Arts and Sciences Competition
General Rules for Participation in the Middle Kingdom Arts and Sciences Faire - Regional and Kingdom Level
1. The Middle Kingdom Arts & Sciences Faire is open to all SCA participants.
2. All entries must represent pre-Seventeenth century culture and be derived from a European culture or another culture which had documentable contact with Europe during that period.
3. In order to eligible for participation, an entry:
• must have been completed (but not started) within the previous two years.
• may not have been entered in any previous year’s regional or kingdom level faire. An entry may have been entered in any other competition, show or display either in or outside the Middle Kingdom.
• must comply with the General rules for the Faire as well as the particular category rulesthe entry is placed under.
4. Participants may submit their work for critique and advancement to Kingdom Finals in any regional faire; however, participants in the Pentathlon must submit their work in the region where they reside if they wish to be considered for Regional Arts Champion. If not, they may submit in any Region.
5. Participants may choose to submit their work for critique only (no placement is given) in any district faire; however, such a piece may not be entered elsewhere or at any other time for scoring, and will in no case be advanced to Kingdom Finals.
6. The entrant’s name, the name of the person the entry was created for, or an SCA group name, must appear on the documentation or entry ticket unless the entrant wishes to remain anonymous. In that case, the entrant must have their name, etc. on the registration.
7. Face-to-face judging is the default judging method at Regional and Kingdom levels. Anonymous judging must be requested at the time the entrant registers.
8. Each entry must be accompanied by one entry ticket and three expendable copies of documentation. It is strongly recommended that once an entry number has been assigned to an entry, the participant should record that entry number on all copies of the entry’s documentation.
9. The amount and style of documentation provided is at the participant’s discretion, but excessive length is discouraged.
10. A participant should do his or her own research; however, the participant may have help in preparing the written documentation, provided that such assistance is indicated on the entry ticket. In such case, there will be an automatic deduction of one half (½) point from the documentation score for the entry. This does not include proofreading or suggestions.
11. Entries must be physically present the day of the regional or kingdom level faire. Performance entries must be live. Since the categories of Riding Performance, Equestrian and Animal Husbandry are mail-in categories and videotapes and DVDs are acceptable.
12. Substitutions of modern alternatives for products derived from endangered plant, animal,and insect species, and materials that may be toxic or hazardous will not be penalized.
13. Participants may enter as many categories as they wish, however, they may not enter more than three items in a single category.
14. A group submission may be entered in any category provided that all responsible individuals are listed on the entry ticket. An individual may enter a group project for individual critique only if their work is clearly distinguishable. In this case, s/he must submit a separate entry ticket and documentation. Specific written entry lengths and running time limits for performances are set forth in the rules for those categories.
15. Mail-in category entries must be received by the mail-in category deadline, which is set by the Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences and announced in the Middle Kingdom newsletter The Pale.
16. Materials used in the creation of entries may be modern if they resemble period materials. An entrant may procure period materials, such as hand woven, naturally dyed cloth, from another source. An entrant is not required to produce these materials, but they are welcome to do so.
17. Any beverage, foodstuff, or herbal entry must conform to the Prohibited and Restricted Herbs list if intended for tasting and/or ingestion (including skin absorption). Any herb used in an entry must be listed in the documentation by its commmon English name and its Latin botanical name.
18. If appropriate, an entry may be cross-entered in only one other category. A separate entry ticket and documentation must be submitted for the cross-entry. Any entry that is entered as a suite of items may not be broken up into individual components to cross enter into other categories. The entry maybe cross-entered as a suite into only one other category. An entry’s score will be the average of scores given to it by the judges in that category. Each entry will receive a placement based on its average score, rounded to the nearest whole number as follows: First Place: 24.5 to 30 Points. Second Place: 18.5 to 24.4 Points. Third Place: 12.5 to 18.4 Points. Honorable Mention: 12.4 or fewer Points.
19. All entries which receive a First or second Place at the regional level are eligible for advancement to Kingdom Fair.
20. The regional and kingdom level faires will operate on the honor system. Any person who deliberately submits false information or claims works which have not been done by them (with the documentation exception detail in rule #10), will have all entries disqualified and will be barred from participation the following year.
21. Entries may be modified between the Regional and Kingdom level fairs; but this modification must be noted with a paragraph at the end of the documentation noting changes and reasoning. Documentation may be enhanced between the Regional and Kingdom level fairs too include new information or incorporate comments and information from the regional level judges.
22. The Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences reserves the right to open new faire categories if there is interest in the kingdom to warrant new categories.
23. The Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions to the General Rules on a case-by-case basis.
24. Any entrant at a Regional Faire may appeal to the Regional MOAS for rejudging of a piece. At Kingdom, any entrant may appeal to the KMOAS for rejudging. If rejudging is requested, the new scores are final.
25. Entries produced from kits are not eligible for entry. The use of templates is permitted.
The Middle Kingdom Arts and Sciences Faire Judging Criteria, 2011 Edition.
Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,2003, 2011 by the Middle Kingdom of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
Individual criteria in this volume may be photocopied and disseminated for use within the Middle Kingdom Arts and Sciences Faire cloth, from another source. An entrant is not required to produce these materials, but they are welcome to do so.
