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| Demonstations |
| The good people of the Shire of Vanished Wood are
available to perform demonstrations of our martial talents, display our skills and crafts,
and provide introductory seminars on the Middle Ages in Chicago and the surrounding
suburbs. These demos are ideal for elementary school students, cub and girl scout
functions, libraries, church youth groups, and similar organizations. We demonstrate many reasons: to educate the public about medieval life, to
recruit new members, to garner publicity, and to have lots of fun!
If you are interested in discussing the arrangement of our services,
then please contact our Demo Coordinator |
Demo Policy
Society Seneschal's Handbook Appendix E:
- A demo (“demonstration”) is an organized educational effort
to teach and/or display activities of medieval interest in general, and SCA interest in
particular, to the general public. They are the primary way of introducing and finding new
recruits for the SCA. However, not all demos are the type that results in new members. An
elementary school demo is fun, but the likelihood of recruiting new members is low. A
university or Renaissance Fair demo is more likely to attract new members, but does not
necessarily contain the educational information of a school demo. Both are important, and
a group should find a balance between them.
- In order to be covered by SCA insurance, demos must be
approved by the sponsoring group’s Seneschal and the branch may restrict who may
represent them to the public. Restricting participation should be done with extreme
caution and care. A demo may also be an “event” if it meets the requirements for
an event as outlined in Corpora. At any demo, a paid SCA member must be present and in
charge of the demo.
- Demos where there are no combat-related activities do
not require waivers unless they are held as part of an SCA “event.” Therefore,
if there is no combat, and the demo is not held at an SCA event, waivers are not required.
Waivers may be completed individually, or a roster waiver may be used. It is not required
that spectators at demos sign waivers, as long as they don’t become participants.
- As with all martial activities, an authorized marshal
of whatever forms are being displayed must be present if there is fighting at a demo. SCA
combatants must be authorized in that weapons’ form/style in order to perform at the
demo.
- Demo organizers should pay particular attention to
site/host restrictions regarding SCA and live steel weapons. In general it is not a good
idea to allow the general public to handle live steel weapons at a demo and live steel
weapons must never be left unattended. SCA weapons (non–live steel) must not be left
unattended and in plain sight and access of the public. (They may be stored unattended in
tents, trucks, etc.)
- Since observers of SCA demos are generally not
familiar with SCA combat activities, special care for safety must be taken. Boundary ropes
are strongly recommended, and sufficient safety personnel must be provided to ensure
safety of combatants and observers.
- A member of the SCA may not hit a member of the public
with any weapon regardless of whether the member of the public is in armor and gives
consent. Adult members of the public who wish to try armored combat should be referred to
the nearest SCA group for instruction. (Note: target archery is not considered a
“combat-related activity,” and so waivers need not be signed for that activity,
but be certain that all appropriate safety procedures are taught and followed.)
- With specific safety restrictions, supervised children
age 12 and under may hit an armored SCA fighter with boffer weapons only, not rattan
weapons. Waivers are not needed from the parents of children who take part in
“fight-a-knight” activities. Minimum safety standards include keeping unarmored
observers at least 10 feet away from the armored fighter and child. Individual Kingdoms
may make more restrictive policies.
- Whenever a demo is done with children present, a
minimum of two unrelated adults must also be in attendance at that demo.
“Children” refers to anyone under the age of legal majority.
- No one may bring weapons of any kind onto the grounds
of a school without prior knowledge and consent of the school officials.
- There is no SCA policy that prohibits an SCA group
from charging a “demo” fee to the organization requesting the demo. However,
most groups accept donations rather than charging a set fee. With either a donation or a
“demo” fee, all monies should be in the form of a check, payable to the
“SCA, Inc., [group name]." Under no circumstances should an individual receive
cash or a check made out to them personally. SCA site fees may not be charged at a demo
unless the demo is held as part of an SCA event.
- Assuming appropriate safety precautions are in place,
and with any necessary instruction, participation is a highly effective method of
educating the demo guests—and fun for both the SCA member and guest.
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