Firan Olympics

From FiranMUX

Contents 1 Overview 2 The Events 3 Scoring 4 Rules 5 Organization 6 Prizes 7 Results

Overview

The Firan Olympics are held in Anarinuell once every three years during the month of January. Like the Fall Festival and Spring Festival, Clans set aside their differences and compete in games of sport and athleticism. Unlike the festivals, however, there is no "Olympic peace" and the Olympics have been postponed or held during war twice: 33 A.U, when they were postponed six months, and in 36 A.U. when the Griffons, Gold Dragons, and Bears were involved in conflict. Indeed, the Olympics are a recent invention; the first were held in 19 A.U. by decree of Ranivor Elianos Elianik.

The Olympics themselves consist of twenty events. Clans are given points according to their placing in each event and the team with the most points at the end of the Olympics is crowned the winner. The winning clan is given a two-day celebration, paid for by the Republic, has its share of the Olympic prize funds paid for by the Republic next Olympics, a grand trophy to display how they wish, and, perhaps most importantly, bragging rights over the other clans for three years. All clans prize Olympic victory and being chosen as an Olympian for a clan is seen as a great honor by some.

The Events

Long Jump		Competitors are given three jumps. The competitor who jumps the farthest without fouling wins the event.
Javelin Toss		Competitors are given three tosses. The competitor who throws the farthest without his throw landing foul wins the event.
Hammer Game		Competitors are given three whacks. The competitor who makes the ball go the highest wins the event.
Race		Competitors race on the track for 270 yards. The first to cross the finish line wins the event.
Wrestling		This is a double-elimination tournament. Competitors wrestle one another to fifteen points. The winner of the tournament wins the event.
Tug O' War		This is a double-elimination tournament. Competitors pull on a rope and try to drag each other through the mud. The winner of the tournament wins the event.
Boxing		This is a double-elimination tournament. Competitors, wearing only a tunic, fight until one yields or falls unconscious. The winner of the tournament wins the event.
Sword Fighting		This is a double-elimination tournament. Competitors bring their own swords and armor and fight one-on-one until one falls. The winner of the tournament wins the event.
Arm Wrestling		This is a double-elimination tournament. Competitors make three @checks, muscle + reflex, muscle + size, muscle + endurance, all at difficulty 7. The competitor with the most amount of successes wins the round and the winner of the tournament wins the event.
Archery		Competitors fire five arrows at a target from a designated distance. The competitor with the highest score at the end wins the event. If there are ties, shoot-offs occur until there is a clear victor.
Thrown Weapons		Competitors throw five thrown weapons of their choice at the target from a designated distance. The competitor with the highest score at the end wins the event. If there are ties, shoot-offs occur until there is a clear victor.
Tennis		This is a double-elimination event. Tennis is a relatively new sport to the Firans. Competitors are paired up by the Olympic official and face each other on opposite sides of a net. A ball is hit back and forth with racquets until one of the contestants misses or hits the ball out of bounds. The serve alternates between points and the first competitor to reach three points wins.
Battle Royale		Competitors bring their own weapons and armor and fight each other in a grand melee. The only rule is that there can only be a maximum of two competitors engaged to one competitor at any time. The last person standing wins the event.
Triathlon		This event consists of the long jump, race, and tug o' war. Competitors are scored based on their place in each event and the competitor with the highest score after the third event wins.
Pentathlon		This event consists of the race, javelin toss, long jump, hammer game, and sword fighting. Competitors are scored based on their place in each event and the competitor with the highest score after the fifth event wins.
Relay Race		This three-person event consists of each team member running 270 yards, one lap around the track. The first team to have all three racers finish their laps first wins the event.
Team Tug O' War'		This is a double-elimination tournament. Teams of three try to pull on the rope and pull the other team into the mud. The team that wins the tournament wins the event.
Team Battle Royale		Clans form teams of three that bring their own weapons and armor and compete in a grand melee against other teams of three. The last team standing wins the event.
Team Archery/Thrown Weapons		Clans form teams of three. Each competitor fires five arrows or throws five thrown weapons at the target. The team with the highest cumulative score wins the event.
Team Triathlon		Clans compete in teams of three and each participant competes in all three events: the long jump, race, and tug o' war. The rank of each individual in each event is given a score and the team with the highest score at the end of the third event wins.

Scoring

• First place earns the represented clan 10 points.
• Second place earns the represented clan 8 points.
• Third place earns the represented clan 6 points.
• Fourth place earns the represented clan 4 points.
• Fifth place earns the represented clan 3 points.
• Sixth place earns the represented clan 2 points.
• Seventh place earns the represented clan 1 point.
• Eighth place earns the represented clan 0 points.

At the end of the Olympics, the clan with the most points is the winner of the Firan Olympics.

Rules

The Olympics have few rules overall. But there are a few that clans should take special note of:

• One person cannot compete in more than three individual events and three team events for his clan. This means, in theory, that a clan could rely on only five Olympians for all twenty events, but most clans use far more than that.

• When a clan has announced its participants for an event, the participants may be substituted at any time until the clan has participated in a portion of the event. After that, only the announced team may compete for the rest of the event. For example, if the Cockatrice has not yet competed in the Team Tug, they may change their competitors up until they are called to compete in their first round. But once they have competed in the first round, the team may not change for any reason, even if a team member cannot stay for the entire event.

• Team events must consist of three people. If one member of the team becomes unavailable for any reason (idleness, loss of connection, or IC circumstances), the team forfeits the round or event, depending on the circumstances.

• Participants or teams that arrive late may compete, so long as all the other clans have not already finished the event or first round of the event. After that, the clan forfeits the event. If someone knows he is running late, let the Olympic official know. While exceptions cannot always be made, oftentimes the official can arrange so that the late-coming Clan can still compete.

Organization

The Olympic events are run by Republic Scorekeepers. These judges are known for their knowledge of Olympic rules and scoring as well as their firm enforcement of the rules and complete impartiality. Their decisions are final and no appeals can be taken from them.

Each clan appoints an Olympic Coordinator who may take on assistants to help in his or her task. The Olympic Coordinator works to find the best athletes in his clan and put together the Olympic rosters that will determine who will have the chance to compete for the clan. It is often a thankless task; Firan life does not stop for the Olympics and a clan's best athletes are often busy with military or other civic duty preventing them from competing. In addition, the rules that limit the number of events a single competitor can appear in means that Clans will need to find many accomplished athletes instead of relying on just one or two.

Clans find Olympians in different ways. Some are more egalitarian and hold try-outs where the top finishers in each event are selected to represent the clan. Others turn to their known athletes or soldiers and hand-pick them for Olympic glory. Yet others hold meetings where the interested are called together and picked by the coordinator.

Failing to field a team for an event is a massive embarrassment for an entire Clan. Olympic coordinators will avoid this at all costs, to the point of putting non-athletes on the field. Even a last place team is better than no team at all.

Prizes

In addition to the prizes for the clan that wins the Olympics, individual Olympians also receive prizes for their performance. A competitor who places first in an event, or is on a team who places first, receives 100,000 stenis and a gold medal. A competitor places second in an event, or is on a team that places second, receives 25,000 stenis and a silver medal. A competitor who places third in an event, or is on a team that places third, receives 10,000 stenis and a bronze medal. Placing Olympians also receive renown for their accomplishments and their social standing rises accordingly.

In recent years, the Republic has asked medalists to forgo their medals to save the Republic time, metal, energy, and money that could go to the war effort.

Results

Every Olympics, industrious players keep graphs and tables tracking Olympic scores and results. Past results can be found here.