A&S Competitions

[STDDLY at TINY_TIM.SHSU.EDU]

A & S competitions are useful. It gives people a forum to see how to 
improve their work. It also gives people whom do not necessarily wish 
to display or be judged a chance to learn from those who do. It also 
gives a signal to the Laurels and others that a person wants to 
progress publically and to be awarded for their accomplishment.

Laurels do look for and encourage work. They don't want to be pushy 
and possibly chase people away from A & S endeavours, which is what 
happens more often than not if they ask questions about something 
someone is working on. They also do not want to be seen as hounding 
people or for being authenticity nazis as many people with peer-fear 
in our kingdom wish to believe.

I do not think everyone should compete in A & S. Nor should every 
thing relating to A & S be a competition. Nor should you have to 
compete or display to get an award. It just makes it easier when 
someone is reccommended for an award to be able to say "yes, I saw 
that in X competition or display I think they need the award"   

There are a large number of people out there doing high quality work 
who leave it at home. Or give it to friends to hang on walls. This 
work never gets into an SCA forum where people who could reccommend
awards (not that anyone cannot, but rank does have its weight).

Case in point I have a friend who is a high level commercial potter. 
A few people think she should get a thistle. The problem lies in that 
she does not bring her pottery into the SCA at all. The thistle is an 
SCA award for excellence in a field.  Why award it if it is not 
enriching the SCA?
 
Lorraine DeerSlayer