Games of the VIII Olympiad – RP thread

[Gregoryisgodistan]

The Olympic Opening ceremonies for the Olympics are tomorrow, and Military SuperGeneral Jorgen von Plipeshde will carry the Gregoryisgodistan flag into Olympic Stadium.

Military SuperGeneral Jorgen von Plipeshde will also compete in the Men's 10 m Air Pistol on the first day of competition, along with Military SuperGeneral Daniel Robertson, brother of Military General Jake Robertson, who pitches for the Gregoryisgodistan baseball team. They represent the two best medal hopes for Gregoryisgodistan in this competition. Additionally, Cleffie Martinez will compete in the women's tennis singles against an unknown opponent.

"I am looking forward to vanquishing our foes" said Military Supergeneral Jorden von Pilpeshde. "But first I must carry the flag into Olympic Stadium".

26 athletes will march into the stadium when Gregoryisgodistan enters in between Footballand and the Inevitable Syndicate. Along with them will march about 25 coaches and trainers, plus Elementary School Teacher HAYWQ90210, who will serve as an assistant referee in the men's football (soccer) competition and Seamstress 9SDNNAU, who is a gymnastics judge.

Lord Almighty Gregory wished the athletes luck and hoped that Gregoryisgodistan would win at least one medal. However, he said that just representing their nation on a large stage is good enough.

He also hopes there will be no defections, and reminded the players that armed guards will be making sure they do not defect and preventing foreign athletes from tampering with Gregoryisgodistan's athletes and encouraging them to defect, and/or telling them that the official story presented by the state is wrong. "I am Lord Almighty Gregory," he reminded the athletes. Military Supergeneral Jorden von Pilpeshde agreed, saying it was only becauase of a gift from Lord Almighty Gregory that the players were even alive, yet alone competing.

Additionally, as a reward for competing in the Olympics, the athletes will be allowed to eat food besides gruel rations and drink beverages besides prune juice rations for the duration of the tournament. They will be allowed to eat at the Olympic Village dining hall and eat and drink whatever they want, provided they are accompanied by an armed guard and do not talk to members of other delegations or Olympic staff except as necessary to get food (for instance, it is permissible to tell a dining hall worker what food you want.) Additionally, athletes will be provided with GregorAde, a beverage suspiciously similar to Gatorade with the R, E, and G written on the bottles with what appears to be ink over the label in a different color than the rest, which was supposedly invented by Lord Almighty Gregory. The unique logo design is supposedly proven to motivate the athletes. Here are some sample bottles.



Some foreigners have suspected that this is really Gatorade and the Gregoryisgodistan authorities modified the label by painting or drawing over the label. However, Lord Almighty Gregory and the government deny this, saying that Lord Almighty Gregory invented the beverage to motivate the athletes to perform their best. "Gregorade is not just a tool to help you perform better" Lord Almighty Gregory said. "It is a reward for getting to this point and making your nation proud." Military Supergeneral Jorden von Pilpeshde agreed, thanking Lord Almighty Gregory for his gift.

However, it appears that all reports of the athletes receiving special treatment were redacted from the Gregoryisgodistan media, so the people do not know about this. In fact, the media makes specific mention of the athletes having the same prune juice and gruel rations as everyone else, noting that these rations are "a gift of love from Lord Almighty Gregory." Furthermore, nobody in Gregoryisgodistan has ever heard of "Gregorade", save the athletes themselves who only know what they were told by Lord Almighty Gregory. None of them realize it might really be Gatorade, and without any communication with other delegations, it is unclear how they would figure that out. Even if they did hear it from other delegations, it is likely they would believe their God over some random athlete who might be trying to sabotage them. This is especially true since Lord Almighty Gregory warned the athletes from his nation that other delegations might attempt to sabotage them by lying about their nation, and that it would be best to just not communicate with them. However, should unsolicited communication occur, the Gregoryisgodistan athletes were told to remember that they know, in their heart, that Lord Almighty Gregory is a loving God who created everything and that any claims to the contrary are false.

[Vaugania]

GAMES TALK
with Jim O'Reilly
Day 0

JO- "Hello. I'm Jim O'Reilly and I would like to thank you for joining me on Games Talk. The show on VSN to recap all of the Olympic action. Before I sit down with my guests I am going to send things over to Knut Buraas over at the news desk so he can give you Day 0's results.

KB- "Thanks Jim. We're going to dive right into the pool here and start with the day's water polo action. Our men's team took on the Lymantatian Federation today and fared poorly. The Lymantatians had the upper hand throughout the entire game and never gave up their lead. The final score in that one was 5-11 with Vaugania's goals coming from Arthur Duffy and Carbrey Fursey, who both had two, and the fifth by Sergei Gavryliouk. It will be a number of days before they face The Kytler Peninsulae on the second matchday. The women fared much better against the Lymantatian Federation's women's team and won that one 11-8. Hedda Grodas admitted that should could have performed better, but it didn't matter in the end thanks to a 4 goal performance by Brita Selvik and 2 goal performances by Sigrid Folkow, Mari Bayt, Kari Bartolf, and one additional goal by Giselle Andreu.

Helmfried Bohm was the only Vauganian with a badminton play-in game today and he was up against Eder Rice of Darmen. This looked to be a close match from the outset, but Bohm tried to prove everyone wrong by winning the first game 21-14. It looked as if he was going to take the match in the second game, but Rice overcame a 20-17 deficit and took the game 22-20. Bohm bounced back in the third game and won 21-12, thereby ending Eder Rice's singles run before the Games even officially began. Bohm will be back in action on Day 1 as he and Karla Zellwegger try to advance past the play in round of the mixed doubles tournament.

The men's basketball team had the best performance of the day and crushed Albaie 76-52. The man with the hot hand was Pavel Skala who lit up the scoreboard with 25 points. It seems as if we picked the right man to be our flagbearer. hans Stenger also put up a huge performance with 6 blocks and 15 rebounds. The Albaie offense had a hard time getting past the big center. The next time they take to the court, it will be on matchday 3 against Thatius in a match likely to decide who goes to the knockout round.

The biggest shock of the day came in women's handball. Vaugania took on Kelssek's team which is regarded to be one of the best teams in these Olympics. With two minutes to go, Kelssek held a 24-22 lead over our ladies, but two late goals by Vanessa Kulikova tied it up at 24 and the game ended that way. Nobody was expecting that result and the game was near the bottom of the ratings standings among all of the Vauganian matchups today. Next up is none other than the Lymantatian Federation. And now I'm going to send things back to the couch.

"Thanks, Knut. Things are going to be crowded in Vaugania's little corner of the international broadcast center as we have 6 athletes joining us here today. We have here the entire Vauganian archery team consisting of Alex Forstner, Baldur Mein, Varlaam Horn, Filippa Dietrich, Leni Backer, and Emma Ackermann. All 6 of them will be taking part in tomorrow's ranking rounds at the Park Central Oval cricket grounds. The first thing I want to mention is that all of you are medal contenders. What is it like coming to Orean with all of that pressure?"

AF- "I've found that you can live with the pressure after a while. I'm no stranger to the pressure that comes with big events like this, but it's a little different here considering this is an international event and not just a national or regional one. In the end though, I don't think any of it is really getting to me."

LB- "I'm going to have to agree with Alex on this one. All of us have been in high pressure situations before and over the years, we've all found different coping mechanisms."

JO- "Are you guys looking forward to the competition or are you dreading it a bit?"

VH- "What's there to dread? I'm really excited about finally stepping up to shoot tomorrow. I'm sure everyone else could say the same thing."

FD- "Definitely. The only thing I'm dreading is the end of the Olympics. Ever since our plane touched down, all I've wanted to do is shoot some arrows."

JO- "How are all of you feeling about the team competition?"

BM- "Fantastic. All of us are on an equal playing field when it comes to skill, so we'll each be competing to beat out each other and I think that we'll finish with some high scores in the team competition and the individual competition."

EA- "All of us know that we can turn in a world-class performance and when you put up three top of the class performances you end up with some hardware, so I'm especially looking forward to competing with my two favorite girls."

JO- "I would just like to thank each of you for joining me. It gets a little lonely when Knut is the only person to keep you company. And I would also like to thank each of the viewers back at home for tuning in and I hope you all remember to come back to VSN tomorrow night. And that is the end of our broadcast.

[Ferkas]

Olympic Preliminaries Begin

Early Matches Largely Successful

Coventry Morning Post

Although the Olympics have yet to officially begin the games have already started for all practical matters as the early rounds of many team sports began to be contested today. Tomorrow will see more events contested throughout the day before the Opening Ceremonies in the evening.

For Ferkian spectators the day was lead off by the Men's Basketball team as they played their way to an 83-51 win over Wray in the first game for Group N. Winning the group will assure advancement out of the group stage, making the overall group win the current goal for the team. "What we really want to do here in Orean is improve on the results from the last Olympic cycle.. The first step towards that has to be getting out of the group stage. You can play some truly impressive ball, but if you get knocked out in the group stage, who cares? No one, that's who. You want to get some attention? Make the quarters, at least. You really want to turn a few heads? Reach the semis. You want to establish yourself as a real team, a real nation? Get into the final. End of discussion." - Matthew Carpenter, Point Guard and Team Captain.

The Women's Basketball team will need some of that same bravado as they fell this morning to Super-Llamaland in a close 76-71 game. The silver medal team from the VII Olympics looked rusty on the court, leaving many to criticize new head coach Samantha Lee, formerly of Central Ferkas University. The team was again lead by Marta Vlasic, returning as captain and small forward from the VII Olympic squad, but the rest of the team is split about half and half between new and returning players. Vlasic and Ashely Xi, returning point guard from Emberton, played the whole of the game and seemed to provide most of the energy for the team. Missing from the game today, although present on the sideline, was Lillian Mevon. Mevon, the starting center on the Emberton team, is currently out tending to a calf strain. If she is able to get back in that could provide the needed boost for the team, at least to push them out of the group stage. Those three formed the core of the team in Emberton and could repeat the same sort of magic here. As it stands though the team is already behind by one loss in the group rankings.

Women's Handball netted a surprise win today, scoring 30 points to the 28 of The Sova Empire. This win puts the team in early contention in Group B, along with Worszary, who won 27-24 over Cassadaigua. Men's Hockey impressed as they went 2-0 against Quakmybush in their first international game since the last Olympic cycle. The game was scoreless for a quite a while until Franklin Dell put both shots in the net in the last ten minutes. Supported by a strong defense this team has potential to go far, but only time can tell. Women's Hockey also won with a two point margin, going 3-1 against Rovegia. Coach Ashley Cunningham commented after the game: "It's always exciting to come to the Olympics, and it's even better when you can open with a win. This game was a great chance for the ladies to put their recent team training to the test. It's tricky, most of these girls don't play on the same teams, so they aren't use to each others style. Since we don't meet for official team camp until a few weeks before we leave there are always concerns about how the team will function together. A game like todays gives a lot of reassurance that we are on the right track."

Although they couldn't close the deal in the first three sets the Women's Indoor Volleyball team did defeat Krytenia in Group G competition. Winning the first set 25-19 and the second set 25-11 fans were hopeful for a quick and decisive win. Unfortunately the third set would be a close defeat, 25-23, although it contained some of the most intense play of the game. The team rallied back in the fourth set though, winning 25-18 and sealing the deal. Alex Hutchinson, one of the leading members of the Ferkian National Volleyball Association, commented after the game that "This was a spectacular game to watch and I think it will set the tone for what we can expect in the future. We've got a team of really solid women out there who are ready to compete against anyone. I'm hopeful to see them move past the group stage, hopefully far past the group stage."

Not every match was as successful though and the day closed out with a series of disappointing performances. In the pool it was the Women's Water Polo team who were unable to hold off a late surge by Albaie, losing in an 8-7 decision. The team held the lead into the closing the minutes, when the Albaien offense went on a 3 point run. After the match Lisa McCullen, the teams assistant coach, said that "We're not pleased with what we saw out there. We looked rusty and fatigued, especially at the end. That isn't acceptable at this level. If you're not on the top of your game any given day, you're going to get your a** handed to you. And we weren't on the top of our game today, not even close. We've looked better in practice, in all of our pre-travel prep. We might not be the strongest team here, but there is no excuse for the breakdown we had at the end." Also seeming to suffer from Olympic fatigue was the Men's Indoor Volleyball team, who dropped a three set decision to The Licentian Isles. Of particular concern was the 25-13 second set, following a 25-21 first set and preceding a third set of the same score. Steve Luo, one of the starting line on the team, said in the post game press conference that "I don't want to say that we just got outclasses out there, because I don't think we did. We're not throwing in the towel yet. We just need to get back to the basics, focus on some of the little things that we slipped up on today, the basics and fundamentals that just weren't there today, and get those on lock-down. When we get that straightened out we'll be in much better shape. Today shouldn't be the game which defines us."

[United Gordonopia]

Olympic Issues
Page O4

'Goldfish' Gorst: Gordonopia's Great Aquatic Hope
By Albert Mann

Tolven Sound at sunrise is as empty as you'll find Gordonopia's second largest port. The fog is only just lifting, and though a relative handful of ships are arriving or departing, the majority wait until later in the day. If you look close enough, though, at the Southern edge of the immense body of water in the small Falconwing Bay, you'll see the same sight just about every morning.

On a chilly May morning, that was where I found Frank Gorst gliding smoothly across the water in a small rowing boat known as a single scull. I had arranged to meet him at a small boat launch at 9 AM, though he still had fifteen minutes on his workout. That handful of time gave me the chance to watch Frank in his element.

Because there are only a handful of organized adult rowing clubs throughout the Empire, Frank has taken it upon himself to train and compete individually. Tall, stocky, but perfectly balanced on the calm water, it was clear to see why Frank is Gordonopia's best rower, and best hope for a medal in any aquatic sport. In one of the gold-painted boats that he forewent purchasing a car to obtain, Frank's tempo speed would make him among the best of Gordonopia's collegiate rowers. His race time is, of course, far quicker.

When he finally pulled up to the shore, Frank gave me a nod and a calm, friendly smile. Looking at his seaswept face, relaxed and showing only a bit of sweat, one would hardly imagine the intensity of the workout he had finished only moments before.

"So I finally get some big-time coverage, but its a running magazine?" Was the first thing he said, clearly joking, causing me to give a somewhat apologetic laugh. Like many sports in Gordonopia with small followings, there are few ways to reach a wide audience. Though Frank has won seven consecutive National Championships for men's single sculls, as well as three during his college years, he has not been featured in a national sports publication once. A running magazine bringing on freelancers for Olympic coverage is the biggest exposure he has ever had. Whether or not that daunted him was not apparent.

Almost immediately, Frank started on his life story, some of which I had heard when setting up the interview. His early years were spent in the tiny tourist town of Old Bend at the edge of the Northern Mountains. His father owned a canoe and kayak rental shop, where Frank worked his summers, spending his free time taking his family's boats out on the Iljnan River or Lake Grande.

"Rowing's not too big in Gordonopia," said Frank, "so it was lucky I had something so close to home. As a kid, and today, I just wasn't good at the popular sports; too slow on my feet for football or running. On a boat, though, I was as fast as anyone... until White Fish came to town."

White Fish Rowing Club, based out of Teva, was and is the best in the small Gordonopian crew community. When Frank was 13, the club's members had a training retreat in Old Bend, during which they visited his father's shop. Frank, who just happened to be in the store, was invited to try out their boats and for the first time he got his hands on a scull.

Though his family could not afford a boat, and there were no teams nearby, Frank was able to persuade his father to put up half of the money for an indoor rower, the other half of which would come from his own wages at the shop. For the next five years Frank trained religiously on the machine and though he had only stepped in a scull once, his demonstrated ability, as measured through a metric known as 'erg' times, earned him a visit to the Tolven College rowing team, one of the best in the Empire. Once there, he impressed the coach enough to earn one of he team's scholarships.

"When I look back on it today, I'm always a bit surprised," laughs Frank, "Most of the big coastal cities have at least a dozen rowing clubs, and even though the sport is not running, football, or even basketball, there is a fair amount of participation on the youth level. I managed to beat out most of those kids without ever competing in crew."

At Tolven, though, the talent that the coach saw in Frank was quickly apparent. In his first competitive rowing season he qualified for the Class A championships in single sculls, placing 4th in the final with a time of 7:58.0. The next year Frank won the whole thing by cutting his time by fifteen seconds and setting a Gordonopian collegiate record. He repeated the feat twice more.

Since graduation, Frank has been alone at the top of the podium at the senior championships, improving every year over the competition. At the Danbar Royal Regatta in Gordonopia City, he recently set a National Record, the third time lowering his own, with a 6:52.3 in the 2k race standard for competitive rowing. With that time, Frank is not only several boat lengths ahead of any other Gordonopian competition; he may be among the best in the world, and he finally has a chance to prove it at Gordonopia's first go at the Olympics.

Today, though, is just another day for Frank, who spends his mornings on the water and his days managing a waterfront seafood restaurant. Though he is one of a handful of non-running athletes from the Empire believed to be in contention for a medal, Frank seems relatively calm. "The biggest thing I'm concerned about is how I'll do without a golden scull," said Frank, referring to the trademark golden paintjobs that have earned him the nickname 'Goldfish' and the fact that the Olympic committee wants him to paint his boat the tricolor. "Though I guess it might be nice to have a real crowd."

[Todd McCloud]

Vekaiyu Enters 2013 Summer Games with Many New Uniforms
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

ELDURA - With the Vekaiyun Olympic Council (VOC) coming under fire for undermining their own investigation into hosting the Summer Games in Provinsk, work has begun to improve its image. Their solution? Why, new uniforms of course.

"This is actually something that has been in the works since the end of our fifth place showing in Krytenia," interim chairman Ehjy Novilobko informed V3 News Services. "We realized a lot of our uniforms were outdated, with many of them a throwback to [Selvala McEva's] regime. We've had new technology available that we had not used. Plus, some of the outfits could have used updated colors. We're no longer the new nation on the block when it comes to competing. We're now seasoned veterans, and people should expect more out of us, uniforms included."

Vekaiyu, which has traditionally been known for their cutting edge uniforms that feature "Vekaiyu!" spelled out in Unonian with colors of red, white, and black, will feature many new outfits this year that is sure to restore a sense of pride to the vulpine-dominant nation abroad. New to the fold is a familiar color: jaku wood gold. Or, the same golden color present on the Vekaiyun flag. "It's been missing from past uniforms," Novilobko reminded. "So we decided to make it a prominent accent color.

The Vekaiyun speed swimsuits, which have gained international acclaim for their performance and construction, will be getting a color revival. "For some reason, the black on especially the female swimsuits would turn a very dark red after a few routines," senior designer Daszo Islovire said. "That's unacceptable. We changed our dyeing procedure a bit, and improved the catalyst involved in chemically crosslinking the material. It actually makes the garment more durable. In a nutshell, they're better and should last past these Olympics if the swimmers want to keep using them."

Female (left) and male (right) speed swimsuits

While the female diving suit remained unchanged, the male version received extensive updates, specifically adding in a jaku wood gold stripe down the side of the garment. "VEK" is spelled out along the side, too. The shortened TLA has become a staple for the new uniforms, as they also adorn the male tracksuit. The male tracksuit and sports suit are essentially singlets that are made of breathable fabric that allow for greater freedom of movement necessary for the particular sport they are participating in. The generic "sport uniform" is made of a stiffer fabric, and is loose-fitting when compared with the tracksuit, which is designed more for running events which requires better aerodynamics.

Male diving suit (left) tracksuit (center) and sports suit (right)

"You bet they're better than last year's," Seri Valekastre, the 2012 silver medalist in the Men's 1500m run, beamed. "Last year's was thicker and didn't work very well when it was hot out. This one makes me feel like I'm wearing nothing at all. Nothing at all. Nothing at all. Nothing at all."

Women's garments have also been prepared with a lot of thoughtfulness, but may appear a bit "futuristic" when contrasted with the male counterparts. These suits represent a creole of stretch, strength, and comfort for the common Vekaiyun female athlete. Much research was completed to arrive at the final design for the tracksuit and sports suit. "By monitoring these athletes and observing their behavior as they compete routines, we're able to come up with a design that not only gives the athlete much freedom of movement, it makes that movement better," mechanical engineer-turned biologist Dr. Yamano Alveskro explained. "Tests are repeated over and over again, and different outfits have been used. To be honest, we must've come up with at least a dozen or so "final outfits" before one of us said 'how can we make it better?'" Analyses over how athletes move their bodies in relation to the sport they are playing revealed common "dynamic areas" (stretch fabric) and "static areas" (bar tack reinforced areas; that is, the white lines). For each suit, which is used for different sports, care is used in determining these spots. An Unonian "V" adorns the top left of each garment. Athletes may wear shorts over their suits if they wish.

Female tracksuit (left) and sports suit (right)

While some outfits have a lot of science built into their construction, others are more about their look and appeal. Case in point, the Vekaiyun female gymnastics uniform, which is a marked improvement on multiple accounts from the one worn last year. "I feel proud of it," Ankya Subanistre, last year's gold in rhythmic individual, informed V3 News. "This is what our costumes should've looked like from the beginning. It feels like we finally have a leg up on appearance."

Female gymnastics uniform

The male gymnast uniform, however, remains unchanged. "We liked some of the new designs, but we're staying with what's worked for us so far," decorated athlete Stapen Skilusi said with a smile. "People know when they see an all black with white Unonian writing uniform heading to the floor, they're going to watch a medal-eligible performance. We didn't want to lose that sense of intimidation. Plus I'm told all black looks good against a gold medal."

