Games of the XV Olympiad — roleplaying thread

[Brookstation]

BROOKSTATION IN THE XV OLYMPIC GAMES
SOME BASIC INFORMATION

Who is Sam Maher ?

Sam Maher has booked his name in the history books of Brookstation as he became the first flagbearer of Brookstation in an Olympics. Sam Maher is one of Brookstation's hope for a medal. The 27 year old sprinter will try to make Brookstation proud. He has recently won the Brookstation state championship and is in his best form currently.



What is Brookstation's outfit going to be ?

On the opening ceremony, the Brookstation Olympic Committee(BOC) has decided that the athletes will be wearing casual outfit with an overcoat which is by far Brookstation's most popular uniform . Scott's love to wear overcoat. The very fashion of overcoat has been approved by the President Glenn B. Maxwell who wore it on his commencement day. The weather of Brookstation also plays a role. Overcoat is worn by almost everyone during the cold seasons of Brookstation.




Brookstation's athletes will be wearing green and yellow coloured jerseys as green is considered as a sign of good luck throughout Brookstation and thus in our first Olympic campaign green is going to be our jersey's primary colour. Yellow is our symbol of happiness. It indicates to always uphold the spirit of sportsmanship and not to be disheartened after a loss.




What is Brookstations official Olympic mascot ?

Brookstation's mascot for this Olympic is going to be the Quintaped, the national animals of Brookstation. It might seem scary at first sight but if you try to maintain friendly relations, it will be glad to do so.


Where and whom to expect a medal from?

Women’s 10 m Platform- Solange Garcia
Men’s 200 m Breaststroke- Marian Retegui
Women’s 400 m and 800 m Freestyle- Maria Conte
Men’s 100 m and 200 m - Andrew Anstey
Men’s 5000 m and 10000m - Sam Maher
Men’s Javelin Throw - Cameron Scott
Women's 100m and 200m - Caroline Haynes
Women’s Discus Throw- Nicole Savino
Badminton
Basketball (mens)
Boxing
Fencing
Football
Men’s Windsurfer- David Diamond
Table Tennis
Tennis

We wish the very best to every participating national olympic committee and hope we shine in the biggest international stage. Vive Brookstation !!

[Beaverriver]

Quetzin Times

Some Forestlene Athletes Will Compete Under The Beaver River Flag for the Summer Olympics

The Olympics are the pinnacle sporting competition in the world as every athlete dreams of winning gold. However, the Olympics don't happen all that often. So when the Beaver River Olympic Committee reached out to Forestlene athletes to compete under the Beaver River banner, many took the opportunity. For some this was opportunity to reach greater glory through the Olympics. For others, its an opportunity to mingle with Beaverite athletes as polls are showing the Join campaign leading by a substantial margin. For Clara Behringer, "it way to continue improving my tennis skills against the multiverse's best athletes and represent my adopted nation." Other top Forestlene athletes expressed similar sentiments such as Pitcher Gardenia Fischer and Jacki Guldbrandsen.

However, some Forestlenes are disgusted that the BROC offered the opportunity to compete under the Beaver River flag. "It's absolutely appalling that the BROC would ignore our national identity and assume that we will just assimilate into their country," said Lumberjack Party Leader Johan Drumpf. Early this week, the BROC angered many conservative and far-right Forestlenes by listing Forestlene athlete's regions as Forestly West and Forestly East, a region distinction rarely used by Forestlenes themselves. Many right-wing media outlets detest the arrogance of Beaver River over the mistake. The BROC has responded that they remove that distinction on the rosters and deeply regret the error.

The primary reason that BROC offered Forestlenes the chance to compete was to show an act of goodwill towards the Forestlene people. Forestly has only dabbled in international multiversal competition in the far past and currently has no Olympic Committee to organize Olympic sports around the country. One of Join campaign's arguments is that joining Beaver River will help build up the infrastructure such as sporting organizations that is on par with the multiverse's developed countries.

List of Forestlene Olympians

Athletics
Mick Hume - Men's 400m, Mixed 4x400m Relay
Moreno Schroeder - Men's 3000m Steeplechase
Harland Scholz - Men's Shot Put
Hildr Nuremberg - Women's Marathon
Lorene Faulkner - Women's Heptathalon

Baseball
2B Dillan Arnold
RP Greyson Feldt

Softball
SP Gardenia Fischer

Basketball
G Lane Bretz
G Theudoricus Christoffersen
F Nerissa Coemans

Cycling
Hector Brahams - Men's Team Pursuit

Fencing
Helge Krämer - Men's Individual and Team Épée

Football
Mervin Maier
Jeremiah Küchler
Parris Priestley
Patrick Steele
Ingi Adam
Noor Baumgarten
Jone Pauwels
Amy Niftrik
Glenys Segers

Gymnastics
Delice Reiter - Women's Trampoline

Rowing
Austyn Scrivener - Men's Lightweight Double Sculls
Mariann Maus - Women’s Double Sculls
Callahan Kraus - Men's Coxed Eights
Hieronymus Lorenz - Men's Coxed Eights
Katy Appelhof - Women's Coxed Eights
Jacki Guldbrandsen - Woen's Coxed Eights

Tennis
Clara Behringer - Women's Singles, Women's Doubles
Christel Brändle - Women's Singles, Women's Doubles

[Bollonich]

The 15th Summer Olympiad; Don’t know what to do? Read this

With the rise of Bollonischian participation in international sports the participation in the ever rare and elusive Olympics was guaranteed. And we shall see our athletes participate in 559 medal events and attempt to bring back home as many medals as possible.
With the Olympics starting soon, many Bollonischians might be wondering how they will keep up with all the action from regional neighbours Electrum, to that we say there is no need to worry as we from the Vreton City Journal will keep you updated everyday as to the latest from the Terranean Coast and you can also tune into the live action in Bollonich’s best sports channel, Sporta Bollonich.
Watching the Olympics, and the Olympics experience also includes the glamorous opening and closing ceremonies, so it’s a natural question as to who will be the flag bearer or the main representative of Bollonich at the Olympics. While we are equally proud of each and every sportsperson and their achievements, it will Table Tennis player Nick Fenn. Nick Fenn holds the entire country’s hope for a medal in table tennis as Bollonich has had a strong history of good solid table tennis players who haven’t made an impact on the world yet. Nick Fenn would attempt to change this as he shall be the brand ambassador for Bollonich in the Olympics.
Looking ahead to the start of the games, on the same day as the Opening ceremony number of our sportspeople would be appearing as match day one of the group stage of teams sports such as Water Polo, Basketball, Handball and Rugby will take place. In the Rugby mens side, we will face Brookstation, fellow Rushmori nation which is expected to be a tight game we are completely capable of losing and losing. In Badminton, both our players will appear in both the mens and women singles division. Despite the disaster that was the International Basketball Championship we’ll attempt to put that behind us as our women take the court in the 3X3 Basketball division against the side from Pemecutan.
Before going into the Sailing events, our women would also face off against Darkmania in Water Polo. The young water polo side will attempt to register a win against Darkmania. Our nation will also be featured in 4 separate sailing events as with pre-Olympics events such as the ones held in Græntfjall, Hannasea, etc. will provide good practice for our sailors who’ll be eying up some medals.
For the next two weeks the entire nation’s eyes will be on our sportspeople participating in Electrum across five cities along the Terranean Coast. The country will be attempting to replicate the same level of success as seen in other sports.

[The Grearish Union]

OLYMPICS | CRICKET | FOOTBALL | RUGBY | CHESS | MOTORSPORT | TENNIS | ESPORTS | MISCELLANEOUS

---

Olympic Dreams: Grearia's Day 0!

---

In what is undoubtedly the biggest sporting event of the multiverse, the Grearish Union would like to start to convert its bronzes to silvers and silvers to golds. The showing at Orean-Istria four years ago was not satisfactory, according to some, and an unchanged contingent this time around from Grearish Olympic Association only hints at a similar performance unless one is pretty sure of improvement in the Olympic-movement sports in the country. Opening Day at the Terranean Coast/Bunjil Olympics will be seeing Grearish participation in all events, as is customary, following the glittering opening ceremony that is promised in Electrum. Abigail Smith is the matriarch leader of the contingent, while Alexander Allman (former Black Lilies national team and Kinetik Islanders defender) has been named as the Chef de Mission for Team Grearia. They will all be expected to be clad in the traditional black-and-gold, but with a brand new design on their jackets. The question would still remain whether they would be able to convert the gold on their backs to a gold around their necks. The rest of the day will see the following participation from the Grearish contingent.

AQUATICS—WATER POLO—Women's—matchday 1
GROUP F - The Grearish Union v West Phoenicia
There isn't great expectation from this rather unknown Grearish women's water polo side, as the country is only reminded (barely) of their existence every time that the Olympics roll about, after which they're duly forgotten. It will be interesting to see if they will be able to get through their group stage games, especially due to the lack of year-round-training. Grearish swimmers face the ordeal of having to brave the elements in winter (and risking hypothermia for all it is) to practice, as heated pools are a rarity in these parts. The nation is just not big on Water Polo, and to be fair, nobody could care less about what happens. Will that stop them from watching it? No.

BADMINTON—Men's singles—matchday 1
Dawson Williams (GRU) v Geoffrey Matthews (KVC)
Farrell MacGregor (GRU) v Arthur Chrisson (GRÆ)
Folks back home can expect two very even games here in the men's badminton as none of the two blokes here representing the GU have been very promising in the home season. The selection of badminton players this year has been on a seniority-experience basis, and it is only and solely by virtue of that, that we see Williams and MacGregor in the Olympics. While the next game would be the true taste of the mettle of these two gentlemen, we could still hope and keep our fingers crossed for early victories. Medals are realistically not to come, here.

BADMINTON—Women’s singles—matchday 1
Leila Fletcher (GRU) - bye
Shayla Leon (GRU) v Elisa Polo (SCT)
Big medal hope Leila Fletcher sits out the first matchday with a bye as Leon faces off against Polo in a very tough round-robin encounter. It is expected that Shayla will succumb to the pressure from the opposition, as we can all remember her fiasco when she started crying at the presser after she won silver at the nationals behind Fletcher. Leon is nowhere near Fletcher's league, and worse still, crumbles under pressure. Unless she's suddenly changed?

BASKETBALL—Women's 3x3—matchday 1
GROUP F - The Grearish Union - bye
Nothing to see here, it's just another bye. It might be worth keeping an eye on Group F nevertheless, but why hope for a medal in events where we don't even participate in World Cups? Basketball (of any sort) and Grearia are quite the antonyms, and to some of the more conservative folks, it is an absolute misdeed to even send a team to the multiverses' biggest stage!

HANDBALL—Men's—matchday 1
Group O - The Grearish Union v Asteran
Handball is just one of those games that falls prey to casual sexism often, in high schools and colleges. While the males are off to play the rugby with the more sturdy of the girls, the girls generally opt to play football or handball alongside the more meek but nimble young men. In such a situation, and with a considerable dearth in agile males in the country, one would be very hopeless about the possibilities of the achievements of a Grearish side in the game. The Union start off their campaign against Asteran, and it is sure to catch a number of eyeballs from back home - even if they're of high school PT teachers looking to spot new tricks to flaunt in front of the kids.

RUGBY SEVENS—Men's—matchday 1
Group F - The Grearish Union - bye
Another bye. This is getting boring. Grearia isn't any good at rugby either, at most times, and with people from outside the actual NT participating for the Olympics due to the gender-division rules, it is pre-destined to be an absolute disaster of a participation.

SAILING—Men's one-person dinghy
Rikesh Pompeii—race 1 and 2
SAILING—Men's windsurfer
Karv Begunst—race 1, 2 and 3
SAILING—Women's one-person dinghy
Libbi Barlow—race 1 and 2
SAILING—Women's windsurfer
Precinda Halliday—race 1, 2 and 3
Sailing is both alien and non-alien to us. While Forsho sees it as the epitome of the local pastime closely after rugby, the rest of the country including the desert of Elesborough see it as a distant dream to be on a pointless boat in the middle of a large body of water. Precinda Halliday and Rikesh Pompeii would be the ones to look out for in these initial stages of the competition, regardless of how far they go in achieving their medal dreams. It is about time that a sport that the Grearish have taken so much pride in, gets some recognition on the international stage, and perhaps even more of a time to grab that elusive medal.


All Grearish competitors' events will be shown live on Radio-Televiz Grearia (RTG) on a free-to-air basis.

[Electrum]

For the second time, Electrum would once again play host to the Summer Olympic Games. It was now time for the oft-forgotten Terranean Coast to have its time in the sun and play its part in Olympic and sporting history. Away from the traditional population centres of Centralis, Prescott and Hamilton, these coastal cities are more known for their more laid back lifestyle and a deeper appreciation for sun and sea.

Earlier that day competition had already begun in earnest with the early rounds of the sailing competition as well as some of the team sports.

By 7pm, the crowds had filled the stands of Somersville Stadium, Somer, eagerly anticipating the official start of the Games. Meanwhile, in the five host cities, the masses came to public squares, which all featured large-screen projections of the opening ceremony. A timpani, as traditional, signalled the start of the proceedings. Everyone stood up for Electrum's national anthem, 'O Electrum'.

Then the arena was bathed in an illuminating green light accompanied by an instrumental hip hop version of Miriam's Heroes was piped in. The green light was then replaced with images and three-dimensional holographic projections beamed to the centre of the stadium. Various landscapes across the Terranean Coast, from the jungles of Kale Island, the ocean of Port Grenville to the historic old town of Somer were shown, with moveable trolleys allowing the performers to interact with the projections.

The artistic portion of the ceremony would now begin. The theme for these Olympic Games would be on the natural environment and sustainability. Each section lasted around half an hour.

Water voices
This segment was all about the connection between water, country and Electrumite culture. It started with a demonstration of the Before Times, before the arrival of settlers. The indigenous peoples who were in the Electrum area demonstrated their mastery of water by exploiting volcanic rock valleys to perform aquaculture by trapping fish in various ponds. It then continued with an 'interpretive dance' about mermaid mythology and then finished with a soundscape and performance on the sights of the coral reefs off the coast of Electrum. There was also a nod to a famous movie franchise when shark dancers made an appearance too.

Regeneration
The next section of the Opening Ceremony was themed on regeneration. This told the story of correcting and reversing years of environmental degradation through small and big actions. While there were strange scenes such as a garbage monster coming to life and causing havoc to a mini city before it was blown away by a wind turbine. What seemed to elicit most of the crowd reaction was the coordination of battery solar-powered drones to form brilliant shapes in the air which showed that fossil fuels were not necessary to power the earth.

Hand in hand
This section was focused on the traditions of the Kale Islanders, one of the five host cities of the Olympic Games. The island off the coast of Electum is noted for its historic traditions such as the worship of Margaret and the local cuisine, such as jungle chicken curry. Most of the performers performed traditional, coordinated dances, which was capped off by a five-hundred strong co-ordinated drum performance.

The family city
Finally, in this last segment of the opening part of the Ceremony showcased Somer itself. Somer started as a whaling outpost but quickly lost those roots as it became a way for Centralis families (the capital) to have an affordable beach house, after being outpriced for beach houses in the area around Centralis. But, after just fifty years, the city of Somer grew exponentially with skyscrapers sprouting next to the beach. Allusions to the Somer Festival, known for its large floats and green apples were shown, with the crowd being amused by a float which was the face of Gertrude Pullman, one of Electrum's most infamous WorldVision singers, who is coincidentally participating in the table tennis in these Games.

Next came the Parade of Nations. While the Electrumite authorities would have given Commerce Heights the first opportunity to enter the stadium, this was no longer possible. Therefore, a compromise was reached and both the Banijan and Liventian delegations, hosts of the previous Olympic Games, marched out first. The parade would then proceed in alphabetical order starting from their neighbours to the south, Eura, going down the list alphabetically. In particular, there was heavy cheering for Rushmori nations and for those nations that Electrum knew, either from the IBA or from Olympics past. Finally, the Electrumite team came out to rapturous applause, with flagbearers and sailors Jackson Shirley and Christine McGann leading the way for the Electrumite team, who were fully decked out in their gold and silver apparel from ÉLÉGAMMENT.

While the parade was going on, a crowd of dancers ushered the athletes into the centre in preparation for the next phase of the games, with chairs being arranged in a horseshoe shape on the grounds around the centre stage. There was a musical interlude with Kalosian singers being invited to give a performance...

---

MONTEREU
[click here to see what they look like]

Montereu is a Kalosian girlband, consisting of Eva Rodrigez, Karla Botini, and Rosa Giľaume (left to right on the picture linked above). Internationally, they are best known for their participation at the 66th WorldVision Song Contest in Telm City, Britonisea, where they came 6th in a field of 34 participating entries.

Their name is taken from the hangulization of the local name of the Kalosian capital Monterra, that is then re-romanized. That is to say, it is the name Monterë transliterated into Korean and then back into the Latin alphabet.

For them, of course, this was the performance of a lifetime. Not many artists get to perform at the opening ceremony of the multiverse's most prestigious sporting event, particularly from countries like Kalosia that may not have the infrastructure in place to host an event of this calibre anytime soon. Not to mention the various high ranking Electrumite officials and foreign dignitaries present—the president of Kalosia is in attendance.

For the occasion, they are wearing the colours of the Rushmori flag — Eva and Rosa don a very glittery short blue dress, whereas Karla wears the same but in an earthy slightly bluish green.

RUSHMORI LOVE
tune: Russian Roulette — Red Velvet
original WorldVision Song Contest performance

The first song they will perform tonight is an English version of their WorldVision entry, L'amurë Rušmoresë. The song tells the story of a man who travel the countries of Rushmore in his quest to find love. It is the region where the Games of the XV Olympiad is being held, of course, and this part of the multiverse is particularly known for its athletes who regularly participate in many sporting tournaments throughout the universe, as well as its water fowl.

Not only is the Republic of Kalosia situated in Rushmore, but being located just off the Terranean coast, it is right in the vicinity of Electrum, the host nation of the Games. Thus, Montereu was chosen by the organizers of the Opening Ceremony not only to present the host nation to the world, but also showcase a sense of regional identity to the multiverse.

As the song begins, the audience cheers. The lighting is such that we can only see silhouettes of them, but they are standing on the circular stage in the center of the arena, surrounded by the participating athletes. The camera angles change every few seconds, giving it a dramatic effect.

(Ah, ah ah, ah, a-ah, ah)
(Ah, ah ah, ah, a-a-ah ah)

(Ah, ah ah, ah, a-ah, ah)
(Ah, ah ah, ah)

In this next part, the girls take turns singing their first line. They remain as silhouettes until its their turn to sing, which at that point a spotlight shines on them (and they remain fully illuminated for the rest of the performance). As that happens, each girl also takes a step forward.

Hey welcome to the land of sport, of the fast and the strong
Where you can feel it in the air, energy lasting long
We're the birds of water rising above
But I'll fly with you on the wings of love

So tonight's the night, you'll go on a bon voyage
Pack along your passion, you must
You can go near or far, it's somewhere to start
Looking for a rhythm for your heart

At this point the arena's light fixtures burst into various colours, moving and changing dynamically. The athletes watch enthusiastically, some of them even dancing along. As some of the participating countries in Rushmore are mentioned in this next part, the athletes from those countries who notice raise their flags and wave it proudly upon hearing those mentions.

The man goes o-o-o-on to Mytanija
Looking for love in Darmen, Sargossa, Ceni and Eura
We'll call him Mr. International
He's causing a sensation
In his search for some good Rushmori love
(Ah, ah, ah yeah)

(Ah, ah, ah, ah) Come love me
(Ah, ah ah) Yeah, come on over

We'll call him Mr. International
He's causing a sensation
In his search for some good Rushmori love

In the next verse, the home audience cheers as their beloved country (among other Rushmori nations) is mentioned in the first line. The camera largely focuses on them, although occasionally showing individual audience members or athletes bopping along to the performance.

