Youth Armoured Combat:Overview of the marshallate

Overview of the marshallate

General

1. There are three types of people that go by the name "marshal" in youth armoured combat:
   • authorised marshals
   • marshals who are group officers
   • marshals who have specific roles at events.
2. "Rostered marshal" is a general term for authorised youth armoured combat marshals and youth armoured combat authorising marshals who are current SCA members (subscribing members, not just event members).

Types of authorised marshal

There are two types of authorised marshal in youth armoured combat:

• Youth armoured combat marshal
• Youth armoured combat authorising marshal.

Marshals as officers

There are levels of marshals as officers:

• Group Youth Armoured Combat Marshals for local groups (baronies, shires, cantons and colleges)
• the Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal/Deputy Earl Marshal for Youth Armoured Combat
• the Kingdom Earl Marshal
• the Deputy Society Marshal for Youth Combat
• the Society Marshal.

Marshals for events and practices

There are three types of marshals for events and practices:

• field marshals
• responsible marshals for a field (e.g. a tournament list, war field or pick-up area)
• marshal-in-charge for an event or practice.

Ranks of authorised marshal

Summary of roles

	Youth armoured combat marshal	Youth armoured combat authorising marshal
Subscribing membership required	Yes	Yes
Inspect equipment	Yes	Yes
Field marshal	Yes	Yes
Responsible marshal for a field	Yes	Yes
Marshal-in-charge of an event or practice	Yes	Yes
Authorise fighters	No	Yes
Authorise marshals	No	Yes
Authorise authorising marshals	No	Yes (with another authorising marshal)

Youth armoured combat marshal

If you are a rostered youth armoured combat marshal, you can:

1. inspect armour and weapons
2. be responsible marshal for a field
3. be marshal-in-charge of an event or practice
4. be a field marshal.

Youth armoured combat authorising marshal

1. If you are a rostered youth armoured combat authorising marshal, you can:
   1. Perform all roles of a youth armoured combat marshal.
   2. Authorise:
      • youth armoured combatants
      • youth sparring partners
      • youth armoured combat marshals
      • youth armoured combat authorising marshals.
2. You may also become Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal.

Marshals as officers

Group Youth Armoured Combat Marshal

If you are the Group Youth Armoured Combat Marshal:

1. You are responsible for the administration of youth armoured combat in your group. You are not necessarily required to organise marshalling for any specific event (that is the responsibility of the marshal-in-charge for the event, who is appointed by the event steward).
2. You must be over the age of 18 and a member of the SCA or its affliates.
3. You do not have to be authorised as a youth armoured combat marshal, or authorised fighter in any combat form.
4. You report to the Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal (see Chain of command and reporting).
5. You only have a role in the chain of appeals if you are an authorised youth armoured combat marshal (see Sanctions and appeals).

Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal

1. This role is also known as the Deputy Earl Marshal for Youth Armoured Combat.
2. If you are the Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal:
   1. You are responsible for youth armoured combat activities in Lochac.
   2. You are appointed by the Kingdom Earl Marshal for a two-year term, as described in Lochac Law.
   3. You must report quarterly on the state of youth armoured combat, including any issues within the kingdom to the Kingdom Earl Marshal and the Society Deputy for Youth Combat.
   4. You must be a youth armoured combat authorising marshal.
   5. You must be a member of the SCA or its affiliates.

Kingdom Earl Marshal

1. The Kingdom Earl Marshal is responsible for overseeing all combat-related activities in Lochac.
2. If you are the Kingdom Earl Marshal and you are not an authorising marshal for youth armoured combat, you must appoint a Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal.
   1. If you are an authorising marshal for youth armoured combat, you may appoint a deputy for youth armoured combat if you choose.
   2. In addition to your warranted deputies, you may appoint other deputies, for various purposes as you see fit, e.g. running test programs, maintaining the combat handbook, or maintaining the marshallate website.

Deputy Society Marshal for Youth Combat

1. The Deputy Society Marshal for Youth Combat looks after both youth armoured combat and youth rapier combat.
2. They are appointed by the Society Marshal and the Board of Directors of SCA Inc (USA).

Society Marshal

1. The Society Marshal is responsible for all martial activities in the SCA.
2. They are appointed by the the Board of Directors of SCA Inc (USA).

Marshals for events and practices

Roles

One person may fill several of the roles listed below. For example, it is common for the marshal-in-charge for the event, responsible marshal for a field of combat, and one of the field marshals to be the same person.

Field marshals

If you are a field marshal:

1. You may not be a sparring partner at the same time as you are marshalling.
2. You are appointed by the responsible marshal for the field.
3. You declare the beginning and end of a passage of combat.
4. You supervise the safety of combatants and their equipment.
5. You report to the responsible marshal, marshal-in-charge and/or up the reporting lines as required.
6. You must see that the results of combat are carried to the list keeper. (We expect results will be carried by an assistant or a herald, but you need to make sure it happens.)

Responsible marshal for a field of combat (any area where combat is taking place)

1. For every area where youth armoured combat is taking place (including pick-up fights), there must be a responsible marshal for that field who has overall responsibility for that combat.
2. The responsible marshal for a field may be a different person for different bouts or scenarios in the same tournament or war.
3. If you are the responsible marshal for a field:
   1. You must be satisfied that there are sufficient field marshals.
   2. You may participate as a sparring parter for one-on-one pick-up fighting, as long as there are field marshals.

Marshal-in-charge of an event or practice

1. Every youth armoured combat event or practice must have a designated marshal-in-charge.
2. If you are the marshal-in-charge of an event or practice:
   1. You must be a rostered youth armoured combat marshal.
   2. You organise marshalling of youth armoured combat at the event, and must make sure there are sufficient marshals to oversee whatever youth armoured combat takes place.
   3. You must report on all youth armoured combat activities at the event, as required by the event steward, Group Youth Armoured Combat Marshal, Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal or Earl Marshal.

Requirements to act as a marshal

1. You must be at least 18 years old.
2. You must have a current authorisation as a youth armoured combat marshal.
3. To act as a rostered youth armoured combat marshal you must also be a subscribing member (not event member) of the SCA or its affiliates.
4. You must show your authorisation card and proof of membership to the lists officer, responsible marshal or marshal-in-charge, if required.
5. You must meet all the standards for working with children in the country/state you are marshalling in, and if required hold a Youth Activity Authorisation Card. See https://youth.lochac.sca.org/policies/ for more details.

Marshal responsibilities

If you are a marshal:

1. You monitor activities and behaviour on the field and immediately stop all potentially hazardous or unchivalrous activities.
2. You supervise youth armoured combat training activities.
3. You are expected to take an active role in safety, sportsmanship and assistance in calibration.
   1. You have a greater responsibility to intervene than your counterparts in adult martial activities. The younger the combatants, the more active the marshalling becomes.
4. You will remove any combatant who refuses to obey the commands of the marshals or other officials.

Marshal-in-charge responsibilities

1. You can only be the marshal-in-charge of a youth armoured combat event or practice if you are a rostered youth armoured combat marshal.
2. If you are the marshal-in-charge at any official event, including practices, it is your responsibility to:
   1. Ensure all waiver and background check policies are complied with.
   2. Prepare (or have prepared) and submit all required reports and forms.
   3. Ensure there are enough marshals to control the activity.
   4. Check that the field can be safely fought upon and an appropriate buffer zone is provided between the list field or battlefield and spectators, as necessary.
   5. Ensure that before any combat (practice or tournament) all equipment is inspected and meets all safety and armour requirements relevant to the appropriate division.