Category: Archived

On 25 October 2021, the Board updated its process in the COVIDSafe policy for checking vaccinations and negative test results.

Paragraph seven now reads:

‘The Kingdom must check for proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative COVID test at an event. The event organizer may designate multiple people to perform the vaccination/negative COVID test check where each person performing the check is responsible for all people whose last name begins within a specified subset of the alphabet (for example, one person for A-H, one person for I-M, etc.)

The event organizer, or their designee, shall maintain a list of names and times of the person(s) conducting the check at the entrance. A separate list shall be maintained for each alphabet group. Once the entrance is closed at the event, said person(s) will sign a statement at the bottom of the list of names and times, which reads:

“I have monitored the event entrance at the times noted above, and I have verified that each person age 12 and over with last names through _, entering the event during that time to have shown me proper identification, along with either proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of the start of the event.”

The event organizer, or their designee, shall forward the signed statement(s) to the Kingdom Seneschal, or their designee, who shall maintain such records in accordance with the standards for retention of waivers.’

The full policy is available here: https://www.sca.org/news/covidsafe-proof-of-fully-vaccinated-status-or-negative-covid-test-policy-resolution/

The Kingdom Seneschal seeks applications for her successor. Candidates must be interested in policy and implementation, must have strong communication and management skills, and must have previously served in the seneschallate (at any level) or in another Kingdom office (regional deputy, special-subject deputy, or Kingdom officer). See East Kingdom Law, below, for the duties of Kingdom Officers generally and the Kingdom Seneschal in particular.

Please send letters of interest describing your experience and your goals for this office to seneschal@eastkingdom.org by November 30, 2021. Interviews will take place in December, with the intent to confirm & begin training a candidate in early 2022.

The position of Kingdom Seneschal is complex and can move very quickly. Most of the time, Kingdom Seneschal duties can wait until your daily check-in time. Occasionally, though, urgent issues overtake your day-to-day; candidates should have a strong support network to help out on such days.

• A slow week might be 5-7 hrs, responding to email from the Crown, other Kingdom Officers, the populace, or the Society Seneschal
• An average week is closer to 12-15 hrs, with multiple issues needing attention and back & forth communication, sometimes needing research, often needing a review of Corpora/Society Seneschal Handbook/EK Law/EK Seneschal Handbook before replying
  • This is a pre-pandemic — and hopefully soon, a new normal — week
• A busy week can spike to as much as 20+, depending on what’s added to an average week
  • Curia (prep, the meeting itself, follow-up)
  • Training sessions/office hours with branch seneschals (usually in 2 hr blocks)
  • The announcement of a new Board policy
  • Compiling a complex sanction package for the Board

Strong communication skills are essential. The Kingdom Seneschal:

• Oversees sensitive sanction investigations
• Says “no” (sometimes) to your friends, especially the Crown or Heirs
• Manages conflicting personalities
• Communicates policies multiple times, in multiple venues, for different audiences (branch seneschals, Kingdom officers & Crown, general populace)

Skills in paying close attention to details and multitasking are essential. The Kingdom Seneschal:

• Interprets Corpora and EK Law, and understands where Kingdom authority ends and Society Seneschal authority begins
• Responds to issues happening across 2 countries & languages, including varying local customs
• Oversees a quarterly reporting system
• Coordinates with other Kingdom officers as needed, particularly the Exchequer

East Kingdom Law IV  Kingdom Officers

A. Duties and Powers of the Kingdom Officers

1. Greater Officers must make every reasonable effort to attend the Curia Regis. Those who cannot attend must send a representative or a written report. Lesser Officers are encouraged to attend Curia or send a representative or written report.
2. Greater Officers will submit reports as required by their Society superiors and East Kingdom Law. Lesser Officers will submit reports as required by their Kingdom superiors and East Kingdom Law.
3. Each Kingdom Officer who holds an account or property in the name of the SCA, Inc. must file a financial report with the Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer at the end of the fiscal year. Such officers must also file a financial report covering any portion of the current fiscal year during which they held the office with the incoming officer and the Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer within sixty days of leaving office.
4. Each Kingdom Officer will designate and train a deputy. Should a Kingdom Officer resign or become unable to perform the duties of the office, the deputy will take over those duties until the end of the original term of office, a successor is chosen, or until the original Kingdom Officer is again able to perform those duties.
5. Any Kingdom Officer may appoint additional deputies as are deemed necessary for the proper function of the office.
6. Kingdom Officers will supervise and coordinate the actions of their local counterparts throughout the East Kingdom.
7. Kingdom Officers have the authority to make policy for the discharge of their offices and their subordinates’ duties, within the limits of their offices.
   1. Upon a change of office, all policies will be reviewed by the incoming Kingdom Officer, and updated as necessary.
   2. Each Kingdom Officer will review their policies at least once every two years, and update them as necessary.
   3. Whenever a Kingdom Officer makes any changes to any of their policies, they will make an announcement of such in Pikestaff. It is not necessary to print the exact text of the changes in Pikestaff.
   4. Each Kingdom Officer is responsible for making their policies available via the East Kingdom website or the recognized website of their office. They will also make paper copies available, upon request, at the expense of the requestor.
8. Officers of the East Kingdom and their deputies shall use their officially-provided online account for all business of their office.
9. Kingdom Officers will maintain reference versions of all electronic records critical to the functioning of their offices. This may be accomplished by maintaining hard-copy files, or by maintaining archival electronic copies according to standards and procedures developed by the Kingdom Archivist and the Kingdom Webminister.
10. Kingdom Officers’ files and materials must be fully transferred from the outgoing officer to the incoming officer within thirty days after the date of formal transfer of the office.

