To the Atlantian Ministers of the List does Lady Theodora Delamore, Kingdom Minister of the Lists, send greetings on this blustery spring day!
As most of you know, Their Gracious Majesties, Ragnarr and Kyneburh, have chosen me as Their Kingdom Minister of the List. I am honored by Their trust and I look forward to working with you all.
I receive lots of questions on how the Kingdom List Office issues warrants. Here's the answer:
No one is an officer just because their group chooses them. No one is warranted until they contact the Kingdom Minister of the List and request a warrant. Group officer candidates must also get a letter of endorsement from their seneschal. There is a bad habit of just electing someone at the local business meeting and never contacting their Kingdom superior to request a warrant.
One last reminder on the required MOL 101 class. Your packet's address label shows a (Yes) or (No) corresponding to whether the KMOL records indicate you have taken the class. All '(No)'s will be dropped from the roster at the end of June.
The KMoL policies are currently under revision. (I know that's what the last packet letter said, but we have moved to the draft stage.) As specified in Kingdom Law, before policy revisions go into effect, Their Majesties must approve them, and the policies must be published in The Acorn. My hope is to have the policies approved and ready by June 1st. The exact publication schedule will depend on what Their Majesties and the Kingdom Chronicler's Office can accommodate, since all the Great Officers are submitting policy revisions at the same time.
Policy is purposefully kept very sparse, stating only the absolute requirements. This is not always helpful when trying to figure out how to run a tournament. So, along with policy, the KMoL office plans to publish a MOL handbook. Lady Ilse von Brenner has agreed to be the handbook editor, and she already has my eternal thanks. We expect to have this ready for publication by June 30th. I am still working with the Kingdom Exchequer and Kingdom Chronicler to figure out how to fund and distribute this handbook.
One major change in the works is the revision of the Atlantian Event Registration Form. In order to register a fighting event, the Kingdom Chronicler's will be requiring the signature of the MOL-In-Charge, in addition to the Marshal-In-Charge. This will give the Kingdom List Office a point of contact if the report goes astray; and help enforce the requirement that only a warranted MoL may run the list table at an Atlantia event.
For the purposes of this requirement, 'an Atlantia event' is any event published in The Acorn. A warranted list officer must run all combat activities at an Acorn event. This includes the obvious activities such as tournaments and battles. It also includes the not so obvious activities, such as war practices, collegiums, fighter practices at events, pick-up fights, and classes at University. If it's published in The Acorn and someone is going to be swung at, groups must have a warranted MOL handling check-in. The 'He's not a member yet, so he's just going to do pick-ups on the side' and the 'It's just a collegium/University practice, so no one checked waivers - do we have to?' must stop. It does not comply with Corpora's waiver requirements; it is against Kingdom Law, against KMoL policy, and just not acceptable practice. (I'll be happy to expand on this rant in person - I'll even use shadow puppets - you have but to ask.)
As many of you have noticed, the KMoL now has a website http://mol.atlantia.sca.org/, thanks to Lord Roland de Mounteney. The legal paperwork forms, an on-line roster, and a current fighter list are available on-line. Tournament format blanks, policy, and handbook should go online before the end of the summer.
A reminder: If you don't want your contact information on-line or in the print roster, please tell me and I will block it. I have tried to be vigilant about getting 'permission to publish' from all list officers, but I'm certain I missed someone.
Since the website has proven so successful, I am asking your help in a further experiment - electronic distribution of the quarterly packets. It is my guess that about half the warranted list officers have access to this on-line information. I would like to use that to cut down the costs of the quarterly packet production. Participating list officers would receive the KMoL's quarterly packet letter by US Postal Service, detailing any updates to the office and reminding them to download these updates from the website.
Enclosed in this packet is a postcard asking you to indicate whether you wish to participate in electronic distribution. I would greatly appreciate it if everyone would check 'Yes' or 'No' as desired, and mail it back. Based on these responses, I will try electronic distribution with the August packets and we'll see how theory works in practice.
According to the Pennsic website (http://www.pennsicwar.org/), the deadline for Pennsic authorizations is July 31st, 2000. Considering that I will be at Pennsic on August 5th, I make no guarantees that any event reports I receive after July 20th will get processed before I leave for Pennsic.
To ensure fighters get their cards, I will be processing paperwork at War. If you are MOL-ing an event towards the end of July, you should contact me and we will figure out how to handle the report. If you need to find me at Pennsic, I will be camping in the N-18 area with the group 'Vair and Ermine'.
Please, warn all of your minor fighters that "NO ONE UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN COMBAT RELATED ACTIVITIES AT PENNSIC. ANYONE FOUND ASSISTING A MINOR IN PARTICPATING IN SUCH ACTIVITIES WILL BE EVICTED FROM THE SITE. The only exception are those activities sponsored under the East Kingdom Page's Program." This is quoted directly from the Pennsic autocrat's letter and I have confirmed it with the Pennsic Marshal in Charge. Atlantia is a Kingdom of honor and courtesy: We should ensure that our minors, no matter how disappointed they may be, comply.
Duke Galmr Ingolfsson, Earl Marshal for Atlantia, has asked me to notify all Kingdom list officers of the final ruling of the Atlantian Marshallate concerning Gregg Ervin, known within the Society as Shaitan. For evading his responsibilities with respect to appropriate paperwork, intentionally defrauding the SCA and encouraging others to do the same, Shaitan has been banned from fighting at any SCA event in any Kingdom for 18 months. I assure you that the Atlantia Marshallate does not take this action lightly, and the Kingdom list office will assist them in enforcing this ban.
Once his suspension ends, Shaitan will be permitted to reauthorize on or after May 1st, 2001 assuming that he is in compliance with all requirements in effect at that time. The Earl Marshal of Atlantia shall conduct that reauthorization personally or may delegate it to another senior Atlantian marshal specifically assigned that task in writing. In addition, Shaitan must serve a 24-month probationary period beginning on the 1st of May 2001 and ending on the 30th of April 2003.
If, at any time during his suspension, Shaitan attempts to sign in at the list table, notify the presiding marshal at once, and do not permit him to check in. If you notice him enter the field, notify the presiding marshal who will remove him from the field. Even after the suspension ends May 1st, 2001, Shaitan is still subject to the terms of his probation. Violations of this probation include any deviations from proper procedure at any SCA event. This includes, but is not limited to, failure to check in at the list table and discourteous behavior towards list officers and marshals. These must also be reported to the Marshal in Charge and both the KMoL and the Earl Marshal as quickly as possible.
And you all thought Nia talked a lot. I will try to keep these letters as brief as possible, but given the current turmoil of required training and new policies, there is a lot to talk about. I thank you all for your patience and your continued service.
Theodora
Done this 29th day of April, A.S. XXXIV, being the year 2000 in the Common Era.