[Elfsea] Bear pit vs. melee vs. regular tourney

Tue Apr 7 10:57:38 PDT 2009

Pros and Cons of different formats:

  Bear Pit: Pro's
1. Allows fighters of all skill levels many more fights than might otherwise be had in a "standard format" Tourney.
2. Allows fighters to fight as many fights as they want and/or can stand. (The test of endurance you spoke of)
3. Allows fighters to try as many combinations of weapon styles as there are weapons available. Not to say you couldn't use any weapon style in most tournaments, but with a limited number of bouts in a "standard" tournament the fighters thoughts often turn to what they do and know best.
4. These can be some of the most fun tournaments.

Bear Pit:Con's
1. One or two upper echelon fighters can potentially dominate a bear pit's rounds by remaining undefeated for 10, 20, 30 rounds or more. This can be overcome in a number of ways like: retaining wounds from round to round,limiting the number of rounds a fighter may remain "in control", or by requiring different weapon styles to be used.
2. These can be the most grueling tournaments.

"Standard Tourney": Pro's
1. These allow fighters to bring their best weapon forms to the table and test themselves at the highest levels. 
2. This is the style of tourney one must win to become King or Queen of Ansteorra, so they should be trained for if that is one of your goals for your SCA career.
3. I personally find the elegance of fighters at their best to be very enjoyable to watch.
4. Winning these often leads to many hours of service to the Barony or group hosting the event, which means you get to know the people in that area much better.

"Standard Tourney": Con's
1. The monotony of seeing the same style or styles over and over again may not be as enjoyable for the non-fighters watching.
2. If you are not interested in becoming the next King or Queen the lack of "fun" or levity in SOME of these tourneys can be a deterrent.
3. Winning these often leads to many hours of service to the Barony or group hosting the event, which means less time to spend with your family and more time "working"

Melee :Pro's
1. Melee's are almost always enjoyable to watch. 
2. The energy levels can be incredible, and its a Great workout.
3. Participants learn leadership, control, stamina, heart, etc..etc..

Melee:Con's
1. It is hard to declare a single winner, say as a champion.
2. It may be hard to see the prowess of any one fighter in the frey. This can be for many reasons like they were leading not fighting etc... 

These are just a few Ideas on the subject. Fighters of Ansteorra, please feel free to add your opinion to the mix. 

Gramercy,
Lord Lochlan Dunn
Elfsea Defender 
Steppes Warlord
Stargate's Champion

--- On Tue, 4/7/09, Dale, Jennifer <DaleJ at autonation.com> wrote:

From: Dale, Jennifer <DaleJ at autonation.com>
Subject: [Elfsea] Bear pit vs. melee vs. regular tourney
To: elfsea at lists.ansteorra.org
Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 12:11 PM

I am trying to finalize an idea I have running through my head for an event, but I need the fighters of our Barony's help.
Can you please tell me what you like/hate about bear pits, melees, etc. 
I always liked bear pits because it shows stamina of the fighter. I haven't been to but one or two melee events and didn't really pay attention too much. 
So if you could tell me which you prefer and again, likes/dislikes. 
Thank you 
Lady Giliana 
Jennifer Dale 

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