RETURN OF THE CURSE OF THE SLIPPERY SLOPE: Winter Olympics 2010 Contest


Remember 2006?	The crack contest team at Laughton.org had so much fun creating (and winning) our Winter Olympics 2006 contest that we've decided to offer a similar competition for 2010. All of you who lost in 2006 now have your chance to get even! Once again we ask - nay, dare - you to predict which countries will win medals in the Winter Olympics. We tell you how many medals, you tell us which countries. When your countries win medals, your score goes up. But your medals are stacked on a slippery slope; if you win too many, they slide off and you lose them! What's more, there's a subtle difference between this year's rules and those in 2006 that will give you many more opportunities to send your points tumbling into oblivion. Play carefully.	Time for Revenge!

March 1, 2010

1
223

2
222

3
221

4
219

5
214

6
205

7
202

8
201

9
188

10
179

11
171

12
164

13
153

14
146

15
134

16
123

17
56

Congratulations to Unskilled and Unknowing, who edged out traditional winter-games powerhouse M. Leith by a single point and the inscrutable Canuck Yuk Yuk by two. The winner had this to say about the victory:

Imagine my surprise! I 'd like to say that cunning and superior knowledge led to the win, but the name I picked for my team says it all - "Unskilled and Unknowing". I had no idea what I was doing, but like everyone else, I just HAD to be in this contest. The race with M. Leith (second place) was a cliff-hanger much like the Canada-US hockey game! Very appropriate - you put up a great fight, M. Leith! I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics, made even more enjoyable by another great contest. Thanks to the Contest Manager.
Team Unskilled & Unknowing

Unskilled and Unknowing will receive a toy goldfish. This battery-operated "swimming fish" (as opposed to the kind that speed-skates or "drops into the half-pipe") comes from Hamley's Toy Store on London's famous Regent Street.

M. Leith will receive a pair of "Cube World" animated stick-figure cubes from Edmund Scientific in Tanawanda, NY, USA. Their description of these gizmos may persuade you that they are truly better than the third-place prize. Canuck Yuk Yuk will receive this Sudoku puzzle cube from... oh, let's say "Canada, eh," although we're not really sure where it came from, and like the other prizes it was manufactured in China and is not suitable for children younger than 3 years of age.

