NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.thirdgeek.com/2006/nsolympics/aeropagw1-host-small.png
This is the RP thread for the I Olympic Winter Games (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/First_Winter_Olympics) (Noterelenda (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Noterelenda): Jemes Iúïnires Olimpikires Onetes) in Aeropag (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Aeropag), Commerce Heights (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Commerce_Heights) (Éropeg, Altales Teriadem).

The following forty nations have signed up, and will be participating in the Games:
An archy [ANA]
Anastasiania [ANS*]
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega [AMV]
Antrium [ANT]
The Archregimancy [ARC]
Ariddia [ARI]
Bazalonia
Becquerelia [BEQ]
Boudra-Boudra [BDB]
Cantr [CAN*]
Ceorana [CEO]
Chicanada [CHC]
Commerce Heights [COM] ([b]host)
Crna Gora Liv Eng [CNG]
CR Oscilloscopes [CRO*]
Domnonia [DOM]
Dorian and Sonya [DAS]
Jonquiere-Tadoussac [JTD]
The Kazoo Peoples [KZO]
Kelse [KEL]
Krytenia [KRY]
Liverpool England [LEN]
Maineiacs [MAI*]
Magnus Valerius [MVA]
Malabra [MLB]
Mikitivity [MKT]
New Montreal States [NMS]
Pacitalia [PAC]
Pschycotic Pschyos [PPS*]
Qazox [QAZ]
The Resurgent Dream [RDR*]
Ropa-Topia [RTS*]
San Adriano [SNA]
Schiavonia [SVO]
Spaam [SPA]
Spruitland [SPR]
Stevid [STV]
Tynelia [TYN]
Wentland [WEN*]
Zertunia [ZER]
Asterisks indicate codes assigned by the Capitalizt Olympic Committee that have not been approved by the NationStates Olympic Committee. These codes may be changed in the future.

The opening ceremony is set to take place at 14:00 UTC today (2006–03–17). The first events will start at 18:00 UTC, and more events will take place at two-hour intervals for the next sixteen days, ending with the closing ceremony at 2006–04–02 04:00 UTC. The schedule and results will be made available on the Aeropag Olympic Web site (which will be linked to when it is completed, sometime before the first event) as they are scorinated, as well as being posted in a results thread (which wil be linked to when it is started) on the forums at the end of each day of competition.

Good luck to all nations and athletes competing.

All 84 atheletes from the Maineiacs' Olympic dlegation had arrived in Aeropag. Nervousness ran through them all. They waited to be shown where they'd all be staying in the Olympic Village.

OOC: So here is my tag. :P

IC:

The delegation from Magnus Valerius has arrived, ready to compete in various different areas of competition. The group of 86 athletes made themselves comfortable in Aeropag. Prince Ivan, crown prince of Magnus Valerius, brought his friends and girlfriend and arranged for them to stay in a hotel nearby. The flagbearer, speedskater Jean de Bourbon, readies himself to lead the way when the delegation parades in the Opening Ceremony.

OOC: is it too late to sign up?

The Zertunian Athletes exit the plane and enter the Buses. After a nerveracking and uneventful bus ride the athletes arrive at the village.

Memorandum

To: Winter Olympiad Opening Ceremony Organisers, Aeropag

From: MOCTA

Dear Sirs,

We are hereby notifying you of the protocol for the arrival of the Archregimancy team from the Dreamed Realm for the opening ceremony.

The monks will not arrive in Commerce Heights before the opening ceremony.
For the parade of nations, please leave a gap between Antrium and Ariddia sufficiently large for the Archregimancy team. Precisely five minutes before the Archregimancy team is due to enter the stadium, the team will materialise from the Dreamed Realm in the gap between Antrium and Ariddia. The flag bearer will also be carrying the Holy Icon of the Mother of God, Bringer of Victories. If the flag bearer is not permitted to carry said icon, another monk will carry the Holy Icon directly behind the flagbearer.

Please also note that the Winter Olympiad is being held during Great Lent, and our team therefore expect a chapel to be provided in the Olympic Village solely for Orthodox services. Said facility can, of course, be shared by athletes from the Archregimancy, New Montreal States, Magnus Valerius, and any other nation sending Orthodox athletes to the games.

Yours in Christ,

The Monastic Olympic Committee of The Archregimancy


PS: We commend to your nation's attention 1 Timothy 6:10

The small delegation of Bazalonian atheletes, 30 in all, including the male curling team arrived on the plane to Aeropag from Fauxhan. Olympic spirits where high but no one really knows just how the Bazalonian team will do.

Also accompanying the athletes where the officials from the BzOC.

The Qazoxian Delegation has arrived in Aeropag and is ready to compete and hopefully win something.

(ooc: Qazox's Abbrviation is QZX not qaz....tyvm)

ASMV Arrives in Aeropag. Ready to Make Some Noise

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVOCSymbol2.png

The delegation from ASMV arrived today and quietly went about the business of registration and preparing for the Opening Ceremonies of the 1st Winter Olympiad. All hope is for a great showing as we try to put our mark on the athletic world.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSOlympicv2.png

The Winter Olympic Delegation from Dorian and Sonya has arrived and is ready to prove to the world that even a nation seemingly stuck in the Dark Ages can compete with the rest of the athletic world. We are ready to make a name for ourselves in these games.

Mikitivity Enters the First Winter Olympic Games
Athletes representing Mikitivity have arrived at Aeropag

Miervatia Today (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Miervatia_Today)

Aeropag, Commerce Heights – The 37 Mikitivian athletes representing Mikitivity (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Mikitivity) in the First Winter Olympics Games arrived in Aeropag (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Aeropag) this evening via a special chartered flight to the distant nation. Together they will compete in a total of 28 different events.

Open ceremonies for the games are scheduled to begin tomorrow afternoon, local time, with events scheduled for the next 17 days. The Mikitivity Olympic Confederation Committee (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Mikitivity_Olympic_Confederation_Committee) chose biathlon and cross-country skier Galen Hauser to bear the nation’s flag during the opening ceremonies. Though the Brig (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Brig) native is not favored in his two events, Hauser’s job as a teacher made him a logical choice as the symbol of Mikitivity. When asked on his selection as the flag bearer, Hauser joked, “I honestly don’t know why I was chosen over so many other fine people. Perhaps it is because my village is so high in the Thuvian mountains (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Thuvian) that my name was on top of the list.”

The Aeropag Winter Games represent the first time Mikitivity has sent athletes to an international sporting event outside the International Democratic Union (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/International_Democratic_Union), with high expectations that the delegation of athletes might bring back some Olympic medals. With 39 other nations sending their own athletes, many of whom have participated in various World Cup sporting events, the competition for Olympic medals will be tough.

Though Saint Katrina (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Saint_Katrina) native Karl Reisig is expected to do well in the Alpine Combined event, the fact that the personnel trainer is entered in two other Alpine Skiing events has raised some concerns that he might be fatigued after his first event. However, Reisig and the rest of the Mikitivity delegation is looking forward joining the top winter sports athletes in the world. Paul “the Rascal” Rasch, who is entered in the men’s individual normal and large hill ski jump events, said, “I’m not really interested in the medals, as getting a chance to share the slopes with so many people from around the world.”

A bit later than expected, after missing their first plane due to trouble at the customs (" 'Bi-ath-lon' you say, lame excuse, you know you can't bring guns on a plane "), the Boudra-Boudra delegation has now arrived at Aeropag. Most of the athletes were completely blown away by the greatness of it all. Katrina Zekzibitsj (speed skater): "it's awesome, especially this olympic village. I can't wait to start my races!"

OOC: although BDB is a nice proposition, the official three-letter code for Boudra-Boudra is "BOU". :)

OOC: is it too late to sign up?
Yes. But you can still join the NationStates Olympic Committee (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=468317), and participate in any future Olympic Games.

ooc: Qazox's Abbrviation is QZX not qaz....tyvm
It’s QAZ on the NSOC member list. You should talk to Krytenia about fixing it—once he changes it, then I will as well.

OOC: although BDB is a nice proposition, the official three-letter code for Boudra-Boudra is "BOU".
See above.

—————

From: Aeropag Winter Olympics Organizing Committee
To: Monastic Olympic Committee of the Archregimancy

Since religion isn’t something most Capitalizts think much about, we had assumed that the diverse religious facilities on Aeropag Island would be sufficient for all of the athletes. However, since our research has determined that the only Orthodox chapel in the Jativan Islands is in Muroran, and since the Olympic Village is significantly underbooked, one of the unused buildings in the Village has been made available for your use.

PS: That is why Commerce Heights, thanks to the brave actions of Matthew Yates and the other leaders of the Capitalizt Revolution, abandoned central banking over eighty-eight years ago. It is for their sacrifices that Yates Island, the site of the Olympic venues, is named.

—————

OOC: I’ve been having intermittent problems with my Internet connection for the last several days, which seem to be getting worse. It’s not currently a major problem, but if it becomes one, the Games may have to be delayed. So if I’m mysteriously absent when this is supposed to start, you know why. :p

The small but generally select Wentland team arrived at their lodgings in the Olympic Village in Areopag. They were gratified to see the Wentland flag was already flying - the organizers had done a good job.

Chef de mission Arthur Loaf spoke to the assembled athletes in the dining hall to announce who will carry the flag in the opening ceremony. "We've decided, as it's our first Games, to hand it to the oldest competitor. So Allan Martin will bring us all in."

The squad cheered. Martin had been a standard bearer for Wentland winter sports for 20 years. Well past his never-impressive peak, he had been included in the Squad merely because it was his one and only chance to compete in the Games. And his motivational skills were valuable; he had beent tipped as a future team manager.

"Any comments, Allan?"

"Yeah, when do we start?"

((OOC- i posted a roster for the Tynelian winter olympic squad on page 3 of the roster thread and am also listed on wiki and the original sign up thread as being included but i don't see Tynelia (TYN) on the list at the start of the thread as being part of this. Did i forget to fill something out somewhere?))

A pair of buses arrive outside the Olympic village containing the Tynelian olympic squad of 44 members, evenly broken down with 22 men and 22 women. A security guard steps forth as the buses reach the gates and holds out a hand to halt the trucks.

"Hello, this is the Tynelian Olympic team here for the winter events. Can you tell us where we'll be quarted at?" began Team Head Coach Alan Davis.

"Tynelia you say?" asked the guard with a slightly confused look.

"That's right, the Dominion of Tynelia to be technical, we sent in the paperwork a while back before the cutoffto make sure we registered in time and here we are. So where are we staying?" Davis replied

"Sorry sir," the guard continued flipping through his clipboard, "I don't see anything here about a team from Tynelia you say... No quarters set aside or even that you should be here."

"WHAT!?! What do you mean we're not listed! Who's in charge here, we were in well before the deadline. We fly all the way here and get these men and women all excited about representing their country and you're telling us we're not even on the list!?!" Davis exploded.

"I'm sorry, i don't about about any of that. Just that you're not on the list. i'll contact my superiors if you wish but there's no place for you at the moment. If you'll excuse me i'll call him." the guard finished as he turned and walked over to his station to call the higher ups.

"This is ridiculous." Davis muttered outloud. "Coming all this way for nothing. Someone back home is going to get into a lot of trouble over this if this checks out."

“Brrr. . . It’s rather chilly here.” Linda Uosh rubbed at her arms in an effort to keep warm as she stepped out of the coach within the Olympic Village. A speed skater and short track athlete, she was used to cold temperatures while indoors and training, but outside? Outside was supposed to be reasonably warm, even in winter; at least, it was in the temperate to tropical climate of the Ariddian Isles, a long way from here in the Pacific Ocean.

“I think that’s why they call them Winter Games,” bobsleigher Joseph Horn smiled, as he handed her her bulky bag from the coach’s luggage compartment. He looked round at the others, still filing out of the vehicle or milling around nearby, taking in their new, utterly foreign surroundings. “So. . . Ready to take on the capitalists?” he asked cheerfully, loud enough for all those nearby to hear. The question drew cheers in assent.

Some of the Ariddians, he knew, felt mildly uncomfortable about being here, in this very bastion of capitalism. One or two even felt that their presence might be seen as endorsing this reviled socio-economic system. But most were curious, and interested in finding out how people lived (or survived) in a capitalist country. Horn had to admit to himself that he was curious too. Visiting a strange, foreign country, broadening his horizons, was always something he was keen to do.

“Let’s go, then!” he said cheerily, as they made their ways towards their quarters to settle in.

Thomas Peruzzi walked over to the window, and gazed out at the view of Aeropag. The Olympic Village was ideally located, and he could see right out over the bay, the sea and could just make out a scattering of nearby islands. No mountains, though, not from this side of the building. Still, he couldn’t complain. The room was well-heated, and he had it all to himself. Which was hardly surprising, given that he was the one and only athlete representing his home nation.

He had arrived in the Olympic Village by taxi, wondering where he would be staying. It turned out he was being housed with the Ropa-Topian delegation, which made sense. They were geographical neighbours, after all. A pretty Uhuh-Topian reporter had accompanied him as he got out of the taxi, entered the Village, inquired about accommodation and was directed to his room. No doubt the images of his arrival and settling in would be broadcast in San Adriano, and he had dutifully assured his compatriots back home that he was proud to be representing them in these Games. Which he was. Even if it was a little intimidating, he reflected, out here abroad, alone from his country, all of San Adriano’s hopes for a medal resting on his shoulders. Well, he could but do his best.

Moving away from the window, he returned to the bag he had slung onto the neatly prepared bed, and began to unpack. His sportsuit was a faintly glossy, chequered green and red, the colours of the Sanadrianese flag. Speaking of which. . . He rummaged around until he found the large, folded and well-packed flag he had brought with him, and carried it over to the window. Opening the window out onto the cool winter breeze, he carefully attached the flag to the small railings, and let it unfurl downwards. There, he thought, with a grin, as it began to flap in the breeze. San Adriano is present at the Olympics. We may be small, but we’re not going to go unnoticed!

Still grinning to himself, he returned to unpacking. . .

It’s BDB on the NSOC member list. You should talk to Krytenia about fixing it—once he changes it, then I will as well.


Boudra-Boudra went for BDB after all as the bureaucratic government has enough papers to handle already.

Meanwhile Annabella-Sylvia Vangenechten, the only Boudran participant in the Nordic Combined events, has become ill. Possibly she has an allergic reaction to something she ate earlier. She is still willing to participate, but it is very well possible she will be too weak to do so. She is kept in quarantine from the other members of the BDB delegation, more information will follow about her condition.

Liverpool England delegation to fly in from Stadt Nicht
The Liverpool England delegation has announced its intentions to fly in overnight via Concorde jet from the Heartland Winter Games in Stadt Nicht. Those participating on Day Four of the Heartland's equivalent of these games have had their events rescheduled by the organisers of the Heartland Games.

The sole (bronze) medallist for Liverpool England so far at the Heartland Games, Jane Elkins (Biathlon Women's 7.5k sprint), will be flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, and not Roy Wadley, who will make a later flight due to schedule clashes.

The men's halfpipe team, after flying over from the Imperial Shogunate, had spent all of an hour in their room at the Olympic Village. It so happened that an hour was the amount of time it took for their coach to go over the "you're representing your country" speech. It ALSO just so happened that an hour was exactly the amount of time it took for empty energy drink bottles to spread out, piles of "clean" clothes to build up, and someone's boxers to end up in the microwave oven. Ishimaru Shun walked over to the climate control, turned down the heat, and then slammed the glass sliding door open. The blast of incoming cold air blewe his long, red hair back from around his face. He turned around to his two teammates, "good times, boys. Good times."

Nakamura Taiki looked up from sharppening his board's edges, "I'll say," he said. He paused and looked around the room. "Hey, doesn't this remind you of our first competition together?"

Shun's face lit up. "Oh, yeah!! The one where we didn't have money for the hotel room..."

Fujiwara Taiki cut in, "and we relied on winning the competition to pay it off..."

"And the we all totally CHOKED and had to work it off in room service for a WEEK!!!" Nakamura burst in. The three of them laughed until they were sick.

"Yeah, at least now there's three beds. Remember when little Nakamura had to sleep on the couch?" Fujiwara said mockingly. Nakamura jumped up and shoved him. Fujiwara fell back into a pile of their snowboards and other equipment with a loud bang. "Ah! Shit!" he swore in japanese. The door to the connecting room slammed open and Yamashita Shun popped his head in, "would you all shut the hell up??"

Fujiwara looked up from the floor, "sorry dude."

"Damn halfpipe kids," Yamashita said as he shut the door.

"Hey, guys, check this out! San Adriano's showing a little pride!!" Shun yelled from the balcony. The other two walked over to see the flag.

"Hold on, I got somethin'." Nakamura said. He dashed to his boardbag and opened it. Inside were two long, verticle flags mounted on poles. The flags were solid black with a sillhouete of a phoenix with outstretched wings on it in red. He ran back to the balcony and tied one to each outside corner. The flags immediately took up the wind and stretched out. He went back to his bag and brought back a giant national flag. A red rising sun with four rays at each compass point on a field of green. He tied it to the railing and threw it over.

"Holy shit, where'd you get the Royal Family's flags??" asked Shun.

"I'm the shogun's son, remember??" Nakamura replied. He cupped his hands and yelled as loud as he could in his native japanese, "Pschycotic Pschycos is here, and we're gonna kick all of your sorry...!!!!" The rest was lost to the wind.

Thomas was just about to leave his quarters and go for a walk round the city, when he heard a half-muffled shout coming from outside. Taking his winter coat back off, he walked over to the window, and looked outside. The sight of flags flapping in the wind, three of them, caught his attention. Someone in a room roughly opposite his own had obviously decided flying their national colours was a good idea ; he recognised the largest of the flags as that of Pschycotic Pschycos. A man was leaning out of the window.

Thomas merely grinned, put his coat on, and left his quarters, heading for the cool air of Aeropag’s streets.

The States delegation had been trickling into Aeropag at the discretion of the various coaches, and with the arrival of the ski-jumping contingent from Valdemont last night, the NMS were ready to officially register at the Village and set up shop.

After the welcoming ceremony, the NMS team set up in the buildings that had been assigned to them. "Rejean" - the COBRA agent/speed skater - was elected to carry the flag for the Opening Ceremonies, and whoever collected the most medals would carry the flag at the close.

Noticing the various flags the delegations had erected on their buildings, NMS decided to not be left out, and several coaches quickly hustled out of the village to a hardware store to pick up some paint, while another procured a pair of cherry-pickers. Using this gear, the States began painting their flag on the wall of the larger of the two apartment buildings they had been assigned.

((OOC- i posted a roster for the Tynelian winter olympic squad on page 3 of the roster thread and am also listed on wiki and the original sign up thread as being included but i don't see Tynelia (TYN) on the list at the start of the thread as being part of this. Did i forget to fill something out somewhere?))
No, it was my mistake. But my slani DSL provider allowed me to catch it in time. :p

As you may have noticed, the opening ceremony hasn’t happened yet. Earlier, my connection was very slow and unreliable; now that I’m actually awake enough to call Qwest, it seems to be working fine. Hopefully the problem will reappear before their support people go home, and hopefully I’ll be able to start the Games tomorrow. But on the bright side, we all get an extra day to RP. :p

Flashing lights. Sarah Chertok had grown used to the flashing lights of press cameras over the last few weeks. They had gone from flattering to annoying to routine. She was, after all, her nations most favored athlete in the Winter Olympics. Millions, perhaps billions, of people would watch her skate in a few days time. Still, the small woman just adjusted the strap of her sports bag over her shoulder and started down the ramp. "I'll take questions as soon as we get settled in. It's been quite a long flight."

Diantha Palamas, the woman who would be carrying the Danaan flag in the opening ceremonies, stepped up beside Sarah, pulling her coat tighter. "I'm not used to things being quite this chilly. Not off of the ice."

"Tell me about it." added Bara Sahlu, the last of the three Danaan representatives in the individual women's figure skating. "Still...it really is amazing to be here. I can't wait to see what Aeropag is like."

"Right now, I just want a nap." Sarah said with a light laugh.

No, it was my mistake. But my slani DSL provider allowed me to catch it in time. :p

As you may have noticed, the opening ceremony hasn’t happened yet. Earlier, my connection was very slow and unreliable; now that I’m actually awake enough to call Qwest, it seems to be working fine. Hopefully the problem will reappear before their support people go home, and hopefully I’ll be able to start the Games tomorrow. But on the bright side, we all get an extra day to RP. :p

OOC: I'd like to suggest when there are delays in activities that we make most of these delays due to extreme weather, similar to what happened in Torino this year. :) I'd like to feature a short Miervatia Today article about the postponement of the games and say it was due to heavy snowfall preventing many delegations and spectators from arriving in Aeropag ... would that be OK?

No, it was my mistake. But my slani DSL provider allowed me to catch it in time. :p

As you may have noticed, the opening ceremony hasn’t happened yet. Earlier, my connection was very slow and unreliable; now that I’m actually awake enough to call Qwest, it seems to be working fine. Hopefully the problem will reappear before their support people go home, and hopefully I’ll be able to start the Games tomorrow. But on the bright side, we all get an extra day to RP. :p


((ooc-ah great thanks. i was afriad i forgot to do something :cool: ))

(edited to add rp)

"well i'm glad that's settled" Alan Davis sighed to one of his assistant coaches. I can't believe the sheet with our team lodgings fell between the file cabinet and the wall of that guard post by the gate. Its a good thing this all got cleared up in time for us to be at the Olympic openning cerimonies. Being the first ever this should be a pretty impressive show."

"Yes it should be a great show." replied Tonya Lannings the assistant in question. "I think we should go with Shawna."

"Shawna, isn;t she a bit young? She's the youngest on the team."

"Right Alan, that would be a perfect image for a relatively young country like Tynelia to make its first major step in worldwide winter sporting. A young spunky girl to show of the greatness Tynelia will have in the days to come in the world of sports."

"Hmm, that might be a good idea. I was thinking Nancy myself since curling is our best sport and she's the skip but i like your idea better Tonya. Let everyone see the bright future Tynelia has. She's cute enough to get the 'AWWW' factor too. Might make the world news and give us more airtime. You want to tell her?"

"Sure thing Alan, i'll give her the news now."

OOC: I'd like to suggest when there are delays in activities that we make most of these delays due to extreme weather, similar to what happened in Torino this year. :) I'd like to feature a short Miervatia Today article about the postponement of the games and say it was due to heavy snowfall preventing many delegations and spectators from arriving in Aeropag ... would that be OK?
Aeropag is on a nice tropical island where it doesn’t snow (all the venues, other than the Olympic Stadium, are refrigerated). Rain and lightning are much more likely. :p

I’m fairly certain that my connection is fixed now, so there shouldn’t be any further delays.

Aeropag is on a nice tropical island where it doesn’t snow (all the venues, other than the Olympic Stadium, are refrigerated). Rain and lightning are much more likely. :p

I’m fairly certain that my connection is fixed now, so there shouldn’t be any further delays.

OOC: Perhaps the opposite was the case then ... the refrigeration was on the blink. :)

OOC: the Winter Olympics on a tropical island???? That just plain old violates tradition dude.

http://kfox.gamehorizons.net/pnoc-wiki-small.jpg

Dear athletes, organisers, hosts and volunteers --

Roberta Sandomera, one of our two competing athletes in the Women's 7.5km biathlon sprint, has agreed to be the Pacitalian flag-bearer for the Aeropag Winter Olympic Games opening ceremonies. We are confident Signora Sandomera will do an excellent job, and we in the Pacitalian National Olympic Committee look forward to seeing successes for the Pacitalian delegation at this, the first ever Winter Olympiad.

I wish all athletes the best of luck and call on them to uphold and enjoy the spirit that the Games provide. There is no doubt you have worked hard to get to this ultimate stage; and the people of this great world think nothing but proud thoughts about you and the tough hours you have put in to become so talented at what you do. I wish all of you success.

Let the Games begin!


Sincera in domina bene,

Alberto Giovanni Cazamorga
President, Pacitalian National Olympic Committee

[[OOC: Note that "TKP" is our country code, not "KZO." See here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10593227&postcount=531).]]

The Olympic delegation from The Generally United Nation of The Kazoo Peoples for the first-ever Olympic Games arrived in Aeropag, Commerce Heights earlier today.

"I can't wait for the Opening Ceremony!" squealed one athlete. "It's gonna be waay cool! What the deuce...?" The athlete stepped into a warm, tropical climate.

"Get back on the plane, get back on the friggin plane. PILOT! Where in the hell did you take us? This isn't the SUMMER games, g** d****t!"

"This is Aeropag," said the pilot, pointing to a large sign that said "Welcome to Aeropag."

"This is gonna be one hell of an Olympics."

Luther Goran, President of MOC (Maineiacs Olympic Committee) waited until the last minute to announce who would be the delegation's flag-bearer, as if they weren't all anxious enough already. Finally, the decision was made. The flag would be carried by Ivan Kovalenko, Left Wing and captain of Maineiacs' Men's Hockey team. Kovlenko had led the MHL in goals for a fourth straight year, and had taken the Maineiacs City Capitals to the Sydney Cup championship.

Aderyn Abernethy and Ambra Acklin stepped inside their hotel room, closing the door behind them. The two women had managed to avoid the media circus, which was still hovering around Chertok and Palamas. As far as the two athletes were concerned, that was fine with them.

Abernethy stepped over to the window, stepping briefly out onto their balcony and letting the light wind blow through her red curls. "So this is what ultra-capitalism looks like?"

"Yeah, probably looks pretty through a window." Acklin said with a slight shrug, reaching for a remote control and flipping on the hotel television to see what the local coverage looked like. "The accomodations are certainly nice, at least."

"Yeah." the other woman answered. "It looks like a few of the other delegations have hung flags from their windows. Think we should?"

"Sure. Let's get one set up." Acklin said, hopping back up. She dug through her bags, finding a flag. It took the women a few minutes to secure it from the balcony, letting the great green and gold banner billow in the light breezes below their room.

Warren Kellerher and Sophia Daniels walked hand in hand outside their hotel room as the tropical breezes blew through their hair.
"Snugglebear, this is the Winter Olympics, right?" asked Sophia.
"Yep, at least that's what they told us." replied Warren.
"They do know they'll need snow and ice, right?"
"Maybe the events are all indoors. Ought to make Alpine Skiing and Ski Jumping interesting."
"You goof." she laughed, playfully swatting him on the arm.
"Don't worry, pookie. I'm sure our hosts have thought of everything." said Warren.
"Well, if they really are holding Ski Jumping inside a building, I hope they've got something soft for Kamikaze to land on. Remember Olympic trials? 3 spectators hurt, and that was when he had lots of room."
"Yeah, too bad that one of them was Darrin. He could stick a landing."

Darrin Porter would have gone to the Olympics, if not for Kamikaze's accident.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSOlympicv2.png

Kattie Callez sat at the table with fellow snowboarder Tarah Nasr sipping a margarita and watching the surf roll in. “Seems like we should be getting ready to surf rather than compete in a snowboarding event.”

Tarah: “Yeah. But I sure did need the time to work on my tan. And I don’t know anywhere that serves margaritas this good and has a half pipe at the same time”

Kattie: “But we’re not in the half pipe event. And the Slalom course looks rather tame.”

Tarah: “Shhhhh…….Don’t tell them that. Besides I have something more important to bitch about.”

Kattie: “You always have something important to bitch about.”

Tarah: “Yeah. So. But did you see who is going to be the flag bearer for us?”

Kattie: “Sure did. Tarí Léralondë is quite a nice girl too”

Tarah: “But why do the elves always get all the good shit? That really just pisses me off!”

Kattie: “Probably because you bitch too damn much!”

Tarah: "Shut up! And did you see the outfits they expect us to wear? We'll burn up in those damn things. It's gotta be at least a 100 degrees out here."

Kattie: "But there is snow for the events, Dummy. Just wear it over your bikini."

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSOlympicWear.jpg

Martin Backer, president of the Spruitland Football Association, was far from happy. The damn King and the friggin’ Minister of Sports were off to Casari for the Summer Ylompics, which meant he was stuck with the Winter delegation. And that while the Wabbits were competing in the Ylompics, and the women’s football team was entering the international stage for the first time.

He really should’ve been there. He could complain all he want though, he didn’t have a leg to stand on. Next time I’m entering in a friggin’ event as well, he thought, lighting up another spliff. Hopefully they’ll have billiards by then. But for now, he was here, in Commerce Heights, in charge of a bunch of athletes in sports he didn’t know the first thing about. Thank bloody god it wasn’t cold here. It would be at most of the events, of course, even if it was artificial cold. But he’d try to conveniently get lost on his way to most of them.

“Yo, dude.” Celine Breekebeen, snowboarder, popped her head into his room without knocking. Martin considered scolding her for that, but he had kinda given her that privilige when he shagged her, last night.

“Yeah?”

“Like, you know,” Celine started, then saw the spliff between Martin’s fingers. “Oh, cool.” She came in and took it from him.

Martin waited til she was done inhaling and her eyes had settled down from their spin around the room – Spruitlanders knew better than to interrupt someone during those important moments – then said, impatiently “What do you want, Celine?”

“Huh? Oh. Right. Yeah.” She took another hit. Martin sighed, waited. “It’s like, I just saw that flag and stuff, you know. It’s like, heavy, dude. Do I have to wave that thing around for a long time? Because, you know, I’m not really into that, then, on second thought.”

“You don’t have to wave it at all, Celine. You’ll have a special belt to rest the flag pole on, and you just have to keep it steady.”

“Oh. Right. Well, I guess that’ll be cool then.”

Martin nodded, didn’t say anything. She looked at him for a few more seconds, then started to leave. “Uhm, Celine?”

“Huh, what?” He motioned to the spliff in her hand. “Oh, right. Sorry dude.” She gave it back to him, left. Martin sighed, took a hit himself. He’d need a lot of this stuff to make it through the next few weeks.

OOC: the Winter Olympics on a tropical island???? That just plain old violates tradition dude.
But it makes for much better RPs. :p

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVOCSymbol2.pnghttp://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVOlympicwear.jpg

Cleveland Ocha walked into the training facilities at the Olympic Speed Skating venue. "How the hell am I supposed to skate with this sunburn? I cant even put on my suit without it hurting in areas I didnt even know were getting sun!"

One of the members of another delegation just laughed at him. "At least you didnt find a jellyfish out there like he did." She pointed to a corner of the room where a young man was moaning, obviously in pain. "Glad that wasnt me."

"Me too" said Cleveland. "Who would of thought you could find jellyfish at a Winter Olympiad?"

16 year old Courtney Rogers sat on a bench outside her dorm in the Olympic Village. As the youngest member of Maineiacs' delegation, she felt a little out of place at times. Everyone else was at least college age; many even older. So much for making friends here. No one seemed to have time for a kid. She had thought about trying to befriend people from the other nations, but she felt too much "on the outside, looking in". Hell, at least one nation had elves among its atheletes. Elves! If she hadn't seen it, she'd never have believed it, who would? While Courtney sat there feeling pensive (she refused to think of it as "feeling sorry for herself"), a rather handsome man walked up to her.
"Mind if I sit here?" he asked.
"Um.. er... I mean, no. Go ahead." she stammered.
"Thanks. I'm Sean Gould. I'm a snowboarder. How about you?"
"I'm uh... Courtney. Courtney Rogers. I skate." she said
"Figure? Speed? On thin ice?" he asked.
Courtney giggled at that. "Figure. I uh... sort of won the National Championship."
"Oh, yeah. I remember seeing you on vidscreen. I was almost as impressed with your skating as I was with your dérierre."
She blushed. "Well then you should have caght me at the Maineiacs Grand Prix of Skating. I landed on my dérierre."
"Ouch! How'd that happen?" he asked.
"Popped out of a jump. The rest of the team called it my 'triple flutz'."
He laughed. "Well, I"m sure you'll do just fine. Well, I have to go. reserved some training time. Bye."
"Um... bye." Courtney's eyes never left him as he walked away.
"Way to go, ditz," she said to herself. "he probably thinks I"m an idiot, or that I have a speech impediment." she sighed, then returned to her "pensiveness".

Flag Bearer Named as Team Domi Prepares

Éropeg/Aeropag - The Domnonian Olympic Committee (DOC) announced today that men's curling skip and two-time (1998, 2004) Domi Games medallist Georgio Mendel (Arcium, East Hiel) has been named Domnonia's flag bearer for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Aeropag, Commerce Heights.

The announcment podium featured Mendel, Kyre Ibbitson and members of Domnonia's men's and women's hockey, men's curling and snowboarding teams.

"I am extremely honoured to have been selected as the flag bearer representing curling, junior curling players across the country, and all the Domini athletes at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Aeropag," said Mendel. "I am humbled to have been chosen and feel it is a tribute to our entire team. My teammates and I are all looking forward to making Domnonia proud in Aeropag."

A Domi Games gold medallist in 2004 and a silver medallist at the 1998 Games, Mendel, 39, has been a member of the Domi West National Curling Team since the 1991-92 season. The second highest scoring player in the history of the Team, Mendel is set to mark his milestone 40th birthday on March 30.

Throughout his outstanding career, Mendel has represented Domnonia at more World Curling Championships than any other male or female player in the history of Domnonian curling. Over that time, he has won 21 international medals, including 17 gold. Apart from his success on the rink, Mendel has also received national praise for his unwavering charitable commitments.

A quintessential role model throughout his career, Mendel has spent numerous hours working with less privileged groups throughout Domnonia. Among his charitable endeavours, Mendel has painted the Ungava Safe Haven for troubled teens, cooked and served meals at the Ronald McDonald House in Arcium, helped build playgrounds for kids and served dinner to less fortunate families.

Mendel will be leading Domnonia's team into the Olympic Stadium in Aeropag for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony.

"The 2006 Olympic Winter Games represent an exciting time for high-performance sport in Domnonia," said Kyre Ibbitson, who is competing in two snowboarding events. "During the 2005-06 season, Domnonia's athletes and coaches experienced an unprecedented wave of podium success and our entire 2006 Olympic Team remains focused on achieving a top notch finish in Commerce Heights."

"We are very proud to have Mr. Mendel carry Domnonia's flag into the opening ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games," said Ibbitson. "Over the course of his career, Mendel has distinguished himself as an outstanding Domini through his accomplishments both on and off the rink and we look forward to his continuing to represent the Domini People with class and pride in Aeropag."

Mendel was chosen to be the Domi flag bearer by a selection committee comprising two summer athletes chosen by the DOC and a coach appointed by the coaches' representative on the DOC Committee.

A Report From The Domini Globe and Post

Stevid International Airport

The two Ice Hockey Teams had entered the airport very late at night to avoid all the publicity from the local population and the press and were met with little opposition.

It was an abnormally small team of atheletes- two hockey teams! Two! One male with subsititutes and one female squad, with subs as well. Stevid national sports were all mainly sports designed for the summer games and not the winter games. Ice Hockey was the only real winter sport Stevid loved, and the only winter sport that in the eyes of stevid, was proffesional in.

Besides, competing in one sport wasn't that bad, the team was proffesional and had could chances of doing extremly well, maybe even medals. But none of the teams were jumping to these conclusions.

They boarded the plane and swiftly departed with high spirits.

"Tell me again, just so i've got this straight- it's tropical? I mean, okay, in door ice hockey, curling and so forth. I'm worried about the other sports, sking and what not." Said Michael Bryson, captain of the Mens Ice Hockey team.

His goalkeep looked up from reading his newspaper.

"Don't worry Sir Byson, i'm sure there will be some snow or something- why else do you think they won the vote. Relax, the opening ceremony is going to be important."

"Yeah, i'm fling the flag- i suppose it's a great deed i have to carry out. Besides, New Manhattan isn't that far away from Stevid, less than an hours trip. I can't wait to get there..."

[OOC: 14:00 UTC- sorry but i'm unfamilar with time zones, what's that in GMT? Also, i'll have the team colours up later on in the day.]

[OOC: 14:00 UTC- sorry but i'm unfamilar with time zones, what's that in GMT? Also, i'll have the team colours up later on in the day.]
That’s 14:00 GMT. But no one actually uses GMT anymore. :p

And, since that’s right about…now, let the Games begin!

Ceoranan Olympic Delegation Lands
...a bit late.
Ceorana Herald

AEROPAG, Commerce Heights -- Around 2 hours late due to takeoff difficulties, the Ceoranan Olympic Delegation has arrived in Aeropag on a fairly rusty airplane.

"We apologize for inconveniences caused by our tardiness," called Bjorn Gordon, the lead cross-country skier and flag-bearer, as he was leaving the plane, "the pilot got drunk last night so we had to find a new one."

A spokesperson from the Ceoranan Office of Aerial Transportation said that the pilot has been suspended indefinitely. His case is pending review.

Meanwhile, in Aeropag, the team has been training well, with no major injuries so far, although the athletes are suffering from the heat.

"'twas hot out there!" complained Nordic skier Yasser Reiswon. "As a cold country, and expecting a cold climate, we had all of our warm clothing on! But they sent us to the tropics? What is this?"

