[Loch-soilleir] it's a good day to fight

[Gilson, Matt (JSC-DT4)[USA]]

Wow, didn't mean to stir up this can of worms.  All I had meant to say
was "Hey, the ground is dry, why don't you turn off the TV for a night &
come on out & fight?"

But, since I am the Loch's KM, I suppose I should participate in the
discussion

Yes, the combined practice has been successful, but not "very, very".
Some nights we'll have a dozen fighters show up for either field.  But,
some nights we'll only see 2-4, even with two baronies combining.  At
this point, I don't see the turnout for the Loch or for Stargate to do
it on their own.  (and our attempts at Sundays seem to uphold that.  I
can't speak for Stargate's Sunday practices beyond the first one, at
which there were two of us fighting)

What it looks like is happening from what I can see is that "backyard"
practices are drawing a lot of turnout away from the "official"
practice.

Regarding location, U of H isn't the greatest.  It's about as central as
you can get between the two baronies, but the tie to the college isn't
what it used to be, & we really don't get any recruitment from that
direction lately.  The lighting isn't great (even in the brightest
corner we stick to) and the gournd isn't great either, now that we've
trampled all the grass from that same corner.  I'd be willing to
entertain the thought of a new location, but would want to see it done
as still a combined practice with Stargate - like I said, neither
bvarony has had the turnout to support a practice on their own.

Beyond that, if anyone has problems, I'd suggest settling them with a
duel - any Tuesday night for the foreseeable future, at U of H campus.
Then stick around for practice!  :)

Madog
 


Matt Gilson - DT47

-----Original Message-----
From: loch-soilleir-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:loch-soilleir-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Michael
Silverhands
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 1:52 PM
To: Loch Soilleir Announcements
Subject: Re: [Loch-soilleir] it's a good day to fight


On Jun 5, 2007, at 1:29 PM, Paris Chelette wrote:

> As an older member (since 87) in the SCA, being it here in the Loch or
> Stargate,
> I have been to the U of H several times and was not inpressed. I  
> have seen
> as you have, to drive far and no one to fight. No one see's us at  
> night
> there
> whitch is what we want.  I remember the FrendsWood a park there so  
> beautyful
> and why did we loose it ? There mondans saw us and asked question,  
> made new
> friends
> and some new members to "Our Dream".
>   I say let StarGate be StarGate and leave the the Loch alone for our
> practice.
> The less the drive, more will show up.
>
> Mouse
>

Mouse,

I don't remember you being active at the time, so it's fair that you  
don't remember why the practice at Friendswood Park was combined with  
Stargate's at U of H.

The simple answer is: both Stargate's and the Loch's practices were  
dead on their feet. Each practice was lucky to have more than 2  
fighters to show up. That had been the case for several years, for  
both baronies.

There was much discussion at the time, culminating in a large talk  
held at Sir Alexis' house and attended by many interested parties  
from the entire region. (I can't swear to the exact number, but I  
recall it being somewhere around 20 people, about 50/50 Loch and  
Stargate.) The consensus that came out of those talks was that:
a) both practices were dead,
b) something needed to be done to rejuvenate them,
c) both practices needed to move someplace where more young adults  
(read here: college students) were likely to see them, since that age  
group is our best hope of recruiting new members and keeping our  
local groups alive.

By mutual consent, both baronies pooled their efforts at one joint  
practice to be held at U of H main campus. It took off like a rocket,  
and has been very, very successful since then. Even now, in the usual  
doldrums of summer, enough people still show up for there to be a  
practice. Maybe not a crowd, but enough.

So... before you get up on a soap box and start saying "let Stargate  
leave the Loch alone", please bear in mind that this was by *mutual*  
decision. Nothing prevents either barony from hosting other practices  
closer to home, and in fact there has been recent discussion in both  
baronies towards that end. But let's not forget why we combined the  
practices in the first place. :-)

Yours in service (in this case, performing the service of remembering  
our past),
Michael Silverhands
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