[Ansteorra-announce] ADA, Sites, and the SCA

[Erik Langhans]

I was in the process of creating a reply to this topic and interestingly enough as I was crafting my response I got an email from my predecessor Mistress Clarissa.  I ended up melding the two emails together.  Great minds and all that.

As has been said, the Kingdom tries to be as accommodating as possible when it come to the ADA.  But it is ultimately the site owner's responsibility to ensure that the site meets the standards and guidelines of the ADA and not the SCA's responsibility.  Branches of Ansteorra do not have the requirement to meet all the needs of the disabled. This is impossible to do so.  It is not always possible to have an event where everything is close together, has no stairs or has no holes in the ground etc etc.  SCA camping in particular is not normally held at modern campgrounds with graded roads, and developed camp sites and so forth.  The bottom line is that event and camp sites are harder and harder to find and becoming increasingly more expensive.  Many of the site we use are not optimal for those with special needs.

I hear your concerns.  Many if not most of the problems outlined can solved or at least mitigated by talking with the steward prior to the event.  Keep in mind that no steward will be able to take into account all the special needs that the members of our fair society have.   However with advance planning, the person who has those special needs or issues can make the determination of attending the event or not with a simple phone call or email to the steward. People with special requests have always been encouraged to call event stewards ahead of time and I wholeheartedly encourage them to do so. 

If you have specific questions please send them to me directly at seneschal at ansteora.org.  I will be chatting with Sir Alesis our Kingdom legal advisor in more detail regarding this topic.  

Thank you all for your concern and care.   

Modius
Kingdom Seneschal