[Archers] Pennsic Teams

[fenrisulven at comcast.net]

I can speak to this.  I shouldn't, as I have been trying to stay away because I feel so strongly about it, but: 



Its not a grudge. The current method of selecting the Champions Team is based in nepotism and cronyism, not skill.  Newcomers who are top shooters are being robbed of the " Pennsic experience" by a good-old-boy network. I do not think its intentional. But I can say that, after weighing everything fun at Pennsic VS financial expense, getting vacation leave, etc.. cronyism on the archery field is the deciding factor in why you did not see me at Pennsic this year and why you will not see me there the next. 



My own experience as a Newcomer follows: 



First Pennsic - Of the 30 spots on the team, 24 are taken by Legacy Slots, ie . people who do not have to compete to make the team.  I'm not on the list, even though I though I had a good first year - I had risen from beginner to Bowman Elite in just 4 months, made the Final Eight at Kingdom Archery my first year, and had just started racking up wins at events around Atlantia .  So I thought I would at least be "known". 



I shot well at tryouts, aced the Friend/Foe. Could have had a better clout. But archers who shot worse than me made the team.  And then, in a shoot-off between a handful of finalists for the last spot, I watched as an archer quit the line after hitting too many Friend targets. That archer was selected for the team...  I could not understand how an archer that quits in the middle of a bad round could be chosen over the others competing in a shoot-off...  



Now, as a Newcomer, I know that I don't know anything - Squirrel has a right to determine teams however he wants to, but if he says its determined by selecting the best archers, I take him at face value. I've heard a great many good things about him, and I'm sure that if I were in his shoes running things, I would appreciate many things I am ignorant of, and my perception would be much different. But as a Newcomer, I can't help but have the impression that something more than skill and rep was in play that year. 





Second Pennsic - Same scenario. I don't recall the exact numbers, but they were very close to 24 Legacy slots VS 6 in play for competition. Legacy names are called and I'm not in the mix.  Puzzling to me because I had just finished an outstanding year in Atlatia - highest ranked  handbow in the Kingdom for 2 years straight with 97.7  average, with some 20 Bowman Elite Bracket wins and 12 overall event wins, and against top guns like Seamus and Mors . Then we are called us into a circle on the field and it is explained that there would be only a handful of slots up for competition that year. We were given an ultimatum: it was his show and if we didn't like it, don't participate. 



So I chose not to participate. 



Note that I didn't go sour grapes about it - I stayed to cheer on my teammates and then served as MIC for one of the Champion stations the next day. But I am no longer willing to spend over $1k, use up a weeks leave, and drive 6 hours to compete for 4 slots that are awarded more because of politics than skill .  



And I'm not the only one. I know several archers who were so demoralized by the way teams were chosen that they needed to be talked down from quitting the SCA altogether - this was their last straw.  I also know of others who have simply chosen to attend Pennsic but stay away from Target Archery - not out of spite, but simply because they don't want the rest of their Pennsic experience to be ruined by it.  And then there are some like me who have chosen to vote with their feet. 



And again: I know its their game, we are just guests who have to go along no matter how badly we are treated. Its the East that plans the shoot, designs the targets, sets up the range, runs the range, does all the work that we don't see, etc. Its THEIR event. Just don't tell us tryouts are based on skill or rep when I routinely  outshoot half the people who make the team. 



[...] 



So, having explained my somewhat jaded background on the matter, here is how I would run it if it were up to me: 



1) NO LEGACY.  If you have what it takes to make the team, prove it.  Don't rob new archers of the Pennsic experience by resting on your laurels. And regardless of what the East decides to do next year, I would like to see Atlantians respectfully decline any Legacy Slot offered to them, along the lines of "thank you but I would prefer my slot was thrown in with the others, I'd rather compete for it along with everyone else".  



2) Open The Teams Up.  If we are truly selecting the "best of the best", then why does the East get 20+ slots?  Open the team to everyone. If the East wants to field 20 archers, let them compete honestly like everyone else does. 



3) Transparency .  It would prevent ill-will if everyone understood how teams are formed.  The way its done now is too secretive. Which leads to much rumor-mongering and baseless speculation, resulting in the growing perception that its not your rep or how well you shoot at tryouts that day, its who you know.  And of all the reasons why people drop out of the SCA , perceived Cronyism is at the top of the list. 



Anyways, thanks for the opportunity to get that one off my chest.  



Cheers 

Fen 






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Garth G. Groff " <ggg9y@ virginia . edu > 
To: Archers at seahorse. atlantia . sca .org 
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2010 7:19:23 AM 
Subject: Re: [Archers] Pennsic 

M'lady Nuala , 

I can appreciate that you want a chance for our best archers to compete against the best from other kingdoms. With respect, do we just want to host a shoot for a small group of elite archers who have been snubbed by the system? This sounds like a grudge match, which is o.k. in its place, but benefits only a small group of people. 
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