Appearances can be deceiving. Perhaps that is what designers had in mind when they came up with the newest look for the female water polo suit. The women's team, which has time and time again lost close games just before medal events (even finishing fourth twice) features what's being called a "medal" wrapped around the chest with the VEK letters spelled out across it. "It's a gold medal," center Riyna Angielski demonstrated. "The Vekaiyun star is right of center, north of the jaku branch." A ring also spans the front of the suit. Will this be enough for the team to 'break it's curse' and finally bring a medal back to the home country? "We really hope so," she added.

Female water polo swimsuit[/img]

You can view other uniforms, as well as the retired ones, here.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

From the NBO website.

Olympic event preview: Archery

For a lot of urban Kytlerians, the idea of going out onto a large field aiming at small targets with a bow and arrow seems frankly ridiculous. But this seemingly antiquated pastime has retained its popularity in the rural northern peninsula, and several of its exponents have serious medal potential. In particular, an emphasis on funding womens' archery in recent years has paid real dividends, with a team medal in particular being almost expected.

"We've devoted a lot of attention to the womens' side of things because we know that a lot of countries don't," Kytlerian Archery head Samuel Stephenson said. "There is still this image of archery as a militaristic thing. Clearly, that's where it originates from. But it is a compelling sport in its own right, unbearable tension over the finest margins, and with the new round format as well, it's very television-friendly. Our womens' programme has been ahead of the mens' for some time now, and we've really kicked on."

That said, it is still undoubtedly a sport for the wealthy rural population for the most part. 26-year-old Cecilia Blanchard-Sweet, born into the aristocratic Blanchard family and recently married to engineering tycoon Terence Sweet - a man twenty years her senior - certainly symbolises that, and in the famously wealthy villages and small towns of the Downs, it is she who is the face of the Games. Her elegant auburn curls appear everywhere on shop windows, but despite her undoubted privilege, it is perhaps a surprise to hear her talk of uncertainty and anxiety.

"Performing at the highest level is always a burden," she said, "and there is much less certainty in it than there ever was in the rest of my life. But there was also, undoubtedly, an expectation that I'd go off and marry into money, preferably old money, and because I was very much focusing on my archery, there were two things that got in the way of that. Firstly, obviously, the hours of practice, that goes without saying, although because I'm obviously fortunate enough to have the family I do, that was something I could do as basically my full-time job - though I'd help with cleaning the house, domestic chores, because I was the only daughter and that's how it goes." A sudden grin. "There are better forms of cross-training," she laughs. "But the other thing was, well, archery needs a lot of upper body strength, and I always was bought up to assume that men just wanted waifs, thin girls, not muscle. Maybe a big bosom, which I certainly don't have," she laughs. "I actually generally went out in long sleeves, all the time, as I was genuinely quite worried about it. For a while, I was close to giving up archery, even, it was only my coaches saying how I could be an Olympic contender that kept me going. Then, on one particular evening, a very hot summer's evening, I felt that I would very much not want to be wearing sleeves, so I wore my strappy top, arms on show for the first time since I became a serious archer, and that, amazingly, was when I met Terence. He said my arms were the first thing he noticed about me."

Clichéd as it undoubtedly is for a female competitor to derive reassurance from romance, it seems to have genuinely made a difference for the now Blanchard-Sweet, who married a year later in a wedding that was seen as one of the biggest social events in the Downs for many years. "My form has improved significantly in the 18 months since we met," she said, pointing to her performances in the national championships. "And archers can have nice long careers. Maybe Terence will retire before I do?"

Pearl Levy has flown comparatively under the radar as a result, despite winning the national championships for the last four years - though only by one point over Blanchard-Sweet this year. "I'm fine with the attention being on Cecilia," she says. "I've never wanted to be a celebrity, I've had an ordinary life, not a really difficult one - I've had a supportive family, with some money - but I've not lived my life under the lens, and I only want to do so as an Olympic champion."

[Wray]

(OOC Note: Any offence caused to anyone by the post, which I don't think it will, is purely unintentional and not designed to get at anyone. He's just an angry journalist)

State of Play
A man. Sports. Booze.

Day 0

ATTENTION: THIS WOMAN CANNOT SHOOT

Well, the first day of action has passed and I have discovered two things: 1) Wray can't play team sports at the Olympic games (we managed just one meagre victory in 11 matches across 6 sports) and 2) Orean is a bitch to walk around during the games. It was reasonably hot on the first day, with temperatures peaking whilst I was taking National Rail from Folnesia back into the city to watch the Women's Football Team.

Because the Hockey was being played outside the city, I had to wake up early, one thing I truly and utterly hate. There was a certain fizz in the air as I made my by Underground to the National Rail station at the airport, people were really gearing up for the games. The train journey itself took around 40 minutes, whistling through the relatively barren Liventian countryside.

The Hockey Premliminaries were what you'd expect from a hockey tournament that no-one really cared about. The people in attendance of the Wray-Equestrian States game were three young students supporting Wray who I shacked up with for the afternoon, a very bored looking journo who'd apparently broken some rules and as a punishment lost his place in the Olympic Park and had been shipped out here. Five people watching one of the highest quality hockey matches I'd seen. And Four of us weren't really watching, our eyes were merely in the general direction of the pitch.

The one thing the game lacked was goals. Listen to this stat: out of 13 shots on goal, 8 were taken by captain Caitlin McLaughlin, pictured above, and 5 of them hit the post. And not a single one went in. Disgraceful I'd say. I tweeted Caitlin to see whether she'd write a little section for this blog, but she declined. We're not the best of friends.

The game gradually slowed down to a crawl, and by the time the referee, who was just as bored as we were, blew the whistle, everyone had mentally left the game. After a drink with my new student friends, one of which had heard of me :0, I returned to the station and caught the train back into Orean, where the Games were starting to get into full swing.

In the Olympic Park, where both fortunately and unfortunately the Wray Women-Sicoutimont Women match was happening. Fortunately because it meant I didn't have to drive/train all the way to some godforsaken city on the shore of Shitfar lake, and that also meant that I wouldn't miss the Opening ceremony and tomorrow's events.

The football at least was more exciting. It was end to end stuff in the first 20 minutes, really captivating the audience of about 20. Jasmine Vicars opened the scoring for us on 22 minutes, directing a hard shot from midfielder Holly Lyon past the Sicouti keeper Adele Hout. The noise of 14 people cheering is really quite bizarre, especially in the massive Olympic Stadium. But we didn't have much time to be happy as Sicouti striker Matilda Gagnon fired home the equaliser on 29 minutes.

Lyon hit the post (this was becoming quite a theme) before defender Amy White-Haney had her strong header parried by Hout.

Sicoutimont grabbed the first goal in the second-half, although the 14 Wray supporters clustered around the half-way line were adamant that Esmerelda Gagnon was at least a foot offside. She was too. She raced away and deftly chipped it over the keeper Chloe Lansell, before high-fiving every Sicouti fan in the stadium: a staggering feat except there were on seven of them.

After pounding away for 25 minutes, striker Laura Horsley managed to bundle in a scrappy equaliser from a Lyon cross, and the game was back even. It finished that way too, with everyone happy.

The women's tie was the only non-defeat for the Green and Whites on the opening day of the Games, barring a Women's win in Handball over Qazox. Let's hope it gets a bit better.

Tomorrow's event's with Wray athletes
Archery — Men’s ranking round
Luke McDonald
Henry Croft
Ben Davies

Archery — Women’s ranking round
Samantha Alexander
Rebecca Henessey
Bryana Lucas

OPENING CEREMONY

[Chiata]

Chiata Sports Network

Frank- Helloe everybody, I am Frank Zian.

Jordy- And I'm Jordy Upwalker. This is Chiata Sports Network.

Frank- You may have noticed that we don't have our sponser ads anymore. This is because we are being sponsered by the government so we can get this aired all across Chiata.

Jordy- After day 0 of the olympics there are lots of things to talk about. Lets go through them one by one.

Frank- Mens Water Polo MD 1. In group D Chiata lost 10-9 against Zackalantis.

Jordy- Next, was Mens Basketball for Chiata. Sadly, the same results.

Frank- In group O Chiata lost to Eura 86-65.

Jordy- After Mens Basketball, we went to Womans Basketball. The woman for basketball gave Chiata their first Olypmic win and their first Olympic team win.

Frank- In group L Chiata won against Rovegia 78-66. Now we go to the Chiata Suns in Mens Football.

Jordy- In group C the Chiata Suns beat Albaie 2-1. Goals were both by Swade and assists were by R.T.

Frank- Sadly, Womans Football has a different story.

Jordy- In group H Chiata lost to Krytenia 3-1. The lone score was made by Woods.

Frank- The last event for day 0 that Chiata was entered in was Womans Indoor Volley Ball.

Jordy- In group G Chiata lost to Sargossa 3-1. In the firsy set, Chiata lost 25-23. In the second set, the same result. In the third, Chiata won 25-13. But in the last set, Chiata lost 25-14.

Frank- That is all the results from day 0. The opening cerimony is tonight so tune in to this same chanel. Se you guys then.

Chiata Sports Network

[Barunia]

One Dream
Games of the VIII Olympiad

"Hello, and welcome back to our special coverage of the 8th Summer Olympics, coming to you live from Orean. Well the games may not have officially started yet but already some preliminary rounds have taking place, and some Barunian teams were included in that Alex."

"That's right Catherine. It was a busy day at the pool for Barunia, with two teams competing in water polo. The men were first in the water, and facing off against a powerful Darmen side. Things didn't go well for Barunia, as Darmen took the game with a comfortable eleven to four victory. It was a much closer game in the women's match when they faced Sicoutimont, Barunia started strongly, Tondra Adorinda doing an excellent job for the Sea Angels, scoring three goals in the first half. Sicoutimont came back well in the second to steal the match nine goals to seven."

"Elsewhere in Orean, Football and Hockey were being played. Our own Jessica West was out watching those matches, and she joins us now live in the studio. Jess, welcome. Now let's start with football. The Olympic Suns is the name of the team, and all the players on the team recently competed in the Cup of Harmony. One player we have been watching since then is Victor Castolo, who has had some question over his mental fitness, and I understand he was on the bench today."

"That's right. Danil Samson started in his place. The team faced Sangti, who are below us in the KPB, but as has often been remarked, KPB ranks don;t mean much in Olympic competition. The tournament has a completely different feel, and the players recognise that. It makes for a great atmosphere and some really interesting competition. This game was actually a really good example. Sangti took us by surprise early with two goals before halftime, and then Samson and Zokora both scored to end the game in a draw."

"That wasn't the case in Field Hockey though was it? Tell us what happened Jess."

"Well the Men's team had an excellent start to their group stage with a dominating performance over Kalosia. Jake Pritchard was excellent in goal, and didn't concede a single goal as the Olympic Sharks rocketed away to a five nil victory.Jamie Bryant was the stand-out forward with three goals, with Rueben Kowalski and Archibald Bennet the other goalscorers.