SLOPE 2: 1
JAM PER
MGL MDA
LTU BER
GBR:1

SLOPE 4: 2
SCG PRK
LAT:2 UKR
TUR

SLOPE 8: 10 0
GBR:1 AUS:3
BUL BLR:3
BEL BRA
UZB SVK:3

SLOPE 16: 23 0
FRA:11 EST:1
CRO:3 VEN
TJK SLO:3
JPN:5 UKR

SLOPE 32: 47 0
USA:37 BIH
GBR:1 GRE
BEL BLR:3
SVK:3 CRO:3

SLOPE 64: 63
GER:30 KOR:14
ITA:5 POL:6
NED:8

SLOPE 128: 122
GER:30 USA:37
CAN:26 RUS:15
CHN:11 AZE
CRO:3

tiebreaker
02:05:45

SLOPE 2: 2
LAT:2 BER
THA TUR
ISR

SLOPE 4: 4
UKR SVK:3
VEN KAZ:1

SLOPE 8: 15 0
POL:6 POR
EST:1 BLR:3
JPN:5

SLOPE 16: 8
AUS:3 LTU
AZE ARM
ITA:5

SLOPE 32: 26
SWE:11 SUI:9
SVK:3 SEN
SMR BLR:3

SLOPE 64: 60
RUS:15 CHN:11
FRA:11 NED:8
CZE:6 GBR:1
SVK:3 LAT:2
AUS:3

SLOPE 128: 119
AUT:16 CAN:26
USA:37 NOR:23
ITA:5 FRA:11
EST:1 BUL

tiebreaker
02:07:15

SLOPE 2: 3 0
SLO:3 JAM

SLOPE 4: 8 0
LAT:2 POL:6
ESP UKR

SLOPE 8: 12 0
GBR:1 JPN:5
MAR AUS:3
BLR:3

SLOPE 16: 6
ITA:5 EST:1
BUL

SLOPE 32: 25
CHN:11 FIN:5
CZE:6 BIH
CRO:3

SLOPE 64: 65 0
GER:30 CAN:26
CZE:6 SVK:3
BER JAM

SLOPE 128: 103
SEN ROM
RUS:15 USA:37
AUT:16 NOR:23
SUI:9 PER
AZE CHI
LAT:2 GBR:1
GRE

tiebreaker
02:08:06.5

SLOPE 2: 1
GBR:1

SLOPE 4: 11 0
JPN:5 POL:6

SLOPE 8: 4
EST:1 CRO:3
BUL

SLOPE 16: 20 0
KOR:14 CZE:6

SLOPE 32: 27
AUT:16 FRA:11

SLOPE 64: 53
GER:30 RUS:15
FIN:5 SLO:3

SLOPE 128: 117
USA:37 CAN:26
AUT:16 AUS:3
NED:8 FRA:11
ITA:5 IRE
SUI:9 EST:1
GBR:1 ROM
NZL

We do more before 9:00 than some people do all day long. WHOAH!

tiebreaker
02:13:58.6

SLOPE 2: 5 0
JPN:5

SLOPE 4: 3
CRO:3

SLOPE 8: 4
CRO:3 EST:1

SLOPE 16: 9
SUI:9

SLOPE 32: 30
GER:30

SLOPE 64: 68 0
USA:37 CAN:26
FIN:5

SLOPE 128: 125
USA:37 CAN:26
AUT:16 RUS:15
NOR:23 NED:8

I ride Badwater because there's something in me that wants to get out there, in the middle of nowhere, and think about something. It's a way of freeing myself instead of relying so much on a bunch of material crap that just makes me weaker.

tiebreaker
02:05:20

SLOPE 2: 3 0
SVK:3

SLOPE 4: 1
EST:1

SLOPE 8: 4
CRO:3 EST:1

SLOPE 16: 11
CHN:11

SLOPE 32: 29
CAN:26 CRO:3

SLOPE 64: 50
AUT:16 NOR:23
SWE:11

SLOPE 128: 126
GER:30 USA:37
CAN:26 AUT:16
SWE:11 POL:6

Next time you're in your car, at 50 miles per hour, strip down to your underwear and jump out. That's what it's like to crash in a bicycle race.

tiebreaker
02:06:20

SLOPE 2: 3 0
AUS:3

SLOPE 4: 4
EST:1 SLO:3

SLOPE 8: 11 0
CZE:6 JPN:5

SLOPE 16: 16
JPN:5 SWE:11
UKR

SLOPE 32: 22
CHN:11 SWE:11

SLOPE 64: 67 0
GER:30 KOR:14
NOR:23

SLOPE 128: 111
AUT:16 NOR:23
RUS:15 SUI:9
SWE:11 USA:37

tiebreaker
02:07:02

SLOPE 2: 3 0
BLR:3

SLOPE 4: 3
GBR:1 LAT:2

SLOPE 8: 8
JPN:5 BUL
GBR:1 LAT:2

SLOPE 16: 15
CZE:6 EST:1
CRO:3 JPN:5

SLOPE 32: 29
FRA:11 NED:8
CZE:6 EST:1
AUS:3

SLOPE 64: 52
FRA:11 NED:8
CHN:11 KOR:14
ITA:5 AUS:3

SLOPE 128: 115
GER:30 USA:37
CAN:26 AUT:16
CZE:6 UKR

tiebreaker
02:05:55

SLOPE 2: 3 0
SVK:3

SLOPE 4: 1
EST:1

SLOPE 8: 5
FIN:5

SLOPE 16: 18 0
FRA:11 GBR:1
POL:6

SLOPE 32: 20
NED:8 SUI:9
AUS:3 BUL

SLOPE 64: 60
GER:30 AUT:16
KOR:14

SLOPE 128: 119
GER:30 USA:37
CAN:26 SWE:11
RUS:15

Let the games begin!

tiebreaker
01:59:47

SLOPE 2: 6 0
BLR:3 SLO:3

SLOPE 4: 12 0
BLR:3 SLO:3
POL:6

SLOPE 8: 15 0
GBR:1 AUS:3
POL:6 JPN:5

SLOPE 16: 20 0
EST:1 CZE:6
BUL GBR:1
SLO:3 POL:6
AUS:3

SLOPE 32: 47 0
FIN:5 SWE:11
CRO:3 KOR:14
AUS:3 CHN:11

SLOPE 64: 56
RUS:15 ITA:5
FRA:11 SUI:9
FIN:5 SWE:11

SLOPE 128: ~~131~~ 0
GER:30 NOR:23
CAN:26 USA:37
RUS:15

A Pauling Storm performs best in a blizzard.

tiebreaker
02:12:20

SLOPE 2: 5 0
JPN:5

SLOPE 4: 0
UKR

SLOPE 8: 4
EST:1 CRO:3

SLOPE 16: 11
FRA:11

SLOPE 32: 30
GER:30

SLOPE 64: 39
SWE:11 SUI:9
KOR:14 ITA:5

SLOPE 128: 80
CAN:26 AUT:16
RUS:15 NOR:23

The pile keeps getting higher.

tiebreaker
02:02:02

SLOPE 2: 1
GBR:1

SLOPE 4: 3
CRO:3

SLOPE 8: 9 0
AUS:3 POL:6
UKR

SLOPE 16: 15
CZE:6 EST:1
CRO:3 JPN:5

SLOPE 32: 20
SWE:11 SUI:9

SLOPE 64: 49
RUS:15 NOR:23
SWE:11

SLOPE 128: 91
CAN:26 AUT:16
RUS:15 NOR:23
SWE:11

Too much of a good thing is too bad.

tiebreaker
02:12:12

SLOPE 2: 6 0
BLR:3 SLO:3

SLOPE 4: 11 0
BLR:3 SLO:3
JPN:5

SLOPE 8: 10 0
GBR:1 AUS:3
POL:6

SLOPE 16: 11
EST:1 CZE:6
BUL GBR:1
SLO:3

SLOPE 32: 36 0
FIN:5 SWE:11
CRO:3 KOR:14
AUS:3

SLOPE 64: 40
RUS:15 ITA:5
FRA:11 SUI:9

SLOPE 128: 95
GER:30 NOR:23
CAN:26 AUT:16

Mickey Max and I wish you all Happy Snow Days!

tiebreaker
02:10:30

SLOPE 2: 3 0
SVK:3

SLOPE 4: 3
CRO:3

SLOPE 8: 4
EST:1 CRO:3

SLOPE 16: 14
KOR:14

SLOPE 32: 29
CAN:26 CRO:3

SLOPE 64: 53
CAN:26 AUT:16
FRA:11

SLOPE 128: 111
NOR:23 RUS:15
AUT:16 CAN:26
GER:30 EST:1

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

tiebreaker
02:07:20

SLOPE 2: 3 0
AUS:3

SLOPE 4: 11 0
JPN:5 POL:6

SLOPE 8: 9 0
CZE:6 CRO:3

SLOPE 16: 12
FRA:11 UKR
EST:1

SLOPE 32: 28
NOR:23 ITA:5

SLOPE 64: 61
GER:30 KOR:14
FIN:5 CZE:6
POL:6

SLOPE 128: 122
USA:37 CAN:26
NOR:23 AUT:16
SWE:11 SUI:9

tiebreaker
02:13:57

SLOPE 2: 1
GBR:1

SLOPE 4: 3
AUS:3 NZL

SLOPE 8: 7
CZE:6 EST:1

SLOPE 16: 15
JPN:5 EST:1
CRO:3 POL:6
UKR

SLOPE 32: 24
FRA:11 NED:8
FIN:5

SLOPE 64: 42
NOR:23 SWE:11
SWI NED:8

SLOPE 128: 109
GER:30 USA:37
CAN:26 AUT:16

tiebreaker
02:20:00

SLOPE 2: 3 0
AUS:3

SLOPE 4: 12 0
BLR:3 BUL
CRO:3 EST:1
JAM LAT:2
SVK:3 UKR

SLOPE 8: 7
CZE:6 GBR:1

SLOPE 16: 20 0
KOR:14 POL:6

SLOPE 32: 28
JPN:5 NOR:23

SLOPE 64: 67 0
CAN:26 GBR:1
AUS:3 USA:37

SLOPE 128: 88
AUT:16 FIN:5
GER:30 ITA:5
NED:8 RUS:15
SUI:9

This entry comes from Laughton.org and is not eligible to win a prize.

