The Iridium Games.

[ottarrus]

Better have ships with large dedicated training facilities, so that all of the athletes can maintain their skills. Otherwise, the hosting sector is going to wipe the floor every other opponent.

Well, in Mongoose's version of Trillion Credit Squadron, there was a naval recreation ship... A cruiser-sized vessel designed to give crews a bit of shore leave while on long deployments. It not only included the expected bars, nightclubs, and theaters but also large biosphere areas, exercise facilities, libraries, etc. And all operating at Fleet Strategic Mobility of J-4, 5G.
It's not too hard to imagine such a ship commissioned by the [Sector Name] Iridium Games Committee that transports that Sector's team to Capital for the Games. It would likely have lower maneuver performance but keep the Jump rating. And best of all, it would probably not have to come out of the Imperial budget. You could get the various nobles, corporations, and other entities to sponsor the whole package.

 

[collins355]

Maybe have Sector or Domain games once a year, and then once a decade have the Big Show?

 

[MasterGwydion]

Well, in Mongoose's first version of High Guard, there was a naval recreation ship... A vessel designed to give crews a bit of shore leave while on long deployments. It not only included the expected bars, nightclubs, and theaters but also large biosphere areas, exercise facilities, libraries, etc. And all operating at Fleet Strategic Mobility of J-4, 5G.
It's not too hard to imagine such a ship commissioned by the [Sector Name] Iridium Games Committee that transports that Sector's team to Capital for the Games. It would likely have lower maneuver performance but keep the Jump rating. And best of all, it would probably not have to come out of the Imperial budget. You could get the various nobles, corporations, and other entities to sponsor the whole package.

Expensive, but doable. Ship would take over two years round trip from Tobia and costing likely around 1MCr per month, not including mortgage and still wouldn't be able to fit the whole team from one subsector. How many subsectors are there in the 3I? I bet you'd spend almost a trillion credits just in transport costs.

 

[ottarrus]

Expensive, but doable. Ship would take over two years round trip from Tobia and costing likely around 1MCr per month, not including mortgage and still wouldn't be able to fit the whole team from one subsector. How many subsectors are there in the 3I? I bet you'd spend almost a trillion credits just in transport costs.

The way I envision it is that athletes would travel to site of the Sector Games themselves [insert sponsors here]. The winners of the Sector Games would then load up on the Sector Iridium Games Committee ship together as a floating Olympic Village and travel to Capital training all the way. Aboard the ship would be top flight training, medical, and rehab facilities so the athletes would be in top condition [mentally and physically] for the Iridium Games.
Now, it's about the same time from the three Spinward Marches host worlds [Mora, Regina, Rhylanor], about 37 J-4 jumps. That's about 74 weeks, a year and a half. Imperial possessions in the Trojan Reach are nothing if not a 'rump province', so they'd be folded in with the Spinward Marches team. It would work the same way for the two small Imperial zones in the Glimmerdrift Reaches... one going with the Ley Sector team and the other with the Delphi team.
So let's say that the Subsector Games are one year, everybody travels to the Sector Games site and competes, that's another year. A year and a half to get to Capital, so 3.5 years. So yeah, the Iridium games would work on a 5 year schedule.
[NOTE: I presume that the ship would be doing the standard 'week in Jump, week onworld' routine -- after all, this isn't a Naval courier].

 

[Geir]

Expect for team sports, you could run it virtually. Make everyone compete in an artificial venue with the same gravity and atmosphere, then upload the results to a central location to determine the winner. Team sports you can do regional competitions and only have to send the winners one sector over until two teams make it all the way to Capital.

 

[ottarrus]

Expect for team sports, you could run it virtually. Make everyone compete in an artificial venue with the same gravity and atmosphere, then upload the results to a central location to determine the winner. Team sports you can do regional competitions and only have to send the winners one sector over until two teams make it all the way to Capital.

That's not a bad idea but it lacks a certain agency and drawing power of actual athletes on the same field competing together. That 'internationalist' feel that the Olympics provide, know what I mean?
And physical presence would significantly reduce the 'the footage and scoring was tampered with' complaints. Not that we don't have those nowadays anyway...

 

[FreeTrav]

Expect for team sports, you could run it virtually. Make everyone compete in an artificial venue with the same gravity and atmosphere, then upload the results to a central location to determine the winner. Team sports you can do regional competitions and only have to send the winners one sector over until two teams make it all the way to Capital.

Rather than "team sports" (which things like Synchronized [Swimming|Skating|etc], relay racing, etc., would qualify as), I think you mean "head-to-head" competition, like Baseball, Rugby, Cricket, Basketball, [Field|Ice] Hockey, Water Polo, Soccer, etc. - where the actions of one team can have a material effect on the performance of the other.