As it turned out, it was caused by the meteorologist at the Ceorana Herald playing a cruel prank on the athletes. According to the Herald, he has been repremanded. No further action is pending.

[OOC: I hope it's OK I posted this a few hours late.]

The results thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=473623) is now up, with results from the first event, the short track mens’ 1000 m qualification.

Due to various issues with the Web site, all events in the near future will be scorinated manually and the results posted in the thread. I hope to fix this tonight.

Kelse Ready for Winter Games
Saint-Monica Nautique

Éropeg - The full Winter Games delegation, a group of 59 athletes and almost 200 others, arrived together at the international airport in Éropeg from a delayed flight on Air Nautique from Jacques Ajaccio International Airport in Ajaccio. Sadly, the delegation was late for the Opening Ceremony, however they hope to make that up with a substantial medal count for the Closing Ceremonies. Would-be flag-bearers Kina and Kylie Mérode appeared in an interview for Athletic De Lux shortly after their arrival, and they said "It's sad and unfortunate, but we all have to move on. They're was nothing that we could've done, I mean all flights out of Ajaccio were either cancelled or delayed because of that fog... Oh well, we'll still represent Kelse well!"

The team has moved in successfully into the Olympic Village, and all of the athletes have adjusted to their new home outside of Kelse. Maya Salerio, President of the Kelsian National Olympic Comittee said in an interview, "The athletes have adjusted well, and practicing has started. We are now prepared and ready to take on the world at the I Winter Olympic Games."

In other news, only last night did the De Lux Television Network beat out the Kelsian Broadcast Company (KBC) for rights to broadcast the Winter Games. Through this deal, most events will either be shown on Athletic De Lux (Channel 15), the DL (Channel 21), and De Lux Reloaded (Channel 32) while all primetime events will be shown on De Lux (Channel 7). All showtimes can be viewed at their website, http://www.delux.ke.

The events have already begun with Short Track Speedskating (Mens’ 1000m Qualification). However, Kelse's first event will be later today at the Luge (Mens’ Singles - Run 1) broadcast live on Athletic De Lux. Reynaldo Funès, Mateo Linzer, and Sandino Romand will be representing Kelse in the event. Also on later tonight, Mens’ Ice Hockey (Qualification Game 1 - TBA) on De Lux Reloaded. That's all from Éropeg, good night, and go Kelse!

Meanwhile Annabella-Sylvia Vangenechten, the only Boudran participant in the Nordic Combined events, has become ill. Possibly she has an allergic reaction to something she ate earlier. She is still willing to participate, but it is very well possible she will be too weak to do so. She is kept in quarantine from the other members of the BDB delegation, more information will follow about her condition.

After the earlier bad reports of Annabella-Sylvia Vangenechten, the BDB delegation is now happy to announce that their only participant in the nordic combined events will be fit enough to participate, albeit probably not at full strength.

Surrounded by the Tropical waters of Aeropag, Commerce Heights the first ever Winter Olympiad got under way with qualification in the men's 1k short track event.

The action was fast and furious as Andrew Simari of Krytenia set the first ever Olympic record with a blistering time of 1:28.418. Lino Le of Commerce Heights also turned in a sub 1:29 time and the two look poised to take the top two spots. But anything can happen in competition.

ASMV's own Kendall Vonstein surprised many people here as he skated into 6th place for the moment with a time of 1:29.409 and could end up as a surprise on the medal stand.

Wella Tregelles of Spaam led the slowest of the heat races and qualified with a time of 1:29.925. A time that would not have qualified in any other heat.

Here is a rundown of the qualifying times:

Short Track Speedskating—Mens’ 1000 m Qualification

Andrew Simari (KRY) OR 1:28.418 Q*
Lino Le (COM) 1:28.810 Q*
Byron Goodwin (KZO) 1:29.160 Q*
Willy Kokerelle (SPR) 1:29.252 Q*
Marai Danathen (MLB) 1:29.397 Q
Kendall Vonstein (AMV) 1:29.409 Q*
Simone Aguratani (PAC) 1:29.508 Q
Luke MacDonald (BAZ) 1:29.514 Q
Pavlos Demisthekles (MVA) 1:29.686 Q*
Ziad Abdulaziz (BEQ) 1:29.706 Q
Richard Maraîcher (ARI) 1:29.741 Q
Marco Ando Mandano (PAC) 1:29.759 Q*
Philip Timmer (RTS) 1:29.850 Q
Derek Riise (ARI) 1:29.897 Q
Wella Tregelles (SPA) 1:29.925 Q*
Jean-Michael Chang (ARI) 1:30.067 Q
*denotes heat winners

OOC: Just a quick question. The results cite several DSQs, but no DNFs. Does DSQ include DNF, or were all DSQs actually disqualified due to fouls of some sort (rather than simply falling and failing to finish the race)?

Just to know what I can RP. ;)

[OOC: I have my 3 letter code as WLD, but it is in the list as WEN. Should I change mine?]

The honour of first Wentland Olympic participant fell to Mike Rappaport, who proudly stepped onto the ice in his royal blue speedskate outfit emblazoned with a white V. He was here really for the experience; the best of the limited number of Wentland speed skaters and still determining his best event.

He was in the second heat, alongside two representatives from Becquerelia, Abdulaziz and Alexandropul, and Kokerelle of Spruitland. The Becquerelian representatives were amongst the favoured medal candidates so Rappaport had a mountain to climb.

And as expected he was at the tail of the heat, watching and hoping that he would benefit from some mass collision. It did not happen, but Alexandropul seemed to be working in tandem with Abdulaziz to ensure a Becquerelian 1-2 and when Kokerelle made a move on Abdulaziz Alexandropul weaved around to cover him. It seemed to work at first, as Kokerelle was shuffled down to third, but with a late lunge Kokerelle took second from a surprised Abdulaziz on the final lap - and that second became a first as Alexandropul was disqualified for interference. So Rappaport took an unexpected third. "If we got medals for heat positions, I'd've got a bronze..." he laughed.

"One out of three, that ain't bad," stated speed skating coach Anton Ohno Apollo.

He was, of course, referring to the amount of speed skaters who qualified in today's earlier speed skating event -- the Short Track Men's 1000m.

Bryon Goodwin was the lucky man to do so. He finished third overall of the 16 that qualified, with a blistering time of 1:29.160, but actually won Heat 6. Lloyd Stout would have also qualified (1:29.835, fourth), but was put in Heat 8, which contained the second-fastest time of the day, Lino Le, who qualified with a blistering time of 1:28.810.

However, the fastest time went to Andrew Simari of Krytenia, who made a new Olympic record, with 1:28.418.

Rubén Boone placed fourth in his heat (Heat 7), with a time of 1:31.558.

The 1000m Semifinals will be tomorrow.

OOC: I believe I had two athletes in the 1000m men's speed skating event that weren't on the results list.

1000m Men - Tamon Lespel, Ràdérko Sleto

Not to make a big deal out of it or anything, the event is over and they don't need to be added, but I just thought I should point it out.

I can just RP that they got lost and didn't make it on time, but if you could please check to make sure I'm not left off the other lists, that would be great. :) I was on the luge list, so I think it was just this one event.

From MSPN (Maineiacs' Sports Network)

Kramer Lipshitz checked his skates one last time, then got on his mark. The pressure had just risen another notch. One of the skaters in the first heat skated fast. Real fast. He bested Kramer's personal best by half a second. As the race started, he knew he was in trouble. The other skaters spread out, leaving him no room to pass. It remained that way. He was never really in this race, and it was a slow heat to begin with. When it ended, Kramer Lipshitz knew what he'd be doing next -- thinking about the next event. He'd be a spectator for the rest of this one.

Over on the luge track, Berkeley O'Bannon didn't fare any better, being almost a full second behind the leader after the first run, with practically no chance for a medal.

Maineiacs' Men's Hockey team learned today that they would be in group B.
When asked how the team would play against opponents they had never faced, coach Denis Laroque said "by doing what we do best: hit hard, score fast." Expectations are high for our national team to excel at our national sport in the international arena.

Group D
Spruitland
The Kazoo Peoples
Jonquiere-Tadoussac
Domnonia

The Kazoos were placed in their group for Ice Hockey today. It contains long-time member of the sporting community Spruitland, and relative newcomers (or so we think) Jonquiere-Tadoussac and Domnonia. Or the latter two teams could be long-time contributors. We're just ignorant, we think.

Day 1 starts off well

The Pacitalian delegation started its Olympic experience off well Saturday morning as two of Pacitalia's three competitors in short-track speed-skating qualified and luge star Francesco Soprantano earned a track record when he captured the fastest time in Men's Singles Luge Qualifying.

Soprantano's time of 0:51.69 set an Aeropag track record and was a shave better than Magnus Valerius' Frederick von Kustrinenburg who came in at 0:51.765.

Marco Ando Mandano edged out Becquerelia's David Mach by 16/100ths of a second to take the second and last qualifying spot in Heat 1 of the 1000m Short Track qualifiers, while Bertrando Torentano finished last in Heat 3 and was eliminated. Simone Aguratani came in 10/100ths of a second behind Andossa Se Mitrin Vega's Kendall Vonstein but still qualified in Heat 7.

And our men's ice hockey prospects are looking mighty sweet after the group draw was revealed. Pacitalia will face perennial powerhouses Chicanada in Group C along with Cantr and Magnus Valerius.

The whole Men's hockey were looking at the group seedings on the screen inside the Olympic Village.

The whole team had feared Liverpool Englands' Ice Hockey Mens team when they pulled out the list of atheletes. But each and every last member were somewhat relieved when they saw their group...


Group B
Dorian and Sonya
Ropa-Topia
Stevid
Maineiacs

Stevid were not going to under estimate the teams they were up against but they were confident. The opening ceromony went off without a hich and they were all pleased with the reception they recieved from the crowd when they passed by.
The team captain grinded to himself....

"Okay lads, spread your wings- it's time to do your country proud!"

OOC: I believe I had two athletes in the 1000m men's speed skating event that weren't on the results list.



Not to make a big deal out of it or anything, the event is over and they don't need to be added, but I just thought I should point it out.

I can just RP that they got lost and didn't make it on time, but if you could please check to make sure I'm not left off the other lists, that would be great. :) I was on the luge list, so I think it was just this one event.
Your athletes didn’t get lost, they aren’t signed up for the 1000 m short track speedskating event. :p

OOC: Just a quick question. The results cite several DSQs, but no DNFs. Does DSQ include DNF, or were all DSQs actually disqualified due to fouls of some sort (rather than simply falling and failing to finish the race)?

Just to know what I can RP. ;)
DSQ does not include DNF—when an athlete fails to finish, you’ll know. :p

Your athletes didn’t get lost, they aren’t signed up for the 1000 m short track speedskating event. :p

Oh, duh. Sorry about that, I forgot that was a separate event.

Good job so far then :D

The Wentland sliders and bobbers were discussing the run they were using.

"The key turn seems to be eleven," said Ellie Lombard. "Very sweeping, followed by a tight pinch at closing. Easy to hit the sides there."

"I'm impressed by the quality of the ice in such a warm climate," said the Earl of Howe. "There may be a slight rutting problem but we can cope with that, I trust. How's the run-in, Pete?"

Pete Tarff as the main pusher of the two-man bob was the powerhouse of the squad; his strenght and raw speed allied with Roger's control had given Wentland some promising practice times in WLD-1 - a medal was definitely on. "Still getting used to it. It's longer than we expected and we're hoping that some of the other squads, putting a premium on weight rather than strength, will be sapped by it."

"We've not seen it as a problem," confirmed Lombard. "WLD-1w is looking good. We had the fastest practice time of all yesterday, we hope we're nto peaking too early. The Mikitivity team though is giving us some problems. And I don't want to count out the Boudra-Boudra equipe. BOU-1w was second fastest yesterday and they have the advantage of a second team to obtain feedback."

"We've had funding problems, though," said Scott Stoddard. "We're lucky to have a slide back home."

"Grrrrr..." growled the Wolf. "We've nothing to fear but ourselves. I'm dying to have a crack at the medals."

"Mee too," cooed the baby of the team, Violette Austin. Just 15 years old, her skeleton appearance was cemented following a wild run at the National Championships where she snuck a third place despite crashing on four of her practice runs.

"Oh, yeah, Violette. How's the injury?"

"Not too bad. I can still see." Austin had careered over the side of turn 6 in skeleton practice, then on her next run crashed at turn 12, then at turn 3. "I'm getting the hang of this thing."

Indeed, when she nailed it together, she was mercurially fast. Third fastest in practice, although many of the skeleton sliders were holding back for the main competition - including her compatriots. But all too often a near miss meant she was down the order and most of her practice runs were mid-pack or worse.

"How's the timetabling working? Are we going to have difficulties in the double luge?"

"Dunno, I don't think there's a problem, but the final timetable has not been sorted as yet."

The extra chaos was not doing much for Wentland nerves, at any rate...

Well…mostly…

It seems that Anastasiania, who signed up via IRC and NSwiki due to the unreliability of the forums, have been left out of the Games. (The delegation and the COC had a slight miscommunication relating to time zones, but now they have arrived in Aeropag.)

To correct this mistake, the COC has randomly placed the Anastasiania mens’ hockey team in Group C. Also, a special luge run will be set up at 02:00 UTC for the three competitors left out of that event, under carefully controlled conditions (ah, the joy of indoor facilities :p ). Anastasianian athletes will be included in all future events.

Spaam Sports Weekly
NationStates' Most Notorious Sports Publication

Celebrating 100 Years of World Cup Participation

2108 Winter Olympics Daily Edition


Jenifer Gerry Leads Spaamanian Team

Spaam's champion female aerial skiier Jenifer Gerry was the flag bearer for
the opening ceremony of the 2108 Winter Olympics in Aeropag. The
ceremony, in which a lot of time and effort was put into, left most of the
crowd speechless in wonderment. The team of almost 100 competitors (50
athletes plus two hockey teams) marched proudly in the national colours of
orange and black, along with the 30 or so other teams competing.

http://www.ais.org.au/wintersports/images/02146-04.jpg

Tregelles Wins 1000m Short Track Heat

Spaamanian short track speed skater Wella Tregelles managed to win his
qualification heat, in the second slowest qualification time. The time of
1:29.925 was enough to win the heat ahead of Ariddia's Jean-Michael Chang,
and send them both into the next round.

Ice Blocks In Group E

Spaam's inexperienced men's ice hockey team was drawn into Group E, along
with Ariddia, Krytenia, and Malabra. It is no understatement to say that it
will be a miracle if the Ice Blocks win a game, but they will be a crowd
favourite as they give their all, and every goal (if they get any) will be
celebrated.

Up Next

Look out for Spaam's champion men's curling team, the Irons, and Melyear
Benny in the women's snowboard cross qualifications.

OOC:

DSQ does not include DNF—when an athlete fails to finish, you’ll know. :p

OK, thanks! :)


IC:
The Games kicked off at a fast, exciting pace, with one of the events most favoured by Ariddians – the short track. The first ever Olympic record was set by Andrew Simari of Krytenia, who established a reference time of 1:28.418 in the first heat. It was to remain unbeaten throughout the day.

Ariddia had entered three male athletes in the 1000 metres, and their attempt at qualifying was followed with hope and excitement in the PDSRA, in an event where anything could happen, and no-one could ever be certain of crossing the finish line. Derek Riise went in heat three, wearing the red and black Ariddian sportsuit, against athletes from Magnus Valerius, Malabra and Pacitalia. Riise did not start quite as fast as his competitors, finding himself in third place in a narrow line skirting the inside of the track. With only the top two going through, he had to edge into second or first place without knocking anyone aside and being disqualified in the process. The order of the four athletes changed occasionally over the kilometre they skated, but Riise only managed to pull ahead in the last lap but one. In a fast-paced finish, he crossed the finish line just two tenths of a second behind Demisthekles of Magnus Valerius, and with Noranthberg of Malabra hot on his heals. Only Pacitalian athlete Bertrando Torentano was left trailing slightly.

In the following heat, Jean-Michel Chang, Ariddia’s flag-bearer in the Opening ceremony just the previous day, and one of the nation’s best hopes for a medal, was up against four competitors. The five athletes were packed close together for almost the entire race, with Chang nonetheless leading more often than not. Lacking just that last bit of energy to remain in the lead, the Ariddian was overtaken on the finish line by Tregelles of Spaam, and might well have lost out to Ropa-Topian athlete de Vries had the race lasted a hundred metres longer. Accidentally jostled by the Sanadrianese Peruzzi, Fabius of Spruitland dropped behind and was effectively out of the race. Two heats done, two out of two Ariddians qualified.

Last of the Ariddians to go was Richard Maraîcher, in the heat just after that. Maraîcher faced a slightly less tense race than his compatriots, and sailed past the finish line more than a tenth of a second ahead of Timmer, from Ropa-Topia, who took second place.

All in all, a more than satisfying performance in the first of many events. All three Ariddians have secured a place in the next round, even if competition will undoubtedly be tough. Chang was the slowest qualifier, while Maraîcher, the fastest Ariddian, was only the eleventh fastest qualifier out of sixteen, over one point three seconds behind record-holder Simari.

The first hurdle is over, but not, by far, the most difficult.

The first day of events also witnessed the first run in the men’s luge. Ariddia has only one participant, Yosief Debesa, who finished last but two with a time of 0:54.983. While supporters were undoubtedly disappointed, Debesa has stated that he had little hopes of a medal to start with. While unquestionably Ariddia’s best athlete in this sport, he still has relatively little training, and the PDSRA lacks adequate facilities to enable him to develop his full potential.

“I’m here to do my best, represent my country and gain experience against the world’s top athletes,” he explained. “Perhaps in four years I’ll be able to put up more of a challenge. Still, it’s not over yet here in Aeropag, and I’m not going to be defeatist before even having finished.”

In the women’s snowboard cross, an event no Ariddians were competing in, the ladies from Qazox impressed a cheering crowd, as Ermine Johnson and Tyra Lopez qualified in first and second place respectively.

“I think these first events have shown us there are some very, very good athletes from all around the world gathered here, and that no-one will be grabbing an easy medal,” Chang said. “But it’s also reassured us, I think, that we are up to their level, and that Ariddia can hope for some medals in these Games too.”

Olympic Update from Commerce Heights brought to you by QazSoft.

Earlier today, the 1st events for the Qazoxian Delegation were held and in Womens’ Snowboard Cross, the top two spots went to Qazox as Ermine Johnson and Tyra Lopez both qualified for the finals. thier times are posted below;
Ermine Johnson (QAZ) 1:25.30 Q
Tyra Lopez (QAZ) 1:25.79 Q

In other action involving our Black oxen, the men's curling team in its first ever match, lost 6-4 to Dorian and Sonya, with the Unicorns scoring 2 rocks in the 10th inning to win, the complete scores are below.

QAZOX-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-2-0-0-4
DandS-0-1-0-1-1-0-1-0-0-2-6

Other updates will happen as they occur.

LUGE - Run 1 Over, Funès Third
Saint-Monica Nautique

Éropeg - In the Men's Individual Luge Event, Villeneuve native Reynaldo Funès has placed third overall in Run 1 while showcasing his talent and charisma for all those to see. Funès' run at 0:51.867 was just .177 away from Pacitalias Francesco Soprantano who finished first. In an interview after his run he said, "That was a great start! Wow, never thought I could finish so high. Well, just gotta keep it up and hopefully I can walk away with a medal." Also doing well were Kelses Mateo Linzer at 11th [0:52.413] and Sandino Romand at 22nd [0:52.637].

Next up for Kelse will be the Figure Skating Womens’ Short Program, were Amélie Moniotte, Sophie Desailly, and Cécilia Rhode will take to the ice and hopefully do well against the worlds best. Winning the coveted National Figure Skating Championship, 16-Year-Old Amélie Moniotte is hopefully of finishing well. "I've been practicing a lot, and all I want is to do good, make my coach and country proud. Back home in Saint-Hélène everyones rooting for me, and I want to come home with a medal and make everyone proud!"

The Figure Skating Womens' Short Program will be broadcasted live on De Lux (Channel 7) while the Biathlon Mens’ 4×7.5 km Relay will also be broadcasted live, however on De Lux Reloaded (Channel 32). That's the latest from Éropeg, and until next time, go Kelse!

OOC: I believe I had two athletes in the 1000m men's speed skating event that weren't on the results list.



Not to make a big deal out of it or anything, the event is over and they don't need to be added, but I just thought I should point it out.

I can just RP that they got lost and didn't make it on time, but if you could please check to make sure I'm not left off the other lists, that would be great. :) I was on the luge list, so I think it was just this one event.


1KM MEN—2 Kevin O’Malley and Larry Taylor (.3)

OOC- likewise i'm in the same situation. I got a result for Taylor but not for O'Malley

Tynelia Olympians Begin Their Runs

The first participants have stepped onto the ice in Aeropag the tropical home of the Winter Olympics. As these were not Tynelia's best medal hope events the results were mostly unspectacular to date. In short track speed skating Larry Taylor finished last in his heat 1:30.117. However the big surprise here is that Tynelia's top speed skater Kevin O'Malley was nowhere to be found in the results.

Cynics back home claim that this is part of some anti-Tynelian discrimination similar to what they claim was the intentional loss of Tynelia's paperwork to even be in the games. More even minded people claim that in an intial event of this magnitude an occasional glitch is to be expected. Word has come forth that Anastasiania's delegation was in a similar state and that special runs in luge were being held to fix that. Tynelian officals with the team hope that O'Malley will be given a similar consideration.

As for luge Tynelian luger James Marshall surprised everyone including himself with his surprisingly high finish after the first run. Though Tynelia boasts only one luge track in the country, Marshall shocked everyone with a strong 13th place spot after the first run. His time of 52.45 seconds has him only .533 seconds behind the third place time of Reynaldo Funès from Kelse.

"I can't believe i nailed this run like i did." Marshall said afterwards. "I had a pretty clean run except for when i got a little high on the final turn. That cost me a few tenths i'm sure. Hopefully next time around i can catch it better. Still i never thought i'd find myself this high up in the standings. It was only a couple years back i even started this sport and now here i am in the Olympics. This is a great experience and i'm glad Tynelia decided to come. Well i'm off to the beach now and catch some sun. Winter Olympics in the tropics, gotta love it!"

With ten other lugers between him and the medal Marshall's chances appear to be slim at gainging a medal but any sort of a top twenty finish would be an amazing boost for Tynelia's luge program.

No other Tynelians were in competition today though it was learned that the men's curling team will be in group D. Most of the names of the other nations in the group are unknown to most Tynelians with the notable exception of soccer power Liverpool England. While its clear that Tynelia is nowhere close to Liverpool England on the soccer field, Tynelia hopes to make its presence felt on the curling ice.

1KM MEN—2 Kevin O’Malley and Larry Taylor (.3)

OOC- likewise i'm in the same situation. I got a result for Taylor but not for O'Malley
Apparently there are two Jean de Bourbons but no Kevin O’Malleys. And apparently the one in heat 6 actually had O’Malley’s skill rating, just the wrong name. I’ll edit the results to use the correct name. Thanks for catching that, I never would have noticed :p

Spaam Sports Weekly
NationStates' Most Notorious Sports Publication

Celebrating 100 Years of World Cup Participation

2108 Winter Olympics Daily Edition


Benny Fails To Qualify

Women's cross snowboarder Melyear Benny failed to qualify for the top
sixteen, finishing 24th out of 29. Her time of 1:35.77 was over 4 seconds
out of the bottom qualifying spot. Ermine Johnson and Tyra Lopez of Qazox
dominated the event, qualifying in the top two positions more than a second
ahead of the rest of the field.

Irons Win First Match

Spaam's champion men's curling team won their first match, defeating Boudra-
Boudra 8-5. They are now top of Group A, ahead of Dorian and Sonya, who
beat Qazox, and Malabra, who just defeated Maieiacs.

Tregear Qualifies

Individual figure skater Mabyn Tregear qualified for the top 24, finishing 18th
out of 54 competitors. The lone Spaamanian representative got a score of
37.40 from the judges, while Diantha Palamas of the Resurgent Dream
qualified in top position with a score of 44.19, just .02 ahead of second place
Passion Liange of Chicanada.

Sophia Daniels sat on her bed, waiting for Courtney's crying to stop.
"I can't believe I did it again! The same damn jump! What am I doing wrong?" asked Courtney.
"You just got nervous," said Sophia. "don't let it affect you like this, or you'll never get the monkey off your back."
"14th place. 14th place!" cried Courtney.
"Courtney, dear, calm down." said Sophia. "first of all, your not the only one who made mistakes today. Kramer Lipshitz didn't qualify for finals in short track. At least you get to do your long program. I heard our Men's curling team lost, Berkely O'bannon has no chance at a medal in luge, and Peggy Martin didn't even finish the Women's snowboard cross."
"Yeah. How is she? what did the x-rays show?" asked Courtney.
"Fractured left tibia. She'll have a long recovery period."
"I hope that doesn't happen to me. Breaking my leg is the only thing I didn't do tonight."
"Tell you what," said Sophia "Let's find some time on the ice tomorrow morning, and Warren and I will help you go over your routine. Put your troubles from tonight aside, and wow them with your long program. Did you and your coach choose your music?"
"Yeah. We decided to go with that Sarah McLaughlin piece." said Courtney.
"Great. That music is perfect for you." said Sophia.

((OOC- no problem, i didn't notice here were two Jean de Bourbons so we're even :p ))

O'Malley Found!
It turns out that Tynelian short track skater Kevin O'Malley was indeed in the qualifying heats for the 1k short track skate. It seems that his number 13 and the number 18 worn by Jean de Bourbon from Magnus Valerius looked too much alike to several reporters and O'Malley was listed as de Bourbon on several lists. Unfortunately for Tynelia O'Malley's time of 1:29.724 was a mere .21 seconds too slow to qualify for the next round leaving Tynelia without a skater moving on in the 1k short track event.

The ladies figure skating short program also took place while all this was sorted out. In a disappointing showing, Tynelian flag bearer young Shawna Brown fell twice while attempting triple axels and ended up finishing last in the short program. A tearful Brown was comforted by her coach afterwards but this youngster certainly has a bright future ahead of her.

On a more positive note, the other ladies contestent Abigail Jones held onto the last qualifying spot after a solid if unspectacular performance. Her score of 36.30 had her on the bubble while the last three skaters poised to bump her but when Margherita Pozzia from Pacitalia finished with a 36.25 score as the last skaker an elated Jones leapt for joy on the sidelines as she realized she had qualified as her coach hugged her. Of course being the 24th of 24 competitors doesn't give her much chance at a medal, Jones was more than happy with the result.

"Oh my god!" Jones gushed afterwards "I never thought i'd make it this far. I mean being one of the top 24 skaters in the world just blows my mind. I can't believe it! But i feel bad for Shawna too, i mean she did great in practice and then falling when it counted. I'm gonna do my best for her sake and for everyone back home in Tynelia. I love you mom and dad!"

OOC: Wow, the games got off pretty quick. I've got to cover a lot of ground. :p

IC:

Day One of the First Winter Olympics at Aeropag, Commerce Heights

The games started off with a great start in speedskating qualifiers. In Heat 3, Pavlos Demisthekles, a young man of age 20 from Kydonia, faced off Derek Riise of Ariddia, Dan Noranthberg of Malabra, and Bertrando Torentano of Pacitalia. The race was a close one, but Demisthekles dominated the event by keeping well ahead of Riise and Noranthberg, who was trying to nudge past Demisthekles. Derek Riise was poised to take the lead and sped up past Noranthberg, but within the last few seconds, Demisthekles picked up speed and kept his lead ahead of Riise of Ariddia and Noranthberg of Malabra in an amazing feat. He placed first in the qualifying heat, just a few fractions of a second before Riise. The race was indeed close, with Torentano of Pacitalia trailing only a second after Demisthekles.

However, Jean de Bourbon, speedskating star of all of Magnus Valerius and native of the state of Nikeah, did not qualify in his heat. In Heat 7, he took the lead very early and was about to qualify until he took a devastating fall from which he could not recover from. He placed a humiliating last. He now has to focus on the other speedskating events that he will participate in.

Kenji Yoshimoto, their colleague, also did not qualify for the 1000m semis. He will also need to focus for other events he will be in.

Magnus Valerius's hope to medal in 1000m now solely relies on Demisthekles, who is the only one out of three Valerian athletes to qualify for the event.

The men's luge was the next event on the list, and Magnus Valerius had three athletes in the event: Frederick von Kustrinenburg, Sven Grigorevich, and Theodoric Balheburg. All three athletes did quite well on the first run, with von Kustrinenburg taking the second best time. He was only edged out by Francesco Soprantano of Pacitalia, who bagged the best time on the first run. Von Kustrinenburg, who has a reputation of being a friendly competitor, congratulated Soprantano of Pacitalia on an excellent first run.

"Why, I hope there will be beer back home in Baden for me!" von Kustrinenburg said with glee. "This was a good day and I had a good run. I have to admire Soprantano, though -- he did really good. Let's hope for me to medal! And, good luck to me, the other Valerian athletes, and Soprantano here."

In Women's Snowboard Cross qualifiers, Magnus Valerius's two athletes were not at their best. The event was dominated by two Qazoxian athletes, Ermine Johnson and Tyra Lopez. Nina Paskevich barely qualified, and Rebekah Zarapova came in three places after Paskevich. Nina was still happy that she still has a chance at perhaps medalling. "Let's see where Lady Luck shows her favor... although I am quite worried about Qazox. They have a good pair of athletes!"

In Women's Figure Skating (Short Program) qualifying runs, Alexandra Godunov had a great performance and qualified rather high up on the list. Her colleagues Svetlana Revalsky and Sara Paliologos (who fell rather badly while performing), however, did not qualify and are now cheering for Godunov when she performs later again. "She did quite nicely," Revalsky commented as she watched Godunov walk off the rink. Godunov was happy with herself and now hopes to grab a medal. She has plenty of competition, however, with Diantha Palamas of The Resurgent Dream, Passion Liange of Chicanada, and Émilé Labonté of the New Montreal States being the top contenders for medals in the Women's Short Program.

Although Magnus Valerius has not yet had a game in hockey or curling, we have the results for you fans out there.

Olympic Hockey Stats:

Boudra-Boudra 2 Liverpool England 3
Commerce Heights 3 The Resurgent Dream 4

Group A P W D L GF:GA GD Pts
The Resurgent Dream 1 1 0 0 4:3 1 2
Liverpool England 1 1 0 0 3:2 1 2
Commerce Heights 1 0 0 1 3:4 -1 0
Boudra-Boudra 1 0 0 1 2:3 -1 0

Group B
Dorian and Sonya
Ropa-Topia
Stevid
Maineiacs

Group C
Pacitalia
Magnus Valerius
Cantr
Chicanada

Group D
Spruitland
The Kazoo Peoples
Jonquiere-Tadoussac
Domnonia

Group E
Ariddia
Spaam
Krytenia
Malabra

Olympic Curling Stats:

Spaam 8 Boudra-Boudra 5
Dorian and Sonya 6 Qazox 4
Malabra 6 Maineiacs 5

Group A P W D L GF:GA GD Pts
Spaam 1 1 0 0 8:5 +3 3
Dorian and Sonya 1 1 0 0 6:4 +2 3
Malabra 1 1 0 0 6:5 +1 3
Maineiacs 1 0 0 1 5:6 -1 0
Qazox 1 0 0 1 4:6 -2 0
Boudra-Boudra 1 0 0 1 5:8 -3 0

Group B
Pacitalia
Krytenia
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega
The Kazoo Peoples
Domnonia
Chicanada

Group C
Magnus Valerius
Commerce Heights
New Montreal States
Ropa-Topia
Jonquiere-Tadoussac
Bazalonia

Group D
Liverpool England
Crna Gora Liv Eng
Ceorana
The Resurgent Dream
Tynelia
Anastasiania

Medal Report: Boudra Boudra takes Biathlon Gold

The first three medals were given out today in the Aeropag Olympics. Today, in the Mens’ 4×7.5 km Relay, the Biathlon team from Boudra Boudra (Navappo/Bērziņš/Bērziņš/Sdar) won gold as they powered ahead their competition from Commerce Heights, Anastasiania, The Kazoo Peoples, and Domnonia. Commerce Heights took the silver while Anastasiania took bronze.

Dorian & Sonya Olympic Recap
Thus Far anyway :p
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSOlympicv2.png


Women's snowboard cross started off the Olympic events for the delegation from the Kingdom and the results were better than we had hoped for. Jewel Cutburth (1:30.06) and Clementina Ivanci (1:30.62) both qualified while Asa Falha just barely missed the cut.

The men's curling hopes at qualification got a huge boost as they downed Qazox 6-4.

The women's figure skaters had a rough day as no one was able to move past the short program. We tend to attribute this to the girls having been pulled from the beach just moments before the competition began.

All in all it was not a bad beginning for a nation much of the world considers to be backwards. Curling and Snowboard cross will do just fine for now.


One last note - we have just received word that our women's curling team has lost to Domnonia 5-6. That puts a damper on the curling praise, but at least it was a great game.

also we have to wonder what took place at the opening ceremonies as it seems we were not informed as to when they took place :p Is there even an Olympic Torch burning?

Cana Daily Press


Highlights of Day 1 of the 1934 Winter Games: 2nd in Short Program, COC Files Complaint on Snowboardcross

The Chicanadan Olympic Team tasted some success yesterday, as Passion Liange, sister of three-time national champion Sasha, finished second int he Women's Short Program and looks poised to win the nation's first ever medal in any sport, let alone in Figure Skating. National Champion Maryanne Patrice Douala fell on a triple flip, regarded as her strongest jump, and fell apart throughout the remains of her program to finish well out of the qualifiers. Hera Schmidt was closer towards qualification for the finals, as the bronze medalists at the Sports Expo and the 6-th place finisher at Nationals overcame a weak display of jumps to finish five out of the Finals. Liange is currently .02 out of the lead, held by Diantha Palamas of the Resurgent Dream and .12 ahead of Émilé Labonté from the New Montreal States.

However, it was not all good news, as the COC filed a complaint with the NSOIC concerning the results for the women's snowboardcross team. For some reason, Jeanie Smith and Anna Jacon (as listed in the COC's paperwork (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10567329&postcount=24) as well as in the Olympics site (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Chicanada_at_the_First_Winter_Olympics#Snowboarding) were not permitted to compete in the qualifiers and hurt Chicanadan chances in medaling in one of the few outdoor sports the nation is competing in.

In men's luge, Jacob Huston and Yancey T’jian sat well out of the medal so far, with Huston managing 29th and T'jian sitting in 32nd after the first runs. The men team up to hope for better results in the First Run of doubles luge later on.

The rest of the team have been rather quiet, choosing to support the women's figure skating team as well as practices and taking tours of the host city.

Olympic update brought to you by Qazsoft

The women's curling draw has been posted and Qazox is in group C with the following teams: Ceorana, The Resurgent Dream,The Kazoo Peoples,Jonquiere-Tadoussac,Boudra-Boudra. since this is the first time any of thems teams have played curling at the Intenational level, it should make for an interseting group.

Ms. Ermine Johnson had this to say about her qualifing run earlier today "I'm just so glad that i got the hole shot, especially since a couple of the other girls crashed on turn 3. hopefully, this bodes well for and Qazox and Go Curly Howard...I got such a crush on him..."

Other updates will happen when results happen. thanks and good night.

From MSPN:

Maineiacs' Women's curling team learned that they will be in the same group as host nation, Commerce Heights.Team skip Sally Gore was quoted as saying "I'm not too worried. After all, they come from the tropics, right?"

OOC: I have a question. What year is this RP supposed to be? I've seen 2 or 3 years mentioned.

any year that you want it to be... time moves different for each country....

EARLY EVENTS ALL ABOUT THE LADIES

Women's curling and skating shine; snowboardcross not so much

AEROPAG - The biggest (and best) surprise of the I Winter Olympics for the States has been Émilé Labonté, who found herself in third place after the Short Program thanks to a flawless set of jumps, including a triple axel/triple Lutz combination. She's just .14 out of the lead, but faces stiff competition in this major event. A medal here would be a major triumph for the States, but don't hold your breath as these results can change in the blink of an eye (or the bribing of a judge.)

Women's curling has begun round-robin competition, with NMS ekeing out a 7-5 win over Crna Grv Liv Eng, overcoming inital confusion over what, if anything, their opponent's name meant. Once the situation was resolved, the side found itself down 3-1, but rallied magnificently.

Women's snowboardcross was pretty much a debacle. This isn't even us talking, it's a direct quote from the two entrants, who have locked themselves in their room in the NMS tower and have yet to emerge. Phone calls have confirmed that they're fine, but don't want to show their faces in public.

any year that you want it to be... time moves different for each country....


Thanks. Mine's in 2124.

Aeropag Day 1 Summary

There was limited Spruitland action on Day 1 of the Winter Olympics, with only three athletes starting their competition. Koen Fabius had the most disappointing appearance of the three, coming in last in his 1000 meter Short Track qualifying heat.

