Amtgard vs. the SCA (was:Re: ANST - How to involve young folk)

[Laury Torrence]

> Catriona Rowley wrote:

> I was sidetracked into Amtgard on my way to the SCA. <SNIP>
> Several friends told me: you don't want to go to the SCA,
> they're all lying, vicious, nasty people. Amtgard is a close-knit group
> of family. Well, after two years of Amtgard, I realized that what they 
> had said about the SCA was actually closer to how Amtgard acted. So I 
> decided to "make the leap". I've yet to go back. It's funny, when I was
> in Amtgard, people talked about others "coming down from the SCA" and 
> people "moving up to the SCA", despite all the negatives they spouted 
> about the SCA.
> Anyhow, the way I see it now is this: when they're kids, they go to
> Amtgard. When they're ready to play with the "grown-ups", they come to 
> the SCA.

An interesting testimonial, and one I've heard from several other Amtgarders.
I also have several younger friends who played in both for quite a while, I think
they tended to feel the same as you. They now play much more regularly with us,
and I get the impression from them that they aren't as interested in playing with
Amtgard as much anymore.  We have done several co-operative efforts at 
Canterbury Faire with the High Fantasy Society, and quite a few of those folks, at
least those who were a bit more mature, enjoyed working with us. They utilized a lot of
our (SCA) customs and regulations, had a similar structure for awarding accolades to
their members, and overall, were pretty neat kids.
Yeah, I've heard the negative stuff from some of them too......we're (SCAers) all a
bunch of stuck-up snobs who couldn't possibly be having fun trying to be "authentic".
But I also heard the other end of the spectrum, with the "moving up/down" phrasing
being used.  I found this to be the most interesting, since several of those who used
that sort of "grading system" the most often, were the ones who seemed the least
interested in the SCA.
Oh well, to each his own...........thank heavens!

HE Caterina
je suis le tenebreux

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