View source for Comm-Link:AremisPost - The Cargolympics Return

{{Infobox commlink
|title = AREMIS POST - The Cargolympics Return
|image = Comm-Link-Cargolympics.jpg
|url = https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/14443-AREMIS-POST-The-Cargolympics-Return
|type = Spectrum Dispatch
|publicationdate = 2015-01-15
|series = Aremis Post
}}

==THE [[Cargolympics|CARGOLYMPICS]] RETURN==

''By [[Sean Nazawa]]''

[[New Corvo|NEW CORVO]], [[Aremis|AREMIS]], [[Vega system|VEGA]] – For three days every year, the spotlight shines bright on a part of everyday life that we may not normally consider that glamorous: cargo loading. This Friday marks the 15th annual [[Cargo Handler’s Association]] [[Cargolympics]].

The event, staged for the 5th year in a row at the beautiful [[New Corvo]] bayside [[Port Authority Center]], is a triumphant celebration of all things cargo and cargo related. What was once a friendly competition between a few landing zone workers has blossomed over the years into a not-to-be-missed event attended by over 200,000 live spectators, in addition to close to a million [[Spectrum|spectrum]] viewers tuning in from every corner of [[Vega system|Vega]].

“Seeing hardworking people getting the chance to show off what they do day in and day out is something truly spectacular, and I think something that we can all cheer for,” commented [[Grigo Chay]], CEO of [[Stor-All]], the most recent company to join the growing list of [[Cargolympics]] corporate sponsors. “I thought I knew everything our line of quality storage containers could do, but watching [[Terri Santos]] stack 57 of our Model A’s on top of each other in under a minute last year, well, that was something else. I cannot wait to see what records are broken this year.”

[[Stor-All]] will be joining with longtime sponsor [[Torreele Foodstuffs]] to present the music- and pyrotechnic-filled opening spectacular, titled “Full Haul, Full Heart” and presided over by celebrity artist [[Ellroy Cass]]. In addition, this year’s ceremonial items, representing the virtues of courage, strength and speed, will be revealed alongside the three school children who submitted them to [[Cargo Handler's Association|C.H.A.]]’s selection committee. The items will be loaded into the [[Golden Crate]] while the [[Aremis Militia Marching Band]] performs a stirring rendition of “[[Vega for All]].”

With last year’s record-breaking title-holder [[Terri Santos]] retiring, many have begun speculating who will become this year’s reigning [[Cargo Champ]]. With representatives from 6 systems competing in over 25 events, the field of competition has grown wider than ever before, with special attention being paid to the longstanding rivalry between [[New Corvo]] and nearby [[Titus]]. Will this finally be the year when [[Titus]] gets payback for the staggering [[Raw Materials Relay]] defeat they suffered at the [[2939]] games, or will hometown favorite [[Nella Tweed]] be able to lead her team to another victory?

[[Nella Tweed]], 41, has participated in the [[Cargolympics]] since they began and says her best years are still ahead. “I’ve been working at [[The Parking Lot]] (a local landing zone) for as long as I can remember, and even back before the games were really a thing, me and the crew use to push each other to see who could pull cargo the fastest, who could fit an extra [[SCU]] into a hold, who could knock over a stack of pods with a single grav-lift. That last one was off the clock of course. It was a way to make the days go by faster, a way to have some pride in what we were doing, but now, to be honest, sometimes I think of the job more as training for the games really than anything else.”

It is easy to see why, in a profession filled with rush orders, impatient captains and angry traders, the [[Cargolympics]] have come to mean so much. Too often cargo handlers are treated no better than the mech loading arms they toil beside, but for these three days a year we get to honor these hardworking individuals and show that we appreciate their unique skills and talents.

“When you’re dealing with cargo containers and pods of different sizes, containing various weights and hazardous materials, it can be a real challenge to not only fit everything aboard a ship but add on top of that making sure that it can be properly accessed, and then easily unloaded at its final destination. That’s not the easiest thing. Face it,” says [[Cargo Handler's Association|C.H.A.]] president [[Blaine Hadley]], “this is a skilled job, and I for one am glad that we get to not only show the ’Verse just how skilled, but we get to have a heck of a lot of fun in the process.”