Difference between revisions of "Fen Sports"

Revision as of 13:03, 17 July 2010

There are many sports in Fenspace - some brought along from Earth and adapted to the local conditions, a few created out of whole cloth, and many lifted more-or-less intact from fiction.

One of the ones adapted from an Earth sport is the Armstrong Day Classic, a treacherous 5,000 kilometer off-road rally through the most dangerous ranges of the Moon. As the name implies, it's run every July 20.

Asteroid Racing

Main article: Asteroid Racing

Asteroid Racing was the first Fen sport.

Astroball

Main article: Astroball

Astroball is a team space-based game, once described by a BNF in the VVS as "somewhere between quidditch, soccer, and demolition derby, and a hell of a lot of fun." It's based loosely on the game of the same name from the anime Stellvia of the Universe.

The "Golden Age Superman Marathon"

Played on Luna and taking advantage of the low gravity of as-yet-unfinished Lunar bases, this involves "leaping tall buildings in a single bound." This isn't often literally the case, but the same sorts of folks who dash across the tops of 'danelaw buildings in New York and Paris just love the wuxia movie feeling of roof-hopping in 1/6 G.

King of Fen-ers

Many AIs' favourite sport, "KoFen" is a virtual-reality fighting game that from the outside bears remarkable similarities to various coin-op and console platform fighting games. Matches are held in cyberspace - participants either use neural induction helmets (if meat-type sentients) or jack in (if electronic-type sentients). Humanoid participants may provide avatars of themselves, while any player can use a character from at an assortment of CRPG and FPS games. The Cyber Confederation maintains the servers and takes care of any problems with scale. (KoFen is the only venue where Safety and Wave Convoy could fight hand-to-hand, or stand face-to-face.)

Competition matches are divided into three classes, based on how the competitors would handle being shot in the gut. Class 3 approximates "fall on the floor and begin bleeding to death," 2 is more of "cringe at the big welt," and 1 is "either basically not notice or dodge it." The servers are programmed to damp out the virtual effects of any killing blows, regardless.

KoFen opened for play in late 2013.

The Port Phobos Invitational

The Port Phobos Invitational is an annual "sporting" event that started during one of the victory celebrations at the end of the Boskone war. A large group of OGJ soldiers from almost every faction were celebrating in Mars orbit when someone (no one remembers, or admits to who) started a brawl.

It eventually degenerated into a two-day-long battle involving 'waved nerf guns, foam swords and every non-lethal weapon in the Fen's arsenal. When it was all over the participants said, "that was fun, let's do it again! ... Once the bruises heal."

Little has changed since that first day. The Port Phobos Invitational is a multi-day war of shifting, treacherous alliances fought to the last laugh with the silliest weapons in known space, where the last crew or person (you expect Pirates not to back stab you when it's all in the name of fun?) standing wins. With the exception of the personal quarters of those not involved and critical areas of the station, there are no bounds, and no time outs.

Quidditch

Main article: Quidditch

The Wizards' favourite sport, based on the game from the Harry Potter stories.

The Solar Regatta

A challenging race for the larger fencraft, with a course that transits the orbits of all the classically-known planets and has required "navigational hazards" checkpoints. There are several divisions, but in general nothing smaller than a Type B Motorhome has ever competed, due to the distances involved.

AIs are specifically prohibited from taking part in smaller ships for safety reasons.

The Trekkies sponsor an annual Solar Regatta, awarding the Federation Cup to the winner.

Zero-G Gymnastics

Also known as "stardancing"

This is the most peaceful of the Fen sports, and the favourite of many Fen in the Heinlein Society. It's been likened to a combination of ballet, tai chi chu'an, and rhythmic gymnastics; team performances add elements of synchronized swimming. Judges award points for perfection of form, originality of routine, and grace of movement.

Jeanne's Dance is held every May 30 to commemorate the passing of the First Stardancer. All are welcome to take part.

Winry Rockbell is the best-known solo zero-g gymnast - her growing fame has popularized the sport she practices for relaxation.