In Electrum, Tikariot, Liventia and beyond
They cheer on for the fittest men and women you have seen
But when you win over your lover's heart
You'll get a medal you can wear on your hand

The 'medal you can wear on your hand', of course, refers to a ring. Throughout this performance, Montereu have not been doing the kind of choreography they usually do, in part because they have handheld mics, but also because their team felt that performances like these are not meant to meticulously choreographed, as this is a celebration of sport and the atmosphere isn't right for a meticulously choreographed performance. But also in part because they are more focused on preparing for their second song, which all things considered is far more relevant and therefore much more important.

So tonight's the night, you'll go on a bon voyage
Pack along your passion, you must
You can go near or far, it's somewhere to start
Looking for a rhythm for your heart

In this next part, the camera pans across all the different athletes crowded around the stage, many of them flying their flags.

The man goes o-o-o-on to Mytanija
Looking for love in Darmen, Sargossa, Ceni and Eura
We'll call him Mr. International
He's causing a sensation
In his search for some good Rushmori love
(Ah, ah, ah yeah)

In this next part, as they did in the last post-chorus(?), the members gestured towards the athletes, as if inviting them to come.

(Ah, ah, ah, ah) Come love me
(Ah, ah ah) Yeah, come on over

However, this time they also approached the edges of the stage where they hi-fived and shook hands with athletes. Towards the end of the next part, though, they quickly returned to the middle of the stage.

We'll call him Mr. International
He's causing a sensation
In his search for some good Rushmori love

Now the arena lights dimmed, save for a few spotlights on our girls. The camera also closes up on them, particularly on each girl as they sing their line (they're taking turns here).

And when you find her
You'll know it
Because your heart
Keeps beating
Believe it:
There's no ocean too wide, too big for you

Now the lights around the arena once again burst into vivid colours... and finally Montereu attempted a little choreography! It was much simpler but it was clear that they had rehearsed, they just wanted to keep it to a minimal and waited for the right moment to do so.

The man goes o-o-o-on to Mytanija
Looking for love in Darmen, Sargossa, Ceni and Eura
We'll call him Mr. International
He's causing a sensation
In his search for some good Rushmori love
(Ah, ah, ah yeah)

(Ah, ah, ah, ah) Come love me
(Ah, ah ah) Yeah, come on over

We'll call him Mr. International
He's causing a sensation
In his search for some good Rushmori love

At this point, during the WorldVision performance, there was a performer who seemingly approached a random fan in the audience and proposed to her. This is not the case this time, as it was simply the members of Montereu performing with no backing performers whatsoever. However, in this part, the girls do get to perform a little bit of the song's original choreography as there are a few moments of instrumental which means their mics don't need to be in front of their faces. But then they continue with the singing, walking around the stage while visibly enjoying their time here.

The man goes o-o-o-on to all of Rushmore

(Ah, ah ah, ah, a-ah, ah)
(Ah, ah ah, ah, a-a-ah ah)

As the song comes to an end, the three return to the center of the stage and in the last line they make a final pose.

The man goes o-o-o-on to all of Rushmore
(Ah, ah ah, ah, a-ah, ah)
(Ah, ah ah, ah) Oh, come and love me

After the pose, the audience and athletes cheer. But the girls of Montereu stay in position, almost unreceptive to the audience.

CAPTURE THE FLAG
tune: Red Flavor — Red Velvet

Now comes their second and final song of the night. This is the English version of Lë meľor, the official song of Team Kalosia at the XV Olympic Games. It has certainly been receiving a lot of airplay in its home country and an instrumental orchestra version of this song is used in the official Radiu-Televižio Kalosia coverage of the Games.

After a few moments, the song begins. As the beat kicks in, the girls bring the mics to their faces and begin singing. Also, as this happens, the area surrounding the stage is being cleared of athletes and spectators as special performers bringing the flags of the participating NOCs (used earlier during the Parade of Nations) fill in this space.

P-p-power up!
Together, baby
Across the line we will run and we'll capture that flag

C-c-come on now!
Won't let them tame me
We're almost there, gotta go get that dream in the bag

As the song really starts to kick in, the lights become lively and colourful again. One by one, the singers come forward as they sing these next few lines individually.

You know sometimes when you feel under the weather
World is turning and you really could not care
But it's you who makes my world better than ever
So get up and keep on moving, if you dare

Here their body language becomes wider and more open, as if conveying an expression of freedom.

We soar... as we keep flying higher
With you we can run faster, because...
Together we are stronger

The girls of Montereu walk around the stage, trying to hype up the audience, and they do seem to be enjoying the performance. Some of them waving their arms, etc. During the chorus, the lights do appear dynamic as ever, flashing on and off, moving, etc.

P-p-power up!
Together, baby
Across the line we will run and we'll capture that flag

C-c-come on now!
Won't let them tame me
We're almost there, gotta go get that dream in the bag

Now the cameras, after previously doing wider shots during the chorus, close up on each of the girls as they sing. During the verses, the lights appear more... calm, since these are the less energetic parts of the song.

There are days where you will get standing ovations
There are nights where no one is cheering along
Now is not the time to give in to emotion
When you reach the top, you'll be where you belong

Those close ups slowly turn into medium shots, gradually getting farther away from the stage...

Let's go... we keep on flying higher
We're running even faster, because...
Together we are stronger

...and we're back to the chorus. At this point, the people in the audience immediately surrounding the stage have their flags put down, and are enjoying the performance as if they were concertgoers. Montereu are doing their best to maintain a lively atmosphere in the arena.

P-p-power up!
Together, baby
Across the line we will run and we'll capture that flag

C-c-come on now!
Won't let them tame me
We're almost there, gotta go get that dream in the bag

As a rap verse comes on, the cameras close up on Rosa, who carries this next part. She seems really into it, as she looks into the camera and has chemistry with viewers as she raps. The lights become calm once again but also many of the lights turn white.

Gotta go, now is time to get the gold
Gotta show the world what we can achieve (right)
Only one chance, final dance
Only move when you're ready to believe

Come and get it, come and get it, swing like this
Give your 100% and you'll never miss
Cause it's the Olympics, it's the dream
Together in Electrum we're gonna win, yeah

The lights dim and focus on Eva and Karla, who take turns singing the lines below.

But after all, at the end of the day
You did your best, and you fairly played
Congratulations, you're still the best
So be proud to fly your flag

Now the three of them are standing next to each other and the camera, having maintained various close up shots of the singers for the past several seconds, finally zooms out. We can see the people surrounding the stage energetically waving the flags of the many many participating countries. As the camera continues to zoom out, it is apparent that Montereu is singing in a sea of flags, creating quite the spectacle for viewers at home.

Proudly fly your flag!
Proudly fly your flag!
The dream's in the bag!
The world is watching, now go and proudly fly your flag!

The lights are colourful and become as lively as ever. As flags continue to be waved, the girls of Montereu appear to assert their presence more than ever, as they deliver the final chorus of the song.

P-p-power up!
Together, baby
Across the line we will run and we'll capture that flag

As the song begins to come to an end, the girls walk back to the center of the stage.

C-c-come on now!
Won't let them tame me
We're almost there, gotta go get that dream in the bag

As Karla sings the final line of the song, the three strike a pose. By this point, the flag wavers have definitely calmed down, and so have the lights. The camera, using a medium shot, slowly zooms in slightly towards the girls.

The world is watching, now go and proudly fly your... fla~ag

The song comes to an end. The audience goes wild for Montereu. The girls finally break pose and take a bow. As Eva says "Thank you!" to the audience, the three blow kisses as they clear the stage.

---

"Ladies and Gentlemen… the Olympic Council Flag!" The white flag, with the Olympic Star in the middle drew everyone's attention. Holding the large flag were six athletes, representing Electrum and the major sporting regions in a show of solidarity. These were: Heather Calder, Electrumite skateboarder, Samantha Viktorsdóttir, the Græntfjaller swimmer, Namakula Kawesa (BNJ) known for being both a silver medallist and a WCC HoFer, Heo Myeong-Yoon, a basketballer from Quebec and Shingoryeo, Abigail Smith from the Grearish Union and Kamal Dallas from West Phoenicia. The latter five athletes represented Rushmore, Atlantian Oceania, Anaia, Esportiva and the Independents respectively.

It was now time for the Olympic Oath. The centre stage was reset with dignitaries including Electrum's co-leaders (The Computator, a five dimensional being who has four minds but speak as one and Governor-General Xavier Tan, who is selected via sortition), Prime Minister Antoinette Gredello and the Liventian Olympic Council President all on stage. Taking the oaths on behalf of the athletes was Electrumite judoka, while Rina Walker and Malcolm Press represented the judges and coaches respectively. The flag was then raised, before attention turned to the Liventian Olympic Council President to make a speech.

After the Olympic Council President made their speech, bid chairperson Cylene Andrikopolous stood up and gave a speech thanking the world's athletes for coming to Electrum for what promised to be two weeks of fierce competition. As many Electrumites know, Andrikopolous was once a gold medallist and an Olympic record holder in the 100m freestyle before she built her career in the sprawling Electrum Olympic Council. Andrikopolous also emphasized the need to care for the environment, and making sure that everyone did their part in advancing towards a cleaner, greener future. At the end of her short speech she wished the athletes the best wishes and goodwill from the Electrumite people.

There was a huge rumble coming from outside the arena. The spotlight moved around the arena and then solely on the player's entrance where Electrumite paralympic gold medallist marathoner Chris Wilson came out with his wheelchair. He made a lap of the arena while waving at the crowds and the assembled athletes before passing the baton to blind triathlete Ellinor Blaine who perfectly retraced her movements from rehearsal to the Olympic cauldron.

The Olympic cauldron was itself in the shape of a tree with many spindly branches, resembling the Olympic logo. Blaine leaned forward and put the torch into the tree's hollow, which all at once lit up the biogas inside the tree, flames coming out like leaves from the branches. Fireworks in all the Olympic colours lit up the night sky, marking the start of eighteen days of competition.

---

OOC: Many thanks to Kalosia for the half-time performance! This is the first cutoff. The next cutoff will be in two days.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

OOC: Thanks to information and RP permission from Bollonich, Krytenia, and Mertagne for this RP. For the context in regards to the first two sections, please see here for the results of the 3 competitions from the domestic volleyball circuit.

Jin Chang-Wook's Adventure of A Lifetime

Part 2

IVF WorldLeague Final, mid-June 2050
Vreton, Bollonich

Bollonich (BOL)                27  18  17  29  15
Quebec and Shingoryeo (QUE)    25  25  25  27  13

QBC Broadcasting Panel, Naomi Goldbloom Heo (Colour Commentator) and Theodore Grasset-Rioux (Play-by-Play)

'13-13, we are tied. Whoever wins two points, will win this match. Naomi, what a turn of the events it has been on the fifth set, as the Bollonischian national team goes for the serve.'
'Certainly Nolan. It certainly has been that of kind of serve where the Grim Reapers have played as expected, and really thought they had it. There was that comfortable lead for most of this set, and it all worked fine...until it wasn't working at all.'
'If anything, this is meant to prove to us all out there that there's nothing guaranteed when you're playing on the final set, of the IVF WorldLeague Final.
'And now we're heading to serve. Good reception by Nettie Osborne (Naomi: indeed very good)...and there's a Jaye Neal with the spike, a c-quick to the left!
'That was a good one read by the Quebecois blockers. A comfortable dig made by Zackael Lapierre, and Jin Chang-Wook now has two places to set it up....(Naomi: He should think carefully)...and he'll set it up to Todor Asparuhov, whose spike is deflected by the three-man block...gotta catch that, and gone! All the way down from 9-13, it's 14-13 Bollonich, folks! Can you believe it? It's a battle of the closest margins and Nettie Osborne's Bollonich side, trailing by four, have scored five consecutive points to seize the live point, live here in Vreton!'
'I am not sure what did Jin Chang-Wook, the setter, have in mind when setting the ball. There was that weak spot on the Bollonischian block with Ginny Wyatt being slow on the block all day long, but he decided not to give it to either Ivan Stankic for the pipe attack (1) or Yang Soo-Gyeong who would have gotten it done with a deep cross.'
'And it is Pierre-Stephane Jobin, the men's team coach, who calls timeout. Time to head to the sidelines...'

---

Gym A, The Pride of Quebecois Commonwealth
Morning, Day 0

The bounces of balls and the acrobatic dives from the players reminded everybody that they were mid practice. On one court, the assistant coaches were alternating both the spike and the floater serves to the players, who had to quickly receive them well and quickly enough. Then, on the other court, the players were placed into pairs to practice setting drills, and then do the Out of System Drills, to land spikes over the gigantic 330cm curtain placed over the net (2).

Both drills, while not as useful as actually playing a test match with themselves or with another side, were useful in gauging the players' condition, and it was clear to anybody who have watched a bit of volleyball that they were not really at their peak form this early in the morning. And that's something that Pierre-Stephane Jobin, the young head coach of the team, had clearly noticed, as we were able to see with his disgruntled face for the previous hour. He wasn't satisfied with it one bit and was going to say something about that.

'Alright, that's it for this morning,' coach Jobin said. 'Let's not wear ourselves out so early- we are surely here to aim for a medal, but this is not our endgoal right, boys?' Of course, the irony with the term 'boys' he used was that coach Jobin himself, still in his forties, wasn't really old either, but that didn't get into the head of a coach who quickly rose up in the coaching ranks and had a VWE silver medal that told them so. 'Now, the setters and the liberos need to be better with how to link the passes. What happened over there, guys?'

Fuck,Chang-Wook thought to himself, being reminded of a clear mental image from the WorldLeague Final. Not this mental loop again. He was having all sorts of trouble recovering with his sets since then, and even with a starting spot wrapped up, there was nothing to be comforted over the fact that neither him nor Gustave-Paul Filatriault, his backup setter who actually had worse form, were up to snuff. 'Sorry about that coach, it's been a long morning for all of us-' he tried to explain.

'Yes, I know none of you three have been under right form since then, but come on guys.' coach Jobin responded, raising both his hands as if he's gesturing bewilderment. 'We have the next two best setters, one who's collegiate MVP and other who has done plenty outta nothing from the Blazers (3), and probably the best men's libero out here. Yet none of you can get the job done? How are we going to link the dots and actually set up for some easy points, when none of you will fucking do the job?'

It's true, and perhaps the nerves were getting into all their heads. For a nation that's been known to have excellent liberos and setters, and not just two on each team, this was embarrassing. The expectations set towards the lineage of passeurs (4), previously set by legends all the way back to Kim Hyeon-Cheol and Ervin Morin-Antonoff of the 1970s and 1980s, had meant that the competition was intense, and the pressure even greater.

'Sorry, coach!' both Chang-Wook and Gustave responded in unison, to accept their responsibility. Coach still looking stern with his sunglasses on, Chang-Wook then continued. 'We will do our best, and keep practicing as needed!'

'No, have a bit more rest. You lot have all practiced enough for now,' he responded, watching the players go immediately upon hearing those words. The twelve players certainly felt a bit of relief that there weren't going to be any more word said about it, and that whatever the bad vibes given right there were all going to go away by the time they meet again for lunch in an hour's time. The Gym A inside the Quebecois delegation ship was rebuilt to look as closely as possible to those at Warburton University, where the indoor volleyball competition were being hosted.

After about a week of training, they were finally used to the courts, but the coaches knew that getting over the mental hurdle likely required actually being on the court, and that's something they all knew the players had to get through on their own. Coaching staff could provide them the specific strategies and what blocking schemes to look out on every timeout, but the rest had to be done by the players.

As the setter, Chang-Wook knew that he had a challenge to solve this olympics, especially with how the WorldLeague had ended for the Grim Reapers. A second place, of course, was a glory of its own, but the way they had lost the golden set was disappointing enough to everybody, and the media attention given to this team of largely future talents, even with all their starpower, was more of a hurdle than anything else. Not to mention the whole legacy aspect of his status, especially in a country where military heroes and peacekeepers are given prestige and the solidarity towards the Quebecois Commonwealth.

---

The room of a 4-person suite he has been calling home for past two weeks was a large, roomy space. Once spotless, grey and of course bleak, over time it was rid of its depressing elements, all the way from the warmer lights to the photos he had filled the mirrors with. Having showered at the locker room located right next to the indoor gyms reserved for athletes and staff involved in team sports, he was wearing a Team Quebec jacket and sweatpants, both of which were indigo with tricolour stripes of red, blue and yellow to the side, and with a distinctive Team Quebec logo. The room was warm, and he felt that a tee-shirt was more than enough, as he took off his jacket and placed it with a chair.

Even though he was the only occupant of this room, he never really felt alone. Before taking off, he had printed a couple dozens of photos from his grandparents' flat, to bring few photos of him, his sister Chang-Sook, and his grandparents, but also to bring some with his teammates, friends and of course, his girlfriend Vicki Egerton, who was in the Olympic Village in Agri. Since the lunch was still about half an hour away, and he didn't really feel like checking a couple of l'Instagramme DMs that had come his way last night, he decided to look a bit at the picture, and picked the one where him, his sister and his grandparents were on a travel to Perce, where the grandpa came from.

Right, this was when I was ten.. he assessed the photo with childlike joy, looking once again at how the picture still looked alive, as if it just came out a moment ago. Remembering his grandparents' faces, especially now that they were in their seventies and had bit harder time travel, he thought about how time could pass so quickly. None of his teammates, who were in different sports, were around at this point, so he was able to quietly appreciate the value of time.

'And this was when mum had greater duties, to save the planet, so that the beauty before our eyes could endure,' he said this to himself, before pinning the picture back in the wall. The more he thought about it, the more he felt sadder how there weren't a lot of memories him and his sister shared in the last six years of her life. To keep her thoughts away from the passing of her husband, Lieutenant Jin Seung-Taek, Madeleine Streisend kept herself busy with the humanitarian work and took every opportunity to be out of Quebec and Shingoryeo. And while the initial years he understood her reasoning for wanting to not be reminded of his father, he too grew distant from his mother as they would argue over tiniest of things and he had spent many hours outside or tending to his grandparents.

To him, this had meant blessing and curse in disguise. Of course, this had meant that the grandparents, who were once reluctant to send their father to fencing and uncle cycling, were giving them whatever they had needed while training with their peers. With these lads, he had quickly grown up, and developed into a player he had once dreamed of becoming. But sometimes he did wonder on what if's, and especially over the last two years he's been dating Vicki, that's had come up more often than not. The product of one side having two stable parents with stable jobs, and other two stable grandparents but no parent.

'Son.' He heard someone say something, and he quickly looked into the mirror. The mirror quietly shimmered back and forth like the layers of silk, before transforming into a moving image of a man. The figure who sounded, moved and appeared very much like him, even if the age showed with the figure. 'You look just like how I was back in Aeropag.'

Ever so superstitious, Chang-Wook didn't panic, but decided to answer back at him, in the hopes that he had made the correct guess. 'Father,' he said with an awe, as he cried on the inside, trying not to let the emotions show on the outside. 'You have come back..'

'I have never left, my dear son.' He answered back, smiling back at his figure. 'How tragic I was only able to watch you grow, and not be there when your mother and grandparents needed you. It's amazing how quickly you have grown, and how far you have made.'

'Well, you know, that's what grandma often said to me and Chang-Sook as well, dad.' Chang-Wook nodded, trying not to find himself frozen by the presence of his father. For most part, this was working- he did see the resemblance between their reflections and his superstitious mind, which has contributed to all sorts of routines he would commit himself into, bought into it quicker than most of his teammates would have. 'At least you are telling me you didn't miss out on the gametape. Tell me, what match did you like watching the most coming from me?' Maybe the fluidity of time in the underworld had meant that there were more time for his late parents to watch their childrens' matches.

'The QIS final versus Hamilton last May,' His father's spirit responded rightaway, without a slightest bit of doubt. 'You know back in my days, we had a lot harder time beating those fesky Marauders in Maroon and White...I was still surprised they even came that far, given the team they had there, but that Stanislawski fella's pretty fast of a blocker. Can tell you all that, having watched Andrei Agontsev play when I was your age.'

'But Agontsev was pretty slow, dad.' Chang-Wook responded, noticing that his father was slightly behind in terms of his memory. 'Kinda why he was pushed out of national team fairly early. They already had Stanislav Kaganovich and Simon Shim-Kweon as clear starters for that silver medal team in Novonaya.'

His father pouted twice to suggest reluctant agreement. 'That's true. Still, you know how it's like to keep a blocker like him be shut out of any point off block. Not easy to do that, never happened in my time either.' He sighed, trying not to be overwhelmed with the flow of time. 'How's she doing?'

She? Which one... Chang-Wook thought for a second, before realising that his mother probably told him about the girlfriend. Right, that's one downside of having parents who still kept in track with everything you do... 'Nothing much, really.' he shrugged. 'I was thinking about meeting her after the opening ceremony, but not sure if it's a good idea. You know I'm not going to
men's sabre individual the very next day, right?'

'Well, no.' the late Seung-Taek's spirit smiled back. 'No, because the flower of all fencing events, to me, is in the team events. You could always meet them- I know Jonathan Evans and Honey Boden are still with Escrime Emberton (5). How surprising that those two are already 35 and 28...Jesus, I remember Honey being 14 years young when she was at Republica.'

'Yeah, she wasn't impressed when I mentioned about sister Honey some time ago.' Chang-Wook chuckled. 'I don't think I'm ready to visit them yet, though I will at some point.'

'You will, but don't be bloody worried over that.' Seung-Taek sighed. 'You know, son, when I was your age, I was twenty three and was ready to have fun. Fuck the cruise ships and all that, and just have fun in the Village, and actually check out some of the buildings they had over there.'

'But you were you, and I am myself. It's not easy trying to do all that while the Olympics adventure could last the entire 17 days for me!'

'That doesn't really matter though, don't it?' Seung-Taek answered without trying to give off much information. 'Just enjoy the ride, do your best, and maybe you'll have a medal to bring home as well...look, it'll all be alright, as long as you don't bring yourself into trouble or come back with an illegitimate child. I know a few who did that back in Aeropag, and boy, did nobody want to deal with the consequences in the full year that followed it...but I trust you to do well, and actually not cause trouble.' He pointed his finger to the sky. 'And of course, make sure to wave back at the crowd once you are at the opening ceremony! The television crew will catch you if you don't, and sure they will!'

Then, like that, late Jin Seung-Taek's spirit went to have an afternoon tea in the Quebecois Underworld, and Chang-Wook heard a row of 'blink's' from his teammates over the group chat over a DingDong video made viral by their trainer.

---

Notes
(1) For those not as familiar with volleyball, the general rule of thumb is straightforward. If you are going for a pipe attack after a solid serve reception, the outside hitter who has received the ball should be the one going for the pipe attack. This is because if you don't, and delegate this to the other outside hitter or the opposite (who can't really do that because opposites are more suited for back row attacks anyway), a shutout block is way likelier.
(2) Given the blocking height of many world-class or elite players, the approximate height of 330cm was selected. This would also make sense, given my past tendency to roleplay the current version of Quebecois men's volleyball team to be not as dominant height wise, but should have no trouble given their explosiveness on offence.
(3) Baja Calania is a small city on the Quebecois-Huayramarcan border out on the southwestern corner of the Quebecois West Coast. It is well known for having the highest percentage of Spanish-speakers in all of Quebec, and has a particularly strong heritage with its production of collegiate and professional volleyball players. The Baja Calania Blazers of QOVO men's league is too well known for being that small-town franchise with winning history, but without a title.
(4) This part I was basing off this lineage of world-class setters South Korea IRL used to have from 1970s to the early-mid 2000s. While this lineage has mostly been discontinued by regression of schemes and strategies in the Korean league and the national team, mostly due to their inability to catch up with most of FIVB-led changes that had occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s, such would not have been an issue in Quebec and Shingroyeo, and said lineage continues to this day with Benedict Jeon, the men's senior national team setter who's not with Team Quebec for the olympics, and of course our protagonist.
(5) As have commented by Krytenia on his most recent RP post, Escrime Emberton has great reputation in the Quebecois fencing circuit for being the de facto national team base for the Krytenian national fencing team, and also for its strength in Foil and Sabre. Canonically, the Quebecois national team has often held joint camps in EE, something that was stopped for few years following coach Jin's passing, but has resumed in recent years leading up to the Summer Olympics.

[West Phoenicia]

Before the Games:

West Phoenicia Olympic Committee Minutes

18 January 20×× / 2:30 PM / ROOM 121


1. Call TO ORDER

Baroness Flora Freeman; Olympic Federation President, called to order the meeting of the Olympic Committee.

Baroness Freeman acknowledged Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II and the Empire for which the Olympic Committee resides.

2. ATTENDEES

Secretary Li Mei Gao acknowledged those in attendance and those who were absent during roll call.

• Baroness Flora Freeman; Olympic Federation President

• David Baroda; Olympic Federation Vice President
• Lord Maximillan Saintè III; Olympic Federation Chairperson
• Kyle Lancaster; Olympic Federation Chairperson
• Montgomery Gray; Olympic Federation Chairperson
• Lady Giselle Santiago; Selection Committee Head
• Glenda Savoy; Head of Corporate Sponsorship Division
• Somchai Suparat; Head of Marketing and Events
• Joanne Chen; Head of Finance
• Thuy Ng; Head of Legal Affairs
• Li Mei Gao; Olympic Federation Secretary

• Oliver Mountbatten;West Phoenician Handball Federation
• Darius McDay; West Phoenician Handball Federation
• Tiberius Baincott; West Phoenician Baseball Federation
• Mary-Sue Jackson; West Phoenicia Tennis
• Damon Hood; West Phoenician Archery Federation
• Dominic Overland; West Phoenician Cycling Federation
• Yusuf Weir; West Phoenician Football Federation
• Tanya English; Athletics WP
• Paula Cinnamon; WP Fencing Federation
• Ryou Min-hyuk; Taekwondo Association of West Phoenicia
• Hardeep Agarwal; Badminton Federation of West Phoenicia
• Bedwyr Morgan; WP Baseball Federation
• Di El-Alda; Boxing West Phoenicia
• Gaius Junius; Diving WP
• Mildred d'Aguesseau; Equestrian WP
• James Franklin; WP Golf Federation
• Olivia St Cloud; Gymnastics Federation of WP
• Cedric Robinson; Rowing West Phoenicia
• Vic Cleves; Shooting West Phoenicia
• Talon Callaghan; WP Surfing Federation
• Allen Shepherd; Swimming West Phoenicia
• Lydia Davies; Swimming West Phoenicia
• Princess Candace Sunbury; West Phoenician Table Tennis Federation
• Franco Pérez; Volleyball WP
• Murat Erbakan; Wrestling Federation of West Phoenicia
• Stephanie Baumgartner; WP Water Polo Federation
• Rhett Nkosi; WP Water Polo Federation

ABSENT
• Doris Marlow; Artistic Swimming West Phoenicia
• Kim Montague; West Phoenician Softball Federation
• Billy Nguyen; West Phoenicia Canoeing Federation
• Dallas Cameron; West Phoenician Rugby Federation
• Ahmed Khoury; WP Weightlifting Federation
• Damien Harper; Boxing West Phoenicia
• Brett Tyler; West Phoenicia Hockey Federation
• Lauren Wells; West Phoenicia Hockey Federation
• Darren Shikichi; Judo Federation of WP
• James Riddich;Sport Climbing West Phoenicia
• Stephen Yeo; Triathlon WP
• Pollyanna Carter; Volleyball WP


AGENDA

3. Approval of minutes from last meeting

Li Mei Gao read the minutes of the previous meeting and they were approved by all members present without modification.

4. Last Meeting Follow-up

Corporate Sponsorship:

• Glenda Savoy; Head of Corporate Sponsorship Division announced target of 75% of Corporate Sponsorship had been reached.
Awaiting communications from three additional companies; WP State Bank of Jackson, WP Bubble Pop Ltd & Dundas Department Stores as to whether they will sign on.

Team Uniform:

• Somchai Suparat; Head of Marketing and Events received 25 submissions from Design Houses wanting to design the Team Uniform. After putting the designs in front of the Design Committee, Voluptas Mecklenburg of the House of Voluptas was selected by a vote of 8 to 3.

Television Rights:

• Glenda Savoy; Head of Corporate Sponsorship Division confirmed WP Purple & Gold television station will commence broadcasting one month before the start of the Olympics. It will broadcast the events and other programs related to the event via it's free to air and streaming services.
WP Sports will obtain the rights to air rerun results and events after Purple & Gold has aired them.

Resignation:

• Oliver Mountbatten, President of the West Phoenician Handball Federation has confirmed his resignation that will be complete after the current Olympic Games. He will be replaced by Darius McDay who was voted in unanimously by the Handball Federation.

5. New Business

# Corporate Sponsorship:

• Somchai Suparat confirmed Dundas Department Stores has signed on as a sponsor. He is awaiting confirmation from other two sponsors to respond.

# Independent Funding Commission investigation:

• West Phoenician Handball, Indoor Volleyball, Football and Basketball federations have called for an Independent Funding Commission investigation.
These four federations believe they again have missed out on proper funding which would have enabled them to be more competitive come the Olympics. These federations believe without proper funding, they will find it hard to build new facilities, pick experienced coaches and select trained and talented team members to compete and win medals, leaving them at a disadvantage for all future appearances.
They also request increased funding to attend additional international championships to build up skills and experience.

# Conflict of Interest:

• Thuy Ng; Head of Legal Affairs will investigate whether Dundas Department Stores as a Corporate Sponsorship will affect a conflict of interest seeing as Dundas family members are also on the Olympic Squad.

# Entertainment Venue:

• Montgomery Gray, Olympic Federation Chairperson, has raised the issue of renting a venue in the Olympic Host nation of Electrum to be used for entertainment purposes for West Phoenician athletes, staff and spectators entertainment.
David Baroda; Olympic Federation Vice President, Allen Shepherd; Swimming West Phoenicia and
Olivia St Cloud; Gymnastics Federation of WP, all opposed such a move, using past Olympocs appearences as examples that renting venues was a waste of money, it overly promoted vices and athletes in the past have been murdered and assaulted at these venues.
The Committee overly voted to research venues and draw up a list of new rules and policies surrounding the venue and further discussion will be held on this issue.

# Swimming Trials

• Swimming West Phoenicia will commence Swimming trials to select line up heading to next Olympics. Top two members with the fastest time per event to be selected with one reserve. Trials will begin in a week and last for 7 days.

6.WP Sports Climbing Championships

• James Riddich of Sport Climbing West Phoenicia announced upcoming championship, where top three per gender will be nominated to attend the Olympics.



6. ACTION ITEMS

• Glenda Savoy; Head of Corporate Sponsorship Division will follow up with two remaining corporate sponsors or seek new ventures if the invite is declined.

• Thuy Ng; Head of Legal Affairs will investigate possible Conflict of interest

• Independent Funding Commission investigation Panel created in no more than three weeks to begin proceedings.

• Montgomery Gray will review possible venue locations to rent with the assistance of Joanne Chen; Head of Finance. They will nominate three venues as suitable and the Olympic Committee will vote on two questions; whether to rent a venue and which of the three venues would be most adequate.

7. NEXT MEETING AGENDA

• James Riddich of Sport Climbing West Phoenicia, will announce results of the West Phoenician Sports Climbing Championship which will show, top two men and women to be selected for the Olympics. Sporting Climbing West Phoenicia will also offer a demonstration for those members on the committee who have not had the opportunity to view the sport.

• Thuy Ng; Head of Legal Affairs will report back in regards to possible Conflict of interest.

• Updates on Independent Funding Commission investigation findings

• The West Phoenician Olympic Committee will vote on whether to rent an entertainment venue. And if the vote passes, Montgomery Gray will hand out three proposals to board.

• Swimming West Phoenicia will announce results from Swimming Trials.

• Sporting Federations to give timeframe of their championships and qualifiers, to selecte top athletes in their fields to begin to be processed and selected for West Phoenician Olympic Delegation.

• West Phoenician Sports Health will establish timeframe to undergo mandatory drug testing of all approved athletes who have been selected to represent the nation. If passed, members will undergo additional testing three days before they fly out.
Those athletes who test positive will be temporarily stripped of their spot on the team, required to undergo another test and face a disciplinary tribunal if they fail the additional testing.


8. ADJOURNMENT

•° Meeting was adjourned at 4.30pm

9. NEXT MEETING

25th February 20×× / 2:30 PM / ROOM 121

[Malta Comino Gozo]

Malta Comino Gozo's first-ever Olympiad athlete was in action today. Lucas Johnson who has been drawn in Group 30 of the Men's Badminton Single played Kyle Charbonnier from Kelssek winning by 2 clear points in the opening game 23-21 and then winning the second game 21-19. This sees Lucas at joint first in group 30!

Lucas Johson representing MCg in the Men's Badminton Single's

[A Kea]

KTV

As the Olympic Opening Ceremony reaches a new viewership peak, with 80% viewership rates, the first Kean athletes competed in our nation's very first Olympiad.
The women's Water Polo team faced the team of Qasden, which they beat against the odds with a score of 11-1. Bia Layoudi, the team's captain spoke to our reporter saying: "I'm beyond words, we came here prepared for a defeat, but our team spirit and determination lead to such an amazing outcome. It's a big honour for us to be the very first Kean athletes ever competing at the Olympics and bringing such an overwhelming victory to our homeland. We are now focused on our upcoming match against the Liventian team."
Meanwhile the two Kean sailors, Simeon and Sylvia also started their races, having completed their first two races each. Simeon stated "I had a good first run, getting used to the waters and the course, 8th place was a really good start. Then the second race came, that didn't go as well at all. Despite having a good run, aiming for the top 10 again, I lost control of my ship and lost much valuable time, resulting to the dissappointing 40th place. Thankfully it doesn't count yet and therefore I'm in the 16th place so far. My goal from now on is to avoid similar accidents and stay in the top 10. The medal race is my ultimate goal and other misfortunes need to be avoided to get there.". His sister, Sylvia, seems more satisfied with her outcome "Wow, top 10 so far. I know it's too early but I can't help but get excited. My 28th place at the first race was already a result I'm satisfied with, then came that 5th place that surprised even me. I've already exceeded my standards and I really hope to continue like that in my 8 remaining races till the medal race. I'm looking forward for the 1st official day of the games for my next races."
We also spoke to Djiva Trudeau, the Kean flagbearer, after the Opening Ceremony.

Going in the stadium with my country's flag was such a unique experience. It is a big honour to be the very first Kean flagbearer, walking in with the entire delegation, representing my country in such a big world stage. I really hope I can make my country proud in my upcoming first game. My goal is the podium, it won't be easy but I know what I can do and I really hope to show the best of me in these games.

[Teremaran Olympics Delegation]

Qrono Island
The Middle Waters

He woke to the chirping of birds out in the orchard, much like every morning. He lay still, absorbing all the sounds and smells, earthy to sweet to downright pungent, that wafted to him through his open window. He thanked both Mother Gaia and the Lord for another opportunity to do their work for one more day. Also, he gave thanks for the continued use of his ears and nose, aware that nothing could be taken for granted.

Slowly, he shifted to the edge of the bed. Not because it was large, but because his frail frame was not able to swing itself up and then down in one motion anymore. He gingerly let his feet plummet from the edge, to grip the coarse rug beneath. A plush rug would be much too hedonistic in pleasure to someone such as himself, that must set an example for the whole order.

He shuffled to the bed stand table where one of the postulants had already dumped the old water, and filled his ceramic grooming bowl with fresh water at some point while he slumbered in the last hours of the early morning. He began to scrub with the rough hand towel, which he had first slicked with the soap bar, then dipped in the bowl. He would then use the wood comb to capture the stray hairs that still remained on his head.

Eventually, his morning routine was complete as he had been helped with his undergarments by the younglings, and then he finally donned the robe fitting his station, with vestments - Abbot of the Order of Qrono, The Keepers of The Clock that ran the World.
Again, this was done with aid by the young postulants.

He moved with the help of a very jagged cane and the two young assigned postulants, from his quarters down the long hallway to the Refectory, greeting the other younger postulants and monks who passed him with a simple nod as they uttered wishes of a peaceful morning to him.

Abbot, or Brother Shneap, was a mystery to the rest of the brothers, who had found their way to the Qrono Order from all over Teremara and beyond, through the decades. No one was certain of his ethnicity and nation of origin, although hints of brown leathery skin gave some indication...or did they? Even the most northern Nordic men of Northern Tavlyria could give off such a sheen, but so could those in the most southeastern reaches of Madurin or Tavlyria.

It didn’t matter so much where he hailed from, as the Abbot, Brother Shneap was beloved by all the friars, and by adoring faithful off the Island, as well. Shneap didn’t proselytize, but he still brought in a large amount of funding to the Island from the world, just from his simple existence, documented by a multitude of Teremaran media organizations that visited from time to time to get a “feel good” story. Most often, they traveled in from Skartok, Glisandia, Reino do Brazil, and San Rosito, the closest, and most religious nations in Teremara, but the media networks weren’t limited to those nations.

Shneap had wobbled his way to the head of the table in the Refectory, acknowledging the greetings of all the monks along the way. He sat, again with a little assistance, and began to raise his mug of tea, with just another small helping hand scooping in underneath as the large ceramic vessel teetered for too long in the air and began to tilt, threatening to dump all over the table in front of him…

“Erm…*hack*...*mumbling*...” Shneap looked around at everyone as if he had just woken up, then at his slipping hand and the mug. “Oh blessed be The Lerd!”

---

Earlier that morning…

Brother Alejandro took a moment to lean against the garden wall to survey all the work they had done. Rows of various vegetables planted. It was quite adequate in his opinion, and would be sure to please both the Lord, and Mother Gaia. That last part had taken him some time to come around towards, as he had been raised in a strict bed of Catholicism that didn’t teach such paganist ‘claptrap’ as Gaiaism. It made sense when one thought about it and Brother Shneap and the other Brothers explained how it fit in with the Lord’s teachings. Still, it took time to absorb, coming from his background.

He was dirty and sweaty, but he didn’t mind, as it was just him and a couple fresh postulants. This was a good funk. The kind of funk that was courtesy of doing the Lord’s work and working the soil...But it wouldn’t do for morning vespers and breakfast with his brothers.
“I will need to scrub up before the morning meal and prayers. I suggest you all do the same.”

“Yes, Brother Alejandro.” One rather gangly, pale postulant replied.

If Alejandro could recall correctly, his name was Toady, one of those odd Polish-Glisandian names.. No, that can’t be it. Topaz? Toe jam? Tomasz? Tozerifik? Tobiasz? Tobeen. That was it.
“Excellent, Tobeen!”

“I am Brother Tadeusz, Brother Alejandro.”

“Not yet you are not, Postulant.”
He nodded, studying their young faces for any signs of facetiousness or sarcasm. He detected nothing, but he wasn’t the best judge after having been on the Island for all these years.
“Well...Good. Lord’s willing we should show our best face, even if He would always accept our worst.”

As they had almost left the gardens, the other postulant sniggered.
“Hehehe. He called you Toe Bean.”

Tadeusz sent him sprawling into the cabbage.

Alejandro paid no attention that they were down a man as he reminisced. He had fled his homeland, San Rosito, after some rather bad strife involving the rebels and cartels. He had been sure that he would become a priest and stay in his homeland, but more and more, his family had pushed him to leave - to attend seminary abroad and not come back. He promised, but secretly with every intention to return home to administer to those he knew and loved. He was able to get a scholarship, thanks to a kindly Father Pablo putting in a good word with the Bishopric. Father Pablo looked over the whole village of Arboleda Verde like they were all his children, up until he ultimately met a grisly end thanks to a government hit squad, suspecting him of harboring Marxist rebels in the village chapel. It was only a little close to the truth.

It had been that incident that convinced him that returning home might only put his family in more danger. A long subsequent chain of events had led to his calling on Qrono, the highest one of any holy order of the Lord one could aspire to in all of Teremara.

Now here he was, shepherding young ones just as Father Pablo had once done for him, but for a higher purpose than any young boy in San Rosito, or Madurin, or all of Teremara, for that matter, could even imagine. This was the highest calling, and he gave praise everyday that he was blessed to be here.

He paused at a juncture where he would find his room a few doors down one hallway, and the young postulants were down another. He frowned, looking at Tadeusz’s co-acolyte and his completely muddy appearance right up to his scalp. He shook his head.
“Stop mucking about and go clean up. I will see you in the vestibule for matins, pequeños. After which we will join the Abbot and Brothers for the morning prayer breakfast.”
He tried to hide his agitation that they had made more work for the other Brothers by trailing a good part of the garden inside the corridors of the Abbey with them. It would require some further tutelage, later this afternoon.

“Yes, Brother Alejandro.”

“Sorry, Brother Alejandro.”

He bowed to them with hands clasped.
“Don’t be sorry, Brothers. Just be sharper at using the gifts the Lord hath given thee.”

Goes to Neu Engollon, San Rosito, and Glisandia

[Ko-oren]

Ko-oren wins gold in Mental Gymnastics

Because of an exceptionally good score in the 'Hindsight' discipline of the Mental Gymnastics in the Olympics that just started yesterday in Terranean Coast & Bunjil in Electrum, the Ko-orenite Government as a whole was awarded the gold medal in the debut edition of the event. "Maybe we should have entered a delegation into the Olympics", a quote from Science, Culture, and Sports minister Llawchidd yBeomwig was cited as the deciding factor for the jury. With the gold on day 0 of the Olympics, Ko-oren tops the medal table. "Stop the count," Science, Culture, and Sports minister Llawchidd yBeomwig said, for which he was promptly rewarded with the silver medal in the same event.

[Tumbra]

SPORT: XV SUMMER OLYMPICS — DAY ZERO RECAP
Opening Wins In Water Polo, Handball, 3x3 Basketball Mark Promising Start To Games

Janice Headey and Brian Watkins

SOMER — While much of the attention was, fittingly, fixated on the magnificent opening ceremony in Somer — featuring tributes to the indigenous Electrumites, and the country's evolution into the modern sporting and cultural powerhouse it is today — preliminary rounds for the Olympic Games also got underway in several disciplines such as badminton, sailing, water polo and the newly-added sport of 3x3 basketball. While the first medal events will only get underway tomorrow, today's events did give much hope to the athletes of Team Tumbra — including a stunning victory over the Krytenian women's water polo team. With 14 gold medals on show tomorrow in swimming, where Timothy Veltman goes into his first medal race, cycling, fencing, judo, skateboarding and lifting — it'll be a busy day tomorrow for Team Tumbra. Follow our LIVE text-based reporting on this very mini-site, or tune in on television or ePlayer to get your full coverage of the Fifteenth Summer Olympics.




Water Polo Campaign Gets Off To Impressive, If Nervy, Victory Over Krytenia
Kevin Henderson

SOMER — The Blue Lionesses today got their water polo campaign off to a winning start — by coming from behind to beat Krytenia's side 13-8. Point player Amanda Royle managed to score six points all by herself, noticeably using her technique of feigning a shot to catch starting goalkeeper Tina Fellaini off her line, and sink a spirited, if raw, Krytenian offence. Much praise was had for left driver Mabel Brown, who plies her trade for Hesham Water Polo Club, who swam a total of over 1.7 kilometres — and won the majority of swim-offs she was involved in.

Royle said after the match that the team's slump in the first quarter "was a matter of nerves. It's the first time we've appeared on this stage, so we had to do a little adjusting — but we knew what we could do, and, well, I'm so proud of everyone for pulling off this win off."

The Blue Lionesses will continue their campaign in a tough group with Banija and Hispinas. Much is expected of this team — they finished third in GS SuperSports+ World Water Polo League two years ago, finishing top of their super group stage and only losing to eventual winners the Licentian Isles in the semi-finals. It is expected that the Cyan-and-Gold team, who swept both the men's and women's events in that very same competition, will have an easy ride to the finals — but the earliest the two sides will meet will be relatively late in the competition — if Tumbra gets there. Their plans may also have a dent put into them with a surprising loss to Quebec and Shingoryeo's own water polo team — but there is still time for their own Olympic campaign to recover.

The women's water polo team will next play Banija on Day Three of the Olympics; while the men's water polo team, who finished fifth in the first group stage in the World Water Polo League, will begin their campaign against Coconut Isle tomorrow.

Read more...




In A Long-Overdue Twist On Basketball, Can Tumbra Go All The Way?
William Perkins

SOMER — The women's 3x3 basketball team, in a sport new to this edition of the Olympics, managed to pull off a debut win over Antahbrantahstan to put them top of the group along with Diarcesia. Jacqueline Aitken pulled off a dominating performance to put Antahbrantahstan to the sword and land Tumbra in the driving seat of their group before their bye day, scoring eleven of Tumbra's twenty points — including four shots from outside the arc, which netted Tumbra a crucial eight point lead which the Antahbrantahstani team never really recovered from.

3x3 basketball's origins lie not in hallowed arenas and seven-game series as happen in other countries throughout the world, but in back streets and half courts in urban areas. The same goes for Tumbra — 3x3 basketball really only began life this century as an amateur game with no professionalisation — and to this day does only do state-wide leagues, as compared to nationwide leagues as other countries might have.

The key differences between 3x3 basketball and regular, 5x5 basketball, are of course the number of players — but also the fact that there's only one net, the game is played in a half-court setting and there's a score limit. The game takes place over one ten-minute period where both teams aim to be the first to score 21 — a highly simple, easy-to-follow format which partially pays homage to its humble origins.

Tumbra might not go very far in a group with hosts Electrum, Mertagne, Diarcesia, Antahbrantahstan and Caryton, but the hope for basketball at this event is more to "stir up interest in basketball" and "promote a culture of basketball that goes just beyond the schoolyard." The women's team will return against Caryton on Day Two of the Olympics, while the men's team will kick off their own campaign against Palmani tomorrow.

Read more...




Victory Against The ABEN Union Marks Successful Start To Handball Campaign With Suspicious Absence Of Handball World Cup Runners-Up
Brian Cox

FARLEIGH-WARBURTON — Tumbra's handball campaign got off to a winning start, with a narrow victory against the ABEN Union, while questions over the tournament's legitimacy raged on over complaints that without the reigning runners-up of the competition — Kotzellach — nobody would really know how good any of the teams were. Kotzellach famously punched their way above their weight to reach the finals of the 23rd Handball World Cup, before losing to champions Sarzonia — a tournament which took place two years ago, amidst the spectre of Anaia's formation — which Kotzellach took part in.

Despite this, the tournament — which sees 52 countries go up against each other for the gold medal — got off to a rocky start for the Tumbrans. Despite the men's team claiming the win, they only won by one point — making their position in the table more precarious as they go up against Qasden in the second group stage game. Handball, like many team sports not called "football" in Tumbra, has long been ignored by authorities, and was unable to fund a trip to Bollonich and the Equestrian States — and their position has suffered as a result. It would probably take a miracle of results to get Tumbrans warmed up to sports not called football — but even then, as the Tumbran team's exploits in the World Bowl proved, such warming-up, even if it may happen, are very usually temporary.

Read more...




Coe Disappoints, Roche Muscles Way Up To Fifth In Windsurfers' Opening Three Races
Derek Montgomery

PORT GRENVILLE — It was a day of mixed fortunes for Tumbra's sailing contingent, and mostly disappointment for Liam Coe, winner of several events in the GS SuperSport+ Fleet Racing Series, as he finished twenty-eighth in the opening race and twelfth in the second to open his account at twenty-second overall as the first day came to a close. Tumbra's sailors have proved their mettle before — quite a few of the events in Hannasea, Mont Vert, Graintfjall and Berdeng Bundok were won by Tumbrans in the years preceeding the Olympics — but this is a slight disappointment for Coe, who won in Hannasea, Mont Vert and Berdeng Bundok.

The other standout racer of the day was Sylvia Roche — at just twenty years of age, she recovered from not finishing her first race to finishing third in the second race. An interview after the day's events revealed just how pleased she was at the third position in that key second race, saying that she felt "exhilarated" to have had the wind on her side, and after the morning's disappointment of not being able to finish, "third feels like a miracle". She currently sits at fifth in the standings, due to sailing discarding a competitor's worst result.

In the other sailing categories, Owen Stern sits at sixteenth overall in the men's windsurfer category, while Mabel O'Brien sits at twelfth at the women's one-person dinghy, notching up an impressive sixth place in the first round.

Read more...




Mixed Fortunes In Brewster Hall, But Still "On Track"
John Walker

SOMER — One win and two losses marked Tumbra's opening foray into badminton at the Brewster Hall in Somer, as Alan Ross beat Northwest Kalactin's Wendell Himalay 17-21, 22-20, 21-19 in a close match which came down to the wire. For Ross, 23, the win was "hard-fought" but also "could be much easier," attributing the close match to a sore shoulder he'd gotten from the Olympic Village after "sleeping badly" on one of the beds in the Tumbran accomodation. Elsewhere, Sophie Dunn fell 15-21, 22-20, 15-21 to Valerija Golub of Dojitiva, a result which Dunn said was "disappointing".

The match which turned many heads, however, was the matchup between Kimberly Richmonds and Jenna Glendenney of Kelssek, the second set of which went to an impressive 22-24 score — something which Richmonds admitted "took most of the strength out of her", admitting that she "could have saved up energy for the third set", where Glendenney sailed to a 14-21 victory over the Tumbran badminton player, who looked distinctly out of it by the middle of the decisive final set. The Kelssekian took advantage of Richmonds' lack of energy to ping the shuttlecock all over the field — resulting in her having to play catch-up.

Medal hopeful and Tumbran n.1 Craig Robinson earned himself a bye today, but will make his Olympic debut tomorrow.

Read more...



No medals were awarded today, but fourteen will tomorrow, across sports as varied as cycling, swimming, fencing and judo — so be sure to catch all the action as Team Tumbra heads into the breach for Day One of medal action proper, only on the TBC.

[Hannasea]

Our guide to Olympic sailing continues. Having looked at some of the boats involved, now let’s look at some of the technical aspects.

Scoring: Olympic sailing is a form of “fleet racing”, an ancient Paripanan term that roughly translates as “absolute pain in the dick to scorinate”. Over the course of 10, or 12, or 15 races, boats earn points: winning a race earns one point, finishing second earns two points, and you’ll never guess what finishing third earns. So anyone looking at Hannasean sailor Brandon Cooper earning scores of 10, 7, and 49, and thinking that at least he had it figured out in the third race, has it the wrong way round: in fact, it’s a race to get as low a score as possible. In this respect it’s very similar to equestrianism. Except the horses would drown if you tried to get them to crew a boat.

Worst result discounted: So Brandon Cooper limped in to a soggy 49th place finish in the 3rd race of the day: in a fleet of 50 boats, that’s… not great. Only poor Lysippos ben Bogdan came in behind him. Yet Brandon sits in the top 10 overall, with a score of just 17. What is this witchcraft? It’s the principle that the worst score is discarded from counting towards one’s total. So the Alezian windsurfer Zulkifli Harawanto has an astonishing 4 points despite finishing 34th in the second race of the day, while Francois Le – who may be familiar to Hannasean sailing fans after winning this event at the Butterfly City regatta last year – is just behind on 5 despite a 22nd place finish in the same race. That leaves poor Tommy Bruce, another familiar name from the GS SuperSport+ racing series, down in third despite three remarkably consistent finishes inside the top seven.

Discarding the worst result is an amazing innovation. Imagine if a football team could just ignore that time they lost 5 – 0, or if a baseball hitter could decide the day he went 0 – 4 doesn’t count towards his batting average. Made a bad investment? Eh, that one doesn’t count. Doctor killed a patient? Nope, ignore that, doesn’t count. Unfortunately, the discard only applies once: another bad finish would count towards Brandon’s score, while if he ever records a 50 by finishing last or a penalty (see below), his 49 comes into play. This means discarding the worst score might end up not being of much comfort to Hannasean competitors, who tend to be very consistent in getting bad results time and time again (see: the entire Winter Olympic ski team).

Medal race: Points in the medal race count double. We won’t dwell on this detail though as it is unlikely to be relevant to any Hannasean sailors.

Penalties: There are various race results that incur a penalty of a full 51 points, meaning, worse than last place. These are: disqualified; did not finish; on the course side; and black flag disqualification. What do they all mean?

Did not finish: A technique best saved for one of those hot-but-crazy chicks who you secretly suspect has poked holes in the condom. Just pull a face and grunt a bit. You can finish later in the bathroom if you have to (though you earn penalty points if you miss the bowl and end up befouling her grandmother’s antique porcelain toilet paper roll holder).

Disqualified: Ramming another boat, sending down the boarding plank, or threatening to keelhaul the crew as a bunch of scurvy landlubbers: all result in disqualification. Boats carrying more than the permitted allotment of cannonballs or smuggling black tar heroin in the hold may also be subject to disqualification. Basically, anything fun. Have we mentioned how much sailing sucks?

On the course side: Just like javelin throwing or long jumping, darts or cricket, crossing the line is a big no-no in sailing. What makes it tricky is painting the lines on the water in the first place without having them break up or drift out of position. A job best assigned to the new hire on the construction site, who might also be assigned to find a left-handed screwdriver or a bunch of grinder sparks.

Black flag disqualification: A little known fact about Olympic sailing judges is they are all hardcore punk purists. Anyone caught listening to Black Flag – who totally sold out after Henry Rollins joined them, what a poser – will be immediately disqualified. Interestingly, this bodes well for Hannasean sailor Hazel Price, who owns a collection of first pressing NOFX 7”s.

[The Licentian Isles]

Hello everyone, and welcome to back to the Olympic Star Profiles podcast on LBC. I’m your host, Iain Mackay. In this podcast, we’re going through the first day of competition in the 15th Summer Olympics in Bunjil, Electrum, officially Day 0, to focus on the story of one of our Licentian athletes at the Games. Today, our focus is going to be in Port Grenville, amongst a group of athletes who will be hoping to be one of the more successful contingents at the Games for the Isles. That is, of course, the sailing fleet. There aren’t many sports starting on Day 0 here in Bunjil, but there was a decent amount of sailing for fans to watch prior to the opening ceremony in Somer. For those Licentians who enjoy the Garton Bay Regatta, or who have a higher than average knowledge of sailing, you may have focussed your eyes on the women’s windsurfer class, and specifically Sìne Milne.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on how sailing is viewed in every nation in the multiverse, or even amongst those competing at these Games, but I can tell you for sure that in the Licentian Isles, sailing is often considered a sport of the upper classes. There have been vigorous debates in the past over whether that results from the high cost of equipment or the general vibe of sailing clubs across the nation, which I won’t wade into here. Whatever the reason, if she has her way here in Port Grenville, Sìne Milne will smash those stereotypes.

Milne was born in the East End of Abingdon, the second city of the Isles, to a working class family, with her parents having to work multiple jobs at times to provide for Sìne and her three siblings. At a young age, she showed that she had a sporty side: she was a talented swimmer, and enjoyed water polo. Over time though, her interest drifted away from sport, and it seemed unlikely that she would ever reach the potential stardom that she’s working for today.

That was changed, however, when Milne’s school in the East End went on a trip to the Garton Bay Regatta, the premier sailing event in the Isles, that she was able to attend. Watching the sailors compete was a wake-up call for Sìne. She’s said in interviews in the past that there was “something thrilling about the idea of competing in a sport that relied on both physical and mental strength”. She would certainly need that mental strength to overcome the challenges in front of her if she wanted to become a pro sailor.

There can be no doubt that a part of sailing’s exclusivity comes down to the money that it takes to get started in the sport. The windsurfer class at the Olympics is the cheapest in terms of equipment cost, and even that is expensive: Whitestone’s Drake 3, the board most commonly used in windsurfing competitions in the Isles, costs over £4000 when brand new. As such, this working class teenager from Abingdon was always going to struggle to get into the sport. Sìne didn’t let that stop her though. At the age of 16, with moral support from her parents, Tadhg and Caitrìona, she left home and moved to Garton Bay, working multiple jobs, including cleaning at sailing clubs and working on the tills at a local Allen’s. Every penny that Milne didn’t spend on living expenses went into a savings account to save up for a precious Drake 3. Through her hard work, she eventually managed to purchase a boat of her own.

That wasn’t the last challenging obstacle for her though. She then had to learn to sail it, at an age at which many of her peers in the fleet had already been sailing for years. Sìne was determined though, and it was that determination which would push her to success sooner than anyone expected. At the age of 20, only two and a half years after sailing competitively for the first time, she was Licentian champion in the Drake 3 fleet at the Garton Bay Regatta, at the very event which had inspired her to get into the sport five years before. Now 26, Milne is known by many in the sport as the Queen of the Surf, and has been a dominant force in Licentian sailing ever since. She’s earned enough acclaim to get sponsorships from Whitestone, and from her former employer, Allen’s. There was no doubt after the return of the Isles to the Olympics was announced that Milne would be part of the fleet that travelled to Electrum. After her first day of competition in Port Grenville, she sits in third position in the fleet behind Kaleigh Breach of Kelssek and Materia de Toro of Sargossa, having won the third race of the day. After that third race, she spoke to the LBC’s sailing correspondent, Astrid Fisher.

Sìne Milne, well done, you’ve started off strongly here in the fleet after winning the third race of the day. How did you find the first day of competition?

Tapadh leat Astrid. Aye, it’s a good start. I worried myself a little with the second race, definitely not my strongest performance, so I was grateful for the third race to show what I was really made of.

It’s clearly a strong fleet out there, with three different winners in the three races today. How do you feel about your chances of a medal here?

You know, it’s difficult to say. We’ve only had three races so far, there’s ten more to go, and there’s a lot of talented sailors in this group, even those who haven’t had the best start to the regatta. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’ll always back myself.

And that’s why we love you Sìne. How have you found Electrum in general?

Port Grenville is a very interesting place! The weather here has been questionable at times, but the locals are very welcoming, and it’s been great to get started at the Games today in front of some good crowds at the Black Stone Marina.

Sìne, best of luck as the event goes on.

Tapadh leat.

A proud Abingdon woman there, as you can tell from the Gaidhlig sprinkled into that interview! Sìne’s clearly put herself in a fantastic position for the regatta in the women’s windsurfer class, but as she said herself, there will be a challenge ahead if she is to win the gold medal that she is hoping for.

Let’s just do a quick round up of some of the other action on Day 0 of the Games. Freddy Ramsay made an auspicious start to his Games at the Black Stone Marina in the men’s one person dinghy class, as he strayed onto the course side at the start of his first race, but recovered for fourth position in the second race of the day. Away from the seas, Stanley Parker and Darcie MacLeod both won their first matches in two games in the singles badminton tournaments, and the women’s 3x3 basketball team got a surprising victory over the Greater Vakolicci Haven in overtime. There was disappointment though for the women’s water polo team, one of the favourites for a medal, who started off their tournament with a one goal loss to Quebec and Shingoryeo, despite a hat trick from Maja Kramer.

Tomorrow is the first official day at these Olympic Games, and there will be plenty of action for Licentian fans to sink their teeth into. A few highlights for you: the rowing begins on Lake Mittiyack in Kale, with a number of boats aiming for medals; Charlotte Nicol, one of the better slalom paddlers in the Isles, goes in the heats for the women’s K1 in Somer; and one of the first medal events at these Games will be the men’s road race in Fairleigh-Warburton, with Amhlaidh MacCrossan likely to be the leader of the Cyan-and-Gold contingent in that race.

For this first day, Day 0, that’s everything from me, and from the Olympic Star Profiles podcast on LBC. LBC’s Olympic coverage will continue throughout tomorrow, and we’ll be back at the same time tomorrow evening with another profile for you. For now though, thank you for listening, and to our Licentian athletes, good luck, veel succes, sealbh math dhuibh!

[Magnecia]

Chester City Times- Sports Special

'Rambo' In The Olympiad

By Andrew Falcon

Archer Tom Baker got the nickname 'Rambo' when he was in the military

They say facts are stranger than fiction. In some cases, they truly are. One example of such a case is the life story of Thomas Ernest Baker, popularly known as Tom Baker or "Rambo', one of the three archers representing Magnecia in the XV Olympiad in Electrum. Before leaving for Electrum today, Mr. Baker gave an exclusive interview to the Chester City Times yesterday, and here are some excerpts from it.

"Whenever I narrate someone my life story, they think I'm narrating the plot of a Hollywood movie." laughed Mr. Baker when I asked him to tell me a bit about his early life. Indeed it's no short of being a Hollywood movie. Born to a military family, Mr. Baker's father, Thomas Baker Sr. was a major in the Magnecian Army, while his mother, Elena Baker(nee Christian) served in the Magnecian Airforce. His parent's house in Harlington was very close to a Werwockee Reservation. "My parents never forbade me from going into the Reservation." Baker said "As a result I've spend a large amount of time with the Werwockee natives. One such Werwockee family, the Dugan family, loved me and treated me as their own child. Even today I fondly remember them." Indeed staying with the Werwockee people was what fueled Mr. Baker's interest in archery. "The Werwockee people had by now no longer retained the native way of life that the media often report. They had accepted our way of life. But there was one thing, they retained their traditions. Archery formed a huge part of their tradition. I was about eleven years of age when one day I saw one of the Dugan brothers practising archery. I was immediately drawn towards the sport." Mr. Baker fondly remembered. "Then, unable to control my urge, I directly went to the head of the family, I don't remember his real name but I used to call him 'Joe', and requested him to teach me archery as well. At first, he laughed and ignored my request, but seeing I was serious he had a talk with my parents and after they said that they had no problem, Mr. Joe agreed to teach me archery." That was the beginning. Being a prodigious talent, Baker's natural talent soon became evident and he began developing extremely well. At just the age of 15 Mr.Baker participated in the Junior Men's State Archery Tournament and won the Gold Medal, four years later he bagged the gold once again in the Men's State Archery Tournament. The next year, he was selected to represent the State in the Magnecian Men's National Archery Championship and won silver. However, initially Mr. Baker didn't really wanted to make archery his profession. He wanted to join the army.

If his life so far does not already seems like the plot of a Hollywood movie, then his subsequent adventures will definitely convince you. Following his father's footsteps, Baker Jr. graduated from Delbrook military school and subsequently enlisted in the Magnecian Ground Forces as a lieutenant. "Even after joining the army, I couldn't get rid of my love for archery." Mr. Baker said "It had almost become a part of my life. Although my work had made it difficult for me to interact much with the Dugan family. I rarely got a chance to meet my own family". Thus, Tom Baker continued to practise archery, while serving his country in the military. Who knew that this very sport will one day save his life. The year was 2008. Many might remember the terrorist attack on the Magnecian military base in Al Wadiya. Some of the readers might also remember that a story emerged about a terrorist being killed by an arrow. What very few people remember, however, that the one who shot the arrow was none other than a certain Captain Tom Baker, the same man who is now representing his country in the Olympiad. Tom Baker was stationed in that military base then, as the Captain. "If my memory serves me well, the day was Saturday." Mr. Baker recalled "The day on which we didn't really had to go any patrol duty, so we stayed back in our military base." His love for archery was so strong, that he even carried an archery set to practise archery in his free time in the base. "People thought I was crazy" Mr. Baker laughed "You know I carried an archery set and used to practise after returning from our patrol duty. That day was no exception." Then, that fun holiday became the "most dangerous moment" in Mr. Baker's life. He said: "I was practising archery in the small courtyard like space of our base. You know, the place which separated our bunkers from the weapon's arsenal. I was practising nonchalantly, when suddenly I heard a gun shot. I thought may be it's one of the boys doing something with their guns. I paid no attention at first. Then the sound started growing louder and clearer, with multiple gun shots being heard at the same time. Then it startled me. This can not be my fellow soldiers, I was assured. Suddenly the fear of death gripped me, and I immediately ran and hid behind the practise. As I peeped out to see what the commotion, I saw, to my utter horror, three face covered men with machine guns walking towards me. I had no weapons, but just a bow and a few arrows. I was sure my death was imminent. I thought they had probably seen me, but I was proven wrong. Suddenly I saw, the guy who appeared to be their leader, ordered something one of 'em, and went away towards the bunker with another guy. The third guy stood in the courtyard, and it seemed he was patrolling it. I felt it was my chance. The weapon's arsenal was very close to where I was, and only if I could go in there and grab a weapon, I would surely kill that guy. As I was contemplating how to slide into the arsenal room without being noticed, I heard his footsteps approaching myself. I felt I might have made some noise, and once again the fear gripped me. I felt that I had to take my chances. I had nothing but the bow and arrow with myself. So I did the best that I could do. I aimed for the man's head, and before he could understand what had happened the arrow had left my bow and went through his throat. The man fell down dead, without making a noise. Then I went in and took my guns, but before I could even go anywhere further, news reached me that both the infiltrators had been killed by our boys, without taking in a single casualty." When his fellow soldiers came to know about this incident, they gave him the nickname of 'Rambo'. The nickname has still remained. Now this does appears almost like narrating a nail biting scene from an action thriller. Except it's the truth.

At the age of 38, Mr. Baker is the oldest person in this Magnecian delegation. His urge to make archery his profession became so strong, that he retired from the army a year after the incident in Al Wadiya. After being honorably discharged, he started focusing more on his archery career. By then it was quiet late for someone to start afresh a career in a sports, but by the virtue of pure talent, Mr. Baker did and succeeded. He won the National Championships that year, and came first in the National trials to finally represent Magnecia in the Olympiad this year. As my conversation with Mr. Baker started to reach a conclusion, it slowly became more and more political. "This is the Magnecia I love." Mr. Baker remarked. "Although as an athlete representing the entire country, I should not harbor political views, yet I can not help saying this. All of us, the whites, the blacks, the Asians, the natives, all of us are Magnecians. Those who try to foster hate among themselves are actually harming the Magnecian society itself. I was born in a white family, and grew up in a white household. But today I am alive, and also representing my country because of a sport taught to me by a native family. Once again, my coach, Kylian Johnson, is a black man. So, you see, without any one of these people, my life wouldn't have been the same." When asked about whether age will be a hindrance to his performance, Mr. Baker gave a hearty laugh and signed off: " I'm a soldier, man. I'll fight even no matter what the situation is."

[Kriegiersien]

A crashed plane rests alongside an elderly, hairless man with yellow skin, lying himself half naked on a knobby chair, drinking from a coconut. He sighs.
Another man, in a ragged coat where you can still read the words “coach” and “Haudels”, sits in the sand close to him. His skin is sunburned and he looks downcast.

A third man without any clothes, having the same skin color and wrinkles as the man in the chair, comes running out of the plane.
“He did it!”

The coach jumps up in sudden excitement.
“Really? Bring it!”


Three people, all again naked, old and with yellow skin, are coming out with a box they put in front of guy in the chair.
“Tada.”
The coach looks at it, bewildered.
“What is that?”

“A television. Now we can watch, you won’t believe it, the Olympics!” One of the naked men turns it on. A picture in black and white appears, showing the Somersville Stadium at the begin of the Opening Ceremony.
“It works! And perfect timing, it seems.”

“You build a TV?”, mumbles the Coach, stunned.

“Yes, I know. I am genius.”

“Well done, Kai. What else can we watch?”, asks the man in the chair.
“I am afraid we only have 3 channels. I don’t know what language that is, but on one they show much reality TV.”

“You could have repaired the radio!”, the Coach suddenly shouts, gazing at the others in disbelieve.
The others look shocked in silence at him during his outburst. Kai scratches his chin.
“Why should I do that?”, he asks.
“To get away from this hellhole of a rock where we stranded after the crash!”
The coach looks around, at the mostly yellow skinned, naked people around him, who just stare at him, as if he was mad.

“Hellhole? Compared to where we lived in Kriegiersien, this is a paradise. Yeah, there is a rock, some sort of volcano maybe, but a lush forest, meadows. We have a beach, sun..”

“Well, we had that at home…”

“Yeah, a radiated desert, but not sand at the sea. We have bananas, coconuts and fish…”

“I don’t want fish! I want a steak, I want rice, I want a wine..”
“We have some sort of booze, from Marc distilled out of....I am not sure...”
“I want to go home, into the city….”, the Coach breaks down, sobbing.

“There there..”, another yellow skinned figure, an older women with long blue hair, pats him.
“Maybe they will find us some day and then you can go home. Until then, there is no reason to be sad. Let us watch the opening ceremony of the games together.”
She hands him a half of a coconut with a liquid in it.

Around a dozen people surround the TV.
“Do you think we will see some of the guys we played in the Masters against?”
“I doubt it. If these nations even compete there, they don’t send their seniors.”

They follow the show. Drama and action at its finest.
“Some of the events remember me of our first days here”, Marc comments, followed by sniggers from others. The coach shudders.

When the nations delegations march in, some of the Kriegiersien football players can be seen in the Kriegiersien team.
“Didn’t we play against them in a friendly?”
“The one where we had to sign a contract to never talk about the game or result?”
“Where they beat us like 12:0?”
“Yeah, they were good. So young and fast.”

They clap when the bands appear.
They listen silent to the singing, only accompanied by the sound of the waves at the beach. Some wild animals observe the show out of the trees, from far.
They follow the speeches, oaths and comments on the foreign channel they mostly can’t understand.

When the Olympic flame is lit up, it gets dark at their small isle and they ignite their own bonfire, to cook some fish, crickets and bananas.

“What a life”, sighs Gert, unfurling in his self-made chair out of a tree.
“What a life”, sobs the Coach, while starring in his with liquor filled coconut.

[Waisnor]

Because there were no Waisnorians participipating in Day 0 competitions, there will be commentaries from opening ceremony by First National:

"Hello, everyone, very good evening to all of our viewers! We're broadcasting opening ceremony of 15th NS Olympic Games in Electrum! This summer is full of different sporting events - we only finished Tokyo Olympics, and I should say with an outstanding result, and now we are here, preparing to have all this from the very beginning, now in Electrum. Of course, we believe in our athlete to collect medals and to show their best at this games)"

Start of ceremony:
"I should say that this projections look incredible, as the ability to interact with them. You rarely see this at regular Olympics)"

Water voices:
"Well, this was an outstanding nod to the indigenous people of Electrum, their ways of living, mythology... It's just beautiful)"

Regeneration:
"You can see that this segment is focused on environment. This kinda reminds me of Rio 2016 opening ceremony, which also had such theme in some segments. And drones part reminded me of Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony, but this one had more variety in shapes, plus, this drones are solar powered, that's great) Part with garbage monster and wind turbine appeared to pretty kinda funny, but I don't know if it was intention of hosts or not"

Hand in hand:
"And we're moving to another people of Electrum, Kale Islanders. And another great segment, especially dances and drum performance"

The family city:
"Now we're are going to a city, where this ceremony is taking place, Somer, history of this city and allusions to famous Somer Festival. Plus, if you wondered, whose face was made into this float, it's Gertrude Pullman. By the way, if you like table tennis, you could see her representing Electrum in this sport)"

Parade of Nations:
"And moment arrived for Parade of Nations to start. First are delegations of Liventia and Banija, who hosted previous NS Olympics in Orean and Istria."

Waisnor arrives at the stadium:
"They there are, Waisnorian athletes, representing our country in 120 medal disciplines! Judoka Lyudmila Tatarevich, who won one of 4 bronzes in last Olympics, again carries our flag! We wish good luck to all of them!"

Musical performances:
"Now it's time to greet girl group from a nation you might know from WorldVision, Kalosia! Actually, Montereu sang this song at 66th WorldVision, this will be English version of this song:
After some time:
"This was a great performance, but it's not time for them to leave stage - Montereu will sing another song, Capture the Flag, which is the English version of official song of Team Kalosia at this games!"

Olympic flame:
"Olympic Flame arrives at the stage and is carried by Chris Wilson, paralympic gold medalist!
The Flame is passed to another paralympian, blind Ellinor Blaine, who represented Electrum in triathlon.
I should say that the fact that paralympian lights Olympic Cauldron is truly outstanding and inspiring. And Cauldron itself looks very creative)"

Cauldron is lighted:
"And now we can say - 15th NS Summer Olympic Games have started! Good luck to all athletes, and especially to Waisnorian ones) This ceremony was very good, I could only congratulate those who were making it for this incredible result! See you at the competitions of this Olympics!"

[Srednjaci]

THE OLYMPIC SAGA IN ELECTRUM
BY
Ivan Jurlina, Jasminka Frkić and Ivan Božić

Dear spectators, welcome to the world of sports. After the grand opening, which was spectacular, the athletes went out to the arenas.
Our flag at the opening of the Olympic Games was carried by our best handball player, Antonija Ružić.
My name is Ivan Jurlina and my colleague Jasminka and colleague Ivan are also in the studio.

JASMINKA: Our international sport was presented for the first time at the Winter Olympics in Kelssek. There, on that Olympics,our athletes achieved notable results even though they competed for the first time. Five medals were won. Two gold, one silver medal and two bronze medals.
Can our summer Olympic team do better at these Summer Olympics?

BOŽIĆ: Of course they can. At the Summer Olympics, we have a little more trump card up our sleeve. This is the world's largest sporting event. There is no greater honor than winning an Olympic medal. A lot of time has passed since the Winter Olympics. Since then, our sport has progressed greatly. At lightning speed it would be said. So we have reason to be excited. And the first excitement has already begun.

WATERPOLO MEN'S-Ivan Božić

Group M
Srednjaci (SRE) 7–8 Liventia (LEN)

Our men's water polo team was defeated in the first round of Group M of the Olympic tournament. In an uncertain match, our water polo players lost to Liventi. It was an uncertain match as the result itself says. Our water polo players had a lead twice but failed to keep that lead. The best player in our ranks was Mihael Fiolić. Mihael is a Neptune Tara player and is 22 years old. he scored four goals in this match. Let’s listen to his impressions after this match.

" Bilo je jako teško. Ovo je naša prva međunarodna vaterpolo utkamica. Podlegli smo manjku iskustva. Sada se moramo vaditi iz neprilike u kojoj smo se našli. Protivnik je zasluženo pobijedio. "
"It was very difficult. This is our first international water polo match. We have succumbed to a lack of experience. Now we have to get out of the trouble we find ourselves in. The opponent deservedly won."translate title.

Our national team is in third place in the group but is without points. We hope for a better performance in the next game.
Group M Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 A Kea 1 1 0 0 11 1 +10 2
2 Liventia 1 1 0 0 8 7 +1 2
3 Srednjaci 1 0 0 1 7 8 −1 0
4 Qasden 1 0 0 1 1 11 −10 0

BADMINTON - Jasminka Frkić

Dajana Herešulina and Miran Terebić brings beautifull news from badminton. The two of them defeated their opponents but Vanja Mandić failed to surprise Valerie Otharsdóttir.

Group 26
Miran Terebić (SRE) 21 21
Yensey Sabistroviyey (VEK) 15 18

Miran Terebić got off to a great start to his Olympic campaign. In the first round, he defeated Yensey Sabistroviyey 2-0 in sets. Our best badminton player managed to start the tournament with a victory. From the beginning to the end of the match, our player was more dominant on the field and much faster in reactions than his opponent. I listen to his statement after the victory.

" Uhh, u početku sam imao tremu. Prvi put sam na olimpijskim igrama. Ostao sam pod dojmom velikog spektakularnog otvorenja igara. Taj trenutak kada smo hodali stadionom pamtiti ću cijeli svoj život. Ali ću sada pamtiti i ovu pobjedu. Start sa pobjedom je jako bitan za samopouzdanje. Nema opuštanja, ovo su olimpijske igre. Idemo dalje. "

"Uhh, I was nervous at first. I'm at the Olympics for the first time. I was impressed by the grand spectacular opening of the Games. The moment we walked through the stadium I will remember my whole life. But now I will remember this victory too. Start of tournament with a victory is very essential for self-confidence. No room for relaxation, these are the Olympics. Let's move on."translate.

Miran is the leader in his group for now. As he himself says, he has gained in confidence and hopefully for more good news.

Group 26 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts

1 Miran Terebić                1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    1
  Zero Alberga                 1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    1
3 Ishtob Oburu                 1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0
  Yensey Sabistroviyey         1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

Dajana Herešulina (SRE) 21 21
Karina Uehara (LIS) 11 15

Dajana Herešulina was convincing against Lisander player Karina Uehara. Herešulina played fast and energetically. Uehara had no answer to such a game of our player. Dajana was moving great in the defensive phase as well, forcing her opponent to make a move more in order to earn a point. This irritated the player from Lisander and she started to make a lot of mistakes. Great win at the start of the tournament. Let's listen to what Dajana told us after the match.

" Igrala sam onako kako sam željela. Od početka sam nametnula svoj ritam i u takvom napadačkom respoloženju Uehara nije imala šansi. Drago mi je da sam pobijedila jer sma u glavi imala samo jednu misao " osvoji ovaj poen". Mislim da sam fizički i psihički spremna za ovaj turnir. "

"I played the way I wanted to. I imposed my rhythm from the start and in such an attacking disposition Uehara didn't stand a chance. I'm glad I won because I only had one thought in my head "win this point". I think I'm physically and mentally ready for this tournament. "

Heršulina is on top of the group with Aña Grandë.

Group 24                                 Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Aña Grandë                                 1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    1
  Dajana Herešulina                          1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    1
3 Fidela Herrero                             1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0
  Karina Uehara                              1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

Vanja Mandić (SRE) 19 17
Valerie Otharsdóttir (GRÆ) 21 21

However, Vanja Mandić did not manage to surprise Valerie Otharsdóttir from Graentfjall. Valerie Otharsdóttir was a much better player on the field and did not allow Vanja to spread out and play her game. vanja failed to win a single set.

" Valerie je brilijantna igračica. Sjajno se kreće i ima odličnu tehniku. Moja igra u ovome trenutku nije dorasla igračici tog kalibra. Sada se nalazim u teškoj situaciji. U slijedeća dva meča moram pobijediti. "

"Valerie is a brilliant player. She moves great and has great technique. My game is not up to a player of that caliber at the moment. I am in a difficult situation now. I must win the next two matches."

Group 23                                 Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Branka Dilasyeva                           1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    1
  Valerie Otharsdóttir                       1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    1
3 Carina Corona                              1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0
  Vanja Mandić                               1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

HANDBALL — Men's — matchday 1- Ivan Jurlina

Srednjaci (SRE) 30–22 Augusticinia (AUG)

The Srednjacian handball players did not have any major problems in the match of the first round of Group N of the men's Olympic tournament.
Our players were convincingly better than the Augusticinia team. Victory was out of the question at any point. Ours played fast and attractive. With their counterattacks, they almost devastated their opponents.
Ivan Jukić was player of the match with eight goals.
Our team is on first spot in group for now.

Group N
Srednjaci (SRE) 30–22 Augusticinia (AUG)

Group N                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Srednjaci                        1   1  0  0   30  22  +8    2
2 Hebitaka                         1   1  0  0   27  22  +5    2
3 Banija                           1   0  0  1   22  27  −5    0
4 Augusticinia                     1   0  0  1   22  30  −8    0

RUGBY SEVENS — Men's — matchday 1 - Ivan Jurlina

Crazy game and big upset !! Unbeliveble but our men's team were beat Chromatica. It is like a dream .
That is olympics all about!

Chromatika (CMT) 17–28 Srednjaci (SRE)

Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Tikariot                         1   1  0  0   31   5 +26    3
2 Srednjaci                        1   1  0  0   28  17 +11    3
3 Diarcesia                        1   1  0  0   26  24  +2    3
4 Krytenia                         1   0  0  1   24  26  −2    0
5 Chromatika                       1   0  0  1   17  28 −11    0
6 Tumbra                           1   0  0  1    5  31 −26    0

SAILING

Wonderful news from sailng. Ivana šuričan in discipline Women's one-person dinghy have 10th position for now in first two races.
Rest of our representatives didn't start well.

SAILING — Women's one-person dinghy — race 1 and 2

Race 1-2				R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Total
Amelia Croft (EUR)			37	1									1
Widya Ayu Jayanti (PCU)			1	31									1
Kleio Eitana (IOU)			2	20									2
Larissa Rugeroni (LIS)			16	2									2
Hatepuna Meyers-Richardson (KWP)	15	3									3
Threlle siwrth Mamtagwuf (FEI)		3	29									3
Margita Prinec (MYT)			4	8									4
Nicola Windsor (AST)			8	4									4
Saturnina Marto (SRG)			5	OCS									5
Sylvia Kalousi (AKE)			28	5									5
Ha Trinh (ETM)				32	6									6
Mabel O'Brien (TMB)			6	18									6
Dafni Róska-Dantesdóttir (FSS)		7	14									7
Karina Pulsi (JOV)			17	7									7
Denise Khan (SCR)			51	9									9
Udona Tzarvilski (GLS)			9	12									9
Ivana Šuričan (SRE)			10	41									10
Yvonne Abspoel (DCS)			20	10									10
Angelina Witt (TSA)			31	11									11
Darcy McVicar (QUE)			11	25									11
Esmeralda Marcin (TKT)			12	45									12
Magda Pfeiffer (RWH)			14	13									13
Rhonwen Gill (LEN)			13	22									13
Deanna Handforth (KRY)			29	15									15
Serving wench Molly (HMS)		39	16									16
Helena Mason (TLI)			43	17									17
Layla Lee (HOP)				18	28									18
Libbi Barlow (GRU)			19	26									19
Tash McGreadie (BRO)			50	19									19
Joana da Silva (NTN)			49	21									21
Kathryn Piper (MRT)			21	24									21
Doya Ming (CMT)				22	27									22
Amaya McGarr (APX)			26	23									23
Sofia Helgesdóttir (GRÆ)		23	37									23
Sayli Ereskeru (VEK)			24	52									24
Katarina Reineke (OST)			25	30									25
Alessandra Pisanecchi (SOR)		27	50									27
Carlene Lawrence (CHA)			30	47									30
Maura Twenerana (AUG)			44	32									32
Mailys Menault (OAM)			33	39									33
Trish Sherman (BOL)			41	33									33
Martha Rent (VKL)			40	34									34
Terri Domanen (KSK)			34	43									34
Anastasia Hills (PLN)			35	49									35
Anne Marrrley (KGS)			53	35									35
Katie Hanson (CRT)			48	36									36
Rachidatou Bomboka (BNJ)		36	40									36
Anita Morande (KLS)			38	53									38
Kathi Griffin (LNS)			52	38									38
Imtlin Azo (VLT)			42	51									42
Nissa Arifin (ALE)			OCS	42									42
Rocío Bolívar (NHE)			45	44									44
Catharina Haver (SAL)			46	46									46
Augusta Lee (DAR)			47	54									47
Janis Erickson (AME)			OCS	48									48

SAILING — Women's windsurfer — race 1, 2 and 3

Race 1-3			R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	Total
Kaleigh Breach (KSK)		2	1	32										3
Materia De Toro (SRG)		4	2	12										6
Sìne Milne (TLI)		6	18	1										7
Princess Lilli Garver (WOC)	3	32	5										8
Sylvia Roche (TMB)		DNF	3	6										9
Georgette Ezou (BNJ)		15	9	4										13
Keliaro Allazo (VLT)		11	22	2										13
Hamida Qadir (ALE)		10	4	14										14
Christine Kay (BOL)		9	28	7										16
Leonore Sannewald (ATK)		1	16	25										17
Layla Lee (HOP)			12	12	10										22
Odette Clements-Charron (QUE)	16	6	43										22
Georgia Parker (EUR)		41	15	8										23
Emý Dalísdóttir (FSS)		13	11	28										24
Anne Marrrley (KGS)		37	10	15										25
Bertha Tristan (OVO)		8	DNF	17										25
Eozena Quarrelier (OAM)		18	7	24										25
Angelina Gushtanova (MYT)	5	27	23										28
Karen Fellaini (KRY)		20	26	9										29
María Ángeles Loyola (NHE)	19	14	36										33
Putu Ayu Seniari (PCU)		17	23	16										33
Marley Sutton (CRT)		14	20	27										34
Anne Quigley (BRO)		35	5	30										35
Nephthys Winterhaven (KWP)	32	37	3										35
Walburga Weiss (RWH)		7	39	29										36
Natalia Kwomo (KLS)		21	25	18										39
Olivia Thorpe (PLN)		38	29	13										42
Anna White (AST)		34	13	31										44
Louisa Morse (LEN)		30	24	21										45
Gina Wright (ETM)		39	21	26										47
Precinda Halliday (GRU)		28	19	35										47
Valerie Banks (AME)		36	38	11										47
Hannah Reitz (TKT)		40	31	19										50
Iris Asħeud (SAL)		33	17	39										50
Anika Larsen (AUG)		29	41	22										51
Afsoon Ofrit Athurozhad (IOU)	42	35	20										55
Sephora Ansott (CMT)		BFD	8	DSQ										55
Serving wench Molly (HMS)	24	DNF	33										57
Matina Boobook (VKL)		27	34	38										61
Skye Tiksaide (MRT)		31	30	37										61
Susan Ehlers (LNS)		22	42	DNF										64
Chrisie Alvey (TSA)		25	DSQ	41										66
Selvala Vaslervi (VEK)		26	40	42										66
Sara Gertanović (SRE)		44	33	34										67
Salma Knapp (SCR)		23	DSQ	DNF										70
Lynsey Aylmer (DAR)		43	36	40										76

SAILING — Men's windsurfer — race 1, 2 and 3

Race 1-3				R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	Total
Zulkifli Harawanto (ALE)		3	34	1										4
Francois Le (ETM)			1	22	4										5
Tommy Bruce (TLI)			7	3	2										5
Daniel Ervanger (NEG)			9	23	3										12
Dilsalam Madris (DCS)			15	2	11										13
David Diamond (BRO)			25	6	8										14
Wilmar Blau (RWH)			29	11	5										16
Brandon Cooper (HAN)			10	7	49										17
Spartakus Þórlaugursson (GRÆ)		4	13	28										17
Lee Chuck junior (KGS)			5	37	13										18
Adriano Mano (SRG)			14	5	21										19
Leading Seaman Bryan (HMS)		8	20	12										20
Oka Laksana Putra (PCU)			16	4	27										20
Sam Hirst (LEN)				6	43	14										20
Gerry Gonzalez (HOP)			13	14	35										27
Owen Stern (TMB)			31	17	10										27
Tom Poynter (KSK)			27	8	19										27
Ricky Duncan (AME)			12	26	18										30
Timur Ponikarov (MYT)			21	10	30										31
Wilhelm de Gries (CMT)			11	25	20										31
Lon Cook (BOL)				17	16	16										32
Bongsisi Mushiya (BNJ)			OCS	27	6										33
Felip Gabriel Rosa (NHE)		18	15	33										33
Eddie Guerrero Etheredge (LNS)		36	21	15										36
Rufus Rienvalt (VKL)			30	29	7										36
Fr Triandaphyllus the Trendy (ARC)	28	40	9										37
Karv Begunst (GRU)			46	1	38										39
Anton Lupin (OST)			22	19	22										41
Pablo Fraire (OVO)			2	41	39										41
Varuna Singh (KWP)			32	9	40										41
Adam Hoy (AST)				20	OCS	26										46
Salvatoro Mikaloro (VEK)		34	12	43										46
Spiro Ianadies (FSS)			24	28	34										52
Jean-Philippe Cross (QUE)		35	31	24										55
Malo Bainbridge (MRT)			26	32	29										55
Vili Glušković (SRE)			23	38	32										55
Kannig Abrassart (OAM)			19	39	37										56
Johan-Liam Bergen (SAL)			42	18	45										60
Jomiail Ruiaa (VLT)			47	24	36										60
Kieron Zybach (KRY)			44	46	17										61
Eric Castelon (CRT)			40	48	23										63
Klaudio Armandi (KLS)			38	47	25										63
Dean Sazerac (AUG)			37	30	48										67
Jake Smith (EUR)			33	36	44										69
Lysippos ben Bogdan (IOU)		39	33	50										72
Narciso Walter (SCR)			41	35	41										76
Vincent Lamian (TKT)			49	BFD	31										80
Ailbhe Coke (DAR)			48	44	42										86
Ruud Kindvanwilaam (TSA)		45	42	46										87
Lars Lange (ABL)			43	45	47										88

SAILING — Men's one-person dinghy — race 1 and 2

Race 1-2			R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Total
Jhon Dowling (APX)		1	48									1
Romeo Paskal (KLS)		16	1									1
Arafat Al-Baik (ALE)		33	2									2
Panca Darmawan (PCU)		2	43									2
Fr Euthemius the Sailor (ARC)	26	3									3
Marc Rossini (KRY)		3	18									3
Freddy Ramsay (TLI)		OCS	4									4
Merdzan Cosic (MYT)		4	10									4
Hernando Poveda (SRG)		5	26									5
Nemo Neville (LIS)		32	5									5
Fai Yaouba (BNJ)		6	17									6
Heikki Kononen (AST)		17	6									6
Captain Fletcher (HMS)		14	7									7
Igor Kvaltanov (QUE)		7	50									7
Edward Franks (ETM)		11	8									8
Simeon Kalousis (AKE)		8	40									8
Dunstan Burns (DCS)		40	9									9
Lincoln Mast (CRT)		9	51									9
Rolando Brooks (AME)		10	41									10
Sepand ben Tal Aelo-Rudni (IOU)	19	11									11
Josep Berenguer (NHE)		12	36									12
Liam Coe (TMB)			28	12									12
Michael Gunnsteinnsson (GRÆ)	22	13									13
Sander Tryier (KSK)		13	14									13
Carolus Papadópoulos (NTN)	15	39									15
Jonah Nizzy (FSS)		21	15									15
Ludovic Concarneau (TKT)	49	16									16
Daan Howaad (TSA)		18	25									18
Ibrahim Kassab (GRG)		39	19									19
Clive Chapman (BRO)		23	20									20
Justin Droullin (MRT)		20	34									20
Salomon Boone (SCR)		45	21									21
Franko Carević (SRE)		24	22									22
Jestin le Gardinier (OAM)	29	23									23
Jiao-long Chen (KWP)		31	24									24
Joshua O.E.M. Swords (LNS)	25	46									25
Ludwig Suaer (RWH)		37	27									27
Rikesh Pompeii (GRU)		27	DNF									27
Jean Deraud (AUG)		34	29									29
Cameron Dash (CMT)		30	30									30
Jimmy Burtler (VKL)		36	31									31
Andy Everett (EUR)		38	32									32
Bobby Hunter (BOL)		35	33									33
Guybrush Shriekwood (KGS)	48	35									35
Saveliy Savitskiy (OST)		41	37									37
Gaston Plouffe (LEN)		46	38									38
Enbo Iluksii (VLT)		42	42									42
Laig siwrth Fintierme (FEI)	43	49									43
Mariano Townsend (DAR)		44	44									44
Fredheum Dirkssen (SAL)		BFD	45									45
Suniver Kalos (JOV)		47	47									47
Ivo Smalerthi (VEK)		DNE	28									53

[Hopal]

There were a thousand thoughts going through Layla Lee's head as she arrived at the Black Stone Marina in Port Grenville for her first race of these Olympics, these would be her first Olympics, but then again these were Hopal's first Olympics.

How should I do this? How fast are my opponents? Are they better than me? Can I really do this? Would I be a disappointment? Can I handle this? Can I handle the pressure? What would father say? She thought to herself as approached her team's little station. Her coach, Brad Liles measuring the current temperature and wind conditions noticed that she seemed a little preoccupied and decided to approaching.

"How's it going my Cadet?" He asked her, Layla nicknamed herself 'The Cadet' as she considered herself the trainee of her father, and then Brad, her coach, though arguably she had grown to be better than both of them, but she kept the nickname as an homage to the both of them.

Layla hadn't noticed her coach come over and then upon hearing him scrambled to find a response finally nervously answering him "Just a bit nervous, that's all."

But Brad knew Layla, he'd known her for years, and he didn't buy her answer, mostly because he'd gotten plenty before, he knew that something was bothering her and he wasn't just going to take 'I'm a bit nervous' for a valid response. "You sure something's not the matter?"

Layla shook her head "No."

"Come on Layla, I know you and I know something's up."

Layla paused for a moment before she sighed "I'm just, I'm just. What if I'm a disappointment? I don't know if I can do this. Can I?"

Brad sighed and put a hand on her shoulder "You know your father would be proud of you. You're here at the Olympics, the biggest stage in the multiverse, you're competing with the best of the best, and you are one of the best, you know that, and your father does too, wherever he is. The winds are a bit low, but the temperature and conditions are close to ideal, so go out there and do it for your father. You can and will do this, I know you will. Remember what we've done and what your taught and told you."

Layla nodded deep in thought, she looked out the sea before her where she would sail towards the finish line. She remembered when she and her father the open waters of the Hopalian seas, she remembered the fun they had together. How he taught her everything she knew, how he always kept his bright smile through everything, through all of mistakes she made, through all of the peril they faced together. She remembered always flipping into the seas with him when she made a mistake, and how they'd laugh together as they tried to salvage their boat and make their way back to dry land. She remembered how he'd always be there for her no matter what mistakes she made. And she remembered the heartache she felt when got into a car accident when she was 14. She dropped sailing after his death, and was inconsolable for a time after that, and she wouldn't get out of her depression until a year later when she picked up sailing again on the advice of her mother who told her that her father would have wanted her to pursue sailing. It was always her father's dream to see her here at the Olympics, while most Hopalians didn't know much about the Olympics at the time, she and her father watched the Olympics, and she always dreamed of being at the Olympics, and she was years later living out her dream. But it would be no use now to reminisce about the past, she thought to herself for there was a delicate future in front of her for which he needed to focus on.

She felt someone approaching her and a then a hand on her shoulder she turned around to see Gerry Gonzalez, a fellow Hopalian Sailor who would be participating in the Men's Windsurfing Event later that day. The pair of them had grown quite close with both of them having had similar life experiences and dreams and aspirations. Gerry was born in a poor Latin American country, his mother had died giving birth to him, and he and his father always struggled in life, as many in their situation would. When Gerry was 9 his father made the tough decision to escape on a makeshift raft with an awkward sail. Gerry's father would take command of the raft, but he would teach Gerry how to sail, as he had served in the Navy before. Gerry learned quick, and learned to enjoy sailing, and he would take over sailing the boat as his father slept or ate. After weeks at seas savaging for food at various locations along the way, they finally arrived in Hopal where a democracy birthed from immigrants was being set up. This would be their new home and where Gerry would pursue a career sailing for sport. His father was always proud of him, and even more so as he further in his sailing career. But unfortunately a few months ago he suffered a heart attack and died weeks away from the Olympic qualifiers, Gerry was devastated, but Layla helped him bounce back from his loss and he was able to qualify for the Olympics.

"Good luck out there." He told her.

"Thanks, and you have luck too."

Layla sighed as she looked out at sea again and Gerry walked away, she stretched her arms always had before races. Her coach came over and patted her on the back. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Brad laughed and gave her an encouraging push before she got on her dingy in preparation for the race.

Race Begins

HBC Announcer: "And they're off, the Women's one-person Dingy Race 1. Threlle siwrth Mamtagwuf is off to a good start, so too is Kleio Eitana, Margita Prinec is establishing a good footing. Layla Lee of Hopal though is struggling to get a good grip, she seems a bit rusty. It's been a while since the Olympic Qualifiers and she hasn't any major races since then, I wonder if this will show in her race."

---

Near the End of the Race

HBC Announcer: Widya Ayu Jayanti will get first place, it's Kleio Eitana for second, it seems Threlle siwrth Mamtagwuf will get third. Layla Lee is still a way's away from the finish line she has not done too well in this race, whether it's just rust, the superiority of competitors, or something else she will have to rethink her strategy going into the next race because, she seemed a little rusty going into this and did not perform to the best of her potential, she gets 18th."

---

The End of the Second Race

HBC: Announcer: Wow, this second race has been different from the first. Amelia Croft getting first place, she got 37th in the first race. Widya Ayu Jayanti who got first place in the first race is somewhere around 30th. Larissa Rugeroni will get second place this time around, she got 16th in the first race. Kleio Eitana who got second place last time is somewhere around 20th. This has a been race than the first one, I don't know if it's a change in wind conditions, temperatures, endurance, or thereof among the athletes, or what. But this has been a different race than the last one, and it has not benefited Layla Lee. She gets somewhere around 30th, I don't know it's the rust or if something's going on her mind, but just could not get the sail where she wanted it to. She looked visibly stressed and unhappy with performance. I don't know what's going on, but she's got to pick herself back up for the Wind Surfer Race, her stronger event coming up."

In a fit of anger after getting off her dingy she kicked it yelling "WHY CAN'T YOU DO BETTER YOU DAMN DINGHY!"

She then marched over to her team's station where her bewildered coach attempted to speak to her "You know you did the best that you could. You know you actually did quite good considering the situation. And you know you're would still be proud of you."

"GOOD!? HOW DID I DO GOOD!? WHAT DO YOU DEFINE AS GOOD!? And... AND HOW COULD ANYONE BE PROUD OF ME AFTER THAT PERFORMANCE!?" She angrily replied, though the vulnerability in her and her sense of disappointment in herself, and her feeling of being a failure to her father was apparent to anyone who knew her. She always felt that she was a disappointment to her father no matter what she did, she held him up in an almost god-like way.

"Well-" Brad was cut off by Layla's mom came rushing over.

"Layla, my dear. You know you did amazing, you know your father would be proud of you. You know he wouldn't want you to be angry like that, and you know you shouldn't be angry like that. You still have plenty of races, and you should focus on them if you want to do better."

