[Northkeep] Just asking
zubeydah@northkeep.org
zubeydah at northkeep.org
Thu Jan 13 12:36:11 PST 2005
Quoting Craig Henson <lord_gerard_de_le_quartier at hotmail.com>:
> I've never heard of this, is it something official within the SCA or
> something just made up?
>
> Gerard
*smile* No, this certainly isn't something that I made up. The Waterbearer is
a deputy of the Chirurgeon, just as the Webminister is a deputy of the
Chronicler. It is a Kingdom, Regional, and Group level position. Last year,
prior to Queen's Champion, I held both the Regional and group position.
Currently, the Baronial WBIC is Montega Blackdragon.
Unfortunately, the resources have not always been available to develop
knowledge about, participation in, and training for, waterbearing here in the
North, or in the kingdom as a whole. Our current Kingdom Waterbearer, Lady
Genvieve de la Gamba, has worked tirelessly with Lord Arkell, our Kingdom
Chirurgeon, to help turn that around. One of my jobs as northern regional
waterbearer is to support them in that goal by raising awareness, and training
folks to do the job. There's a lot more to it than mindlessly toting a milk jug
or two and bellowing "Water! Gatorade!"
We've developed Kingdom-wide standards for sanitization for events in
Ansteorra, using the new 'non-contact' rules, and have worked to
reduce 'partisan' waterbearing at large scale events. This training and these
standards formalizes and acknowledges the 'chain of command' on the field, and
also provides a general overview of the primary health concerns facing
combattants. (How to recognize Heat Exhaustion, Heat Stroke, etc.)
Here in the north, I've personally put over 30 people through training classes
in the last year. The class details the core functions of the waterbearer, the
aforementioned new standards, and lasts about an hour and a half. After the
class, the individuals recieve a yellow non-contact authorization card that
allows them to serve on the field. I've also been helping groups in
Wiesenfeuer, Mooneschadowe, and Namron set up guilds, and am in correspondance
with various Cantons to help them do the same.
I'm also working as Regional to 'raise the bar' on the standard of service
provided, by trying to demonstrate the clear link between exemplary
waterbearing service to combattants, staff, and participants, to more enjoyable
events as a whole. Unfortunately, sometimes it does all come down to the
Almighty Buck. Providing services does cost money. Some groups in the North
understand that. Some don't, and *expect* waterbearers to pay for their own
supplies. (Thankfully, Northkeep is not one such group.)
Probably more answer than you were hoping for....
-Zubeydah
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