1. The Middle Kingdom Arts & Sciences Faire is open to all SCA participants.
2. All entries must represent pre-Seventeenth century culture and be derived from a European culture or another culture which had documentable contact with Europe during that period.
3. In order to eligible for participation, an entry:
• must have been completed (but not started) within the previous two years.
• may not have been entered in any previous year’s regional or kingdom level faire. An entry may have been entered in any other competition, show or display either in or outside the Middle Kingdom.
• must comply with the General rules for the Faire as well as the particular category rulesthe entry is placed under.
4. Participants may submit their work for critique and advancement to Kingdom Finals in any regional faire; however, participants in the Pentathlon must submit their work in the region where they reside if they wish to be considered for Regional Arts Champion. If not, they may submit in any Region.
5. Participants may choose to submit their work for critique only (no placement is given) in any district faire; however, such a piece may not be entered elsewhere or at any other time for scoring, and will in no case be advanced to Kingdom Finals.
6. The entrant’s name, the name of the person the entry was created for, or an SCA group name, must appear on the documentation or entry ticket unless the entrant wishes to remain anonymous. In that case, the entrant must have their name, etc. on the registration.
7. Face-to-face judging is the default judging method at Regional and Kingdom levels. Anonymous judging must be requested at the time the entrant registers.
8. Each entry must be accompanied by one entry ticket and three expendable copies of documentation. It is strongly recommended that once an entry number has been assigned to an entry, the participant should record that entry number on all copies of the entry’s documentation.
9. The amount and style of documentation provided is at the participant’s discretion, but excessive length is discouraged.
10. A participant should do his or her own research; however, the participant may have help in preparing the written documentation, provided that such assistance is indicated on the entry ticket. In such case, there will be an automatic deduction of one half (½) point from the documentation score for the entry. This does not include proofreading or suggestions.
11. Entries must be physically present the day of the regional or kingdom level faire. Performance entries must be live. Since the categories of Riding Performance, Equestrian and Animal Husbandry are mail-in categories and videotapes and DVDs are acceptable.
12. Substitutions of modern alternatives for products derived from endangered plant, animal,and insect species, and materials that may be toxic or hazardous will not be penalized.
13. Participants may enter as many categories as they wish, however, they may not enter more than three items in a single category.
14. A group submission may be entered in any category provided that all responsible individuals are listed on the entry ticket. An individual may enter a group project for individual critique only if their work is clearly distinguishable. In this case, s/he must submit a separate entry ticket and documentation. Specific written entry lengths and running time limits for performances are set forth in the rules for those categories.
15. Mail-in category entries must be received by the mail-in category deadline, which is set by the Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences and announced in the Middle Kingdom newsletter The Pale.
16. Materials used in the creation of entries may be modern if they resemble period materials. An entrant may procure period materials, such as hand woven, naturally dyed cloth, from another source. An entrant is not required to produce these materials, but they are welcome to do so.
17. Any beverage, foodstuff, or herbal entry must conform to the Prohibited and Restricted Herbs list if intended for tasting and/or ingestion (including skin absorption). Any herb used in an entry must be listed in the documentation by its commmon English name and its Latin botanical name.
18. If appropriate, an entry may be cross-entered in only one other category. A separate entry ticket and documentation must be submitted for the cross-entry. Any entry that is entered as a suite of items may not be broken up into individual components to cross enter into other categories. The entry maybe cross-entered as a suite into only one other category. An entry’s score will be the average of scores given to it by the judges in that category. Each entry will receive a placement based on its average score, rounded to the nearest whole number as follows: First Place: 24.5 to 30 Points. Second Place: 18.5 to 24.4 Points. Third Place: 12.5 to 18.4 Points. Honorable Mention: 12.4 or fewer Points.
19. All entries which receive a First or second Place at the regional level are eligible for advancement to Kingdom Fair.
20. The regional and kingdom level faires will operate on the honor system. Any person who deliberately submits false information or claims works which have not been done by them (with the documentation exception detail in rule #10), will have all entries disqualified and will be barred from participation the following year.
21. Entries may be modified between the Regional and Kingdom level fairs; but this modification must be noted with a paragraph at the end of the documentation noting changes and reasoning. Documentation may be enhanced between the Regional and Kingdom level fairs too include new information or incorporate comments and information from the regional level judges.
22. The Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences reserves the right to open new faire categories if there is interest in the kingdom to warrant new categories.
23. The Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions to the General Rules on a case-by-case basis.
24. Any entrant at a Regional Faire may appeal to the Regional MOAS for rejudging of a piece. At Kingdom, any entrant may appeal to the KMOAS for rejudging. If rejudging is requested, the new scores are final.
25. Entries produced from kits are not eligible for entry. The use of templates is permitted.
The Middle Kingdom Arts and Sciences Faire Judging Criteria, 2011 Edition.
Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,2003, 2011 by the Middle Kingdom of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
Individual criteria in this volume may be photocopied and disseminated for use within the Middle Kingdom Arts and Sciences Faire cloth, from another source. An entrant is not required to produce these materials, but they are welcome to do so.