[Bards] topic for discussion

[Jay Rudin]

Alden asked:

> When it comes to local championships, I seldom see bards return to
> compete where they've won a championship in the past.  On the other
> hand, I often see people return to compete in martial championships
> that they have won before.  In most venues, it's common that people
> don't compete when they are the outgoing champion, so I'm not
> addressing that case here.
>
> I'd like to know people's thoughts on this topic.  Why do you, or don't
> you, compete in local championships you have won in the past?  What
> pros & cons do you think this practice imparts on the bardic community?

I will not enter the year after I won, because I believe that my final duty 
as Bard of a place is to help run the competition choosing my successor, and 
to judge if the branch desires me to do so.

I'm certainly willing to win the same competition later.  I've been Bard of 
Elfsea twice, Bard of the Steppes twice, and Premier Bard twice.  I've also 
been Elfsea's King of Fools twice.

The people in a branch competition should be the people who wish to be Bard 
of that branch, totally apart from whether they have ever been so before.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin