SC - Competition entry

[RichSCA at aol.com]

I am in complete agreement.  I have only entered one "real" A&S competition 
(the "other" one was a Laurel's Prize thingy where the Laurels came by and 
put a token in your cup if they liked it - also you were with your entry and 
they talked to you [kindly] about it - I really liked this kind of 
competition).

The one I DID enter, I entered a complete diagram on the History of the 
Marshalling of Arms in England in period, complete with a storyline to help 
the reader understand it and about 30 hand painted devices showing how the 
arms where marshalled though the years.  The Heralds that judged it said they 
"could not judge it" as it was _inappropriate_ to the competition since we do 
not marshal arms in the SCA.  Plus the few comments they did make were 
negative about the actual Marshalling (which were incorrect comments). 
(Although one Herald and some members of the populace did come to me and said 
they really liked it.)  After the competition I sent the primary judge 
further documentation to show that he had been incorrect in his comments.  
Never heard from him.  Then they gave top honors to a piece of work that 
showed a husband and wife's device together.  Very nice handpainted work on 
fabric, but Marshalled completely wrong - which is okay since we "don't 
marshal arms in the SCA."

After that I decided that my belt is yellow (I am a protege) and thus give 
service.  I love to paint scrolls and have been told that I should entry 
something in A&S.  I tell everyone I paint scrolls as a SERVICE to my 
kingdom.  I also teach dance and other middle eastern classes, but these, 
too, are to SERVE my kingdom and the SCA.  

Rayne 



In a message dated 3/14/00 10:03:39 PM Central Standard Time, 
baronsig at peganet.com writes:

<< 
     I've entered a total of 2 art/sci's in the 18 years I've been in the
 SCA. In the first, I entered meade, and provided the required documentation,
 in compucalligle, no less. During the course of the day, someone (else's)
 bottle exploded, and they used my docs to help clean up the mess. As a
 result, I scored a 68, and was told I had been penalized 30 point for not
 having any docs. When I found out what had happened, I complained, presented
 my spare copy of the docs, and was told (and I quote) "it's too late,
 judging is over, bad break, better luck next time" by the KMOA/S.
     The second time, I entered a Kurdish dish whose recipe was taught to me
 by the grandmother of a family friend. She was old enough to have been the
 Grandfather of Assassins personal handmaiden, and came from the Alamout
 region, no less . . .
     She told me that the recipe had been in her family for many generations,
 and I documented this as such. I also documented similar dishes as period,
 and stated that this particular recipe had been handed down in an oral
 tradition, and was a family variant taught to me by word of mouth from a
 native of the region. Once again, I got docked 30 points for 'insufficient
 documentation'.
     That was it for me. I don't do art/sci's any more. I have a great deal
 of respect for the entries I see, and admire the craftsmanship shown, but
 I've also seen masterworks metaphoricly ripped to shreds by people who
 didn't have a clue. One lady I knew did a 3'x5' tapestry of Tolkein's map of
 the Middle Earth, and had it disqualified from judging as being a 'fantasy
 work'. She removed it from the hall in tears, handed back her green belt,
 and I never saw her at an event ever again. Apparently, the comments from
 the judges were bad enough that she quit the SCA as a result. She does
 sci-fi cons now.
     I've found over and over that judging is purely subjective, and the
 judges in all too many cases have little to no expertise in the field they
 are judging. I've seen Laurels lobbying other judges to boost the scores for
 their apprentices, and at other times slagging the entries of people they
 didn't like. Politics.
     I've seen many well meaning efforts to reform the judging systems, but
 the elastic nature of the SCA means that what one KMOA/S does, another may
 undo next reign. Oh, well, sorta like crown lists - quality varies, and that
 always gives us lots to natter about . . .
 
     Sieggy
 
  >>