If a Fleet runs their Fleet Cup per the rules of the Black Sphinx Cup, that Fleet’s winning hypercapable chapter will be eligible to compete in the Black Sphinx Cup against the winners of other Fleet Cups. The single hyper-capable TRMN chapter that is declared the winner of the Black Sphinx Cup, chosen from amongst the winners of all Fleet Cups run in compliance with these rules, will be the sole chapter that year awarded the Navy Wide Excellence Award (Battle “E” with Silver Device), by the First Space Lord, per Naval Directive 16JA-01. All individual Fleet Cup winners will be awarded the Fleet Excellence Award (Battle “E” with Gold Device).

In order for a Fleet Cup to be eligible for Black Sphinx Cup consideration, the Fleet Cup must adhere to the following rules.

• The Fleet Cup must consist of three distinct Challenges, chosen from the approved list.
• The Fleet Cup must consist of three Challenge periods. A Challenges period is a 3 month period where one Challenge is conducted at a time, with buffer for follow up and preparation for the next Challenge.
• The Fleet Cup’s Challenge Periods must adhere to the following schedule:
  • Challenge Period 1: February 15th – May 15th, 2017
  • Challenge Period 2: May 30th – August 30th, 2017
  • Challenge Period 3: September 15th – December 15th, 2017
  • Winner Portfolios due to Office of 1SL: January 15th, 2018
• No extensions for Challenge periods will be permitted.
• Fleet Commanders may choose to repeat the same Challenge for multiple periods.
• Only Full Chapters may participate in the Fleet Cup Challenges. A Full Chapter is defined as any hyper-capable naval unit or LAC under the command of that Fleet’s Fleet Commander. HMSS Greenwich may participate, other stations and pinnaces may not.
• If a Chapter upgrades to a larger vessel between Challenge periods, and retains 90% of their previous crew listed at the end of the previous Challenge, the pervious Challenge win will carry over and be credited to the newly upgraded chapter. If the 90% threshold is not met, the situation will be reviewed and ruled upon by the Staff Intelligence Officer for the First Space Lord and a decision will be made on a case-bycase basis.
• If a Chapter downgrades to a smaller vessel between Challenge periods, their previous Challenge win will carry over and credited to the newly upgraded chapter.
• At the end of EACH Challenge Period, the officially listed CO, XO and Bosun of a participating Chapter must have met their rank testing requirements. Chapters who submit a final Challenge report or submission whose current CO, XO and/or Bosun have not met their rank testing requirements, will be disqualified from the Challenge. It is the responsibility of the Fleet Commander to confirm that these rank testing requirements have been met before declaring a winner for each Challenge, and for the overall Cup.
• Only the activities or contributions of those who are officially listed as members of a specific Chapter on the TRMN Medusa Database may be submitted for that Chapter.
• At the end of Challenge Period 3, a winner of the Fleet Cup is decided in one of two ways:
  • The Chapter that won the most Challenges during the 3 Challenges in the Fleet Cup is declared the winner, or:
  • In the event that no Chapter has won more Challenges than any other, the Fleet Commander compares the winners of all three Challenges and declares a winner of their Fleet Cup.
• The winning Chapter of a Fleet Cup must be awarded the Fleet Excellence Award (Battle “E” with Gold Device) by the Fleet Commander. 

Below is the list of approved Challenges. Specific rules for each Challenge will be provided separately and made available for download from the Office of the First Space Lord. No other Challenges, or modifications to these Challenges, will be permitted in the Black Sphinx Cup. Doing so will eliminate that Fleet from eligibility in the Black Sphinx Cup.

• Gunnery Challenge (Reading): Chapter that submits the most pages read during the Challenge period, wins.
• Grand Alliance Campaign Challenge (Big Cat Rescue fundraising): Chapter that raises the most money for Big Cat Rescue during the Challenge period, wins.
• Reconnaissance Challenge (Geocaching): Chapter that gains the most points, by a combination of officially logging the most Geocache discoveries and creating the most new, officially logged Geocaches, during the Challenge period, wins.
• Civil Affairs Challenge (Community Service): Chapter that logs the most verifiable volunteer service hours at any non-profit of their choice, during the Challenge period, wins.
• Emergency Relief Challenge (Food Drive): Chapter that provides the most food for donation to a local food bank or other food drive, during the Challenge period, wins.
• Public Affairs Challenge (Photo/video Contest): Chapter that creates and submits the best original TRMN cosplay photo or video, during the Challenge period, wins.
• Marksmanship Challenge (Gaming): Chapter that has the highest percentage of their total official crew roster with some level of both pistol and rifle marksmanship awards, by the end of the Challenge period, wins.
• Space Warfare Challenge (SWP Qualifications): Chapter that has the highest percentage of their total official crew roster with the appropriate Space Warfare Pin for their rank, by the end of the Challenge period, wins.
• Training Challenge (Rank/Rating Qualifications): Chapter that has the highest percentage of their total official crew roster trained up to their rank/grade, and at least one technical specialty rating exam of a level that corresponds to their rank/grade, by the end of the Challenge period, wins.
• Physical Training Challenge (Charity Miles Virtual Run): Chapter that logs the most verifiable virtual run miles through the Charity Miles smartphone app, averaged out by total crew size at the end of the Challenge period, wins.

February 15th – May 15th, 2017

• Gunnery Challenge (Reading): Chapter that submits the most pages read during the Challenge period, wins.

Gunnery Challenge rules 2017

May 30th – August 30th, 2017

• Physical Training Challenge (Charity Miles Virtual Run): Chapter that logs the most verifiable virtual run miles through the Charity Miles smartphone app, averaged out by total crew size at the end of the Challenge period, wins.

PT Charity Challenge rules 2017 v3

September 15th – December 15th, 2017

• Emergency Relief Challenge (Food Drive): Chapter that provides the most food for donation to a local food bank or other food drive, during the Challenge period, wins.

Emergency Relief Challenge rules 2017