tiebreaker
02:04:44

gold silver bronze total

AUS 2 1 0 3

AUT 4 6 6 16

BLR 1 1 1 3

CAN 14 7 5 26

CHN 5 2 4 11

CRO 0 2 1 3

CZE 2 0 4 6

EST 0 1 0 1

FIN 0 1 4 5

gold silver bronze total

FRA 2 3 6 11

GBR 1 0 0 1

GER 10 13 7 30

ITA 1 1 3 5

JPN 0 3 2 5

KAZ 0 1 0 1

KOR 6 6 2 14

LAT 0 2 0 2

NED 4 1 3 8

gold silver bronze total

NOR 9 8 6 23

POL 1 3 2 6

RUS 3 5 7 15

SLO 0 2 1 3

SUI 6 0 3 9

SVK 1 1 1 3

SWE 5 2 4 11

USA 9 15 13 37

Petter Jr. Northug of Norway won the 50km cross-country ski race in 2:05:35.5.

This year's Slippery Slopes come in seven sizes - 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 - which represent the maximum number of medals that each can hold. You will pick countries that you think will win medals in the 2010 Olympics and assign one or more to each slope. Your score is the number of medals won by all the countries you pick; all medals count the same regardless of whether they're gold, silver, or bronze. You can put as many countries on each slope as you like. See the important note below about the Oslo Rule regarding how you may distribute the countries you select.

During the Olympic competition you will earn one point per medal won by each country you select as long as the total on any slope does not exceed the capacity of the slope. If you accumulate more medals on any slope than it can hold, you lose all medals for that slope. If you lose the medals on a slope, that slope cannot accumulate any more medals; its score will be zero.

For tiebreaking purposes, you'll also predict the winning time of the men's 50-kilometer cross-country ski competition that is scheduled to start on February 28 at 9:30am Vancouver time. Your seven groups of countries and the tiebreaker prediction must be sent by e-mail to contest@laughton.org in the format described below. We'll do the scoring and post the results on this webpage, which will be updated regularly during the course of the Olympic games. The player with the most points at the end of the competition will enjoy the glory of winning a contest at Laughton.org. Yes, yes, there will also be a small prize, and if there are many entries, maybe even second- and third-place prizes.

Participants may benefit from reviewing the results of our 2006 contest.

A total of 258 medals are scheduled to be awarded in Vancouver (gold, silver, and bronze in each of 86 events; a few more are possible due to ties). With a total capacity of 254 medals, our seven slopes would give limited opportunities for disaster if we applied the usual rules and restricted players to only using each country once in their entries. Therefore we are activating the Limited Oslo Rule: you may use each country in your entry as many times as you want, but you may only use it once on each slope. Thus, with only seven slopes, you may use each country as often as you want as long as you don't want to use it more than seven times. This should be enough for anyone, even a Norwegian.

Send your e-mail in the following format:

In the Subject field, type "contest entry". Any other text may cause your entry to be lost to the spam filter.

In the body of your message, put the following information:

First line: your player name. This is the name that will appear in the contest results. You may use your real name or a pseudonym, but try to use no more than 32 characters.

Second line: countries on your 2-medal slope. You may use abbreviations as long as they're easily recognizable. Recommended abbreviations appear at the bottom of this page.

Third line: countries on your 4-medal slope.

Fourth line: countries on your 8-medal slope.

Fifth line: countries on your 16-medal slope.

Sixth line: countries on your 32-medal slope.

Seventh line: countries on your 64-medal slope.

Eighth line: countries on your 128-medal slope.

Ninth line: your tiebreaker prediction in hh:mm:ss form.

On subsequent lines you may add some comments if you like. You may discuss your contest strategy, relate an amusing anecdote from your personal Olympic experience, or write anything else that may interest your fellow players. Long-winded or boring comments may be shortened or otherwise improved by Laughton.org.

An example of a properly-formatted entry appears at right. There's no need to include the numbers of the slopes, but feel free to do so if it helps you organize your countries.
Sample Entry

Date: February 3, 2010 To: contest@laughton.org From: you@your-address.com Subject: contest entry The Flaming Flake 2 JPN 4 AUS 8 SPA, FIN 16 NED, SWE, POL, JPN, CZE 32 RUS, AUT, CAN 64 FRA, FIN, GER 128 USA, GER, RUS, NOR, SWE 02:15:30 The glory of winning the contest is the only prize I crave!

