[Ansteorra] maybe an answer to recruitment problems

[Zach Most]

There's wisdom in this.  My take on it is that different levels of initial exposure work for different personality types.  Some folks are easily overwhelmed, and they're far better off with the little bite size exposures of a practice, or guild meetings.  Some folks want to dive right into the sea and get to swimming.  They might take a few gulps of brine along the way, but that's part of the fun in a way.
  My first event was a little feast that happened to be about a mile from my house.  I wore a maile shirt I'd made, and won a little riddle contest.  I thought it was cool that I could wear my weird stuff around these weird people and they dug it, and I got recognized for doing something good right away.  We're well advised to remember that early good impression on new comers.  My second event was Pennsic, and that's what really set the hook.
  My recruitment route was kind of odd- There was always a demo in my area held the same weekend my high school held graduation.  I was a gamer geek, so I got excited every time my mom pointed it out in the newspaper, but I couldn't go because I was in the band for the graduation ceremony.  Consequently I didn't get started in the SCA until I was in college, and it was because of a demo I've still never attended.

  Gaston



________________________________
 From: Jeffrey Clark <jmclark85 at gmail.com>
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 6:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] maybe an answer to recruitment problems
 
Greetings all,

I'm going to jump back a few discussions (sorry, classes just started and
it has been a *very* busy week).

I disagree that the first thing a newcomer should do is attend an event; I
was lucky in that when I first came to an event I had the advantages of
being A) a very social person, and B) possessed of a mundane life that
causes me to practice the viola da gamba and the recorder 3+ hours a day.
It's quite easy to fit in when you already have a period knowledge or skill
from the get-go.

On the other hand, most people are not quite so fortunate. My wife has been
to a couple of events, but never has gotten that involved because she both
works weekends, and cannot really find any local activities that she is
interested in and that fit her schedule.

I think that an event should be a newcomer's goal, not the starting point.
Get someone in, get them invested in the local groups, get them settled in
SCAdian culture and knowledgeable about our ways and traditions, and get
them to where they have friends in the SCA beyond just 1 or 2 people, and
then get them to an event.

I still maintain that the focus should be on local groups and local
activities rather than the ONE BIG EVENT, especially for newcomers. Younger
people -- especially in this economy -- just can't afford trips to events,
and all of the associated costs. Being local gives people time to build up
their skills, hobbies, wardrobe, circle of friends, and knowledge before
being "thrown to the wolves".

--Alessandro Zorzi