after their bronze in XIV Olympics. But that's not all. More Pemecutanian swimmers are advancing to final this Olympics rather than the previous one which give the association high credit for them even though they are still unable to add more medal.

As a new sport, Judo is getting a green flag after their shocking silver medal. While Sports climbing is given red flag after their bad result. UPOC officials make comment about the possibility that Sports climbing will not continue in the next edition. Tennis is also getting a yellow flag after Putrawan/Ratmadi lost in Round 64 which makes them failed to defend their silver medal.

But the big sport has yet to come. Athletics. The sport that give the most medal for the country in the previous edition. The official of course counting on them as a medal mining for the country. Names like Dewa Ayu Wiranti, Rika Lestari, Putu Darma Ginada and Bayu Angga Yuda are some that are rely on for medal. But one thing for sure is, this edition of Olympics have more delegations than the previous which makes the competition becomes more competitive.

Overall, we still can't make a whole evaluation for a running competition. Maybe in one part or another but not as a whole as the event still in early stage. All in all, the best accomplishment or a better result are not just seen by increase of medal tally but also how each athletes accomplished their result. Is their time better than before? Does their position changes? These factors can also become another points to evaluate on how our athletes have progress so far. Medal is just a bonus but individual accomplishment is something to take a note of.

Other News

Putu Yogi Satryawan success to placed in final of Men's 1500 m Freestyle.
Komang Oka Laksana/Putu Agus Wijaya become the only Badminton player that left in the competition
Komang Antari/Kadek Andreawati winning mark a great comeback for the double after Kadek Andreawati pregnancy break.
Jandiyuha Targaroha prepared himself to face Quarterfinal.
Pemecutanian sailors ready for medal race in Women's Heavyweight Dinghy and Mixed Multihull events.
Pemecutanian rowers will put their luck in 2 semifinal events, Women's One-Person Dinghy and Women's Coxed Eight.

Honorable Mention
Panca Darmawan
Finalist (6th) - Men's One-Person Dinghy (Sailing)
Pande Putu Ayu Agustina
Finalist (7th) - Women's 200 m Backstroke (Swimming)
Rianti Kusumawati
Quarterfinalist - Women's Shortboard (Surfing)
Gede Adi Jayadi/Made Rahadi/Pandu Gunawan/Satria Wira
Semifinalist - Men's Quadruple Sculls (Rowing)
Putu Eka Putra/Rian Cahyadi/Sandi Utama/Yahya Putra
Semifinalist - Men's Coxless Four (Rowing)

by **Vilitan Union** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:34 pm

King Pong: Wonder of the Vilitan Union

Brewster Hall, Somer, Electrum :: Senchau Imamaota has long been a household name for many Vilita & Turorians as the undisputed King of Pong. The experienced Vilitan Union Table Tennis star came into the Bunjil Olympic Games as the veteran face of the sport in the Cove. For Imamaota, a two-time Olympic Medalist, the XV Olympiad would be the 6th appearance at the Olympics overall and fifth consecutive.

In Imamaota's Debut Olympic Games representing Vilita, they would get eliminated in the Round of 32 in straight sets by Rodney Galloway of Bergnovinaia. Imamaota's run of five consecutive Olympic Appearances would begin in Aeropag, the games of the XI Olympic Games. They would expand from competing not only in the Men's Singles but also in the team event though the team would be eliminated after the first game. An all Vilitan Union first round Men's Singles pairing would see Senchau Imamaota defeat Takei Noaoeta 4-0 to return to the Round of 32 but this time Imamaota would not be defeated so quickly winning in five sets over Daniel Rockford to make a first appearance in the Round of 16 before falling in a decisive seventh game to Dane Trower.

During the XII Olympiad in Kelssek, Senchau Imamaota would continue to improve. After being eliminated in the Round of 32 in their debut, then in the Round of 16 in Aeropag, Imamaota defeated Quebecois Alex Sung in a full-length match to advance to the Quarter Finals. Yet once again, it would be just one round that Imamaota could progress being eliminated in the Quarter Finals by Mattijana's Uvan Borlanzic - not just in the Single's but also in the Team event with the Mattijana team also dropping the Vilitan Union at the same stage.

Imamaota's trend of advancing one round further in Men's Singles than the previous games came to an end with a 4-1 defeat to Jean-Marie Liu of LRL in the Round of 16 in Republica for the XIV Olympiad. However, Imamaota and the Vilitan Union team did manage to make it one step closer to a medal getting revenge over Uvan Borlanzic and the Mattijana team winning the Quarter-Final rematch to advance to the Semi-Final for the first time in the event. Then, with a 3-1 victory over the team from Kriegerstan, Senchau Imamaota, Liaaiba Boaboa and Takei Noaoeta would become the first Vilitan Union team to contest a Gold Medal final in Table Tennis. The Trio would defeat the team from Darmen in three straight sets to take the match and earn the first ever Gold Medal for the Vilitan Union in Table Tennis.

The whole team would return for the XIV Olympiad in Orean & Istria looking for the chance to defend their gold. Unfortunately, the trio's magic touch ran out in the Quarter Finals against the team from Diarcesia. In defeat it would mark the end of the line for long time Table Tennis player Takei Noaoeta who retired from the sport. Imamaota would keep trucking along, however, still eying that individual Gold. Despite an early set back in the Mixed Doubles - renewing the rivalry with Mattijana's Uvan Borlanzic who teamed up with Ulina Samarova to defeat Imamaota and Kiikkii Spinamoko in the debut of the Mixed Doubles, Imamaota was firing on all cylinders in the Men's Singles competition. Despite an early scare - an incredible 7 game match during the Round of 32 that saw the Vilitan prevail 21-19 in the decisive final set over Taeshan's Ryan Wantanabe, Imamaota would navigate their way back to the Quarter Finals and then to the Final Four with a chance to play for a Singles Medal. Standing in Imamaota's way once again would be Mattijana's Uvan Borlanzic.

In one of the great all-time comebacks of Olympic Table Tennis Final Four action, Imamaota was down 3-1 and on the bring of defeat facing Match Point to Borlanzic. From their, the Vilitan rallied to win the set 12-10 with three straight points to extend the match. Then, in a back and forth tooth and nail game Imamaota pulled level in the match with an extended 17-15 victory in the penultimate set. Finally, the Vilitan would secure their first individual medal taking the final set and match to advance to the Gold Medal Game.

After splitting the first two against Gabriel Forster of South Newlandia, an extended 17-19 result in the third set would ultimate turn the momentum. Imamaota would fall 4-1 but would still earn the Silver Medal after captivating the nation with their exploits of pinging and ponging. Imamaota would stand on the medal podium next to Forster and opposite their long-time rival Borlanzic of Mattijana who earned the Bronze.

Heading into the XV Olympiad in Bunjil, Imamaota would be heavily favored to improve one spot and take the Gold in the Men's Singles. The defending champion, Gabriel Forster of South Newlandia, had not qualified. Imamaota's long time rival Ulan Borlanzic would also be absent in a forced retirement with the Mattijana delegation skipping the games entirely. Imamaota would be the only returning medalist from Orean and Istria.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Senchau Imamaota - the reigning Olympic Silver medalist - was eliminated in the very first round of competition. Defeated by the virtually unknown Halim Alam-Harifi of the Alezian Union. Ousted in the Round of 64, it was the single worst showing in the Olympic career of Senchau Imamaota - who had made it to the Round of 32 even in their debut Games. Then it happened again. With a 3-1 lead, Imamaota and Spinamoko let it slip away and were defeated 4-3 in the first round of the Mixed Doubles by Terri Moran and Harry Mar of Hopal.

All of a sudden, the Vilitan Union's last hope to escape with a Table Tennis Medal for the third straight Olympic Games would the rookie Daita Shrane. Expectations were tempered for the first-time Olympian who had shown plenty of raw skill to earn their spot on the team but lacked the experience of the Veteran Imamaota and came in as a clear #2 on the Vilitan Union squad. With the veteran and team leader out in the first round, however, all the attention quickly turned to Shrane who shouldered it expertly. Surviving a difficult Round of 16 Battle with Henk Nesteng of BRO, Shrane swept TMB's Tom Philips 4-0 in the Quarter Finals to advance to the Final Four.

Shrane's Semi-Final opponent would be Rainer Claas of Kriegerstan and it would be one of the most exciting Semi-Final rounds of competitive Table Tennis in recent memory. Both Semi-Final matches would not only require a full 7 games but would each require overage play in the final set until one of the competitors found themselves two-clear. After being down 3-1 in the match, Shrane rallied past Claas with a 13-11 victory in the final game to become just the second Vilitan Union Olympian to advance to the Men's Singles Gold Medal Game. Shrane would find success where Imamaota fell short in Orean and Istria, defeating Quebecois Tafumi Yuta in four tightly contested games to claim the Men's Singles medal.

Senchau Imamaota - Vilitan Union team captain and reigning Olympic Silver Medalist, watched on as the youngster Shrane stood on the top step that many had penciled in for a different Vilitan Union athlete. As the Vilitan Union song of choice played and the flag elevated into the air, Senchau Imamaota knew that there was a new King of Pong in the Vilitan Union: Daita Shrane.

by **Banija** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 9:47 pm

Simba's Savannah
A fan community around Banija's national basketball teams

Hey guys! Welcome to this corner of the internet. This is Simba's Savannah. This is a basketball blog that covers, well, everything basketball about our national teams! Future national team prospects, Commonwealth Games qualifiers, the IBCs, youth national team camps- everything about team Banija on the hardwood.

And for those who don't know- Simba does mean Lion in Olusanke. Which is where we get the name. No place else.

And hell, you know where we are. We're throwing an absolute party at the XV Summer Olympiad here in Bunjil. We've got four basketball teams entered- men's' and women's squads in the traditional game, and then men's and women's squads again in the 3x3 Game. And so far, so good! Our men have had a fairly heavy schedule this Summer, starting off with the AOBCs and then getting a month off before rolling into the IBCs. After the IBCs, of course, there was only a couple of weeks before the team had to be in Bunjil.

The 5x5 Teams- Lock and loaded in Bunjil

Taking our strongest team for their third consecutive major tournaments in a span of four months is probably not considered wise. But the schedule worked out. If the Olympics were before the IBCs, they probably wouldn't have taken their strongest squad to the Games, instead ensuring that the seniors are rested up for the basketball tournament that has the most prestige- the International Basketball Championships.

But this time, even though it was a busy summer, it worked out. They have worked closely with the clubs, and on the men's side, the side has been excellent so far. They opened the tournament with a 25 point win over The Licentian Isles, a gap large enough to ensure that all 12 men got to play, and that Coach Lavaga got to rest his starters. With a short tournament at a tournament like the Olympics, Coach Lavaga knows that he's got to be willing to shorten his rotation if he needs to.

In Banija's 14 point win over Dotivija on Matchday 2, Coach Lavaga went deep into his bench, with Tionge being the only player not to play in their win over Dotivija. And since we had beaten both the other teams that had already won games, that meant we clinched the group with a game to go. We went heavy on the bench minutes for Matchday 3, beating Caryton by 15 to get to the knockouts. But it's all do-or-die from here on out. Coach Lavaga warned that this was a competition where 'anybody can beat anybody', and even though The Jovannic, our Ro32 opponent, went 1-2 in group play, they've got a fierce defense that, on the right day, can play with anybody.

It's nervewracking watching the men's side. The IBC success gives a sort of weight to their tournament play here, as if we fear they'll lose. Our other three basketball teams though? Pure joy. Let's start with the ladies 5x5 side. We took on the Lady Grim Reapers, one of the best teams in the multiverse, and only lost by 14 in a surprisingly excellent road performance. While nobody talked about moral victories, it is a goal of the OCB to improve the women's side of the equation, and that was undoubtedly a step in the right direction, against an opponent who could just as easily beat us by 35 without batting an eye.

They've played with confidence here in Bunjil. They took down their opening day opponents by 14. The Lionesses showed their ability to battle, earning a 4 point victory over Hispinas on Matchday 2. And to wrap it all up, we blew our BoF co-hosts, Bollonich, out of the building, with a 91-72 win on the final matchday to clinch a 3-0 group stage there as well. As the Lionesses prepare to play Chromatika, they are playing free from the weight of expectations. But maybe there should be- there is serious talent on this team, and anyone can beat anyone at the Olympiad, right? This is something that'll cut both ways.

But the biggest surprise these games, for sure, has to be the success of our 3x3 squads- particularly, the "Peerless Princes."

The 3x3 Squads- We're killing it in 3x3 Ball as well?

3x3 ball. Basically, streetball being played at the Olympics. We were skeptical when it was originally added to the programme. But we went to watch 3x3 Ball in Istria at the XIV Summer Olympiad, and I won't lie- that sport was absolutely awesome. Banija didn't do much in 3x3 basketball, but it was a fun and entertaining sport. Neither of our 5 on 5 basketball teams lost throughout the group stages, putting them at a combined 6-0. And our 3x3 teams? While not quite matching that record, are doing plenty well on their own.

As always- Ladies first. We had a mixed bag to start. The tournament started with a 21-12 dominant win over Felinetopia, where we really shot the hell out of the basketball, and yet played good enough defense to keep the opponents to 12. And then, the second game. We only scored 7 points, losing 17-7. Yikes. Britonisea showed that they could really ball with anybody. Our offense that night was completely smothered. Nobody could do anything, all we could do was brick contested 1 pointers from barely inside the arc. Analytically, the worst shot in basketball. Britonisea's defense wreaked havoc, and it did not bode well for the ladies chances for getting to the knockout stages.

Then Matchday 4. An opponent we were very familiar with on the men's side from the last Olympiad, Greater Vakolicci Haven. Extra motivation for a fantastic basketball game. GVH throwing their massive bodies around, while we were banging bodies with some of the biggest ladies at the tournament. And in a 19-19 game, with 10 seconds left, it would be the 5'11 Chidinma Okeli who would call game, hitting a pull-up 2 pointer to end the game and wave GVH goodbye.

A few hours later, was Matchday 5, as we took on Mytanija- again, another nation familiar with from the men's side. Unfortunately, in another close battle, the ladies lost, getting to 2-2 and leaving everything to play for on the final day. And with our backs against the wall, at .500, the ladies pulled off back to back wins. A 17-10 win over the Free Swiss States, where we ran off to a 7-0 lead and simply held off our opponents, and then following that up with a 21-14 win over The Licentian Isles. Mertagne.

And now for the men- one of the teams that have surprisingly been a massive hit at these games, for the Banijans, are the 'Peerless Princes'. The men's 5x5 team, helped by being made of the starpower of four of Banija's young royals(four grandsons of His Majesty Kabaka Mwanga), was always going to face a lot of attention from Banijan media. The celebrity status of the squad was always going to make sure they got outsized attention. But would that be positive or negative? There was worry, as well, about how young royals would adjust to the international version of 'streetball', where favorable foul calls and what not that they'd get at home wouldn't necessarily translate here in Somer.

And so far- well, so far they're absolutely killing it. THroughout the group stage, they probably looked like legitimate contenders to get a medal? There are a lot of rounds left, of course, so it's way too early to be saying that. In the Olympics, of course, anybody can beat anybody on any given day- that's what makes it such a special event. But by golly, have the princes been dominant. They're collectively scoring nearly 20 points a game(where the max is 21) in this half-court version of basketball, and are conceding less than 11 points per contest.

They're literally family- so they've gotten that connection. And they've proved popular, by all accounts, among other athletes as well. There's been a few instances where Quebecois athletes in particular have come to cheer them on, and other Banijan athletes are often in the crowd, watching their events. Omugabe Ssekamanya, the one man on this team who is literally a future King, told Banijan media that "the experience of being an Olympian is amazing. We're making a ton of friends, shaking a ton of hands, and having a blast. And most importantly? It's all clicking on the court."

And it is. And they're having fun doing it. They're Princes- there's plenty of celebrating and showboating, typical of the 3x3 game. I mean, what was better- Ssemanda's deep shot to win a group stage game against the Abovian Union, and him running into the stands to chest bump his friend? Or Omugabe Lallo being on the receiving end of an alley-oop and talking shit to his opponents? The trash talk may come back to bite them in the butt if they can't make a run- but for now, the fun-loving Princes are stealing the show for Banijans at these Games.

Here's to deep runs for all of our basketball squads at these games, right? Go Banija Go!

by **Darmen** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 10:13 pm

"Don't Blame Me For Medal Woes," Says Man Potentially Responsible For Medal Woes
DNOC Director Of Funding Fiercely Defends Funding Decisions

SCOTT CITY - Darmen's poor showing in the Olympics so far has drawn widespread disappointment and criticism from fans, athletes and the media. While various reasons for the lack of medals have been put forth and excuses presented in return, one potential reason for the poor performance in Electrum has gained considerable agreement from followers of the games as being the number one reason for Cruz Kruger's lone silver medal being Darmen's only accomplishment so far.

Critics have pointed to the new funding program put in place by the Darmeni National Olympic Committee as the main culprit for the dismal medal tally, alleging that the program has failed to achieve significant advances in athlete development and unfairly benefits sport governing bodies that already have revenues reaching into the millions. Critics have even pointed to the fact that non-Olympic sport governing bodies are receiving large sums of money while less popular Olympic sports, such as modern pentathlon and surfing, receive little in the way of financial support.

"Why is my organization receiving scraps in funding from the government?" asked Conner Robertson, President of the Darmeni Roller Sports Association, which oversees skateboarding in Darmen. Robertson added, "The Darmeni Cricket Board, who aren't even sending a team to the games because their a non-Olympic sport, received millions in funding, but we got just a few thousand. What gives?"

While funding for sport comes from the government via the Sport Darmen agency of the Department of Culture and Sports, decisions about the allocation of funding are made by the Darmeni National Olympic Committee, with Daniel Rains serving as the Committee's Director of Funding.

Rains had this to say, "The amount of funding the various sport governing bodies receive is determined by a formula which takes into account that sport's popularity, it's historic and recent successes and the number of members that organization can claim to have. We also adjust in favor of sports with high levels of youth participation."

When asked specifically about Mr. Robertson's questions, Mr. Rains responded, "I'm afraid Mr. Robertson has no one to blame for himself. If the Roller Sports Association wants more funding, it would do well to conduct a membership drive among the nation's youth."

When asked why a non-Olympic sport like Cricket was receiving significant funding when it already draws in large revenues, Mr. Rains stated, "The National Olympic Committee has a duty and responsibility to provide funding to all sports in Darmen, not just those that find themselves a part of the Olympic program. Mr. Robertson may recall a time when his organization received funding through us even though skateboarding was not yet an Olympic sport. Or would he like to return that money and eat his words?"

Mr. Robertson could not be reached for comment in response to Mr. Rains criticism of his criticism.

Mr. Rains didn't stop his fierce response to critics of the DNOC's funding program there, continuing, "Those that want to criticize the DNOC for its funding practices should remember that at the end of the day, it comes down to the sport governing bodies to spend that money in the way that best maximizes its potential to fuel athlete development and after that it comes down to the individual athletes and teams to put forth their best effort. Money by itself can not win medals, unless you want to suggest we use it to pump our athletes with performance enhancers. Which we would never do by the way."

Other Headlines

Olympic Boxers May Save Games For Darmen
Men's Football Bows Out Of Tournament Despite Victory Over Adab
Cycling Attentions Turn Towards Track
Despite New High Performance Program, Darmeni Sailors Still Struggle

by **The Jovannic** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 10:30 pm

The Jovannic at The Olympics! Day 7: Yet another sliver to The Jovannican Swimming train!

Other Events
• The Jovannic to face Banija in Men's Basketball
• Men's Epee Team manages to reach round of 16
• Badminton's Mens doubles advance to round of 16, keeps racket medal hopes alive

Mixed Medley Sliver, Julia Desti and Jindi Miski first multi medal winners of The Jovannic, Julia Desti get chance of triple medals in 50m freestyle

Jovannic Commentary of 4×100 mixed medley relay

Good afternoon and it's swimming action today in Electrum! We have some 4×100 mixed medley relay action today, The Jovannic with Julia Desti, Jindi Miski, Hako Hamozaki and Joseph Schooler will be starting in lane 3. Græntfjall and Tikariot swimmers will be starting in lanes 4 and 5; they are the favourites here. Julia Desti finished seven in the 800m freestyle, and she will be looking to make amends. Joseph Schooler and Hako Hamozaki have not won a medal yet, they will be hoping to get one today. Swimmers at the ready......And They're off! Sven Silje of the Abovian Union having the early lead here, great start by them! He's followed by Daniel Morrison of Tikariot and Benedikt Robinsson of Græntfjall! Approaching the turn now, Shona Roncal of Mertagne looking to come from the left to join the front pack, Julia Desti in 5th, just a half body length away from Morrison. Their underwater work is extremely important, the turns are such a vital part of every race. Sven Silje turning effortlessly, strong push off the wall. He's closely followed by Daniel Morrison and Shona Roncal. Looks like Benedikt Robinsson has lost a bit of speed there, Julia Desti along with Timothy Veltman of Tumbra looking to bypass him. We're reaching the exchange; it looks like Jarkko Bakken is off the mark first, Baldwin Geddes coming off second and Jindi Miski of The Jovannic in third! Jennifer Freeman and Antton Flock are however chasing down the third placers quick! They're neck and neck coming through the wall, but it looks like Tumbra's overtaken Jindi! The Olympic Sliver Medalist only has a 0.14 lead over Atton Flock of Mertagne. The Abovian Union looks to increase their lead, look at the power of Jarkko Bakken's strokes! However, Baldwin Geddes is not letting go of the pressure! The Jovannic, Tumbra and Mertagne just behind them, Græntfjall in sixth almost three quarters a body length away from Atton Flock! Coming to the halfway point now, It's been a very close race so far, but The Abovian Union is still leading! Nina Jakobsen coming off for them, Fiona Clinton not far behind at all! Hako Hamozaki starts off strongly here, he's reached the semifinals of the 100m metre backstroke, and he's definitely got the technique to catch up with the Abovian Union. Oh! Hako Hamozaki has bypassed Michael Jenkins of Tumbra, furiously pushing the lead of The Abovian Union and Tikariot! Meanwhile, looks like Græntfjall's Xaver Önesson is putting them back into the race! They've bypassed Mertagne and chasing Tumbra! We're now reaching the final leg of the race, Mikaela Åhlins coming off for the Abovian Union, Amanda Winters for Tikariot and Joseph Schooler for The Jovannic! They're the front pack here, Tumbra and Græntfjall behind them the leaders of the rest. Schooler hasn't lived up to expectations yet, let's see if he performs well here! Oh my! It looks like Amanda Winters is losing ground fast, Joseph Schooler is speeding up tremendously! Reaching the wall now, Mikaela Åhlins having a half body lead over Tikariot and The Jovannic,and we're now at the final 50m! Swimmers off the wall....Danielle Jansdóttir is charging down the lane for Græntfjall! They're back in the race! JOSPESH SCHOOLER BYPASSES TIKARIOT! HE'S GAINING GROUND QUICKLY! SCHOOLER WITH THE LAST MINUTE SURGE! THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY CLOSE! AND IT'S......ABOVIAN UNION! The Jovannic gets second here by a margin of 0.02, Tikariot edges out Græntfjall for third.

There would be further good news for The Jovannic. Julia Desti qualified for her fourth final, the 50m freestyle. She had to go to a swim off with Melissa Calvillo of Lanesolde and Nina Jakobsen of the Abovian Union, but managed to qualify and enter the semis, where she finished second in her heat and second overall with a splendid time of 24.23. She has a chance of being The Jovannic's first triple medal winner.

There have been Jovannican citizens displeased after getting 4 straight sliver medals. A Twii.tur post posted soon after our fourth sliver medal stated "This must be a joke. It must be the damn Electrumite Olympic Committee. They're rigging this so that the Great Jovannican Swimmers cannot achieve their victory."

The Jovannic Olympic Committee replied soon after the post "This post has no valid points of evidence anywhere. The Electrumite Olympic Committee is a fair and wonderful organiser to have hosted such a beautiful games. Please do not tarnish the reputation of The Jovannic with your insensitive comments."

In traditional Jovannican Twii.tur fashion, the account replied to The Jovannic Olympic Committee several times, but as they mostly focused on the CEO's looks, intelligence and sexuality, they are not relevant to the current conversation.

Now's that's more like it! Brace by Jovan Ilohil and goal by Ianu Fathe secure qualification into round of 32

Sparks of the Old Jovannic playing style overran Magnecia by a score of 3-0. Jovan Ilohil scored his first goal in the Olympics; a tap in after a beautiful cross by Stockain Lelop fell to his feet, Magnecian Goalkeeper scrambling from the other side of the net. He scored his second just 3 minutes later in the 31st minute, he had moved from left to right as the Jovannic attack flooded over the Magnecian Defense and slotted it pass the goalkeeper with ease. Ianu Fathe made it three in the 44th minute, latching on to another cross by Stockain Lelop and rounding the keeper with with spectacular footwork. The Jovannic could have probably scored more but Gothal Mathee decided to play more defensively for the second half, taking off Jovan Ilohil for Io Castra to put more defenders in the way of Magnecia. Raye Eng did particularly well today, his defense almost perfect and passing success rate almost 97 percent. We will face Northwest Kalactin in the round of 32, and some will be wondering if The Jovannic can do one better than the last Olympics. Meanwhile, Regional rivals Vilitan Union lost 1-0 to A Kea, but lucked into the round of 32, winning the drawing of lots against Sargossa. We will expect better performances from the reigning Olympic champions, and will hope to have a rematch of the last Olympic final.

We will have a short commercial break, but when we come back we have some judo action coming up!

All Hail The Jovannic!

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by **Srednjaci** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 11:02 pm

HANDBALL PLAYERS PLAYING FOR THE NEXT ROUND

THEME OLYMPIC SONG : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=100LtGMmd7U

BY
IVAN BOŽIĆ

Dear viewers, another day without a medal for our homeland Srednjaci is behind us. Unfortunately, Orešković finished fourth in weightlifting. However, Tara Legović gives us joy in boxing, but also team sports.
Believe it or not, the men’s basketball team has managed to win the last two matches in the group and advance to the next round.
The handball players were better than Sylestone and the men's water polo team placed in the top 16.
We also expect a lot from the footballers who concluded the group competition with a victory.

HANDBALL MEN'S -

Srednjaci 29-26 Sylestone
Srednjaci beat Sylestone for placements in next round of competition.
That was one really quality and tough game from both sides. Sylestone is one of big names in handball.
Our players knows that they must not allow to Sylestone players to make a big difference in goals. Once when Sylestone goes to +3 or +4 they can no longer be caught up.
So our team trying to be always close with result. On other side, Sylestone trying to break up our players in first half but they couldn’t. It was goal for goal game and half time was finished with score 14 : 13 for Sylestone.
In second half Sylestone goes on +2, 18:16. At that moment our bench take a time out and make changes in way of play. From that moment our players playes long and boring attacks. That style make Sylestone players nervous.
Srednjaci step by step build their play, build their self-confidence. Sylestone players getting more nervous.
But one change in our squad will change a game.
On our goal, Nenad Milić enters instead of Damir Bošnjaković. It was this change that was the key to the turnaround. Damir Bošnjaković had his career game defending as many as 13 shots on goal. Bosnjaković locked the path of the ball towards the goal net and Srednjaci turned the score around.

In men's field hockey, Srednjaci will faced to The Licentian Isles team in round of 32. Dotivijans will play in round of 32 as well. Good job for Dotivija.

But new thrills await us tomorrow. Women play handball in round 32.
Volleyball is also on the schedule and our representatives are expected to fight in rowing.
The queen of sports, athletics, will definitely cause the most excitement.
Accordingly, we will publish some results of last national athletics championship.

INCREDIBLE RECORD OF TALENTED BUBNJEVIĆ

At the Athletic Rally in Bistua Nouva, as part of the qualifications for the Olympic Games, the young talented Davida Bubnjević ran an incredible national record of 21.59 in the finals of the 200 m race! The previous record was held by Klaudija Matković with 21.77 runs this year. Davida Bubnjević (20) is a member of the Melarit Stars athletic club.

"This is a dream! I knew I was ready for big things but no way the mouse would cover everything in the race. I had a great start and I kept a high pace from start to finish. I couldn't believe it when I saw the time," said Davida Bubnjevi.

Klaudija Matković, former record holder, completely lost her rhythm and finished sixth on 22.05.

200m Women's Final

1 Davida Bubnjević (Melarit Stars)    21.59
2 Biljana Perojević (Katanija DB)     21.80
3 Vesna Šimić (Bistua Nuova)          21.96
4 Jelena Šimić (Neptun Taru)          21.96
5 Damira Tirić (Dormatisi)            22.05
6 Klaudija Matković (Dormatisi)       22.05
7 Ljubica Jozić (Katanija DB)         22.05
8 Franciska Ješić (AK Katanija)       22.15

THE FASTEST 100 M FINAL IN HISTORY

Another record was broken in the final 100-meter race. After the semi-final races ran pretty slowly and we had two results under 11 seconds alone, the final was a real explosion.
Paula Ljubić from Neptun Taru ran a new national record of 10.70, which is 10 hundredths better than the previous record of Ivana Kapović. Kapović ran again in the time of the Srednjaci record but that was enough for second place. Hana Vukovic ran the personal best.

100 M Women's final

1 Paula Ljubić (Neptun Taru)     10.70 NR
2 Ivana Kapović (Katanija DB)     10.80
3 Hana Vuković (Dormatisi)        10.88
4 Tatjana Vulić (Plava Laguna)    10.91
5 Sunita Šunić (Kula)             10.95
6 Željka Krpan (Raduč)            10.99
7 Vesna Šimić (Bistua Nuova)      11.02
8 Tara Rubić (Raduč)              11.11

In these two days of athletic events, the following results were achieved.

400 M Men's Final

1 Vanja Kuštrović (Plava Laguna)    43.71
2 Filip Koša (Katanija DB)          43.76
3 Zdeslav Bošnjaković (Kula)        44.65
4 Valter Žderić (Melarit  Stars)    44.79
5 Miro Bilić (Neptun Taru)          44.80
6 Stjepan Kušić (Ak Katanija)       44.80
7 Bruno Strupar (Katanija DB)       44.81
8 Boris Mikovšić (Dormatisi)        44.92

MARATHON MEN'S

1 Hrvoje Plazinić (Neptun Taru)    2:06:36
 2 Israel Mayengo (Plava Laguna)    2:07:02
 3 Jakov Šipraga (Katanija DB)      2:10:14
 4 Ljuboja Vučić (Auto Raduč)       2:10:48
 5 Dubravko Štošić (Raduč)          2:11:30
 6 Angel Gutierez (Plava Laguna)    2:12:41
 7 Leo Starčević (Kula)             2:13:24
 8 Tatsuya Konoke (Bistua Nuova)    2:14:32
 9 Ivan Jakopinec (Neptun Taru)     2:15:43
10 Paolo Peruško (Dormatisi)        2:15:52
11 Davide De Saol (Neptun Taru)     2:17:56
12 Iztok Ude (Neptun Taru)          2:18:15
13 Nikica Carević (Kula)            2:19:010
14 Vjeran Pahor (Bistua Nuova)      2:19:29
15 Marjan Hlebić (Katanija DB)      2:19:45
16 Adnan Mujezinović (Raduč)        2:19:48
17 Sseggona Lubega (Melarit Stars)  2:22:25
18 Igor Špiček (Melarit Stars)      2:22:42
19 Damir Rebušić (Dormatisi)        2:24:24
20 Antun Roguljić (Melarit Stars)   2:25:22
 — Bo Huwei (Ak Katanija)               DNF
   Damjan Pahor (Bistua Nuova)          DNF
   Goran Šišković (Dormatisi)           DNF
   Robert Turudić (Ak Katanija)         DNF
   Vadim Kasatkin (Neptun Taru)         DNF

400 M Women's Final

1 Adriana Sprečić (Plava Laguna)      48.63
2 Paulina Sunarić (Neptun Taru)       48.85
3 Ana Klemenčić (Dormatisi)           49.17
4 Ines Mužinić (Katanija DB)          49.93
5 Valerija Kudermetova (Kula)         50.01
6 Sanja Koroman (Katanija DB)         50.15
7 Lara Pišukić (Kula)                 50.26
8 Doris Picukarić (Plava Laguna)      50.41