Willy Kokerelle did better in his heat of the same competition, winning it convincingly in a time that was strong enough for the Spruitland delegation to openly dream of a medal for him. Lots can happen in short track, however, and with Quarter Finals and Semi Finals still to come, it’s too early to draw conclusions.

The first run of the men’s Luge saw one other Spruitlander sliding into action, and Herman Flever did better than anticipated, clocking the eighth time and keeping medal-hopes alive – though a top ten finish would be a success already.

More short track racing will be on tomorrow’s agenda, and the first match of the Curly Bunnies, Spruitland’s women curling team, will be something to watch out for.

Wentland Times
Can Lou Make The Grade?

Blink your eyes. There. That's what separates Lou Grade from a medal after the first run of the men's luge singles.

The man in third is Reynaldo Funès of Kelse, whose late run just pipped "The Luge" by less than a tenth of a second.

Currently holding gold is Franco Soprantano of Pacitalia, with von Kustrinenburg of Magnus Valerius in second. But it is all very tight at the top with around half-a-second covernig the first seven. And whilst it is difficult to make up half a second in the luge, it is easy enough to throw it away with a slight mistake.

Grade enjoyed his first run. "I made a mistake coming out of eleven," he explained. "I went for a high line to slingshot momentum going into twelve and thirteen, but took it a bit too high. I had to adjust to correct and that's probably cost me a couple of tenths. Still, no run is perfect and I know what to do for the second run.

"I'm also unhappy with my start. I was not gripping the ice in the push-off satisfactorily. I'm having my gloves re-spiked to obtain more purchase. I don't have a practice run so I'm taking a risk - but nothing ventured, eh?"

The other Wentland lugers had mixed results. Arthur Rank is inside the top ten with an outside chance of a medal. "I don't know if I have any more," the part-time luger and full-time chicken plucker said. "I'm amazed to be in the top ten."

Ian Ling, is well down the order and is without any real hope of a medal. However, having suffered an horrific injury two years ago in Pacitalia just being here is an achievement in itself.

One man at least had it a lot worse. Críostóir Adair from The Resurgent Dream fully came off his luge in turn six and slid after it for much of the course. He finally caught up with it in fourteen and brought it to a halt, before re-mounting to finish. His time of 1:34.712 was nearly forty seconds away from second last, but he did at least finish and obtained perhaps the biggest cheer of any of the sliders. When asked why he did not give up, he explained "I was not picked to give up. I was picked to compete. My country has undergone sacrifice to send me and the rest of the team here and I would not do them justice if I had quit."

The Olympic spirit evidently alive and well.

***

Meanwhile, the first-ever medals table has Boudra-Boudra at the top, following a tight win in the biathlon relay, Sdar breaking the line a scant four seconds ahead of Commerce Heights' Kaplan after twenty miles of ski-ing and several bouts of shooting.

THE ARCHREGIMANCY BRINGS YOU

WINTER OLYMPICS TONIGHT

With Fr. Nicholas the Scribe and Fr. John the Golden-Throated

"So... Fr. John... let's welcome all of our viewers to this first ever winter olympiad in, erm, the tropical paradise of Aeropag, Commerce Heights"

"Yes, not sure what the Olympic committee were thinking there, awarding the winter olympics to a tropical city - but despite the Commerce Heights government's worship of Mammon, one can't deny a sneaky slightly heretical admiration for their technology."

"And what of the games themselves, Fr. John? Any results for Archregimancy athletes so far?"

"Just one, Fr. Nicholas, and that's the first run of the luge where - after some confusion over the status of the athletes from Anastasia [sic], the results of the first run -restricted to the first 22 participants - look like this:

Francesco Soprantano (PAC) TR 0:51.690
Frederick von Kustrinenburg (MVA) 0:51.765
Reynaldo Funès (KEL) 0:51.867
Lou Grade (WEN) 0:51.954
Daryl Dracher (KRY) 0:52.011
Timmy Pasquarello (AMV) 0:52.039
Martin Macchia (KRY) 0:52.190
Herman Flever (SPR) 0:52.211
Arthur Rank (WEN) 0:52.356
Roland Ouellet (JTD) 0:52.362
Mateo Linzer (KEL) 0:52.413
Sven Grigorevich (MVA) 0:52.428
James Marshall (TYN) 0:52.450
Kalmo Bàrto (ANT) 0:52.452
Brendan Paonessa (AMV) 0:52.456
Theodoric Balheburg (MVA) 0:52.471
Gene Taylor-Merenghi (SVO) 0:52.478
Fredrik Alfvén (ANS) 0:52.530
Fr. Silouan of the Slopes (ARC) 0:52.559
Vincent Box (SVO) 0:52.579
Billy Grossman (COM) 0:52.585
Fr. Sergei the Slider (ARC) 0:52.608

"Hmmmm. Not really that good a result, Fr. John. Both sliders are almost a full second behind Soprantano, who I must admit is looking very good after that track record. Why are Fr. Silouan and Fr. Sergei underperforming. Any theories?"

"It's quite simple, Fr. Nicholas - look at this footage. Unfortunately monastic robes, while fine for travelling on personal sledges in the wintry Archregimancy north, are less practical when entering international luging competition. As they slide down the hill, the wind keeps getting caught in their robes and slowing them down. They're losing at least a second to wind drag."

"Maybe they would have been better off entering the skeleton, then?"

"Maybe, but monks sliding downhill headfirst? It's so ungainly. No, better to maintain their monastic dignity by participating in the luge - even at the cost of competitive practicality."

ASMV Begins Winter Olympiad Campaign

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVOCSymbol2.png

This is Paco “Pudgy” Rodriguez reporting live from the Winter Olympiad in steamy, sunny, sandy Aeropag, Commerce Heights.

It takes some getting used to, but amidst all the sun and fun here in Aeropag an Olympic Winter Games is taking place. And several athletes from ASMV were part of the first day’s events.

As reported earlier, Kendall Vonstein qualified for the men’s 1k in the short track venue, turning in a time of 1:29.409 to finish with the sixth fastest time.

The first run of the men’s luge saw Timmy Pasquarello finish a surprising sixth, while team mate Brendan Paonessa recorded a time just good enough to put him in 15th.

Women’s snowboard cross saw Sharice Laredo and Sparkle Torrissi qualify, but neither is expected to have a real chance at a medal.

Emanuel Offermann and Tasia Borla both skated well in their short programs and moved on in women’s figure skating. Emauel currently is sitting in 9th and has an outside shot at medaling.

The women’s Ice Hockey team got off to a great start as they defeated Cantr 3-2.

A very good start to the Winter Olympiad. It definitely gives our guys and girls some positive things to build on.

BazSports Coverage of the 1st Winter Olympiad

And Luke MacDonald just snuck ahead 1/10th of a second before Lorenzo Gardner of Commerce Heights securing a spot in the for the 1 km mens Short-track Speed-skating qualification.

Luke approached the BazSport media representative, she was Zoe Sheffers.

"So how did you feel about coming second in the heat?"

"Uh, well Zoe... *breath*... it was a very hard race... *breath* It's the first time *breath* that I have come across many of *breath* these competitors and it was a hard race. *breath* Byron Goodwin of the Kazoo Peoples was just that bit too fast. *breath* But I'm looking forward to the finals."

"Do you think you have a chance at the finals?" Zoe

"Well.. Anything can happen in Speedskating, people can get in others way, and accidents happen. It's depends what happens on the night. and I have no idea what would happen.

And as we return with coverage of the first day of the Games, the very first medals have been won, and we’ve seen a big disappointment for Ariddia in figure skating, but it’s mainly been events in which the PDSRA was not competing.

The first gold medal of these Olympics went to Boudra-Boudra’s biathlon male relay team, which you can see in the recap, that’s Sdar, now crossing the line, with Kaplan for the host nation’s team Commerce Heights just seconds behind for silver. . . Four seconds to be precise, and a good performance for both teams. Anastasiania took bronze three minutes later, and that’s Hansson on your screens, crossing that line to claim a first medal for his country.

No other medals have been decided yet, and Ariddia has yet to start in ice hockey. We’ll keep you up to date on that. Meanwhile, a big disappointment for Ariddia’s Bénédicte Steinbauer in figure skating. She failed to impress the judges, scoring 31.23 points, not nearly enough to qualify. Despite a graceful and impressively complex performance, Steinbauer made a number of small mistakes which added up to leave her outclassed by the competition.

“I’m disappointed, of course,” she explained. “I came here to try and win a medal, and I couldn’t even get past the first stage. I made a few mistakes, but on the whole I’m fairly confident I performed close to my best. My best just wasn’t good enough. There were some very, very skilled girls on the ice, and many of them do deserve a medal. I’ll just have to train harder to get up to their level for next time.”

Topping the competition so far, just two hundredths of a point apart, are Diantha Palamas of the Resurgent Dream, and Passion Liange of Chicanada. Both ladies performed beautifully, to loud applause by spectators, and now appear as top contenders for gold. The biggest disappointment of all, however, was for young flag-bearer Shawna Brown of Tynelia, whose two falls placed her dead last, almost five points behind Steinbauer, and eighteen points behind the temporary leaders. Mixed joy and tears, then, for the athletes in this first day.

Tomorrow, Ariddians will be taking to the field again, as Chang, Riise and Maraîcher all go into the men’s short track one kilometre quarter-finals. They’ve been Ariddia’s strongest hope for a medal so far, but all three are some distance behind the top three contenders.

We’ll leave you with these rather bizarre images of Fr. Sergei the Slider of the Archregimancy speeding along with his luge, the wind billowing in his full monastic robe, and no doubt slowing him down quite considerably. He finished with a time of 0:52.608, ahead of our Yosief Debesa, which wasn’t bad, considering. The monks were encouraged and clapped by the spectators. As was Críostóir Adair of The Resurgent Dream, who actually fell off his luge but refused to give up and finished the race all the same. I’m sure we’ll all be wishing him well for the second run.

That’s it for today. Tune in again tomorrow for a recap of the day’s events!

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/boudra-boudra.jpg

Boudra-Boudra wins first Gold Medal of the Games!
In the 4x7,5km Biathlon.

With most of the Boudra-Boudra participants performing mediocre or worse, the start of the games looked to be quite bad for BDB, but the surprise came when the Bērziņš brothers together with teammates Sdar and Navappo performed outstanding in the 4x7,5km Biathlon. The Boudra-Boudra team took a very big lead with Luk Navappo missing only once and the Bērziņš brothers hitting all their targets. However, the pressure got to Oswaldo Sdar as he missed twice and just managed to hang on to Kaplan, the 4th member of the home team from Commerce Heights. In the sprint for the finish, the crowd roared as they were hoping to see their nation win the first gold medal of the games but instead Sdar finished first just 4 seconds ahead and thus managed to put Boudra-Boudra on top of the medals table. More than three minutes later it was the Anastasiania team who took the bronze.

The Biathlon team is in great shape at the moment and knowing they are taking part in all Biathlon events who knows what more might come, especially after noticing only five teams took part in the 4x7,5km. Was this an event with few competitors or will that be the case for most of the Biathlon events?

Looking at the other results of the Boudra-Boudra athletes, there came some good news from the Womens’ Snowboard Cross Qualification as both Hannah Johansson-Bergh and Oghia Prinz managed to qualify for the next stage of the competition and with Hannah Johansson-Bergh setting the 7th overal time maybe there is a chance for success here too. However, both the Qazox women managed to set superb times and it looks very well like a possible gold and silver for them here. But ofcourse the Cross event can sometimes produce unexpected results with riders falling or being disqualified.

Both the Ice Hockey and Curling men's teams performed badly as they both lost their opening match and are currently in last position in their group. The Hockey team lost 3-2 to a very decent Liverpool England and with matches left against the home team Commerce Heights and The Resurgent Dream, who beat the hometeam 4-3, it will be very hard to qualify. The curlers started inattentively and before they knew it they were 3-0 down to Spaam with 4 ends played, in the end the score would turn out to be 8-5 with the Boudra-Boudra team never getting in sight of a win. But with 4 more matches to go, all is still possible for them.

The Womens' Icehockey team has been paired in the qualification round with Maineiacs, The Kazoo Peoples and Commerce Heights. All teams are quite unknown but it looks to be a 'do-able' task, probably the tougher team will be the hometeam. For the Curling team it's also a group of unknowns with the opponents being Ceorana, The Resurgent Dream, Qazox, The Kazoo Peoples and Jonquiere-Tadoussac.

OOC: Edited typos

It was a disappointing start to the Games for San Adriano, whose single athlete is scheduled to enter only three events, all of them in short track. In the qualifiers for the men’s 1 km race, Thomas Peruzzi, wearing his chequered green and red, aerodynamic suit, lined up in heat 4 with Chang of Ariddia, Fabius of Spruitland, Tregelles of Spaam and de Vries of Ropa-Topia. Carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, Peruzzi set out at a fast pace, slipping into fourth, in what quickly became a fairly tight-knit race. In the early stages, having swiftly overtaken Chang, Peruzzi found himself stuck behind Fabius, and that was where it all went wrong. Trying to edge past his competitor, Peruzzi accidentally jostled the athlete from Spruitland, slowing them both down and causing the Sanadrianese to be disqualified.

It was a crushing blow, for a nation resting its hopes on such a small number of events. Tregelles and Chang went on to qualify, leaving Peruzzi with just two more opportunities to actually finish a race and qualify. He will be competing in two other short track events, and then the Games will be over for San Adriano.

“I made a mistake,” he explained to a Ropa-Topian reporter shortly thereafter. “It happened very quickly, and I couldn’t go back and correct it. I’ve apologised to Koen Fabius, since my mistake probably cost him the race, too. Now I need to make up for it in the next event. I came here to make all Sanadrianese people proud, and I still intend to do that.”

Wentland Times

Bostin Austin turns Violentte!

Firebrand Violette Austin is facing disciplinary action before she has even participated in the Games following an argument with a fellow slider.

Having completed another whirligig practice run she was collecting her skeleton bob from the run-off when William Picard of the Qazox team barrelled in. The two got into a row about leaving spaces between practice runs and Austin hurled herself against the Qazox slider, having to be dragged off by team coach Topolski, much to the amusement and bemusement of the assembled throng.

Five foot one teenagers with multicoloured hair tend not to stand much of a chance against a strength-trained athlete but that did not seem to faze Austin, who was adamant she was only defending her right to compete on fair terms.

"That bald idiot should realize that there are very good reasons why you have to leave a gap between runs," explained Austin afterwards. "He could have run me over."

When told she would face an internal disciplinary hearing, she stormed "he is the only one who needs to face a hearing. He could dazzle the judges with his skull."

Picard laughed off the assault. "It was nothing really. These things happen." When asked by the skeleton bob organizers whether he would attend a round-table meeting with the swift Swift if it were arranged, Picard graciously responded "make it so".

Lady Curlers Falter

Women's curling began yesterday and ended with a disappointing result for the Tynelian team. Thought to be Tynelia's best chance for a medal, the lady curlers found themselves on the short end of a 8-6 loss to perennial soccer and apparently curling power Liverpool England. The score was tied going into the last frame but Liverpool England held the hammer and made Tynelia pay taking two points on the final end to seal the win. Tynelia now finds itself in fifth place after the first match and needs to get a few wins in order to advance to the next round. Some claimed the Tynelians seemed nervous out there, similar to the slow start by the Tynelian soccer team in the World Cup.

Whatever the case, the team is off to a disappointing start and the country hopes they can get on the winning track in their next match.

From MSPN:

Well, a slow day for Mainieiacs atheletes yesterday. Only our Men's curling team played, losing 6-5. The had the lead going into the final end, when they fell victim to a double take out.

Ceorana Watches the Success of Fellow IDU Nations
The Team Anxiously Waits for its First Events
Ceorana Herald

AEROPAG, Commerce Heights -- Ceoranan athletes cheered on fellow International Democratic Union teams from Jonquiere-Tadoussac and Domnonia as it awaited its first turn at an event.

Jonquiere-Tadoussac and Domnonia tied in a womens' hockey qualifying round to put them into a tie for second and third place. Domnonia placed fifth out of fifth in the first medal event, the mens’ 4×7.5 km relay biathlon.

Ceorana's first event is predicted to be the womens' curling qualifing round 3, but the schedule provided seemed to be somewhat subject to change.

"Two laps to go now, and it's Manuso of pacitalia leading Mach and Simari. Simari needs to make the move.....powering round the outside - andf there's the bell!

Simari gets a bit of daylight here....he's gonna do it! Yes - and just look at the time! Look at the time! Andrew Simari lays down the gauntlet by going sub-89!"

Winter Olympic Update

Group Draws abound...

The draw for Men's Curling was announced today, and the "Iced Ts" (or so their team nickname implies, as they have four members with last names beginning with "T"s), were drawn with five significant members of the sporting community, and one we've never heard of. It is only Domnonia that we've never heard of. Hm.

Group B
Pacitalia
Krytenia
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega
The Kazoo Peoples
Domnonia
Chicanada

The draw for women's curling has us with a bunch of relative newcomers -- save Boudra-Boudra (we think). Look for the Kazoos to at least qualify for further rounds.

Group C
Ceorana
The Resurgent Dream
Qazox
The Kazoo Peoples
Jonquiere-Tadoussac
Boudra-Boudra

The draw for Women's Ice Hockey was also announced. Being paired with the host nation, and another fixture in the sporting nation of Boudra-Boudra won't help us any. We'll see what happens.

Group E
Commerce Heights
Maineiacs
The Kazoo Peoples
Boudra-Boudra

We know you're asking, "What about schedules? Where are they?"

To be honest, Commerce Heights has not announced the schedules for Group Games to the public or the media -- only the teams. And since the teams are confined in the Olympic village, not speaking to reporters or other media, we don't know when they'll play. When they do, you'll know.

---
Missed shot makes difference
Kazoos miss medal, though just barely.

1 Boudra-Boudra (Navappo/Bērziņš/Bērziņš/Sdar) (BDB) 1:22:04.4
2 Commerce Heights (Korn-Hofbeck/추/배/Kaplan) (COM) 1:22:08.4
3 Anastasiania (Manning/Moodie/Laine/Hansson) (ANS) 1:25:19.7
The Kazoo Peoples (Seawood/Chesnut/Focht/Norden) (KZO) 1:25:38.1
Domnonia (Gibbons/Marc-Howard/LaRochelle/Jordan) (DOM) 1:26:37.4

Because there were only five competitors in the Men's 4x7.5k Biathlon, it seemed that "The X Factor Biathalon Relay Team" (or so the team is nicknamed), had an X Factor alright -- and that was a missed shot.

The relay team had stayed in the race the entire game, trailing the leaders by a few seconds, but the second half of the relay saw The Kazoo Peoples falling behind. As Chesnut came around the bend towards the start/finish line, Focht readied himself. Moodie, of Anastasiania, was still a ways back, perhaps 30 seconds.

Focht began, and approached the shooting range. He readied himself, and began to shoot. Sports commentator Robert Costa had the call:

"*BLAM* first one hit.
*BLAM* second one hit.
*BLAM* third one hit.
And as Anastasiania's Laine got into the position neighbouring Focht, Focht let go his fourth shot.
*BLAM* a miss! One penalty lap, at least. Laine had gotten himself under control faster than Focht had, and had already hit three of their five. Focht glanced over, and panicked, but still took his next shot.
*BLAM* another miss! Two penalty laps! Good thing this wasn't the last lap!

"Laine finished with a clean slate, no penalties for him. But Focht was considerably ahead. But there was still the matter of the penalty laps. Focht made one lap as Laine passed him, and tagged Hansson. Focht finished, and tagged Norden, obviously exhausted. Norden made up ground quickly, even passing Hansson going into the final shooting portion -- he was definitely the better skiier. But controlling their movement seemed to be a quality of Anastasiania, as Hansson set up next to Norden.

"*BLAM* Nord--*BLAM*--en hits his first, as does--*BLAM-BLAM* Hansson. Each with two. *BLAM-BLAM* Even at three. This is--*BLAM-BLAM*--a fight for bronze--*BLAM*--, folks. *BLAM* AND HE MISSES! Norden misses the crucial fifth shot, one penalty lap for him. But, he is the better skiier of the two, we'll see if he can recover, and earn the medal.

"He's built up a small lead, up by perhaps 5 seconds. Do recall that he has to ski a penalty lap. He begins the lap, finish line in sight. Hansson crosses the finish line, oh dear, Kazoos lose the medal, by 19 seconds. Shame."

Ishimaru Shun was walking down one of the paths in Olympic Village, actually enjoying the mixture of warm air and winter sports equipment. He was sporting a white, short-sleeve button down shirt and long black pants, and carrying his snowboard, which he always seemed to have with him. Ahead on one of the benches were two women. As he got close enough to them, he was able to see they were the two members of the Pschycotian women's boardercross team. One had her head in her hands and the other was comforting her. Shaking the red hair out of his face, he went over and sat down on the bench next to them. "What's wrong."
The girl not crying looked up, "Sachiko didn't qualify to go on." Shun was shocked.
"You've gotta be kidding! She's one of the best!"
"I know," Asuka replied. Sachiko looked up at them.
"I don't know what happened," she said between tiny sobs. "My edge caught one of the flags on a corner, and it spun me around a little. I haven't done something like that in ages."
"Ah, don't worry about it," Shun said. "We all make a lot of mistakes sometimes."
"Yeah, well you really better not make any mistakes when you go for the Double Cork 1080. THe whole team will never be able to live it down if you bail it," Asuka said with a fake accusitory manner.
"What??" Shun replied, stunned. "I'd...I'd nev..." Sachiko cut him off, cheered up a little by Asuka's fake insulting.
"Yeah, if you drag so much as a hand at all during your run, you're gonna have to pull that board out of your..."
"DUDE!!!" Nakamura came running down the path, interupting the conversation. "Fujiwara just ate five punds of sushi and then chugged a half gallon of apple juice. He's gonna spew in, like, five seconds. You CAN'T miss this." He grabbed Shun and dragged him off down the path. Five minutes later, the two girls heard the sound of someone loosing their stomach echoing back down the path toward them. Quietly, Nakamura's voice followed the sound, "please tell me you got that on film, dude!"

The Aeropag Tribune—Proud sponsor of the Aeropag Tribune Bobsled, Luge, and Skeleton Stadium

Olympics: COC blames Chicanada for missing athletes
AEROPAG, JI—After Chicanadan athletes were mysteriously excluded from the qualification round of the womens’ snowboard cross event, organizers pointed to a improperly-filled form as the cause.
“If Chicanada has trouble filling out paperwork, it’s not our problem,” said COC representative Δέντσας Εζεκιελ (Déntsas Ezekiel). “You see, when answering the question ‘Will your NOC be sending athletes to compete in snowboarding events?’ on form 10-K, they went a full half millimeter outside the line when filling in the ‘Yes’ oval. Our system can’t tolerate that outrageous sloppiness.”
Despite the error, the COC has scheduled a special qualification run for the Chicanadan athletes at 2006–03–20 04:00 UTC. No explanation has been given for another, unrelated oddity in the scheduling, in which several events were delayed over eight hours with no official announcement.

Olympic Update Blog brought to you by QazSoft:

Day 2:

In doubles luge, our pairs of Crusher/Dax (QAZ) with a time of 45.197 and
Riker/Troi (QAZ) with a time of 45.240, didnt dissapoint as they qualified 2nd and 3rd respectively. In other Sports the Young Nation of Boudra-Boudra won the 1st gold medal of the games in Biathlon—Mens’ 4×7.5 km Relay with a time of: 1:22:04.4, edging out the hosts by 4 seconds. Most of Qazox' events are later in the week, but with a strong showing so far, the Black Oxen should do well in all events they compete in.

Stay tuned for updates of the blog.

Heath a hero with 6th Finish

1.Kenbor Tan (ZER) 0:53.36
2.Canban Sanom (ZER) 0:53.37
3.Jeff Hauser (LEN) 0:53.45
4.Ray Sona (KEL) 0:53.47
5.Pierre Carême (KEL) 0:53.67
6.Reiner Heath (CRO) 0:53.68

CR Oscilloscopes' winter olympian Reiner Heath did the country proud on Sunday, as he finished a laudable 6th in run 1 of the Mens' Slalom. Heath, who is considered the country's best medal hope out of six athletes was clearly delighted after the run, where he finished just about a third of a second behind the leader. He told the media that he was delighted with his performance, and that in general he was, 'loving the whole experience of being around other top-quality athletes'.

Reiner was the first of the three CR Oscilloscopes athletes to compete in the competition.

Olympic Update

Unfortunate Matchup

Bryon Goodwin was placed in Heat 3 for today's quarterfinals.

A new Olympic record was set by Luke MacDonald... in Heat 3.

If Goodwin was placed in Heat 1, he would have qualified. He was not, and placed third in Heat 3, and thereby eliminating himself from contention for a medal. He was the last surviving member in the 1000m Men's Short Track and so no athlete from our nation will be competing in the 1000m.

Heat 2
Luke MacDonald (BAZ) OR 1:28.065 Q
Andrew Simari (KRY) 1:29.105 Q
Byron Goodwin (KZO) 1:30.417
Simone Aguratani (PAC) DSQ

---
Allie Moone Advances

Sure, there wasn't an event, but everyone advanced to the quarterfinal. Allie Moone advanced to the quarterfinal stage in the 1500m Short Track.

From MSPN --
Faint Glimmer Of Hope

Aeropag, Commerce Heights:

Maineiacs received its first remotely good news so far in the 2124 Winter Olympics. Lodi Davenport sits currently in 9th place after the first run of the Men's Slalom, about 0.5 seconds out of first. Davenport is expected to hold on for a top 10 finish, and maybe challenge for a medal. Skier Toby Meyers fell on the 4th gate and did not finish the race.

This is An archist News, the official station of the An archist NS Olympic Team.

Patty Paterson: Last week in Commerce Heights, Michele Michelson placed twenty-first in the womens' short program in figure skating. Scoring a solid 36.84, she qualified to perform in the free skate, her strong suite in this competition. The top scorer Diantha Palamas scored 44.19. Many figure skating experts believe that Michelson can climb in the standings to take a medal if she lands a quad in the free skate.

John Johnson: A quad would be a spectacular achievement, possibly enough to give her a gold, even though the rest of her program is somewhat unrefined.

Patty Paterson: I'll be looking forward to that free skate competition and a possible gold medal for Milchelson. Jamie Jamison and Blaze Blazeson failed to qualify for the free skate portion of the competition.

In other Olympics related news, it seems that An archy is the number one Olympic team in alphabetical order. When asked about how this might effect the performance of our athletes one fan had this to say:

Random An archist Sports Fan: We're first in alphabetical order. WHOOPDEEDOO!! Really, don't you guys have something even slightly more important to cover on the evening news?

John Johnson: No, actually, we don't.

Random An archist Sports Fan: How pathetic.

Patty Paterson: Remember to tune in to An archist News throughout the NS Winter Olympics for more coverage of the An archist team.

This has been a presentation of An archist News, your official station for the An archist NS Olympic Team.

Good start ice hockey women
Short track could have been better; San Adriano's only athlete disqualified

Aeropag - The First Winter Olympics had a good start for the women's ice hockey team with a 3-2 win from Liverpool England.

More eventful, and with more mixed results were the qualifications for the men's 1000m short track. Philip Timmer was the only one to qualify for the quarter- and semi-finals. Not a very good start, but not as bad as San Adriano. Their only athlete, Thomas Peruzzi, was disqualified after jostling Fabius of Spruitland.

"I made a mistake," Peruzzi said. "It happened very quickly, and I couldn't go back and correct it."

Curlers off to good start, hockey women stumble

The women's hockey team got off to a poor start in the Winter Games, losing 2-3 to Ropa-Topia. Their male counterparts capitalised on a powerplay with six seconds left to steal a 3-2 win from under the noses of Boudra-Boudra, while the female curlers won 8-6 over Tynelia with the last end proving decisive. Dolores Haire made the snowboardcross finals, the only Liverpool Englander to make a final round to date.

Winter Olympics Blog Presented by QazSoft

Latest News From Commerce Heights:

Women's Curling team comes back to beat The Kazoo Peoples in the 10th inning as Skip Paula Rubin-Downs knocked out 2 rocks with the hammer to win the match for the Lady Oxen. the Lady Oxen were down 6-4 with 2 innings left, but a bad play in the 9th by Kazoo left the match wide open and
Paula Rubin-Downs took full advantage.


Kazoo-0-1-1-0-0-0-2-2-0-0-6
Qazox-2-0-0-0-2-0-0-0-2-2-8

Other Results will be posted as soon as they are available.

From MSPN --


Maineiacs' Women's curling team got off to a strong start, beating their first opponent, Malabra, 9-5. Our Men's hockey team Played their first game to a 2-2 draw vs. Stevid. hockey coach Bud Cooper was said to be "disappointed" with the team's performance.

Moniotte Falls Flat + Other Disapointments
Saint-Monica Nautique

Éropeg - After the disaster that was the Figure Skating Womens’ Short Program, Kelse is no longer hopeful for a medal in Figure Skating as the countrys' best bet, Amélie Moniotte, fell flat on her bum to get her a dismal, yet qualifying, 22nd with a score of 36.81. Her fellow skaters Sophie Desailly and Cécilia Rhode finished terribly, at 43rd [31.43] and 45th [31.38]. After the event, which was broadcasted live on De Lux, Moniotte was speechless and was seen leaving the rink crying. Clearly, she was heartbroken. The first Womens' Ice Hockey Qualifying match went nearly as bad, as the Ladies' lost 3-2 to Spaam. On a lighter note, Ray Sona and Pierre Carême finished 4th and 5th respectively in the Alpine Skiing Mens’ Slalom Run 1 with times of 0:53.67 and 0:53.68. In the Mens' Super-G, Sona and Carême didn't do nearly as well, finishing 8th and 11th with times of 1:31.15 and 1:31.56. The gold medal in that event went to Canban Sanom of Zertunia, who finished with a time of 1:30.18.

Kelse will not be participating in any soon-to-come events, however all other Olympic Action will be shown, excluding the Curling Events. The Mens’ Snowboard Cross Qualificationon will be shown live on De Lux Reloaded (Channel 32). Please check your local listings for exact times. That's the latest from Éropeg, and until next time, go Kelse!

Cana Daily Press

Highlights of Day 2 of the 1934 Winter Games: Snowboardcross MEN Fail To Make WOMEN'S Qualifier

Jeanie Smith and Anna Jacon (as listed in the COC's paperwork (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10567329&postcount=24) as well as in the Olympics site (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Chicanada_at_the_First_Winter_Olympics#Snowboarding)) Were excited by being allowed to compete finally in the Olympics. Then tragedy struck, as men's hopefulls Jesnui Avarice and Jonah Minx somehow were considered women (since both males sport shorter hair than the women and do not appear to have sexondary sex characteristics making them women, this is laughable) and had their practice times counted amongst the WOMENS field.

What was worse? The MEN failed to qualify for the final runs.

"I'm not that embarrased, it was practice," Avarice said after going to a press conference held by the Chicanadan Olympic Comittee again. Chicanada OC official Yancey Dubois has filed yet another complaint to the hosts, showing that the paperwork concerning the males and females competing was done correctly and not "Our system can’t tolerate that outrageous sloppiness" as the COC (from Commerce Heights) stated in their earlier press conference, which announced Jeanie and Anna would compete.

No word from the COC when the two females would compete. Jesnui and Jonah are expected to use the weird circumstances to try and improve chances on sneaking onto the podium in MENS Snowboardcross.

In other sports, the women's curling team lost a close one to Commerce Heights 8-5, with the win comming in the 8th sessions of the ten-session round. The Kodiak Womens Team have matches with Maineiacs, Spaam, Ropa-Topia and Malabra to go in their qualifier.

The Mens Hockey Team, fresh off an embarrasing finish at Cherry Cup 18, and prepping for the Second Oliverry Cup, start tommorow in Olympic Action. It could be a favorable draw, with only regional neighbor Pacitalia seen as the major rival for advancement.

Kjian Ulanx finished a disappointing 23rd his his first Slalom run today, but did finish nearly ten seconds of the last-place finisher of the first runs. Hopefully things will pick up in his second run.

Ceoranan Curling Team Loses to The Resurgent Dream
Ceorana Herald

In the first Ceoranan event in the First Winter Olympics, Ceorana's womens' curling team went down to The Resurgent Dream with a score of five to seven.

"We were going okay, but then we just hit a rough spot," commented Kylee McKenna, the team's skip, in an interview.

Sources who wished to remain anonymous to avoid offending McKenna suggested that she may have not played to her full potential because of a recent conflict with her coach, John Brown.

Both Brown and McKenna declined to comment.

Spaam Sports Weekly
NationStates' Most Notorious Sports Publication

Celebrating 100 Years of World Cup Participation

2108 Winter Olympics Daily Edition


Laity Finishes 17th

In the men's Super-G alpine skiing, Spaamanian hopeful Kenan Laity could
only manage 17th out of 25. His time of 1:32.57 was almost 2.5 seconds
slower than the gold medal winner Canban Sanom, of Zertunia. Zertunia also
won the bronze, through Kenbor Tan, while Béroto Théalin of Antrium was
second.

Penguins Join Men In Winner's Circle

Curling in Spaam is a winner for both the women and men, with the women
winning their first match. The Penguins beat Ropa-Topia in a close match 6-5
, with one from the 10th end sealing the match. In other Group D matches,
Commerce Heights had an easy win against Chicanada 8-5, while Maineiacs
had an even easier win, beating Malabra 9-5. The table now looks like this
after one game:

Group D P W D L GF:GA GD Pts
Maineiacs 1 1 0 0 9:5 +4 3
Commerce Heights 1 1 0 0 8:5 +3 3
Spaam 1 1 0 0 6:5 +1 3
Ropa-Topia 1 0 0 1 5:6 -1 0
Chicanada 1 0 0 1 5:8 -3 0
Malabra 1 0 0 1 5:9 -4 0

Lory In With A Chance

Alpine slalom skier Petrok Lory is still in with a chance of a medal after the
first run. Lory is currently in 14th, but his time of 54.65 seconds is less than
1.3 seconds from first placing. Zertunia dominated the first run, with their
two competitors finishing first and second with just one hundredth of a
second between them.

Tregelles Into Semis

Short-track speed skater Wella Tregelles qualified for the semifinals of the
1000m, coming second in his heat with a time of 1:29.607. It was a big
improvement over his qualifying time, though he was over a second behind
heat winner Lino Le of Commerce Heights. Le's time was second fastest of
the quarterfinals, with Luke MacDonald of Bazalonia setting a new Olympic
record in his heat of just over 1 minute 28 seconds.

Popsicles Suprise Winners

Spaam's inexperienced Ice Hockey team won their opening match, 3 goals to
2 over Kelse. With Jonquiere-Tadoussac and Domnonia tying, this means the
Popsicles are temporary group leaders, and have a chance of qualifying. This
was a fantastic result for a nation that has never before competed in
international ice hockey.

Group B P W D L GF:GA GD Pts
Spaam 1 1 0 0 3:2 +1 2
Domnonia 1 0 1 0 3:3 0 1
Jonquiere-Tadoussac 1 0 1 0 3:3 0 1
Anastasiania 0 0 0 0 0:0 0 0
Kelse 1 0 0 1 2:3 -1 0

WENTLAND GAZETTE
Golden Chance!

The decision to pair up Wentland's best male and female sliders paid off last night as Lou Grade and Juliette Wilson took the lead in the luge doubles after the first run. Their time of 45.096 eclipsed the Qazox teams of Crusher/Dax and Riker/Troi by a shade over a tenth of a second, as well as forming a new track record.

Second string outfit Rank and Slaughter lie in seventh place, nearly three seconds back and without any real hope of a medal. A serious wobble in turn 11 saw the pair ricochet between both sides of the run and lose at least two seconds.

Grade was ecstatic at his run. "The glove re-spiking seems to have worked," he said. "I was getting more grip on the push-off and I am really pleased with the speed I was getting into turn one."

Juliette Wilson is yet to start her individual event and was understandably delighted with the run. "It takes a lot of pressure off. We're looking good for a medal, touch wood, and I can hopefully take the momentum into the women's event."

But the two Qazox pairs look dangerously quick. Grade was keen not to underestimate the challenge. "We go last in the second run; we will know what to do, but cannot do much about it. We just go as fast as we can. At least come the finish there will not be much waiting around to see where we are."

Rank and Slaughter were more disappointed with their run. Particularly Desiree, who although there mainly for experience was hoping to land a medal. "I could not get the steering sorted," she said. "I guess I need more practice running."

Meanwhile Grade needs to refocus on his second luge run in the individuals, where he has a great chance of getting a medal, having taken fourth in the initial run.

Doubtless the Wents will be out in force late at night watching to see if Wentland gets it first Olympic medal.

***

Downhill disappointment

Further participation of Wentland's sole representative in the men's ski-ing is in doubt after Harry Woods crashed out of the men's super-G event. Woods was already ski-ing with an injury after clipping a gate badly in the slalom and falling, although he got up bravely to finish the first run in the slalom - dead last.