Scores will be posted on this webpage frequently during the course of the Olympics, but only the final tally determines the prize winner. At the conclusion of the Olympics, the player with the most medals on his slopes wins. Any slope for which a player has collected too many medals - that is, more medals than the size of the slope - counts as zero. In the event that two players are tied for the highest medal count, the one whose tiebreaker prediction comes closest to the actual winning time of the men's 50km cross-country ski event will be declared the winner. It make no difference if the prediction is higher or lower than the actual time.

Your entry must be received no later than midnight, February 11, 2010, U.S. eastern time.

You may send only one entry from an e-mail address. If you have more than one address, you may send one entry from each. If you send multiple entries, please use a different player name for each.

Illegible, irrational, or improperly formatted entries will be discarded.

Entries containing libelous, scurrilous, or scandalous text will be discarded.

ALB Albania

ALG Algeria

AND Andorra

ARG Argentina

ARM Armenia

AUS Australia

AUT Austria

AZE Azerbaijan

BLR Belarus

BEL Belgium

BER Bermuda

BIH Bosnia-Herzegovina

BRA Brazil

BUL Bulgaria

CAN Canada

CHI Chile

CHN China

CRO Croatia

CYP Cyprus

CZE Czech Republic

DEN Denmark

EST Estonia

ETH Ethiopia

FIN Finland

FRA France

GEO Georgia

GER Germany

GBR Great Britain

GRE Greece

HKG Hong Kong

HUN Hungary

ICE Iceland

IND India

IRI Iran

IRE Ireland

ISR Israel

ITA Italy

JAM Jamaica

JPN Japan

KEN Kenya

KAZ Kazakhstan

PRK N Korea

KOR S Korea

KGZ Kyrgyzstan

LAT Latvia

LIE Liechtenstein

LTU Lithuania

LUX Luxembourg

MKD Macedonia

MAD Madagascar

MEX Mexico

MDA Moldova

MON Monaco

MGL Mongolia

MAR Morocco

NEP Nepal

NED Netherlands

NZL New Zealand

NOR Norway

PAK Pakistan

PER Peru

POL Poland

POR Portugal

ROM Romania

RUS Russia

SMR San Marino

SEN Senegal

SCG Serbia-Montenegro

SVK Slovakia

SLO Slovenia

RSA South Africa

ESP Spain

SWE Sweden

SUI Switzerland

TJK Tajikistan

THA Thailand

TUR Turkey

UKR Ukraine

USA United States

ISV US Virgin Islands

UZB Uzbekistan

VEN Venezuela

Medals Won in 2006

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

Germany 11 12 6 29

USA 9 9 7 25

Canada 7 10 7 24

Austria 9 7 7 23

Russia 8 6 8 22

Norway 2 8 9 19

Sweden 7 2 5 14

Switzerland 5 4 5 14

South Korea 6 3 2 11

Italy 5 0 6 11

China 2 4 5 11

France 3 2 4 9

Netherlands 3 2 4 9

Finland 0 6 3 9

Czech Republic 1 2 1 4

Estonia 3 0 0 3

Croatia 1 2 0 3

Australia 1 0 1 2

Poland 0 1 1 2

Ukraine 0 0 2 2

Japan 1 0 0 1

Belarus 0 1 0 1

Bulgaria 0 1 0 1

Great Britain 0 1 0 1

Slovakia 0 1 0 1

Latvia 0 0 1 1

Giorgio di Centa of Italy won the 50-kilometer men's
cross-country ski event in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 11.8 seconds.

For information about events and schedules in Vancouver, visit the official website of the 2010 Winter Olympics:

Thanks to ARG! Cartoon Animation for the graphics!

	Unskilled and Unknowing will receive a toy goldfish. This battery-operated "swimming fish" (as opposed to the kind that speed-skates or "drops into the half-pipe") comes from Hamley's Toy Store on London's famous Regent Street.

M. Leith will receive a pair of "Cube World" animated stick-figure cubes from Edmund Scientific in Tanawanda, NY, USA. Their description of these gizmos may persuade you that they are truly better than the third-place prize.		Canuck Yuk Yuk will receive this Sudoku puzzle cube from... oh, let's say "Canada, eh," although we're not really sure where it came from, and like the other prizes it was manufactured in China and is not suitable for children younger than 3 years of age.