[Ansteorra-archery] A modest proposal
Rumil Fletcher
rumil at sbcglobal.net
Mon Jan 26 15:10:19 PST 2004
A lot has been said over the years about how to promote archery, how
to attract new people to our sport. Many of these ideas have had to
do with getting more recognition for archers within the kingdom.
That is not a bad thing, but I would like to suggest an alternative.
Let's make archery more fun.
Many people, perhaps most, were attracted to the SCA because it
reminded them of some romantic aspect of the middle ages: knights in
shining armour, damsels in distress, slaying the dragon, high feast
in the great hall, pulling an oar with the Vikings, etc. You get the
idea. I suspect that many of us were attracted to archery for much
the same reasons; Robin Hood and his merry men, William Tell, etc.
So, rather than placing all the emphases on the standard tournaments,
how about trying harder to recreate the romantic atmosphere of Robin
Hood, or some other archery related notion, something that will
invigorate the imagination and make it more than just about shooting
the best score.
Such as:
A Quest: Teams composed of a chivalric fighter, rapier fighter,
bard, and archer go through a course designed to challenge them in
all their skills. Throw in riddles to solve (what is the average air
velocity of an unladen swallow), ropes to swing across creeks (safely
of course), and strange monsters to fight (like the dragon I once saw
at a northern event - 4 fighters linked together in a line with 6
swords and 2 shields between them. Much harder to kill than people
expected.) The fighters and bards will become much more acquainted
with the archers, as they work side-by-side to achieve a common goal.
Archers with even moderate skill will suddenly find themselves in
great demand from teams so lacking.
or how about...
A Robin Hood Tournament: Recreate all the major points of the
legend, such as splitting the hangman's noose, the fight with Little
John on the log bridge (non-archery but what-the-heck), etc. Extra
points to be awards for proper garb and equipment true to that
period. And of course, the tournament at the end.
or if you want an oriental flavor...
The Hoard of Ghengis Khan: A combat archery event. While riding on
(some sort of simulated) horse, shooting at moving targets. Events
could recreate the Great Hunt, where they formed a huge circle 20
miles wide and slowly closed the noose (get some fighters to play the
animals who try to break out), the siege, where you ride past the
walls and shoot at the defenders inside, or an open field battle,
where a few of the combat archers are the Mongol invaders, while the
majority are the much slower Russian infantry (with hobbled ankles so
they can only walk slowly).
There are many more scenarios you could work up. And of course the
details of how these things work would need a lot of work. But the
idea is to bring back to archery the romanticism of the middle ages
that sometimes gets lost amongst all the SCA stuff.
Rumil Fletcher
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