The Women's team couldn't repeat the Men's performance in their match against Maplitesh, with Flick Sharman the only Barunian able to find the target, while Maplitesh easily got three in against a defence that was lacking some of it's usual vigour. Perhaps the team is struggling to adapt to the loss of several key players due to the Olympic ban on mixed-gender teams."

"Perhaps that was the case. Well, the team might have had a defeat, but one member of the Women's Hockey team will still be smiling and that is the goalkeeper Tiffany Grouch. She'll have the honour of carrying the flagbearer for Barunia in the opening ceremony, which is not far away. We'll take a short break, then we'll be back with plenty more as Orean gets set to kick off the greatest show on earth. Don't go anywhere!"

[Mapletish]

The Sour Kind; Olympics Day 0

The Day Zero Round Up; Beginning the games right

Day zero started brightly for the Mapletish delegation with the team sports playing first before the opening ceremony. Alright so lets just picture yourself on the court or on the field, ready to play for your nation, the crowd cheering and the tense atmosphere. Yes, that's what our athletes go through in every round of competition. Without ado, here it is, bringing to you the highlights of the sports played today.

Basketball - Women's MD 1
Group E
Mapletish (MAP) 75–69 Camerania (CMR)

The women team came away with an exciting victory, with just a gap of six points which separated Mapletish and Camerania. In the first period, the game was closely fought between the two sides, however Camerania seemed to take the upper hand and maintained a safe lead of 20-35 lead against the Mapletians. The second period proved to be another period that is fought with extra cautiousness with Camerania once again holding onto their precious lead. The Mapleans however caught hold of the last two periods namely the third and fourth period and fended off most of the counter attacks from the Camerania side. Point guard Alicia Noemí took on the show with several well shot three pointers, well placed blocks and well received rebounds, Clearly deserving the MVP award as part of her effort in leading the comeback for the Mapletians.

Football - Men's MD 1
Group P
Valanora (VAL) 0–2 Mapletish (MAP)

The Mapletish U23 squad beat the Valanora football squad in what could be a sweet revenge for the Lions who had been defeated by the Valanorians in the World Cup Qualifiers a few cycles back with several embarrassing and humiliating results, including a 7-0 defeat at home. A moral boosting win for the Lions here, youngster Park Jeong Hun netted a double for the Lions from two powerful strikes from outside the box. The first half was perfectly controlled by Valanora, with both sides unable to break the nets of the other. Valanora could have taken the lead early in the game but they were rather wasteful in front of goal. Coming into the second half, the Lions pounced hard on the wasteful Valanorians with quick counterattacks and slowly pushing Valanora out of the game. The Lions' hard work paid off in the 57th minute, as Jeong Hun got to the tail end of Junio's long cross from the left flank and struck the ball into the net from outside of the box. The Fireykop has more to cheer about as Jeong Hun was left unmarked at the corner kick, Junio's outswinging reached Jeong Hun and his thunderous volley reached the bottom corner of the net.

Football - Women's MD 1
Group L
Mapletish (MAP) 0–2 Oralana (OMA)

A victory from the men's squad but this was not the same for the women's squad, the Lioness crushed out against Oralana by a scoreline that the Lions won by, 2-0. With a squad made up entirely from the World Cup qualifiers squad, the team has a wealth of experience in them, however they failed to put their experience to good use in the match. Dominating early in the game, they failed to make their dominance count, leading the possession ratings throughout the match, it was indeed a frustrating moment to see the team leaking in goals from careless mistakes, but that was exactly what happened to the team, but rantings don't really help improve the team isn't it. So how now? The team must be more aggressive when fighting for the ball and be more courageous in their attack. I guess that would help the team in winning matches, as the saying goes, "Success isn't final, failure isn't fatal".

Handball - Men's MD 1
Mapletish (MAP) 32–27 Qazox (QZX)

The men's handball squad started off their campaign brightly with a simple victory over Qazox in a rather tense match, considering the fact that both teams have some traces of rivalry in the sports scene. It was the Lions that got the match off to a great start with several well initiated counterattacks and passing moves to break the defences of Qazox. The match went against the favour of the Lions in the opening minutes of the game, with Qazox popping in and got their chances converted into goals as Qazox started to capture a commanding ten goal lead against the Lions. However as the game progressed, the Lions got back into momentum and grab the goals back bit by bit as they grab their chances and recoup their lead.

Handball - Women's MD 1
Mapletish (MAP) 23–29 Unolia (JRU)

Similar to the women's football team, the women's handball team failed to win their opponents in the opening day of the Olympiad. A 23-29 close defeat to Unolia was rather demoralising for the team there after missing the target on several occasions. Missed chances but despite the result, the game was rather well played and that has certainly gave the team experience in their game. Overall, the team needs to improve on their defence and not concede goals so easily, it's really a wastage to have the team playing so well but lose the match because of a weak defence or a wasteful attack,

Hockey - Men's MD 1
Mapletish (MAP) 6–0 Bulgislavia (RRB)

The hockey team opened up their campaign with a fine 6-0 win over Bulgislavia, completely dominating the match between the two sides. Despite the dominating result, there are still areas for improvement according to the head coach, Severino Maurício. In my opinion, the team was a pleasure to watch with several interesting attacking and defensive moves. I was looking rather excitedly at the dragshot from Lourenço David, who started terrorising defences with his shots. The great start to the campaign will definitely motivate the team to do better.

Hockey - Women's MD 1
Barunia (BAU) 1–3 Mapletish (MAP)

The women's team did equally well in their opening match against Barunia, clearing the match with a 1-3 victory to command dominance over their opponents and firing an early warning that women hockey is as good as their male counterparts. Cecília Monica became the team's highest goal scorer after the match with a hattrick to take away from from the match. I think the team has to be more aggressive when fighting for the ball, it will make better hockey for the team.

Indoor Volleyball - Men's MD 1

Mapletish (MAP)                 25  23  25  21  17
Cassadaigua (CDG)               21  25  20  25  15

In indoor volleyball, the Mapletish men's team edged out Cassadaigua in a rather close and tense match with the Mapletians winning the match with a 3-2 win after losing set 2 and set 4 of the match. Being a rather inexperience team, the team did well in winning a rather experience volleyball team in the international stage. Libero Yevgeniy Aleksey did pretty well in setting the pace of the game as his long spikes prove tough to deal with by the opposition.

So this is the end of the Olympics round up for Day 0 before we have the opening ceremony. Once more, all the best for our athletes and here is Tish signing off.

[Liventia]

This is the Day 1 cutoff. Opening ceremony RP will be up about 60–90 minutes after scores.
Results

[Commerce Heights]

Medal Watch
Day 0: Triathlete Trịnh tops individual table

With no events completed so far at the Orean Olympics as we eagerly await the opening ceremony, PSC triathlete Trịnh Đình Đoàn has shot to the top of the medal table, joining Farf shooter Dâgâõ Lêý and a trio of Tatrasian team-sports competitors in a tie for first place. As the only triathlete involved in the tie, our panel of experts believes he is now among the favorites for his event, which has not yet been scheduled. “The symmetry of the ị and the trinomial form of the name truly represent the qualities any successful triathlete requires,” according to Medal Watch contributor Margaretist490. “The daring stroke through the two Đs, and the two accents parallel to each other but counter to the direction of writing, are also clearly the marks of a person who is not afraid to take risks.”

A team effort by Tatras has put them in the lead in the NOC medal table at this early stage. Many NOCs have tried and failed to find the formula for consistent performance in team sports at the Olympic Games, but Tatras’s novel approach of overloading their teams with accents and háčky may yet prove successful. “I don’t think anyone has tried it before, at least not on this scale,” says long-time Olympic fan 7HE0lympic5pirit. “I honestly think they’d be better off if they concentrated the effort on their best players, though, instead of just spamming diacritics left and right.” Tatras leads the medal standings by a considerable margin, followed by a near-tie for second with Thatius, Nova Pruthenia, and Worszary separated by a mere three points; the Paripana Sporting Council rounds out the top five but is some way off the leaders.

Individual medal standings—Day 0

                                       G   S   B    C
 1 Dâgâõ Lêý                    FDS    0   0   0    5
   Trịnh Đình Đoàn              PSC    0   0   0    5
   Ľubomír Dančišák             UST    0   0   0    5
   Konštantín Doroščák          UST    0   0   0    5
   Štefánia Ilčáková            UST    0   0   0    5
 6 Dáiríne Ní Bhraonáin         ANC    0   0   0    4
   Lâvén Entãó                  FDS    0   0   0    4
   Dý Îörrkâ                    FDS    0   0   0    4
   Fêän Lêrrhä                  FDS    0   0   0    4
   Dâ Mândrëfý                  FDS    0   0   0    4
   Levero Mëéêè                 FDS    0   0   0    4
   Kristbjörg Þorgrímsdóttir    KYP    0   0   0    4
   Nijolė Balevičiūtė           NPR    0   0   0    4
   Ainė Gaidamavičiūtė          NPR    0   0   0    4
   Alicija Juškievičiūtė        NPR    0   0   0    4
   Emília Demčáková             UST    0   0   0    4
   Pavlína Dvoržáková           UST    0   0   0    4
   Cecýlia Jinčáková            UST    0   0   0    4
   Karolína Mikúšeková          UST    0   0   0    4

NOC medal standings—Day 0

                                       G   S   B    C
 1 Tatras                       UST    0   0   0  283
 2 Thatius                      THA    0   0   0  145
 3 Nova Pruthenia               NPR    0   0   0  143
 4 Worszary                     WSZ    0   0   0  142
 5 Paripana Sporting Council    PSC    0   0   0   77
 6 Sargossa                     SRG    0   0   0   75
 7 Rovegia                      ROV    0   0   0   72
 8 Camerania                    CMR    0   0   0   67
 9 Kelssek                      KSK    0   0   0   64
10 Farfadillis                  FDS    0   0   0   61

Sort criteria: Gold medals, silver medals, bronze medals, Cabañas effect

[Sicoutimont]

Olympic Talk

"Hi, I'm Pierre Lesage, and this is my counterpart Colin Lecavillier. Maybe you are just waking up today, Day 1 of the Olympics, ready to tune into the events, but if you want to see Sicoutimont today, Colin, you better wait till the Opening Ceremony."

"Today's events do not feature any Sicoutian participation, with the Archery rounds and Badminton Mixed-Doubles play-ins taking place today. Yesterday, however, was a big day for team sports, with all of those getting underway."

"That's exactly right, Colin. We'll go through yesterday's results from Orean 1 by 1, starting at Water Polo. In the Men's side, Group A, Sicoutimont's group, Les Royales had a bye today. The Sova Empire defeated Felix 9-7 in Group A's early game, and D Land and Isles surprisingly overcoming Krytenia 11-7. The next match for the Men is against The Sova Empire."

