[Archers] Trying to make some sense...

[fenrisulven at comcast.net]

Not exactly.  On the day prior during setup, the area in question was indeed a concern.  I watched and listened as several Marshalls exercised the diligence you would expect of them, and attempted to fix what was seen as a potential hazard.  After much discussion, assurances came from the autocrat that the area would be blocked off  and  the building door locked so it c ouldn't be used as an exit.     



On the morning of the shoot, that gradually didn't happen.  Parking creeped into the range fan, holds were called, and owners were told to move their vehicles.  Some refused.  Later in the day, pedestrian traffic began to skirt the right side of the range fan and the safety zone began to gradually decay even further.   Now, I understand that regardless of the cause, we should have simply closed the range down at the first encroachment and fetched the autocrat.  But it should be remembered that this range had been moved once from its originally intended (and safer) location, and this was already an effort to adapt on the fly.    



None of that excuses what happened.  I only bring it up because from my own perspective, this  topic  should not only be about a need for new rules or more vigorous marshal training, but also about handling breakdowns in communication between those in charge of an event . And until that is addressed, I fear the instance will repeat itself - because autocrats tend to not fully appreciate how much our need for space revolves around safety.  Several months after all this, another archery course had to be adapted on the fly because troll was placed inside the range fan.  



When it comes to safety, we can't continually adapt on the fly and expect Murphy to show us mercy.  People are hurried and trying to make it work.  S omething will slip through.  So I think: 



1)   MICs need to educate their autocrat about our safety requirements.  Strongly if necessary, to prevent our range fans from being crowded out and carved up 



2) Marshall training should include advice on how to work around an autocrat that is hostile and unapproachable.  ( d o we go to  t he Seneschal? ) 



3) A utocrats should not have the authority to change the archery space after the MIC has set his safety zones 





Cheers 

Fen 






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Atkins" <cogworks at triad.rr.com> 
To: "Siegfried" <siegfried at crossbows.biz>, "Jay Nardone" <jaynardone at comcast.net> 
Cc: archers at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org 
Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2010 11:35:12 PM 
Subject: Re: [Archers] Trying to make some sense... 

In my opinion the rule was a "knee jerk" reaction to a potentially very dangerous situation that should never 
have happened had the marshals in charge been diligent which, to me, indicated that the issue was not a 

new rule but the training of our marshals .
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