"MOTHER! I DON'T NEED YOU OR ANYONE ELSE TELLING ME WHAT I SHOULD DO!" She angrily yelled before stomping off. She stomped off not the grounds of the Black Stone Marina settling down angrily on a rock not far away overlooking the bay. And she just sat there for a while angry with herself thinking to herself that she was a failure, that she was a disappointment. This was a woman who had been emotionally scarred when she was young, and had grown to be quite moody. She looked up at the afternoon sky at some point and she remembered it from somewhere. She remembered it was the same afternoon that she and her father would sail under, she remembered him telling this one that "You can't be sad if you tried your best." It was after what must have been her 16th or 17th attempt at sailing that afternoon, she remembered crying in his arms, and how he'd always fondly hug her. She smiled, remembering him and all the memories they had together, and she would return to the Marina for the Wind Surfer Race.

---

Beginning of the First Women's Wind Surfer Race

HBC Announcer: "And there off in the Women's Wind Surfer Race. What an entertaining two race the Men's One-Person Dinghy Races have been. A lot of fluctuation in both the Men's and Women's in their One-Person Dinghy Races, I wonder if we'll see that in the Wind Surfer Races. Leonore Sannewald and Materia De Toro look to be off to good starts in this race. Layla Lee looks a little more relaxed going into this race, she's gotten going and is trying to to chase the frontrunners. She looked very angry at the end of the Second One-Person Dingy Race, where she got 28th. The Wind Surfer is her stronger event, so will she be able to do better we will have to see."

---

End of the Race

HBC Announcer: It's going to be Leonore Sannewald for first, Kaleigh Breach for second. Layla Lee will come in around 10th, she looked more relaxed in this race, more happy in this race than she had in the previous. She is obviously stronger in this event than in the One-Person Dinghy, she was able to command her boat where she wanted it to, and was overall more in control of this race than in the Dinghy Races."

---

End of the Second Race of the Women's Wind Surfer

HBC Announcer: It's going to be 12th again for Layla Lee. She retained control of her sail, but she just wasn't able to get that advance over the other sailors, and in the end she finishes in 12th place. She sailed a similar race to the last one, but I think she going to have to change something up if she wants to get in medal contention. But there wasn't that much fluctuation in this race as there was in the Dinghy races. Other than previously first place Leonore Sannewald getting 16th, not much moved around. Kaleigh Breach who got 2nd in the last race got first, and Materia De Toro who got 4th in the last race got second."

---

End of the Third Race of the Women's Wind Surfer

HBC Announcer: It's going to be 10th place this time for Layla Lee, she improves upon her previous races her at these Olympics. She was able to hold on as things got a little rougher, and as others suffering a little she was able to come ahead a bit. But there was fluctuation in this race Sìne Milne gets first this time, she got 18th last time and 6th before that. The previous first place Kaleigh Breach is somewhere around 30th now, the first place winner before her Leonore Sannewald is somewhere around 30th as well.

---

End of the Third Race of the Men's Wind Surfer

HBC Announcer: It is a disappointing finish to the race from Gerry Gonzalez, he will get 35th place, he underperformed this race, and frankly his opponents were just better than him. He couldn't establish a solid footing to begin the race, and he was behind throughout. You know he in the pack most of the time through his first and second races, you know he doesn't do well next to other sails and he usually ended up in the back of those groups in the end. He got 13th and 14th for his first two races, and he'll have to pick up his game tomorrow if he wants to do well. But that's all for sailing today folks, so it's back to Martini in studio."

"Thank You (HBC Announcer). If you're just joining I'm Martini Feits here in our lovely little studio here in Somer, the city in which the Opening Ceremony will take place later today, we will bring that to you live when it happens. In case you don't know this is 'The Olympic Show on HBC'. After those results in sailing let's see where Hopalians stand in the rankings."

Race 1-3				R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	Total
Zulkifli Harawanto (ALE)		3	34	1										4
Francois Le (ETM)			1	22	4										5
Tommy Bruce (TLI)			7	3	2										5
Daniel Ervanger (NEG)			9	23	3										12
Dilsalam Madris (DCS)			15	2	11										13
David Diamond (BRO)			25	6	8										14
Wilmar Blau (RWH)			29	11	5										16
Brandon Cooper (HAN)			10	7	49										17
Spartakus Þórlaugursson (GRÆ)		4	13	28										17
Lee Chuck junior (KGS)			5	37	13										18
Adriano Mano (SRG)			14	5	21										19
Leading Seaman Bryan (HMS)		8	20	12										20
Oka Laksana Putra (PCU)			16	4	27										20
Sam Hirst (LEN)				6	43	14										20
Gerry Gonzalez (HOP)			13	14	35										27
Owen Stern (TMB)			31	17	10										27
Tom Poynter (KSK)			27	8	19										27
Ricky Duncan (AME)			12	26	18										30
Timur Ponikarov (MYT)			21	10	30										31
Wilhelm de Gries (CMT)			11	25	20										31
Lon Cook (BOL)				17	16	16										32
Bongsisi Mushiya (BNJ)			OCS	27	6										33
Felip Gabriel Rosa (NHE)		18	15	33										33
Eddie Guerrero Etheredge (LNS)		36	21	15										36
Rufus Rienvalt (VKL)			30	29	7										36
Fr Triandaphyllus the Trendy (ARC)	28	40	9										37
Karv Begunst (GRU)			46	1	38										39
Anton Lupin (OST)			22	19	22										41
Pablo Fraire (OVO)			2	41	39										41
Varuna Singh (KWP)			32	9	40										41
Adam Hoy (AST)				20	OCS	26										46
Salvatoro Mikaloro (VEK)		34	12	43										46
Spiro Ianadies (FSS)			24	28	34										52
Jean-Philippe Cross (QUE)		35	31	24										55
Malo Bainbridge (MRT)			26	32	29										55
Vili Glušković (SRE)			23	38	32										55
Kannig Abrassart (OAM)			19	39	37										56
Johan-Liam Bergen (SAL)			42	18	45										60
Jomiail Ruiaa (VLT)			47	24	36										60
Kieron Zybach (KRY)			44	46	17										61
Eric Castelon (CRT)			40	48	23										63
Klaudio Armandi (KLS)			38	47	25										63
Dean Sazerac (AUG)			37	30	48										67
Jake Smith (EUR)			33	36	44										69
Lysippos ben Bogdan (IOU)		39	33	50										72
Narciso Walter (SCR)			41	35	41										76
Vincent Lamian (TKT)			49	BFD	31										80
Ailbhe Coke (DAR)			48	44	42										86
Ruud Kindvanwilaam (TSA)		45	42	46										87
Lars Lange (ABL)			43	45	47										88

"In the Men's Wind Surfer Hopal Gerry Gonzalez got, 13th in his first race, 14th in his second, and 35th in his third. Taking out his worst performance, the 35th place finish his total adds up to 27 putting him at 15th Place."

Race 1-2				R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Total
Amelia Croft (EUR)			37	1									1
Widya Ayu Jayanti (PCU)			1	31									1
Kleio Eitana (IOU)			2	20									2
Larissa Rugeroni (LIS)			16	2									2
Hatepuna Meyers-Richardson (KWP)	15	3									3
Threlle siwrth Mamtagwuf (FEI)		3	29									3
Margita Prinec (MYT)			4	8									4
Nicola Windsor (AST)			8	4									4
Saturnina Marto (SRG)			5	OCS									5
Sylvia Kalousi (AKE)			28	5									5
Ha Trinh (ETM)				32	6									6
Mabel O'Brien (TMB)			6	18									6
Dafni Róska-Dantesdóttir (FSS)		7	14									7
Karina Pulsi (JOV)			17	7									7
Denise Khan (SCR)			51	9									9
Udona Tzarvilski (GLS)			9	12									9
Ivana Šuričan (SRE)			10	41									10
Yvonne Abspoel (DCS)			20	10									10
Angelina Witt (TSA)			31	11									11
Darcy McVicar (QUE)			11	25									11
Esmeralda Marcin (TKT)			12	45									12
Magda Pfeiffer (RWH)			14	13									13
Rhonwen Gill (LEN)			13	22									13
Deanna Handforth (KRY)			29	15									15
Serving wench Molly (HMS)		39	16									16
Helena Mason (TLI)			43	17									17
Layla Lee (HOP)				18	28									18
Libbi Barlow (GRU)			19	26									19
Tash McGreadie (BRO)			50	19									19
Joana da Silva (NTN)			49	21									21
Kathryn Piper (MRT)			21	24									21
Doya Ming (CMT)				22	27									22
Amaya McGarr (APX)			26	23									23
Sofia Helgesdóttir (GRÆ)		23	37									23
Sayli Ereskeru (VEK)			24	52									24
Katarina Reineke (OST)			25	30									25
Alessandra Pisanecchi (SOR)		27	50									27
Carlene Lawrence (CHA)			30	47									30
Maura Twenerana (AUG)			44	32									32
Mailys Menault (OAM)			33	39									33
Trish Sherman (BOL)			41	33									33
Martha Rent (VKL)			40	34									34
Terri Domanen (KSK)			34	43									34
Anastasia Hills (PLN)			35	49									35
Anne Marrrley (KGS)			53	35									35
Katie Hanson (CRT)			48	36									36
Rachidatou Bomboka (BNJ)		36	40									36
Anita Morande (KLS)			38	53									38
Kathi Griffin (LNS)			52	38									38
Imtlin Azo (VLT)			42	51									42
Nissa Arifin (ALE)			OCS	42									42
Rocío Bolívar (NHE)			45	44									44
Catharina Haver (SAL)			46	46									46
Augusta Lee (DAR)			47	54									47
Janis Erickson (AME)			OCS	48									48

"In the Women's One-Person Dinghy Hopalian Layla Lee got 18th in her first race, and 28th in her second. Taking out her worst performance, the 28th place finish her total adds up to 18 putting her at 27th Place."

Race 1-3			R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	Total
Kaleigh Breach (KSK)		2	1	32										3
Materia De Toro (SRG)		4	2	12										6
Sìne Milne (TLI)		6	18	1										7
Princess Lilli Garver (WOC)	3	32	5										8
Sylvia Roche (TMB)		DNF	3	6										9
Georgette Ezou (BNJ)		15	9	4										13
Keliaro Allazo (VLT)		11	22	2										13
Hamida Qadir (ALE)		10	4	14										14
Christine Kay (BOL)		9	28	7										16
Leonore Sannewald (ATK)		1	16	25										17
Layla Lee (HOP)			12	12	10										22
Odette Clements-Charron (QUE)	16	6	43										22
Georgia Parker (EUR)		41	15	8										23
Emý Dalísdóttir (FSS)		13	11	28										24
Anne Marrrley (KGS)		37	10	15										25
Bertha Tristan (OVO)		8	DNF	17										25
Eozena Quarrelier (OAM)		18	7	24										25
Angelina Gushtanova (MYT)	5	27	23										28
Karen Fellaini (KRY)		20	26	9										29
María Ángeles Loyola (NHE)	19	14	36										33
Putu Ayu Seniari (PCU)		17	23	16										33
Marley Sutton (CRT)		14	20	27										34
Anne Quigley (BRO)		35	5	30										35
Nephthys Winterhaven (KWP)	32	37	3										35
Walburga Weiss (RWH)		7	39	29										36
Natalia Kwomo (KLS)		21	25	18										39
Olivia Thorpe (PLN)		38	29	13										42
Anna White (AST)		34	13	31										44
Louisa Morse (LEN)		30	24	21										45
Gina Wright (ETM)		39	21	26										47
Precinda Halliday (GRU)		28	19	35										47
Valerie Banks (AME)		36	38	11										47
Hannah Reitz (TKT)		40	31	19										50
Iris Asħeud (SAL)		33	17	39										50
Anika Larsen (AUG)		29	41	22										51
Afsoon Ofrit Athurozhad (IOU)	42	35	20										55
Sephora Ansott (CMT)		BFD	8	DSQ										55
Serving wench Molly (HMS)	24	DNF	33										57
Matina Boobook (VKL)		27	34	38										61
Skye Tiksaide (MRT)		31	30	37										61
Susan Ehlers (LNS)		22	42	DNF										64
Chrisie Alvey (TSA)		25	DSQ	41										66
Selvala Vaslervi (VEK)		26	40	42										66
Sara Gertanović (SRE)		44	33	34										67
Salma Knapp (SCR)		23	DSQ	DNF										70
Lynsey Aylmer (DAR)		43	36	40										76

"In the Women's Windsurfer Hopalian Layla Lee got 12thh in her first race, 12th in her second, and 10th in her third. Taking out her worst performance, the 12th place finish her total adds up to 22 putting her at 11th Place."

"Now the Hopalian Women's Water Polo played Victoria in their first match of these Olympics. Now this comes much some heartbreak over the past season in the GS SuperSports+ World Water Polo League where the Hopal got seventh place. Hopal got past the group stage at 4th place in their group beating out one of the hosts, Græntfjall for a place in the Super Group Stage, where Hopal would improve upon their finish in the group stage and get 2nd in their group. But it would be heartbreak in the quarterfinals where Hopal would tie with the team from Electrum, finally losing 11-8 in overtime. In the semifinals Hopal would suffer a crushing defeat to Mytanija 14-6. Hopal would redeem itself in the 7th place final with a 12-7 victory over Darmen, but it was bittersweet and it wasn't the result they were looking for after getting out of the Super Group Stage.

Starting tonight they hope to redeem themselves, they don't have much hope of winning any medals, but they want to prove that they can be a good team, and that was the mindset they had going into this match. They got off to a fast and big start with Irene Taso opening scoring early in the match, and then Olivia Torenski would put two more goals in the net. Victoria would then respond getting a few goals in the Hopalian net with Marian Howbeck trying her best as the Hopalian goalkeeper keeping a few shots out of the Hopalian net, but the Victoria would get the best of her a few times. Hopal though was able to get one more goal from Laura Leswig before the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter Hopal came out guns blazing, with most that quarter being played at the Victorian end of the pool, Olivia Torenski would get 3 more goals, Kira Govelese would get a goal, and Laura Leswig would get another. The end of the quarter was spent at the Hopalian end of the pool with Victoria striking back a little, but handily won the second quarter. Hopal couldn't produce much though in the third quarter and most of it was swimming back and forth in the pool with Victoria trying to make up for the second quarter. But early on in the fourth quarter the fate of the match would be sealed with Olivia Torenski scoring for Hopal, and Victoria wouldn't be able to rebound from that. Torenski would score two more goals and Kira Govelese would score another before the end of the match. Hopal was able to win what some thought would be Hopal's match to lose. Let's listen to what Olivia Torenski said to us after the match."

"You know it's amazing being here, this group is amazing, and I'm so happy we won this match. I hope we've shown Hopal and the world to not count us out, we will make a push, we will give this our all. We are a good team and we want to show that, I think here we did, and I can't wait to show you all what else we can do. Don't lose hope Hopal, don't lose faith, you never know when your expectations could be wrong."

"Very confident and bold words from Olivia Torenski and I'm sure Hopal can't wait to see what this Water Polo Team can do. So now this over Victoria puts Hopal in first place in their group, Group J. Hopal is ahead of Ostovo who won its match over Oberour Ar Moro, but Hopal won their match by more putting them over Ostovo in the rankings. Hopal faces Oberour Ar Moro on Day 2, and Hopal faces Ostovo on Day 4."

Group J                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Hopal                           1   1  0  0   13   7  +6    2
2 Ostovo                          1   1  0  0    9   7  +2    2
3 Oberour Ar Moro                 1   0  0  1    7   9  −2    0
4 Victoria                        1   0  0  1    7  13  −6    0

"And that's all of Hopal's events on Day 0 of these Olympics. We will bring you the Opening Ceremony live in a bit, but let's take a look at Team Hopal's Events on Day 1.

---

Team Hopal Events - Day 1

Swimming - Men's 400 Metre Freestyle Final
Nate Scaleses
Justin Kuralyes

Swimming - Men's 400 Metre Individual Medley Final
George McAlpine
Justin Kuralyes

Swimming - Women's 100 Metre Butterfly
Jessie Duclaire

Water Polo - Men's Matchday
Hopal vs. Lanesolde

Baseball - Men's Matchday
Hopal vs. Electrum

Cycling - Men's Road Race Final
Aaron Huvertes
Justin Yuriyama
Garret Munson
Josh Jones
Glen Young

Football - Men's Preliminary Round
Hopal vs. Quebec and Shingoryeo

Rowing - Men's Quadruple Sculls
Mack Roy/Bob Banjo/David Dent/Terrence Ilko

Rowing - Women's Lightweight Double Sculls
Elena Ban/Georgia Pouris

Sailing - Men's Windsurfer
Gerry Gonzalez

Sailing - Women's One Person Dinghy
Layla Lee

Sailing - Women's Windsurfer
Layla Lee

Surfing - Women's Shortboard
Karin Guio
Jessie Glee

Table Tennis - Men's Singles
Harry Mar
Justin Barnki

Table Tennis - Women's Singles
Terri Moran

Table Tennis - Mixed Doubles
Terri Moran/Harry Mar

[Sargossa]

The city of San Marquez is a massive contradiction, being simultaneously quintessentially Sargossan and a melting pot of differing cultural influences. It is home to the nation’s largest and most famous barrios, sweeping swathes of brightly colours shacks and rundown buildings that dominate the city’s eastern fringes before giving way to the more affluent residential areas. The city itself was rebranded as a result of its immigrant population. Named less for the founder of the Church of Alexandria and more for Sargossa’s largest collection of foreign types. For it was here that a large number of new arrivals from the southwest made their homes. Not that the proud neighbouring nation of Candelaria And Marquez was an unpleasant place to live. But it had those higher taxes and that all prevailing smell of cabbage. So to Sargossa came the Marquezians. And with the Marquezians came some Candelariasians too.

And with them came elements of their cultures, creating a little bit of their old homes in their new one. In addition to the curious customs and aversion to waterfowl was a passion for sports that were little seen across the greater Republic. The likes of cricket, hockey and rugby suddenly became weekly fixtures and, over the years, have developed a relatively strong following. One that is largely ignored by the wider population. Until that two and a bit week spell every four years when the so-called fringe sports take centre stage.

Live Rugby Sevens coverage was on SargoSport. Not tucked away on the blue button, but on the actual main channel. In front of everyone. And Sargossa’s Men enjoyed their rare spell in the spotlight. Tomás Carter enjoyed it more than most, going over for four of his side’s five tries in the all-Rushmori clash with Mytanija. Captain Oscar Sancho bagged the other and César Montes nailed four of his attempted conversions as the darker blues ran out 33 - 5 winners in their Group B opener. Sargossa has never won a medal in Rugby and that’s very unlikely to change here in Electrum. But that’s not really important. For in amongst the relentless hunger for medals are the human-interest stories. The hitherto unknown sportspersons who briefly get to enjoy a rare outing in the public eye. Like the Rugby players who for a brief, glorious moment made their nation very proud.

[Krytenia]

OLYMPICS: Krytenians brighten up Opening Ceremony

The Games of the Fifteenth Olympiad are officially underway in Electrum, with a festival of light, music, and motion provided by the Opening Ceremony in Somer.

It's hard to believe that it has already been three decades since the youth of the world descended on Emberton - for many who experienced it, it still feels like yesterday - but some things never change. The visual spectacle of the Games' official opening is an event not to be missed, and the Terranean Coast didn't disappoint. From the gorgeous opening sequences, showcasing the region's environmental beauty, to the surprise inclusion of some excellent Kalosian music (which would be familiar to viewers of WorldVision), the organisers took every opportunity to not only bring the world together, but to subtly send it a message. These will be a green Games, in harmony with nature as well as promoting harmony between peoples and nations.

The Krytenian delegation, for their part, carried the message in their own way. Their multicoloured shirts, despite looking like an explosion in a paint factory, were all made from recycled materials, whilst each member of the delegation wore a wideawake-style hat bearing the slogan "ENSEMBLE - JUNTOS - YNGHYD - TOGETHER", celebrating the four officially recognised languages in the nation. Swimmer Vandana Turner and wrestler Julian Hendricks shared the honour of carrying the Celesta in the stadium, further driving home the message of togetherness. It was certainly a far cry from Stephen Perez' reprehensible antics of four years prior.