Woods could barely hide his frustration. "My best event is to come and I might not make it. I was doing so well in the slalom, I think I was 9th at the first timing beam, but went in too hard at the end and wrenched my knee. It just went in the super-G and there was nothing I could do."

When asked whether he would be fit for the downhill, team doctor Gannon said it was 50/50. "We have tried various injections," he said. "We have been careful of course to ensure that every mecical cocktail has been approved by the Olympic Committee and the swelling is going down. I don't think there is any long-term damage but it is very painful and we do not want to aggravate things."

The Aeropag Tribune—Now with extra AAA™ advertisements from Anaphase Alchemy!

Olympics: Chicanadan snowboarders dazed and confused, but trying to continue
AEROPAG, JI—After having been left out of the qualification for the snowboard cross event, Chicanadan snowboarders Jeanie Smith and Anna Jacon thought they were finally getting their chance to qualify.
Unfortunately for them, the combination of a power surge and a bug in Maxisoft’s MaxiSQL database software led not to their scores being included in the results, but to the Chicanadan men being included, who had just finished practicing at the time. The correct results were eventually recovered from the database after the Chicanadan NOC alerted the COC to the problem. The COC is currently taking legal action against Maxisoft for the bug, as they had signed an agreement stating that such critical errors would not occur in the software.
“It’d be nice if they hadn’t caught the bug,” said Jacon. “Even though they didn’t qualify, they got much better times than us.”

Newest Olympic Update Sponsored By: QazSoft
Use Chimneys 1900 for all your computing needs

Earlier today the qualifaction runs for the Men's SnowBoarder Cross took place and once again Qazox' 2 athletes in the event qualified. Buster Butte had a run time of 1:19.54 for the 2nd fastest run of the day. Teammate Qwijibo finished a dissapointing 13th in qualifing with a time of 1:22.91, meaning that both teammates could meet in the Semi-Finals possibly eliminating one of them from a medal.

Buster Butte had this to say after his run: " Its sad that Qwijibo slipped up at the start gate, that had to cost him about 2 seconds. Hopefully he'll do well in the elimination runs and may the better boarder win. Now if you'll excuse me I got a hot date with a cute Aeropag girl I met at the bar last night."

More Updates as they happen.

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Dorian & Sonya Aeropag Progress Report

Very little happened for Dorian and Sonya in the First Winter Olympiad in Aeropag, Commerce Heights today.

In the men’s Slalom event, Wes Gode overcame the odds and actually finished his first run. The reason we say that he overcame the odds is that Wes suffers from Down’s Syndrome. But he earned his spot on the team and competed brilliantly for his country. After the run with a time of 56.43, Wes would not even speak to the throng of reporters who kept hurling questions at him. In a statement issued later, Wes informed the media that he would not allow his disability to become the center of attention. The other competitor from the Kingdom, Ezequiel Croslen, failed to finish his run after injuring his right ankle just seconds into the run. Ezequiel was seen later on crutches cheering as Wes crossed the finish line. We will have more on the injury once the details have been made available to us.

Medal were handed out in the men’s Super G, but we did not participate in that event. Congrats to Zertunia for a Gold a Bronze in the event, and Antrium for collecting the silver.

In men’s Hockey qualification, the Pink & Black of D&S reigned supreme as we moved past Ropa-Topia 3-2. This was a bit of a surprise as our hockey team normally plays on pavement with roller blades.

In Women’s Snowboardcross, the runs were made from two Chicanadan athletes who both failed to qualify without threat to our own positions. Men’s snowboard cross got underway as well and our own Deangelo Hubl qualified, though it was as one of the last to do so. Palmer Hennard just barely missed qualifying in the same event.

That sums up the action for today. See you all again tomorrow. Good luck to everyone.

ASMV Has Busy Day 2

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This is “Pudgy” Rodriguez from the sunny beaches of Aeropag with all your Winter Olympic News.


ASMV saw several athletes in action today.

First was the Quarterfinals of the men’s 1k short track event, where our own Kendall Vonstein had a great chance to move into the Semis. That failed to happen as Bequelerian skater, Ziad Abdulaziz pushed off in the corner earning a DQ for himself and removing Vonstein from any chance of moving on.

In women’s curling, our team lost to Krytenia 7-6 in a very well played match for both sides. If we keep playing this well, we should gain some better results in the games to come.

The men’s Slalom event had its first run of the competition and ASMV’s Antoine Kot moved into the 8th spot, just .43 behind the leader. Another solid run could find Kot on the medal stand for the event.Elton Spaziano also completed his run, but is more than a second and a half behind the leader from Zertunia.

Zertunia proved Alpine Skiing power as the took the bronze and the Gold for the men’s Super G. Sterling Dome, our lone competitor in the event, finished - but that is about all that can be said for it. 16th is completely unacceptable.

Men’s curling was blessed to witness the boys from ASMV as they moved past The Kazoo peoples 7-5. A great start for our curling medal hopes.

Marcelino Vavro qualified as the 5th fastest in the men’s snowboard cross event. That is a bit of a surprise as ASMV is not well know for its snowboarding glory. Aurelio Janhunen also qualified for the event in the 10th position.

Day 3 should be a great one with more events to come.

THE ARCHREGIMANCY BRINGS YOU
THE WINTER OLYMPICS TONIGHT

With Fr. Nicholas the Scribe and Fr. John the Golden-Throated

"So, Fr. John... Any other glorious failures for the Archregimancy this evening as the team upholds their monastic dignity at the price of competive effectiveness?"

"Erm, afraid so, Fr. Nicholas - let's look at the highlights from today's snowboard cross qualifiers:

...coming down to the final jump, and it's Fr. Basil the Radical - the only known snowboarding monk - who's amazingly leading his qualifying field - he's well on course to beat Thivierge's time, and... into the jump... and oh my - he's attempting a prayer in mid-air.... and... oh no! He falls over! That's what you get for showboating on the final jump... he gets up, but... 1:25.05 he'll be disappointed by that!"

Jacques Thivierge (NMS) 1:19.26 Q
Buster Butte (QAZ) 1:19.54 Q
Yamashita Shun (PPS) 1:20.28 Q
Midorikawa Naoki (PPS) 1:20.87 Q
Marcelino Vavro (AMV) 1:21.04 Q
Jonah Mixn (CHC) 1:21.12 Q
Jeffrey Dodds (LEN) 1:21.36 Q
Daniel Rachubka (KRY) 1:21.86 Q
Sean Gould (MAI) 1:21.89 Q
Aurelio Janhunen (AMV) 1:21.95 Q
Ivan Alexandrovich Borivich (MVA) 1:22.31 Q
Ludjan Pinch (SPA) 1:22.59 Q
Qwijibo (QAZ) 1:22.91 Q
Deangelo Hubl (DAS) 1:22.93 Q
Norman Marrufo (LEN) 1:22.93 Q
Iknda Daqora (MLB) 1:23.33 Q
Hadrian Caracalla (MVA) 1:23.34
Palmer Hennard (DAS) 1:23.83
원빈성 (COM) 1:24.53
Andrew Keating (RDR) 1:24.90
Fr. Basil the Radical (ARC) 1:25.05
Steve Parzi (BDB) 1:25.16
Eric Hubtchev (KRY) 1:25.22
Jesnui Avarice (CHC) 1:26.01
Lork J. Bennetton (BDB) 1:26.43
Michel Poitier (NMS) 1:26.91
Hadrian Caracalla (MVA) DNS

"A mid-air prayer, Fr. John? Surely there's a time _and_ a place?"

"There's never a bad moment for prayer when you're a monk, Fr. Nicholas, as you should know. But there's one other thing that puzzles me."

"What's that?"

"It's this Hadrian Caracalla fellow.... According to hosts Commerce Heights, he wasn't allowed to start as Magnus Valerius had too many competitors. But according to the official table, he also finished 17th - one one hundreth of a second out of a qualifying spot...."

"Odd indeed, Fr. John - perhaps we're not the only Orthodox nation that can replicate it's citizens. And finally tonight, we'd just like to comment on the following headline from Spaam:


Laity Finishes 17th

True enough. Unfortunately for us, the laity are finishing in every position above our brave monks....

Dodds, Marrufo qualify for SnowboardX finals

Both Liverpool England representatives at the men's snowboardcross made the finals, as Jeff Dodds and Norman Marrufo both clocked times well inside the 1 minute, 23.33 second cut-off, with Marrufo clocking a conservative 1:22.93 and Dodds securing a 1:21.36 finish.

Curly Bunnies brush off Magnus Valerius

With a score of 7 to 5, the Curly Bunnies – Spruitland’s women curling team – won their first group match of the Winter Olympics. While the rules of that sport are utterly unclear to 99% of Spruitlanders – this reporter included – the team of Spruitland housewives displayed some impressive broom action to guide some sort of heavy sliding discs towards a painted target on the ice. Jolly good.

Somewhat less jolly good was Willy Kokerelle’s failure to qualify for the 1000 meter short track semi finals. Willy ended third in his Quarter final race after a very unsportsmanlike maneuver by home-rider Lino Le in the final lap. Kokerelle filed an official complaint, but was overruled by the obviously partial judges.

There will be more Winter Olympic action tomorrow – at least we think so, since the official schedule provided by the Aeropag officials is in some sort of strange, alien format that can obviously only be opened with inferior software.

The Schiavone Scribe
Only hopes vanish already

Schiavonia's main hope of a medal of any kind before the start of the Aeropag Winter Olympics was in luge.

Both Schiavonia's male and female sliders were hotly tipped to be pushing for a place on the podium come the end of the event, but the opening run of the men's event hasn't gone well.

However, after one run, Schiavonia's Gene Taylor-Merenghi, Vincent Box and Freddie Ascoll lie 17th, 20th and 35th respectively.

OK, so there may only be a second and a half between Ascoll and the leader, Francesco Sporanto of Pacitalia, but that's absolutely ages in luge terms.

Why has it gone so horribly wrong? Well, there's a number of reasons we suspect why.

The main one is the cold. Schiavonia isn't cold. There is no ice. The change in climate has had adverse effects on the whole Schiavone squad, with every single one of them currently suffering from what is called a "cold". This involves gooey gunk coming out of people's noses, but is fortunately not too serious. It just goes away after a few days.

Apart from that, there is the fact that street luge and ice luge are completely different. You use wheels in the streets, but blades on the ice. BLADES!

The difference was quite obvious in the Schiavone competitor's performances, as they bashed against hte sides of the course repetitively on their way down.

Needless to say, our only hopes don't actually have hopes at all. Roll on the summer games!

Welcome back, and you’re just in time for a recap of today’s main events! I’m sure those of you who were able watched live earlier today, as three Ariddians tried to get into the semi-finals of the men’s one kilometre short track. We’ll be taking you back there in just a moment, but first, let’s take a look at what else has been going on. . .

We’ve seen some alpine skiing, with some spectacular skiing, and some equally spectacular falls. Ariddia having no mountains, and even less snow, had no athletes in this impressive event. It was a one-two for Zertunia in the first run, with Kenbor Tan and Canban Sanom setting the pace and grabbing the top two places. . . As you can see in the replay. . . There, that’s Tan just crossing the line. Zertunia’s third competitor, Ichan Horbin, also qualified, in eleventh place. There were also a few accidents. . . That’s Michael Vasari you can see. . . from Mikitivity. . . careening off the track there. And Mirkoj Franzi, of Boudra-Boudra, in what looks like a rather painful fall. We’ll let you know of course when we have confirmation of their injuries, and whether they’ll be remaining in the competition.

Still in alpine skiing, in the much awaited Super G, Canban Sanom grabbed gold for Zertunia, finishing less than a tenth of a second ahead of Beroto Thealin, from Antrium. The bronze also went to Zertunia, and Kenbor Tan.

In the second round of women’s snowboard, the ladies from Qazox confirmed their lead, with this impressive performance by Ermine Johnson you can see on your screen now. . . She finished in temporary first place, while her compatriot Tyra Lopez took second. We also saw some men’s snowboard, equally as impressive as the women’s, and it was Jacques Thivierge of New Montreal States who took the initial lead.

Ariddia wasn’t entirely idle today, though, as the women played their first match in ice hockey, going up against Malabra for a three-all draw. . . and you can see those goals replayed now. The team from Stevid takes the lead in Group C for the time being, after a four-two win over Dorian and Sonya. Fellow Uhuhlanders Ropa-Topia also won their match in Group A, defeating Liverpool England by three goals to two.

We should actually have seen Jessica Silversmith and Linda Uosh compete in the qualifying heats for the women’s fifteen hundred metre short track, but we’ve been informed that race has actually been cancelled, and all twenty athletes will directly qualify for the quarter-finals. So both Ariddian athletes were able to just practice quietly today and get ready for those quarter-finals.

Now, we go at last to the men’s short track quarter-finals, for the one kilometre event, and as you know all three Ariddians had made it to the quarter-finals. Short track is the field Ariddian supporters have been watching most eagerly, and all three of our lads were obviously aiming to get into those semis. So let’s see how it went. . . No Ariddians in the first two heats, but heat one was won by Philip Timmer of Ropa-Topia, so we’ll be seeing him in the semi-finals. Luke MacDonald of Bazalonia took heat two. . . and our Jean-Michel Chang, the team’s flag-bearer, went in heat three. He was up against Le of Commerce Heights, Tregelles of Spaam, and Kokerelle of Spruitland. ‘Le’ sounds rather like a Wymgani name, but we’ve been assured Mr. Le is not of Ariddian descent. Anyway. . . as you can see, Le was off to a fast start, with the support of a home crowd, while Chang took third place in those first few seconds, and tried to gain on Tregelles. There didn’t really seem to be an opening, though, and. . . there, as you can see, as Chang tries to overtake Tregelles. . . he doesn’t manage, and Kokerelle slips past him on the side. Still going strong, Chang, but he doesn’t seem to have it in him to catch Le. . . and he finishes fourth. So that’s a disappointment.

And heat 4 now, the final heat, with two Ariddians actually competing against each other. Maraîcher and Riise, and they were also up against Demisthekles of Magnus Valerius, and Danathen of Malabra. Our two Ariddians took the lead pretty quickly and kept it, cheered on by Ariddian supporters, until. . . there, you can see Demisthekles try to overtake Riise, and knock him off course a little. . . Riise sent off course and getting in Danathen’s way. . . Nothing serious, and I don’t think it was intentional, but it did mean Demisthekles was out. The Ariddians stayed in the lead, with Maraîcher winning the race, his time logged at 1:29.484. So there’ll be two Ariddians in the semi-final, and hopefully we’ll see them both going for gold in the final. We’ll keep you up to date on that; for now, that’s it from the Olympics. Good night!

"It's this Hadrian Caracalla fellow.... According to hosts Commerce Heights, he wasn't allowed to start as Magnus Valerius had too many competitors. But according to the official table, he also finished 17th - one one hundreth of a second out of a qualifying spot...."
OOC: Well, I meant that Zackary Laurole was not allowed to start as Dorian and Sonya had too many competitors. I just got thrown off by Prince Ivan Alexandrovich Borivich’s long name. :p

Mixed results in Curling and Ice Hockey
Olympic mascot gives birth to frog

Aeropag/Isle of Uhm - After a win of the women's ice hockey team against Liverpool England with 3-2, the men's team repeated that result against Dorian and Sonya, but this time in favour of the opponent.
In the qualification rounds for curling, the women's team lost with 6-5 from Spaam, while the men's team won from New Montreal States with 7-5.

In other Olympic news, Ro-To the cloned feather-bellied Uhuh, and the Ropa-Topian Olympic mascot, gave birth to a feather-bellied frog. The scientists who were responsible for cloning the long-extinct subspecies of Uhuh think that this may have happened because they used frog DNA to fill in the missing pieces in the fossilized feather-bellied Uhuh DNA.

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Close but no cigar!
Mirkoj Franzi ends 4th in the Mens’ Super-G.

Just like the first day, most of the results proved to be quite disappointing for the Boudra-Boudra athletes except for one as Mirkoj Franzi ended on a very impressive 4th place in the Mens’ Super-G, just 23 hundreths away from gold and only FOUR hundreths away of the bronze medal. Both the Zertunian athletes were unstoppable as they finished first and third, thereby also taking the lead in the medals table.

Other Boudra-Boudra Results:
- After the first run in the Mens’ Slalom event, Benny Pmir is lying in 20th position, far out of contention for the medals, almost 2,5 seconds behind. Mirkoj Franzi missed a gate and did not finish his run.
- The Womens’ Curling team lost their first game by a close margin, as they went down to Jonquiere-Tadoussac, 7-8. In that same group Ceorana lost 5-7 to The Resurgent Dream while Qazox managed to beat The Kazoo Peoples 8-6.
- The Cross-Country Skiing Team Sprint qualifying round for women has been cancelled due to not enough teams, all teams go through to the final. With only 5 teams competing, the BDB delegation is hoping for another medal.
- Both Boudran competitors in the Womens’ Snowboard Cross are still in with a chance as they both qualified for the next round.
- In the Mens' Snowboard Cross however, both Steve Parzi and Lork J. Bennetton fell a lot short of the needed qualification time. Both are out of the tournament.

Further news: an error has been made when submitting teams for the team sprint events of the Biathlon with 4 team members submitted instead of the required 2. These teams have now been updated, for the Women Eveline Schnütz and Zsamanda Moscardelli-Kobylarczyk will participate while Oswaldo Sdar and the better of the Bērziņš brothers, Gregors will take part for the men.

OOC: the scheduled upcoming event should be the Cross-Country Skiing—Womens’ 4×6 km Relay, not Cross-Country Skiing—Womens’ 4×5 km Relay
EDIT: My bad, it's correct, 6km for Biathlon indeed.

Wentland Window
First Gold!

Wentland picked up its first gold medal in the Winter Olympics today. Well, at least that's what Allan Martin claimed, having invented the sport of Creative Snowmanning and declaring it a demonstration sport.

"My snowman is in the shape of a dolphin," he explained, "to symbolise the delphinity of the world."

Janette Tough built an igloo and came second. "It's post-modernist," she claimed. "Snowmen live outside so I decided to make one inside."

Bronze went to Ian Ling, who just built a snowman. "I didn't see the Creative bit on the poster. Still, it's a big one. And my oeuvre is monochromatic."

There were only three entrants, but a 1-2-3 for Wentland is not something to be sniffed at.

OOC: the scheduled upcoming event should be the Cross-Country Skiing—Womens’ 4×6 km Relay, not Cross-Country Skiing—Womens’ 4×5 km Relay
No, the schedule is correct. The biathlon relay is 4×6 km, the cross-country skiing relay is 4×5 km. At least that’s what all the RL results say. :p

TOP OF THE LEAGUE

Today the Stevid mens hockey team proved it's worth by pulling together a string of good results. First off came a 2-2 draw with Maineiacs pushing through a single point to show that they are no walk over. But result of the day was the womens ice hockey.

4-2 was the final score to Stevid over Ariddia shooting them right up the first with a goal difference of plus two.

Both Stevid Hockey teams are performing extremly well in the olympics and may well be medal contenders.

Wentland Window
First Gold!

Wentland picked up its first gold medal in the Winter Olympics today. Well, at least that's what Allan Martin claimed, having invented the sport of Creative Snowmanning and declaring it a demonstration sport.

"My snowman is in the shape of a dolphin," he explained, "to symbolise the delphinity of the world."

Janette Tough built an igloo and came second. "It's post-modernist," she claimed. "Snowmen live outside so I decided to make one inside."

Bronze went to Ian Ling, who just built a snowman. "I didn't see the Creative bit on the poster. Still, it's a big one. And my oeuvre is monochromatic."

There were only three entrants, but a 1-2-3 for Wentland is not something to be sniffed at.

THE MONASTIC TIMES

ARCHREGIMANCY ATHLETE CHALLENGES WENTLAND MEDAL CLAIMS
Fr. Silouan Carves Icon of 8th-Century Martyrs Into Snow

By Fr. Nicholas the Scribe

Archregimancy lugist Fr. Silouan today challenged Wentland's claim to have won all three medals in the unofficial demonstration sport of Creative Snowmanning after showing officials his snow icon of 'Saints John, Sergius, Patrick and the others who were slain in the Monastery of Saint Sava'.

"Dolphins? Igloos? Snowmen? There are 18 holy martyrs in my snow icon!" Said Fr. Silouan, who was considering lodging an official protest. "And what's more, my work - which I blessed myself - isn't merely monochromatic like the Wentland efforts. I have proudly replicated the authentic gilt-edged effect of Orthodox iconography through the use of yellow snow."

When asked how he had achieved this remarkable dual-tone effect, Fr. Silouan refused to reply, muttering something about 'trade secret'.

"Curled Bazalopes take early lead but faulter" by Nev Gould

Jonquiere-Tadoussac 8 – 5 Bazalonia was the scoreline at the end but for the first few ends it seemed that the Curled Bazalopes would take it out.


--------------------------------------------------------
|Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total |
|-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+-------|
|J-T | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
|Baz | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
--------------------------------------------------------


Unfortunately it seems that Gregory Peterson, the early powerhouse of the team triped over himself and landed on a nasty piece of metal railing. It is yet unclear if he will recover in-time for the next match or if the Curled Bazalopes can cope in the following matches without him.

Wayne King has filled an official complaint with the host city about the Curling Facilities. He said "This is an international arena, such things as serverly injuring yourself should not be possible." Though he is waiting to hear back from the host city.

ASMV Also Disputes Validity of Creative Snowmanning Results


The claims coming form the Wentland press over a sweep in the alleged demonstration sport of creative snowmanning, have raised questions from first the Archregimancy and now ASMV as to the bias of judges in the event. Apparently the judges failed to score what seemed more an award winning masterpiece from Fr. Silouan of the Archregimancy and a snowbound Sea Dragon (complete with seaweed, seahorsed , and a crab) made by ASMV Super G athlete Breann Stuekerjuerge. It is also reported that several other snowmanning creations were overlooked including an intricate rose garden made by some freak wearing chain mail and a broadsword. This is wholly unsubstantiated as the works from the Archregimancy and ASMV are the only confirmed oversights.

Ceoranan Mens Curling Team Triumphs
against the same nation that the womens' team fell to
Ceorana Herald

The Ceoranan mens' curling team pulled off a spectacular victory today against The Resurgent Dream, the same team that the womens' team lost to.

"I think they might have played a bit harder because they wanted to not get run over in both sexes by TRD," laughed an anonymous commentator.

A spokesman from the Ceoranan Olympic Team denied this, saying that he had talked to the team and that "they just gave it all they had and ended up winning".

The team also cheered on other athletes from the International Democratic Union.

Diantha Palamas was blinded again by the flashes of cameras as she returned to her room, side by side with her two fellow women figure skaters. Suddenly, she was the story. The nation's eye had been on Sarah Chertok. She was the Resurgent Dream's best hope for the gold, an almost guaranteed win if one believed the Danaan media, which was naturally biased towards its own country's athletes. And now it was not Sarah but Diantha who was leading. Of course, she still had a long way to go. She wouldn't let herself assume anything. No, she wouldn't, but the dozens of flashing cameras would.

The smiling girl turned to the press, forcing down her pride, forcing herself to stay focused. "I think it was a great program tonight. I did my best. Sarah and Bara slated beautifully. All the girls from all over the world skated beautifully. I'm really...really just honored to be here. My parents are both here. I'm glad that they were able to see this."

Sarah smiled good-naturedly, still intent on her own Olympic hopes, as she linked her arm with Diantha. Bara followed suit and the three girls headed up to their room, grinning brightly to whole way.

"Ah yeah!!" Yamashita Shun yelled, bursting back into his room. Midorikawa Naoki came in on his heels.
"Dude! Third and Fourth places, we are in!" He ducked into the bathroom and threw his board in the tub to dry off. Coming out of the bathroom, he found Yamashita digging in the fridge. Leaning back, he produced a bottle of fine sake.
"I was saving this for later, but I think we can do with a small bowl or two of it," he said. As he opened the bottle, there came a knock at the connecting door. Naoki, who was closest to the door, reached over and opened it. Ishimaru Shun stood there.
"Um...you don't think we could have..."
"No." Naoki said flatly, slamming the door in his face. Ishimaru's voice penetrated through the door,
"I hope you to get so drunk you beef the quarterfinals!"

From MSPN

Men's Curling Team wins--

Maineiacs' Men's Curling team defeated Boudra-Boudra 7-5 today bringing their record to 1-1 after two games in the preliminary round.

NMS AT A GLANCE

Woman’s Snowboardcross

Jeanne St-Simon (NMS) 1:31.89
Anne Beaupré (NMS) DNF

Men’s Snowboardcross

Jacques Thivierge (NMS) 1:19.26 Q
Michel Poitier (NMS) 1:26.91 (Last)

Men’s Snowboarding Parallel Giant Slalom

Shawn Beaty (NMS) 36.31 35.23 1:11.54 Q
Maxime Lechamp (NMS) 36.82 36.57 1:13.39

Heat 6 Run 1 Run 2
Vepus Chenhalls (SPA) 36.79 35.19 Q
Shawn Beaty (NMS) 37.72 37.68

The States experienced almost relentlessly bad results in most of competition. Women's Snowboardcross was a debacle, with Anne Beaupré in an Aeropag hospital with a shattered radius after taking a nasty fall during her qualification run. Jeanne St-Simon messed up badly on her qualification run, and the States' participation in that event has come to an early and unfortunate end.

Men's Snowboardcross was...odd. Besides Fr. Basil the Radical wiping out on a Psalm 150 attempted on the final jump, it gave NMS fans the odd experience of Jacques Thivierge coming out on top of heap, with Michel Poitier, NMS's other entrant, coming in dead last.

Men's Snowboarding Parallel Giant Slalom, in addition to taking forever to type out, produced mixed results, as Shawn Beaty advanced past the first round only to lose in the heats.

Rota (Almost) On Top
Saint-Monica Nautique

Éropeg - Today in Éropeg, not much action was seen by Kelsian athletes as most had an off day, however, Rota Anotavo, a native of Notoa, did extremely well today at the Mens’ Parallel Giant Slalom, where he qualified in fourth place and edged out Fernando Rodriguez of Qazox in the First Round to make it to the next round. In the Qualifying, Anotavo had times of 35.21 on the Blue Course, 35.76 on the Red Course, and a total time of 1:10.97. His fellow countryman Gilles Deleuze didn't do nearly as well, placing 29th with times of 36.86, 37.63, and a total of 1:14.49. In the First Round, Anotavo was put into Heat 3 against Rodriguez of Qazox, were on Run 1 he had a time of 37.50, which was actually slower than Rodriguez's time of 36.13. However, on Run 2 Rodriguez disqualified while Anotavo had a time of 36.79. Anotavo clearly didn't do nearly as well as the other qualifiers, but in an interview after the race he said in an interview, "I made some mistakes, and I see 'em now, and next time I won't make 'em and i'll def be faster."

Kelse will not be participating in any soon-to-come events, however all other Olympic Action will be shown, excluding the Curling Events. The Cross-Country Skiing Mens’ 15 km Classical will be shown live on De Lux Reloaded (Channel 32) while the Short Track Mens’ 1000 m Semifinals will be on De Lux (Channel 7), to be followed by the Ski Jumping Mens’ NH Individual Qualification Round. Please check your local listings for exact times. That's the latest from Éropeg, and until next time, go Kelse!

Minor reaches finals, Crna Gora take shock X-country gold
Carl Minor was the only one of two snowboarders competing in the parallel giant slalom to escape from the heats/qualifiers having made the finals with a combined time of 1:11.79, while Chris Kwan could only manage a 1:12.54 and did not progress. The men's curlers then beat their southwestern counterparts by beating Crna Gora Liv Eng 9-7 in a thrilling match that went into extra ends, with an 11th end producing three points, one for CNG but more importantly, two for Liverpool England, who had last stone in the extra end, having lost the tenth end 0-1.

Later in the day, Minor beat out Zertunia's Ito Horehan in the head-to-head heats in the P Giant Slalom finals, quaifying for the quarterfinals, and producing hope at home in Stadt Nicht of a first Liverpool England medal.

The Crna Gorans then shocked everyone, includig themselves, by taking the 4 by 5 kilometre women's cross-country relay gold, winning from the Anastasianian team by almost a full fifteen seconds, to produce the first Heartland medal of these games.

OOC: Why weren't Bjorn Gordon and Yasser Reiswon of Ceorana included in the Cross-Country 15km Classical? I'm sure I'm just missing something, but I can't figure out what.

OOC: Why weren't Bjorn Gordon and Yasser Reiswon of Ceorana included in the Cross-Country 15km Classical? I'm sure I'm just missing something, but I can't figure out what.
The same reason your 4×5 km relay team wasn’t included in that event—you labeled them as “nordic skiing,” by which I thought you meant nordic combined. Since there hasn’t been a nordic combined event, I didn’t ever look at it carefully enough to realize that that wasn’t what it was.

In the likely event that the qualification round of the cross-country mens’ team sprint is not held, the Ceoranan athletes will be allowed to compete at that time (2006–03–21 16:00). Otherwise, their runs will be scheduled for 2006–03–22 00:00 UTC. Duplicate medals will be awarded if necessary.

The same reason your 4×5 km relay team wasn’t included in that event—you labeled them as “nordic skiing,” by which I thought you meant nordic combined. Since there hasn’t been a nordic combined event, I didn’t ever look at it carefully enough to realize that that wasn’t what it was.

In the likely event that the qualification round of the cross-country mens’ team sprint is not held, the Ceoranan athletes will be allowed to compete at that time (2006–03–21 16:00). Otherwise, their runs will be scheduled for 2006–03–22 00:00 UTC. Duplicate medals will be awarded if necessary.
OOC: Oh, OK, thanks. Sorry for the confusion. :)

IC:

Ceoranan Olympic Council Screws Up Forms
Pride in nation's nickname causes problem
Ceorana Herald

NEW BOSTON, Ceorana -- The Ceoranan Olympic Committee scrambled to determine their error when it was discovered that the classical nordic skiiers were accidently not put on the list due to a terminology error in the Ceoranan Olympic Council. The authorities at the Games are working with the CeoOC to remedy the situation.

Due to Ceorana's nickname and previous pretitle of the "Nordic Republic", the term "cross-country skiing" is generally eschewed for the term "Nordic skiing".

Unfortunately, that is not the tradition in Commerce Heights, where the games are being held. And due to heavy rain over the Konvensjon Mountains south of New Boston, the entry forms did not arrive, so the CeoOC had to make their own, where they used the term "Nordic skiing". This was interpreted as the Nordic Combined event by the COC in the rush before the games, so the skiiers were not able to compete during the classical or the relay.

The athletes will be able to compete in the next few days.

THE ARCHREGIMANCY BRINGS YOU

WINTER OLYMPICS TONIGHT

With Fr. Nicholas the Scribe and Fr. John the Golden-Throated

"So... Fr. John... the 15k classical cross-country race - didn't we have a couple of athletes in that event?"

"Indeed we did, Fr. Nicholas, and... well... let's take a look at the highlights:

"....it's Fr. Michael the Classicist, he's holding a narrow lead over Slobodan and Orkt. It's a desperate battle for first, second and third as they reach the final straight - but Fr. Michael's holding them off, and increases his lead. He seems to be focused, in control... Slobodan and Orkt seem to be cancelling each other out... he's pulling away... and yes! GOLD FOR THE ARCHREGIMANCY! I think Slobodan just beats Orkt for second, and Fr. Michael bows his head in humble prayer! Woe betide anyone who attempts to shorten the Archregimancy's national anthem at the medal ceremony later today - surely all monastic sports fans will be expecting the entire Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom to be sung when Fr. Michael gets his medal...."

"My, Fr. John. Were you expecting that?"

"I expected Fr. Michael to do well - but perhaps not that well. And it does rather cancel out Fr. Yuri's poor performance. He finished seven minutes behind Fr. Michael. Let's have a look at the full results:

1 Fr. Michael the Classicist (ARC) 39:37.3
2 Kristjan Slobodan (CNG) 39:55.0
3 Gunther Orkt (BDB) 39:55.1
Bernd-Fred Arvidsson (BDB) 40:16.2
Pavol Korbann (ZER) 40:39.6
Troy Moore (KZO) 40:39.8
Andy Ogilvie (ANS) 41:11.0
Adam Wells (KZO) 41:23.8
Veli-Matti Tykkyläinen (ANS) 41:23.9
Aide Loendorf (DAS) 41:34.9
Erik Walschap (BDB) 41:36.8
Hernando Adam (KZO) 41:46.3
Galen Hauser (MKT) 41:57.0
Àmnito Kregal (ANT) 42:22.4
Jan Bergström (ANS) 42:29.6
Jeff Disher (TYN) 42:31.5
Néno Restisànt (ANT) 42:57.9
Archie Duvall (COM) 43:17.4
Klaus Tripp (MKT) 43:47.2
Fr. Yuri the Pursuer (ARC) 46:21.5
Ward Eevenwigt (SPR) 46:41.8


"And now, Fr. Nicholas, we can go live straight to the medal ceremony!"
______________________________________________________________

And gold medallist, representing the Holy Monastic Republic of the Archregimancy.... Fr. Michael the Classicist

<applause>

Ladies and Gentlemen, would you please stand for the National Anthem of the Archregimancy....

[sung]
Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

Amen.

In peace let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of God and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For peace of the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For this holy house and for those who enter it with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For our Archbishop, our Bishop, the honorable presbyters, the deacons in the service of Christ, and all the clergy and laity, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For our country, the Basileus, and all those in public service, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For this parish and city, for every city and country, and for the faithful who live in them, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For favorable weather, an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and temperate seasons, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For travelers by land, sea, and air, for the sick, the suffering, the captives, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and distress, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God, by Your grace.

Lord, have mercy.

Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.

To You, O Lord.

Lord, our God, whose power is beyond compare, and glory is beyond understanding; whose mercy is boundless, and love for us is ineffable; look upon us and upon this holy house in Your compassion. Grant to us and to those who pray with us Your abundant mercy.

For to You belong all glory, honor, and worship to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

Amen.

__________________________________
<two hours later>
__________________________________

Let us depart in peace.

Let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

Lord, bless those who praise You and sanctify those who trust in You. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance. Protect the whole body of Your Church. Sanctify those who love the beauty of Your house. Glorify them in return by Your divine power, and do not forsake us who hope in You. Grant peace to Your world, to Your churches, to the clergy, to those in public service, to the armed forces, and to all Your people. For every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from You, the Father of lights. To You we give glory, thanksgiving, and worship, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

Amen.
Blessed is the name of the Lord, both now and even unto ages of ages
Blessed is the name of the Lord, both now and even unto ages of ages
Blessed is the name of the Lord, both now and even unto ages of ages

Christ our God, You are the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. You have fulfilled all the dispensation of the Father. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness always, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Father, give the blessing.

May the blessing of the Lord and His mercy come upon you through His divine grace and love always, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

Amen.

Glory to You, O God, our hope, glory to You.
May Christ our true God (who rose from the dead), as a good, loving, and merciful God, have mercy upon us and save us, through the intercessions of His most pure and holy Mother; the power of the precious and life-giving Cross; the protection of the honorable, bodiless powers of heaven; the supplications of the honorable, glorious, prophet, and forerunner John the Baptist; the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy apostles; the holy, glorious, and triumphant martyrs; our holy and God-bearing Fathers; the holy and righteous ancestors Joachim and Anna; The saints whose memory we commemorate today, and all the saints.

Amen.
Lord, grant long life to him who blesses and sanctifies us.

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

May the holy Trinity protect all of you.

May the blessing and the mercy of the Lord be with you.

____________________________________________________________

"And as the Archregimancy flag flutters above the podium, Fr. Nicholas, that concludes the national anthem of the Archregimancy and the medal ceremony!

Funny.... where did the crowd go?"


[OOC: above English translation of the divine liturgy is a mash of different 'official' translations. I'm more familiar with the Russian translation into English, but I couldn't find it on-line. So I used other translations into English while very occsasionally changing a phrase or two into the 'Russian' version I hear on Sundays. Confused about RL Orthodox jurisdictions? So are we.... ;) ]

OCC: I am sorry for the idoit move i made. One thing i was not sure if the NC Team is 3 or 4 if 4 please add Hedron Kobanhiem .5. For SKi JUmpping i think is 3 or 4 if 4 add Lovband Korcan

"Luke McDonald.... Where's the coverage?" by Nev Gould

Luke McDonald has seemingly gone un-noticed despite being interviewed after his 2nd place in the qualifing match. This lead him to Quarter Finals, he raced around that track to the end 1km after starting in a time of 1:28.065. This was a new Olympic record, beating Andrew Simari of Krytenia, the old World Record holder by slightly more than one full second. Even further behind was Byron Goodwin of The Kazoo Peoples, Byron beat Luke in the Qualification but Byron was illegally blocked by the Pacitilian, Simone Aguratani. This significantly slowed Byron down and was around 2.4 seconds behind Luke, admitidly neither of them went though to the Semis.

And now onto the semi's. In a very close fight between the Spaamian, Wella Tregelles and Luke McDonald, only 5 hundreths of a second seperated the two. Unfortunately that Luke was on the longer side of that difference. Either way Luke is onto the A Finals and has a good chance to bring back Bazalonia's first medal in the Winter Olympics.