800 M Women's FINAL

1 Jasmina Nešić (Dormatisi)           1:54.74
2 Lucija Tritošić (Plava Laguna)      1:56.16
3 Helga Mustara (Ak Katanija)         1:56.60
4 Elizabeta Treščić (Bistua Nuova)    1:56.97
5 Ankica Sinčić (Katanija DB)         1:57.06
6 Adaleta Šišić (Auto Raduč)          1:57.22
7 Gunara Salkina (Auto Raduč)         1:57.41
8 Saori Hisamatsu (Katanija DB)       1:58.78

SHOT PUT MENS-FINAL

1 Dalibor Đevišić (Bistua Nuova)      20.40  20.43  19.85  20.67  20.62      X    20.67
2 Viktor Zverev (Kula)                    X  20.34  20.62  20.46      X  20.29    20.62
3 Gordan Rečić (Ak Katanija)              X  20.61  20.22  19.65  20.11  20.40    20.61
4 Ivan Neimarević (Auto Raduč)        20.54  20.13      X  20.28  20.54  20.07    20.54
5 Chris Richardson (Melarit Stars)        X  20.54      X      X      X  19.65    20.54
6 Bojan Laktić (Katanija DB)          20.27  20.43  20.52  20.03  19.79  20.46    20.52
7 Vedran Vugdelija (Neptun Taru)      20.41      X  20.48  20.40      X  20.12    20.48
8 Leon Brandeis (Katanija DB)             X      X  20.40  20.46  20.34  20.47    20.47

MARATHON W - FINAL

1 Biljana Družević (Kula)             2:27:09
 2 Katarina Vrković (Dormatisi)        2:27:37
 3 Indira Turčić (Kula)                2:30:20
 4 Loreine MaCnnamara (Neptun Taru)    2:30:34
 5 Jasna Milardović (Katanija DB)      2:30:36
 6 Basna Mulaomerović (Melarit Stars)  2:30:48
 7 Šarka Muchova (Raduč)               2:31:17
 8 Marija Husmanović (Bistua Nuova)    2:31:29
 9 Daria Krkić (Bistua Nuova)          2:31:40
10 Wu Sihilin  (Ak Katanija)           2:32:54
11 Katarina Serbenka (Katanija DB)     2:33:25
12 Lidija Ščepović (Plava Laguna)      2:34:21
13 Ivana Tastarić (Katanija DB)        2:34:37
14 Vola Namukisa (Automobili Raduč)    2:35:17
15 Koraljka Vekić (Plava Laguna)       2:35:23
 — Zerina Memić (Dormatisi)                DNF
   Resty Naboosa (Torpedo Melarit)         DNF
   Mia Udavarčić (Dormatisi )              DNF
   Galina Sergejeva (Ak Katanija)          DNF

EQUESTRIAN

Our team is fighting for the gold medal. It will be very interesting to watch this competition until the end. Dressage is an extremely difficult discipline and our school of dressage is very well known beyond the borders of our country. Currently, our team is in second place overall. Let's hope for the continuation of excellent results.
Teremaran Unified Team (TRM)121.20
Srednjaci (SRE)122.10
Estogium (RWH)125.40
Electrum (ETM)127.80

WATERPOLO WOMEN’S will play in round of 16 versus host team, Electrum.
That will ganna be tough match for our popular "Sirene". We are hoping that they will play another high level game.

FOOTBALL WOMEN’S

Davida Zimmer, Petra Marinković, Danijela Majić and rest of team today playes another big match.
Quality of the team is on our side, but will our team have a luck on our side...
Girls are third team from last Women’s World Cup in Sarzonia. They want a medal from Olympics too. But for medal sometimes you need a luck as you need a quality of team.

by **Aboveland** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 11:33 pm

That's Two! Troubled Team Triumphs, Topples Top Time

It's two in a row for Team Abovian Union! The mixed medley relay swimming team smashed the standing Olympic record time—as did the rest of the top five finalists—in spite of their poor individual form to take Team Abovian Union's second ever gold medal. The quartet see themselves added to the list of the delegation's medalists, and join 1500m short track record holder Ilka Sohlberg as the latest Abovian atheltes to break a record in competition. The gold medal put an end to a remarkable day at the Natatorium compounded by finalist worthy performances in diving and 50m freestyle, and sprinkled extra emotion into the women's quadruple sculls' team's passage to the finals.

SOMER | SOMER OLYMPIC NATATORIUM - Following a few days' worth of medal-less performances and not-quite-there results, Team Abovian Union has tallied up a second gold medal at the hands of the troubled swimming quartet of Sven Silje, Jarkko Bakken, Nina Jakobsen and Mikaela Åhlins, in a record-breaking race where the top five teams broke the previous standing world record.

The medal came as an absolute surprise to Team Abovian Union as a whole, and even to the athletes themselves. Despite having been tipped as some of the Abovian Union's biggest chances at individual medal glory, none of the four swimmers of the mixed relay 'dream-team', as they had been described prior to the Games, had managed to qualify for a final in any of the individual events thus far (Jakobsen, who maintained the team's momentum with a sensational third stint, had even finished last in the qualifying heats of the 200m butterfly event, but prior to the medley final had even managed to qualify for the women's 50m freestyle final).

Sven Silje, pipped as the swim team's biggest star, harkens from the old capital city of Ayarii. At sixteen, during a tumultuous time in his personal life as he grappled with the colossus of self-discovery, civil war broke out across Aboveland. When the fighting engulfed the capital just weeks after, Sven was forced to flee his home—destroyed moments later—and went astray of his father, who'd himself lost track of his mother. In an instant, his family had fractured, and it wouldn't be until half a decade later—Sven, by then, deep in training for nationals—that the three of them were reunited. He was highly emotional alongside his teammates as they took to the top step.

"I had begun to lose hope," he concedes, tearfully, embracing his teammate, social media co-star, and recent companion Jarkko Bakken. "I had no idea—and honestly I still can't explain why—I struggled so hard in the early stages of the Games... We were dealing, surely, with the pressure of our debut, of being here to represent our nation for the very first time, and perhaps we were still a little bit dazed by the sheer magnitude of what it meant that we were here at all. I knew I had the potential in me, but for some reason, the effort was not paying off with results." He nods, smiling, as if revindicating his words. "But—I know this better than anyone, and that's that you should never lose hope. All my life I've had to keep my hopes alive... and today, those hopes again became a reality!"

Arne Kuadonvaara, the head of the Abovian Olympic Committee, echoed Silje's sentiment. "I was as disheartened as the swim team after seeing that all their effort just wasn't coming together this past week. With every passing heat, I could see that every little piece of the puzzle—every glisten in the athletes' eyes, and every breath of their hopes and dreams—was all there, and yet the bigger picture—the results—were just out of reach." He shakes his head reverently. "What these guys did: scoring a gold, in a race so tight that the top five athletes broke the previous Olympic record, and after having endured so much hardship and disappointment in the lead up to the race, shows what they're really made of. Sven, Jarkko, Nina and Mikaela: they're made of absolute Kryptonite nails; their perseverance, effort, and will to win is second to none. I thank them from the bottom of my heart, especially for taking the win in an event as prestigious as the medley race: where all the different styles, the strengths and weaknesses, of our teams battle it out."

President Kaj Torvald van Aalsbyyre of Aboveland extended his congratulations to the swimming quartet, as well as to K-1 slalom medallist Sami Lundstrøm for winning Team Abovian Union's maiden gold medal. Nykipiflugpuu, their head of state Heikki Myyrsistõlisysttästäjä still absent, has remained silent throughout the games; only Õie Rasputin in field hockey, Kyrmy Eko in men's trampoline, and Irmeli Keskitalo in women's double sculls remain in contention for honors in the Games.

Tomorrow, kicking off the 15th Summer Olympics' second week of action, Nina Nord looks to keep up her momentum in the women's 3m Springboard semifinals, after achieving a personal best score in the preliminary round. In the Natatorium, she'll be joined by a frenzied crowd ready to cheer on today's gold medallist Nina Jakobsen in the women's 50m freestyle dash—having barely scraped by to the final. Elsewhere across Electrum, Tere Carlsen bids to remain in contention as Team Abovian Union's sole remaining player in singles' tennis; early single sculls pacesetter and winner of the World Rowing Series regatta at Lake Took, Hannssea*, Aurora Ojala races to snatch a place in the finals at Kale Island; and perhaps most importantly, the athletics competitions get underway with the preliminary rounds for the track races.

*Last but not least, both women's handball and volleyball teams, among Team Abovian Union's biggest bets for Olympic glory, square off against their respective rivals from The Hannassean Federation in the first stages of their knockout rounds.

by **Tumbra** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 11:38 pm

The Outskirts of Southport
Lormark, Tumbra

Southport Beach was a rarely-visited part of the city. On a typical day, less than two hundred people typically made the journey from the medium-sized city out to the pristine beach. It wasn't a famous beach, like the ones in Marray or Hesham, where the sand was fine and grainy, perfect for lounging and building sandcastles on. The fact that Southport in and of itself was relatively off the beaten track for tourists to Tumbra didn't help, either. But to anyone who travelled here, this beach was very much like the famous Tumbran beaches — just a little emptier. Not today, however; where the atmosphere around the sea rather resembled that of a sombre gathering, rather than just being empty.

This, and the fact that the currents tended to be a little softer around here, made it perfect for the Tumbran Triathlon. Here, unlike in the Olympics, people didn't care what gender or sex you were. You signed up a few months beforehand, got handed a tag, and flew out to Southport a few days before. The starting pistol was fired the moment the sun crept across the horizon — dating back to when the first triathlon was contested on these shores.

Here it was, then, that Tina Chamberlain had appeared. Unlike most other triathlons, where you showed up, did your traditional two to three hour jaunt, and went home, the atmosphere amongst the competing pack was somewhat different. This time, Olympic qualification was on the line — for the first six athletes to cross the finishing line. Three of each gender, of course; because the Olympics enjoyed and preferred to segregate its athletes by gender, ignoring the fact that throughout the world the rest of it had moved on to completely ignore sex as a means of segregating athletes. Why this event in particular? Someone, somewhere decided that Tumbra's original triathlon would be the benchmark to decide who would fly the Tumbran flag at the upcoming Olympic Games. And so it had been decided, and so it had been that signups for the Tumbran Triathlon quadrupled, with experienced names and local yobbos deciding they could give it a decent go, and get a free all-expenses-paid trip to Electrum in about a year's time.

Tina was a regular amongst the triathlete scene, of course; she'd never been content with merely running in a stadium, cycling in a velodrome or swimming in an arena. To her, the great outdoors was where it was at; to combine the three great disciplines was always something of a challenge that she'd grown to love. How she found herself in this situation was rather completely accidental; in junior college, wanting to make a change in her lifestyle, she'd signed up for the school's outdoor activities club.

