2019 Rhino Beetle Games

The **2019 Rhino Beetle Games** is a series of challenges designed to test the competing Rhino Beetles in various areas that correlate to their real-world survival.  The Rhino Beetle Games are composed of Six Rounds of Elimination to test the participants in various natural Rhino Beetle Skills.  Each round simulates real life situations which Rhino Beetles would experience in the wild.  This is to test each Rhino Beetle's ability to survive in the wild.

Described by Mikey Bustos (creator of AntsCanada) as, "The Olympics meets The Amazing Race, but with a Rhino Beetle twist."

Each round of the Rhino Beetle Games features a different test for the Rhino Beetles. Those who pass the test will be safe from elimination, while those who fail the test will go onto an elimination round.  In the elimination round, the losing Rhino Beetle will be set free, released into their natural environment where they were originally collected as larva.  As for the first-place winner for each round, they will receive extra accommodations and their container / home will be host to the coveted "Pyramid of Hera", (named after one of the female Rhino Beetles that unfortunately passed away for reasons unknown).

As an aside, the tests are designed with the Rhino Beetle's safety in mind.  Under no circumstances will they be placed in a harmful or overly stressful situation. Even during the final Jousting event, it is a natural occurrence for Rhino Beetles to wrestle by trying to knock their opponent off a landmark such as a stick or rock. Thanks to their hard exoskeletons, the losing Rhino Beetle doesn't sustain physical injuries, (let alone die).

The number 1 Rhino Beetle to win all 6 elimination rounds will earn a permanent residence in The Antiverse in a Terrarium named "The Ringo Stadium," along with mating rights to the female Rhino Beetles.

**List of (surviving) Female Rhino Beetles:** (Described as "The Triple A Rhino Beetles")

* Aphrodite
* Artemis
* Athena

The second place overall winner will receive a special consolation price, that remains unspecified at this time.

**The Elimination Rounds / Sporting Events of the Rhino Beetle Games are as follows:**

**Round 1: The Rhino Dive** (Released on YouTube March 5th, 2019. See Sources bellow.)

* The first round tests the rhino beetles' ability to dig into the soil.  Each beetle is given 3 minutes to dig into the soil, or risk moving to the elimination round.  To pass this test, the competing Rhino Beetle Gladiator must dig into the soil and completely submerge themselves before the timer runs out.  The terrarium where the test is held has various obstacles under the soil to challenge the beetles.  To promote fairness and encourage the beetles to dig, this first round was held close to the Rhino Beetle's natural bed time, where their instincts to dig would be strongest, but early enough that they would still have the necessary energy to dig. Poseidon did exceedingly well with a time of 38.27 seconds, which earned him 1st place for this round. Dionysus was in 2nd place with a time of 1 minute and 38.35 seconds while Zeus narrowly avoided the elimination round with a time of 2 minutes and 53.36 seconds. However, all of the other four beetles proceeded to the elimination round.
* The elimination round was in a terrarium decorated with various animal sculptures. All of these sculptures are of predators to rhino beetles, which is meant to be an obstacle and a motivator for beetles that stood still. The first rhino beetle to touch a sculpture is to be eliminated. The beetle that was eliminated by touching a statue was Apollo, after making a dash away from the platform.
* The prize for 1st place was an extra layer of bioactive soils, which were promptly placed in Poseidon's Suite of Sudan.

**Round 2: The Strength Test**

* The second round tests the raw strength of the Gladiators. The round is in a terrarium with a few pieces of driftwood and rock as main components and with moss as a cushion. On top of a clear bowl serving as a pedestal is the platform used in the previous round. However, this instead has three light blue cubes (referred to as boulder bricks) with a total weight of four average-sized rhino beetles. The very bottom brick has an elastic band fixated around it and tied to a pulley wrapping around a driftwood branch. This string pulley is tied to another elastic band to be fastened around the participating Gladiator. The beetle is to climb up another driftwood branch and topple the boulder bricks in 1 minute. The rhino beetle is eliminated if they cannot topple the bricks in that minute or they are pulled backwards and off the branch by the pulley's tension. The first to be tested was Poseidon, who reached fourth place with a time of 18.31 seconds. Hephaestus, the next Gladiator secured first place with a short time of 2.16 seconds. Dionysus subsequently placed in 2nd with an also quick time of 5.44 seconds. On the contrary, Hades was pulled back by the pulley approximately 8 seconds in, placing him in the elimination round. Ares toppled the bricks with a time of 7.52 seconds, placing him in third place. Zeus was also pulled off the log at 14 seconds, making him and Hades the two in the elimination round.
* The elimination round is fashioned after a game of Tug of War. Two elastic bands are tied together with a loop to hold the beetles in on each end. The arena is a oval shaped disk containing a small driftwood branch about as wide as an average rhino beetle. The two beetles in the elimination round must pull to their other side and the first to fall off of the branch is eliminated and released into the wild. Hades and Zeus were introduced into the challenge simultaneously. Hades remained still throughout the entire challenge while Zeus trudged to his end of the branch. He soon fell off, making Hades the remaining Gladiator.

**Round 3: The Amazing Food Race**

* The third round tests the Gladiators' ability to find food. The round is a race to the finish line where beetle jelly will be waiting for them. The beetles will have to make their way to the finish line with guidance to ensure they remain on track and constantly moving forward and the winner who gets to the beetle jelly first wins the Pyramid of Hera this round. A line of beetle jelly juice is also laid down on the track to guide the beetles to the finish line. Hades came in first. Poseidon came in second. Dionysus came in third. Ares came in last.
* There is no elimination round this round. The gladiator who takes the longest to finish or does not finish at all gets eliminated. Ares got eliminated this round.

**Round 4: Stridulation Idol**

**Round 5: The Joust**

**Notes Regarding the Events:**

Within the Antiverse, the 2019 Rhino Beetle Games is aired on "Rocksteady FM" and narrated by DJ VW (male radio voice) and DJ LadyB (female radio voice).

DJ VW announced his favorite to win, Zeus. While DJ LadyB has announced her preference for Hades.

**Sources:**

Episode 1 of the 2019 Rhino Beetle Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSFqsEmgPBE