{"id":1743,"date":"2015-01-22T21:34:40","date_gmt":"2015-01-23T05:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.puckandmary.com\/blog_puck\/?p=1743"},"modified":"2015-01-22T23:51:03","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T07:51:03","slug":"an-open-letter-to-the-scas-board-of-directors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.puckandmary.com\/blog_puck\/2015\/01\/an-open-letter-to-the-scas-board-of-directors\/","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter to the SCA’s Board of Directors…"},"content":{"rendered":"

My name is R. E. “Puck” Curtis III and I have been participating in the SCA for over 20 years as a fencer.\u00a0 Inside the SCA I am known as don Pachomius Oneshoe (or Puck).<\/p>\n

\"Puck<\/a>

Puck Oneshoe, Order of the White Scarf<\/p><\/div>\n

Outside of the SCA I was the first White Scarf to certify as a classical Italian fencing master under the program founded by Maestro William Gaugler.<\/p>\n

\"Fencing<\/a>

Fencing Master’s Examination<\/p><\/div>\n

As such, I find myself in a strange\u00a0position.\u00a0 My mundane self outranks my SCA persona.<\/p>\n

I am a board certified Master at Arms entrusted with preserving an Italian martial art with a teacher-to-student lineage which dates back to the mid-1600s through the Scuola Magistrale Militare di Roma.\u00a0 I have taught fencing both within and without the SCA.\u00a0 In addition, I travel both inside and outside the United States to train and to teach European sword arts specializing in the historical Iberian traditions.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Dr. Mary Curtis<\/p><\/div>\n

My wife and partner in these efforts is Dr. Mary Curtis. \u00a0She is a Fulbright scholar and holds a PhD in Golden Age Spanish literature with a focus on the historical sword arts of the period.\u00a0 Dr. Curtis is also a White Scarf of the Kingdom of the West and she lived in Spain for a year combing through archives to research historical fencing.<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/a>

Gabriela de Avila, Order of the White Scarf<\/p><\/div>\n

It is with some reluctance that I admit I may be an SCA fencer of some note, but I also assert that were it not for the SCA I never would have achieved these things.\u00a0 In that sense, my accomplishments are a reflection of the Society itself and what is possible when a young man or woman is given a good start in the world.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it seems obvious what events have led us to this crisis of leadership in the Society.\u00a0 You will be receiving a slew of angry letters.\u00a0 I am not interested in assigning blame but instead in finding solutions.\u00a0 I shall suggest a different cause for our troubles and in so doing perhaps bring some hope and light into the conversation.<\/p>\n

The problem is fidelity.<\/p>\n

It is fellowship.<\/p>\n

It is our love for those who excel and do wondrous things.<\/p>\n

\u00a0There is a lack of equity in the awards structure but the love that people hold for each other remains the same.\u00a0 When a king or a queen sees a subject shine like a beacon their need to serve the subject stumbles because their hands are tied. \u00a0This has put the SCA under increasing social pressure as it tries to balance an outstanding (but diminishing) prejudice against fencing with a desire to recognize people of value in a fair way.\u00a0 That pressure has erupted in different ways.<\/p>\n

Consider two different solutions to the building social pressure:<\/p>\n