 

[MasterGwydion]

That's not a bad idea but it lacks a certain agency and drawing power of actual athletes on the same field competing together. That 'internationalist' feel that the Olympics provide, know what I mean?
And physical presence would significantly reduce the 'the footage and scoring was tampered with' complaints. Not that we don't have those nowadays anyway...

I doubt that this would help since anyone not on Capital, will be getting recorded footage.

 

[MasterGwydion]

Expect for team sports, you could run it virtually. Make everyone compete in an artificial venue with the same gravity and atmosphere, then upload the results to a central location to determine the winner.

This would basically just be recording their training session and using it as a "competition" session. If you are not in front of a live audience, it is not a sporting event. Heck, they even have live audiences for chess tourneys. Also, if you have a live audience and they have to wait weeks, months, or years to find out who won? No. No one would do this.

Team sports you can do regional competitions and only have to send the winners one sector over until two teams make it all the way to Capital.

 

[Geir]

Rather than "team sports" (which things like Synchronized [Swimming|Skating|etc], relay racing, etc., would qualify as), I think you mean "head-to-head" competition, like Baseball, Rugby, Cricket, Basketball, [Field|Ice] Hockey, Water Polo, Soccer, etc. - where the actions of one team can have a material effect on the performance of the other.

Yes, that.

 

[Geir]

This would basically just be recording their training session and using it as a "competition" session. If you are not in front of a live audience, it is not a sporting event. Heck, they even have live audiences for chess tourneys. Also, if you have a live audience and they have to wait weeks, months, or years to find out who won? No. No one would do this.

They would if they could compete against a bunch of people on their own world. The winner and winning time (if it was, say a race) its passed forward. Maybe a medal for the fastest 100 metres on Rhylanor.

Or like the 'head-to-head' (clearer, because yes, it could also be 1:1) thing, roll up World -> Subsector->Sector->Domain-> Imperium and not so many people need to travel. Plus the contests could take the most of the period between news of the winners at Capital (who should high-tail it out of there, back to their homeworlds weighted down with medals and/or memorabilia to start the process again) and the start of the next competition.

(Later scholars would determine that the size limitation of the Third Imperium was that which prevented athletes from cycling through the Iridium Games every four years)

 

[ottarrus]

@Geir Well travel is part of the goal. The athletes will see far, FAR more of the Imperium than most citizens. The Games would serve to bind the different Domains together as people, not just oaths.
Given that this is one of Strephon's goals, it seems to me that this is a worthwhile thing to spend credits on.

 

[MasterGwydion]

@Geir Well travel is part of the goal. The athletes will see far, FAR more of the Imperium than most citizens. The Games would serve to bind the different Domains together as people, not just oaths.
Given that this is one of Strephon's goals, it seems to me that this is a worthwhile thing to spend credits on.

I agree that it is a worthy goal, but an entire Frontier War happens start to finish before Capital even found out that it started. Communication has always been a problem.

 

[Condottiere]

Gladiatorial combat.

With mechs.


Those about to fry, pollute you!

 

[G'Naakbusters]

Given all these logistical issues we're dealing with, organizing the games successfully can itself be an event. A panel of Vilani administrators and Bwap bureaucrats will judge the overall performance, and the sector or domain that manages to best achieve some level of actual coordination gets the gold.

 

[Geir]

Given all these logistical issues we're dealing with, organizing the games successfully can itself be an event. A panel of Vilani administrators and Bwap bureaucrats will judge the overall performance, and the sector or domain that manages to best achieve some level of actual coordination gets the gold.

Given who's in charge, it would be more like some dog shows. Form over function.

"That pole vaulter did not use the correct technique so it matters not that they cleared the bar ten centimetres higher than the other competitors."

And then there are the categories:
"And the Gold Medal, for Weightlifting, Virushi, Female, 1050kg class goes to... well, she calls herself 'Bob'."

 

[ottarrus]

I agree that it is a worthy goal, but an entire Frontier War happens start to finish before Capital even found out that it started. Communication has always been a problem.

I don't necessarily see the Iridium Games as being a new initiative. It could just as easily be something that an earlier Emperor/ress started and has a long tradition. I could see Arbellatra starting the Games in an effort to return to normalcy after the Civil War, or either Paula II or Tomutova II after the Psionic Suppressions.

 

[ottarrus]

Another 'sort-of-segue' question.
The Starburst for Extreme Heroism is a medallion made of iridium.
So would the winner of an Iridium Games event get an Iridium Medal or would the Games keep the Olympics format of Gold/Silver/Bronze medals?
There are good 'Traveller-logic' arguments either way on that one.

 

[MasterGwydion]

Another 'sort-of-segue' question.
The Starburst for Extreme Heroism is a medallion made of iridium.
So would the winner of an Iridium Games even get an Iridim Medal or would the Games keep the Olympics format of Gold/Silver/Bronze medals?
There are good 'Traveller-logic' arguments either way on that one.

Iridium, Gold, Silver. Bronze is for barbarians. lol

 

[Condottiere]