5th Boinc-Pentathlon – Daily Bulletin
Welcome to all my regular readers and all newcomers as this is the Pentathlon-Jubilee.
Our now almost traditional Pentathlon will take place for the 5th year running and is now seen as an established event. A ‘5’ (E) on a German school report would not be readily accepted but at this year’s Pentathlon, it’s a figure we are all too happy to celebrate.
Those of you who believe that the organisers might make it easier for the teams in view of the special anniversary, will be mistaken. Once again, the gods demand sweat, ruined graphic cards, unstable power packs and high electricity costs ahead of the triumph. Once again, teams are facing hard times and only those who sail close to the wind will in the end bring home victory. But Poseidon warns: there will be lots of headwind and high waves, masts will snap, crunch machines fall overboard and here and there, teams will lose their bearings; hopefully, none will come ashore near the Cyclops.
However, the boats haven’t been launched yet. They are being rigged up, rapidly modernised and modified. And most certainly, in a few cases, the altered rule book will be studied.
So that our contestants don’t become too attached to well-loved projects, the organisers have wisely decided that those projects crunched the previous year, will be put on hold this year. A fantastic change, making us engage with new projects which one or other of the teams might not have heard of before.
Last year, Marathon fans were the lucky ones, but this time round, teams skilled in sprint will also have the opportunity at individual success. The new Sprint-Discipline has been shortened to 3 days and will be announced 3 days ahead of the start. This will involve GPU-projects. It is not easy to make predictions as the trusted crystal ball is struggling with its forecasts. Of course, the GPU-giants will have great advantages, but it is also about utilising the existing power. And we have learnt that large and tall does not always equate to fast and quick. Whoever is most successful at this, will achieve great fame as they will be the first winners of the Sprint in the history of the Pentathlon.
Once again, there will be a Marathon this year. Last year, the rankings on the podium matched the overall standings exactly. Will that be repeated this year? Let’s wait and see which project will be lined up for the Marathon. The teams will surely be anticipating the announcement.
Sciences, Mathematics & Co. and Showbag are the 3 disciplines which will complete the competition. They will cover the classic distance of 5 days each and will surely provide some surprises for our 30 teams. It will again be important to steer power at the right time to the right place.
You will surely ask yourselves: Who will be able to prevent P3D achieve a hattrick? Will SETI.USA succeed in claiming overall victory at last? Will Team China win their first medal this year?
It’s all possible, but then again, it could all end so very differently. Seti.Germany, especially, will be rearing to go, after not having achieved their goals last year. But Czech National Team and Team China should not just be counted in the individual disciplines, they could be causing havoc with the favourites, like AF, P3D,SG and SUSA.
Looking at the last few years, it wasn’t just exciting at the top. Small but fast teams were constantly able to antagonize the large teams and have made important contributions to the overall results. We expect some memorable action in this year’s event too.
Can you feel it already? Are your CPUs and GPUs waiting for the ultimate challenge? You can take it from me, they are rearing to go. Therefore, leave the safe harbour, rig the sails and let your face feel wind and rain! Race start is 05.05. with corresponding updates in the daily bulletin!
There’s only one thing left to say:
As you can see, it will be exciting in the Boinc-Pentathlon