[Northkeep] Fighter Practice Guidelines

[Tamara Britton]

Greetings Populous,

Most of you should know by now that Fighter Practice was cancelled last week and replaced with a meeting concerning recent events that have happened during some practices. Much was discussed and an agreement was made concerning a list of guidelines that will help FP remain open to the public and allow us to represent our Barony and the SCA in a safe environment.

We realize that not everyone is on this mailing list or attends Populace, so in addition to posting the new guidelines here, we will also have them available at FP, at our monthly Populace meeting, and in The Nordic Saga. We understand there will be a transition period until the word gets out, so don't panic if you went to work today and didn't bring a change of garb before going to FP tonight. I promise I won't be standing at the door with a big stick and a stern look :)


Once you have read the guidelines, if you have any personal questions needing clarification, I'd be more than happy to supply them. Please be aware that Tues, Wed, and Thurs are my extra busy days with work, homework, and grad school, so my reply may be a bit slow, but forthcoming.


The list of guidelines is fairly long, so please bear with me...and trust me, it took a lot longer to write, edit and reword than it will take you to read. I do apologize for the delay in posting these guidelines, but we wanted to make sure they were worded the best possible way. Since I cannot put an attachment on this list, I will copy/paste it below. If you would like a personal copy sent as an attachment, please shoot me a personal email off list and I will be more than happy to supply one.

YIS,
Dervilia O'Shannon
Seneschal/Northkeep


The Barony of Northkeep’s Fighter Practice (FP) is published, and is therefore considered an
official Baronial event. Since we are there to represent the SCA and our
Barony, we need to follow a few guidelines:
·         First, we should make an attempt to wear SCA
garb to FP. We have a mandate to educate and attract the public, and many times
when we are recruiting people into the SCA, we tell them to come to FP. Since
FP is usually the first encounter many people have with the SCA, we need to represent
the SCA.
 
·         Second, the purpose of the SCA is a non-profit
educational group which educates and
promotes the Middle Ages, not just to ourselves, but also to the public;
therefore, we should only work on SCA related or period projects and period gaming
on the non-fighter side. 
 
·         Third, only fighters will be allowed on the
ballroom side, with only a few exceptions: significant others, parents or
guardians of a fighter (who must be 16 years-of-age or older), those
specifically observing the fighting for educational purposes, or those wanting
to learn or be trained by fighters. These individuals should keep in mind that
distractions can put a fighter in harm’s way. Safety issues can arise for both
fighters and non-fighters, so anybody visiting the fighter’s side should be
cautious. Non-fighters are not allowed on a list field during an event; as
such, they shouldn’t be allowed in the fighting area of practice.
 
·         There is a “site fee” to FP which is cleaning
the facility. Like an event has volunteers organizing the collections of “site
fees”, the Barony will have a cleaning committee of volunteers to oversee FP’s
site fee of cleaning each week. Two committees will be established: one for the
fighter’s side, and one for the non-fighter’s side. Of these committees, there
will be a monthly representative in charge of making sure proper cleaning takes
place. 
 
·         Fighter practice is from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Cleaning
should begin no later 8:45 p.m.
·         Since the 1st Tuesday of each month
currently has a scheduling conflict with the VFW, the non-fighting side is
unavailable until late. So, this particular FP will be open only to fighters
and will be published as such. We do ask, however, that some non-fighters still
arrive to clean the non-fighter side, which will be organized by the
representative.
 
·         Finally, FP is an important opportunity for our
fighters to get or remain in shape, work on their skills, and get prepared for
upcoming events. Fighters, and others, have tubs and bags full of heavy
protection and equipment that they must haul into and out of the facility. For
this reason, we ask that non-fighters extend courtesy to them and park around back to allow fighters or those
toting a lot the necessary access they need. So, please leave the west-side
parking lot open for fighters.
 
By following these
guidelines, our fighters have the opportunity to fully benefit from their practice,
and non-fighters have the opportunity to represent the SCA and educate
newcomers. This is our opportunity to come together for fellowship, practice,
or projects in a safe manner if we follow these guidelines.

(Again, if you have any questions, please let us know.)