"On the other hand, Pierre, the Women's Water Polo squad got started yesterday, in Group G, taking on Barunia. The first of 4 8-minute periods of action began, with Barunia quickly taking charge in the game. Vivian Murphy, Team Captain for Barunia, quickly got the ball behind Holly Landry in goal for Les Royales. But that was quickly extended, as just before the period ended, Barunia quickly scored 2. The first period ended with a score of 3-0 in favour of Barunia. Barunia tried to hold on to the lead, but Sicoutimont would have 4 goals before the end of the Second Period of play. 4-3 in favour of Les Royales. Celine Giroux completed the hat-trick early on to put her side up 5-3, but before the 3rd period ended, Barunia would score 2 quick goals to equalize the score. 5-5. In the 4th period, Sicoutimont came out on fire, with 2 quick goals in the first 2 minutes, before Barunia equalized again. Giroux scored her 4th in the 6th minute, and Camile Therrien scored her 2nd, making the final score 9-7 for Sicoutimont. In other Group G action, United Gordonopia defeated Oralana 12-6. Sicoutimont now will take on Oralana."

"Badminton was also played on Day 1; and 2 Sicoutians were taking part. Eric Deville and Jacob Valendre began play yesterday. Valendre took on Joe Jonas of Kosovoe. Valendre, the underdog throughout the match, lost 2 straight games and dropped out of the tournament. Later on in the day, on the same court, Eric Deville took on Edward Stevens of the Lymatatian Federation. Deville defeated Stevens in round 1 21-12, but lost the second round 21-18. However, Deville rebounded against his stronger opponent to take the last set 21-16, and advance to the second round. Valendre, however, is not out of the tournament; being in the Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles events still."

"Basketball saw a thrilling match between Sangti and Sicoutimont. Both in Group K, this was the only match of the day from said group. What a barn-burner it was. Sangti had an early lead of 20-9, Sicoutimont had a lead of 52-39, but in the end, it was the last lead that mattered. Down 68- 65 in the last seconds of the game, Isaac de Montreal attempted a 3 point shot that would equalize that game. The shot, however, hit the rim and bounced to Xavier Vourai in front of the net. He quickly passed back to de Montreal, but the shot was taken from the 2 point line, going in. 68-67 was the final, giving Sangti a win on the day. The next matchday is a bye for Sicoutimont, and the next game is against Bulgislavia after a 2 matchdays with a bye."

"Matchday 1 in Men's Football saw Sicoutimont take on powerhouse Sargossa. The match was intense, and the only goal of the game came from a Federico Noyola header late in the game. In other Group O action, The Licentian Isles defeated Felix also by a score of 1-0. Next up for the Sicoutians is Felix, who also lost today. The women had a better start against Wray, getting at least a point in Group N. The second match of the day after Asteran shut out Kosovoe 3-0, the game started with end to end action at the Olympic Park for 20 minutes. The estimated 20 in attendance cheered loudly for both teams, with the ratio of Wray to Sicoutian supporters being 2:1. Jasmine Vicars scored for Wray in the 22nd minute to put them up 1-0, but Matilda Gagnon would equalize the match just 7 minutes later. The first half ended with a score of 1-1. It was Esmeralda Gagnon, the other of the Gagnon twins, who would give Sicoutimont the lead in the 54th minute. Although it can be disputed whether she was offside or not, no-one can discredit the 'feat' she accomplished of high-fiving all 7 of the Sicoutian fans in the stadium. But the lead wouldn't last long, and Laura Horsley would even up the match almost 25 minutes later. That's how the game would end, 2-2, giving both sides a point. Next up for the girls is Kosovoe."

"Moving quickly now, the Handball team lost 28-24 to Saugeais in the Men's Matchday 1, elsewhere in Group K Tatras tied the Fipino Federation 29-29. Next up for the men is the Fipino Federation team. On the Women's side of Handball, the girls lost 20-27 against Ancharmunn, while Savski Venac defeated Kalosia 28-26 in Group E action, next up for the women is Savski Venac."

"The men's hockey team rode 2 goals from DaMarcus Beesly and Benoit Lang to defeat Shoferica 2-1, Also in Group 4, Camerania defeated Kelssek 4-1 in Group C. Next up for Sicoutimont is Camerania, and then Kelssek afterwards. The women's hockey team, on the other hand, lost by the same score to Sandwich Territories, with Sylvie Marriot scoring the only goal for the team. Next up for the women's team is Zackalantis, followed by Eura."

"Volleyball was next. The Men, drawn into Group C, got a bye today. They will go up against Sangti in their first game of the tournament, Sangti defeated Oralana today in the action. The Women, on the other hand, in Group H took on The Sova Empire. The first set was highly contested by both teams. The girls came back from a 22-15 deficit to take a 24-23 lead, but the Sovans would tie the score late. 24-24, and the winner would have a score of more than 25. 25-24 for the Sicoutians was the first score, but it was tied quickly. 25-25, then 26-25 for the Sicoutians, and on the next play, Monica Richelieu's quick spike ended any hopes of a Sovan comeback. 27-25 was the final score of the set for the Sicoutians. The second set was less difficult to win, as the girls romped to a 21-9 lead. The Sova Empire would hit hard, going on an 8 point run to make the score 21-17. They would, however, only get 1 more, as Sicoutimont took the set 25-18. The girls needed 1 more set to capture the first match of the tournament. It was once again hard-fought, with a 23-23 score being played on a skillful rally, which finally ended in a Sicoutian point. The serve could not be returned by the Sovans, and the match was won out by Les Royales. Otherwise in Group H, Taijan lost to Saugeais in 4 sets, and Ainin took all 5 sets to defeat Wray. Next for the Sicoutians is Ainin."

"That's all that took place yesterday in Orean. Here's today's broadcasting schedule for all 3 of our networks, SicoutianSportsNow, SSN+, and the Sicoutian Broadcasting Corporation:

SicoutianSportsNow
6:00am-Olympic Talk (That's Us)
7:00am-Sportcentre
8:00am-Olympic Talk (Re-run)
9:00am-Archery (Men's Ranking Round)
11:30am-Opening Ceremony
-The ceremony will be re-played again at 4:30pm, and 11:30pm.

SSN+
6:00am-Olympic Talk
7:00am-Road to Orean
8:00am-Road to Orean
9:00am-Archery (Women's Ranking Round)
11:30am-Opening Ceremony
-As above, to be replayed at 4:30 pm and 11:30pm

SBC
6:00am-The National
7:00am-SBC News Today
8:00am-Political Talk on the Hill
8:30am-Badminton Mixed-Doubles Play-In Round
11:30am-Opening Ceremony
-To be replayed at 9:30pm

"Now, we'll tell you about Sicoutian events to watch on Day 2, and our first Athlete Bio of the Orean Games. Pierre, what's happening tomorrow for Sicoutian athletes, on Day 2?"

"Let's start in the pool. Yves Lapierre starts his Olympics in the Men's 100m Breaststroke heats, it's possible but unlikely he could challenge for a medal. That's the only Aquatics Morning event for Sicoutimont, and if he does well enough, Lapierre could return to the pool later in the day for the 100m Breaststroke semifinal. Yves Cormier will also compete tomorrow, in the Men's Cycling Road Race, which is the first medal event of the games. Cormier is not a top contender, but he does have an outside shot at a medal. Winston Salisbury and Dorion Churchill begin competing in the Table Tennis preliminary round, while Guillaume and Miranda Laporte begin their singles campaign in the Men's and Women's singles opening rounds. Their fixtures will be announced later on. In the afternoon here in Orean, Badminton and Eric Deville begin the Men's Group Stage, while Deville and Jacob Valendre enter the Men's Doubles Group Stage, and Mary Valencruea begins the Women's Group Stage. Should Winston Salisbury and Dorion Churchill advance out of the first round, they could play in the Afternoon Second Round of table tennis. The volleyball teams will take to the court again for MD2, and Samantha Stellarton will compete in the Women's 48kg Weightlifting Medal Event."

"Any hopes of a medal on day 2?"

"Highly unlikely, there's only 2 medal events, and 1 of them is a definite NO, the 48kg Women's Weightlifting."

"Thanks, Colin. To begin our Athlete Bios, why don't we start with the man who will be carrying the flag for Sicoutimont later today, Romain Beaudette? Here's his story."

Athlete Bios
BEAUDETTE, Romain
Events: Men's K-1 1000m, Men's K-1 Slalom
Birthplace: Lac-Geneve-du-Sud, Valhalla Province, Sicoutimont
Date of Birth: May 26, 1996 (25 years of age)
-Romain Beaudette is a serious contender to win the Gold in the K-1 Slalom. And he owes it all to his neighbour in his hometown, Robert Sablanc. The Beaudette family owned a townhouse in the city, but also a cottage on Lac-Geneve, where he spent most of his summer days. Sablanc also lived there, and would often accompany the young Beaudette on kayak trips across the lake. "I was still getting into water sports, and he was there for me, helping me go out on kayak trips. My brothers and father preferred fishing, and most of them didn't know how to kayak, they preferred to canoe alongside me to the fishing grounds...but Mr. Sablanc, he would always be ready to go out on the lake and help me learn to kayak, no matter what." Many days they would spend on the lake, and he learned how to properly slalom from Sablanc. Beaudette grew older, and eventually entered in the National Kayak Championships when he was 18 years old, 7 years ago. Sablanc at that time was aging, and had been diagnosed with cancer. However, Sablanc was able to attend Beaudette's event, and watched with the Beaudette family as Romain defeated kayakers almost twice his age to take the Sicoutian Championship. 2 weeks later, Sablanc died. "It was hard at first, going out on kayak trips on the lake without him. But I knew I wasn't out there alone, I know that he's there every time I'm in the kayak. He's the one who really taught me how to excel at this sport, and without him, I'd never be jumping on a plane to Orean, Liventia to compete in the Olympics." Now, at 25, Beaudette has been chosen to carry the flag for Sicoutimont at the Opening Ceremony. "It really is an honour, you know. But really, I'm most excited about watching my friends here on Team Sicoutimont compete...I know I'll be watching them, and they'll be watching me." Whatever happens in Orean, we know Sablanc would be proud.

"That's a nice story about Romain Beaudette, competitor and flag bearer for Team Sicoutimont. Watch for him later in the games, in the K-1 1000m and K-1 Slalom events. We'll be back later in the day, Pierre Lesage and Colin Lecavillier, to cover the Opening Ceremony, and update you on what went down on Day 1. See you here later!"

[Eura]

SIMON BANNING’S OLYMPIC PREVIEW CONTINUED
Simon Banning reports from Orean, Liventia

CHRIS STORM – JUDO
Main events: Men’s 100kg

The rather strangely named Chris Storm improved on reaching the semi-finals of the Over 100kg class at the Olympics with a gold medal in Drayfill. Therefore much is expected of the still youthful Storm, who will be hoping to repeat his success on the biggest stage of them all. Going into the class below in Drayfill seemed to work wonders and once again he will be competing in the 100kg. Storm is the odds on favourite for gold and is surely one of Eura’s most likely medal winners.