B. Greater Officers and Their Individual Duties

1. The Kingdom Seneschal:
   1. Acts as advisor in the legal and governmental activities of the Crown and subjects of the Kingdom.
   2. Acts as the Chief Coordinating Officer of the Kingdom in fulfilling the reporting function to the Society Seneschal and the Board of Directors.
   3. Is responsible for coordinating the Curia Regis and maintaining the current version of East Kingdom Law.
   4. Supervises the Lesser Office of Kingdom Archivist.
   5. Supervises the Lesser Office of Kingdom Accessibility Porter.
   6. Supervises the Lesser Office of Kingdom Waiver Secretary.
   7. Supervises the Lesser Office of Kingdom Social Media Officer.

You can download the full job description here:

KSen Job Listing October 2021.pdf

See Documents for relevant additional reading/review material

The Kingdom Seneschal seeks candidates for the position of New Groups Deputy. This person guides incipient groups through the process of becoming a full status branch. Candidates must have strong organization & communication skills, must understand and even enjoy working with Society and Kingdom policy details and procedures, and must be a paid member of the Society. 

This position will also be supporting all branches with recruiting and retaining new members (with a possible name change to the position to reflect this larger scope). Candidates should have experience in this area and/or creative ideas for helping groups return from the pandemic on a stronger footing.

Candidates should submit an email of interest outlining their experience (mundane or in the Society) to the Kingdom Seneschal (seneschal@eastkingdom.org) by October 15th. 

In service,
Medhbh

Good populace of the East Kingdom,

Their Majesties call for Letters of Intent to enter Their Crown Tournament. Letters are due by September 30, 2021. Please see the following announcement: https://www.eastkingdom.org/ek_announcement/september-7-2021-crown-tournament-letters-of-intent/

In service,
Medhbh

Good afternoon, East Kingdom,

With the Board’s most recent decision (https://www.sca.org/news/resolution-to-further-lift-suspension-of-in-person-activity-in-the-sca-as-of-august-1-2021/), as we are now back to events almost as we had previously known them.

Almost all activities which had been limited by the pandemic are back: overnight camping, feasts and dayboards, rattan & rapier practice, etc. See below for the remaining restrictions on what is allowed.

Here are the current requirements for all in-person gatherings of any size (practice, meeting, event — if it’s sponsored by a branch, the following applies):

1. Follow all federal/state/province/local requirements regarding COVID safety. Given the surge in the Delta variant, government requirements might be shifting in the weeks ahead. If you are holding an in-person gathering of any kind in upcoming months, make sure you are up to date on the relevant safety requirements.

2. All attendees must be signed in on a separate roster for contact tracing, with their legal name, and either an email or a phone number. This can be achieved either with pre-registration or a sign-in sheet at gate.

3. All in-person gatherings must display the following wording at gate (and in multiple locations beyond gate if it’s a large event):

Although the SCA complies with all applicable laws to ensure the health and safety of our event participants, we cannot eliminate the risk of exposure to infectious diseases during in-person events. By participating in the in-person events of the SCA, you acknowledge and accept the potential risks. You agree to take any additional steps to protect your own health and safety and those under your control as you believe to be necessary.

4. At this time, the East Kingdom does not have additional requirements. Their Majesties, Their Highnesses, and I continue to urge everyone to wear masks in order to create a safer environment for all and to make it easier for families with young children (who cannot yet be vaccinated and therefore must wear masks) to attend.

Branches are always able to set stricter safety requirements — such as requiring masks — than Kingdom, if they choose. Please keep me posted if your branch is considering this option. The Kingdom Exchequer Council has a fund to aid groups with cleaning supplies — please email the Kingdom Exchequer or me for details.

Restrictions that remain in place at this time:

1. Branch-sponsored in-person gatherings cannot ask about vaccinated/COVID negative status unless required by the private site owner/venue or government officials. If your branch is asked to sign a contract that includes requiring vaccination, please let me know.

2. Branch-sponsored in-person gatherings cannot use any ribbon/button/symbol/color-coded (etc) system for indicating whether the recipient is or is not welcoming physical contact like hugs. Any individual is always welcome to display such a badge, and if any individual wants to make such available to others — away from gate — that’s also fine. As long as the event/meeting staff are not distributing or otherwise seeming to require such badges, they’re fine.
3. Water-bearing in which water is squirted/sprayed/poured from a communal vessel directly into the mouth are off-limits. Bottled water is fine and water in a large cooler with a spigot is fine as long as care is taken that individuals’ drinking vessel doesn’t come in contact with the spigot.

4. Open serving bowls/platters in which participants reach in with their hands to take items (bowls of pickles, orange wedges, pretzels, etc) are off-limits. use serving utensils and/or have staff serve items for better food safety.

In service to the Kingdom,
Medhbh
Kingdom Seneschal

New Groups Deputy

The New Groups Deputy works with members of the populace who wish to form an incipient branch or to change their branch status to make sure they understand the steps as defined in Corpora and East Kingdom Law.

Position duties include:

• guiding potential incipient branch members or members of an established branch who wish to change their group’s status through Corpora and EK Law requirements
• reporting to the Kingdom Seneschal about new group/group change progress
• working with the Kingdom Seneschal to develop tools to make new group/group change requirements more accessible to the populace

Candidates must be a current member of the SCA with access to their East Kingdom email account. An interest in policy and strong communication skills are essential.

Interested candidates should email the Kingdom Seneschal with a description of their background and relevant experience.