I am a college student in a little town in Virginia. I want to get involved with the SCA, but I don’t know where to start.
-Newcomer
Kolfinna Says:
Getting started in the SCA can seem a daunting task at first, but it is worth the effort. The best thing to do is to find out where you live and start there. You can go to the SCA Geography web site, which lists the different Kingdoms and the geographic area that they reside in. Once you figure out what Kingdom you live in, find out what your local group is (Barony, Shire, Canton or College). Most local groups have an officer dedicated to helping new people join the SCA. Here in Caid they are commonly called “Chatelaines”, but the name of the office may vary among Kingdoms. If there is no newcomer’s officer in your local group, don’t fret. Attend the other functions your group has to offer. Go to the Dance Practices, the Business Meetings, and any other function. Getting to know the people will help you get involved in the SCA. Check out the following web sites, they are designed to help newcomers; SCA.org Newcomer Page and SCADemo.com.
Since this is a web site dedicated to women fighters, I’m also going to go off the question topic and expand on how to get started in fighting.
My advice on how to get started in fighting is very similar to how to get started in the SCA. Go to fighter practices, go to events, go to wars. Meet the other fighters, get to know them all. Find someone who will loan you their armor, so you can try fighting at a practice. After you’ve put on the borrowed armor a few times and fought in it, and made the decision to continue on in fighting, concentrate on getting your own gear. Make sure that you have all the stuff listed on our Fledgling Fighter page. Buy, Borrow, Beg, or Make your new armor. Many fighters have old bits of armor laying around that they would loan to you to help you start fighting. Note: If you do borrow armor, and then decide to stop fighting, please make sure you return the armor, so some other newcomer have the chance to experience fighting. When I started fighting, I had many fighters help me make my armor, or donate pieces to me. People love to help new fighters, you just have to ask for help.
