Their Royal Highnesses
Greetings unto the populace of Northshield!
Summer is in full swing and that means War Season! We feel it is important for all of us to show our support to Their Royal Majesties in any way possible during this season. We hope all of Our combatants do their best to fight and have fun on the field of battle. For those who choose to support their Crown through arts (like dance!) or through service, please know We see you and greatly appreciate the contributions you bring to our multifaceted and inclusive community. The magic of the SCA does not happen without you all! Stay hydrated, recognize when your body is telling you to take a break, and remember to wear your sunscreen!
Please note that this month Her Highness, Isabella, will be supporting Their Royal Majesties at Pennsic War and She looks forward to joining the Archery Corps with her beloved crossbow, Mirabelle. Mirabelle will also make her appearance at Crispin’s Archery Thing and hopes to see other crossbows there as well! His Highness, Yngvar, will be attending Poor Man’s Pennsic and looks forward to seeing how the Northshield Army shines!
Speaking of fighting, it has come to Our attention that there may be a need in the future to choose our own heirs. Because We feel it is better for all to have as much time to prepare as possible, below is Our Crown Tournament Format.
Fall Crown list will allow any weapons other than spear or other melee-specific weapons. Each bout will be “bring your best”. Each bout will be one fight (rather than best two out of three). The format will be as follows:
There will first be a round robin tourney. If there are more than nine fighters, there will be pools for the round robin tournament. These pools will be randomly seeded by draw and will each contain as close to the same number of combatants as possible. The number of pools will be determined by the number of entrants, so that no pool contains more than nine fighters. If there is one round robin pool, the top four entrants will be selected to proceed, otherwise, the top two entrants out of each pool will be selected to proceed. Please note that ties in the top of the pool(s) will be broken by one additional match between tied combatants, and mutually destructive fights will be refought throughout the pool(s).
The top entrants selected from the round robin tourney will then fight in a double elimination tournament to determine the victor of the day. If the number of entrants in the final double elimination tourney is not a standard number for double eliminations (ex. 4, 8, 16), byes or challenge-ins will be used as deemed appropriate by the Minister of the List.
In addition to the requirements in kingdom law (listed below), We require that each combatant and consort demonstrate some previous service to kingdom or local group. This could be anything from holding office to helping at an event. Also, each must submit their current heraldry (if they have personal heraldry) with their letters of intent.
Per Kingdom Law III-900:
All prospective combatants and their consorts must meet the minimum criteria in the Governing Documents, as well as the following requirements:
1. Each must have been a subject of Northshield for one year immediately before the Crown Tournament.
2. Each must be a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and have access to the Northwatch.
3. All prospective combatants and their consorts must be acceptable to the Presiding Royalty.
4. No one under 18 years old may fight or be fought for in a Crown Tournament.
5. No member of the Royalty may either fight or be fought for in a Crown Tournament.
6. One member of the couple must also affirm that they can and will maintain the ability to legally cross the U.S./Canadian international border for the duration of their reign, should they be victorious, to ensure that they are free to travel to all parts of the Kingdom.
This means that any who fight in Crown must have one member of the pair that can cross the international border legally. This includes but is not limited to them being vaccinated per the mundane laws in place and not having a felony, OWI, DWI, etc.
7. All prospective combatants must hold a valid Northshield Armored Combat authorization card. If the combatant does not hold all authorizations that will be used in the tournament, the Crown has the sole discretion as to how and whether they will allow that combatant to participate.
By choosing to fight in Crown they have agreed to these terms and attested that they do indeed meet all the requirements and that at least one of them can legally cross the border to the best of their knowledge and belief.
Letters of Intent are due by 11:59pm the day of Coronation (September 9, 2023) and should be sent to trh@northshield.org and seneschal@northshield.org.
We look forward to seeing you this summer and remember to Fight Well, Dance Often, and, most importantly, Have Fun!
Yours Ever in Service to the Dream,
Yngvar & Isabella