..................

Press Release, BzOC

Jollie McKay Bazalonia's representative in the Womens Figure Skating was reported to be "disappointed" with the results. "I could have done better and just missed out on on a spot of qualification." Many points where deducted for sloppy landings on many of her jumps, particularily spinning jumps. She has returned home and is starting to work on those landings ready for the next olympics.... "Oh, I'll be back and next time I'll qualify".

...............

Another Unofficial Olympic Sport.... Snow Angels. The following was put up on a notice board in the Winter Olympic Village

While resting up between races I have been known to make Snow angels. However more and more people from nations around the world are joining in. It seems to have become popular enough that someone has formulated a scoring system. The scoring system is simple... A maximum of 5 points are awarded for each of the following areas Wings, Legs & Head. A Maximum of 10 points are awarded to artistic endeavours where after the Head, Legs and Wings are made the competitors get to 'embellish' their creation. The first Unofficial Snow Angel event will be held in the Olympic village in two days time. Competitors are to let me know before the competition starts in 2 days time. Thank you.

Luke McDonald

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

The Latest in from Commerce Heights in Mens’ Parallel Giant Slalom only 2 of Qazox's three men qualified as Francisco Rodriguez just missed by less than 4/10ths of a second. Teammates Fernando Rodriguez (combined time of:1:10.98) and Alberto Ramierez (combined time of: 1:11.81) qualified for the next round. In the 1st round Alberto Ramierez beat Jami Mahda of Malabra to qualify for the quarterfinal runs, while Fernando Rodriguez missed the last gate and was disqualifed on his second run, a dissapointing finish as he was about 1 1/2 second head of his opponent.

In other action the men's Curling team lost another close match this time to Malabra 5-6, almost eliminating them from qualifaction the Score is posted below:


Team 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-Score
Malabra 2-2-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0--6
Qazox 0-0-1-1-0-1-2-0-0-0--5

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

Bazalonia']Another Unofficial Olympic Sport.... Snow Angels. The following was put up on a notice board in the Winter Olympic Village



The following note was tacked up on the notice board:

Oh, I am so there!

-- Sophia Daniels, Maineiacs' Figure Skating Team

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSOlympicv2.png

Curling Heads Up Kingdom News

Dorian and Sonya Winter Olympiad Report.

Women’s Hockey got under way as our team lost to Stevid 4-2. We had not heard of this nation before, but we also doubt seriously they had heard of us either. Now to concentrate on the next game.

Snowboarding saw the Parallel Giant Slalom begin its qualification. Erasmo Ahia finished with the 8th fastest combined run while Sid Arrand also qualified for the next round. Flo Colabrese failed to qualify.

The first round of the Giant Slalom events also were run today. Heat 2 saw Sid Arrand finish .23 behind ASMV’s Denver Lanka as he failed to move on. It was in Heat4 where Erasmo Ahia destroyed his opponent by a massive 1.39 seconds.

Curling saw the men from the Kingdom move to 2-0 after a brilliantly played win over Spaam.

Cross-Country Skiing saw our own Aide Loendorf collect a surprising top 10 finish. No one here had even remembered that he was competing in the event. Sorry Aide.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVOCSymbol2.png

Full Contact Curling?

This is Pudgy Rodriguez once again with your Winter Olympic update from the always fun. Always sunny, always steamy beaches of Aeropag in Commerce Heights.

In a special notice sent to all nations competing in the Olympic Games here, All people are urged not to climb the railings of the floating island where most events are being held. The notice goes on to say that if anyone should fall and be hurt, maimed, killed, or otherwise incapacitated, the city of Aeropag will not assume any of the responsibility. In other words, more typical capitalist propoganda. It seems you must actually hire a lawyer for these things here.

Now on to the events. The first round of the men’s snowboarding parallel giant slalom was run with just one Vegan snowboarder having made the qualification. Denver Lanka pulled out every trick in the book to beat Sid Arrand of Dorian and Sonya. No film has been found to substantiate the claim that Lanka pelted Arrand with a snowball as the race began. Too bad for him.

Men’s Curling turned into a contact sport as our boys lost to Pacitalia 7-5. It seems the two teams exchanged unpleasant remarks before it became physical and they had to be separated. Pacitalia was the team to recover quickest and they won as a result. Perhaps Full Contact Curling can be added to the next Olympiad. We feel we have a great shot to dominate that event.

Ski Jumper in Cross-country race!

Spruitland sports commentators covering the Winter Olympics in Aeropag were somewhat surprised, earlier today, when Ward Eevenwigt – competitor in the normal and large hill ski jump individual – appeared at the start of the 15km Classical Cross-country race. Scheduled competitor Ludo Panlatt was nowhere to be seen.

What’s more, poor Ward started and finished the 15 kilometer course, remarkably, on his jumping skis, which makes his gap with the winner of only seven minutes quite impressive, even if he did come in last.

“I managed to stay close to some dude in a robe right up til the very end,” an exhausted Ward said after the race. “Very nice chap, really. He prayed for my safe arrival and blessed my skis. I don’t think I would have made it without that.”

How exactly this odd error happened to occur, isn’t clear. Ward was apparently dragged out of bed by Aeropag officials who claimed he was late for his event.

“I still had two hours on the clock with that nice masseuse lady,” Ward explains, “when these fellers burst in, all mad at me for being late. So I grabbed my gear and followed them. Didn’t notice something wasn’t right until they shoved me into the starting lineup. I tried explaining it to them, but they gave me some stuff about how their superior computer system could never be wrong. Next thing I know, we’re off. So I figured, what the heck, I’ll give it a go.”

Scheduled cross-country athlete Ludo Panlatt was not pleased with what happened. “Ok, I overslept, so sue me,” he said, “but that’s no reason to give my spot to someone else!”

The Spruitland Olympic officials have filed a complaint with the Aeropag officials, but it’s unclear what’s going to happen now, since the medals have already been handed out.

“I really don’t care what they decide,” said a concerned Ludo Panlatt, “but if they think I’m gonna be doing the ski jump, they’ve got another think coming! And if I am, it’s certainly not gonna be on my cross-country skis!”


(OOC: no need to rescorinate for me. shit happens. :))
edit: in fact, feel free to put Ludo in one of the ski jump events (but Ward still as well), with a 0.25 rating

Spaam Sports Weekly
NationStates' Most Notorious Sports Publication

Celebrating 100 Years of World Cup Participation

2108 Winter Olympics Daily Edition


Tregelles In Running For Medal

Wella Tregelles pulled out a personal best time of 1:29.221 seconds to be the
fastest qualifier for the 1000m short track speed skating final. Olympic
record holder Luke MacDonald of Bazalonie came second in the heat, finishing
just 1/20th of a second slower. The other finalists are Phillip Timmer of the
RTS, and Marco Mandano of Pacitalia.

Heat 2
Wella Tregelles (SPA) 1:29.221 QA
Luke MacDonald (BAZ) 1:29.274 QA
Andrew Simari (KRY) 1:29.509 QB
Lino Le (COM) 1:29.952 QB

Spaam Shock Losers

The Irons, favourites for the Men's Curling, were beaten in an exciting close
game by Dorian and Sonya. Neither team got more than one point in any of
the ends, and the score was tied five all going into the last. However, some
brilliant play by the Sonyans denied Spaam the win. Spaam are now 3rd in
the group, following wins by Maineiacs and Malabra.

Group A P W D L GF:GA GD Pts
Dorian and Sonya 2 2 0 0 12:9 +3 6
Malabra 2 2 0 0 12:10 +2 6
Spaam 2 1 0 1 13:11 +2 3
Maineiacs 2 1 0 1 12:11 +1 3
Qazox 2 0 0 2 9:12 -3 0
Boudra-Boudra 2 0 0 2 10:15 -5 0

Chenhalls Into Quarters

Vepus Chenhalls made the fastest second run time to qualify for the quarter-
finals of the men's parallel slalom snowboard event. His opponent, Shawn
Beaty of the New Montreal States, didn't challenge, finishing a second slower
in the first run, and 2.5 in the second. He will have to improve, however, as
his qualification time was faster.

Heat 6 Run 1 Run 2
Vepus Chenhalls (SPA) 36.79 35.19 Q
Shawn Beaty (NMS) 37.72 37.68

Still no medals for Ariddia

The Ariddian team, who had placed high hopes in the short track events, saw those hopes dashed today as Richard Maraîcher and Derek Riise failed to qualify for the main final of men’s one thousand metres. Their semi-final was won comfortably by Philip Timmer of Ropa-Topia, who finished almost half a second ahead of Pacitalia’s Marco Ando Mandano, who came second. Mandano and Maraîcher crossed the line almost in the same instant, but Mandano was clearly in the lead. Riise, for his part, was left trailing, almost a second behind his compatriot, and was never truly in the race.

In other news, everybody’s favourite monks, the Archregimancy, won a gold medal, as Fr. Michael the Classicist skied fifteen kilometres in full monastic robes to step up onto the podium. . . where he remained for two hours, obviously moved by his nation’s seemingly interminable national anthem.

“It’s nice that they won gold,” one weary Ariddian in attendance said afterwards, “but it might have been better for everyone concerned if they’d won silver instead.”

Adding to the controversy over the Creative Snowmanning event, Ariddian athlete Sandra Fieldman, who will be competing in bobsleigh, wanted to know why the Ariddian delegation had not been informed of the event. Asked whether she actually knows anything about Creative Snowman sculpting, Fieldman merely shrugged.

“Not a thing. But making snowmen is always fun. And we can’t do it anywhere else, since it never snows here in Aeropag.”

More Woe for Tynelia Curlers

The men's curling squad fell to Anastasiania by a narrow 7-6 score. Holding the hammer in the last end, the Tynelian squad needed to get two points to force things into an extra end. However Anastasiania merely played defensively knocking out the Tynelian stones one by one so in the end Tynelia could only manage a single point and fall short. Some viewers claim the Tynelian squad was distracted by the fact that they realized both the men's and women's team had Liverpool England in their group and fell behind early. Some critics claim this is further proof of an anti-Tynelian conspiracy by the hosts as Liverpool England's skill in just about every sport in the world is well known. More rational people claim its just the luck of the draw, or bad luck in this case.

Continuing the unsuccessful tradition of Tynelian athletes so far. In the men's 15km classic, the Tynelian entrant Jeff Disher finished in a distant 16th place with a time of 42:31.5. However, Disher was not considered a medal threat going into the event and was pleased by breaking into the top twenty.

"This is a good learning experience for me. Now i can go back to Tynelia and know just how much more work i have in front of me in order to move to the next level." Disher told reporters after the event was over.

Perhaps tomorrow we'll have more encouraging news to report.

On the lighter side, there has been a protest filed by Tynelian equal-rights activist Vera Drees aginst the unofficial "Creative Snowmanning" event. Miss Drees claims that by limiting the event to snowMEN is discriminating towards women who deserve their own version of the event. More on this as it developes.

Cana Daily Press

Highlights of Day 3 of the 1934 Winter Games: Hockey Wins, PGS Looks Like A Medal

Snowboarding
Jeanie Smith and Anna Jacon finally got a chance to compete in qualifyinh for the Womens Snowboardcross, and both had runs they'd rather forget, as neither qualified for the Quaterfinal runs and finished well below the runs posted by their male counterparts when they were accidentally submitted as competitors.

But it's not all bad news for the Snowboard team, as Jonah Minx made the cut in the Mens Snowboardcross, with national champion Jesnui Avarice having a bad middle section and missing the Quaterfinals by 3 seconds. Minx finished 6th and should have a strong chance to make it to the Medal Run.

Also showing a major push to the medals is Carl Long, who easily won the Parallel Giant Slalom Qualifying and his heat with Kyre Ibbitson from Domnonia to make the Quaterfinals. His First Round runs were the second best of the session and he looks poised to score Chicanada's first outdoor medal, while putting pressure on his brother Jorden, who's looking to score his own medals on the Mens Gymnastic Team over in the Ylompics. Alix Aiden finished half a second out of qualifying, but was still in the stands with the rest of the Snowboard Team cheering Long on.

Curling
The Mens Curling Team had a grand old time in their debut on the world stage, loosing in the 11th inning to Domnonia 6-5. The team could have a shot at the Medal rounds if they can continue to push the major favorites in the group towards making mistakes.

Hockey
The Mens Hockey Team, fresh off an embarrasing finish at Cherry Cup 18, and prepping for the Second Oliverry Cup, start tommorow in Olympic Action. It could be a favorable draw, with only regional neighbor Pacitalia seen as the major rival for advancement.

The Womens Hockey Team will start play later today, and is not expected to do too well, as the team lacks the financial support from the CHL that other womens squad (basektball, field hockey, football and rugby) in the nation has.

OOC:

Wow, the Olympics sure progress fast! :p

It's hard keeping up with the Olympic events due to finals, but I'll try my best to keep up with results.

Oh yeah, and sorry for Ivan's long name, haha. Next Olympiad, I'll have to list him as Ivan A. Borivich.

IC:

Prince Ivan DQ'ed from Men's Parallel Grand Slalom
Teenage Fans in an Uproar

AEROPAG, COMMERCE HEIGHTS -- The crown prince of Magnus Valerius has gotten under way in trying to qualify in the various snowboarding events he is trying to medal in. He started off well with a qualifying run in the Men's Snowboard Cross. He was not ranked top of the list of the qualifiers, but he did make it; his teammate Hadrian Caracalla finished 17th and did not qualify. "Today was not one of my best runs," said the prince as he smiled for his cheering fans and posed for numerous pictures. "I'll make sure to do better!"

Unfortunately, when the Parallel Grand Slalom came up, Ivan was disqualified on the Blue Course after he completed both courses (with the final run on the Red Course netting him the top time). The prince was baffled, and his fans at the games were in a sour mood. Ivan, with his handsome good looks, was a teen heartthrob at home, the dream date of many of Magnus Valerius's young women and teenage girls. They certainly were not happy that Ivan was DQ'ed from the Parallel Grand Slalom.

"WHY DID THEY DISQUALIFY HIM?!" Maria Chernikov, a self-proclaimed 'surfer girl' cried. "He's soooo cute! They should let him medal just for that!" Her feelings were shared by many other women in the country, who began to riot outside the office for the Valerian Imperial Committee for Athletics and the Olympiad. The VICAO issued a petition to have them fully explain how the prince was disqualified, and added an extra note of haste due to the fact that the phone lines of the nation were clogged with angry calls and death threats directed towards the committee. A molotov cocktail even landed in the lobby, but the bottle luckily did not shatter and explode on the plush carpeting.

The situation was made even worse when Hadrian Caracalla was also disqualified. Here, normal people think that Commerce Heights has some sort of grudge against Valerian competitors and are disqualifying them. However, the VICAO understands most of the disqualifications, but are afraid of public outcry.

Pavlos Demisthekles Also Disqualified from Semifinals in 1000m Speedskating

Pavlos Demisthekles in Heat 4 of the Quarterfinals, faced off against tough competition. Riise of Ariddia, whom he had beaten before in the Qualifying rounds, was racing against him along with his colleague Richard Maraîcher. Marai Danathen of Malabra was also in the race. The heat started off with Demisthekles falling behind the two Ariddians early on on the short track. He knew he had to press on to try and bag the qualifying win for the semifinals. He tried to pass Riise of Ariddia and overtake him to take second, but accidentally, he nudged Riise offcourse, causing him to get into Danathen's way. Disappointingly, Demisthekles was disqualified and took the hopes for Magnus Valerius medalling in the 1000 meter speedskating event with him.

In other events, Magnus Valerius started off with lacklustre results.

Magnus Valerius in Women's Curling started off with a game against Spuritland. The Sweeper Sleepers started off well, scoring against Spuritland's team by nudging in decisive stones in the early rounds. However, the Valerian team could not keep up with the pressue when Spuritland picked up after Round 6. The teams drawed on Round 10, so a tiebreaking round took place. A double-scoring blow to Magnus Valerius sent the women's curling team sent the Sweeper Sleepers to the bottom of the ranks.


Group B P W D L GF:GA GD Pts
Spruitland 1 1 0 0 7:5 +2 3
Krytenia 1 1 0 0 7:6 +1 3
Mikitivity 1 1 0 0 6:5 +1 3
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega 1 0 0 1 6:7 -1 0
Pacitalia 1 0 0 1 5:6 -1 0
Magnus Valerius 1 0 0 1 5:7 -2 0


Magnus Valerius's Men's Curling team, the Regicidal Stoners, also did not manage to win their first game. They faced off against hosting Commerce Heights. They were doing poorly in the beginning when the capitalistic players from Commerce Heights made off with some early points. The Valerians fought back, and got ahead of commerce heights in round 8, but after that, they went on a dry spell. Commerce Heights took the day when their team nudged in two points in the final two rounds. Magnus Valerius finished with 7-8.



Group C P W D L GF:GA GD Pts
Jonquiere-Tadoussac 1 1 0 0 8:5 +3 3
Ropa-Topia 1 1 0 0 7:5 +2 3
Commerce Heights 1 1 0 0 8:7 +1 3
Magnus Valerius 1 0 0 1 7:8 -1 0
New Montreal States 1 0 0 1 5:7 -2 0
Bazalonia 1 0 0 1 5:8 -3 0

More on Magnus Valerius's progress in the First Winter Olympiad will come as soon as more events take place.

WENTLAND DISPATCH
OBITUARY

It is with a heavy heart that we have to report the tragic death of Ian Ling's snowman, brutally massacred by Bostin Vee Austin's skeleton bob in an accident of horrific proportions.

Young Violette was practising her unorthodox bob start (running at full tilt, then flinging herself with the bob held to her torso to the ground) on the snow left around the Wentland Olympic village when she nailed it (for once). The ensuing slide saw her career right through Ian Ling's snowman where he lies in pieces, slowly melting.

The snowman's Olympic career was brief yet glorious. A bronze in the Creative Snowman competition was the pinnacle of his one appearance, but alas he never got to enjoy the commercial spin-offs before passing to a better, wetter place.

Vee Austin's hair survived the accident unscathed.

OOC:

Wow, the Olympics sure progress fast! :p

It's hard keeping up with the Olympic events due to finals, but I'll try my best to keep up with results.
Yes, it’s going by a bit too fast for me, too. :p

Apparently part of my graph theory assignment includes determining why I can’t access my university’s web-based e-mail system through Konqueror (and therefore can’t see the message the instructor sent), so I doubt I’ll have time to scorinate today. Normal scorination should resume tomorrow.

IC:
The Aeropag Tribune—Try the new CDA Deluxe Survival Kit today! Now only XAU 2 after rebate!

Weather: Preparing for The Storm
Meteorologists predict record snowfall in the Jativan Islands

AEROPAG, JI—Just when athletes at the I Olympic Winter Games were getting used to the idea of a 35 K temperature difference between the venues and the outdoors, they found out that it was all about to change.
Today, meteorologists at several major organizations in the Jativan Islands determined that rather than fizzling out in the ocean, a storm system moving through Ryloss would continue on to hit Jativa, and might even reach Paleoparipia before finally dying down. “This system is going to cause temperatures to plummet overnight,” said Garsio Alegro, head of the Noka Consolidated Weather Service. “We’re looking at record snowfall here, at least in the western islands. 2–4 cm in the Tingitanan islands and Cirto, 1–2 cm in Aeropag and Humai, and maybe half a centimeter in Noka.”
Hundreds of local businesses in Aeropag have already announced that they will be closed tomorrow, and many more are expected to follow. The Capitalizt Olympic Committee announced that “These conditions aren’t safe for the athletes—all events will be postponed until this storm has passed and we can clean up, and we recommend that everyone remain in the Olympic Village.”
Thomas Peruzzi, the sole athlete representing San Adriano, laughed at the announcement. “This is the Winter Olympics, for slani’s sake! These people are afraid of a centimeter of snow!”

Ishimaru Shun and the rest of the halfpipe team sat in their room, watching the horror the newscasters were predicting. "Geez, it's amazing they're not ducking and covering just entering the venues."
Nakamura Taiki shook his head, "They wouldn't last a second in Metro-City." Metro-City was a bustling metropolis that sprawled from a coast up the side of a mountain, and received 50 feet of snow on average each year. In fact, the forecasts were so good to pass up that a ski run was built straight through the city, under, around, and even through some buildings.
Fujiwara laughed so hard that he spewed soda out his nose. "I just had a great idea!"
"What?" Nakamura and Shun asked together.
"Let's make the news by standing outside in the "storm of the century" all night!" Yamashita Michiyo and Kuroda Kumiko, two of the women's halfpipe riders, walked in the door.
"Are you guy's kidding?? The olympic commitee will have a cow! They're urging all athletes to stay inside!" Kumiko said. The three guys looked at each other.
"Kumiko...did you even bother to listen to the accumulation?" Shun asked.
".....No. But that doesn't matter..."
"Sure it does. A centimeter of snow never hurt anyone."
Fujiwara cut in, "my first cousing once..."
"Don't start! He was always a moron," Shun cut him off. "Kumiko...a centimeter!"
"Alright, alright. I'll go get the beer and camera," Kumiko said, giving up.

As the Winter Olympics were postponed because of snow, the Wentland team went outside to practise their snowball technique and shoot the breeze about the Games so far.

"No medals thus far," said team captain Allan Martin, "but the sliders are going well. How's the knee, Harry?"

"Not good, but this delay will help...I need time."

"We could do with some cross-country ski-ers next time...are you up for a change?"

"You must be joking. Too much like hard work. We might have some youngsters coming through but there's too few people living in the snowy regions of Wentland."

"Those monks are interesting, aren't they? One of them lost a lead because he prayed on the snowboard..."

"And it does not help in the luge, wearing those robes."

"Thank Heavens, eh, Vee?"

"You shut up. They're not in the headfirst anyway."

"And they're ahead of us in the medals table..."

"Yes, thanks to the cross country ski-ing."

"I guess his orthodox style helped him..."

"Turns me on, anyway," said Janette Tough.

"Sicko!" said Violette Austin.

"Now now, Vee," said Martin. "No need to get cross."

"Come to think of it, Vee, isn't your hair the same colour as their Archregimand's robes today?"

"You're jealous cos you don't have sponsorship," the Princess of Punk pouted.

"Glad not to with hair like that..."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna kick ass." And with that Violette Austin bounced off to try to luge uphill.

Sean Gould sat in his room at the Olympic village reflecting on the irony of the olympics a) being held on a tropical island, and b) being postponed by snow. The only thing it had really done was to put a temporary halt in the international humiliation Maineiacs was receiving. Were any Maineiacs atheletes even going to finish their event? That was the danger of a country's first international competition. You had no idea how you stacked up against the rest of the world until you were in it. Gould swore that he'd finish his event, even if he had to literally crawl across the finish line.

The following was pinned up on the notice board.

Snow Angels, are you one?

Tomorrow, the first, unofficial Olympic Snow Angel Competition will be held. There are still plenty of places left so come on and let me know. Thanks

Luke McDonald

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

New results in for all Qazox athletes. In Heat 4 of the Quarterfinals for Mens’ Parallel Giant Slalom, Alberto Ramierez dominated his opponent from The Resurgent Dream Aleksander Demidowicz by coming back from a deficit of .67 seconds to win the 2nd run and qualify for the semi-finals. A win in the semi-s will give Qazox its first medal. Other results have not yet been posted, but as always we'll update as soon as possible.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVOCSymbol2.png

This is Pudgy Rodriduez reporting your Winter Olympic News from the sunny beaches of Aeropag.

“Man a sunburn hurts when you get it down…….Oh are we rolling? Shit.”

Now for your Olympic Update.

Carter Servan overcame what should have been a disastrous first run and managed to qualify in the men’s arials event. A first run score of 56.88 would normally have been enough to knock Carter out of contention, but it seemed that he was not the only one to struggle today as several other competitors also posted abyssal scores. A much better score of 88.86 moved him up just enough to earn a qualifying spot. Things did not go so well for Cruz Carmany and Trenton Brackenbury who failed to mount a decent score.

In the men’s parallel giant slalom snowboard event, Denver Lanka continued to impress as he won his quarterfinal heat over Carl Long of Chicanada. His time of 35.14 was the second fastest of the day, but the semi final heat will see him match up against Carl Minor of Liverpool England who turned in an impressive time of 34.98. Erasmo Ahia of Dorian and Sonya will battle Alberto Ramierez of Qazox in the other semi.

Womens curling action saw ASMV edge a tough team from Mikitivity 9-7in a very high scoring match for curling.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pudgy Rodriguez, reporter for ASMV, has announced his intentions to enter the Snow Angel Competition. Hopefully a fat snow angel will get good marks.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/DSOlympicv2.png

Dorian and Sonya Winter Olympiad I report.

Curling

The women were back in curling action today, looking to overcome the disappointment of their first game here in qualifying. The opponent this time around was the women of Liverpool England. Fate was with the women of the Kingdom as they won the game fairly easily by a score of 8-5.

Freestle Arials

Estello Coldsmith used a solid second run to sneak up the list and earn a qualifying spot in the Arials competition. His first jump of 79.83 placed him right on the bubble, but a much better 85.58 moved him up to 7th in the standings and earned the right to compete again. Jerrell Gerking fell completely off the radar in his second jump and failed to qualify. Kali Cover competed in the qualification, but there is little more to say of his dismal performance.

Snowboardin

Men’s Snowboardcross had its quarterfinal heats and believe it or not Erasmo Ahia won his heat by .40 over Rota Anotavo of Kelse. Joining Ahia in the semis are Carl Minor of Liverpool England (who definitely looks like the man to beat), Denver Lanka of ASMV, and Albeto Ramierez of Qazox.

Lady Curlers Rebound

After a disappointing loss to Liverpool England in the first match, the Tynelian Lady Curlers bounced back with a strong 9-5 win over Crna Gora Liv Eng which moved them into second place in their group. The match was close for the first five ends with the score tied at 4. Then on the seventh and nineth ends, Tynelia had the hammer and behind some good sweeping and on one point a miscue by the Crna Gora Liv Eng skip grabbed two points on each of those ends. With only a lone point in the eight end to counter this surge, Crna Gora Liv Eng conceeded once their fourth to last stone was taken out by Tynelia making it impossible for them to catch up.

The rest of the suqad is still waiting for their events to come up so they too can see ho they stack up to the rest of the world.

WOMENS RINK ON TRACK

Aeropag - Domnonia's Eden Karlson will be playing for Olympic gold if her supporters have anything to do with it, after a 9-7 win in nine ends over New Montreal States'Danielle Lablanche on Wednesday at the Aeropag I Winter Games, Karlson now leads her qualifying group and is a shoe in for the next round.

"We played better before but not this week," Karlson told DBC Sports reporters. "With the ice conditions the way they are that's about as good as you can do out there. I'm very proud of the girls, they played very well.

"You know, if it wasn't for Sandra, I think the game would have been done long ago. She made some incredible shots."

Karlson will likely take on Tynelia in the final Group A qualifying game.

"They're a very good team, Nancy Sullivan is playing incredibly well," Karlson said. "She's making the big shots, making the soft shots and you know if we can cut down her angles, I think we'll be OK, but we're gonna have to be solid."

In mens curling The Kazoo People beat Domnonia 7-5 in their preliminary group on Tuesday.

"They played a very good game against us in round robin but we we are still one and one, with two more matches to go." Georgio Mendel said, when asked about the first encounter.

Mendel, was Domnonias flag bearer at the opening ceremonies last week..

"It means a lot," Mendel said. "Already now we have had over ten million people watching our curling matches(in Domnonia), which is pretty good, so in a final, it will be great."

Mendel will be playing Andossa, Pacitalia or Krytenia this week.

From The Domini Globe and Post >> http://dominiglobe.blogspot.com/

TWO DOM ATHLETES TO COMPETE THIS WEEKEND

Aeropeg - This weekend in Aeropag will see two Domini athletes compete in individual events.

Theodore Marc-Howard of Aelle, East Hiel will be giving his all to qualify in Cross-Country Mens’ Individual Sprint competition. He'll be up against world-class athletes such as Zertunias Pavol Korbann, Antriums Néno Restisànt, and Tyler McCauley of Kazoo, who is widely expected to win the competion.

Miranda Mathison of Isca, Algar will be performing on the womens Parallel Giant Slalom. Most are confident that she will make it past qualification rounds and into semi-finals. Her largest source of competition comes from Domnonia's neighbour, Antrium. The ANT team is fielding two athletes, Grīst Landev and Mīrondel Zwàrkwà, who are both ranked as world-class in this event.

From The Domini Globe and Post

From MSPN--

Another slow day at the Olympics for Maineiacs. The only news to report is that freestyle skier Peter Gammon failed to qualify in men's aerials.

The Valerian athletes, demoralized due to a lack of medalling and qualifying games in recent times, have decided to get together and drink. Boris Lugansk and Esther Kim got together and made a huge batch of stroganoff and shchi to feed each and every one of the 86 Valerian athletes rather nicely. Then, Petr Petrovich rounded up everyone for shot after shot of vodka, rum, soju, or any liquor they could grab. It was the perfect weather, too. The Aeropag forecast was for snow and cold.

At the end of the night, they surely were all drunk, and laughing at the various events that have happened so far.

"Did you see that monk skiing? It looked ridiculous!" bemoaned Jean de Bourbon as he sipped on a freshly opened beer. "Who would think that a man in complete monastic robes and a thick flowing beard to boot would win the gold?"

Nevertheless, after some of the Valerian Olympic athletes passed out, someone happened to have a marker... Seems like half of the athletes will wake up with all sorts of drawings and stuff all over them in the morning.

"And welcome to the firs unofficial Olympic Snow Angel competition. We only have 2 competitors. Luke McDonald of Bazalonia (BAZ) and Sophia Daniels of Maineiacs (MAI). I am Jollie MacKay and I will be tonights umpire and scorer. The contestants tonight wil have 10 minutes to form their Snow Angel. Contestants, take your marks, get Snow, GET ANGELING!"

Luke McDonald got his Angel going and quickly got near perfect form for both the head and the wings the leg's where... alright but nothing to call home about." That took about a minute and then he started on embellishing the Angel he went with a Hawaian theme. In a salute to Aeropag, home of the first Winter Olympics. He drew a pineappleand other things but just with a minute left he got confused and drew christmas lights dangling around the leg. While he did that he lost his balance and left a hand print in a place where he certainly should not have his hand. It was too late and it was then that Jollie blew her whistle.

"Competitors, Stop Angeling!"

The final score line was
Luke McDonald
-------------
Leg - 2.1/5
Wing - 4.7/5
Head - 4.8/5
Creativity - 2.8/10
-------------
Total: 14.4/25


Sophia Daniels
-------------
Leg - 3.6/5
Wing - 4.3/5
Head - 4.1/5
Creativity - 4.3/10
-------------
Total: 16.3/25


"We have a Winner, and that is ... Sophia Daniels of Maineiacs. Congratulations"

OOC: If anyone wants to know about how I scorinated this and the details of such just TG me. Thanks

Ceoranan Womens' Curlers Continue to Flounder
Team is 6 points back with a 0-2 record
Ceorana Herald

AEROPAG, Commerce Heights - The Ceoranan womens' curling team lost 5-9 to Qazox today, keeping them in last place (0-2 games, -6 points overall). The team was obviously dejected, a fact that was probably accentuated due to their increased inprobability of improving.

"We're just having a bad Games," said Kylee McKenna, a member of the team, "but we will continue with full spirit and try to win one!"

(ooc i have a question here how come in the 2 qualifing runs for the men's singles luge my three athletes aren't in it? is there going to be a third run or do i have to RP something the missing athletes are:

Men and Women's Luge (singles)
singles (men)Jean-Luc Crusher[.75], Wesley Riker[.66] and William Picard [.52] thanks.)

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

In women's Curling today, the Lady Oxen won their second match 9-5 over Ceorana. Qazox scored a rare 3 points in the 1st inning and never looked back leading at one point 7-nil. With their record at 2-0-0 so far it looks good that the Lady Oxen will advance to the next round.
Scoring
TEAM-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-F
Ceorana-0-0-0-0-2-1-1-0-1-0--5
Qazox-3-0-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-2--9

In women's Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom, Erin O’Brien Qualified for the next round with a time of:1:19.31, while Jennifer Banks and Maria Lopez-Sanchez didn't advance to the next round finishing 31st and 32nd recpectively out of 32 women. Good luck Erin in the next round.

In other sports news it appears that the men's luge team have all been disqualifed for using of all things Marijuana. Marijuana is legal in Qazox, but since the Olympic Committee is testing for all drugs, they are all DQ'd unless our appeal goes through. If not, then the luge will be missing out on 3 of the top 20 mean's lugers in the world especially 5-time Qazox Luger of the Year Jean-Luc Crusher. If there is any further word on these athletes QSNBS, will bring it to you live.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

Sophia ran excitedly to Warren's dorm room.
"WARREN! I won!" she exclaimed.
"Won?" he asked.
"The snow angel contest!"
"Congrats, pookie. Enjoy it. It's like to be the only win we get. Hell, it's likely to be the only win the entire country sees. Berkely finished 29th. And we're what? 16th after compulsories?"
"I know, snugglebear. But you know what they say. 'it's an honor just to be here'."
"Yeah. sure."

Curled Bazalopes make up points. After a dissapointed start in the first Curling mathc with the injury of Gregory Peterson, how has since recovered. The Curled Bazalopes met up against the hosts, Commerce Heights. The end result was the Curled Bazalopes winning by a margin of 7 to 5. Below is a run down of the ends

--------------------------------------------------------
|Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total |
|-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+-------|
|Com | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
|Baz | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
--------------------------------------------------------


However Gregory only managed to score a few ends as his injury was playing up. His future in Curling is in doubt

............

And now welcome Charles Roberts and Jollie MacKay are coming onto the ice. For their compulsory Dance piece. Set to "All I want from you" by Heido....

<time jump>

What a marvelous performance so far, and here comes the ending... A nice solid ending.. nothing spectacular but with their routine it was not a necessity... A tense moment waiting for the scores.... and they are up 33.80. And that puts them in second place behind Logan Murphy and Jackie Kapoor from Krytenia. Though there are still a number of competitors to go.

.... and there you have it Charles and Jollie scored well with a 4th placing in the compulsory dance of the Mixed Pairs figure skating. What a great performance.

"Welcome to our coverage of the second run in the men's luge...as we reach the sharp end of the field...

"We've seen plenty of applause for Adair, who courageously made his second run despite falling off his luge in the first...and he broke 53 seconds...

"Ian Ling's second run was disappointingly slow, but he will have derived a lot of experience from that...

"Arthur Rank will almost certainly drop out of the top ten, he has not been able to cope with the increased in speed on the run as more competitors go down...Ouellet's track record just before he went I think put him off a little, certainly the crowd noise was larger than normal and he never got into an equilibrium...he should really have done a 51 which would have kept him in with a shot...he's only just ahead of the Mad Monk, Fr. Silouan...

"Now it's time for Lou Grade's run. Fourth after the first run, he could be forgiven for resting on his laurels given his position at the head of the doubles. Dracher has just gone down and made a pig's breakfast of his run, can Grade avoid that?...

"The target to beat was set by Roland Ouellet of Jonquiere-Tadoussac, he set a wonderful track record to leap from eighth to first, with four runners to go...

"The push-off...and it's exactly the same time as his first run...taking a low line into the first few bends...ooh, a little wobble going into four...and at the interim he is slower than his first run by a smidgeon, and second overall...

"Half-distance, and he is five-hundredths down on Ouellet's combined time...he's not taking a risk into eleven...conventional...tight into twelve and thirteen...and across the line in just under fifty-two...he is just two-thousands off his first run and second overall...point one two out of the lead...setting him up for the last two runs, but what can the top three do?"

Grade was interviewed as Funes took the overall lead, and admitted he was taking no risks at all, just trying to keep in contention for the last couple of runs and yes, it was difficult given he had two events and didn't want to let anyone down in the doubles.

But whilst he was talking he and the interviewer were distracted by a shocked noise from the crowd. News came through that von Kustrinenburg had slammed the final corner wall badly and had lost half a second. And astonishingly the same thing happened a minute later when Soprantano came down.

"Lou, it looks like you're going to be in the medal positions going into the final couple of runs..."

"Yes, we've had a long break before the second run and I've got to get in some practice for the doubles as well. Not easy being a slider."

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

Quick Update on Erin O'Brien.... Eliminated in the 1st round of Women's Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom losing to Nina Paskevich of Magnus Valerius. A very disappointing day for the Women snowboarders as they expected to win a medal in PGS.

No word as of yet on the 3 men'e lugers, but as soon as we find out, we'll let ya know.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

And we’re. . . back in Aeropag, with not much to say here regarding the Ariddian delegation. The heavy snowfall has given the city a bit more of a wintery feel, but that hasn’t helped our athletes win any medals so far.

The men’s ice hockey team drew two-all against Spaam in their first game. Most impressive perhaps was the fact that, without informing anyone in advance, they managed to perform the ulek at the start of the match – on ice skates! There was a bit of stumbling here and there, but miraculously nobody fell over.

