1. The Middle Kingdom Arts & Sciences Faire is open to all SCA participants.
2. All entries must represent the period 600 to 1600 Common Era (c.e.) and be derived from a European culture or another culture which had documentable contact with Europe during that period.
3. In order to be eligible for participation, an entry:
   • must have been completed (but not necessarily started) within the previous two years.
   • may not have been entered in any previous year's district or kingdom level faire. An entry may have been entered in any other competition, show or display either in or outside of the Middle Kingdom.
   • must comply with the General Rules for the Faire as well as the particular category rules the entry is placed under.

4. Participants may submit their work for critique and advancement to Kingdom Finals in any district faire, but participants in the Pentathlon Championship must submit their work for the Pentathlon in the district where they reside.
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. Entries must be as anonymous as possible. The entrant's name, the name of the person the entry was created for or an S.C.A. group name, should not appear on the documentation or entry ticket.
7. Face-to-Face judging is allowed at the district level as long as all judges and the entrant agree to it. Face-to-face judging is not allowed at the Kingdom Finals.
8. Each district and kingdom level entry must be accompanied by a $1.25 entry fee to defray administrative costs.
9. Each entry must be accompanied by one entry ticket and three expendable copies of documentation. It is strongly suggested 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.
10. The amount and style of documentation provided is at the participant's discretion, but excessive length is discouraged.
11. A participant should do their 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 0.5 points from the documentation score for the entry. Actual pieces and performances must be entered. Video tapes will be accepted for the categories of Riding Performance: Equestrian and Animal Husbandry and such entries will be treated as mail-in entries. Scale models are accepted in the Siege Engines category. Substitution of modern alternatives for products derived from endangered plant, animal and insect species will not be penalized.
12. Participants may enter as many categories as they wish, however they may enter no more than three pieces in a single category.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. Any beverage, foodstuff or herbal entry must conform to the Prohibited and Restricted Herbs list. Any herb used in an entry must be listed in the documentation by its Latin botanical name. Entries produced from kits are not eligible for entry. The use of templates is permitted.
17. If appropriate, an entry may be cross entered into only one other category. A separate entry ticket and documentation must be submitted for the cross entry. An 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 may be cross entered as a suite into only one other category. An entry's score will be the average of scores given 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: 25 to 30 points.
• Second Place: 19 to 24 points.
• Third Place: 13 to 18 points.
• Honorable Mention: 12 or fewer points.
18. All entries which are placed within the First or Second Division at the district level are eligible for advancement to the Kingdom Finals.
19. The district and kingdom level faires will operate on the honor system. Any person who deliberately submits false information or claims works which has not been done by them (with the documentation exception detailed in rule #10), will have all entries disqualified and will be barred from participation the following year.
20. Entries may not be reproduced or severely altered between the district and kingdom level faires. Documentation may be enhanced between the district and kingdom level faires to include new information or incorporate comments and information from the district level judges.
21. The Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences reserves the right to open new faire categories if there is interest in the kingdom to warrant the new category.
22. The Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions to the General Rules on a case-by-case basis.

The Middle Kingdom Arts and Sciences Faire Judging Criteria, 1998 Edition.
Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 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.