[Archers] Trying to make some sense...

[loreleielkins at aol.com]

I know that on paper the Marshal has the responsibility to shut it all down if he feels its no longer safe, 
but human nature being what it is - I think most will try to adapt the course to the new space on the fly
and, under pressure and in a rush to "make it work", we risk something safety-related falling thru the cracks.  

Herein lies our biggest danger.  As Fen has stated, its human nature to try to "adapt" to what we are given.  People drive hours expecting to shoot some archery, as MIC we don't want them disappointed.  We know how that would feel to us if WE drove that far, paid money, expected to shoot and then could not.
 
Bottom line.  We can not adapt anything to "make it work".  Period. We can not bend the safety rules one bit.  Period. 
 
It has been my experience that autocrats will work with us to accommodate our needs, but we need to make those needs very clear to them well in advance of the event.  If you are unfamiliar with a site, go visit the site well in advance of the event.  If it is too far away, contact a local marshal to check the site out for you.  We can not become slack when it comes to safety.  Period.
 
The "hostile autocrat" in my experience is a rare thing.  They want people to have fun at their event.  They don't want to be known as the autocrat of that event where they had to canceled the archery activities.
 
If you do have to cancel archery at an event due to questionable safety issues.  Oh well.  Do it.  Get over it, move on, go have ice cream.  There is enough that goes on at SCA events that I doubt anyone would be bored.  
 
I'd rather have one or two events where archery had to be called off, than archery call off permanently due to an injury or worse.
 
 
Lorelei
 
PS  These discussions are great.  Keep them going.

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