GORDON SAND – MODERN PENTATHALON
Main events: Men’s Race

Sand surprised a few people by finishing 11th in his event in Drayfill, despite being tipped for a medal. Moreover he finished two places behind surprise package and compatriot Nick Lewis. Naturally Sand might be a bit low on confidence heading into the Olympics, but after recording several person bests in the most recent national championships these worries might be misplaced scepticism.

JAMES JEFFERS, FRANK MURDOCH, DARA MITCHELL and ALEX KINGDOM – ROWING
Main events: Men’s Coxless Fours

This four man group of rowers who learned their trade on the straits of the Holden will be very confident heading into the Orean Olympics. They won gold with ease in the Rushmori Games, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the field. In Orean they will be favourites for gold, and for good reason as they have continued to improve since their Drayfill appearance.

WOMEN’S EIGHT EIGHTS TEAM – ROWING
Main events: Women’s Coxed Eights

Eura’s Women’s Coxed Eights team won a magnificent gold in Drayfill, beating off the challenge of their Chenkoyran and Polarian counterparts to take the top honours. Led by their cox Carla Swatt, they will be expected to challenge for gold again in Orean. Their success was a bit of a surprise in Drayfill, particularly given that the much more highly rated men’s team failed to make the final. Here though they will be fully expected to be challenging for medals.

ANDY EVERETT – SAILING
Main events: Men’s One-Person Dinghy, Men’s Two-Person Dinghy, Men’s Heavyweight Dinghy

Everett is the undisputed king of Euran sailing, so much so that he has even received an honourary medal from the Euran Navy. In Emberton, he took bronze in both the Men’s Heavyweight Dinghy and One-Person Dinghy events. He was even more successful in the Rushmori Games, taking gold in the Two-Person Dinghy with Simon Hanks. He has the opportunity to win three medals in Orean, and I’m sure he’ll take home at least one. His teammate in the Two-Person Dingy, Hanks, will also fancy his chances of winning an individual medal in the Men’s Sailboard.

ALAN SIMONSEN – SHOOTING
Main events: Men’s 10m Air Pistol, Men’s 50 m Pistol

Simonsen is one of a whole generation of pedigree Euran shooters, and tasted success for the first time in Drayfill as he won the 10m Air Pistol gold after a close contest with Polarian Julius Gorbenko. At the last Olympics he failed to qualify for any finals, but he has improved a lot since then and after his Rushmori Games performance he will be expected to win something.

MAX COULTHARD and MAXINE GRILLO – SHOOTING
Main events: Men’s 10m Air Rifle, Men’s 50m Rifle Prone, Men’s 50m Rifle Three Positions, Men’s Skeet, Women’s 10m Air Pistol, Women’s 25m Pistol

The married couple return with scores to settle. At the last Olympics, Eura’s highest profile pair of athletes failed as they only won one medal between them. Coulthard won it, taking bronze in the Men’s 50m Rifle Prone. At the Rushmori Games they set the record straight with a set of superb performances. Both won a gold and a silver each, and Coulthard’s silver (in the 10m Air Rifle event) was a whisker short of gold, a hundredth of a point to be exact. In Orean they will be seen as the ones to beat.

KELLY HAMPDEN – SHOOTING
Main events: Women’s 50m Rifle Three Positions

In Drayfill, Hampden made headlines at home and abroad with a stunning performance to dominate the 50m Rifle Three Positions final. At only 20 years old, Hampden still has plenty of time to develop and she will be hoping to become the second most recognised Kelly in Eura with success – second to only a certain football manager.

DOUGLAS JOHNSON – TAEKWONDO
Main events: Men’s 80kg

Douglas Johnson used to be a plumber. If you had told him a decade ago that he’d be the number one practitioner of the glorious art of taekwondo by now, he would’ve laughed at you. But here he is; after an impressive debut in Emberton, he won bronze at the Rushmori Games. Johnson may be ageing but if he applies himself, there’s no reason he can’t challenge for a medal at the Olympics.

WEYLON SINCLAIR – WEIGHTLIFTING
Main events: Men’s 62kg

Sinclair is an impressive physical specimen, and it has showed in a long and impressive career. But now he arguably faces his biggest test. After coming agonisingly close to medals in Emberton and Drayfill (finishing 5th in his class each time) Sinclair is now facing the event which could define his career. If he fails to perform, that career may well be over; if he succeeds, he will be vindicated after how much support he has received in the last few years.

ROGER BIG – WEIGHTLIFTING
Main events: Men’s Over 105kg

The solitary Euran Olympic gold winner to date, Big is not only a physically massive individual but a man with a massive reputation. He was lauded as a brave underdog in Emberton after he defeated the odds to win gold in an event where nobody predicted his success. In the Rushmori Games he was less successful; close but no cigar as he finished 5th in his event. He’s back now though, back to defend the Olympic title he won in such fantastic style.

CRAIG CAUDLE – WRESTLING
Main events: Men’s 74kg

Craig Caudle is back. After missing the Rushmori Games through injury, the man who narrowly missed out on gold and had to take silver in the Men’s 74kg last time out has returned. They call him the ‘Gutter’ in his home town of Pashter, and he certainly does look like the sort of man you don’t want to trifle with. This beast of a human being is out looking for revenge, and the only thing that will satisfy him is a gold medal.

GRACE BLOODWORTH – WRESTLING
Main events: Women’s 63kg

‘Bloodworth’ – the name says it all really. A recent and impressive entry into Euran wrestling, this former Marine Commando has followed in the steps of comrade Max Mallory by taking up sport. Based on what’s been seen of her in domestic competition, Bloodworth is a serious contender for medals in Orean.

[Sandwich Territories]

Sandwich at The VIII Olympiad: Day 0

Article by Joshua Hendrick

Edited by Mason Trebek

LIVENTIA- For the first time in the history of not just Sandwich, but the region of Kennan, there was glory at the Olympics. The athletes took to the opening ceremonies with pride, and they knew that if they ever were to shine, this would be the place to do it. They were excited like little children in a candy store. However, for some of these athletes, it was already time to get to work.

Men's Basketball
Group L

Sandwich Territories: 63
Darmen: 65

It was a long fought battle for our boys in green, but a last second shot by Darmen was enough to seal the victory for them. "We didn't manage the clock well enough when we needed to", noted head coach Jack Daniels. He also added that "The Darmen squad is very good, and they should be praised for their victory".

Tony Jefferson, the starting center, led the way for the Sandwich team, scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists, giving him a double-double.

Men's Football
Group K

Sandwich Territories: 4
Tasrailia: 0

The same group that made it to the 2nd seed in Group 11 in the World Cup 65 (minus Bruce Ments, who is reportedly in stable condition after his cardiac arrest) has arrive in the Olympics. It is said that once the World Cup 66 starts, that some players might want to play there instead, so expect some changes as time moves on. For now, the team dominated the Tasrailia squad. Alex Permat, the Tasrailian goalkeeper, had a bunch of shots go towards him, and it wasn't for a lack of skill or effort from the Tasrailian squad, but massive determination by the Sandwichian strikers.

GOALS:

(CST) Havalotti: 23' 58'
(CST) Banks: 41'
(CST)Wade: 77'

It is also expected that Bruce Ments time on the pitch might be over. We will keep you up to date on everything that happens to Mr. Ments, and as always, our best wishes are with him.

Women's Football
Group B

Sandwich Territories: 0
Thatius: 5

Thatius definitely dominated the Sandwichian Women's FA squad, as they just weren't able to control the level of competition Thatius had to offer. Allison Darry, the goalkeeper for Thatius, was absolutely sensational, and their strikers were unstoppable. Liani Harrison was able to complete a hat-trick, a moment that will most certainly be one of the biggest she will ever experience in her life. Hannie Ness said later of that game, "We just got outplayed. Simple as that".

GOALS:

(THA) Liana Harrison: 7' 52' 87'
(THA) Jaina Kagowska 26'
(THA) Monika Antoniachuyk 63'

Men's Hockey

Sandwich Territories: 2
Carasatoga: 1

In what was a match that most argue Sandwich shouldn't have won, they did. Never mind the fact that it was with 2 minutes left in the 2nd half after being heavily out-played by Carasatoga. Both goalies, Dermid Foss and Erick Henderson, played extremely well. It was that either the defense for both teams was solid, or the offense for both teams lacked. Either way, Sandwich leaves the game with a W, and what should be an entertaining team to watch in their first ever competition.

GOALS:

(CRG) Harvey Romero (1)

(CST) Sean Pavlov (1)
(CST) Florentin Stern (1)

Women's Hockey

Sandwich Territories: 2

Sicoutimont: 1

Also getting under way in its first ever competition is the women's hockey squad, as they faced off against Sicoutimont. While Sylvie Marriot had an early goal in the 1st period, the 2nd half esulted in 2 goals from Donna Lavell, which gave Sandwich a 2-1 lead that lasted all the way to the end.

GOALS:

(SCM) Sylvie Marriot (1)

(CST) Donna Laveel (2)

That is all for today, we'll be keeping track of each day and reporting all the details to you.

[Callumackbar]

Callumackbar Olympic Review Day 1

By Diana Allen

A Small update on Callumackbar's progress in the Olympics today as only one event was competed in.

Badminton
Youssef Doumbia and Zhen Le lost a close match in the Mixed Doubles Play-in Andrew Paulson and Kimberly Matterson of. The first game was both thrilling and tense, with it the score making it to 20-all before the couple from Ferkas nudged ahead to win 22-20. The second game was again close, but not quite as so as Doumbia and Le managed to win 21-16 and tie the match at 1-1. Unfortunately for Callumackbar, the third game was not as close, with Paulson and Matterson winning with relative ease. The Callumackbarians seemed to lose their fight and determination in that match, allowing Ferkas to strom through to the next round.



Callumackbar Medal Tally
0 Gold
0 Silver
0 Bronze

[Benjamin Mark]

Kelly - Good Morning I'm Josh Kelly

Zhang - Jessica Zhang, the Archery matchups have been completed and Justine Cook is in Orean today with the latest, Justine?

Cook - Good Morning, Jessica, Yes, The archery matchups has been completed and my, oh, my, did we do better than the last time. Kailesh Ram was Number 51 in the Archery Men's Ranking Round, a shocker considering that we didn't do so hot in the last Olympics. On the Women's side Khristen Quittleman was Number 38 in the Archery Women's Ranking Round. Sunny Ram had to pull lots with Nadia Hošino of Kalosia and ended up with the better number of 48, Jessica Lyn-Santos unsurprisingly pulled an embarassing Number 99, and will not be making it past the Women's Ranking Round. The Women's team on the whole ranked 16, 16, yes, I'm not saying that wrong. The Opening Ceremony will start around 20-30 minutes after this report and Stephanie Rodriguez has already landed at the Orean Airport. If you want additional coverage, here are the reporters covering different zones and relying general news to the public

Jennifer Angelo (Play by Play), Thomas Wilson (Color Commentator) - Zone One Reporters
Isabelle Raymond (Play by Play), Verity Paulsen (Color Commentator) - Zone Two Reporters
Stephanie Vausenburger (Play by Play), Melanie Burrell (Color Commentator) - Zone Three Reporters
Stacey Kwan (Play by Play), Gena Tavare (Color Commentator) - Zone Four Reporters

General News Reporters
Justine Cook
Mora Isen
Megan Su
Rebecca Rosalind-Golden
Charlie O'Donnell
Angie Cameron
Sharon Gonsalves

Cook - Megan Su and I will be covering the Opening Ceremony in Orean, reporting live in Orean, Justine Cook, BMNS News.

