Question for parents of youth fighters

We’ve had a lot of discussion here about some of the changes at the Memorial Day Weekend Curia.

We have not talked a lot about lowering the fighting age to 16 for heavy weapons and 14 for fencing.

I would really appreciate hearing from parents who have children affected by those changes.

What do you think? Do you anticipate your children getting involved? Are you comfortable with the changes? What concerns do you have?

Thoughts from former/current youth fighters?

Any other thoughts from parents/youth viewpoints would be helpful.

There will be a second part to this discussion focusing on adult fighters/marshals. Stay tuned.

Youth fighting -- the adult perspective

The drop in the youth fighting age has been a bit overshadowed by the other discussions going on, but I would like to get something going here from the point of view of the adult fighters and marshals.

I know that for some parents, reading “I will not fight anyone under 18” can seem a little harsh, but like any discussion, there are two sides. There are fighters and marshals who have serious concerns for their own legal standing, both in terms of potential lawsuits and for their jobs.

One of the big concerns to many folks is that the SCA, Inc., has not provided any legal background on adult vs. minor fighting and will not allow non-SCA attorneys to do the research.

In addition, many of us see these as an odd step considering how much we have been tightening the rules for adults and minors lately. Until now, people working directly with minors needed to pass the background check and needed to have a second person to whom they were not related there.

Once it’s published in Pikestaff, it will be legal for you to fight a minor one-on-one with no one else around. You will not need a background check, as far as I can see.

Thoughts from fighters and marshals?