[MR] WoW Children's Shoot

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

My Noble Friends of the Bow,

I want to extend my thanks to all the folks who helped out on the 
children's archery range at WoW. I couldn't have done it without their 
assistance. Lady Esa, Lord Dagnifrr, Lord Ivarr, Lord Vitautus, Lady 
Jenevra, and Lady Alina all gave big hunks of their time to work with 
the youngsters. There were others whose names I don't remember, 
including some marshals who had youngsters of their own on the range and 
worked closely with them, freeing the rest of us up to give more 
attention to some of the youngest children.

Since we did not have a sign-in, I don't have an accurate count of how 
many youngsters were there, but I'm guessing about 30 over two days, 
with some shooting on both Friday and Saturday. For many, this was their 
first archery experience, and hopefully they will continue shooting. And 
the kids were great! Even the youngest took directions well, observed 
the safety rules (with some help from the marshals), and seemed to have 
a grand time. Vivats to the mighty young archers of Atlantia!

And special thanks to all the parents who took time out from other 
events to stay with their children in the range area. Those of you who 
know me are probably sick of hearing this, but it is my not-so humble 
opinion that the most important thing any of us will ever do in the SCA 
is work with children. What we do for ourselves--archery, fighting, A&S, 
courts, etc.--is creative play and perfectly valid, but in the great 
scheme of things it is insignificant. When we work with children we not 
only pay attention to them, allow then a place in this game, but more 
importantly, we give them role models, self-discipline, confidence, and 
a whole lot of other precious gifts. These are the building blocks that 
help children grow into happy, well-adjusted adults (and hopefully into 
skilled archers too!). Once again, to all the parents, I say thank you 
for giving the marshals, and myself, the HONOR of serving your children.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, WoW X Children's Target Archery MIC