<div dir="ltr">Hail fellow Chivalric/Armored Combatants and combat enthusiasts,<br><br> Recently Michael of Gravesend penned:<br><div id=":10w" class="ArwC7c ckChnd">"...
Breaking up the Tuesday night practice at UoH is not a good idea. There
are folks who travel just as far from the north from the west.. east..
.. if not farther for that practice than the loch folks. There are
folks who travel from spring to hit that practice, not all the time..
but they do. ... I would suggest
staying at the university and putting yourself in a location that gives
you a great deal of visbility. ...Visibility in my opinon is
is 2nd only to whom you are trying to recruit. ... location location location and target the
age group."<br><br>
While the Baron William Wescot of Welewen opined:<br>
"... This announcement was not made in haste....joint practices the last several months... Fighters have been from
Loch Soilleir. The last several Practices, per the information I have
been given, consisted only of Chivalric Fighters from the Loch."<br><br>Arthur Morganson here.<br><br>Michael asks a few key questions, but the answers may not be the ones provided. <br><br>One such question is "Who are we trying to recruit?" Commuter students working jobs AND going to school or folks with weekends free and time and money to engage in our pleasant pastime? If we feel that college students are our true target market for new SCA members, then our recruiting goals need to be refocused to provide on campus visibility at not only UH, but the other residential colleges and universities of our Bayou City. <br>
<br>Is that really the case. When we get new members that actively participate here very often I hear, "We dabbled in the SCA in college, but now we have jobs that let us play." <br><br>But on the other hand, if we're looking for those with resources of
time, money and inclination, where can we
draw such a crowd?<br><br>When I joined, like many others, it was from driving around looking for "something." That something was in plain sight of a main road in the middle of Houston on a Sunday afternoon. I had time, I had disposable income, I had interest in something that took me out of the 20th Century grind for the weekend.<br>
<br>Michael also commented on location. UH is nice for Houston. In the daytime. Ask Michael Silverhands about the UH area on fighter practice nights. Good citizens of Houston don't travel to UH at night without a good reason. Like a winning basketball game or a graduation. Otherwise it's one of those neighborhoods that folks with common sense say, "Hey, maybe I *won't* travel though this area at night." <br>
<br>Baron William correctly noted that the UH practices were overflowing with Loch members but scarce on Stargaters. Just a week ago, yours truly dropped by the Tuesday night fighter site to find.... no one. And that's not surprising. The members of the Loch potentially pull from Galveston, Texas City,
Pearland, etc. Why have them drive to the big city all the way inside
the loop?<br><br>So where do fighters come from? Sir Alexis is seeking that data to turn into information on the lists even now. Let's expand that to who's been coming to the Sunday Stargate practices and Tournaments. <br>
<br>From the Stargate:<br>Arthur, Lindale Park 610 at the Hardy Toll Road (middle of town)<br>Michael of Redhue, Sagemont B-8 at Gulf Fwy (south)<br>Mikolai Haiduk<br>Sir Godwin of Eddington, Spring Shadows B-8 and Hammerly (west)<br>
Don Robert<br>Thomas Attewoode<br>Kristrodr Bjarnarson, Oak Forest TC Jester at 34th (northwest)<br>Collwyn O'Snowden, Greatwood Plantation Crabb River Road at SW Fwy (far southwest)<em></em><br>Askell de Loucelles, Meyerland Braeswood and Fondren (southwest)<br>
<br>From the Loch:<br>Wissa<br>Drake<br>Alexis<br>William<br><br>Wow! What a variety of fighters from a variety of directions around Houston. And I'm sure that I've missed somebody important, just forgive me now. That's not counting a Regional KM in the Spring/Tomball area. So where could all these folks meet that has parking, lights, very accessible restrooms, shade, public visibility, centrally located? Our Societal forefathers already wrestled with this issue, they chose Memorial Park. Only when the Crestwood corner lose its parking to barricades did powers-that-be look for an alternative site.<br>
<br>Here's my proposed solution...<br><br>Come to Sunday Fighter Practice in Memorial Park. If you want more fighting, follow the Clearlake commuters down to FM 2351(just a scant 18 mile farther down I-45) for the Loch's Tuesday night practice. Give then the courtesy of supplementing *their* fighter practice just as they have done for us for years.<br>
<br>In Service to Baron and King,<br><br>Arthur Morganson<br>Stargate Knight Marshal<br><i> Train to get it right, practice to make it permanent</i><br></div></div>