ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR AUGUST CROWN TOURNAMENT IS NOW OPEN!
Thank you for your patience as we have been working to pilot the new SCARS Online Registration System and we are incredibly pleased to announce that Online Registration is NOW OPEN!
You can register by visiting https://tinyurl.com/AugustCrown
Step-by-step instructions on how to register are attached to this announcement!
If you encounter any issues registering, or have additional questions regarding SCARS, please contact the Kingdom SCARS Deputy, Owen Taeg at epay@aethelmearc.org or myself at exchequer@aethelmearc.org
Reauthorization forms are coming in fast and furious. I put about 20 cards in the mail this morning, so some you should be getting them in the mail late this week or early next week.
If you have any questions in regards to your authorization card, please feel free to reach out.
We are going to enforce this (with everyone, not just kids) with kindness and empathy. Everyone should be kindly reminded to wear their masks if they are not vaccinated. Nobody other than a child’s parent should be yelling at their kids without masks. Parents should be reminded, gently, and with tolerance and understanding. Kids are going to kid – some of them are absolute Houdinis and ninjas and we need to be mindful as much as we can.
We are doing this because we are concerned for children’s safety as there are some very contagious variants out there that are affecting children.
If anyone has knowledge of the early days of Æthelmearc (and/or the overlap with the East) regarding names of any local groups (with or without the start date/dates of incipiency and/or end date/date of dissolution), please let me know (PM or email).
If you happen to have any copies of SCA Board minutes or President’s notes prior to 2012 (which is on the website archives on SCA.org), please let me know (or send me a copy in PM or email.).
Corporate does not keep track of this info, nor has any of the minutes from before 2012 available, according to what I was told just now on the phone. So, any and all information would be most welcomed!!
Over the last several months I have been working on updates to the Thrown Weapons Rules, and they have now been completed. Here are some of the major changes, but a good read through is highly suggested.
Closed toed shoes are no longer required.
Spears have only been added to the Royal Round part of the rules and are only for those who wish to do it…. So, NOT a requirement.
Sling ammunition/targets has been further defined.
Plumbata has been added to the rules.
ATL ATL has been removed from the thrown weapons rules, as it has been moved to archery at the Society level.
A Thrower’s highest rank achieved will be permanent regardless of the age of the thrower or current average.
The Board has further announced that the language in the following resolution must appear on all event notices, flyers, online announcements, and advertisements, as well as being posted in multiple locations at any and all SCA-sponsored functions going forward.
My term of office as Earl Marshal will expire in January of 2022. Although these years have not been easy ones, it has been a pleasure and privilege to serve in this capacity alongside so many worthy and estimable people. As my time in this position comes to a close, I would like to put out a call for resumes from interested parties to take on this office after me.
Please make sure your resume highlights your experience in SCA and mundane service (especially in the marshallate), and any administrative or leadership experience you may have, offices held including dates, awards earned, and so on. The deadline for resumes will be September 1st.
Please send your resumes electronically to His and Her Majesty, as well as courtesy copies to Mistress Illadore (Kingdom Seneschal) and myself.
This announcement is from the Kingdom Seneschal, Master Illadore de Bedegrayne.
Greetings to the Populace of Æthelmearc!
SHORT VERSION: Crown to be held in Misty Highlands, August 21st , 2021, letters due to Their Majesties by July 21st, Coronation to be held hopefully in September, with an October Crown following. If you plan on entering this tournament, please listen to this video/read this email in full, as it has specific requirements.
First and foremost, Letters of Intent to Their Majesties must be provided no later than 30 days prior to Crown Tourney- so by July 21, 2021. We highly recommend using the online form on the Kingdom website. The form will be turned on within a few days by our Kingdom Webminister. You may also use email or regular mail but we recommend sending that in quickly.
As we are limited to 150 people who may attend an event, pre-registration to Crown Tourney for those other than Their Majesties, required officers, staff, or entrants will open after July 21st date. Pre-registration will be required. Crown tourney will be live-streamed for those who cannot attend. A more formal event announcement will be forthcoming. Please understand that if the BOD does not lift the 150 person rule, if you are not a combatant couple or staff, you might not be able to attend.
