Report from SCA 50 Year Anniversary - Part 1

So...I just got back from the 50^th Year Celebration of the SCA event. It was an amazing event for me, full of fighting and medieval merriment, and also a few observations about things. I will be posting them in bite-sized pieces for easier digesting.

It had been a long time since I had spent a full day in armor, so I was looking forward to the opportunity that this trip presented. There were sure to be fighters of quality from all over the known world. AS it turned out there were about – fighters who were in the fighting arena every day to take part in tourneys and pickups, with a few others who came in once or twice., so we all got to know each other a little bit over the course of the week.

I fought in 6 tournaments and scenarios: A Pas d'Arms, a polearm tourney, a “5-weapons” tourney, a greatsword tourney a “tourney of Love and Honor,” and a “boat battle.”

The pas d'arms was the first fighting I did. It was a casual affair in which fighters were invited to challenge other fighters as the kings and queens of two kingdoms watched and participated. I fought about a half-dozen fighters, 5 rounds each. Most of them were knights. I did surprisingly well, I thought, and got to meet several knights and royals on my first day. One of them was the queen of Aethelmark, who gave me a small token, a ring with a little green stone, to give to my lady.

Later that day was a polearm tourney. I fought hard, but my polearm's thrusting tip was too stiff to use safely, so I was at a disadvantage. Also, a couple of the fighters chose to use daggers as secondary weapons. This also put me at a disadvantage when I was in close. I fought 6 fighters in a round-robin, best 2-out-of-3. It seemed, for a while, that I was in the tourney strictly to make sure that everyone else get at least one victory, but I did actually win one match.

To be continued...