Then she fell completely head over heels in love with the outdoors. Running, swimming, biking; after her first triathlon she felt a sense of achievement, a high that she'd end up chasing for the rest of her two years in the club. It was completing something she thought was previously impossible; the sense of pulling something from within that one thought was simply not there; persevering past the pain of the lactic acid buildup. And while she hadn't performed in an ironman triathlon yet, that was one of her goals.

Wherever she'd end up.

See, she'd eschewed university studies — already a path less taken in Tumbra — which closed many doors to her. Funding, equipment, and so on. Thankfully two out of the three disciplines in the triathlon never did require too much equipment, but in the end she'd made do. But while people were studying, she'd been training. Improving her craft. Getting to know others in the sport, and moving cities to train together. She now lived in Southport, most commonly known as "the cheapest liveable city in Tumbra," mainly because — well, as the description said, it was cheap while being liveable. But there was also this.

The sky had changed from deep blue to a lighter shade. There was a small band of white, then small imprints of yellow appeared. A kilometre and a half of swimming. Forty on a bike, taking her back to the city. Then a ten kilometre run through the hallowed historic district of the city, finishing on the docks. It was a historic route, one that had only minimally changed since the start of the triathlon years ago. She knew the course well; she enjoyed all three parts of it in equal measure.

Putting her goggles on, she slowly made her way to the front of the pack. A good run down the beach to the water was crucial; it was almost like breakfast. Critical to start the day. Here she just wanted to do her best, damn the Olympic qualification. Though if she did make it, how would she fare against the rest of the world? Triathlons in Tumbra were little more than a niche sport, something which struggled to even reach funding. Blame the footy, of course, but times were changing. There had been a bit more funding given to them this year.

The band of white grew larger; the night sky slowly started to disappear. Any minute now, the starting pistol would be fired, and she'd be in the thick of it again. Who were her competitors? Dawn O'Sullivan? Victoria May? Stan Anderson, Wally Brader, Eustace Downes? Nah, that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she did her best and was able to hold her head high. Whether her performances today would be good enough to send her to Electrum, she didn't know. And she didn't really care.

She was doing this for fun, after all.

The first glint of red-orange heat appeared, enveloping all the spectators and the competitors in the sun's warmth. But there wasn't time to lounge in the heat and enjoy it.

Bang.

And off she went.

by **Sylestone** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 11:58 pm

The Sylestonean > Sport > Olympics > 15th Summer Olympics

DAY SIX — WHAT SYLESTONE DID:
MEN’S HANDBALL KICKED OUT BY SREDNJACI

TODAY’S EVENTS:

AQUATICS — SWIMMING
Men’s 50 m Freestyle
Men’s 1500 m Freestyle
Women’s 50 m Freestyle

BASKETBALL
Women’s (Matchday Three)

FOOTBALL
Men’s (Matchday Three)

HOCKEY
Men’s (Matchday Three)

Today’s Events @ Somer Olympic Natatorium, Somer

Men’s 1500 m Freestyle

SOMER, ELECTRUM — Following a series of poor performances in the relays and in the 800 metre swim, Steve Thomas knew that this swim, the men’s 1500 metre freestyle, could possibly be his last chance to redeem himself, outside of the 10 kilometre marathon. After finishing 102nd out of 105 contestants in the 800 metre, a top swimmer of Thomas’s class would have to seriously try to get worse than that. But getting just a little better than that would not serve as redemption either. The nation was after their fourth finals appearance.

They got it, too.

With 101 participating athletes, Thomas was drawn into the final race, with the likes of favourites Eduard Pontiff and Rupert Cassell of Tumbra. Alongside Thomas, at least one should be able to beat the time of Salvatoro Supare of Vekaiyu, with 14:41.78. And Thomas, in a run of bad form, was not the one predicted to pull it off.

And he did. The Sylestonean finished with a time of 14:40.04, finishing a full 2.5 seconds ahead of Cassell, despite the Tumbran being ahead at the 800 metre mark. Overall, Thomas finished in fifth place, easily earning himself a spot in the final. He had redeemed himself.

But could he get Sylestone a fourth medal in the pool from four final appearances? He’s an underdog, but you can never write someone of his calibre off.

Women’s Matchday Three:
Sylestone - Qasden @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton

Sylestone Starting V: Busby (PG) - Pearse (SG) - Axon (C) - Temple (SF) - Krichauff (PF)

Qasden Starting V: Unknown

FAIRLEIGH-WARBURTON, ELECTRUM — Despite coming into the tournament with a supposedly weaker side than the likes of Qasden or Apox, both in their group, Sylestone’s women’s basketball team held their own throughout the group stage to finish with a brilliant 3-0 record, with a slaughtering of the Apoxians followed by intense victories over The Licentian Isles and now, Qasden. The matchday three game was against a side needing a big victory in order to assure themselves of progression after losing out to Apox two days prior and despite both sides playing doggedly in defence, the Hawthorns eventuated to come out on top, 66 to 62.

That, though, did not stop the game from being an instant classic. At no point did one side lead by more than five points, with the points being exactly equal at the end of each the second and third quarters. After the first ten, the women from Qasden took an 18-16 lead, but through reserve power forward Jade Krichauff, they took the score up to 34-all with 20 minutes remaining. The third quarter produced the best defensive basketball of all, with only 13 points apiece to each side, with three three-pointers and two two-pointers apiece, leaving the two nations deadlocked at 47-47 with only ten minutes remaining in the match.

But the Hawthorns held their nerve, knowing that they were essentially already through, as the only circumstance that would not let this happen is if they somehow lost 50 points over the final ten minutes. Which would not happen.

Instead, Sylestone were able to chalk up 19 more points to take their total to 66, with a three-pointer in the final seconds from Emma Kippax ensuring the victory and breaking a 63-62 deadlock, where either side could have won the game. It certainly had the standards of a game that occurred from the quarterfinals onwards, if not the final itself. But the result was the same. Sylestone had, somehow, gone 3-0 and moved into the next round as a favourite to take the competition to its latter stages. Their round of 32 opponents will be Acastanha, a force to consider with, but not one that the Sylestoneans should have a massive issue against. Hopefully.

Schedule:

MD1: Apox 68-94 Sylestone @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton
MD2: The Licentian Isles 77-83 Sylestone @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton
MD3: Sylestone 66-62 Qasden @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton
Round of 32: Sylestone - Acastanha @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton

Men’s Matchday Three:
Sylestone - The ABEN Union @ Auras Oval, Auras

The ABEN Union (4-3-3): Johnson; Emami (▮ 24’) (Oyarzabal 73’) - Mingueza - Blakely - Ceballos (▮ 83’); Briggs - Kain (Morrison 79’) - Shillingford; Yahya (Parsons 60’) - Thompson - Moon

Sylestone (3-1-3-1-2): Jameson; Davis - Irwin (Grant 45’) - Clarke; Weiss; Holmes - Baker - Wells; Love (▮ 56’) (Waddell 70’); Keyes - Umbridge (Gilchrist 84’)

AURAS, ELECTRUM — The ABEN Union, already with two wins from two matches, knew that they could certainly be deemed favourites in their match against Sylestone’s men’s under-23 side. After defeating the plucky Qasden side 2-0, they scored a lone goal against Vdara to ensure their progression to the knockouts of the Olympics, no matter the result. Yet, they were still determined to make it 3-0-0 against the youngsters, asserting themselves as a force to beat as they seeked to make it deep into the competition.

The ABEN Union, made up of the nations of Britonisea & Aloquirbe, Estogium and Nightom, were at a serious physical advantage over the Hawthorns. Aside from the psychology of having three nations in one, the team also had three players over the age of 23, making the task for the emerging sporting nation quite a difficult one.

Then they won 4-1.

The first half itself was actually a display of quality football, with both sides having equal opportunity and each slotting home a single goal past their respective goalkeepers: Timothy Jameson of Sylestone and Blake Johnson for the Abenites. It was the first goal conceded for either team during the games, with the first being scored off an Adam Seekamp header from a Jamie Wells corner in the 16th minute and the second when captain Jacob Thompson broke past centre-back Zac Irwin just before the break, forcing Rinaldi to substitute on Corey Grant, typically a right-back, to Irwin’s position during half-time.

But after the break, it was all one way traffic to the Esportivans. In the 54th minute, Cameron Keyes converted an attempted clearance from Arad Emami with a powerful volley, with Johnson having no chance of stopping the shot to give Sylestone the lead. And just four minutes later, captain Cayden Holmes curled a shot from the corner of the box over the Abenite goalkeeper’s head, skimming the underside of the crossbar before hitting the inside of the post and deflecting into the goal. In five minutes of chaos, the Hawthorns had essentially assured themselves of a knockouts berth, taking the score from 1-1 at half time to 3-1 with just half an hour remaining.

The ABEN Union fought back, not allowing any more goals despite relentless pressure from the Sylestoneans, all the way up until the 88th minute. It was here that the Hawthorns put the game beyond the reach of the Abenites, with a penalty awarded after midfielder Sylvester Shillingford fouled Keyes in the penalty area. Without further ado, Keyes slotted it home, ensuring Sylestone would take out first place in their group, drawing the Teremaran Unified Team in the round of 32. Let’s not even go into the nations that delegation makes up….

THE ABEN UNION - 1
Thompson 42’

SYLESTONE - 4
Seekamp 16’
Keyes 54’, 88’
Holmes 58’

Schedule:

MD1: Sylestone 0-0 Vdara @ Auras Oval, Auras
MD2: Sylestone 1-0 Qasden @ Auras Oval, Auras
MD3: The ABEN Union 1-4 Sylestone @ Auras Oval, Auras

Men’s Matchday Three:
Sylestone vs Banija @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton

Banija (3-3-4): Sowe; Baldeg - Senghore - Condeh; Turay - Darboe - Kairabal; Kargbo - Danso - Jallow - Njie

Sylestone (3-3-4): Mockridge; Coffhill - Doolan - Hershfield; Wimble - Elkin - de Pury; Hurst - Arndell - Ernest - McCabe

FAIRLEIGH-WARBURTON, ELECTRUM — Sylestone have qualified for the round of 32 in the men’s hockey at the Olympics, following a 3-1 victory over Banija in a must-win match to ensure themselves of that prestigious spot. Despite neither side appearing at their best, the Hawthorns certainly deserved the victory as they drew the ABEN Union in the round of 32.

The first quarter was intense, with both sides having prime chances to score, but neither able to put them away as the score remained 0-0 at the end of the first fifteen minutes, the game teetering on the edge. One bad move from either side, and their field hockey dreams would be destroyed.

Halfway through the second quarter, Sylestone struck first, with a penalty corner taken by substitute winger Hunter Hopetoun converted with a powerful, penetrating strike from centre-forward Tyson Arndell, putting the Hawthorns 1-0 up and moving to the top of the group for the time being.

Then, with a minute and a half remaining of the half, Arndell made it 2-0 with a powerful strike from the edge of the circle, ensuring the Sylestoneans took out the half, with the Banijans clinging on for dear life. They would need a miracle to come back from this.

But they tried. With only a couple of minutes remaining in the third quarter, midfielder Beira Kairaba slotted home a penalty corner to keep his nation in with a minuscule chance of progression, despite the odds being heavily weighed against them. Could they bring home the comeback and eliminate the favourites?

No, the Hawthorns were able to hang on. Centre midfielder Michael Elkin scored Sylestone’s third goal with ten minutes left on the clock and despite constant pressure from the Banijans in the final five minutes, Sylestone hung on for a 3-1 victory, asserting themselves as the group winners and moving into a favourable round of 2 clash with the ABEN Union. They will be a strong side, but hopefully nothing the Hawthorns will not be able to overcome.

BANIJA - 1
Kairaba 42’

SYLESTONE - 3
Arndell 23’, 29’
Elkin 50’

Schedule:

MD2: Sylestone 4-4 Eura @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton
MD3: Banija 1-3 Sylestone @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton
Round of 32: Sylestone - The ABEN Union @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton

DAY SEVEN: SYLESTONE’S REPRESENTATIVES

AQUATICS — SWIMMING — Men’s 1500 m Freestyle (MEDAL): Steve Thomas
ATHLETICS — Men’s 100 m (Preliminary Round): Jack Hutchison, George Fletcher, Thomas Barkly
ATHLETICS — Men’s 800 m (Preliminary Round): Thomas Barkly, Jake Sheldon
ATHLETICS — Women’s 100 m (Preliminary Round): Lucy Rubbo
ATHLETICS — Women’s 800 m (Preliminary Round): Georgia Alder, Maddison Skemp
ATHLETICS — Women’s 1500 m (Preliminary Round): Tahlia Eatock
ATHLETICS — Mixed 4 x 400 m (Preliminary Round): Jack Hutchison/Georgia Alder/Maddison Skemp/Thomas Barkly
FOOTBALL — Women's (Matchday Three): Sylestone vs Hopal
HANDBALL — Women’s (Round of 32): Sylestone vs Scornerse

by **Scornerse** » Fri Aug 20, 2021 11:59 pm

Scornerse at the XV Olympiad

Scornerse's Martial Women: Episode 8

While being a Gold medal day for Scornerse's martial women, day 7 of the Olympics still marks as only a partial success.

For one, in boxing, Tracy Lopez suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of Mariam Katherine the swarming boxer simply being in able to withstand the powerful boxer from
Hebitaka:

Tracy Lopez

"One of things that you always have to tolerate as a sawrmer like me is the fact that your going to get punched and punched often. The idea being that you can roll with them and punch your opponent more. The issue I had here was that while I punched more, Mariam punched harder. She seemed utterly relaxed with brawling with me up close and giving me plenty of hard blows. She even knocked me down once. But most painfully was round 5, she gave me a strong hook across the face and broke my nose, then while I'm feeling from that next thing I feels is my chin exploding in pain. I got back up but the referee had determined by then that I was out of it and rewarded Mariam a victory by technical knockout. It was a clean match and she was a good opponent, but I do despise her for beating me and I hope someone cleans her clock, preferably without her getting a medal."

The flyweight Irma Palmer, however, had a match against Catheline Boss that was about as successful as Tracy's was disappointing, utterly dominating her opponent in five rounds, though a knockout eluded her:

Irma Palmer

"I had Catheline eating counter punches most of the match, I could have almost stayed stationary and won. More than once she threw a powerful blow and I gave her some sneaky punches to her shoulders and arms to deaden her punching ability, along with just flat out doing damage with my own big punches and combos. She seemed very uncomfortable boxing me from early in the match and I made sure to compounded that by punishing her timidity. By the later rounds she seemed less interested in taking the initiative due to the success of my counters, so I used the opportunity to set the tone for the rest of the match and beat her up around the ring."

Celia Ramirez's heavyweight boxing performance against Kiran Palsania though, was poor and while she avoided being knocked out, she was certainly clearly the loser as well. However despite this Celia would go on to, perhaps despite the odds, win in 78+ kg Judo:

Celia Ramirez

"I think what got me in boxing, somewhat ironically, is what I love about the sport. I put too much in trying to take out Kiran with one big punch, or at least a series of big punches, all while very clearly failing to do so in every round and instead following victim to a variety of combination counterpunches that had my movement in the ring out of my control. So in the end it was pretty clear to the judges that I lost, which was disappointing. But, we'll never know for sure whether or not that disappointment was what gave me the motivation to win the gold in Judo. Though I am confident in my skill, I knew I was about against far heavier women, even though I'm just as strong, if not stronger, than all of them. None the less I set everyone I faced to the floor and choked those that I didn't, to victory. As for the Kriegiersien I faced in the finals, I made sure her trip to the floor was as painful as I could make it, of course. Looks like when it's hand to hand, Scornerseans are better fighters."

by **Alezian Union** » Sat Aug 21, 2021 12:10 am

SYNOPSIS
South Alezia's late for work

Oh no! Zafi is on a traffic jam worse than usual, and the Metro System closed down. Great. South has no option other than to row through the river to his workplace.

FUN FACTS
1. Zafi 10K is really that massive the city had to close down (except for emergency services (that includes yes, the River Coast Guard) for the day. Currently, it's only open to Alezians, but they're thinking about opening it to the public.

2. "ZFM's X" stands for "Zafi Metro Is Closed". It's a term that Zafizamarranians (especially those in the Metropolitan City) like to use when they found out that the Metropolitan Metro Subway is closed for maintenance and such.

3. The line "I don't care if I left my paperwork, I don't care if I left my suitcase, LET ME IN!" is a reference to a popular Alezian song called "High Heels" sung by Lalo International where that song won the Alezian Music Awards 1998 in Best Song Lyrics. Yes, the song criticized the market system in North Alezia at that time which was RECKLESSLY EVIL. We're lucky that North Alezia started to chill from 2000 onwards, focusing more on happiness since their economy is already well enough.

4. The Alezian Union members each got a leading (not too high, just up there) part in the Alezian Military. South in Land, North in Air, MN and PI in Navy. But then, if North works with the Air, what is he doing on a River Coast Guard Boat? The answer is that North took responsibility of everything in the metropolitan city, including the river.

5. Pantabang Islands actuallly pressured North Alezia to protect the sacredness of the river, since it's important in the Alezian culture. That's why PI would be pissed if someone row or sail or fish over it. The only occasion where PI would be fine with it is if someone use the river to transport someone who need urgent medical help.

6. Mosin-Nagan is the most vocal environmental region in the Union. One time in 2009 when North Alezia experienced an oil spill in Pyalivostok, MN pressured him to clean it first before thinking about the economy. North Alezia listened and both successfully reduced the number of catastrophes that could've happened.

7. Yes someone actually did what South Alezia just did. In 1999, someone got late to work so much that he can't be bothered to use the car or the metro. He decided to row for it since his office is just on the opposite side of the river. He got fined by the city, he paid it, all's fine. However, this did brought MPs to talk about how consequences of being late to work outweighs any kind of consideration for anything. This then brought North Alezia to implement a strong pay, more lenient work hours (not that lenient but at least now people won't go overboard crazy if they're late), and a strong employee protection laws where one of them prevents people from being fired for being late only once.

by **Qasden** » Sat Aug 21, 2021 12:22 am

In The Dark Here...

By Tomathan Hammerland

So I tried texting one of the researchers at QADAN HQ about what I need to write about tonight, to which I received static noises. I assume there has to be an outage going on or something; that part of T.V. City is on an ancient grid that's always prone to power shutdowns. The property was the cheapest in the area, so the execs took it and thought our presence would inspire the council to revamp it a bit. The council's a bit strange, though, given how there always seems to be an open seat. I'm sure it's fine, I have enough material to work with here.

Day 7 was arguably pretty solid for 'Den, and that's me being pessimistic about it. We had 3 more badminton pairs than I thought we did, with all of them (including Foreclosure/Lopez) advancing to the Round of 16 in their categories. The Men's 3x3 team would win both of their matches, taking 1st in the group and a knockout date with Chromatika (For legal reasons, I cannot insult the country until Tommy Waluigi stops playing for Crossroads). Men's Football would see a successful avoidance of last place, beating Vdara 2-0; while golfer Kate Lightforce would decide to go ham and place 8th in the round. Pretty good, not even mentioning the R32 win in Handball of Vekaiyu or the sheer luck of making KO's in field hockey. Really, the toughest loss was the Women's Basketball Team, with Sylestone besting them by a mere 4 points. Oxentine would finish 9th, another failure for the weightlifting delegation, but by far the best ranked of them. It's weird going this far without blasting someone, so hopefully I get to do that with the Day 8 previews. I don't know exactly who all is competing today, but from web searches I think I got something to use.

Athletics
Be it as wild as it seems, all but too track players in this report are women, so we can knock out the Y chromosomes from the get go in this convo.

After 8 days of pain, track and field has arrived to bring us even more pain! It's a vicious cycle, but we've got 4 running today, so I have to talk about them briefly. Kayson Mamba is repping Qasden in the Men's 800m, while OJ Hio reps us in the Men's 400m Hurdles. From what I gathered on bookmaker sites, neither of these two are favored to qualify, but at least they get a mention! In addition to them are two women competing in the 100m dash: Regina Ricardio and Austin Perrier. Due to the nature of this tournament, I'd double your bets on a Qasden athletic flop today.

Golf
Today marks the final round of golf for the women's category. Kate Lightforce, who had been relatively dormant in the first two rounds, exploded with an 8th place finish in the most recent one. It's impressive as sure, but it was mostly held back due to Lightforce's previous rounds, combined with a muddling T-121st finish for Elette Mace yesterday. Neither look to be in good standing to win a medal, but maybe a Top 20 finish could occur?

Shooting
It's time we start getting Amenrian. No, wait, wrong country, but still, it's shooty time, and as far as I know, we've still got 2 entrants in the Women's 50m Rifle (3 Position) contest: Soshi O'Hara and Paula Rooles. While the latter's name seems egotistical, I can't make much of a guestimate on what to expect from O'Hara, unless that means "Bullseye" in some inane language.

Tennis
The Women's Round of 32 will continue DiGaldi's cross-event rivalry with Ty Kanelious as the duo's final tournament brings them closer to one of the most difficult titles of all. For Halaeo, her next (and potentially, last) challenger is San Ortelio's Eleonora Fiori, a relatively newer face from the NSTT giant. Defeating Fiori would guarantee an Octofinal against a Rushmori, but the outcome and future are only important if DiGaldi can win outright.

Indoor Volleyball
Unlike the luck of the men's team, the women's indoor volleyball team won by blood, taking 2nd place in a 4-nation group with a 2-1 record. Granted, as a result of that blip (a loss to Quebec), the Vans will have to play an undefeated Kriegiersien in the Round of 32 tonight, with the victor progressing to face either 3-0 Grearish Union or 2-1 Kelssek in the Octos. While there's a bit less faith in them than in DiGaldi, it's still much more palpable than the athletics team

So that's all I got for today. I'm more than certain there's a couple I forgot, but chugging that absinthe last night really did a number on my psyche, much like the power outages going on at HQ I guess. If you're here for cake, there's none left. But you know what'll be here for you? Another excitingly nutritious dosage of Qasden Olympic News; so stay tuned, stay updated, and stay alert for our next episode of this trainwreck of a saga, probably coming out when I don't feel like absolute cabbage water.

by **Sargossa** » Sat Aug 21, 2021 1:14 am

SSM | Sargossan State Media

International Edition - Olympics

Fonseca Pays Price

Blanco Borrayo reports;

After a week of Olympic action the performance of the Sargossan delegation has lurched from disappointing to disastrous and the recriminations have begun in earnest. It makes quite the contrast from the fizzy mix of excitement and anticipation that had surrounded the team as they stepped out into the evening air at the Somersville Stadium mere days ago.

It was Jovana Krsmanovic who got the first shot in. The head coach of Sargossa’s swim team, usually somewhat reticent to step into the public glare, launched an attack on the hierarchy at the Sargossan Aquatics Federation. Krsmanovic hit out at ‘an oppressive regime who’s rigid control over all aspects of the Aquatics Team had stunted the athlete’s progression and prevented them unlocking their full potential’. The Mytanar had timed her attack to perfection, picking the moment when a scapegoat was inevitably being sought out. Director of Elite Aquatics Rubén Fonseca appears to be that scapegoat. A torrent of criticism was directed his way following Krsmanovic’s own critique and the performance of his charges over in Electrum. With the Aquatics delegation in real danger of equally their worst ever performance Fonseca found support for his position hard to find. His resignation was announced last night.

Calls have already begun for Adriana Abarca to be appointed to the role. Abarca, the nation’s greatest Olympian with seven medals to her name from the pool, has long eschewed any official role with the nation’s swimming structure. The current situation is unlikely to change her thinking. Prior to the restructuring of Sargossa’s sporting organisations the nation had taken four swimming medals from three games. Following it they’d taken forty-seven from the next seven. In Electrum the Olympic Authority of Sargossa (OAS) had targeted seven medals in the pool. With one evening’s session remaining at the Somer Olympic Natatorium they have just one. Sargossa has two hopes remaining in swimming finals but even the best-case scenario leaves the team well short of their target.

Confidence had been high coming into the Games, with Fonseca boasting of a squad ‘bristling with experience’. It’s that quote in particular that has aged like milk. With the performances instead highlighting the other side of that coin. Rather than experienced the team has instead been found to be aging, tired and in desperate need of revitalising. Where is the strength in depth? Where are the youngsters who should be coming through the system? These are some of the big questions ready to face Fonseca’s replacement. It’s little wonder that Adriana Abarca doesn’t fancy the hassle.

If there’s one dubious crumb of comfort that those involved in Sargossan swimming can cling to it’s that their troubles are hardly an isolated incident. A general malaise has seemingly descended over the entire delegation. On a disastrous Day 7 alone the boxers have been dropping like flies, the men’s football team won on the pitch and were then promptly kicked out thanks to the drawing of lots and a judging error led to Natalia Illescas being stripped of her weightlifting bronze, dropping the tally to just three. Going into these Games the OAS had targeted 30 medals. With a week of competition already gone that target is looking increasingly like a fever dream.

by **Bollonich** » Sat Aug 21, 2021 1:17 am

Wins for Handball and Water Polo sides in the round of 32

The mens handball side had done a fabulous job to make their way to the Round of 32 in the Olympics as we came up against Dotivija. We knew our ability, we knew that we were capable of winning this game and that’s what we were going to do. Starting the game off exceedingly well we took an early lead over what looked like a weak Dotivijan team. As we dominated in the opening phases of the first half the same thought passed through the minds of multiple people watching and our players too. Who had these Dotivijans made it who were struggling to do anything against the strong Bollonischian side. We would get an answer to this but the answer wouldn’t come until later in the second half.
As we continued our rampage in the first half we had gone 15-2 up as Dotivija seemed to have no fight in them as they took everything lying down. Finishing the first half it seemed like the match was already in the bag and people weren’t wrong for believing that. Dotivija would require nothing short of a miracle to even come close to beating us as we could not relax knowing we had secured the game. We could look forward to our Round of 16 match. And the unknown Dotivijans took full advantage of this as they tried to mount a comeback. Scoring a few quick fire goals they were looking threatening. They had a real chance to mount a comeback if we did not immediately respond. As our team looked sluggish we managed to hold on for dear life making it to the Round of 16 winning the game 29-23.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Sat Aug 21, 2021 1:43 am

Jin Chang-Wook's Adventure of A Lifetime

Part 9

Waterways Indoor Arena, Port Grenville

It was early in the morning, and the Waterways Indoor Arena was quiet with dim lights, as all the events were yet to happen. There was only one person in the arena. The short woman, who was wearing the Team Quebec jacket and jeans, was just looking at the arena, and didn't say a word. Slowly and gently, almost as if she was trying to swallow the every moment of her adventure here.

It was clear by her short, weary figure, that Tatiana Llnagaay-Kondratyuk was happy being the only person on the arena. Of course, she had to be- it was not the easiest of feelings to go through, and the way the lights were dimmed only made her feel smaller. All the memories of the competitions- from the very beginning of all, at a local gym in St. John's, the moments of Tatiana's first travel out of the island for competition, and all that Jazz that followed with going somewhere far and strange - had her think a lot about it. To her this wasn't about the weight of being away for so long. There was nothing unusual about that, for she wasn't from the part of Quebec known for artistic gymnastics, so being away from home quickly became a norm, not an exception, for Tatiana.

But for her, it was about the uncertainties that she was feeling after six years of preparations had just ended five days ago. Unlike last time, when she had an excellent run in the Women's Balanced Beam final to win the gold, she had fallen short twice after only medalling once in the GS+ SuperSeries last two years. For many, it was an odd feeling seeing the Quebecois, who was viewed by many as the greatest Quebecois female gymnast of all time (1), come short, with her finishing as an alternate for balanced beam and vault, but no more. (2) Team Quebec falling short on women's gymnastics was by no means an unusual phenomena, but still, it hurt.

Now, Tatiana Llnagaay-Kondratyuk was filled with endless questions about her career, as she wondered about how quickly the time had passed. For very long time, Quebecois gymnastics rarely gave the spotlights to women, and she was trying her best, ever since she debuted at age 15 eight years ago, to break through the limits. With that in mind, her gold medal, the second medal ever by Quebecois women in artistic gymnastics, was a historic first for that reason, and many had looked after her. Endless honours, media engagements and sponsorship deals followed, and deservingly so.

But sometimes, life doesn't always give you what you wanted. Years of struggles with injuries, the chain that began around the Quebecois national championships a year after the glorious moment in Orean, started to wear down on the 23-year old, putting a lot of pressure on her body. A triple gold in the Quebecois Commonwealth Games held in Nyhavn, Norrehavn, just two years ago, started feeling like a distant memory, and it was a bare miracle, after a year of rehabbing from hamstring injury, that she was able to qualify for the Bunjil Gams.

Now, the question stood over whether she could go back and prepare for six more years. By then, she would be 29 or 30, and even with tendency for the gymnasts to be older than they had been about twenty years ago, this really made her think a bit more. (3) But then, Tatiana was in the sport where average age of stardom and retirement were lot lower than in general, and where you'd start seeing club coaches around her age or even younger (4), so it was perhaps of no surprise that doubt started creeping up inside her mind.

It was around then that Tatiana saw a familiar figure coming from the other side of the gym. He was wearing Team Quebec jacket, and slightly tight sweatpants. It was unmistakable with the way he walked, and how he wore the sunglasses even while on indoors, that Chang-Wook, she said to herself, as she slowly approached him.

'Why this early? And here?' Jin Chang-Wook asked, his heart aware but his eyes visibly annoyed with how early it was for him to see her. 'Did you really have to change the hours to before the conference?'

Well, dear reader, Chang-Wook of course knew the reason why she changed the plans. That's how things often worked between them back then as well. The relationship they had for three years, beating the three year age gap between them, involved being away from each other, finding each other at the oddest of places, and not to mention buying any souvenirs they could find while at the airport or a local store not far away from the hotel.

'Chang-Wook,' responded Tatiana, her voice without the power that she had carried whenever at the conference or the way she had encouraged the others on a camp. 'Can you be honest with me?'

Chang-Wook was caught somewhat off-guarded by how vulnerable she felt, as they had found each other with nobody else around. Of course he knew why - he had read all about it, and from time to time, he had to resist punching any guy who had inappropriately mentioned her name on a cruise ship. But he too was feeling shy, almost as if they were being transported back to when he was fifteen an she eighteen. 'Why, yes,' came his response, him trying not to think too much about what she was going to say.

'Alright,' she cleared her throat, once and twice, before asking him. 'Do you think I could continue? Or should I keep true to what I told you and retire?'

And what am I supposed to say? he thought, his only thought being thrown back to the day, as he looked into her eyes. All I know is that I screwed up, and she didn't want anything to do with me for first year after she dumped me. They were alone, and the way their blue hues had met, as if they were in middle of stickhandling practice on a field hockey team, gave him no favours.

As he had previously set out the gameplans, he thought of the words he was supposed to say to her, and let half a minute pass, before resuming: 'Yes.' he said, the weight of the one word as crushing as a babel. 'I know you're broken over what had happened, but you always wanted to continue. Do you remember what used to be your favourite line? The line you said on the interview after realising that you had just won the gold?'

'That I am glad...and that the biggest question at the end of the day is...when the dust settles, what will you have done?'

'Yes.' he said, his eyes losing focus. This was not something he had wanted to deal with, especially given his current situation. 'You said you wanted to play as long as you wanted to, and be the role model for everybody...and you know what you had meant when you told me three years ago.'

'Is it really worth the ride, all the years of waiting though? You know how long it took me to recover over and over again, and I'm not sure if I could hold on, by the next one.'

'No. you really struggled on those days, but what the hell did a seventeen year old me know?' Chang-Wook replied. 'When I met you, it was only eight months since my mum died, and I was not mature enough.' He then continued, being reminded of past mistakes. 'I said horrible things to you, though it was you who got me through those days and made it easier to come in peace with grandma. So no, I can't be and won't be the one telling you to give up.'

'Thanks.' Tatiana hugged Chang-Wook, as a tear or two fell before her eyes. 'I know I can do it...but it's scary, of being on the run for who knows how long...' they paused, time slowing down with nobody else still on the arena.

'Do you remember the very first time we met?' Chang-Wook asked. It was through his friend, Soo-Gyeong, that they had met, though none of it was planned. It just happened to be that Soo-Gyeong, who became friends with Tatiana through the RQOC's Search of Excellence program (X), missed out on meeting her. 'You happened to be home after your nationals, and I was on a competition...I think it was QOVO Junior Cup.'

