Bachelor Nation is synonymous with poolside bikini lounging, — but warm weather isn't the only kind of paradise. The Bachelor Winter Games are taking friendly romantic competition to a colder climate at a cozy ski resort. How do the Bachelor Winter Games competitions work, exactly? It's basically like a cross between and a snow day and field day for reality stars, with a dash of ABC glamour.
Contestants have been invited to participate from all over the world — that's right, there are rose ceremonies in Japan, China, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany, and the United Kingdom as well as the ol' US of A.
According to an official ABC press release, here's how things will work:
"The bachelors and bachelorettes will participate in challenges from winter biathlon to ice dancing, with date cards being given to the winners of each challenge. Romantic dates will test the bachelors’ and bachelorettes’ perseverance in pursuing relationships with one another while faced with language barriers and cultural differences, including some amusing issues with intimacy."
The official description for the premiere episode explains further how these "date cards" work on the show. "Only the male and female winners will be awarded a date card and the opportunity to ask a potential love interest on a romantic escapade." However, watch out, because the description for Episode 2 teases that date cards can be sprung on the contestants by surprise — and not just be a winner's choice.
How does elimination work on the show? Folks will be sent home, but the actual process is not quite clear. The press materials reveal that the elimination rules leave "alliances to be made and romance to be had if anyone wants a chance to stay in the game" and that new announcements/twists send people "scrambling in order to avoid being sent home." Interesting. It's worth noting that the press site has images of contestants filling out slips of paper while dressed in their rose ceremony outfits. Maybe they vote people in or out?
As for day to day or episode to episode operations, it seems like winter sports in the morning, dates in the evening. Or something along those lines. It's real sports, too, with speed skating, biathalon, and ice dancing lined up as competitive events. Plus emotions, because Bachelor.
Haven't you always thought that the one thing Chris Harrison needed was more scarves and a heavier coat (and a winter beard)? It's always weird to see celebrities outside of the mild climate bubble that California provides.
The way this show works changed the environment on set, according to the cast. "It was fun because the activities broke stuff up a little more," Team USA member and Nation favorite Ashley Iaconetti told People. "It wasn’t just lounging around and drinking and eating all day."
In order to maintain safety (and coordination) while performing athletic feats, Ashley told People that the cast didn't drink until the sun went down. “Everybody was cool," said fellow contestant Eric Bigger in the same interview. "Everybody was open, everybody was just free. It was a good time.” So it's a little like Bachelor Pad, a little like Paradise, and a little like regular old dates on Bachelor or Bachelorette.
There will not, however, be any Bachelor Winter Games proposals — at least according to Entertainment Tonight. "Our hope was that we would at least have a relationship,” Chris Harrison said in an interview. “We dialed our expectations back just a little bit… but I think we exceeded our expectations.” The time frame is tough, and while Harrison said that the show is about relationships over competition, this incarnation of the franchise is more about bringing people from all of the Bachelor shows around the world together to meet and compete. The Games begin Feb. 13.
