2014 Winter Olympics

I just looked at the opening to the 2010 Fantasy Olympics thread

http://able2know.org/topic/141032-1

Does anyone know how the groupings were selected?

I've liked the olympics, lot of years, but often gotten angry at what things I got to see while jingoismo was rampant on whatever network tv I was watching. I like the athletes and saw them from my own country, but I never got the shutting out of everything else. I'm interested in other athletes, long have been - probably over time my favorite olympians are not from the u.s. I don't really get how you regard someone based on where they are from.


My own take, these year later, is that the olympics scenario breeds against athletes from the wide world talking, just talking.

This is to say that just one more palliative from a talking head may make me do the hari-kiri.

I think that the threads in 2010 were adjusted from 2006 based on countries' performance in 2006 and home advantage for the host team. I'm not sure how that would work exactly, though. @fbaezer has always set up the groupings, AFAIK.

Sorry, missed the question since we sort of cross posted, ehBeth.
However - I don't know how FBaezer set it up. He might have said somewhere in the thread.

Hey guys, long time no talk... Is @fbaezer (or anyone else) available to assist with the country groupings? I know several that will play. I can help with scoring through February 15th (then I'm traveling).

I honestly don't have time to organize the game again.

Groupings I'd suggest:

Group A:

USA Men
USA Women
Germany Men
Germany Women
Canada
Russia

Group B:
Norway
South Korea
Austria
Switzerland
Sweden
China

Group C:
France
Netherlands
Italy
Finland
Czech Republic

Group D:
All other countries

Good to see you anyway, and thanks for the help.

Oh, and I'll play but I'd be a terrible organizer and scorer.

These groupings look OK to me... If someone else can help with scoring, I think we are all set; we just need players!

I'll recruit some this weekend.

I'm starting to study up as a foundation for later heavy guessing.
Hope someone will be happy to help with scoring.

I've got my picks, if we were posting them today, but I need to read up on who is who from where, right now.

The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia start later this week. In the spirit of making the Olympics even more enjoyable, we're again having a Fantasy Olympics.

The 6 rules of the game are the same as previous Fantasy Olympics:

1. Every participant will choose a "team" of 10 Olympic nations (divided by gender in the case of the Germany and USA teams). The aggregate result of these Olympic nation-teams will determine the winner, on the basis of 5 points for every gold medal, 3 points for every silver medal, and 1 point for every bronze medal.

2. The 10 Olympic nation-teams must be chosen from 4 different groupings in which the nations have been divided, according to their performance in Vancouver 2010, plus a host nation factor.

3. Each participant must choose 2 Olympic nations from Group A, 2 Olympic nations from Group B, 2 Olympic nations from Group C and 4 Olympic nations from Group D (which encompasses all nations not in any of the former groups).

4. Since the Germany and USA Olympic teams are expected to get the most medals, they will be divided into teams by gender: Germany Male, Germany Female, USA Male and USA Female. Any medal won by a mixed duo or team (e.g. Ice Dancing), will count for both Male and Female teams.

5. The medal count will be based on the official IOC count. That is, collective medals for team sports (e.g. Ice Hockey) count as one.

6. All participants must enter their predictions before the opening Olympic ceremony. For Sochi, the deadline is Friday, 2/7/14 @ 11 AM, EST.

Prizes:

Winner: Virtual Gold Medal, and congratulations from everyone.
Runner Up: Virtual Silver Medal.
Third Place: Virtual Bronze Medal.


Groupings (kindly provided by @fbaezer!):

Group A (choose 2):
Canada
Germany Men
Germany Women
Russia
USA Men
USA Women

Group B (choose 2):
Austria
China
Norway
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland

Group C (choose 2):
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Italy
Netherlands

Group D (choose 4):
All other participating Olympic nations not listed in previous groupings


I will do my best to post daily standings of the A2K Fantasy Winter Olympics Game, but I'll need help with scoring between 2/15 and 2/25. I will likely make a spreadsheet to help with scoring.

Please submit your teams this week. Good luck to everyone!

URL: http://able2know.org/topic/231559-1

Wheel,

Thanks for getting this started. I may be available to do scoring for the second week of the games, but my availability is a little sketchy for the 15th and 16th, so if you can find another volunteer, you might be better off.

Also, in doing some early research on my picks, I'd like to suggest moving Norway up to Group A, and possibly even splitting it into men's and women's teams, if it's not too late to do so.

After exhaustive research, I make the following selections:

Group A:
USA Men
Russia

Group B:
Norway
Sweden

Group C:
Czech Republic
Finland

Group D:
Latvia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Lichtenstein (quadrennial underdogs)


(NOTE: If Norway gets moved, I can update my picks.)

I may change my mind, since I've more reading to do, and if Norway gets moved, then change picks, but I'll post now to get the matter in hand, lest I forget:

A) USA Men, Canada
B) Norway, South Korea
C) France, Netherlands
D) Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia (may put Slovakia in instead)

With the credibility of athletics and cycling being spoilt by drug cheats, it'll make a refreshing change to see drug-free winter sports like downhill skiing, slaloms, bobsleighs etc..

Thanks Wheel. I will try to pick a team tonight ... if not, I'll be back on Thursday evening at the latest.

Will try to cross-post this thread in a couple of others - get a few more players eh.

Group A (choose 2):
Germany Women
USA Women

Group B (choose 2):
Norway
South Korea

Group C (choose 2):
Finland
France

Group D (choose 4):
Argentina
Australia
Great Britain
Japan

If anyone needs the list of countries so they can pick the four countries not in the Groups A through C.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Winter_Olympics