In luge, Yosief Debesa logged a time of 52.648 in his second run, leaving him still close to the bottom of the group. Debesa had said beforehand that he was not expecting to win a medal, but that the opportunity to participate in the Olympics “is a wonderful opportunity which will help me prepare better for next time”. We wish him the best of luck, and. . . well, that’s about it for now. Ariddia still hasn’t made it onto the medal chart, but we’ll let you know as soon as that happens.

Olympic Update

Things started to look a little better for the Tynelian Olympic squad. While we neglected to mention that yesterday Tynelian cross country skier Jeff Disher finished a distant 18th in the mens 15km cross country skiing event with a time of 42:31.5, word on other fronts is more encouraging.

In the men's individual sprint both Kyle Fallsworth and Tim McLeary advanced to the quarter finals. This was in part due to the fact there werre only 18 entrants in the event but with two Tynelians moving on this might be Tynelia's best chance for a medal in the early part of the Olympiad. Both Fallsworth and McLeary are very good in this event so hopes are high that at least one of them breaks through to medal.

In the second run of the luge Tynelian James Marshall produced another solid run with a time of 52.443 naerly matching his first run's time giving him an overall time of 1:44.893 and the 22nd spot a big drop from his openning run where he was in thirteeneth. While almost a full second out of the medals he's only a half second out of a top ten spot. Still this is a better than expected showing for the recent luge convert.

In ice dancing the new team of Tanya Lannister and Derek Taylor, a surprise winner in the national qulaifiers, scored a surprising seventh place after the first dance. Their score of 32.92 puts them 1.46 points away from a medal though from early results it seems there are three distinct tiers of performance among the top nine and it may be tough for the Tynelian duo to make up much ground.

The men's curlers seek to rebound from their openning loss in curling tomorrow and Kyle Morris and Nathan Grant take to the ice as the men's short program takes place as well. They hope to join Abigail Jones in qualifying for the next round.

MATHISON RETIRES AFTER DISSAPOINTMENT AT GAMES
Aeropag - Miranda Mathison dropped to the ground, resting her sore backside in the snow. She sat for a minute, exhausted and disappointed, her back to the finish line.

That's the way the flamboyant and fabulous 45 year old Mathison ended a remarkable career spanning 19 years.

She arrived in Commerce Heights trying to do what no one else has ever done -- win the first ever NS Olympic Medal in Snowboard Slalom. Her effort lasted all of 41 seconds.

The woman who beseeched fans back home in Domnonia to stay up through the night, so they could see her races live on TV, gave them very little to watch. Slowed by back and groin injuries from a spill while practicing in the giant slalom two days earlier, Mathison performed sluggishly to 17th place on the blue course of the slalom and then fell to 19th on the second run.

She had been favored to win a medal in the slalom. Instead, she watched the first round of heats from a hotel room while her collegues from neighbouring Antrium, Grīst Landev and Mīrondel Zwàrkwà both move on towards semi-finals..

The 45-year-old Mathison just cannot keep up any more with youngsters like pink-haired Kristina Bezhushtin.

"I think (Mathison) is the greatest boarder we have had since Gloria Yurin. She was always the best. Now she's a little bit older," said Kyre Ibbitson, Mathison's male counterpart at the Games. "If I had as much success as she in my lifetime, I would be very proud."

Mathisons first and only Olympics consisted of two races. She fell 18 seconds into the giant slalom, landing hard on her backside, and exited slalom after a disappointing combined time of 1:23.55.

Her previous competitions had been filled with medals. She was the 1988 IDU champion in the slalom and giant slalom, and became the first woman to win the same event twice when she took gold in the 1992 giant slalom.

Mathison also won IDU silver medals in slalom at the 1992 and 1994 IDU games.

Current slalom leader Kristina Bezhushtin of Magnus Valerius, who finished first in qualifying rounds, said it was sad Mathison has decided to go out this way.

"But she has enough gold medals," Bezhushtin added. "It is time for the other girls to earn some."

Mathison avoided reporters after the slalom and went for treatment on her back and groin. Domini team officials said Miranda will not travel to the World Cup slalom and giant slalom races next month, but instead will head home to Isca, Domnonia.

Since sledding into prominence in 1987 with a bronze medal in the giant slalom at the world championships, the brash Mathison has been a superstar on and off the slopes.

She has been photographed with the Pope, politicians and with an array of girlfriends. She has regaled the world with tales of late-night partying, gay nightclubs and biker babes. Legions of fans have followed her around the globe.

Mathison had strongly hinted this would be her last season on the competitive circuit. "She has been the best for 19 years. All of us other girls tried to beat her," said Paula Myhill, who is moving onto semi-finals this weekend.

"I will miss her, for sure. She is really a nice person. There are a lot of bad stories about her, but I know her as a lady."

From The Domini Globe & Post >> http://dominiglobe.blogspot.com/

It was a bad enough disadvantage in the 4 man bob to have been drawn to be the first going down. Virgin ice, no trace of a line, nothing against which to aim.

But just as Stoddard leapt into the bob on the very first bobsled run in the Winter Olympics ever, the floodlights suddenly shorted.

With disastrous consequences.

Stoddard was left in the bob, Curtis was half-in. Bland and Salisbury instinctively let go and the bob trundled away, into the darkness.

Curtis slammed on the anchors and Stoddard steered the bob to a halt. But the damage had been done. The revolutionary front wingpod had been damaged against the side in the frantic attempts to bring the renegade sled to a halt.

The officials quickly annulled the run and had the sled pulled back up to the start of the run. Team boss Jeff Jordan requested time to repair the bob, but the officials indicated that the rule book did not allow this - they had to be ready to run when the electricity was back on, and they did not know how long it would take. However, if he could obtain the unanimous consent of the other teams, WEN 1 would be put at the back.

Most teams were only too ready to agree. However, two outfits, whose names shall not be permitted to darken this post, refused, seeing a decent medal competitor suddenly hamstrung. Jordan went away cursing and there was a race against time before the race against time.

All too soon the lights were back on and the two minute warning given. It was not enough to do anything more than a bodge job and Scott Stoddard had the hopeless task of steering a semi-controllable bobsled down the course.

In the circumstances the time of 55.77 was downright miraculous. Although they were stuck in eleventh place, they were a mere couple of tenths short of the medals. And with the remaining runs it was not a total disaster - with a repaired sled...the main downside was the timing...again they would go out early.

(ooc i have a question here how come in the 2 qualifing runs for the men's singles luge my three athletes aren't in it? is there going to be a third run or do i have to RP something the missing athletes are:

Men and Women's Luge (singles)
singles (men)Jean-Luc Crusher[.75], Wesley Riker[.66] and William Picard [.52] thanks.)
Because you hid them so well in your signup. :p

IC:
The Aeropag Tribune—Donate to the Boudra-Boudra Olympic Committee’s Bribery Fund today!

Olympics: Qazox athletes disqualified for marijuana use
AEROPAG, JI—Three athletes from Qazox, slated to participate in the luge, were disqualified from competition after they were found to have used marijuana yesterday. “It’s sad that we have to check for drugs at all,” said a COC spokesperson. “Athletes should be smart enough to compete fairly or not at all.” Qazox has protested the COC’s action, since the drug is illegal in neither Qazox nor Commerce Heights. “It’s the World Anti-Doping Agency’s stupid rule, not ours,” said the COC in response to the protest. “We’re just the enforcers…though it’s possible that we could come to an ‘arrangement.’ ” The speaker did not elaborate on the meaning of the term “arrangement,” and did not respond to any media questions.

The SATT press report tickertaped through into the Wentland media centre. Vee Austin just happened to be there whilst being interviewed for Zertunia television's profile of young competitors.

"Oh, here's some news for you, from your event, but the men."

Austin took the paper from her interviewer.

Three athletes from Qazox, slated to participate in the luge, were disqualified from competition after they were found to have used marijuana yesterday.

"Ha, who's been banned? Picard! Ha! Ha! Ha! That baldy prat who tried to run me over in practice!!!"

"That was the man whom you attacked after he followed you down the practice run?"

"Du-uuuuh. I thought he was on summat, bombing down the run when I was still getting off...I always thought mary jane caused baldness..."

BIG-ASS CLOUD OF DOOM HANGS OVER OLYMPIC TEAM


From MSPN--

Yet another disappointing day at the olympics for Maineiacs' atheletes. Figure skater Tom Bellamy failed to qualify in the men's event, our hockey team, thought to be our best hope for a gold medal, skated to their second draw, and our 4-man bobsled team stands in 14th place after the first run, almost a second off the pace. All our hopes now rest with the Women's Curling team, after they picked up their second win. Meanwhile, in Maineiacs City, a measure has been proposed to outlaw future Maineacs' participation in international sporting events. Senator Hiram (Socialist, Plymouth Province), who sponsored the bill said he wanted to "spare our nation any future humiliation". Sen. Hiram also called for an arrest warrant to be filed for MOC members.

THE MONASTIC TIMES

DISAPPOINTMENT AS FR. VASILY FALLS
Half of Luge Team Sort of Solve Wind Drag Problem

By Fr. Nicholas the Scribe

Monastic skaters across the Archregimancy were disappointed when Olympic flag-bearer Fr. Vasily of the Frozen Lakes lost his balance during the short programme yesterday while attempting his difficult self-invented Hesychast Spin. Inspired the Athonite practice of Hesychastic prayer, the spin requires the skater to stare at his navel while reciting the Jesus Prayer and completing three sets of three spins in honour of the Holy Trinity.

Afterwards Fr. Vasily granted this reporter an exclusive interview.

"It's true, I lost my balance and fell - but is not man through his very nature a fallen being whose sins take him further from union with God?"

Despite his slip, Fr. Vasily qualified for the next stage in 14th place, but surely needs a miracle to win a medal.

"I can but pray" said Fr. Vasily.

In other news, Fr. Silouan of the Slopes rose to 12th place in the men's luge following a sub-52 second second run.
[OOC - can someone come up with a synonym for either use of 'second'?]

"I simply tied my robes down with tape!" Said Fr. Silouan, who nonetheless still lies more than half a second out of medal position. Fr. Sergei the Slider, mired in 23rd, is believed to have rejected the use of tape on the grounds that it 'smacked of false ecumenicism'.

[OOC - can someone come up with a synonym for either use of 'second'?]

How about just reorganising the grammatical structure?

"...following his second run that was timed at 0:52.xxx."

Where Jollie MacKay failed, Charles Roberts Succeeds, Qualifying for the next round of mens Short Program figure skating, however the Duo still are yet to compete in their next Mixed Pair event, Jollie MacKay sits in the rink and watches her partner perform his moves. He scored 70.84 good enough to be seeded 5th in the overall rankings. Will he creep up and take a medal? or faulter in the next round.

........

Julie-ann Griffiths barely missed by 4 hundreths of a second from last place in her heat of the 500m Womens Short Track event. Though she would have beaten, almost by 2 seconds Janette Tough, from Wentland ,she was the slowest competitor not to be disqualified. Julie-ann raced the 500 metres in a time of 0:47.241 securing herself no place in the next round as she failed to progess. Maria Finghulera of Pacitilia and Linda Uosh of Arrida where the two skaters to progress progress to the next round. But as no Bazalonians will be there I am sure no one will care.

"So, what do you think, Snugglebear?" asked Sophia
"Well, let's wait and see what's expected for the OD, then if we're officially out of medal contention, we go for broke on the Free Dance." said Warren
"Ok, I'm game. If we do it, it'll certainly make an impression."
"That's the idea, Pookie." he said

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft
IT'S OFFICAL
this just in from the IOC:
Olympics: Qazox athletes disqualified for marijuana use
AEROPAG, JI—Three athletes from Qazox, slated to participate in the luge, were disqualified from competition after they were found to have used marijuana yesterday. “It’s sad that we have to check for drugs at all,” said a COC spokesperson. “Athletes should be smart enough to compete fairly or not at all.” Qazox has protested the COC’s action, since the drug is illegal in neither Qazox nor Commerce Heights. “It’s the World Anti-Doping Agency’s stupid rule, not ours,” said the COC in response to the protest. “We’re just the enforcers…though it’s possible that we could come to an ‘arrangement.’ ” The speaker did not elaborate on the meaning of the term “arrangement,” and did not respond to any media questions.

Wesley Riker and Jean-Luc Crusher will be able to compete in the Luge doubles, but William Picard will not be able to compete and was banned from the Athlete's Dorms and Aeropag due to pending assult charges on Vee Austin an athlete from Wentland. The Qazox Olympic Committee apologizes for Mr. Picard's actions and has suspened him indefinetely due to the incident.

In other News, the 1st run of the Four-man Bobsleigh was run today and the team of Fine and Howard Cubed finished with a time of 55.72, good enough for 8th place. The 4-man will be a close event as only 1 scond separates 1st place Boudra-Boudra from 14th place Maineiacs.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

OOC, but CH is it possible to get a schedule of days when events take place? It just seems odd that events started on Day 1 (Womens Figure Skating, Mens Slalom) are still on one run/short program.

It would be greatly appreciated if we could get somethink like an assigned day for events being held, regardless of the time thing.

Earlier Logan Hunt just snuck through stealing the last qualification spot, his jumps where good solid technical jumps, but it was their degree of difficulty that let him down. While others who made a few technical errors had a much higher degree of difficulty Matt Chiltern from Krytenia performed marvelously with his "Tripple Curl Handstand", exactly why it was called that is still a mystery but it got a standing ovation after successfuly stuck the landing.

Flagbearer Wadley disappoints as male biathletes fail to make cut
Scott Hartnett and Liverpool England flagbearer Roy Wadley were both disappointing in the men's 15 kilometre mass-start biathlon event, Wadley finishing 9th when he had hopes of being the first Liverpool England medallist at the event, while Hartnett finished third-from-last.

Carl Minor remains the nation's best chance of a medal, having made the semifinals of the Men's Parallel Giant Slalom snowboarding event. Mark Toland qualified from the men's freestyle aerials to also have an outside chance of an unexpected freestyle skiing medal.

Dolores Haire (women's parallel giant slalom snowboarding) failed to make it past the qualification rounds. Sally Criss was the only one of two Liverpool England competitors to finish her first run in the women's combined alpine skiing.

Crna Gora Liv Eng remain second in the medal tally, with one gold and one silver, both coming from cross-country.

As more and more Anastasianians found their way around the Internet thanks to the Uploaded Minds, some copied Wikipedia's report of the Games thus far and sent that home, and these reports appeared in Anastasianian newspapers the following day.

Day 1
* Andrew Simari of Krytenia set an Olympic record in the first competition of the event, the first heat of the men's short track 1000 metre qualifying. Simari's time of 1:28.418 lasted until the end of the qualifying; a further 15 athletes qualified for the following day's semi final.
* The host nation Commerce Heights went down 3–4 to The Resurgent Dream in the opening match of the men's ice hockey tournament.
* The Anastasianian delegation was delayed due to a misunderstanding with the communications committee.
* Boudra-Boudra and Commerce Heights run away from the pack in the biathlon relay, finishing over three minutes ahead of the bronze medal team. Oswaldo Sdar of Boudra-Boudra beat Larry Kaplan in the finish sprint to win by four seconds, while Anastasiania took the bronze.
* Athletes from The Resurgent Dream clinched first and fifth place in the women's figure skating short program.

Day Two

* Paperwork problems caused more delayed competitions, as Chicanada's snowboard cross athletes had to race an extra qualification run
* Zertunia dominated the two alpine skiing events by securing four of the six available top-three places:
** Kenbor Tan and Canban Sanom made it a 1-2 for Zertunia in the men's slalom, but there were nine athletes within half a second of the leader. However, another run had to be completed before the medals were awarded.
** In the Super-G, the first medal event for the alpine skiers, Sanom struck gold and finished 0.09 seconds ahead of silver medallist Béroto Théalin of Antrium. Kenbor Tan takes the bronze.
* The first round of women's curling qualification was completed: The team from Maineiacs, skipped by Sally Gore, recorded the largest margin of victory, beating Malabra by 9–5.

Day 3

* Friar Michael the Classicist of the Archregimancy won the 15 km classical event, while Kristjan Slobodan secured the second medal for Crna Gora Liv Eng - crossing the line 0.1 seconds ahead of Boudra-Boudra's Gunther Orkt. To Anastasianian fans' dismay, the event was apparently held as a mass start. The two-hour rendition of the national anthem of the Archregimancy sees everyone vanish.
* The first round of men's curling is completed. Biggest win: Spaam (Eva) beat Boudra–Boudra (Peterson) 9–5. In round two games, three teams maintained a perfect record; Dorian & Sonya, Malabra and Pacitalia.
* In the women's games, Domnonia were the only team to reach two wins from two with a 9–7 win over New Montreal States.
* Crna Gora Liv Eng won their first medal of the games, clinching the women's cross country skiing relay by a 13-second margin after they pulled away on the last climb.
* Bazalonian Olympic record holder Luke MacDonald pipped Andrew Simari, the former record holder, for the last place in the final on the men's 1000 m short track speed skating.

Day 4

* Boudra-Boudra won their second gold medal of the games, with Zsamanda Moscardelli-Kobylarczyk defiling to victory in the biathlon relay. The Kazoo Peoples won silver, 54 seconds behind.
* The first round of both the men's and women's ice hockey group stages is completed; for the men, Jonquiere-Tadoussac recorded the biggest win with 4–1 over Domnonia, while Stevid and Chicanada both win 4–2 for the women.
* Spruitland became the second women's curling team to make it two from two after beating Krytenia 6–5.
* Liverpool England beats The Resurgent Dream 2–1 in the second round's top fight of men's ice hockey pool A.
* Four nations took part in the individual Gundersen combined event; in the first round of ski jumping, Antrium's Īoràn Brojéo took the lead ahead of two Zertunians.
* Anastasiania qualified directly for the semi-finals of the women's team pursuit, as the only team.
* Record snowfalls of up to two inches postpone the Games.
* An ad hoc snow angel competition was won by Sophia Daniels.

Day 5

* Boudra-Boudra continued their success in biathlon, winning their third gold in this event. Oswaldo Sdar is 14 seconds ahead of Anastasiania's Arvi Laine in the men's mass start.
* Ceorana's women curling team lost 5–9 to Qazox, leaving the latter top and the former bottom of pool C.
* Maineiacs' men's ice hockey team tied their second game in a row, 3–3 with Ropa–Topia.
* Roland Ouellet of Jonquiere-Tadoussac set a track record in the men's luge and advanced to second place in the overall standings, behind Reynaldo Funés of Kelse.
* Anastastasiania and Pacitalia were forced to go into qualifying in the men's team pursuit.
* Krytenia occupied the top two places on the ice dance standings, with Christian Preisser and Michaela Gramanova taking a two-point lead over the chasing pack after the compulsory dace.
* Magnus Valerius' Kristina Bezhushtin set the best time both for the blue and red course in the parallel giant slalom qualification, and won by nearly two seconds. She also won the first elimination round to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Day 6

* Eveline Schnütz won their fourth gold of the Games with 22:27.7 in the women's biathlon sprint; over a minute ahead of bronze medallist 임승화 of Commerce Heights.
* In the men's curling, Jonquiere-Tadoussac and Liverpool England joined the teams with perfect records.
* Hector Zariņš' team from Boudra-Boudra took the lead in four-man bobsled after the first run.
* Pacitalia shut out Cantr for a 5–0 win in men's ice hockey. In pool D, Jonquiere-Tadoussac eked out a 3–2 win to stay unbeaten.
* After the first round of ski jumping, Anastasiania had two athletes on top of the standings in the women's combined Gundersen event.
* 3.2 points separated the teams from Zertunia and Antrium after the first round of the team nordic combined event.
* Kina Forgast of Zertunia took a lead of 1.30 seconds in the first run of women's combined slalom, in which four women crash out.
* Krytenia are eventually holders of the women's 500 m short track Olympic record; Fiona Vukova won the fifth heat in an unbeatable time of 44.040 seconds.
* Lugers from Qazox are disqualified for marijuana use.

(OOC: X-posted to the wiki. Just wanted some RP bonus, if there is any. And not everyone reads the wiki ;))

OOC, but CH is it possible to get a schedule of days when events take place?
I’ll try to do it sometime tomorrow.
It just seems odd that events started on Day 1 (Womens Figure Skating, Mens Slalom) are still on one run/short program.
Yes, it is odd. Keeps people in suspense, though. :p

IC:
Capitalizt Defense Alliance Biathlon Course, Aeropag, Atlantian Jativan Islands

서재룡 (Sū Jā-lyoŋ): Welcome back to Aeropag Tribune Sports’s coverage of the I Olympic Winter Games. I’m here with 김기군 (Gim Gi-gun) at the CDA Biathlon Course, where we’re approaching the end of the mens’ individual race. The two Capitalizts in the event, Nenad Korn-Hofbeck of Cambridge and 추홍룡 (Çu Hoŋ-lyuŋ) from 녠도리 (Nyendoli), are in third and fourth going into the final shooting stage, behind Gregors Bērziņš and Jules Lafontaine.

김기군 (Gim Gi-gun): It’s a bit of a surprise that Lafontaine has been so strong throughout the race…I don’t think anyone would have picked Spruitland to pick up the silver medal.

서: Well, it’s not over yet…Bērziņš misses his first two shots! That could cost him a medal…

김: Lafontaine has two misses himself…and Bērziņš goes two for five. Definitely out of contention now, if the other three can shoot at all.

서: Lafontaine manages to avoid any further mistakes, and now the Capitalizts are starting their shooting…

김: Korn-Hofbeck goes clean! This could be the gold medal the home crowd is looking for!

서: 추 goes clean too…the Capitalizts have a chance to build a solid lead before Bērziņš and Lafontaine get out of the penalty loop.

…

서: And now it’s official—Korn-Hofbeck takes gold, 추 gets silver, with the top three seperated by over two minutes. After all the other biathlon disappointments, it looks like the Unified Capitalizt States might finally be gaining some momentum!

김: Let’s now go over to the medal ceremony…

Announcer: And now, the state anthem of Neue Lontorikanische Spezielle Verwaltungsregion.

Ein ewiges Bündnis aus Volksrepubliken
In Freiheit aus unserm Gross Lontorika erstund.

…

Und Führer von der Republik, die Stärke des Volkes,
Sie führen zum Sieg des Republik's uns fort!

김: You know, if we’re lucky, we’ll get to hear all six state anthems before these Games are closed.

서: Too bad about the four states and one territory that don’t have anthems…

Spaam Sports Weekly
NationStates' Most Notorious Sports Publication

Celebrating 100 Years of World Cup Participation

2108 Winter Olympics Daily Edition


Columb Nance Training Run... Against Women

Columb Nance went for a training run for the MENS individual biathlon, but
didn't realise he was actually competing against the women's 7.5 km biathlon.
He kept at the back of the pack mostly, and finished second last; you have
to feel for poor Emily Sands of Ariddia who finished behind him. Meanwhile, in
the Men's 20km individual, Nance finished 12th out of the 26 competitors,
arriving a fraction of a second over the hour mark. It was a 1-2 for
Commerce Heights, with Nenad Korn-Hofbeck winning the gold in 55:34, and
Çu Hoŋ-lyuŋ almost a second behind. Jules Lafontaine won Spruitland's first
medal by finishing third.

1 Nenad Korn-Hofbeck (COM) 55:34.4
2 추홍룡 (Çu Hoŋ-lyuŋ) (COM) 56:26.6
3 Jules Lafontaine (SPR) 57:37.5
...
11 Ken Shea (KZO) 59:58.3
12 Columb Nance (SPA) 60:00.4
13 Ryan Gibbons (DOM) 60:02.4

OOC: You put Columb Nance into the women's sprint you ninny!

Allan Martin returned from the biathlon to a hero's welcome from the Wentland team. Huge banners congratulating him for his magnificent performance were hung around the Went Olympic Village.

Unfortunately, he did not get gold, so the word "gold" was crossed out on the "congratulations on your gold medal" signs.

He did not get silver either. Or bronze.

The team had in fact been racking their brains to determine which colour medal he would get as they watched the competitors cross the line. They had gone through brass, copper, tin, cubic zirconium, sandstone, limestone, aluminium tin foil and perspex. They were beginning to despair by the time they got to fifteenth and he still had not arrived (rumour had it he was taking pot-shots at the ski-jumpers rather than the targets on the basis that that was more fun. Certainly every time a jumper started on a run someone was shouting "pull!" from the biathlon course.)

Fortunately Clem Bland came up with a list from fifteenth to twentieth based on different types of ebay packaging. Twenty-first came around however (Bērziņš of the Land of Letters You Cannot Find On A Keyboard) and still no Martin. They had no time to think of twenty-second because de Szeged was there on Bērziņš' tail. Twenty-third was down as wet cardboard before Martin turned up, shattered, but smiling, and the banners had the words "wet paper" written on them instead of gold.

"Well, I didn't come last, at any event...technically, that's better than Janette from her short-track..."

"Oi! I did beat someone."

"Only cos they were disqualified."

***

The Wentland Times had a scurrilous item on the long hills team ski-jumping. Why didn't we enter a team? Because Allan Martin had shot ours.

***

Chrissie Carlisle was ecstatic after her slalom run in the women's combined. "Wow, eighth! I've never been that high before."

She was in fact firmly stuck in the middle before the remaining disciplines but there was a definite medal shot there, if only because of the attrition rate. Already four competitors had crashed out of the slalom and one wonders whether any of the "big guns" will go OTT on the top half of the downhill, which has already caused problems.

Meanwhile nine countries had scored medals, with none for Wentland, but very definite chances in the luge events - top in the doubles, third in the men's, and the strongest bob teams yet to run. Welsh and Lombard had been putting in some sterling practice runs and were looking very, very good, like they always do.

Bērziņš of the Land of Letters You Cannot Find On A Keyboard
B AltGr-Shift-] e r z i AltGr-Shift-, n AltGr-/ s seems to work just fine for me… :p

There was a flurry of activity in the Wentland media room. "'Ere, Bill, this has just come through from the organizers. Says it's lessons on how to type the names of the Boudra-Boudra team."

"What's it say?"

"Well, for that Berzins chap, you have to type in B AltGr-Shift-] e r z i AltGr-Shift-, n AltGr-/ s."

"OK..."

B e r z i n s

"Dammit..."

B } e r z < n ? s

"Dammit..."

S t u p i d c o m p u t e r

"Works for me."

"Now, how about that medallist in the biathlon? 추홍룡?"

"I just made something up. No-one's gonna know, are they? Wentland's not exactly a nation of biathlete-supporting Commerce Heightians."

"I was thinking of spiking his urine sample, so he would not win a medal, but having to do headlines like "추홍룡 In Drug Test Scandal" would make matters worse. What can you pun with? So I just ignored him in the report. It's not one of ours, so no-one cares."

Men's Curlers Fall Again

Inn a surprise, the Tynelian men's curling squad, which entered these Olympics with thoughts of being a strong competitor for a medal now finds themselves in last place. With their loss to The Resurgent Dream by a 7-5 margin that wasn't as close as the score indicated, Tynelia finds itself the only winless team in the group. The only positive note is that only one team, Liverpool England naturally, is undefeated in the group so they still have a chance at making the cut with a few wins.

The women' squad disapointed yet again as they now find themselves barely in fourth place due to goal differential after a shocking rally by New Montreal States gave them a 7-6 win. Up 6-5 going into the last end a costly mistake by skip Nancy Sullivan which left Tynelia's first stone open for a takeout allowed New Montreal States to take two points with the hyammr and steal the win. Sullivan was visibly upset afterwards and ould not talk to reporters.

The men's short program in figure skating took place and while both Nathan Grant and Kyle Morris both qualified with the 15th and 16th highest marks respectively it was a bit of a surprise. Going into the short program it was thought that Kyle Morris, the Tynelian national champion would be in a better position than the runner-up Grant. However it was Grant who quite possibly pulled off his best short program in years. While Morris is known for being a better long program skater the top three are well out in front so anything beyond a possible top ten finish shouldn't be expected.

Ginny MacDougal continued Tynelia's run of unimpressive efforts with a last place finish in her heat in the women's 500m short track event. Her time of 47.974 in fact was the third slowest time of all the contestants. It is clear that Tynelia's short track program needs improvement after the sub par efforts to date.

In the men's 20km individual run of the biathalon Kevin Grant had a poor showing finishing fourth from last with a time of 62:27.9 Grant had been bothered with the flu since he arrived at the games and no doubt that hindered his performance. Hopefully he will be able to shake it off for the 10km sprint.

With our atheletes failing to reach the quarterfinals in many events, people are growing concerned that the nation will be shut out in its first Olympiad. With several competitors yet to compete only time will tell.

Cana Daily Press

Highlights of Day 4-6 of the 1934 Winter Games: Still Looking For A Medal

Figure Skating
While Passion Liange still waits for her shot for Gold, the Dance and Mens portions kicked off with strong showing. Both Kodiaks Dance Squads (Loundon Hedlaim and Aston Phoenix, Passion Karibe and Gordon Kalbreth) skated personal bests to...um...*insert whatever would be the COmpulsory Dance as determined by the COC here* and while they are lower in the ranks, the teams are well within striking distance of the podium.

National Champion Justin Olamjai leads the Mens side, and how. Olamjai carries a 2 point lead into the Mens final after a strong performance to International Pop Sensation Ayumi Hamasaki's "is this LOVE." A change from his bossa nova championship winner, the more technical short program featured his rather superb quad Salchow in combination with a triple loop, along with his triple axle and triple lutz. Michel Laing, skating to Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and Horace Klain, who went back to his Junior-winning short from The King & I, failed to make the Finals due to both falling in their combinations, with Klain falling out of his triple flip and failing to attempt his triple toe, resulting in a last place finish.

The Pairs short program will happen later today.

Snowboarding
Since Carl Long made the Quaterfinals in the PSG, he lost to Denver Lanka (ASV) and will finish off the podium. Not too bad, as he will be racing in the 5th Place final later this week after bearting in the Relegation Semifinals.

Erin Zalop and Olani Horsien both qualified for the Womens PSG and had very impressive runs in the First Round. Too bad they had to race each other, with Erin Zalop continuing her recent win streak against her roomate. However, Horsien's time would have had her win 4 of the other First Round matches. so she should be mighty pleased with her results. Hopes are on Zalop to make the Semifinals and position the team to its first ever Snowboarding medal.

Skiing
In the Mens Aerials qualifiers, Haiden Marksen was able to use two rather average jumps to make it into the Finals by nearly 40 points.

In the Womens Combined, Malina Gorden falied to complete the first slalom run, leaving her out of the rest of the competition. With the Kodiaks not fielding much of a Ski team, the results did not phase her nor the Chicanada Ski Consortium, who oversees the competitions to select Olympic competitors.

Luge
Jacob Huston improved on his first run with a strong 51-second second run to move up to 9th in the Singles Luge; Huston's improved run puts him only .4 seconds behind the leaders and within medal range.

Bobsled
4-Man Chicanada 1 finished fourth in its opening run, and with three good runs still left, there's a slim chance for the Kodiaks to make up the .11 difference between them and the medals.

Curling
The Mens Curling Team dropped their second close match, this time a 6-5 loss in regular time to Andossa Se Mitrin Vega. The team is now at 0-0-3 and it will be rather difficult for the Kodiaks to make it to the Medal rounds without some help from the top, regardless of the team winning their final matches.

The Womens Curling Team won today, beating Spaam 9-5 and giving the Lady Kodiaks something to cheer for, as they look in much better shape to make a run at qualifying than the mens team.

Hockey
The Mens Hockey Team locked up a Quaterfinal slot with their 4-2 win over Magnus Valerius (who the Lady Kodiaks beat), leaving the Kodiaks and Palacitia to play each other for the top slot.

The Womens Hockey Team had a rather easy time, winning their debut match 4-2 against Magnus Valerius and positioning themseleves within grasp of the Quaterfinals.

DOMINI WOMEN LOSE; THREE WAY LEAD

Team Domi is now sharing the lead in it's group after a dissapointing and unexpected loss to Liverpool England at the I Olympic Winter Games in Aeropag, Commerce Heights.

Team Domi's men, however, have just celebrated an 6-5 win over Krytenia in this mornings matchup.

Georgio Mendel of Ungava, defeated Krytenia after losing 7-5 to the Kazoo People earlier in the week.

Mendel is now tied with Andossa Se Mitrin Vega's Marlen Clester for second in the group, with both trailing Simone Brando of Pacitalia who remains undefeated.

Marlen Clester surged into contention by beating Chicanada 6-5.

"We had a loss pretty early and we knew the next few games would be important from our second day here," Clester said.

World champion skip Simone Brando of Pacitalia tops the standings at 3-0.

Mendel, born in Preston but raised in Saint Katrina, Mikitivity, plans to carry the momentum of a win over Krytenia into his much-anticipated showdown with Brando, who has won three in a row.

Mendel was razor-sharp from the outset, drawing at a 90 per cent clip compared to just 38 per cent for Krytenia in building a 5-1 lead through seven ends.

Mendel opened with a brilliant tap against three Domini stones to score one in the first, then stole another on a crafty in-turn draw in the second.

Leading 2-1 in the sixth, he capitalized on a missed double by Krytenia to draw for two before stealing another in the seventh.

Krytenias straight takeout on last rock in the eighth cut the deficit to 5-4, but Mendel clinched the win on a hit and stick for one in the 10th.

"We were always behind the eight-ball, it seemed," said Krytenias skip, who refused to give his name. "Tomorrow is a new day."

The round-robin wraps up soon with the top rinks advancing to the semifinals, pending tiebreakers.

From The Domini Globe & Mail >> http://dominiglobe.blogspot.com

OOC:

Bērziņš of the Land of Letters You Cannot Find On A Keyboard.

Sorry I have Latvian inhabitants :)

Sorry also for being inactive, currently coughing, suffering from cold, feverish and such...

From MSPN--

CURLING, HOCKEY ONLY BRIGHT SPOTS. HOPE IN WOMEN'S ALPINE COMBINED

Our curling teams and our men's hockey teams remain the only things encouraging in an otherwise disastrous Olympics for Maineiacs. Our Women's curling teamis undefeated thus far while the men's team has improved to 2-1. Our Men's hockey team is still in contention with two draws and no losses or wins. Our Women's hockey team lost its opening game. In other Olympic news, skier Theresa Miller stands in 2nd place after the 1st slalom run in the Women's Alpin Combined. Although she is more than a full second behind the leader, she does maintain a 0.35 second lead over the 3rd place contestant. Miller's teammate, Mary Donaldson, is in 18th place, the last qualifying slot. Tonight is pairs figure skating.

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

In Men's Curling toay Qazox lost its 3rd straight match this time to Spaam 7-6. This means the Men's curling team are eliminated form medal contention. Here's the Score:

TEAM---1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-T
Qazox--0-0-1-1-1-2-0-0-0-1--6
Spaam--0-2-0-0-0-0-2-2-1-0--7

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

THE MONASTIC TIMES

BOBSLEDDERS IN NUDITY SCANDAL
Fr. Sergei's Robes Catch on Rear Fin

By Fr. Nicholas the Scribe

The Archregimancy's two man bob team was mired in scandal overnight as Fr. Sergei the Braker's robes caught on the sled's rear aerodynamic fin during the starting run, inadvertently forcing him to complete the run naked, and also slowing the sled down somewhat.

While host nation officials in Aeropag are believed to be 'relaxed' about the incident, and no other nation has at present lodged a protest, teammate Fr. Gennady was believed to be shunning Fr. Sergei this morning over his wanton display of shameful naked flesh. There is some concern amongst MOCTA officials as to whether the team will be able to complete its second run.

While the incident leaves the bobsledders in a remote 22nd place, they somehow remain only four tenths of a second behind the leaders from Boudra Boudra 2.


BDB 2 (Sanchez/Maier) TR 56.25
PAC 1 (Cenagado/Subera) 56.26
KEL 2 (Alphand/Foch) 56.29
WEN 1 (Stoddard/Tarff) 56.30
KEL 1 (Barthez/Nasrati) 56.32
DAS 2 (Elensar/Anwamanë) 56.39
ANT 1 (Térkīz/Malbask) 56.40
MVA 2 (Warwick/MacLeod) 56.41
AMV 2 (Saurer/Febbo) 56.43
BDB 1 (Zariņš/Ktorr) 56.44
ANS 1 (Mikaelsson/Hudson) 56.49
LEN 1 (Duong/Peele) 56.49
MVA 1 (de Choglokov/Kantakouzenos) 56.49
KRY 1 (Vallingham/Faure) 56.51
JTD 1 (Tremblay/Lamarchand) 56.55
AMV 1 (Burow/Lohan) 56.58
RTS 1 (Alter/Claessens) 56.58
NMS 1 (Holmes/St-Paul) 56.60
COM 1 (Cuellar/Mera) 56.61
PAC 2 (Fonsodori/Franchitti) 56.62
JTD 2 (Kanard/Fauve) 56.65
ARC 1 (Gennady/Sergei) 56.67
QAZ 1 (McCoy/Kirk) 56.68
MLB 1 (Mandad/Kolad) 56.72
CAN 1 (Jensen/Stokes) 56.74

[OOC: yes, they'll continue to compete in subsequent runs - this is RP only]

Pacitalia still sans-medal, curling and ice hockey teams doing well as expected
Two-man bobsled run produces medal hopes

Pacitalia is still without a medal in Aeropag after one week of competition but the athletes are having a great time - and as the number of total medals awarded begins to go up as events conclude, you can expect a Pacitalian top-3 finish in hopefully two or more events, putting the PNOC's target of five medals within reach.

