Presidents Love the Valiance Proposal!

omnibus_5.1
Ask not what you can do for your S.C.A.

Presidents love the Valiance Proposal, at least they should! It has recently come up that the President (Leslie Vaughn) of the S.C.A. is stepping down. Now recently at the discussions at Pennsic related to the Proposal, it was suggested that for the long game, we look at stacking the Board with people that are friendly to the Proposal. This is a good idea, though I hope it won’t come to this, and that it gets passed and enacted before then.

In the meantime, let us all thank Leslie for her service in a task that is likely thankless and daunting.

Whats the President got to do with it?

Nothing much really I guess. As with our own system of Government, the President can be a figure head. The real power lies with the B.o.D., as with our own Gov, the real power lies in Congress. Where goes the figure head, so too may follow the populace though. It may not be the place or position for the President to comment or support such things. Though there would be conversations in backrooms etc that may help to curry favor.

Next stop, Melpitas and the B.o.D.!

Though some may disagree and view this as an abstraction, apparently it doesnt require much support to get on the B.o.D., with this in mind, when a seat becomes available, why not ask the candidates about, and/or support those who are sympathetic to our causes? Is this not what we should be doing? I would think other groups are promoting candidates that share their ideals, so should we.

As always, stay vigilant, and always look for ways to keep this movement going forward!

Be well friends!
YIS respectfully,
Lord Cameron de Grey
Or, on a bend purpure between a wheel of cheese and a squirrel sable, three pheons palewise Or

Back to Martial Peerage Page
Leslie Vaughns E-Mail: president@sca.org

Missile Combat Tournaments – Why You Should Care

The first line of many

Missile Combat Tourneys have been a pet project for a long time. Then I went away for a year, but now I’m back to champion the cause once more. It started as Combat Archery Tourney, but once I saw the movement with the Valiance Proposal, something struck with me… but more about that later.

“Why should I care?”

It’s a fair question, we all have so many things going on. Our interests barely get the time they deserve and now I’m asking you heap on more. You should care because others do, and supporting a good cause takes little effort.

Too long have our friends and fellow marshaled communities been thrust unceremoniously to the side for various reasons, not least of which is safety. I cannot tell you how many events where archery, thrown weapons, CA, siege, and more have been an inconvenient afterthought. And once when I suggested we have an event with only CA and siege, there were actual complaints. One event where rattan wouldn’t be involved, and there was an issue (it was an all archery event). When there is an event with plenty of space and a request is put out, we get excuses for why certain things CAN’T happen, instead of solutions as to how we can be even more inclusive, and get it done. Sometimes it’s a personnel issue, that’s fine, what can we do?

“What are the Tourneys?”

This is an attempt to get all the Kingdoms competing in the same way we do with the IKCAC or IKAC. This will hopefully turn into a recurring attraction. Much like a Crown Tourney, or any event where the main attraction is a rattan competition, so too can the main attraction be a Missile Weapon Tourney!

“Now is the time to strike!”

With the Valiance Proposal still hot on the presses, now is the time for inclusiveness. We need our communities to show solidarity in many ways. This is but one way to achieve this goal. This is an opportunity to showcase talent in the limelight with various weapon forms.

Participation, numbers, all irrelevant.

It is our heart, knowledge, skill, wisdom and tenacity that we have and are willing to share that is important. When someone is put up for Laurel for dancing, nobody asked how many people danced that year. When a Pelican is considered, they never ask how many lunches were prepared that year. But this is another subject for later, back to the task at hand.

support the proposal

“You sound bitter man…”

A little, but I have learned a lot in the last twenty years about how people get treated, how things get done, and what my place is assumed to be in the social order based on what I love.

The lesson I first learned was this wasn’t a place I wanted to be, because these aren’t the people I respect. The whole ‘Jocks’ versus ‘Nerds’ kept popping in my mind.

The next lesson was that I shouldn’t care and just have fun. Being in Atlantia, Ive said it before, saved my SCA career. The people here know how to have an awesome time and not give a crap, while remaining involved!

Now it’s an odd mix of both.

But I can’t sit by while communities are crapped on only because of what they enjoy. All of our communities bear skill, knowledge, and application. We should each be appreciated for what we bring to the table and what we can impart, not compared and belittled.

“What can I do?”

If you have interest, participate! Become a CA or Siege marshal. Bring eye protection to events for other marshals. Help with field set up and tear down. Engage in the fighting. If a martial activity isn’t happening, ask the autocrat or MiC why.  At the very least, go to any marshaled event, including our rattan and rapier friends, cheer them on and enjoy the fun and pageantry!

Please please please support this effort, OUR effort. This can be so much fun for us all. But as I said before this is one facet. We are all important in our own way, and want to share what we love. Help me share what I love. This is for us all, I claim no ownership, or author. It belongs to us.