5 years ago

Chang-Wook remembered the first time he met. It was the same year he and Yang Soo-Gyeong received the Heo Family Foundation’s bursary, just as the college and pro scouts started serious looks at him. Having not really been exposed to this, it was a weird feeling to be noticed by the scouts, who had started to take notes as he would go to competitions while being a young Seconde.

Right, Chang-Wook thought to himself, as he walked out of the arena after the match at a competition. Fortunately for the young guy, the CSKA A-team was still developing, and with a largely new crop of players consisting mostly of Secondes and Premieres, with only two players coming from the Terminale class, he had come to quickly learn to swallow a loss in the QOVO or QVA level competitions. The scoreboard, a 1-3 loss (24-26, 20-25, 25-20, 14-25), was more than enough to suggest that lack of experience, with a couple of close points being the difference-maker for the St. John’s Jumbos Jrs.

As Chang-Wook dried his hair with a towel, he could see quite a few people on the line, as he went back to the locker room. Some of them were local children wanting to get a photo with their stars, while others would be content with a fist bump. Even in a volleyball-crazy country like Quebec, youth prospects were considered bit too young to sign autographs, so this was considered an acceptable alternative.

‘Thank you guys, thank you, thank you…’ he answered back to the next trio of ten-year olds, as he put his towel over the left shoulder, and gently gave them a fist bump. Then followed another group of parents, who were keen to ask him questions about strategies and what would be good training exercises for their children at home. All the stuff he wasn’t used to explaining much, especially as a Seconde still in his first month of school, but Chang-Wook still did his best to answer the questions, and hoped for the best.

Thank you for coming, even though we performed like shit and wings couldn’t complete the perfect sets.. Chang-Wook thought to himself, as he started walking again. Unfortunately, his reaction time wasn’t the finest and it would be a second before he caught the blue eyes of the girl wearing a Team Quebec jacket, but not that of the sport he could recall. She, who he immediately figured out to be not one of the people of his craft, was looking at him her blonde, curly hair past her shoulder. Her smile stretching all the way, it was clear to him she was smiling back, though for whatever the reason he didn’t really know. As he felt the lights suddenly flash before his eyes, a brief thought went past him.

She’s definitely not a baller, but who? I have to ask now…

Having taken three steps further than intended, Chang-Wook turned around, and smiled back at her. It was easy to tell she was someone who knew a thing or two about the grind, probably at a level he had never taken part, and she certainly didn’t look like someone who would look at him for material gains. Probably someone from a different sport, per the Quebecois tradition.

‘Hi,’ was all that he said, as Chang-Wook approached Tatiana.

After the Banija-The Sarian Men's 3x3 Basketball match...

A full workday had passed between the ex-lovers of Tatiana and Chang-Wook had talked about whether she should retire or not, and despite them spending most of the day doing their own things, lots of thoughts clouded both of them.

I can do it...I can do it...I can do it... That's what both of them found thinking about, as they watched the Banija-The Sarian 3x3 match end. It was not the most impressive of matches, not because of the quality of scores, but because of how the Peerless Princes of Banija had tore about the Saari, and without slightest consideration of the opponents.

Even though neither had really watched the 3x3 matchup, it was evident to Tatiana and Chang-Wook that him Omugabe friends, whom he had met out of an odd opportunity named the veiled party-orgy, were bringing noise everywhere they went. Under normal circumstances, they would have preferred to avoid being seen together, especially considering how those of volleyball and gymnastics world knew about their past relationship, but they needed a time off, even if this had meant Chang-Wook tugging to his heartstrings over the guilt. Chang-Wook remembered how the conference went where Tatiana, filled with dozens of reporters, appeared stronger than she had looked after the end of the qualifying round. While thinking of opportunities this would bring, she felt ready again.

'So what's next, now that you have said your vow to the people?' Chang-Wook looked at Tatiana.

She couldn't say much, the words she had said at noon still ringing inside her mind. Eventually, she looked back at him, just as the Banijan contingent they were a part of shouted the Omugabes' names. 'Maybe rest a bit. Watch some matches, maybe fencing, maybe rugby, maybe volleyball...' she replied. 'At least I get to take a little bit of time off, now that there's a window before we head back.'

'Is your ankle still alright?' he asked, trying not to say too much about the injury that bothered her last month. 'A friend has similar problems, and that's helped nobody.' Their friend sitting just three seats away, handball player Johannie Petitpa, booed back at Chang-Wook 'C'mon!'. It wasn't a good idea for him to say that- she knew that he's dating this sabre fencer at Queen's College, he knew she used to go on a couple of dates with a rugby player and then a skier. 'You know, I don't want you to be injured again and again.' In all honesty, talking about injuries may not have been a great idea, especially as they are part of an athlete's way of life, and the Quebecois people usually didn't like talking a lot about them, but who are we to judge?

'Don't worry about me, mister.' Tatiana grinned back. 'Maybe if you did worry about me back then, you would have moved all the way to the Island, wouldn't you have?'

'Maybe....or you could have moved to Quebec City.' he said. 'You know, there's no point worrying about what had passed...'

'But what if we could start again?' she asked, almost as if reaching out for something new again. It was then that the Omugabes waved back at the fans, gave each other a fist bump, before heading their separate ways. Now it was her time to ask a couple of questions, especially with Johannie being just down the road. 'Now that's intense. Is one of the princes actually going to come up to see Joh?' She had heard about the events from three nights ago, but not in the exact detail.

'Apparently.' He nodded, them grinning back at each other. Under a normal circumstance, it would be a right moment for those two to bump their foreheads and go for a kiss, but not today. Now they watched the Omugabes Lallo and Kato slowly going up to the stands, as they found Johannie Petitpa, Lallo's lover from that night. Johannie gave them a hand gesture, urging Lallo to come at her, and Chang-Wook and Tatiana chuckled.

'My lady!' greeted the 6-foot-9 Omugabe Lallo, as he and Johannie pecked each other on cheeks. 'I'm so happy to see you here...and my, you made me wonder for so long!' Chang-Wook, Tatiana and Kato all agreed, and after Johannie said 'yes! yes! yes! yes!', the five of them gathered and had a chat, before agreeing to go on a dinner at a local, bush tucker diner just down the road from the arena.

Notes
(1) While Quebec and Shingoryeo have performed well on the international stage for artistic gymnastics, it has been known for many years that the Quebecois men have been a lot more competitive than the women due to greater depth. This is partly due to the stronger depth the men’s program held over the years- while there are several candidates who would count as the greatest on the men’s side, Tatiana’s clearly head and shoulders above everybody else on the women's side.
(2) Unlike IRL, where it is possible for an alternate to take over in case of a withdrawal by someone on the final, I assume this to be a lot rarer (if even possible) on NSS.
(3) Based on recent statistics I have read about the average age of gymnasts in Tokyo 2020 being above 20 for the first time in 50 years.
(4) During a conversation with another veteran NSSer, I have found out that it is likely the average of olympic gymnasts, both men and women, being older on NSS than IRL due to a lot of us sending the same athletes for many cycles, and not just 2-3 cycles. As I time one summer olympics to be around every 6 IC years, I have decided to assume that this is more of a Quebecois case than universal.

by **Eura** » Sat Aug 21, 2021 1:50 am

Amy Ellis could feel a lot of memories coming back to her when she jumped into the pool to take her mark. As a young girl, Amy had taken to water almost as quickly as she could walk. She didn’t know her parents, nor a stable home of any kind until she was fourteen. She had only a basic secondary school education, with no academic or professional projects beyond sales or retail. All of this paired with growing up in the looming shadow of Nukon’s nuclear complex meant that few could predict Amy would ever amount to anything – a needle in the Euran haystack. But...she could always fall back on swimming.

And here she was. Twenty four and one dash away from being top of the world.

Amy had not enjoyed the best of luck in her other events, but no matter. This would be different. This is the one, she thought. Her confidence carried through in the start, flawlessly executed and fast, very fast, keeping her in the leading pack. She was entirely focused on her own performance of course, no matter how much the pundits at home would be watching her opponents, drawing comparisons no doubt between her shaky route to the final and theirs. It did not – could not – matter. This had to be hers.

Two hundred metres of backstroke was passing in moments, under the watchful gaze of the global television audience. Hundreds of millions of Eurans were watching Amy, that poor lonely wretch from dire Nukon, stretch every sinew and fibre of her being in order to win something, anything. She felt oddly at peace given the circumstances, as always; swimming on her back, the water drowned out distractions and took her to another planet. It was therapy as much as a day job. The second turn was coming. At the first, Amy was in fourth. Now she was third and gaining.

Over the course of the third lap she chased down Krytenia’s Chantelle Maitland, who had led until that point but peaked too early. That left just the Quebecois, Michelle Dyche-Hahm, who had also started quickly but maintained a sustainable pace. When they hit the turn into the final lap of four, Michelle was half a second ahead and not looking like being caught. In the last few moments of the third lap, Amy slowed down slightly. Was she tiring? Was it over? She dared not look over, not now. She executed a near perfect turn and began the final run.

What had become a four-horse race was down to two, as Maitland and Melesina Kindvanlars fell away to struggle for bronze. Just like that it was a duel – Michelle versus Any, Quebec versus Eura (and not fir the first time at this Olympics). Michelle was formidable and refused to slow, a perfectly placed swim from an excellent swimmer. But Amy, just at the right time, had caught her second wind. The gap visibly narrowed and, with only twenty metres left, Amy squeaked ahead. They remained tight to what was almost a photo finish. When Amy hit the end and rolled off her back, she was in a daze, simultaneously exhausted and elated, hoping – no, waiting, for good news.

She sure got it. 2.05.04.

The board gave her rational confirmation of victory by a whisker, less than a tenth of a second. It took her Swim Eura teammate Bryan Anderton to trigger the emotional catharsis, eloquently screaming ‘GET THE FUCK IN THERE!’ An overwhelming sense of relief struck first, followed by outright joy. Her feelings manifested in tears, quite understandably. ‘Nice one...well done. Next time eh?’ Michelle was quick to congratulate her rival once out of the pool. Amy responded with no words, just a quick hug and pat on the back – no affection, no animosity either, just mutual respect.

Amy’s day would be full of stories for Eura. A shock BMX gold. A shock silver in triathlon too. The men’s football team crashing out. Brilliant Euran performances in badminton. A team event with four men where three of them were called Frank. But come the next morning, every paper in the country led with Amy – the golden girl.

by **Electrum** » Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:02 am

Day 8 Cutoff

The next cutoff will be tomorrow (at the latter end of the cutoff).

Cutoff music: Debussy: The Complete Preludes

Games of the XV Olympiad — roleplaying thread

BVC | Today At The Games (S1, E7)

Player Profile: Senchau Imamaota | King Pong | Daita Shrane

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