Pacitalia's men's ice hockey team is having a great run so far, especially after a crushing 5-0 defeat of Cantr. Pacitalia's men's curling team is also producing stellar results, so far 3-0 with two more nations to play. Women's curling, however, is a different story. The team lost a nail-biter 7-5 to Krytenia and now sits at 1-2. If the women's curling team wins their next two they may have a shot at advancing but right now that looks to be a near-impossibility.

Meanwhile, the Cenagado/Subera two-man bobsled (PAC 1) earned a time of 56.26 on the downhill run heat to take second in the qualifiers behind Boudra-Boudra's second sled. Boudra-Boudra is leading the medal standings with five medals, most of them coming in alpine events where Pacitalia does not participate.

Day 7 also saw Pacitalia's hopes for a medal in speed-skating improve with two of Pacitalia's three short-track women qualifying in the 1000m race. Three of Pacitalia's four short-track women qualified in the 500m yesterday. Watch for Marco Ando Mandano in the Men's 1000m trying to earn Pacitalia's first medal.

The 20km biathlon was owned by host Commerce Heights (who took gold and silver) as Ruggiero Fendo came 7th with a solid time of 59:25.7. Rabastano Agonzoni was an embarrassing last in the biathlon but he blames his poor finish on faulty equipment.

And, in figure-skating, Alexei Khoranov was the lone Pacitalian qualifier in the men's program, while Mario Dibusco and Stefania Morassa had an excellent skate en route to a 6th-place finish (score: 62.91) in the Pairs' Short Program. Alessandro Samobroni and Giulia Forga-Neroglia also had a good skate and qualified as well, but with a lower score of 55.82.

Stay tuned as Pacitalian competitors in the Women's 500m Quarterfinals try to advance to the Semifinals and come one step closer to a Pacitalian podium finish. As well, Pacitalian women are getting their first taste of Olympic action with qualifying runs in singles luge.

Olympics Update from MSPN--


Medal hopes crushed yet again

After a promising 1st slalom run in the Women's Alpine Combined, Theresa Miller has fallen to 9th place, and out of medal contention. Mary Donaldson sits in 15th place. In pairs figure skating Jean-Claude Damphier and Marie Poisson are 17th after the short program, also with no chance at a medal. This reporter feels that Maineiacs should withdraw from the Olympics at this point, as it is obvious we will not finish above 15th in any event, even if there are fewer than 15 competitiors. This reporter's words continue to fall on deaf ears, however, excpept one Senator who we have learned has been censured for suggesting the same.

Charles and Jollie make another 4th place in the Short Pair Figure Skating with a score of 63.09, Qualified for the next round of competition. Our Curled Bazalopes have won a second time in a row against New Montreal States. Our Score Table has lost but the Curled Bazalopes fell behind in the first few ends of the match and then came storming home to beat NMS 7 to 5.

Wentland Times
All downhill?

A busy night for Wentland athletes at the Winter Olympics, with mixed fortunes for competitors.

One of Wentland's major medal hopes, the two-man bob, are sitting very nicely in fourth place after the first run, a mere five-hundredths away from gold. Roger Stoddard's skill is mated quite nicely with Army captain Peter Tarff's pushing strength and they are in the middle of a mini-break away group, with a comparatively massive seven-hundredths splitting the top five from the rest. Stoddard was not even discomfited by the prospect of following a naked monk down the track as Father Sergei of the Archregimancy had a slight accident with the brake.

However, another medal prospect, Juliette Wilson, fared less well after the first run of the women's luge. She lies thirteenth, point eight off the lead, although the run of Evelyn Meier of Mikitivity was almost beyond belief as she has a full half-second lead over the stunned field. Wilson's main hope for a medal will come in the luge doubles where she holds the lead with Lou Grade.

Wentland's less fancied (well, sports-wise anyway) other athletes fared less well. Leigh Miles is out of the women's 1500m short-track quarter-finals; a bad fall as she jostled with Veneziano, Norean and Kim for second with a lap to go cost her badly, although she got up to finish and her ripped costume caused a flurry of excitement amongst the Press. Sally-Ann Triplett fared little better in her 1000m heat. Chrissie Carlisle slipped out of the top 10 in the women's combined event; had she matched her marvellous first run she would have been pushing hard for a medal but the adverse weather conditions made the slalom course a lot more tricky second time around as a number of skiers failed to improve on their first run times, despite having seen the course in competition.

Carlisle is still upbeat about her performance. "I've never finished in the top 10 of a major event, so this is my main target. Although finishing might be an achievement as five of the competitors are out already."

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sunsmart/media/flexi/259941

Chrissie Carlisle, delighted with her performance so far

From MSPN--

We at MSPN would like to apologize for the attitude of our former reporter, and pledge no repeat of his commentary. (He was our CEO's brother-in-law). The latest news from the Olympics has luger Marge Stanton in 8th place after 1 run and our Women's Curling team suffering its first defeat.


*in the Olympic village*

"What the hell were you thinking?" screamed Sally
"What do you mean, 'what wa I thinking'?" asked Genevieve "the double knock out was your fault."
"MY FAULT?"
"You told us to sweep, we swept."
"I didn't tell you to sweep it all the way down, you idiot!" said Sally
"Pourquoi ne allez-vous pas à l'enfer, vous graisse, vache stupide ?" replied Genevieve.
"Hey! I know what that means!" said Sally
"Good. Then I will not have to translate it, chienne."

"...welcome back...the crowd here still abuzz at the activities on the bob run today...the track record beaten by McCoy and Kirk, who came down with a wonderful run to put QAZ 1 into contention...and their record was in turn pulverized by de Choglokov and Kantakouzenos who have put the Magnus Valerian bob into the gold medal position from outside the top ten...

"...the last couple of runs from the Kelisan and particularly the second Dorian and Sonyan teams have not been impressive, the track possibly slowing up a bit after the first run and maybe due for re-icing...so the Went duo have a bit to do to put pressure on the top teams...

"...and here they go...Stoddard leaps in and Tarff joins him...the clock stops at five point oh two...that's an EXCELLENT start...

"...taking a high line in the first few corners, to build momentum as they catapult down the track...the bob designed by Jeff Jordan, taking his Grand Prix experience into account...

"...keeping it away from the wall...and the split time is GOOD...they're eight-hundredths up on de Choglokov and Kantakouzenos overall...

"...into eleven...ohh, and the downforce-inducing pods appear to have done their job...they took that as if they were on rails...

"...into the final few turns...oh, a little wobble off fourteen, that'll lose a few hundredths...

"and cross the line NOW...and that's MAGNIFICENT!!!!!...fifty-six oh nine is the second fastest run ever on this track and marginally behind the track record...and a clear tenth up overall and into the gold medal position!"

***

There were three teams to run after the Wentland duo. The second Kelisan outfit had even worse problems than the first and lost four-tenths on their first run. The Pacitalians were not much better and also dropped a little down the leaderboard. Boudra-Boudra 2 also broke the now-defunct first track record, but only by a smidgeon, and dropped from first to third. Fourth was now half-a-second away, a lifetime in bob terms and a medal was looking likely.

The leader board in the media centre had a good look to it:

Bobsled—Two-Man—Run 2
Track record: 56.25 (Alan Sanchez and Bodo Maier (BDB), 2006–03–25)

Run 1 Run 2 Total
WEN 1 (Stoddard/Tarff) 56.30 56.09 1:52.39
BDB 2 (Sanchez/Maier) 56.25 56.20 1:52.45
MVA 1 (de Choglokov/Kantakouzenos) 56.49 TR 56.01 1:52.50

The only regret for Stoddard, Tarff and Jordan was that, unlike World Cup events, the Olympics were decided over four runs. Rather than two.

Half-way through...secretly the trio hoped for more snow, to put the slide out of action permanently...declare the result "as is"...

Lots of Olympic Action

The Tynelian Olympic squad finally began to kick it into a higher gear as the start of several events where Tynelians hoped to do well have finally begun.

To start with the womens short track 1000m qualification has produced the best single effort to date for the Tynelian team. While Mallory McGuire finished last in her heat with a nonqualifying time of 1:36.136 her countrywoman Ginny MacDougal has really stepped it up. She won her qualifying heat with a time of 1:34.812 which was the eighth fastest in the initial heats. This was a bit of a surprise as while MacDougal was far and away the top short track hope Tynelia has in the relatively new sport for the country, she was not considered much of a medal threat overall. She continued her surprising effort by also advancing into the final eight with an even faster time of 1:34.534 finishing second in her heat and was the fourth fastest qualifier of the eight who advanced. With one more successful skate MacDougal will find herself in the medal run.

In another growing sport in Tynelia, women's luger Linda Pennington made her first run. Her time of 47.768 placed her a distant 21st of the 28 lugers who finished the run. Trailing the third place time by about .7 seconds any medal hopes are extremely remote. Pennington stated she hopes she can break the top twenty and this seems a much more reasonable goal.

In women's cross country skiing, Tina Washington failed to get past the quarterfinals finishing last in her heat. Her time of 2:24.73 was six seconds behind that of her teammate Mary Williams who did advance with a second place finish only a second slower than the top time. Once more the lower ranked Tynelian competitor has upset the national champion making people wonder if its better off not becoming the national champ in an Olympic year.

In curling the Tynelian men's team mimicked their female counterparts by defeating Crna Gora Liv Eng 7-6. This match was nearly lost however as a miscue by the the Tynelians allowed Crna Gora Liv England to steal two points in the final end but just managed to hold on with third stone on the final rock to avoid the collapse. However even with the win the low socring close match keeps Tynelia in the cellar and out of a qualifying spot though they are tied with three other teams with 3 points so far.

On the third run of the men's luge, James Marshall is becoming Mr. Consistancy with a time of 52.450 to go with times of 52.443 and 52.499. However he has dropped to 25th overall now and hopes for a top twenty finish are beginning to dim.

Finally in pairs figure skating the husband and wife duo of Sara and Jacob Tyler advanced into the next round after a solid short program. The couple find themselves in 13th place after the program but are almost nine points behind the third place couple at the moment. However a top ten finish is not out of the question.

The Schiavone Scribe
SCHIAVONE SLIDERS ANGRY AT ORGANISERS

There was outrage amongst Schiavonia's small Winter Olympic delegation last night as their entrants into the Women's Luge were refused entry.

Wendy Crowe, Maria Browne and Brooke Hughes were all looking to do their best for our not-very-wintery nation in Aeropag, Commerce Heights, but officials from the COC refused to even let them into the venue.

"COC? Put a K on the end, you might be more accurate!" fumed Hughes, as the trio trudged away from the run disheartened.

OOFI have put an appeal in to the NSOC to have the competitors enter, and to delay the event sufficiently so that the Schiavone entrants get a chance to recouperate before the later runs.

Both Ceoranan Curling Teams Pull a Win
Ceorana Herald

AEROPAG, Commerce Heights -- Both the Mens' and Womens' Ceoranan curling teams defeated their opponents last night, bringing the mens' record to 2-1 and the womens' record to 1-2.

"We're not the best on the charts, but I think we're doing pretty well," said Kylee McKenna, the womens' team's skip.

Juliette Wilson and Desiree Slaughter were discussing their respective runs in the women's luge as they left the arena when they bumped into Wendy Crowe, Maria Browne and Brooke Hughes, who were looking angry and tearful outside.

"Hello, what's up?"

"They wouldn't even let us IN...something about a computer problem...we're not registered as entrants..."

"Four years training and we don't even get this far..."

"Yet the entry went in. Same time as the others."

"Gosh, that's bad luck...I'm sorry about that..."

"If it's any consolation Meier's gonna walk the gold, she's in a class of her own out there..."

"Not the point...it's the participating that counts...we've only got a dozen entrants and we were amongst the best...now we're not even going to get a go..."

"This isn't right...Des, is there anything you can think?"

"Not really...we could try a boycott until the organizers see sense, do you think the others will join in?"

"Worth a try...do you want to see what you can do?"

"I'll have a scout around. The Pacitalians seem friendly enough, Mena Sisseria's a fellow graduate of the Grueberg School of Sliding, maybe she'll get the others from Atlantia to get involved. How about you?"

"I'll try, but I've got Lou on my back trying to get more training in...he's paranoid about the doubles. He might have some ideas though. Dammit, we're all in this together...let's go for it..."

Olympic Administration Building, Aeropag, Atlantian Jativan Islands

Computer: Aeropag Tribune Media Breaking Update: Schiavonia, Wentland plan Olympic boycott (click here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10643220&postcount=207) for details)

Johann Wangler: Hmm…what now?

click

Wangler: Oh…those han——ly mer——ni k~ho——hera'ny! If they’re going to give their s——ni signup form to someone who’s drunk, they shouldn’t expect to get into any events. Oh well, I guess we’ll have to schedule an extra run…

BRONZE for Lafontaine!

Wooooo, how did that happen? We got a bronze?! I thought “stashing drugs in unlikely places” wasn’t an Olympic event? And it wasn’t in that snow angel competition thing either, all Spruitland athletes were too lazy to take part in that.

Turns out it was in the men’s 20 kilometer biathlon. Apparently that’s a combination of shooting and cross country skiing, or something. And some Spruitlander named Jules Lafontaine ended in third place in that event. We’ve been told Jules has been practicing a lot shooting soda cans in his back yard, and was hardly hitting any of the neighbours’ windows in the end, so we’re guessing that’s where he made the difference.

In any case, we’re in the medal rankings, which is more than a lot of nations can say. Though to be honest, not all that many medals have been awarded yet, as the competitions keep getting stalled for various technical and non-technical reasons.

Much like our bobsleigh teams, in fact, who keep finishing in last or near-last place. We expected a lot from our bobsleighers, since it was believed that this was a perfect sport for Spruitlanders, who have a lot of experience in sitting on their ass, closing their eyes, and seeing where they end up. But apparently that’s not exactly how bobsleighing works, and there’s actually some steering involved. Go figure.

Doesn’t look like we’re breaking many eggs in other events. Some folks are qualifying for the next rounds, most folks aren’t, nothing out of the ordinary. If something noteworthy happens, we’ll be sure to report on it. Unless we miss it in the huge results list, of course.

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft
Sorry about the lateness of the update, but somehow my drink was spilt upon this laptop and you know... any way back to wha't happened since the last post....

Men's @-men Bobsliegh--
QAZ 1 (McCoy/Kirk) Run #1 56.68 (23rd place) tough run for Jim McCoy and Leonard Kirk they slipped on the push causing them to lose .43 seconds off the best time. Hopefully in Run#2 they will remember to put on their spiked shoes. In run#2 they remembered to wear the right shoes and broke trhe track record of 56.25 in thier run with a time of 56.20 moving them up to 5th place, but the record didn't last long as the leaders, Stoddard/Tarff of Wentland broke the new record only 7 minutes later. That record only lasted 56.01 seconds as de Choglokov/Kantakouzenos, who are currently in 3rd, set a new record. Run three is scheduled for tommorrow, and the ice is seemingly getting faster, hopefully this will help McCoy and Kirk as they try to win a medal.

Women's Curling--
Boudra-Boudra Beats Lady Oxen 6-5. The Boudra-Boudra Skipp knocks a double scoring the last point in the 11th inning to pull out the win.
Score:

Team-----1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-F
Boudra---0-2-0-2-0-0-0-1-0-0--1--6
Qazox----0-0-2-0-1-1-0-0-1-0--0--5

Women's Luge--
Deanna Laren finished 4th after the 1st run with a time of 47.178, just .25 seconds of the lead. Jadzia Troi finished in 15th, .674 seconds behind the leader. Ro Dax lost control of her sled and crashed hard in turn 13 and was taken to the Aeropag hospital for X-rays. Ms. Dax suffered a broken tibia, 2 broken ribs and a level-2 concussion. She will not compete in any more events in these Olympics.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

Wentland TV Olympic Special extract

And now our own Chrissie Carlisle...her runs in the combined have been much better than expected...the slalom was a major disappointment, but Chrissie says she was using it as practice more than anything...number 15 on her gillet...looking for a top ten perhaps in the downhill...

Out of the gate in the blue and white...it's her best start yet, tucks in nicely...taking a very tight line around the early poles...

http://www.moore-wilson.net/chemmy/gallery/thumbs/37.jpg

...but she's past the turn that cost Neolpicko and Miller...held it over the yomp, that's caused her problems in the practice runs...

...ohh, she's VERY good coming into the Elbow...that's a great line...and at the split, she's in SECOND!!!!! This is MAGNIFICENT stuff!!!...only behind Nikkola...

http://www.moore-wilson.net/chemmy/gallery/thumbs/35.jpg

...and she's attacking the second half of the course! Wild around turn fourteen...and the crowd are sensing something special, the cowbells are resounding...no-one expected Carlisle to be a medal threat and suddenly she's looking very good...c'mon, Chrissie, keep it tight...

...the second yomp...ooh, she got some air but has j-u-u-u-s-t held it on landing...c'mon, just the last run through...tucked in tight...and across in ONE FORTY-THREE FIFTEEN...that's put her in SILVER...absolutely amazing...there are still ten skiers left to run...and some favourites...but Chrissie Carlisle has just had the greatest run in her life...and she is DELIGHTED!!! Look at her punching the air in absolute ecstasy!!!

***

There were still many favourites to go. Forgast of Zertunia was a favourite but a poor start saw her never catch up. One down, nine to go. Kījulo of Antrium fell early on. Eight left. Ganther looked very good at the split, only a tenth down, but a slip on the second yomp nearly saw her fall and she never recovered. Seven left. Now for the real threat. The Mérode sisters had been drawn together, which was considered fortuitous as neither could warn the other of what was going on. Kira was first, and Wentland held its breath as she crossed the split time beam a hundredth ahead of Carlisle…but again the second yomp nearly caught out a competitor and she sat back on her skis. Third place, still a possible medal, but Chrissie remained in second. Six left. Kylie did not make the same mistake. Also a hundredth up on Carlisle. She skied the second half perfectly and gained another tenth. Silver was out of the window. But a medal was still on. Five left.

Χρήστος and Saasan were not expected to be threats and proved not to be. Three left. Donaldson skied well above expectations but was sixth. Two left. Pechus nearly fell on her run, one left.

As Tamortan started her run Davey Richards started to interview Chrissie Carlisle. “Chrissie, you are perhaps two minutes away from Wentland’s first medal…how are you feeling now?”

“Nervous, guilty…I’m watching Marī-Klér and hoping she fails…it’s not a nice situation to be in…she’s not tight on the top half…”

“Tamortan is certainly taking a wider line…Chrissie, had you expected to be in this position now?”

“Not at all…I’m sorry, I’m watching the course…she’s thirteenth at the split, a few tenths down on me…I don’t believe this…”

“Tamortan was not expected to be a favourite in this event, and skiing last…”

“She’s not gonna beat the time…”

“Tamortan crosses the line NOW…Chrissie Carlisle, you have won Wentland’s first ever Olympic medal!! Bronze!! How does it feel?”

“WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Victory party in the lodge!!!!!”

http://www.moore-wilson.net/chemmy/gallery/thumbs/28.jpg

Carlisle after her interview

From MSPN--

Best Yet

Skier Mary Donaldson, who sits in 21st place after one run in the Women's slalom, and is 15th in the Alpine combined, posted a 5th place finish in the downhill. Teammate Theresa Miller did not finish the Downhill, but is 9th so far in the combined and 12th in the slalom. Most of Maineiacs' attention however, has been focused on the growing discord in the Women's curling team, after their first loss. Said one man in a man-on-the-street interview "That's stupid. They still lead their bracket, for God's sake. Those girls need to grow up."

OOC: I've lost track of who my hockey and curling teams have played thus far. Help, please?

IDU'S WEEKEND IN AEROPAG

Aeropag - This weekend in beautiful Aeropag included a plethora of Domini athletes competing. In all single run qualifying events, Domini athletes failed. Of course, fellow IDU competitors qualified in almost every event this wekend, which will give Domini's something to cheer about.

Fridays events saw Kira Mérode(KEL), Eva Dortsch(MKT), Jénéà Klobel and Līàn Grétoràjo(ANT) compete in Womens’ Combined Alpine Skiing Slalom Run, all finishing in the top 7 spots.

IDU figure skaters in the Mens' Short ruled ice on Saturday. Jonquire-Toudessecs' Patrice Laroche performed spectacularly, pulling of a score of 73.50 sending him into the next rounds in 4th place. Beautiful performances by Justan Manda(MLB), Rovel Skantejàl(ANT) and Dăwănă Ăsīāsĭr(JTD) all garnered qualifying spots for the IDU. Two surprising dissapointments lie in Mikitivity and Domnonian programs, neither of wich qualified but both of which were expected to.

Sunday saw first action in Figure Skating Pairs, with Jonquirre-Toudessecs Aléxandre Fallot and Dianne Viget executing a score of 64.86, putting them in third place. Pairs from Antrium and Malabra will also continue past the qualification round. Domnonia's Arei Sadhar and Georgia Cumberland lost their footing and skated right into the boards, with Cumberland moving quick enough to flip over and fall into the penalty box, figure skates in the air. They did not qualify.

In Womens biathlon Saturday, Tara McCoomb ran a shot in the 7.5km Sprint for a time of 24:08.6 . In Mens 20km, competitors from Antrium and Kelse performed well, with three finishing in the top 10.

Malabras male rink took out Boudra-Boudra in an excellent 7-5, continuing its undefeated status so far in Aeropag. Ceorana playe d a 6-5 win againts Anastasiania. Domini men took on Krytenia, and as expected it was close, with Georgio Mendel eeking out a 6-5. Jonquiere-Tadoussac killed host nation Commerce Heights rink with a 9-5 win.

Kelse' duo Alphand and Foch pulled into a comfortable third in Bobsleds first run with a time of 56.29, followed closely by teammates Barthez and Nasrati in 4th with a time of 56.32. In their second run Barthez and Nasrati pulled off a 4th. Hopes are high and well placed in these two pairs for medal contention.

From The Domini Globe and Post >> http://dominiglobe.blogspot.com

"This is 67 Sports, checking in from Aeropag, with the latest in NMS Olympic fun and games. So far, we've had about as much Winter Olympic success as we've had actual winter - and in a tropical city, that's not saying much. Although our figure skaters are doing okay, and Women's Curling might be heading for the medal rounds, most of the events we entered haven't panned out so well for us.

That said, we've hardly scratched the surface of speedskating, which is the main event for the side here in Commerce Heights, although the Woman's 500 meter qualifiers, held just yesterday, don't exactly bode well for NMS's hopes on the track.

So mostly, it's just wait and see for the States here in Aeropga. In the meanhile, I'll be enjoying these nice, sunny beaches while you put up with the vagarities of NMS weather in March. This is Jean St-Guillaume, saying nanny-nanny-boo-boo to y'all here in sunny Aeropag."

From MSPN--

Women's Speedskating got underway today, with Maineiacs' Sheila Smth sitting at a disappointing 21st after the first leg of the 500m. Oue men's hockey team sits on the bubble of elimination, needing a win against undefeated Dorian and Sonya to stay in contention.

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft
The Men's Curling team just stinks losing its 4th in a row this time 9-7 to Maineiacs. Maineiacs lead 8-1 at one point but a late rally was not enough to win. Now only a win vs. fellow winless squad Boudra-Boudra can prevent an oh-fer in curling for the guys.

Men's Curling--
Score:

Team------1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-F
Maineiacs-2-2-0-2-2-0-0-1-0-0--9
Qazox-----0-0-1-0-0-2-2-0-2-0--7



More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

From MSPN--

Men's Hockey team advances, Men's curling team near medal round.

Our Men's hockey team has advanced to the medal round with a victory tonight over Dorian and Sonya. Our Men's Curling team is all but assured of advancing, needing a win or draw against Spaam. After a special heat in womens' luge to allow 3 atheletes from Schiavonne to compete, Marge Stanton remains in 8th place. MOC President Luther Goran, speaking only after being assured that the arrest warrant called for by one hotheaded Senator would not be issued, "We are very proud of our Men's hockey and curling teams, and know they will do us proud as they pursue medals, and we are confident our Women's teams will join them." Goran had no comment on the feud reportedly developing between curling teammates Sally Gore and Genevieve Duchamp.

The crowd could see the different styles adopted by Wentland's women sliders in the skeleton first run. Dee Guest went for speed over power, pushing the bob with one hand as she hared down the opening. Liz Jenks went for power, both hands on the bobto build momentum. And Violette Austin, with violet hair for her first run, went for suicide, holding the bob close to her and hurling herself bodily forwards and downwards as she came to the first run.

Which was most successful? As expected, Guest, who became the first athlete to beat the minute mark. She has a two-tenths lead over Dorian and Sonya's Telemnar and is well inside the medals.

Austin's blood-curdling approach (together with trademark yell "I-eeee-yaaaa!") was surprisingly successful. Generating higher speeds than most her main problem was controlling it and on more than one occasion she nearly catapulted over the top. But she can be pleased with her run, as the youngest competitor here she lies in eighth place - ahead of her more highly-regarded team-mate Jenks.

Wentland eyes will now be on the second run of the bob. More medal hopes to add to Chrissie Carlisle's surprise bronze. Elsewhere, and as expected, no further Went medals; Steve O'Reilly was better than expected in the 10k speed skating, but elsewhere tail-end charlie was the best that could be obtained.

And the threatened boycott of the women's luge never materialised, as the organizers relented to allow Schiavone's three competitors to take their initial run; to the cost of the Wents, as they were all pushed down spots.

Speed Skating Disaster
Nikkola Wins Downhill Gold

In the Matthew Sparks Memorial Stadium, the long track speed skating competitions began seriously today, after a few warm-ups through team pursuit qualifiers. Anastasiania, as usual, had many hopes in this sport: the men's pursuit team had brushed aside Pacitalia with an excellent time of 3:46 in the quarter-final, Jörgen Sundlund, the three-time Anastasianian champion, was preparing for the blue-riband 10 000 metre event, while Rakel Örngren was slated to take part in the 500 metre sprint for women.

The night opened with 500 metres, and Örngren had been drawn in the 13th pair against Jun Go-min of Commerce Heights. Örngren, in the outer lane, had a blazing start and opened in a time of 9.9, but Jun was much slower and struggled in the inner lane. Örngren was almost level with Jun as they entered the changing stretch, but then Örngren did what Anastasianians will surely debate for the remainder of the Games. The video pictures produced after the incident show that Örngren is clearly pushing Jun into the inner lane because she wanted to skate onwards - something which is naturally barred by ISU rules. It didn't help that Örngren claimed she did no such thing - nor, in fact, could anyone in the stadium see it before the official videos were produced. Nevertheless, Örngren was disqualified, Jun got to reskate, and finished a credible eighth with one race to go.

The men's team pursuit followed a couple of hours later. Once again, Anastasiania drew Commerce Heights, in the first semi-final pair. Sundlund opened well, with laps just below 29, but Scott Harvey seemed to quickly tire of the tempo and the Capitalizts slowly gained. With two laps to go, the teams were tied, but Harvey fell off the Anastasianian train on the last lap and finished nine tenths behind Flanagan, the last Capitalizt.

Sundlund was not over for the day, however. Only a few hours after the gruelling eight pursuit laps, he had to take part in the event most Anastasianians rank the highest; the 10 000 metres. Early on, Ivan of the Sharpened Blades impressed by clocking 13.21,41 in the first pair, but it was beaten by Ernie Balnis of Andossa Se Mitrin Vega in the second - he skated 13.13,87. Jörgen Sundlund was up in the fourth pair, against Llewellyn ap John of New Montreal States.

Sundlund knew he had to beat his personal best to be anywhere near the gold medals - the time of 13.16,74 from the Allenby National Stadium in the last Anastasianian championships would not be good enough for a lead. He thus started with laps of 30.5, looking to be on a schedule of around 13.10 for the first 4000 metres. He quickly left pairmate ap John behind, and the New Montreal States' skater eventually failed to remember to change into the outer lane after an inner lane lap - thus, he was disqualified. Sundlund, however, met a wall on the eleventh lap, when his lap time went up to 31,2 - and never recovered. The Anastasianian fans felt miserable for their champion skater, who seemed to have no energy left in his legs, and for the last 10 laps he had to push his legs with his arms on the straights. He finished with a lap of 33,8, more than eleven seconds behind John Simmons of Tynelia, who was last at the time.

Thus, it was up to the other nations to decide the Olympic battle. The time of Balnis was challenged by Michel Vaudreuil of Jonquiere-Tadoussac, who skated in the sixth pair with a ferocious finish and six laps below 31 - however, he had been too cautious at the start, and landed in third behind Balnis and Humphreys (of the Kazoo Peoples, with a time of 13.17,36). In the following pair, Taysir Farran of Becquerelia skated against Pacitalian Mario Puziori. Puziori had vowed to revenge his disappointing team pursuit race, and opened like Sundlund, while Farran stayed a few seconds behind without losing contact with Puziori. It was to pay off on the second half of the race. Puziori's lap times crept slowly but surely towards 32, while Farran cut tenths off the lead, before taking it with eight laps to go. He was still four seconds behind the leader Balnis, but just kept finding strengths from his body, and his finish was phenomenal. His time of 13.10,55 - a new Olympic record, and as far as Anastasianian statisticians have been able to ascertain a world lowland record - was enough to clinch the lead with three seconds to spare, and also enough to win Olympic gold, as neither of the three remaining skaters, Jean-Michel Chang of Ariddia, Jean de Bourbon of Magnus Valerius, nor Ken Bacon of Commerce Heights were serious challengers.

Anastasiania have, however, won their first gold of the Winter Games. Sanna Nikkola raced early in the downhill, and her race of 1.43,08 was not expected to be enough - however, alpine stars such as Chrissie Carlisle, Liina Sirkiä and Kina Forgast finished behind, and towards the end it was only Kylie Mérode of Kelse who could challenge Nikkola. Mérode led by a tenth of second on the last checkpoint, but Nikkola's finish had been too daring, and Mérode finished second - 0.03 seconds off the gold medal. Anastasiania have thus won their fourth medal at these Games, though the Anastasianian delegation is puzzled why the Capitalizts do not choose to count the biathlon sprint as a medal event - Anastasiania won nowt, of course, but it should be noted that Boudra-Boudra, the dominating nation of these Games, have won a gold there, and that the sprint has been a medal event in all Anastasianian and regional championships so far.

Ariddia still far from the medals

And we’re back in Aeropag, for a look back on recent events. Still no medals in sight, but a notable performance nonetheless from some of our athletes.

Emily Sands, one of Ariddia’s only two biathletes, bravely took to the women’s seven and a half kilometre sprint, despite never having benefited from adequate training. With Ariddia being a group of semi-tropical islands, covered in forests, with no snow and not a mountain to be seen, the very presence of an Ariddia in biathlon is being viewed as something of a curiosity. Predictably, Sands finished last, by a long way, but was given a hero’s greeting on the finish line by Ariddian supporters come to watch her make her attempt.

“She’s done great!” one admiring spectator praised her. “She’s shown there’s nothing you can’t do if you try.”

Sands was extremely pleased with her time of 27:30.0, despite it being the slowest of all twenty-four competitors.

“I never thought I’d do this well,” she said happily.

In the men’s 20km individual, Ariddia’s other biathlete, François Riverdale, also finished twenty-fourth, although in his case he did edge out two competitors.

The equally unusual sight of Pacific Islanders in bobsleigh led to E Au and Joseph Horn finishing a long way from the top in their first run, logging a time of 56.77. They did slightly better in their second try, with 56.45. Indigenous Ariddian (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Wymgani) E Au is thought to be the only Indigenous Pacific Islander bobsleigher ever heard of.

The women’s short track is also underway, the short track events being amongst the most popular in Ariddia. They are also thought to be the nation’s best hope for a medal. The qualifying heats of the 1000m, however, began with a disappointment as Indigenous Ariddian Linda Uosh finished last in heat 1, failing to qualify. In heat 5, Jessica Silversmith also failed to qualify, finishing third, over a second behind Becquerelia’s Bernadine Fursteneau. The Ariddian ladies were off to a shaky start.

Uosh was soon to redeem herself, however, going in heat 1 of the 500m quarterfinals, and finishing in a comfortable second place, over one and a half seconds ahead of Krytenia’s Fiona Vukova. Linda was grinning as she skated swiftly over the finish line. In the quarterfinals of the 1500m, her compatriot Jessica Silversmith stayed steadily with the leaders from the very start, gradually pulling ahead and finishing first. She let out a ‘Woo!’ as she crossed the finish line, raising her hand to the cheers of Ariddian supporters, delighted to see an Ariddian actually win something. Linda Uosh, however, came last in her heat, and will not be competing in the semi-finals.

In ice-hockey, the men, still performing their daring ulek (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Ulek)-on-skates at the start of the match, defeated Krytenia 4-1, putting Ariddia in the lead of Group E for now.

Yosief Debesa took his third run with his luge, improving slightly on his time but still remaining third from last. “I’m still trying my best, and having fun in the process,” Debesa said. “I hope at least it’s fun for people back home to watch.”

In speed-skating, flag-bearer Jean-Michel Chang took to the ten kilometre race, but, after keeping up with the lead group for a significant while, ultimately finished tenth, well outside the podium. In the first race on the women’s 500m, however, Jessica Silversmith came an impressive second, a hundredth of a second away from an Olympic record. She crossed the line a fraction of a moment behind Becquerelia’s Alix Greene, almost defeating all fifty-two of her opponents. Ariddians everywhere are now hoping that Silversmith may become Ariddia’s first Olympic medallist. Her compatriot Linda Uosh finished twentieth.

The huge surprise, however, came in biathlon. The nation’s participation in the “star event” was expected to be little more than symbolic, yet, as the men’s 10km sprint progressed, it appeared Ariddia’s François Riverdale was performing unexpectedly well, holding his own amongst the very best. The excitement grew as he skied fast and steadily, calmly picking off his targets in shooting almost without flaw. Riverdale finished fourth, ten seconds behind Commerce Heights’ Çu Hoŋ-lyoŋ.

“Good enough to just stand at the foot of the podium!” he joked, slightly breathless, just after the race.


Sands takes silver in “snowballing”

With the unexpected snowfall in Aeropag, nine athletes from the continent of Uhuhland had decided to organise their own little parallel event, alternately referred to as “throwing snowballs at a snowman” or “snowballing”. The rules were quickly established, with three times five tosses for each athlete, one point per hit, and various bonus points or semi-points. Three pools were set up. Ariddia’s Julian Cheminot was drawn in pool A, Emily Sands and Richard Maraîcher in Pool B, and Linda Uosh in Pool C. Their opponents were George Tam, Daan Veerman, Hanneke de Vries and Annabella Winkelman of Ropa-Topia, as well as Thomas Peruzzi as lone representative of San Adriano.

Cheminot finished a close second in Pool A, his eleven points not quite enough to defeat de Vries, who qualified with 11.5. Emily Sands triumphantly dominated Pool B, her score of 16.5 well ahead of her closest rival, Ropa-Topian George Tam. And in Pool C, Linda Uosh finished second with 8 points, distanced by Winkelman’s 14.

It was two Ropa-Topians and one Ariddian in the all-female, three-woman final. Sands was not quite able to equal her score from the qualifying rounds, finishing with 11, while curling athlete Annabel Winkelman, with 16.5, became the new (and first) “Olympic” Champion. The two women were neck and neck after the first two rounds of the final, but the Ropa-Topian dominated the final round with ease.

Proudly wearing a hastily-made silver medal, Sands laughed to see that reporters had been following the event.

“Look at me!” she joked with a giggle. “Ariddia’s first ever Olympic medal! In the ancient and noble art of snowballing!”

Sands also holds the “Olympic Record”, having been the first to achieve a score of 16.5, equalled but not surpassed by Winkelman in the final.

From MSPN--

Maineiacs stands once again on the verge of its first medal at the Olympics. Our 4-man bobsled team is in third place after two runs, .05 seconds ahead of the next competitors. The third run is tonight. The team is running well, and feels confident they can capture a medal. In men's speedskating, Harold Carter finished 14th in the 10,000m.

THE MONASTIC TIMES

FR. IVAN MISSES MEDAL IN SPEED-SKATING
MOCTA Petitions For Winter Vigils to be Added to Medal Events

By Fr. Nicholas the Scribe

In a disappointing result for one of the nation's top athletes, Archregimancy distance speed-skater finished seventh in the 10,000 metre event last night, a full four seconds behind bronze medallist Gilbert Humphreys from the Kazoo Peoples. Team officials are believed to be concerned that the Lenten fast has weakened some of the competitors in endurance events, though Fr. Michael the Classicist's victory in the cross-country skiing does suggest that some athletes are coping better with the rigours of competition during a fasting season than others.