With the flame now lit, and several events having got underway earlier in the day, all that remains is for the business end of competition to begin. It remains to be seen whether Krytenia can match their record-breaking heroics of Orean and Istria, but there will be millions of people around the country glued to their television screens in the hope they can at least come close.

[Nuevas Hesperides]

---

Ainoa Sala responds to unpatriotic editorial by El Siglo de Los Ángeles in exclusive interview!

---

On the eve of the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympic Games in Somer, Electrum, the leading newspaper of the Atlantian imperialists, El Siglo de Los Ángeles, published an editorial antithetical to the interests of the country! In their unpatriotic fifth-columnist article, they argued that Nuevas Hespérides will not achieve any success at the Olympics because the field is too competitive, and they further argued that the country has wasted its hard-earned money on building up a sporting infrastructure to support its "bloated" Olympic dreams. We, however, think that El Siglo is rubbish! It is not worth the paper it is printed on! How can a publication that purports to support the best interests of the country write such a pessimistic editorial that aims to crush all the hopes and dreams of the nation?

We have a different proposition. Instead of saving money for the benefit of the imperialist oligarchy and limiting sport to those with enough means to pass through the richest citizens' most exclusive gates, we propose to expand sport for the benefit of the masses, and to allow all to participate in our quest for Olympic gold! ¡Viva la revolución!

Our correspondent in Somer managed to catch up with Nuevas Hespérides' jefe de la misión, Ainoa Sala, in Somer right after the opening ceremony to give her opinion on this dastardly friendly fire attack on our very own Olympic team.

Ainoa, how do you respond to allegations in El Siglo that the Hesperidian Olympic delegation is oversized and waste of resources?
I contend those allegations have no merit whatsoever. First, I dispute the premise of the argument. El Siglo seems to think that we want to win glory on the international stage and that our team is inefficiently poised to do so. Winning glory is not our primary objective. No, we wish to encourage our citizens to participate and compete in sporting events. We believe that increased competition in sport will improve the well-being of our population. If we succeed internationally, well, that is an additional benefit. But primarily, we believe that our presence in the Olympics will increase the popularity of sports of all kinds across our nation. We then hope that we will have a healthier, happier population. The nation will certainly benefit from these attributes.

Nonetheless, even engaging with El Siglo at its highest ground, I believe their argument does not hold any water. To put it simply, I contend that El Siglo has not done its homework. Our Olympic Committee has a very small budget compared to other beneficial programs the government has enacted, and we are not spending lavishly or irresponsibly. We do not have a gold-plated Olympic Village or even a gas-guzzling cruise ship parked outside the Olympic Village for the benefit of our athletes. No, we are taking the organizers' mantra of sustainability to heart and reducing our consumption to match. For us, these allegations do not make any sense.

What about their contention that these Games are political?
We have never contended that these Games are apolitical. In reality, we recognize that our participation in these Games will have two political effects. Internationally, we hope to encourage international tourists to visit our islands and international migrants to bring their talents to our lands. We hope that the increased publicity for our athletes winning medals will incentivize citizens from other nations to realize the glory of the Socialist way of life, and we will welcome them with open arms. Domestically, we believe, again, that our participation in the Olympics will bolster interest in domestic sports. If our good performance in these events benefits Compañera Presidente politically, I am not opposed to that.

Do you think the medal target for these Games is realistic?
I do not think it is realistic, simply because I think it is too low. We have an exceptionally strong delegation in women's wrestling and weightlifting, sports that we believe that other nations have neglected on the international stage. To add on to this point, I would like to reiterate that my personal goal is to have gender parity in our medalists. So we would need at least 26 medals in order for both genders to be equally represented in the nation's medal tally. But we have a strong team, in my opinion, and I think we have more medal contenders than both domestic and international publications would imagine.

I also believe that our martial arts teams, in general, are extremely strong. I did not know this before becoming chef de mission, but we certainly have more dojos and dojang than I would have predicted. But honestly, I was not surprised, since I know our people have a fighting spirit, and we have a legacy of unarmed combat that dates from the days when our people were enslaved.

So you disagree with the contention that these Games are too competitive for Nuevas Hespérides to do well?
Most definitely. We have not invested a massive amount of resource into athletics, as one might infer from reading the editorial in El Siglo. So we do not expect to do well in the men's 100 meter sprint, and that's okay. Each nation has their own forte in these games. For example, we understand that Vekaiyu always has done well in the aquatic events, and that's okay. Aquatics are not our forte, despite being so close to the ocean, and that is something that we intend to work on as an Olympic Committee.

But overall, we disagree wholeheartedly with the contention that these games are too competitive. They are extremely competitive, but we believe that we have carved out our own niches, and we hope to do well in those niches.

Moving on from the biased editorial, what are your thoughts on the brawl between Socialist and National Party supporters on the national team yesterday?*
I was ashamed to see that our own delegation turned against each other yesterday when boarding our flights towards Electrum. I will only add that I am furiously working internally to ensure we have harmony among the Hesperidian delegation, and that I thoroughly discourage any violence within our team. No, we should be devoting our fighting spirit to ensuring we take down our opponents. If we take down ourselves, we will not succeed in these Games.

Finally, we would like to ask: What were your impressions of the Opening Ceremonies yesterday?
I believe the organizers did a very good job of putting together an opening ceremony. Of course, President San Nicolás has very much emphasized the ecological transition in her presidential campaign, and the organizers and the people of our beloved Nuevas Hespérides both believe that fossil fuels must go. I was particularly impressed by the solar-powered drones, and I will look into seeing if we can purchase some to observe our delegation from above, particularly the sailing. I also appreciated how Electrum appreciated its indigenous traditions. As a country, we believe strongly in celebrating our indigenous populations, and I was pleased to see that Electrum had recognized them, at least through the Opening Ceremony.

And the Kalosian half-time performers? What did you think about them?
To be frank, I am not a fan of K-pop, and I would have vastly preferred to see some cumbia music in the opening ceremony. But we are not hosting the Olympics, and so we do not get to make these decisions. Kudos to the performers.

Thank you so much, Ainoa, and ¡viva la revolución!
¡Viva la revolución!

---

¡Viva la revolución!
Espártaco — La Tira, Nuevas Hespérides

---

OOC notes: Espártaco is an unabashedly left-wing publication. If anybody's familiar with Allende's Chile, I'm basing this publication loosely off Punto Final, except of course with a somewhat parodic element to it.

* I will be RPing about this event in more detail for tomorrow's cutoff, so stay tuned.

[Augusticinia]

Augusticinia Olympic Report: Day 0 - Badminton Strikes!

---

Hello, and welcome to the Augusticinia Olympic Report, the premier source for Augusticinian-related Olympic news. The XV Olympiad in Electrum is well underway with a brilliant opening ceremony. The Augusticinians were led by two flagbearers; The first, Aki Todorenko, is a fencing favorite in the foil competition coming away with a streak of international titles, while Romala Anatoli is a veteran of the badminton world and a vibrant ambassador for Augusticinia around the globe. The head of the Augusticinian delegation Stefanina Zizek was pleased with the ceremony, commenting, "It is a reward to finally see Augusticinia on the global stage of the Olympiad. For so long our athletes were unable to compete under their own country and flag due to domestic strife and troubles, but now is finally the chance to make a name for our talented athletes, and beautiful country."

The main story tonight however is a strong start for the enitrety of the Augusticinian badminton program. Badminton is one of Augusticinia's more popular sports with multiple strong contenders entering in the competition. In group 21, national champion Israel Domingo played a comfortable match against Richard Hannis of Caryton winning both games 21-14 and 21-17. The 17-year old Zero Alberga had a tighter match against Ishtob Oburu of Banija with long and draining rallies, but eventually won both games 21-19 and 21-18, putting him in the lead of group 26. Lena Valstordt in the Women's competition meanwhile had an unexpected start due to a cramp in her left leg; the first game drew tight at 21-18, but Valdstordt, after a quick break, shut out Julie Westwood of Liventia in the 2nd game 21-3 in a masterclass of positional play. The flag-bearer Romala Anatoli had a bye on day 0, but could be seen cheering on her teammates at Brewster Hall.

In other news, the Augusticinian Men's Handball team was outclassed 30-22 against the swift counterattacks of Srednjaci. Similarly, poor team coordination led to an opening loss for the Men's Rugby team 24-14 against Pratapgadh. Finally, in the sailing competitions even with personal bests from Anika Larsen in the Windsurfer competition, Augusticinian sailors failed to post a strong standing in the opening races.

[Asteran]

“Gooooood evening, Asteran, this is Olympics Today on ABC One. Day Zero in the books… sounds kinda ominous, doesn’t it?”
“A little, yeah. But nothing ominous about us, he’s Chris Barker.”
“And she’s Julia Mabry, live here from Somer in the friendly confines of the International Broadcasting Center. Plenty to talk about in the opening day of competition… speaking of openings, how about that opening ceremony?”
“Absolutely fantastic from start to finish, a lot of great stories told during the ceremony. Always a lot of fun to see the Parade of Nations, and what a performance by Montereu!”
“It was, and shame some of the athletes missed out on it.”

“Competition never stops, Chris, and let’s get into it. Starting in the water polo, a tough loss for the women’s team as they lose a nailbiter to the Abovian Union 9-8. The Blue Lions started well, with two early goals from Carla Wolken putting Asteran up 2-0 at the end of the first period. The Abovians took over in the second, taking a 4-2 lead into the halftime break thanks to two goals from Idun Pentti and good work by the Abovian defense. It was a lead they never relinquished despite two third period goals from Erzsi Csillag; Pentti added a third and Arja Edvardsen claimed her second in the third to put the Abovian team up 7-5. Asteran started well in the fourth, with a two goal start to the period from Jacinda Arbroath, but Liv Nurmi and Aleksandra Mikhailova iced the game with a goal apiece in the fourth, Brittany McCollum claiming little more than a consolation goal near the end. Afterwards, Jessin Alloa had a chance to speak with team captain Esme Penrith.”

“Esme, tough day in the pool for the Blue Lions despite the good start.”
“Yeah, we just couldn’t break down that defense in the second and gave up too much. Carla and Erzsi had great games for us, it’s a shame that we couldn’t get it done.”
“A decent start offensively, what’s the formula to get into the win column next time out?”
“Tighten up our defense, attack the ballcarrier a little better. We left too many good shot windows open, and it bit us in the ass.”
“Thanks Esme, good luck next time.”
“Ta.”

“The women’s team will look to rebound against Sargossa next, who opened their campaign with a 9-7 loss to Mytanija. It was a similar story for the men’s handball team, who dropped their opening match to The Grearish Union 32-27. The Blue Lions played on the back foot for much of the match, leading briefly in the early first half before the Grearish team took control of the match. Simon Toft and Albert Reay produced five goals apiece for the Grearish team, while Julian Orlovsky and Andrew Heasley led the way for the Blue Lions with four goals each. Our Cedric Alma spoke with head coach Denis Lefebvre after the match.

“Denis, unfortunate to find yourself on the wrong end of a high-scoring affair.”
“It is, but we can take some positives out of this one. The team had a good shape and we’re shooting well, we just need to work on the defensive side of things and clean up the penalties.”
“Discipline seemed to be an issue, two players issued yellow cards and six seven-meter throws given up by the team during the match.”
“Yes, some of the players did seem to be showing nerves during the match. Hopefully it was just for this one, and the guys can come out next time around and put a more complete match together.”
“Thanks coach, looking forward to it.”
“Thank you.”

“And the team will look to put that complete match together against – surprise! – Sargossa, who drew 24 all with Lanesolde in their opening match.”
“How did that happen, Chris?”
“Just luck of the draw, I guess. But two losses Julia! Tell me the Blue Lions rebounded and got a dub!”
“They did, Chris, and it’s exactly where you think they would. The men’s sevens team picked up a big opening win against Vekaiyu, running out comfortable 31-7 winners. Captain Jaco van Heerden opened the scoring in the second minute with a spectacular interception run back 40 meters, before Shepherd Waring crossed over in the fourth minute with some great build-up play by the forwards. Waring added his second just before halftime, but wasn’t able to convert the try, and Asteran took a 19-0 lead into the break. Vekaiyu took advantage of an Asteran knock-on early in the second half to claw seven points back, before Leighton Spoor took control of the game with two tries of his own, including setting up the second just a minute before time with a perfect grubber to break through the Vekaiyu defense. Big win for the Blue Lions, and our Katja Airaksinen spoke to coach Ed Devlin afterwards.”

“Ed, big win for the Blue Lions here to open pool play. You must be happy with how the team looked out there.”
“For sure, it’s exactly what we expected coming into this tournament and I’m glad the guys started so well.”
“Leighton Spoor and Shepherd Waring picked up two tries apiece, how hard will it be to choose who to start when they both seem to be in such great form?”
“I think they’ll both get their chances to start during the tournament, it’s great to see that we have two fast backs that can really blow a game open playing so well right now. I reckon they’ll make life harder for the other teams, not me!”
“Thanks coach, best of luck.”
“Cheers, Katja.”

“Next up for the Blue Lions: a date with-”
“Not Sargossa again!”
“Not Sargossa this time, Chris. The Hannasean Federation will open their tournament after having the first day off against the Blue Lions, as van Heerden and his team look to make it two from two.”
“Will be interesting to see how that day off affects the Hannasean team.”
“Will be, for sure. Chris! How about some sailing?”
“I’d love to talk about sailing, Julia. Plenty of sun and wind at the Black Stone Marina near Port Grenville for the first four sailing contests of these Games. A decent start in the first two men’s one-person dinghy races for Heikki Kononen, who took 17th and 6th in the first two races to leave him sitting in the top 15 and still in touch with the leaders. Things were a little tougher for Adam Hoy in the windsurfer contest, with a best finish of 20th in the first race, but an on course side penalty in the second and a 26th place finish in the third race leave him well down the order and needing a lot in the next few races.”
“Hoy mentioned afterwards that the high winds threw him off, hopefully we’ll see calmer seas in the next rounds.”
“For everyone’s sake, hopefully. A similar story on the women’s side, as Anna White sandwiched a 13th place finish in the second race with two below 30th place finishes, leaving her in the middle of the pack. It was better for Nicola Windsor in the first two women’s one-person dinghy races, as she claimed an 8th and 4th to finish in the top ten on the day, and well within striking distance of the medal spots.”

“A lot of action to open things up, and plenty more to come, including the first medals. Let’s bring in David Kendall to help us preview Day 1 and all the action.”

[Polkopia]

OLYMPICS First Olympic Day Sees Polkopia Exceling in Badminton, Women's 3x3 Falls Short

The first events of the 15th Summer Olympics have kicked off, and the Polkopian badminton athletes are off to a strong start while the women's 3x3 team have much more to prove

.....By Vera Pirožkova
.....9th August, 2021, 14:25 | Updated 9th August, 2021, 18:01

.....

.....The 15th Summer Olympic Games have officially started, and the mounting anticipation for this event could not be higher. Polkopia started off the night with much to prove, having never medaled at an Olympic event in its entire history and only broadcasting the games for the first time. It was safe to say that the Polkopian Olympic athletes were and continue to be under immense pressure to do their country proud, as they will be under the microscope of their friends, family, and colleagues back home, cheering them on. On the contrary, some of the multiverse's greatest athletes will be competing against them, hoping to solidify their role as the greatest athlete in their respective practice.

.....Of course, as with any Olympic event, we start off with the Opening Ceremony where the host country, or countries, show off their artistic and technologic innovations to showcase their nation's culture in spectacular displays. As we know, the host country this year is Electrum and they spared no expense to ensure the Somersville Stadium was embedded in cultural and historical references to tell a story of the nation's fascinating past and the evolution that it has undergone throughout the years. We see the beautiful terrain of Electrum being represented, as well as the indigenous folks who inhabited the land long before settlers claimed the land. It was an extravagant display which told us the story of the land that these athletes were competing on, and this Opening Ceremony really was a sight to behold.

.....Of the ten events that followed the Opening Ceremony, the Polkopian Olympic Committee only sent athletes to three of these events, with seven athletes in total competing. These events were men's and women's badminton, and women's 3x3 basketball, the former of which saw extraordinary success, where as the latter saw a disappointing result in which the athletes will have a tough road ahead of them if they plan on medaling this event.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

.....Men's and Women's Badminton:

.....The Polkopian Olympic Committee sent four athletes to compete in men's and women's badminton; Denis Vikašev, Orina
.....Mantorova, and Branka Dilasyeva, all of who finished the day with a win. The fourth athlete, Stanislav Braškin, regarded back
.....home as one of the better badminton players in this tournament, had a bye this match day and did not play. The other male
.....badminton athlete from Polkopia, Denis Vikašev, bested Arthur Chrisson from Graintfjall in a nail-biting match which was
.....decided in the final minutes of the third round. Vikašev currently sits at the top of his qualifying group alongside Luke
.....Stewart from Krytenia.

.....Similarly, Orina Mantorova won out against Scornerse badminton player Olinda Gomez after the latter seemed to run out of
.....stamina in the last round and Mantorova's quick feet on the court gave her the edge. Mantorova currently sits at the top of
.....her group, ahead of Gomez - the only other individual in her group. Branka Dilasyeva, the other female Polkopian badminton player in the competition, beat Kriegiersien by a rather significant margin, placing her at the top of her group as well alongside Valerie Otharsdóttir from Graintfjall. Tomorrow marks the first day of pairs, where David Starodubov and Ustin Rokossovsky will represent Polkopia in the men's duos, and Mila Pankova Yuliana Popiriyna will represent Polkopia in the female's.

.....Women's 3x3 Basketball:

.....Unfortunately, the women's 3v3 basketball team could not match the success of the Polkopian badminton athletes and fell short of
.....Ostankin, a team who, like Polkopia, was never expected to do too well in this event. Be that as it may, many Polkopians were a bit
.....disappointed with the result and the slow-paced game the Polkopians played. Several critics said that the Polkopians played like they
.....had given up the moment they stepped out on the court. In a post-match interview, Divina Mandić briefly mentioned that she and
.....some of her teammates hardly slept during the night leading up to the game, but many dismissed this as an excuse that an athlete
.....shouldn't make. Despite this setback, it's not over for the Polkopian team yet. While Polkopia currently sits third in their group, they
.....have yet to play Scotatrova and Quebec and Shingoryeo, the former of which may prove to be the most difficult team in this group.

.....This has already proved to be an exciting tournament and we're all waiting to see what surprises await us as the tournament progresses. Tomorrow we have a very full day ahead of us, with fourteen medal events included in the lineup. Polkopian swimmers Aleksandr Kadyrov and Vassili Barinov will surely catch the attention of viewers at home while they swim the 400m Freestyle, as they are regarded as some of the nation's finest swimmers and are expected to do very well in this race. In addition to this medal, we have the Men's 400m Individual Medley, where Ante Golovkin and Aleksandr Yugantsev will compete there, and the Women's 400m Individual Medley, in which Kira Primakova and Alevtina Skutina will swim.

.....In addition to swimming events, we also have cycling medal events lined up for tomorrow, with the Men's Road Race expected to take place. Polkopia is sending five (5) cyclists to compete, with Maksim Orgačev taking charge as the highest-rated male Polkopian cyclist leading up to this event. Men's and Women's Individual Sabre is also taking place in Fencing, and many Polkopians are looking to Liliya Špak to do well here, although she, like many in this event, will be up against some fierce competition and will have to demonstrate an immense amount of skill if she is to live up to the hype others have created for her prior to the games.

.....Although not every event or athlete has been mentioned, we do wish the best of luck to everyone competing. Stay safe and make us proud dušenki!



.....Vera Pirožkova