Sidus Dei Ludos
See also: Sidus Dei Ludos (classical) and Sidus Dei Ludos (1800's)
The Sidus Dei Ludos (SDL), also known as the Sidus Dei Ludos Games, is an international sporting and athletics competition, featuring professional and amateur athletes from all 32 countries on Venturia. These athletes compete in a variety of events and competitions, 45 total as of 2020, to earn medals for their home country. There are two different Sidus Dei Ludos games, the Summer Sidus Dei Ludos and the Winter Sidus Dei Ludos. The SDL competition was founded in 1511 primarily by Protectinate Jason Mennothis II, the ruler of the Protectorates of Allia at the time. The classical games were held only a dozen times, and the distance between countries along with the cost of the competition meant it was difficult to administrate. The final real games were held in 1742, and in 1800 the classical games were officially cancelled. Revived again in 1834, the games went for 16 years until cancelled again. Finally, in 1916 Quentinian Daniel Stevenson revived the games, which have been held regularly since. Each variation of the games is held every two years, meaning the Winter SDL have been held on odd years, and the Summer Games on even years. However, the Sidus Dei Ludos Administrative Committee announced in 2015 that the games will be stretched out to a distance of every four years for each variation.
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History
The Sidus Dei Ludos were founded in 1511 by Protectinate Jason Mennothis II. He founded the games as a way to bring countries of Venturia closer together, and celebrate the similarities that each country had. Many historians also speculate that Mennothis created the games as a sneaky way of trying to reconcile the former Protectorates of The Allian Empire and bring them back in, after the dissolving of the empire in 1500. Whatever his reasons, 6 countries, Allia, The United Lands of Southia, Bymaria, Carkhia, Docneighland, Triladar, and The Empire of the New Dawn met in 1511 for the first ever games, including 4 events, running, shooting, strength, and fencing. The first ever champion was Allia, and the 6 countries had the games on and off again, adding Punctinaturalland, Lindsaya, and Telembria as new countries, until 1800, when the games were cancelled.
In 1834, the games were revived once more, with countries this time including The United States of Quentin, Allia, Punctinaturalland, Carkhia, Bymar, Docneighland, Vidgmar, Telembria, and The United Villages of Southia. The games continued on, on again and off again, until 1860. That is when numerous countries withdrew over division because of the expansion of the Republic of Megatridimensional Order. The Sidus Dei Ludos were cancelled, and with the onset of The Great Venturian War, the games started to fade from memory. After the war, however, they were once again revived by Quentinian Daniel Stevenson. He believed that, to prevent another war, the countries needed ties to each other, and friendly relationships through sports. The games were then founded, and continued on annually, like today, to present day.
Events and Differences Between Summer and Winter
Summer Sidus Dei Ludos
Main article: Summer Sidus Dei Ludos
The Summer Sidus Dei Ludos are held every two years, traditionally from July 1st to July 21st. There are currently 35 events at the Summer SDL, and the medal leader at the sports is the United States of Quentin. Modern participants of the Summer SDL include every country in the world, except the Northern Patrons of Ice and the United Villages of Southia. Since 1916, there has been a Summer SDL every 2 years. There have been numerous host cities in the past, decided upon by the Sidus Dei Ludos Administrative Committee (SDLAC).
Each time the Summer SDL come around, in all 35 events there are 3 medals, given to participants for how well they did. The rankings are diamond medal, gold medal, and silver medal, with diamond being highest and going down in value. The Summer SDL are widely watched around the world, viewed by around 4.1 billion people from around the globe every year.
Winter Sidus Dei Ludos
Main article: Winter Sidus Dei Ludos
The Winter SDL are held alternating years from the Summer, every two years. Held traditionally from December 1st to December 14th, they started in 1917, and have continued to this day. Currently there are 12 events at the Winter Sidus Dei Ludos, and host cities always must be in cold climates with regularly cold weather during the winter to accommodate for some of these events.
Every country in the world participates in the Winter SDL except the United Villages of Southia, since they dropped out in 2003. The rankings for awards are the same, however one team will also receive the Ceremonial Ice Rock, an award for the best overall competitor in the games every year. There have also been many Winter SDL host cities, and the games are viewed by nearly 2.6 billion people per year.
Sidus Dei Ludos Administrative Committee
The Sidus Dei Ludos Administrative Committee is the governing body of the games, made up of 2 delegates from each of the member countries and funded by the Venturian Bureau of Recreation. The committee is an essential part of the games, both because of the responsibility of deciding where the games will be held and because of the ability to determine which events, athletes, or even countries are included in the year's games. The committee was founded in 1918, however gained much of its real power after The Greater Venturian War and the founding of The Venturian Union.