In other events, hopes of a medal in either the luge or the two man bobsled are increasingly fading as no competitor in either event currently lies higher than seventeenth. This reporter can furthermore reveal that bobsledders Fr. Gennady and Fr. Sergei are still not on speaking terms following the naked bobsled controversy from the team's first run.

Meanwhile, MOCTA officials are believed to be preparing a petition to have Winter Vigils included as a medal sport in future Olympiads. In this popular Archregimancy sport, points are earned by the athlete for the length of time spent in the open without food or water, and for the number of ravenous wolves fended off. Bonus style points can also be earned through the manner through which the wolves are repelled, the lightness of the clothing worn, and the size of the vigilant's fire (the smaller the better). Famous Archregimancy vigilant Fr. Igor the Thrice-Bitten was said to be leading the campaign to have the sport included in the Olympic program, despite his mobility being somewhat impaired since the loss of his second leg to frostbite in last year's vigil season.

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

In 4-man Bobsleigh action earlier today, the team of Fine and Howard cubed,finished the second run with a time of: 55.51. moving them up to 7th place over all. In the third run the team posted a time of 55.37, the fastest time of the third run, this moved Fine and Howard cubed into 3rd place overall only .02 seconds behind 2nd place. The story of the 4-man continues to be the team of Zariņš/Ktorr/Maier/Fosters of Boudra/Boudra as tehy lead by 1.07 seconds, an almost impossible time to overcome.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

AP JOHN TOSSED IN LONGBOW SCANDAL

Welsh Wonder to file protest of ethnic discrimination

AEROPAG - "Welsh Wonder" distance skater Llewlyn Ap John was disqualified from the 10,000-m race after bringing his longbow and a quiver of 20 bodkin arrows to the race, claiming it was part of his traditional garb.

He did, in fact, qualify for the NMS team spot with the bow and arrows strapped to his back, to the point where disgruntled second-place finisher Guy Joliet filed a complaint with the Ministry of Morale, claiming that the bow provided him with an unfair advantage. Joliet claimed that "nobody's going to try and pass a man with a bloody 8-foot bow on his back."

"There's a time and place for ranged weaponry in the Olympics, and that would be the biathlon," Joliet added when we contacted him via phone last night.

Ap John, meanwhile, intends to file an appeal to the Olympic Council.

"They're oppressing me just because I'm Welsh," he said. "I'm trying to stand up for the traditions of an oppressed people, and they're keeping me down. I'm going to stick it to the man for all my Welsh homies out there."

In the meantime, the States have announced provisional support for a winter vigil event, or barring that a dogsled race with the destination not revealed to either the racers or the public until everyone pulls up to the line.

Mr Tight, meet Mr Finish by the four-man bobsled course. Wow, how thrilling could it be? If only it were not for the Boudra-Boudra bob, we would be facing the most exciting battle for gold since The Battle For Gold on the border of Battleland, Goldland and Excitingland.

WEN 1 lies in sixth place with one run to go. 0.13 seconds away from a silver medal. Alas BDB 1 seems to be clean and green, its first run of 54.87 remaining the track record and a time that no-one seems to be able to get near at all (the second fastest run is a third of a second away). There is probably not much point in looking at the runners below WEN 1 because it is all so tight and all the Jordan crew can hope to do is emulate BDB 1's first run, because someone is bound to set a magic time and leapfrog a whole bunch of teams...

The bob is reaching a fever pitch of excitement everywhere. In the women's two-man Lombard and Walsh lie in joint third, a tick off the lead, despite a notably conservative first run. Their concern might lie with the other bob with which they share a time - BDB 1...

The cross-pollination of data over the three bob teams is working to an extent, but not as well as might be hoped. The differences between four and two, and the different start locations for men and women, are significant and particularly affect the crucial start of the course. But the bobs themselves seem to be standing up to the punishment of repeated runs well.

Meanwhile a little break for the Wentland athletes, with no competitors in the next few events.

More Olympic Coverage

Tynelia continued its march through the Olympics still in search of that elusive first medal. Today's efforts start with Kevin Grant in the men's 10k biathlon sprint. Grant finished in a strong 12th place with a time barely a minute slower than that of the bronze medalist. A couple of missed shots cost him his chance at possibly stealing a medal.

The Tynelian lady curlers however have moved up in the standings after a low scoring 6-5 win against Dorian and Sonya which has moved them into third place. With three points and a +5 scoring edge over the fifth place squad, the lady curlers looked to be in good shape to move on to the next round. Its believed that one more win in their last two games for this round should be enough for them to advance.

Tynelia sent two women into the women's 500m speedskating event and as seems the norm for the Olympic squad ended up squarely in the middle of the pack. Elizabeht Anderson faired best with a 16th place showing with a time of 38.84 which has her .65 behind the third place time. She faired much better than the 31st place finish of Lana Jacobs at 39.10 in this heavily contested event.

One of the dim lights of the Tynelian team was extinguished as Kyle Fallsowrth finished dead last in his quarterfinals heat with a time well back of the two skiiers who advanced. In a way this was not unexpected as only a low turnout for the event got him to the quarterfinals to begin with.

The last effort went to John Simmons in the 10000m speed skating event. Unfortunately Simmons was outclassed by a good portion of the field. His 12th place finish doesn't look too bad except only 15 people actually finished the race. His time was 20 seconds behind the leader and he never was in contention at any point of the race.

At the moment only the lady curlers and Ginny MacDougal's run in the 1000m short track offer any hope of a medal to this point in the games. MacDougal's semifinal heat will be later today and if she wins then she shall advance to the final four in the medal round.

Uosh takes Gold!

After a fruitless opening week, Ariddia has finally won its first medal here in Aeropag. And, just to take off in style, it’s a gold, courtesy of Linda Uosh in speed skating.

In bobsleigh, first, Adèle Marchand and Sandra Fieldman finished in an honourable twelfth place after their first run, three tenths of a second from a gold medal position. “We can do better,” Fieldman said confidently. “We’re not out of contention yet.”

In the semi-finals of the women’s 500m short track, there was bad news as Linda Uosh failed to complete her semi. After a good start, Uosh stumbled as Kaluza of Becqueralia cut in and accidentally tripped the Ariddian up. Uosh instinctively grabbed hold of Kaluza in a futile attempt to regain her balance, and both women went down. Up ahead, ’Im Hyūg-san of Commerce Heights consolidated her lead, while Pacitalia’s Maria Finghulera miraculously managed to avoid the tangle right before her, and successfully completed the race fractions of a second behind ’Im. Uosh and Kaluza were both disqualified, although the Ariddian made a point of crossing the finish line.

Next up was speedskating, and the women’s 3000 metres. Still smarting from her stumble in the short track, Uosh seemed determined to do better this time. She and compatriot Jessica Silversmith were up against twenty-four other athletes.

It was a tight race, but rapidly three athletes appeared to pull ahead: Jun of Commerce Heights, Lamère of Jonquière-Tadoussac, and Linda herself. Neck and neck, Jun and Uosh gradually began to distance Lamère, until Uosh herself drew on unsuspected reserves of energy and reached the finish in first place. Her time, 4:06.26, was just over half a second ahead of Jun’s, and set the first Olympic Record in the event. Lamère took a comfortable bronze, almost three seconds ahead of Commerce Height’s I Gwaŋ-ge. Silversmith finished well in seventh, with 4:10.96.

A smiling Linda Uosh wore her medal proudly as the Ariddian anthem, Dream, was played for the first time in Aeropag. Her victory has put Ariddia in joint sixth place on the medal table.

Liverpool England take first medal
Soliz claims shock biathlon brone

The Liverpool England flag was raised for the first time at a medal ceremony in Aeropag after Eleanor Soliz took a shock bronze medal from the 15km women's biathlon individual. Soliz, always reckoned as the weaker of the two women biathletes at the games from Liverpool England, outshone counterpart Jane Elkins - who finished a miserable 6 seconds behind Soliz.

The two-man women's bobsleigh team from Liverpool England were also impressive, coming in 4th in the second run for the bobsleigh.

Liverpool England's medal hopes have now soared, after news came in that Dolores Haire qualified from run 2 of the women's snowboarding halfpipe competition. She joins Carl Minor of the men's snowboard-cross as the nation's current two medal hopes.

From MSPN--

Our 4-man bobsled team faltered a little, slipping to 4th place after three runs, but only .05 seconds out of a medal. Speedskater Cara Taylor finished 11th in the 3000m, and Snowboarder Chrissy Stevens came in an impressive 3rd in her qualification heat in the Women's halfpipe. Our Olympic team has picked up a certain amount of momentum after a sluggish start, and now stands poised to potentially claim several medals. interest is building among our notoriously apathetic citizenry and vidscreen rating have been steadily climbing.


OOC: could you possibly give me some idea of what style might be required in the Ice Daning OD? I have ideas for that and the Free Dance, as well as the long programs in the other disciplines that I"d like to do.

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

In Women's Bobsleigh, the team of Elisa/Eliza finished run 1 in dead last with a time of 59.36 over 1 1/2 seconds behind the leaders. In the 2nd run for Eliza/Elisa the improved their time by .75 seconds, but so did the rest of the field and they are still in last place almost 3 seconds behind.

In women's halfpipe qualifing, both Lydia Fox and Jenni Wolf both fell during their 1st run, meaning that they'd have to qualify during the 2nd run later in the day. Sasha Boxer qualified with a score of 27.9, 7 points behind the leader, but with the medal run later tonight, she should do better. The 2nd run wasn't much better for Ms. Fox or Wolf as they both once again fell, Lydia trying a 720 tailgrab and Jenni trying a inverted 540 frontgrab. This leaves only Sasha Boxer as the Qazoxian medal hope in the Halfpipe.

In women's Curling action the Lady Oxen won vs the Resurgent Dream to retake the lead in Group C action. they came back from trailing 6-1 after 4 innings to win with 2 stones in the 10th 9-8. a win in the next game will qualify the Lady Oxen for the next round.

Box Score
Team--1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-T
Dream-2-2-0-2-0-0-2-0-0-0--8
Qazox-0-0-1-0-2-2-0-0-2-2--9

Quick Update from Commerce Heights!!!!
Qazox Ensured at Least a Silver Medal!!!!

Snowboard—Mens’ Parallel Giant Slalom—Semifinals

[Code]
Heat 1
Alberto Ramierez (QAZ) 35.11 36.51 QA
Carl Minor (LEN) 36.06 38.26 QB

Heat 2
Denver Lanka (AMV) 35.64 35.25 QA
Erasmo Ahia (DAS) 35.61 36.73 QB[code][/quote]

(QA: qualified for final A, QB: qualified for final B)

This means that Alberto Ramierez will Run in the Finals for Gold and will take home at least a silver medal from these Olympics.
More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

"Joint third, Ellie."

"Yep."

"But we're going down before the Boudra-Boudra bob."

"Why is that again?"

"Dunno, alphabetical order I think."

"Let's give them something to think about."

***

"Ready...three...two...one...GO!!! GO!!! GO!!!"

"Come ONNNN!!!"

"Head down..."

"C'mon, Dav...nail it..."

"Bloody cowbells..."

"First interval...was that a cheer?"

"Auggghhh...too many Gs..."

"C'mon...come ON...one to go..."

"Another cheer...that felt good..."

>The time for Wentland One is fifty seven...

"Good..."

>...point five six...<

"YEEAHHHH!!!!!!"

>...and a new track record...<

"OK, that WILL give them something to think about..."

***

Indeed it did. The Boudra team could not help but hear of the new record time being announced and the buzz from the crowd. And they responded with a magnificent run of their own. Just six-hundredths slower. But WEN-1 was in the lead with 2 bobs to run...and neither of the could get within a quarter of a second...

Half-way through. Another medal very possible.

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

Womens’ Snowboard Cross—Quarterfinals Update
Heat 2
Tyra Lopez (QAZ) 1:27.93 Q
Sharice Laredo (AMV) 1:30.01 Q
Dolores Haire (LEN) 1:31.45
Wanaria Noir (MLB) 1:32.62

Heat 3
Miranda Mathison (DOM) 1:29.28 Q
Sakamoto Asuka (PPS) 1:30.85 Q
Ermine Johnson (QAZ) 1:32.74
Nina Paskevich (MVA) DNF

Trya Lopez continues her great run and is only 2 wins away from a gold medal, while Ermine Johnson slipped on turn 5 and lost too much time to recover.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

MacDougal guns for gold!

For the first time this Olympiad a Tyenlian athlete finds herself in the medal run. In the women's 1000m short track, Ginny MacDougal continued her surprise performance and has advanced to the medal run with her second place showing in her quarterfinals heat. Short track skating had not gained too much popularity in Tynelia and while MacDougal was clearly the best in the nation her world ranking was rather low making her the surprise of the event so far. Her time of 1:35.285 was the slowest of the four finalists by nearly a half second which will make her effort for a medal that much tougher. her opponenets included the Krytenian duo of Louise Xiara, who easily won MacDougal's heat and the Olympic record holder Philippa Kennedy who had a rather slow time for her in her heat but was enough to advance. Rounding out the foursome is Hoŋ ’Yoŋ-juŋ from the host Commerce Heights. With the finals coming very soon the twenty two year old MacDougal carries Tynelia's hopes for a medal on her slim shoulders.

In an extremely disappointing showing Jennifer Kurtz missed 4 of 5 shots at the first target dooming her in the women's 15k biathalon finishing second to last with a time seven minutes behind the medalists. In the luge Mr. Consistancy James Marshall put up yet another time similar to those of his first three runs. His time put him a distanct 32nd overall as he failed to find the speed sections that some of the other lugers managed to pick up in the time since their first run. Marshall was not overly concerned with his run as he claims he'd only been doing this a couple years anyway so he never expected to win anything. he did offer a comment that if he makes it next time things might be different.

There was both good and bad news on the curling front. The men's team shocked most of Tynelia with a low scoring 6-4 win over Liverpool England. This was Liverpool England's first losss in the men's draw to this point. However with it appearing that only the top two teams will move on, the men must win their last two games to have a chance to advance. The women unfortunately did not get anywhere near as good a news. With their third loss, this time to group leading Domnonia the lady curlers have been eliminated stunning both them and the country as it was thought the lady curlers represented Tynelia's best chance at medaling this Olympiad.

Back on skates, the ice dancing duo of Tanya Lannister and Derek Taylor performed in the original dance portion and finished a competitive nineth place. They are actually within striking distance of a medal trailing the third place duo by less than 2 points. However with all the couples between them and third it will be a tough challenge for them to overcome. In the men's individual sprint another Tynelian showed that only a low turnout was the reason behind their reaching the quarterfinals. Tim McLeary finished last in his heat just as his countryman did earlier.

As Tynelia's medal hopes grow dimmer with each passing day save MacDogual's lone shining light will this showing revitalize the winter sports in Tynelia? It may be difficult given that the winter sports are popular chiefly in the north but no doubt national pride and anger at their poor showing will push the nation to achieveing new levels of accomplishment for the second winter games.

KELSE WINS FIRST IDU GOLD

Aeropag - Kelsean Reynaldo Funès earned the IDU's first gold medal of the Aeropag Winter Games on Friday, winning the mens' luge competition. Funès four-run combined time of 3:27.110 was half a second better than bronze medal winner Roland Ouellet of Jonquiere-Tadoussac. Lou Grade of Wentland took the silver in 3:27.408.

Funès hoisted a Kelsean flag near the finish line after his victory, basking in the cheers and cowbell clangs of thousands of supporters.

"I never said I am the greatest," said Funès, "I am what I am."

Funès produced a typically consistent performance. After posting a great time in the first two runs, he protected his lead with the second- and first-fastest times in the final two runs.

Ouellet, was tabbed as a medal favourite going into the Aeropag Games and came away pleased with his showing. Nabbing the bronze, and setting an Olympic track record in his second run with a time of 51.423.

"I'm very happy because bronze is a a wonderful medal," Ouellet said. "It's my first Olympic medal. I didn't think I had a chance to get the gold because Funès is very strong and he's trained at some of the same IDU facilities as me."

Kalmo Bàrto of Antrium, came up short in his quest for an Olympic medal. The 39-year-old finished ninth.

Widely considered the best male luge athlete ever, Barto, a three-time IDU champion and one-time silver medallist, was never in top form this season after undergoing foot surgery in the summer.

"That's it," he said after his final race on Friday.

From The Domini Globe and Post >> http://dominiglobe.blogspot.com/

DOM ADVANCES IN WOMANS CURLING

Aeropag - Domnonia rocked Tynelia in the 50th Womens' Curling qualification game this morning, with four points in the first end, four more in the fifth and went on to win 8-5, earning a 3 point lead over the entire tournament and 4th win going into quarter-finals. The match ended in the eighth end, which is like an inning in baseball, when the Tynelians scored only one point despite having the big last-rock advantage known as the hammer. Skip Nancy Sullivan shook hands to concede the match two ends early.

Domnonia’s Sandra O'Dea, Karla Sokyrka, S'Erol Hgnut, Eden Karlson and Brittany Stevenson representing the country where the rock-sliding sport is considered the national pastime are on the way to taking home hardware in their first trip together to Commerce Heights.

“This is a beautiful nation, so pleasent” said Karlson, the team’s lead. “There are so many good beaches and nightclubs. What a wonderful, yet odd, place to curl? How great would it be to bring home a curling medal from the tropics?”

With each side throwing eight rocks per end, that is the most points a side can score in an end and four is considered a big score.

Domnonia took a big lead in the first end when Sullivan’s first throw picked, probably hitting a piece of debris on the ice and curled away harmlessly. O'Dea used the hammer to knock Tynelia out of the house, leaving four Domini rocks there.

“We thought we had a good chance to steal a point,” Tynelia third Tiny Schaffer said. “We had a good spirit and tried to be patient.”

But Domnonia added another four-point end in the fifth when Sullivan put the hammer through the target area. When Tynelia scored two points in the seventh end to make it 8-5, the match was essentially over, but Tynellia did not concede immediately.

The runaway win made Domnonia’s scramble to replace Karla Sokyrkas' broken broom just before the start the most dramatic part of the match.

From The Domini Globe and Post >> http://dominiglobe.blogspot.com/

"Well, Bob, it's been another thrilling day at the Winter Olympics..."

"Certainly has, Dick. What was your highlight?"

"Obviously Lou Grade's final run in the men's luge. He put serious pressure on those above him...his final run guaranteed him a medal, and you have to wonder whether Ouellet had the pressure get to him a little on his last go."

"Grade did not look too happy with silver, though."

"That might be because he was thinking about the doubles, where he is favourite for gold. Trust me, he will be delighted with silver, after Funès' speedily consistent runs."

"Makes the medal table look a bit better, Dick. We're in the top ten, now..."

"With more medals to come. We're looking good in the bob and skeleton events. And Chrissie Carlisle's shock bronze in the women's downhill gave everyone a tremendous lift."

"Well, Dick, let's wait to see what tomorrow brings."

***

There was indeed a good reason why Lou Grade did not look too happy at the medal ceremony. As soon as the medals had been presented he sidled away to the medical centre. His worst fears were confirmed. A broken knee...that clash with the wall in practice was going to put his Games in jeopardy...

Lou gritted his teeth as he was strapped up. No more training now. Let's hope he had enough in hand from the first run...and he would have to rely a lot more on his partner...

OOC:

...Still no medals. :p
I thought von Kustrinenburg in solo luge or a surprising Kristina Bezhushtin could at least medal, but I guess not. :D

Magnus Valerius's Team Languishes as Medal Opportunities Dry Up

IC:

The Valerian Olympic Team has failed to earn any medal in the First Winter Olympics in Aeropag, and all their possible opportunities to medal has shrinked. Many stars have sputtered out and have not kept up to their claim to fame. Jean de Bourbon and his colleague, Esther Kim, both speedskaters, are not doing too well. Esther Kim manages to qualify for almost every event she is in, but in the quarterfinals, she ends up dead last in her heats. Jean de Bourbon has not had any luck at all ever since he failed for the first speedskating event (in which Demisthekles qualified but eventually lost in the Quarterfinals).

"Well, uhh..." were the only words Jean de Bourbon had to say as he relaxed with his colleagues outside an ice castle they worked to build. "Let's just say that they are fixing the games!"

Jean de Bourbon's bad performances is more likely related to the fact that he spent his time building ice castles and snowmen rather than preparing for the events. It is likely Commerce Heights has not been "fixing" the games at all.

Another burnout would be Frederick von Kustrinenburg in Men's Luge. After making second place in the first run, he could not keep consistent with that good performance. He ended up 5th, which is respectable, given that there were many other opponents, including Sven Grigorevich and Theodoric Bahleburg, his fellow Valerians who also finished rather high above the other athletes in the event.

"I don't know why I couldn't keep up with my first success," Frederick states. "Maybe it was that one night when the entire Valerian Olympic Team got drunk. I remember having a huge hangover on the second run."

In the meantime, new stars have risen in the Valerian Olympic team. Kristina Bezhushtin has become a popular figure of late, for in Day 5 she set the course records for both the Blue and Red Courses in Aeropag for the Women's Parallel Giant Slalom during Qualifications. She went on to qualify for the quarterfinals but was eliminated when she faced off against Chicanada's Erin Zalop. "Rockin' Kristina" still rocked the courses when she qualified for a 5th place match against Paula Myhill of Krytenia in the Consolation Games.

"Wish me luck!" Kristina smiled as she waved at a bunch of Aeropag locals who started the Bezhushin fan club for her amazing record-setting performances.

Nina Paskevich, another surprise star from the Women's Snowboarding Team, also did better than most people would have expected. She made the Snowboard Cross Quarterfinals, but she could not pass into the Semis. It was all thanks to a little squirrel. Nina dodged the furry woodland creature that strayed in the middle of her path, but in doing so she went off course and got lost in the woods, so to speak; she could not finish the course. She is in the running for a medal in the Parallel Giant Slalom, and qualified in round two of the Halfpipe event (her colleague, Rebekah Zarapova, qualified in the first round).

Also, another upstart amongst the team is Renee Savageur of the Women's Speedskating Crew. She qualified for Final B in the women's 1000m in the semifinals, and survived past Esther Kim who was knocked out in the Quarterfinals. If all goes well, she could make herself queen for a day by at least putting on a good show in the final rounds.

There are also the Valerian figure skaters, who have qualified so far throughout the qualification rounds. Both teams of Valerian pairs have made it through the first rounds, and Ioann Briansky and Alexander Revalsky have qualified for the short program. Other events to look for would be the four men bobsled team, the men's ski jumping team, and the two woman bobsled team. They have done pretty well so far in the games, and they may have good chances as well.

Speak Syokaji!

The Aeropag Olympics has arisen to a new sense of intrigue amongst the universities in Magnus Valerius. Many people are interested in one of the languages of Commerce Heights, Syokaji. Syokaji is mostly unknown in Magnus Valerius, so many translators for the team are often lost if they deal with a Valerian-Syokaji translation situation. "I mean, we can translate from German, Greek, and perhaps Notorelenda, but when it comes translating Syokaji into our native Slavic tongue, it's a headache," states translator Grigori Chiinsky. "It seems similar to Korean, but unfortunately, I'm only learned in Valerian, Russian, English, Greek, German, and Arabic."

Several Valerians have tried to take up Syokaji classes with locals in Aeropag. Many Valerians who are visiting want to learn the language and then bring it back to the Empire to teach. However, the Korean Valerians who came to Aeropag seem to do just fine in deciphering the language. "I don't see why Valerians have so much trouble," remarked Dae-Sun Young, a native of Kholmogory, Valeria State. "But then again, there are few that know Korean..."

MALABRIANS SHOCKED
Suprises abound in Men's Curling and Women's Snowboarding.

AEROPEG, COMMERCE HIGHTS--In a moment of frustration yesterday, thousands of Malabrians took to the streets to express their anger. After winning their first 3 games, a perfect record at that time, the Malabrian Men's Curling team preceeded to lose their next two games, eliminating them from the medal rounds. This comes after a moment of confidence that they'd surely advance on the next round, including hope from both the Royal Family and the Prime Minister.

"We tried our best and in the end we faltered," Malabrian skip Kidnaq Midanw said. It may very well be true. Malabra's national team was placed in one of the toughest groups, Group A. They ended with a winning record of 3-2 to put them in fourth place, two places away from qualification. In fact, Malabra had been in first place at certain points in the qualification rounds. All of this was to no avail.

In other curling news, the Malabrian Women redeemed themselves with a win over the olympic host, Commerce Heights. The end result was 8-7 in Malabra's favor. The women look at this as a sign of ecouragement, but are not likely to progress further in the tournament either because they had lost 3 games previously.

The best news of the day came from an event that many Malabrians would be shocked that we did well in. This event was snowboarding halfpipe for the women. In Heat 1, Kinda Mdna was said to not qualify for the next round. She noticed an error in the scoring, however, and filed a repeal. The Olympic Comittee has now noticed the error and she has qualified. She is tied for sixth. In Heat 2, Undaq Nanda placed in a two way tie for 3rd for the run, which also qualified her a spot for the next round. This is the best individual qualification an individual Malabrian has had so far. Hundreds of Malabrians that were lined up to watch the event stared in shock as she amazingly did well in a sport that was not expected to be one of Malabra's strong points. After the initial awe, the Malabrians in attendance stood and cheered and waved the Malabrian flag. This is currently Malabra's best hope for an olympic medal.

"It just felt great; the atmosphere and all. I'm proud to represent my country and I know not many people were expecting this," Nanda said.

In skating news, Nickii Daq has qualified in the semifinals for Final B in the Women's 1000 Meters for short track. She finished ahead of fellow IDU member, Michèle Roger (JTD) and will race her, along with other Final B athletes, in the next race.

From the Malabrian Times, http://malabriantimes.blogspot.com/

From MSPN:

Yet another disasterous day for our olympic team. Kellerher and Daniels placed 10th in the OD in Ice Dancing, Berkely O'Bannon, finished Men's luge in 21st place, Sheila Smith was 7th in the Women's Speedskating 1000m, and our men's curling team lost and was eliminated from the medal round. MOC President Luther Goran has called for an official investigation charging host nation Commerce Heights with fixing scoring.

MOC President Luther Goran has called for an official investigation charging host nation Commerce Heights with fixing scoring.
I’m only doing as well as I am because most of the medal events so far have been in biathlon and speedskating. Perhaps you should be investigating my schedule fixing instead. :p

"First Olympic Medal!" was the headline splashed across all of the newspapers around the nation. And there was a photo of Charles Roberts and Jollie MacKay in one of the poses while the pair did their last pair routine.

It went into more detail... with a total score of 119.37 out of the events impressed the judges with sleek lines, lifts and jumps, but what let them down seemed to be the creativity and difficulty of their performances, they weren't all that testing, but they pulled them off perfectly. With the pair has been reported to celebrate by making snow angels, Luke MacDonald the 1000m Short Track Speed skater, scored the angel's for fun, Charles just beat Jollie with a final score of 17.8, Jolie was just 0.1 of point behind on 17.7

The Maineiacs' Olympic comittee respectfully request to know why Kramer Lipshitz was not allowed to compete in the 500m short track event.

And you misprinted Marge Stanton's time in the luge.

Qazox Olympic Blog by QazSoft

At least the Men's curling team can go hope happy in the fact they aren't the worst in the world as they beat Boudra-Boudra 9-5 in only 8 innings today. after a brilliantly thrown hammer in the 8th to score 3 for Qazox, the Boudra-Boudra skip conceded the match. even though they were 1-4 in pool play, a -2 differential shows that in the next olympiad with experience, the Black OXen will be a force in curling.

Score:
Team---1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8--T
Boudra-0-2-1-0-1-1-0-0--5(conceded)
Qazox--2-0-0-2-0-0-2-3--9

In women's luge, another one bit the dust as Deanna Laren crashed during her 2nd run. she will be fine but ends her quest on a sour note. Jadzia Troi had a 2nd run time of 47.399, placing her 12th after 2 runs with a total time of 1:34.905.

More Updates as they Happen on this blog or on QSNBS (QazSoftNews Broadcasting System)

The Maineiacs' Olympic comittee respectfully request to know why Kramer Lipshitz was not allowed to compete in the 500m short track event.

And you misprinted Marge Stanton's time in the luge.
And I picked the wrong line of the schedule for the upcoming events. :p

While there are no open time slots between now and the 500 m quarterfinals, Lipshitz will be randomly drawn into a qualification heat and allowed to compete immediately before the quarterfinals (if his time is sufficient to qualify, the second qualifier from that heat will still advance).

And I didn’t misprint Marge Stanton’s time, I didn’t sort it correctly. :p

Heath claims bronze for CRO
1 Canban Sanom (ZER) 53.37 53.48 1:46.85
2 Kenbor Tan (ZER) 53.36 53.65 1:47.01
3 Reiner Heath (CRO) 53.68 53.35 1:47.03
4 Ichan Horbin (ZER) 54.28 53.07 1:47.35

Reiner Heath was being revered as a national hero today after a fantastic second run in the second run of the Alpine Skiing Mens’ Slalom saw him claim an overall bronze for the country. Heath, who going into the competition was hailed CR Oscilloscopes' best medal chance had finished sixth in the first run, but showed his mettle, and recorded an improved second run time, to prove himself one of the best slalom skiiers in the world. Heath, was clearly overjoyed at the achievement for himself and the country, which had only sent three athletes to the games, and gave a short interview in which he thanked the fans for their support and his trainer for 'always being there'.

When he arrives back in CR Oscilloscopes after the end of the games it will most likely be to a hero's welcome, with plans for a celebration parade being mooted. Such achievement from a single athlete is unheard of in CRO and citizens will plan to make the most of it.

Ariddians do well in preferred events

Ariddians today rocketed briefly up to third place on the medal chart, courtesy of Jessica Silversmith. . . but let’s take a quick look first at yesterday’s events.

In the biathlon 15km race, Emily Sands surprised spectators and herself by finishing in a more than respectable sixth place, with a time of 53:25.2. Sands was looking far more self-assured than in her opening race, maintaining a fast pace and achieving much greater accuracy with her shots.

“I feel very different,” she said afterwards. “More confident. I think I needed that first, seven and a half kilometre race for it to really sink in, for me to realise I was actually at the Olympics. And today I felt much more ready for it.”

Commerce Heights’ ’Im Min-gyu took gold. In the bobsleigh, Adèle Marchand and Sandra Fieldman lost time, fifteen hundredths of a second to be precise, and finished their second run in overall sixteenth place. In luge, Yosief Debesa finished his event with 3:32.699, in last place but one. Only Críostóir Adair of the Resurgent Dream was slower, having fallen during his first race.

“I did my best,” Debesa said. “I’m glad I took part, and, I can only do better next time.”

Then came the short track, with the semi-finals of the women’s 1500m. With a time of 2:34.748, Jessica Silversmith took a comfortable second place in her semi, behind Sérjia Marugana of Commerce Heights, seeing her through to the final.

She was also in the final of the women’s one kilometre speedskating race, today, as was compatriot and speed-skating gold-medallist Linda Uosh. As often, it was a close race, but Uosh gradually found herself relegated toward the back of the pack. Silversmith, by contrast, stayed with the lead, skating hard and swiftly. Edging into the lead position, she was able to keep just ahead of her competitors, and finished fifteen hundredths of a second ahead of Commerce Heights’ Jūn Go-min. Her time of 1:17.18 set an Olympic Record for future Games. It was a photo finish for second and third, four athletes locked within four hundredths of a second of one another, but bronze was eventually attributed to Pacitalian Alessandra Marchesa. Silversmith had just lifted her country up into an astonishing third place on the medal tables, as one of only three nations to have two gold medals or more.

“We come here, we win nothing for over a week, and then we take two medals and they’re both gold!” an excited supporter said. It was expected from the start that Ariddia’s best hopes for medals would be, by far, in the short track and speed skating events, the only events athletes from the semi-tropical islands had been able to properly train for.

Ariddia’s national anthem, Dream (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Ariddia#National_Anthem), is sung to the tune of the communist Internationale, and, as it was played in the speedskating venue in Aeropag, several spectators stood and sang the latter.

“It’s a victory of communism in the very heart of capitalism!” one spectator, though not herself an Ariddian, said. Silversmith, though, did not wish to be drawn into politics regarding her win.

“Everyone is free to interpret this as they wish,” she said with a smile. “I’m a communist, but I was skating as an Ariddian today. This is a friendly international competition. I respect all my opponents and wish them well.”

The men’s 500m short track began today, with three Ariddians competing. Flag-bearer Jean-Michel Chang went in heat three. Chang, Gardner of Commerce Heights and Oranq of Malabra finished with about a tenth of a second between each, Chang qualifying in second place behind Gardner. In heat 6, Derek Riise was not able to match the pace of his competitors, and came last, while in heat 10 Richard Maraîcher crossed the line at exactly the same moment as Andrew Simari of Krytenia. Photo-finish revealed that Maraîcher had come first by bare milliseconds, but it hardly mattered as both men were, in any case, through to the next round.

Lastly, it was the men’s turn to take part in a speedskating final, in the one kilometre race. Jean-Michel Chang, Derek Riise and Richard Maraîcher, inspired by their female counterparts, were all in the running. Chang, unfortunately, was disqualified after about 600m, having inadvertently jostled Max Hume of New Montreal States. Maraîcher kept up, and finished within less than a second of the top places, but a long way off from the podium all the same. Derek Riise finished in a rush among the very first, and when the times came up he was second, winning Ariddia’s first silver medal – just three hundredths of a second from the Olympic Record.

“Well, we couldn’t let the women win all our medals, now could we?” he joked with a grin.

It’s been a startlingly good day for Ariddia, who, after a slow, somewhat disappointing start, are now surprised to find themselves battling it out with the world’s very best.

Peruzzi wins his heat

San Adriano was finally back in action today, as its single representative competed in his second of three events. Peruzzi had been disqualified during his first race, and was determined to at least reach the finish line in his 500m short track heat.

With a grand total of three Sanadrianese in the room to support him, waving a flag encouragingly, Peruzzi took off against Henwood of Spaam, Ocha of ASMV, and Wright of Bazalonia. Perhaps expected to be an easy target, Peruzzi rapidly skated into the lead, and, drawing on every available ounce of effort, kept it. For the first time in the Aeropag Games, a Sanadrianese athlete finished a race – and did it in style, taking first place.

Peruzzi will still have to face nineteen other competitors in the next round, but, as he said himself, “At least I’ve made it into the top twenty. And that’s not bad.”

Larson Takes Bronze

In an out of seemingly nowhere performance, Tynelian speedskater Lyle Larson picked up the nation's first medal winning a bronze in the men's 1000m speedskating event. Arguably the best speed skater in the country, Larson had been a forgotten man in Tynelia's poor showing to date in this Olympiad. Larson's time of 1:09.73 was less than a tenth of a second out of the gold but Larson was more than happy to go down in the history books as the first ever Tynelian medalist.
"This is a big honor for both me and the country" Larson said afterwards. "It would have been nice to grab the gold and hear our national anthem playing but i still have the 500m event. Maybe i can do better there."

Larson will be competting later as he said in the 500m speedskate as will his countryman Brad McGillis who was a distant 27th almost three quarters of a second behind his countryman.

The lady speedskaters weren't as successful in their runs in the 1000m speedskate. Elizabeth Anderson fared the best with a 18th place finish almost a half second out of medal contention. 31st place was the best Kendra Pierce could muster in her run as she ended up close to the bottom of the field.

In the women's luge Linda Pennington completed her second run and was disappointed when she finished over .3 seconds behind her time in the first heat. A small slip in the middle of the track seemed to be the cause of her lost time. However at the halfway mark she is still in 15th place but almost a full second behind the medal contenders.

Failing to move on for a second time Kevin O'Malley finished third in his heat in the 500m short track run. He faded breifly in the end allowing Joost de Vries of Rota-Topia to catch him in the last 50m which cost O'Malley the chance to advance.

There was a big dash to the finish in the men's 30km cross country skiing event.While Scott Johnson of the Kazoo People easily won the race by 25 seconds a pack of four skiiers were next and next for the silver and bronze including Tynelian Alexander Franklin. Frankin was never expected to be a threat yet there he was fighting for the silver with under a half km to go. The Kazoo Peoples were looking for a 1-2 finish with Darrell Johnson in this pack of four as well. However it was Jan Bergström from Anastasiania who took the silver pulling away with a last sprint at the end with Johnson hanging on for the bronze my a mere half second. Franklin, exhausted by his effort had nothing left to respond to the attacks at the finish but finished a strong fifth just 1.7 seconds after Johnson.

"I didn't have anything left" Franklin said afterwards still gasping for breath, "I saw the others attack but i couldn't go with them. I thought maybe they'd go out too soon and come back to me but no dice. Less than two seconds..." he finished shaking his head as he went off to recieve the congratulations from the rest of the cross country squad.

The Tyler duo competed in the pairs free skating event but had a mediocre showing. Finishing 14th and well behind the medalists, the Tylers had to be disappointed. They would not speak to reporters afterwards their disappointment showing.