[Artemisia] Kingdom Calendar Change Proposal (long)

[Elaine Higgins]

I happen to like the present schedule.  However, I'm willing to consider
changes such as these proposed.

However, there is another aspect which no one else has yet mentioned:  Such
sweeping changes would affect every local group, and especially those who
have held the same event on a given weekend for years.  Some groups have to
reserve sites a year in advance, and this is not just baronies; we here in
Stan Wyrm have to reserve Camp Rotary a year ahead to get it for Dragon's
Tear.

Plus, one of the reasons for changing the length of time winners of Crown
are heirs was because a longer time was needed to reserve a site for
Coronation.  This proposal would fix that, BUT!  What kind of "rotation"
are we talking about here???  Some groups don't have the facilities or the
number of players to host a Kingdom-level event.  That fact would have to
be taken into consideration.

I also don't think attendance will change noticeably no matter when or
where events are held.  People simply have other interests besides the SCA,
and also, many will not travel the more-than-all-day distances some of us
are from others of us, especially for a one-day event.  In the past, I
guess it was when we were still part of Atenveldt, events lasted the whole
weekend, with activities going on all 3 days.  Then there was more reason
to travel to a distant event, especially a camping event, since who wants
to put up a tent just for 1 night?

As for snow, as others have said, it can snow any month of the year!  (And
I was the only Montanan at Coronation earlier this month, because I left
home a day ahead of the predicted storm.)  The worst travel weather I've
ever seen was at a Coronation in Twae Linnes years ago in March -- the
roads were so bad that even the truckers were stopping and getting motel
rooms!

My 2 cents.
Mistress Iduna Snorradottir
idunasnorra at gmail.com



On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 11:07 AM, Jeanine Schlauch <jeanines at cableone.net>wrote:

> Greetings to the Kingdom,
>
> I would like to restart the conversation around Master Braden's proposal to
> change the dates of our Kingdom events.
>
> We, the populace, are the Kingdom and we, the populace, have not been
> attending events as much as we used to.  Of course, the economy is in part
> to blame - less money, high gas prices, you betcha.  However, I firmly
> believe that the current Kingdom schedule carries a lot of that burden.
>
> To refresh everyone's memory, the Kingdom Calendar for past few years has
> been Coronation in March; Crown in April; A&S in May and Coronation in
> September; Crown in October;  Collegium in November; with various champion
> tournaments spread out over the year at whatever event might have room.
>
> *Current Problems*
>
>   Not very many people can attend 3 Kingdom in a row - even if they weren't
> spread out over such a huge distance.   A&S and especially Collegium suffer
> the most, being lightly attended in the first place and last in line in the
> second.   The idea of a Champions Weekend has merit - however, I do not
> believe it will go far enough to solve our current problems.
>
>   Affordable sites are hard to come by - especially at the last minute.
> The stress level for a group asked to host a Coronation with just a few
> months notice is incredible and IMO, unfair and unnecessary.
>
>   We live in the Northwest - we are going to have snow whenever it feels
> like snowing; January does not hold the monopoly on bad weather - just ask
> the folks from Montana if they made it to Coronation in March or the folks
> who tore down Uprising in a snow storm.
>
>
>    Less Coordination/Communication between groups regarding events in
> general and Premier events in particular
>
>   As it stands now, the Winter Reign has  Harvest War, GWW and sometimes
> Battlemoor; while the Summer Reign has Estrella (sometimes), Gulf Wars
> (again, sometimes); Uprising, Lilies; AnTir/West and Pennsic;
>
>
>  *Proposed Changes*
>
>      Kingdom weekend moves to the *3rd weekend* of the month
>
>      Coronations are rotated throughout the Kingdom, same as Crowns
>
>      January Coronation (MLK's weekend)
>
>      April Crown
>
>      July Coronation
>
>      October Crown
>
>      Champion Tourneys and Kingdom meetings (Seneschal(e)s; Reeves;
> Officers in general and Calendar discussions) - Labor Day weekend
>
> * 2015 Examples *
>
>          Coronation Jan 17-19
>
>          Crown Tourney Apr 18-19
>
>          Coronation July 18-19
>
>          Champions Weekend Sept 5-7
>
>          Crown Tourney Oct 17-18
>
>
>
>  *Benefits of this change*
>
>       Spreads the Kingdom events evenly over the year;
>
>       Eases the stress on the pocket book - 3 Kingdom events back to back
> over 3 months means fewer folk are able to attend all 3.
>
>
>       We get our Kingdom birthday back
>
>
>      The 3rd weekend of the month is not used for Crown events in any other
> close Kingdom
>
>
>       Makes use of two 3 day weekends - especially the one in January;
>
>
>       Lessens the amount of time, money and effort required of the Heirs
> and Crowns - widening the pool of potential candidates;  (frankly, 3 months
> as Heirs is more than long enough)
>
>      Allows each set of Crowns to go to multiple Wars throughout the
> Kingdom and the Known Worlde.   Estrella, Gulf Wars, Lilies, Uprising and
> West/An Tir during one; Pennsic; Raptor War, Harvest, Battlemoor and GWW in
> the other
>
>      Adding Coronation to the rotation eases the incredible stress on local
> groups/stewards and allows for long-term planning and acquisitions of
> sites; (anyone remember Pugmire campground?  They have a waiting list)
>
>
> It is my hope that we, as the members of this Kingdom, will discuss the
> merits of this proposal and if it is accepted - petition the Crown, the
> Heirs and the Seneschale to make these changes as soon as possible.
>
>
> Thank you for your time and attention.
>
>
> Most sincerely,
>
> Viscountess Morgan du Marc, OP
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