[Steppes] Is SCA membership declining overall?

[Catherine Sims]

Excellent points, all, but as another "old fart" let me add another.  As I
get older, I have more responsibilities in the "real" world that really cut
into my personal time.  I have more commitments that restrict how much
"free" time I have.  I couldn't make Twelfth Night, for example, because I
had too many church commitments this weekend.  I'm on the church council and
a member of the choir, so I am expected to set an example for the rest of
the parish.  I also have more job responsibilities that suck up my evenings
and weekends far more often that I would like - and I have an office job.

This is not intended to be critical of those who are blessed with more free
time and fewer commitments than I have, just another "responsible"
supporting viewpoint.

Arianne
Who is really hating having to be a grown-up right now!

On 1/8/08, Michael Gunter <countgunthar at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> > Does anyone know if SCA membership is declining overall?> I heard
> somewhere that the SCA is a baby boomer phenomena and
> >will die off as the boomers age out of it.Thank you,..Catalina
> Although I don't have hard numbers to back it up I think it is. But I'm
> not
> sure if it is a "Boomer" phenomena or what.  I do think that there are a
> couple of factors which make the SCA unappealing to the younger 20's
> demographic. The first is that the demographic isn't so much into the
> "Middle Ages" and all the New Agey stuff we were into at the time. Look
> at 20 or so years ago.  Jethro Tull was popular with their elves and
> fairies
> and things. D&D was big. The opportunity to go out and whack each other
> with real swords was freaking awesome.
>
> Nowadays there are other things to attract the 20-something nerd. LARP
> and video games are a lot less painful than getting whacked with a club
> but
> still give that viceral impression of being Conan.
>
> Another problem is the SCA was once created and ruled by 20-30 somethings.
> The first seneschal of Atenveldt was assigned because he was the only one
> old enough to sign legal documents. The SCA was more fantasy then. I've
> seen
> knightings in t-tunics and blue jeans and sandals.
> A guy could join the SCA and hope to be a knight in three or four years.
> They
> were creating the world and the rules. Fighting all day then drinking and
> leching
> all night were the common activities of events. And events were just that,
> something
> special. Months could go by with nothing near so when a tournament
> occurred
> everyone went and enjoyed the coolness of it.  Now we have two or three
> events every weekend. There is nothing special. Look at 12th Night. It
> used
> to be THE dress up event of the winter. Now, it's just another boring
> court.
>
> A 20-something comes to the SCA today and is told they cannot be seneschal
> because that lady over there has been doing it for 30 years. If they study
> hard
> and train hard and really work at it they might be a Knight when they hit
> their
> mid-30's. A t-tunic and blue jeans will get them either jeered at or at
> the best
> someone will take them with the words, "Here dear, let's get you dressed
> properly".
> Drinking and partying all night? Please! Our children are trying to sleep!
>
> The only really big turnout for our target demographic is big wars like
> Pennsic and
> Estrella. Here things are more like in the early days with a week of
> parties, drumming,
> fighting, really bad garb, hitting on belly dancers and the opportunity to
> cut loose.
> Fighting is frentic and a total rush. This is why our war attendance is
> growing but
> our tournament attendance shrinking.
>
> I love many directions the SCA is going. We are more period, our garb and
> campsites
> and armor and all of that are more "real". But we are starting to become
> more along
> the lines of the Civil War reenactors (whose numbers are also declining)
> than the
> backyard party we started out as.
>
> Sorry for the long-winded response.
>
> Gunthar
> Old fart
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