Coronation: The preferred date for Coronation is September 25, 2021. Alternate dates may include September 18 or October 1. New Heirs will have the option of having their Coronation online, at a small local event (say in a park), or another event scheduled in September. Should none of these options be viable, Coronation will occur on the morning of October Crown Tournament. Heirs will need to choose which option they would prefer on the day of their victory. This is not the norm as most Æthelmearc heirs have several months to make Coronation happen. This decision was made due to our desire to get back on track as a Kingdom.
October Crown: It is our intent to have another Crown in October, with letters due to The Heirs 30 days prior to the event. The details for October Crown are still being determined but the preferred date will be October 16th or later. The October Heirs would step up in April 2022.
As you can see, Combatants and Consorts who enter the August 2021 Crown tournament need to consider not only what it means to be Royalty during a pandemic but also the time commitment for the quick turnaround for Coronation and the next Crown Tourney.
I know you may have many questions. Please feel free to contact me at seneschal@aethelmearc.org and I will do my best to answer them.
Illadore de Bedegrayne
Kingdom Seneschal
A video version of this announcement is available here.
First and foremost, Their Majesties, the Deputy Kingdom Seneschal for Pandemics (Duke Christopher), the Earl Marshal (Master Morien) and I have determined that Æthelmearc can start fighting and fencing again, starting May 10, 2021.
This change is due to the Board of Directors and Society Seneschal’s clarifications on what is allowed at SCA events and gatherings.
To clarify: fencing and fighting can start May 10, 2021. However, all participants must follow SCA guidelines:
Everyone must wear a mask. (This means over the mouth and nose, not over the helm.)
You can only take your mask off to eat or drink – and you must be stationary AND follow social distancing guidelines.
You must bring your own food and water.
All fencing and fighting must be outside. (This is a change from gatherings.)
The SCA also will not require vaccinations to participate; however, if a site owner (including homeowners) is requiring people to be vaccinated to come to their home, they have the right to do that. Enforcement, however, is on them, not the SCA. It is the homeowner who is responsible for deciding what proof they will accept, for any checking of that proof, and for any enforcement. It needs to be made clear that this is a rule of the homeowner, not the branch of the SCA.
Thank you so much and please contact me if you have any questions.
Addendum
As most of you have heard or seen, we are allowing fighting and fencing as of May 10th and I am so excited to get back out there and stab people. However, I have been asked a few questions about the lifting of the fencing and fighting ban, so I thought I would cover a few of them today.
Here’s what is required by the Board of Directors, the President of the SCA, the Society Seneschal, and AEthelmearc:
For practices: masks must be worn at all times, no food or water will be provided, if you want to consume food or water you must be stationary and follow social distancing guidelines, and all fencing and fighting practices must be outdoors. That last is a change from gatherings like sewing circles and scribal night. These are for small practices. If you have a large regional practice, that is an event.
For events, all of the above is required – PLUS pre-registration is required, and maximum of 150 people.
Let’s talk masks because that is where I am getting the most questions. The Society Seneschal’s guidance is that masks must follow CDC guidelines. That means two layers of breathable cloth fabric, or a disposable medical mask, it must completely cover your nose and mouth, no valves, no see through fabric or the like.
The mask MUST be against your face and cover your mouth and nose – not over your helm or fencing mask. That has been clarified by the Society Seneschal specifically. A plastic shield is not sufficient. However, if you have a new design idea, the Board of Directors is interested, particularly if it has already been fabricated.
Masks are, full stop, a requirement. If someone will not wear one, they must be asked to leave by the Marshal in charge, Autocrat, or local seneschal. Now, masks slip now and then or people are forgetful. We should all be kind and remind each other of the rules. However, if someone won’t comply, they cannot stay at the SCA event. Period. If there is an issue with non-compliance, contact me or your regional seneschal immediately.
Food and water questions: Yes, you can give water to the people you live with and hand a sandwich to your child; however, that’s it. No communal water (and especially no more drinking out of the same tube in a water jug anymore.) We can give out sealed water bottles; however. Just please recycle.
Demos: Yes, we can do demos; however, there needs to be a barrier between the SCA and the rest of the public. Think of two sets of list ropes, an inner rope where we can do our activities, and an outer rope where the public can stand. Also, yes at demos, we must wear masks, in addition to any other state and local guidelines.
Also, when you first get out there, I recommend bringing more water than you think you’ll need. I also recommend bringing several masks to change out, as it gets hard to breath through masks when they get soaked from sweat and heavy breathing.
