Lady Fighter Tells All
http://tinadegenhart.com/2016/04/13/starting-sca-adventure/
I'll never forget the day where I was taking a riding lesson and my trainer at the time asked if I wanted to try out the SCA, The Society for Creative Anachronism. She had known that I was an avid LARPer, loved all things medieval and was always looking for a new adventure to go on. I had no idea what the SCA was nor had I ever heard of it. She tried explaining it but wasn’t quite sure herself.
Okay, no problem, I can do some research online and was open to the idea of attending some meetings or events or whatever this ‘SCA’ held. Unfortunately that plan of attack was much harder then I assumed it would be. We just couldn’t figure out where to start! That was five years ago…
Luckily, another friend of mine had figured it all out and started attending practices two years ago. Last year he attended one of my LARP events and the SCA was once again brought up. I explained my dismay on wanting to try it but not sure how to start. He was kind and patient enough to take me under his wing and explain it all in great detail while listing a few practices I could attend. It was actually much simpler then I had imagined!
Now that I’ve become active in the SCA and I’m very public about it, I constantly have people asking me how to join. And as easy as it is, it can be a little confusing at first. Instead of explaining it multiple times every day, I decided to write up this quick guide to get you started.
DISCLAIMER: This is in no way by any means a complete or detailed explanation on how to become super active in the SCA. This is just the bare bones so newer players have some sort of idea of where to start. Check out the Society Seneschal’s explanation here! There are also numerous blogs going into greater detail of what the SCA actually has to offer. This is just how to join in on the fun!
Article Abridged from link above. This lovely lady fighter tells her tale of how she met and became involved in the SCA. Well done, M'Lady - all acclaim and credit to you. Yes, dear reader, I added my comments, too - everything in red is Helvi's addition..
Membership
First things first… you do NOT need to be an official Member of the SCA to attend events, practices, meetings, etc. You can come and go as you please!
You pay a yearly fee but then get a discount at events, among other things. If you find yourself attending events regularly it will save you money in the long run.
Helpful but NOT mandatory. So don’t feel pressured or unsure of going to an event because you’re not a member.
Visit here for more member information: http://www.sca.org/members/about.html
Your Kingdom (An Tir)
The entire world is currently broken up into 20 Kingdoms. The first step on finding your local group is finding out which Kingdom you reside in.
Your Local Group (Barony of Stromgard)
Each Kingdom is broken up into Local Groups (Like the Barony of Stromgard). Some Kingdoms have an overabundance of groups while some have less. Each group has different levels of activity but knowing which one is the closest will give you a starting point.
Who To Reach Out To (Don't be shy - contact me, Helvi)
Every Kingdom has a Chatelaine. It is their job to welcome new players, answer any questions that the player may have, direct them to who might better help them or work through any confusion.
Now that you know your local group, they also have a Chatelaine who does the same job as the Kingdom Chatelaine but can do it on a more personal level since they are usually personally invested in that group (that would be me, Helvi).
No Response or Little Activity
Every Local Group is different. If you have a bad experience with one group the next local group may be the complete opposite experience. Don’t feel the need to be loyal to your Local Group and only participate with them. In fact feel free to try out different groups and different things with each group. One group might have a strong fighter practice while another has an amazing sewing group. I personally attend practices and events all throughout the Kingdom! Two of my ‘usual’ weekly practices are not even in my Local Group.Keep in mind that people even in a position of power are still players.
Many groups have loaner gear so you may be able to borrow axes, knives, fighter gear, tents, feast gear, calligraphy pens, etc.
Be Sure Borrow Things Like Your Grandma Taught You:
Ask before touching
Ask politely.
Ask ahead of time so your needs may more easily be accomodated.
Help out with the event or activity to show your appreciation. You'll learn more this way.
Ask "HOW DO I?" a lot.
Return items immediately and in the same condition you were loaned them, when done using them.
Don't take things that don't belong to you.
Don't remove items from the vicinity of their owner, or the event or activity location, without explicit permission from their owners.
If you find that your Stromgard's website is outdated or you’re not getting any responses when you reach out to them, never fear! There are ways around that. FYI: Stromgard is working on that - the webmeistress is working hard! You can also contact The Stream, Stromgard's Chat in Yahoo! Groups.
Contact your Kingdom’s Chatelaine. They will be better suited to either reach out to that Local Group or suggest a more active group.
Facebook!!! There are hundreds upon hundreds of SCA Facebook groups. You have the name of your Local Group, sometimes doing a quick search will come up with something that can help you get in touch with someone. Whether it be a fighter practice or event. And don’t worry if you’re not a fighter and have no interest in fighting (as fighter groups tend to be more active online). They are usually more then happy to answer any questions and steer you in the right direction. (check out all the links on the landing page of Helvi's blog - while that is not an exhaustive list, it's enough to get one started)
Events (An Tir)
The Event list can also be found on your Kingdom’s page. There is no rhyme and reason to when or where there are events. Some months there are events every weekend and some months there is barely one event. There might even be more then one event on a weekend! Especially if you live right on the border of two Kingdoms. My advice is to learn as much as you can about each event and see which one provides what interests you the most.
You can attend ANY SCA Event that you want, in fact, we encourage it! All you need to do is pay the entry fee and dress in medieval themed clothes so as not to break the immersion of all dressing in period clothes. If you don’t own any medieval clothes there will usually be a thing called the Gold Key at an event which loaner garb can be provided to you by the event host. (You or Helvi can contact them ahead of time so we have a better chance to have a style and size that suits you on hand for the event).
Every event has a page with any information you may need. If you still have questions there are contacts listed on the bottom you can reach out to. And once again, Facebook! There is usually a Facebook page for the event where you can ask any questions or see if someone else has already asked the same thing.
Some Events You Might Want to Check Out That I Found Awesome When I Started Out: Faire in the Grove (lots of demos) , Grand Thing (big event), and William Tell (small, fun event).