[Ansteorra] Story from Crown Tourney

[Susan O'Neal]

I was reading my e-mail last night and saw a report about the crown
tournament in Calontir that wasn't that far (my guess is about 70miles
to 100miles in latatude) to the north.  The description of the event
and tournament fought under shade had a completly different discussion
going on.

Ansteorra (Oklahoma and Texas mundanely) weather is legendary and
known worldwide for its extremes.  It means that people other places
have an expectation that we've been through certain things and can
handle them.  Given that, the weather for last weekend could have been
the heat and humidity that we had, of very easily been the rains and
storms we had the days preceding it.  Speaking of safety and what we
fight in, I have no issues with the tournament going on in heat and
humidity that can easily lead to heat exhaustion if the same stays
true and you fight the tounament outside as planned in the rain storm.
 Wars have taken place under such conditions I'm sure as long as there
have been people (I recently read about one during the Civil War that
took place on Bird Creek (just north of Tulsa) in Northkeep).  But if
you are going to move in for the rain, you should also have the option
of moving in for the heat.

The other issue that is key to this discussion has to do with the
accessability of the events and specifically the accessability of all
activities at an event.  I am sure there are many opinions on this
topic, espaccially as time passes for long time players; I won't say
age as it is more a mileage issue.  Speaking for myself, the amount of
effort and wear and tear on my body is by far the biggest limiter on
my SCA participation.  In the past there have even been events that I
'night trip' as opposed to day tripping as I have very little heat
tolerance due to past heat stress illnesses.  It is my dream to one
day get to night trip Lillies on a cool, rainy summer.  I had been
thinking I could make Crown as the time, as it is only 75 or so miles
away, because of the cool, rainy weather and then the forcast changed
to sunny and hot and I knew it wasn't an option for me.

I truely figure that this is one of those situations that there will
never be a solution that will make everyone happy.  I truely respect
that we are a kingdom that others respect for our dependability and
heartiness; we have a reputation and live up to the legends recorded
in our songs and stories.  I just hope we continue to have a wide
variety of activities and events that are also friendly to those of us
who's actions are limited by health issues.  I've always found that
one of the other things about that Ansteorra that I love so much is
our extreme variety and embracing the vast offerings that exist in the
SCA.  It usually means that with time, everyone can find things that
fit; but conversly you may have to bend and adapt to be able to find
something that works for you at each event or activity.  This is what
I think is our greatest strength as a kingdom.

Looking forward to the cool of fall to be able to be active beyond the internet,
Susan the Curious

On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 5:32 AM, Casey Weed <seoseaweed at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sir Dieterich here.
>
> Having fought in 10 different kingdoms in the SCA including Drachenwald- the
> most significant data point- I'm with Rose and Tim on this one... fighting
> where it's cool is more fun, more accurate, and more safe.  Tradition for
> the sake of tradition is nonsense and if you can make it cooler for the
> fighters or the viewers without compromising the magic of the event, go for
> it.  It doesn't make you tougher or more heroic to get a heat injury; it
> makes you more likely to get hospitalized or die.  Head check: this is make
> believe, folks.