The Spirit of Competition was an event that occurred between August 8-24, 2008 (coinciding with the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China).
Throughout the event, the Spirit of Competition was randomly mailed to victorious players in any PvP battleground. It was said to be a 1 in 8 chance as long as you won any battleground within that time period. I had to win a few matches before I received mine. The tabard was a lot easier to obtain.
The commoners in the capital cities offered the following information when you spoke to them:
Every two years the Spirits of Competition grow especially fervent… and now is that time! We wear this tabard into the Battlegrounds to honour them, seeking to defeat our enemies and earn their favour.
Q: How do I earn a Competitor’s Tabard?
A: You need only face our rivals in any of the Battlegrounds. Win or lose, if you stay for the duration of the battle, you will be mailed a Competitor’s Tabard.Q: How can I gain the favour of a Spirit of Competition?
A: You must defeat our rivals in any of the Battlegrounds. With every victory, there is a chance that a Gold Medallion will be mailed to you.
Achieving either of these, you would receive the following in-game mail:
Competitor’s Tabard
You fought bravely in a battleground and impressed the Spirits of Competition… Well done! As a reward, you have been gifted with this mark of favour; a Competitor’s Tabard. Wear it proudly.Gold Medallion
You have honoured the Spirits of Competition with your fervour in the face of the enemy. Congratulations! With this Gold Medallion, they will be proud to be seen at your side.
If Blizzard re-introduces the event for the upcoming London Olympics, it may very well be a corgi pet (as some people have speculated) as the last pet followed the theme of the hosting country.
You would have seen one if you ventured into the Greench’s cave last Winter Veil so if it does happen, I could see the tabard coming back again. I’d love to see a corgi pet representing the London Olympics. I’m sure a certain blogger would love it as well.
Did you manage to get both items last time? Maybe you’ve switched mains since then or started playing sometime after… if that’s the case this might be an excellent opportunity to get a unique tabard and pet.
Time will tell…
Hmmm? My memory fails at the moment and I’ve switched mains and servers several times over since. :)
I’ll have to make sure the Horde crew keeps an eye out for this. Thanks for the heads up!
So jealous of your tabard and pet! Wonderful picture, Cymre.
A Corgi? Hmm! I wouldn’t complain at all. Very cute idea for a pet.. well better than my vision of having a tea kettle or crumpet pet :)
I wish I hadn’t ignored the event at the time, hopefully there will be another!
I started playing WoW in August 2008….I wish I had known about this before and/or was more prepared to get one, lol. What a noob!
Your Sage’s pants look great with that tabard! I hope there will be a cool thing for the Olympics this year!
I wasn’t playing WOW back then and am so upset I missed this pet because it is just gorgeous!! I like the tabard too. I do hope they do something special this year too!