[MR] KASF-A word from HRM Ragnarr

[David Ritterskamp]

"While A&S is at all
other events, at a large majority of events the
fighting is the focus and the A&S is a sideline.  I
think what brings the emotions out about this event in
particular is that it was originally meant to be the
one event where the A&S was the key focus.  Putting a
fighter practice on it takes focus away even if the
fighter practice is not a large part of the day."

It only takes the focus away from the event if people choose to let it do 
so.  I've taught classes at University and seen other classes taught at 
University, and not once did the populace ever venture outside to watch it 
en masse, or at all, for that matter.  I've been to KASF before where there 
was fighting taking place and not even known about it until it was over 
because I was busy displaying or performing my poetry or pewter casting.  So 
unless somebody comes into the building and forces the entire building 
outside to watch a war practice, I don't see how it could detract from the 
main focus of the day.

But tell ya what; let's take it one step further.  Let's say that you're 
right, and the people who were coming to KASF just to fight in the war 
practice say "oops, we're sorry, we don't want to interfere in your day, so 
we'll just hold the war practice somewhere else."  And they proceed to 
schedule that war practice for the weekend of KASF at an alternate site, 
because it's the only available weekend that doesn't already have a fighting 
event scheduled.  And if you think that's farfetched, that's exactly what I 
had thought of doing in Elkin until I heard there was a war practice 
scheduled for KASF.  I also had a war practice scheduled the weekend of 
Black Prince until I heard that there was a Central Region practice 
scheduled for the day after.

What then?

All the people that would have gone to KASF for the war practice are now 
going somewhere else, and KASF loses the $$ from every single one of them.  
As an autocrat I would find that unfathomable.  At TRM's Coronation the 
Glassworkers' Guild was so rabid to be there and made such a convincing case 
telling me that they had to have an enclosed space that I went to the site 
owners and fought for them to have an enclosed space in spite of the site 
owners' concerns over fire hazards.  I succeeded, the glassworkers came, 
basically stayed in that classroom the entire weekend, had a blast (pun 
intended), and absolutely nothing untoward occurred.  If I hadn't been able 
to do that, I probably would have lost the attendance of ~10-20 people.  
Trivial, you say?  To an event that size, perhaps.  But it cost us nothing 
to try, it worked, and the next time we want to do it (or something else 
with a similar hazard) on that site it'll be a LOT easier to get the site 
owners to go along with it, because we were able to demonstrate that we're 
responsible site users.  Most importantly, though, the Coronation staff 
didn't marginalize them "because there's only a few of them and they don't 
matter enough" which is what you apparently want to accuse the fighting 
community of doing, simply by showing up to an event whose main focus isn't 
on fighting.

I would, therefore, suggest to anybody who feels that they're being put upon 
or shoved aside to figure out WHY they feel that way.  The fighting 
community is not trying to take over the day or the site (it's not like 
they're fighting in the main hall); quite the contrary.  They're willing to 
drive a considerable distance to attend and pay for an event (and stay out 
of that event's way) that they OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE COME TO (sorry for 
the caps but I can't stress that enough!) because something at that event is 
occurring that they want to participate in.  From a purely business 
standpoint, if me autocrat, me want butts in seats, and me don't care why 
butts show up as long as it's related to the SCA.

Nothing that occurs at KASF is going to detract from A&S being the "key 
focus".  The only way that could happen would be if for some reason the A&S 
stopped happening altogether and only fighting took place.  I don't foresee 
that as a possibility.

Regards,

Jonathan Blackbow

_________________________________________________________________
Play Flexicon: the crossword game that feeds your brain. PLAY now for FREE.  
  http://zone.msn.com/en/flexicon/default.htm?icid=flexicon_hmtagline