NEW YORK–The prestigious Prize for Simming and Online Role Playing in Memory of Seth Cotis (more commonly known as the Simming Prize) announced its five newest laureates earlier this week: Kathryn Burke, Memory Theta, ‘Souls RPG, 5th Fleet, and USF. An even mix of groups dating from simming’s early days of the 1990’s to some arriving more recently, these latest winners showcase the diversity of today’s simming and online role playing community.
- Kathryn Burke: influential leader of the Theta Fleet club
- Memory Theta: well-known and high-quality game
- ‘Souls RPG: a fantasy canid sim club founded in 2001
- 5th Fleet: a mid-sized Star Trek group launched a few years ago
- USF: a chat-based Star Trek role playing club dating back to 1995
The Simming Prize is presented annually to individuals, role plays, clubs, organizations, and other entities who exemplify service, quality, or dedication or who pioneer new technology or techniques within the simming and online role playing community. It can be for a significant one-time accomplishment or for sustained performance over a period of time. Winners are entitled to use the honorific Simming Prize Laureate.
To date, 102 prizes have been awarded through 94 citations to 91 different entities. People account for 47 prizes, role plays for 11, clubs for 27, organizations for 10, and other entities for seven. The most prizes awarded in a single year is seven, which has happened twice (1999 & 2002). The fewest awards for a single year is one: Erika Rheyan’s posthumous win in 2008.
Federation Sim Fleet claims the most prizes, with three. Nine total winners hail from Federation Sim Fleet, a record shared with Starfleet Legacy Alliance. Other clubs who claim more than three winners within their ranks include Trek Online (five), UFOP: StarBase 118 (four), Independence Fleet (four), and UCIP (four). Eight different groups are home to two winners. Three individuals have won more than one prize: Zappy, Chas Hammer, and Charles Star. Starbase 400 is the only sim with two awards.
The Simming Prize is given in memory of Seth Cotis, a co-founder of Starfleet Legacy Alliance and a long-time leader and supporter of the Simming League. It was originally established in 1999 as a part of the Simming League. It then went through several minor name changes and sponsors, including SimEnc and Ongoing Worlds, over the years before settling in with the current name for the 2013 prizes. The trustee model was also established at that time. The Simming Prize remains one of two major awards within the simming and online role playing community, the other being the Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing.
The Simming Prize recently announced the addition of several new trustees and significant structural changes to its operations to foster more community involvement and wider inclusion. Nominations may be made by anyone at any time through the official Simming Prize website, and all community members in good standing are permitted to serve as judges. The next set of laureates is expected to be announced very soon.