[Ferkas]

Administrative Issues Result in Missing Teams

Football, Men's Handball and Water Polo, and Badminton All Impacted

It was announced this morning that due to administrative and clerical issues in the registration lead up for the VIII Olympics that several Ferkian teams will not be participating in these games. Impacted teams include the football squads for both genders, both genders of badminton singles players, and the men's handball and water polo teams. The news has agitated both athletes and fans, especially those who had already traveled to Orean hoping to watch those events.

"You know, I thought it was strange", said Vince Peters, a second string right wing on the national football squad, "The rest of the team departed for Orean, but the officials held us back. At the time they said there just wasn't space on the flight so we would have to go overly separately. Which wasn't too big of a deal. But the delay really started to drag on and we started to know something wasn't right. None of the team officials would really talk with us. We were just kept in a section of the airport hotel without any real news about what was going on."

Sources within the Ministry of Sport, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have revealed that team management may have been aware of the issue for a span of up to a week before notifying the team players. One source commented that "It was clearly an effort at damage control, done with no regard for the athletes, coaches, or fans. The management was hoping to find a way to cover up their mistake and they did so at the expense of the athletes, failing to inform them. The players had to just watch as time slipped away and they knew that wouldn't be able to reach Orean for their matches. On official statement wasn't given to the athletes until just a few hours before the first group stage events. By that time the athletes knew, but they deserved to hear it from their officials. The fact that they didn't is disgusting."

"Yea, I'm agitated. You spend years preparing for this one thing, and in that time you do a lot of work with the Ministry of Sport. You expect them to be on your side, keeping an eye out for you. You think they care at least a bit, but then something like this happens and you have to remember that they really don't care about the athletes. They are just bureaucrats looking out for themselves." - Paul Killian, Water Polo Team Captain

A speaker from the Ministry of Sport released an official statement earlier today saying that "Although the Ministry of Sport deeply regrets the issues this has caused to our athletes we are in a position where we did all that we could for them and can do no more. Although we realize that they athletes may have preferred to be kept in the loop from the beginning this office was busy attempting to resolve the issue in a constructive manner. Involving the masses of athletes would only have further complicated issues. And we would like to remind all those who are angered that it is only by the hard work of our Ministry and the Orean organizing committees that we have any team sport participants at all."

Critics have been quick to point out that it is only because of Ministry of Sport issues that the "hard work" between the two organizations was needed. "They could just have done things right the first time. You'd think that for something this important, the highlight of everything the Ministry of Sport does, that they would have checked over everything dozens of times. There really is no excuse for amateur mistakes such as these." - Zek Hansen, Government Analyst

The hardest loss for Ferkian fans will be the Men's Football squad, coming off of a fourth place showing in the Emberton Olympics. The team, which had never before competed internationally, surprised the world as they progressed through the ranks and fell just short of a medal. Going into these games the team had been hoping to improve on their previous finish in the only way possible, a medal. Now they will not have that chance.

[Kriegiersien]

KTV

Archery

As expected, only two contestents survived the qualification round in the singles.

Coran, the shy Wood Elf, who vanished into his tent after the Qualification round, reached place 23 and is now the favourite in is duel against 42th Darren Boyle (TLI) from Licentiapacisterra.

Aires instead reached the Play-Offs as 41th, now facing Janice Garcia (CKF) from Ferkas. Her opponent is in perfect form, so just her steady hand can help the Kriegiersien contestant.
"If I lose, I'll go Geocaching in Orean instead", said Aires light hearted.

The mans team surprisingly ended as 30th in the qualification and so earned a further duel with Ferkas.

"I think our lady has much more chances then we, but we will try. It is not over", said Nightie Loverboy and Leglaf Loverboy (no relation) added "We'll give our best to help our young eagle eye Coran."
"Isn't he older than us both?"
"Well, yeah, technically."

He indeed is, but maybe the three can spring a surprise together. The two Loverboys are known for being a surprise in team events.
"Just sad that we don't have mixed teams, yet", sighed Leglaf, while Nightie nodded.
"A shame."

The womans team missed the K.O.-Round by two places but was ok with it.
"I tried", shrugged Aires.
"I have other disciplines", said Brie, who had to compete with the handicap of a backache and Mazzy (4 feet) said she "was happy enough to represent her small folk and believe", beginning to spread flyers of her faith to others around.

[Ferkas]

Men's Archery Leads the Way

Team Sits in Medal Contention After Opening Round

The men's archery trio in Orean is looking strong as all three members advanced out of the ranking round both as individuals and as a team. Leading the way for the individuals was Franklin Marshall who shot for a score of 657, putting himself in 6th place. In 8th place was James E. Lester who shot a score of 656. Both men are less than 10 points behind the current leader, Kithdaugon Telalryl (VAL), and will hopefully be able to contend for individual medals. Kyle Mergan, finishing 28th, also earned an easy advancement. With the top-64 individuals moving on to the next round this was a successful day for the men as all easily moved forward. Their position as a team also looks strong as they advanced in the third position, out of thirty two advancing teams.

Women's archery wasn't quite as successful, although Janice Garcia did earn an individual berth in the next round. Placing 24th with a score of 633 Garcia remains confident and is looking to move up the tables. "I think that I'm in fine shape going into the next round. Today wasn't perfect, but no day is. That's part of what makes this fun, you always can improve something. I know what I have to work on, and I know I can make gains in time to really make an impact here." Samantha Wilcox and Desiree Longenfeller also competed although both finished far outside of advancing positions.

The duo of Andrew Paulson and Kimberly Matterson opened up strong today in the Mixed Doubles Badminton competition, winning their match against Youssef Doumbia and Zhen Le of Callumackbar in three sets. The opening set was a close 22-20 decision with Paulson and Matterson holding it together at the end. Set two say the pair from Callumackbar reach the 21 point mark when our team was only at 16, but the third set sealed the victory for the Kingdom with a 21-12 result.

[Nouvel Ecosse]

Edinburgh Telegraph Olympics Guide

---

POWELL & BURNS SHOOT THROUGH

---

By Louise Green
Archery & Shooting Correspondent

---

It was a great day for the Nouvel Ecosse Archers, as Don Powell & Barney Burns both made sure that they progress to the next round of Archery. Sadly, Dale Sten, really just there for experience at the age of fifteen, was left behind.

Powell finished 9th, with a final score of 648, only 14 points off of the leader. "I feel like I've still got more to come, like I can do better. I nursed that wrist injury just a couple of months ago, so I'm obviously slightly behind in terms of training, but with the crowd behind me, I feel like I can do better" His 23 Bulls-eyes were up there with the top, but his loss of seven arrows saw his score plummet down. "If I had been able to just get three or four of that seven even on the board, then I may well have been leader. But I have to pick myself up: I'm also the captain of our small team and if I'm down, then so will they be. I need to focus on the positives."

Barney Burns, on the other hand, counts himself lucky to have progressed. "I was only one point away from some of those who were knocked out, and boy jimmy was I tense. Thank god for that bulls-eye in my last shot, or else it may well have been old Barney flushed away." All in all, it was an average performance from the Nouvel Ecossian. "Y'know, I was pleased with that performance. I've had way worse, but then I've also had way better."

Dale Sten, the fifteen year old, claims that the experience will make him stronger when it comes to the next games. But he still has more of the team event to look forward to. "Our teams currently, what, twelfth? Thirteenth? Yes, thirteenth, so we do have a shot at getting up there with the big guns, or should that be bows"

Although our chances look slim in the Male Archery, I would not write them off just yet.

Elsewhere in the Woman's event, Fatima Strong and Ali Brodie are on the path home before the games have even begun, after two disappointing performances in the Woman's Archery. They were well off the top.

---

---

Giacometti LaFleur - Cyclist Made of Gold?

---

By Julio Mazzari,
Cycling Correspondent

---

Giacometti LaFleur could well be the first Gold winner of this Olympics should he perform well in the road cycling. Giacometti, who performed extremely well in the Second Island Tour, leading the Youth Classification for almost the entirety, until of course he lost it at Stage 8.

"This Olympics can be my victory, my Second Island Tour. I was extremely chuffed with my performance in the Attico's-BDI team, and believe that this will transfer over." claims Giacometti, who is looking for his first International victory.

"Giaco definitely has it in him." tells Jonny Stark, fellow teammate and another Road Cyclist. "Although I'd love to win it, I've no been cycling with Giaco for a while now and I'm nowhere near him in any aspect."

Ron McMillan agrees with Jonny, telling me that "Giaco is definitely the greatest cyclist that I have ever cycled alongside, and he has the personality to match"

LaFleur and his teammates Stark, McMillan and Mark Grimes will all be competing in the Road Race tomorrow.

---

[Liventia]

The athletes gathered in the holding area outside Grovers Park. The stadium, being a temporarily converted football stadium, did not have enough space to hold all of them, but there was a palpable tension amongst the waiting sportsmen and women who were understandably itching to get in for the athletes' march. Indeed, a large number of delegations were being held at the specialist athletics stadium, built because of the lack of an athletics track at Grovers Park.

The pitch at Grovers Park had been removed for the opening ceremony to preserve it for the football competition, so Organising Committee chairman Royston French wasn't too concerned. But he damn well hoped the Creative Direction team had put together a good ceremony — after all, after two prior opening ceremonies, originality would necessarily not be very high. At least these were a summer Games, providing some source of inspiration.

The lights dimmed around the stadium and the big screens lit up with a short montage of the two Winter Olympic Games held in the country. It closed with a short videotaped message from the prime minister, Anita Kumara, praising the organisation of those two Games and promising the crowd they could expect a similar, if not better, level this time around. No pressure then, thought French to himself. Now a retired Vice-Admiral from the Liventian Navy, French devoted his entire time to his position as president of the sailing federation and to his work with the Olympic Council.

However, for the past six months after he stepped down from his vice-presidential position, French had worked tirelessly, sometimes up to 19 hours daily, on the Orean bid for the Olympics. This was bigger than anything he'd worked on for the Navy. He sat watching from his special seat in the VIP area as the screens went dark and the lights came up slightly to reveal an impressive field of what appeared to be a scene from Liventia of 2140 in the midst of revolution in the country.

Satisfied the Creative Direction team had gone for the "let's shove our history down their throats" aspect, he sat back and began to enjoy the show, which showed the 20 years Liventia had come through since the split up of the old Federation into Liventia and Ad’ihan, and subsequent centralisation of powers in Orean. Then the scene changed to modern day Orean, a bustling capital and the heart of the country and subsequently focussed in on a perfect replica of Grovers Park in the middle of the scene.

A miniature of the Olympic opening ceremony was apparently taking place within this replica, finished off with fireworks being launched from the miniature stadium into the night sky in the larger stadium, much to the awe of the crowd. French nodded appreciatively and as the athletes began marching in, he readied himself for his speech.

"Ainin!" The announcer's voice boomed out across the ground as the long parade began. Loud cheers were reserved by the crowd for delegations representing former hosts Kelssek and Krytenia, with the biggest understandably reserved for the hosts, last in the parade. French stepped forward joined by Liventia's head of state, James Morgan, onto a special plinth which had risen out of the ground.

"Athletes of the world, I am very privileged to be able to welcome all of you to Liventia for the third time. It is the second time I am making a speech like this but it still fills me with great pride that you are all gathered here today, in my country. We have been hard at work for many many months and we hope that you will all enjoy competing in Liventia with the greatest pride in representing your countries, in the spirit of fair play and friendship. Some of you have already taken part in official Olympic competition here in Liventia and we have another two weeks of great sporting action.

"I have the immense pleasure to ask the head of state, Speaker James Morgan, to declare these Games open."

Morgan stepped forward. "Bienvenue à la République liventie," he said to cheers from the crowd. "I hereby declare these Games open."

More fireworks shot up into the night sky, this time from around the top of the stadium, and the music began…

[New Edom]

THE FINEBERG TIMES

Disappointment and Excitement Mingle at Olympic Startoff

---

by Annabelle Barca

OREAN, Liventia--New Edom`s athletics campaign in the Olympic Games was off to a poor start with Ferech Lindir failing to make the archery ranking round, finishing a disappointing 68th in the qualification round with a below-par performance here today. Eve more disappointing was Petra Avocet’s 95th place I the women’s ranking round.

Nevertheless, excitement is in every heart and mind as the Olympics begin in the beautiful LIventian city, as Stephen Pahath-Moab, our President’s young brother, led our team bearing our flag proudly. The President’s brother is competing in all Equestrian events this year, though the eyes are really on Adah Weber, who took all the top first prizes in the New Edomite nationals last year on her beloved Zephyr, the five year old Chestnut quarter who has demonstrated that she has as bold a heart as her rider.

People are glued to televisions, news and radio today in New Edom, and representatives of our own Olympic committee, Ministry of Culture, and members of our rich and famous including Mike Mallarhyde, New Edom’s billionaire owner of Paladin Cinemas and Mike’s Monkey House, are in Orean to represent our country. The Queen and President have regretted that they could not be present but our Ambassador in Liventia is doing us proud as we see Elizabeth Gedor and her husband, Dr. Matthew Gedor, waving and smiling in the stands.

Ferech Lindir and Petra Avocet, while deeply disappointed, said that they were glad to have qualified and wish the other contestants the best of luck. Our basketball team, meanwhile, is looking forward excitedly to their match and the team’s spirits seem high.

[The Jahistic Unified Republic]

Waiting Area

The Parade of Nations had already began, and the Unolian team was stuck in the U's section. Pretty far back in the alphabetical order. Dressed in their designer Zhongshan Tunics, anticipation was building for the first timers as the Unolian flag was handed to Handball Superstar Aldrani Quila... who promptly dropped it.

"Mother of God!" Quila moaned. "Did they make this pole of out pure frickin' gold? It's so heavy!"

"Suck it up." BMX biker Zane Felker mumbled, prompting chuckles from the rest of the delegation and the blushing of Quila. Overall anticipation had built to hysteria, despite the straight faces displayed by the delegation. One could suspect it was the general awe of "we're making history" instead of pride. They were humbled as the opening ceremonies began, documenting the Liventian Revolution. It was a scene narrowly avoided by a clean coup that brought upon the current government which they had much pride for. They were watching what was going on from a closed circuit TV set up.

"What a beautiful opening ceremony!" was the general consensus among the athletes, besides the Male Handball Team, who constantly dismissed it as "showboating". They were a bunch of "grown fratboys" and had little respect amongst their compatriots in the delegates. "I swear. If they keep doing their little pranks and immature actions, I'm going to flip." lamented Dan Zulan, who was participating in his first international boxing competition in these games.

As Quila made his way to the front of the delegation, the boxers requested that he make a speech, to the annoyance of the Men's Handball team, but to the encouragement of the rest of the delegation. The overwhelming of the delegations chants of "speech, speech, speech!" finally to Quila.

"Fine. If all of you would shut up!" He blasted, quieting the chants quite suddenly. He cleared his throat with two coughs and gazed over at the delegation. All of their eyes were on them, including his own team, which could barely keep their amusement at the situation in. Quila, although the team captain, wasn't exactly the best speaker, especially in crowds of more of twenty.

"Well... guys..." He said, off to a slow start. "We are here... to, uh... represent our glorious people back home." He gazed at the yellow and black banner he was carrying. He suddenly gained a second wind. "We are here, Comrades, to bring ourselves onto the world sporting stage, once and and for all. We are here to bring glory to our Chairman, our People and the Party. We are here to have fun and do what God has blessed us with the abilities to do. Our nation will no longer be the Hermit Kingdom. We will open ourselves up and prove why we are the best, through the glorious medium of sport."

He paused and began singing quietly.

"Arise, you victims of tyrants..." Everyone began singing along, singing the whole national anthem before they were scheduled to go out.

"Unolia." The announcer boomed.

"Ok guys." Quila declared. "Lets kick some butt."

[The Sova Empire]

Olympics Illustrated: TSE Day 0

It's that time of year. The finest athletes in the world come together in Orean, Liventia to go for gold. The Sova Empire entered team events only for their first Olympics as a nation. Let's analyze how they fared in opening matches.

Men's Water Polo
TSE 9-7 FEL

For the first ever international Water Polo match, it seemed to bode well for the Sovan squad. Despite only having a rating of 24, TSE upset 80-rated Felix by 2 goals. Our goalie (who hasn't been officially named yet) showed some serious IQ in blocking several bounce shots. Rumor is that he was the first to ever ace a Geometry test at New Bethlehem University. The Sovan offense was just strong enough; they utilized a few lucky bounces off the posts for some unique goals. Also in the group, D Land and Isles defeated Krytenia by an 11-7 score. TSE's next match is against 65-rated Sicoutimont, who had a bye for Day 0.

Women's Water Polo
KLS 10-7 TSE

The girls did not share the same success. 3 goals was the difference between 10-rated Kalosia and 20-rated The Sova Empire. Kalosia jumped out to a 4-1 lead and TSE never gained a foothold. That was the only match in that group for Day 0. Next, TSE will have a bye day.

Men's Basketball
FDS 65-116 TSE

The sport of Basketball has gotten some serious popularity since the freedmen took a nation with no prior experience to the Round of 16. When TSE lost the opening game by 50 points, many experts thought it would be the biggest blowout in our history. "This will never happen again-maybe to any nation" said Bob Joy, the TV host of Basketball Tonight on Sova Sports (channel 24). Fast-forward to now, where the former prisoners decided to keep their numerical names from the last tournament. The 99-rated freedmen came in for a tune-up match versus 0-rated Farfadillis. No one expected the 51-point blowout that came. "The Barcode" 01101110 0110000 0110000 01100010 made some fantastic layups and 31197 made it rain from the 3-point line. Farfadillis never stood a chance. No other men's team has hit the century mark so far. Is TSE the favorite? They just might be. Following this huge game, TSE will have a bye.

Men's Football
THA 0-2 TSE

With the hype of whether or not the Singing squad would return after a break from WC65, TSE decided to blend the teams together from the 2 World Cups. The Hybrid teams are composed of singers and the Margret Bashers. After figuring out that Beach soccer is no fun, Miles Gagnon found out why he loved turf so much. He easily handled the ball for a goal in minute 16, and he made an almost effortless pass to GS before he kicked a fireball in the 64th. 72-rated TSE defeated 100-rated Thatius by that amount. Trevor Grey had a great clean sheet today, blocking a multitude of volleys. Also in the group, Chiata narrowly beat Albaie by a 2-1 score. Next, TSE will face the Albaie team, and hopefully place the 60-rated squad at 0-2.

Women's Football
TSE 1-1 ROV

The Lady Hybrids, rated 88/100, tried to hold on to the lead against Rovegia, rated 75. They had a 1-0 lead for the majority of the match, thanks to a huge goal by Autumn Rosenburg in the 3rd minute. However, the lead was gone at the end, as a scorcher went by CD in the 85th. Despite a few desperation shots, neither team could pull ahead and both sides settled for an opening day draw. Elsewhere in the group, The Licentian Isles also had a 1-1 tie with New Lonopolian Empire. TSe next faces The Licentian Isles, who are rated 65.

Men's Handball
TSE 20-28 FBL

We still aren't sure how the Quarterfinalists of the Handball World Championships got beat by 8 goals by a recent team. I guess they are rated 100 (for no justifiable reason) and we are rated 60, but still. Either way, this team will have to perform better than they did that match. The Sova Empire will face Sargossa, who tied with Worszary 24-24. Sargossa is 20-rated.

Women's Handball
TSE 28-30 CKF

Same story, different team. Apparently, the whole coed-team thing in HWC10 must have meant a lot, because TSE's women's handball team also got beaten (although only by 2 goals). Another 100-rated team by the name of Ferkas (for no justifiable reason) defeated the Quarterfinalists of HWC10 (who are only ranked 40 for reasons unknown). Next match will be against Worszary (who is oddly enough in both the men's and women's group with TSE). They are rated 50.

Men's Field Hockey
TSE 3-1 SAU

A shocking victory for the Sovans in this one. Despite only having a 37 rating, they beat the 40-rated Saugeais on a few risky plays that simply boggled the Saugeain goalie. Elsewhere in the group, Footballand fell to Farfadillis by a 1-5 tally. TSE faces Footballand next, who is rated 100.

Women's Field Hockey
TSE 1-1 SNT

For only the 2nd time in history, Saintland (93) and TSE (10) faced off. This time was not as exciting as the first. A boring 1-1 tie. 5 Sovan fans were injured after falling asleep at high altitudes. They have all recovered now, and they still hold their tickets to the next game. The next game is against Ainin (40), who defeated Thatius earlier by a 5-1 score. What a coincidence.

Women's Indoor Volleyball
TSE 0-3 SCM (25-27, 18-25, 23-25)

Not even going to bother. It simply isn't worth describing being swept AGAIN by Sicoutimont(rated 88 versus our 35 rating). They did it in the Round of 16 in WBC26, and they've done it again here. A recovery might happen against Taijan (10 rated).