Guide to Autocratting a
Principality Event in Tir Righ


Updated February 25, 2009

This guide is intended to be an overview of autocratting a Principality Event in the Principality of Tir Righ and does not go into fine detail on a number of issues. There is a fabulous resource in An Tir that does go into detail, the An Tir Autocrats website. There are several references in this guide to specific areas on that website. In particular, the library page of that site is full of very helpful articles.

The order in which things appear in this guide is a suggested order; in reality the order for some items is entirely up to the autocrat. One autocrat may wait to fully assemble a team until after their bid has been accepted and approved, while another one may assemble a basic team before submitting a bid. There is no hard and fast rule - it is whatever works for you, your branch, and the event you are bidding for. Maximum flexibility is a key ingredient.

Additions or corrections to these pages should be send to Mistress Lenora di Calizzan, lenora.is [at] shaw.ca.

Branch and Autocrat Status

Branches hosting a Principality event in BC must be able to prove non-profit status (this is done by either being a recognized branch of the NSCA or being registered independently as a non-profit group with the province of British Columbia). For information on how to become a recognized branch of the NSCA, contact the current NSCA President.

Branches must also be able to provide 2M liability insurance - see below under Site Insurance.

The autocrat of a Principality event must be an SCA member, and, if the event is hosted by a branch that is a registered NSCA branch, then the autocrat must also be an NSCA member.

SCA International Membership form (pdf - mail-in) or (online registration)

The NSCA Membership form and the NSCA Adult Waiver (Membership) can be found on the NSCA forms page.

Autocrat responsibilities and legal liability is outlined on pages 4 - 6 (II: Events) in Corpora.

Choose the Event

Decide which of the four Principality events you would like to bid for. Below are links for each event - the links lead to information regarding each event, such as usual dates, championships and other activities usually held at that event, etc.

June Coronet
August Investiture
September Coronet
February Investiture

Find a Site

See the individual event links above for information regarding site requirements for each event. While it's hard to predict accurate numbers in attendance, events held in or near larger population areas will draw more people than events held in more remote locations.

Site Insurance

Any SCA branch has access to the International SCA Insurance and any NSCA branch has access to the NSCA liability insurance after the SCA insurance has been used. If you need to show the site a generic certificate of insurance (either SCA or NSCA), or you need an 'also-named' or "specific named insured' certificate (where the site and event date is specified on the insurance certificate) see below.

NSCA: for both kinds of certificates, contact the current NSCA secretrary.


SCA: If you are a branch or principality Seneschal and you need a simple proof of SCA insurance, please send a brief note to sca_ins_cert [at] antir.sca.org and request a copy of the current insurance certificate.
If you need "specific named insured" (event site and date is specifically stated on the insurance certificate), you will find the instructions for obtaining that certificate here. Allow 30 days for completion of request.

Setting Site and Feast Fees

Site fees should be a minimum of $15.00 CAD and can be more if necessary. Principality events do not charge day fees. The suggested pricing structure is as follows (prices listed in CAD):

Adults (19+): full price (minimum $15.00), plus NMS for non-members
Youths (13 - 18): one half to two thirds of adult site fee
Children (12 and under): free
Family Site Fee Cap: two adult site fees plus two youth site fees

The NMS: The Non-Member Surcharge applies to all who are charged a full event fee. For example, if a site fee is "Adult (16+), $15.00" then all attendees who are 16 and older must pay the NMS. If there is a reduced rate for minors (as suggested above), then only adults aged 19 and older are charged the NMS. The site fee and the NMS need to be listed as separate items; event site fees should not read "Adult: $19.00 ($16 with member discount)". There is no "member discount". Fees need to be listed as: "Adult (19+): $15.00. Non-Member Surcharge of $3 applies to all non-member adults aged 19 and older."

Note on Family Site Fee Caps: “Family” does not include SCA households or roommates – the people must be related mundanely. Commonlaw and same-sex spouses are considered related. No more than two adults in a family group can qualify for the Family Cap price; all others of that family must be related minor-aged children. NMS is not included in a Family Cap price.

Feast Fees: Feast fees have no minimum or maximum; what is charged per person should cover the cost of the food per plate plus a modest profit. (Example: If food costs are $10 per person, it is not unreasonable to charge $13 to $15 for the feast (one quarter to one third above cost). A suggested pricing structure for feasts is:

13 and older: full price (one quarter to one third above cost)
6-12: at cost*
5 and under: no charge

*Many cooks prefer to determine their costs evenly per person based on what it would cost to feed an adult or youth. There is not usually a "children's cost" when figuring out food costs per person.

Parents of young children (5 and under, in this example) should be made aware that feast are often set up with a set number of chairs per table and that the cook will be portioning food appropriately (i.e. 8 per table means 8 servings of a given dish will be plated for that table). Additional chairs or high chairs may need to be arranged for small children who are not being charged for a place at the feast.

Submit a Bid

Fill out the Tir Righ Principality Event Bid Form.

This is now a fill-and-save form so you can download the form, fill out sections, save it and return to the form later if you need to add or correct information. You need Adobe Reader 8 or later to be able to save the document with information in the fields.

Print off a minimum of 4 copies - keep one for you, send one to the Principality Seneschal, one to the Principality Exchequer and one to Their Highnesses Tir Righ (send separate copies if they do not reside together). Print one for Their Excellencies Tir Righ if there are heirs at the time of your submission. Your branch seneschal may also want a copy. Bids can be mailed by post, or scanned in (once signed) and the pdf sent via email.

It is important that the bid be filled out as completely as possible, especially the budget page. The people awarding the event need to see that you have put some thought into the income, expenses and projected profit of the event. Make sure that both the bid and the budget page are signed appropriately.

Register the Event

Once your bid is accepted, you need to register the event officially with the Tir Righ Calendar using the Tir Righ Date Reservation/Event Information Form. Please use the Tir Righ form, not the Kingdom form. All Principality events need to be Level 1 events. For complete instruction on registering your event, refer to the Tir Righ Event Policies and Procedures.

Assemble a Team

The Principality Officers should be able to help you regarding the major activities at the event. For example, you're having a rapier tournament at Fall Coronet. Contact the Tir Righ Rapier Marshal. Are they able to run the tournament for you? If not, can they recommend or arrange for someone who would be able to run it? If you already had someone in mind from your branch to run the tournament, you should still contact the officer and make sure that your choice is acceptable to them.

In the case of championships, it is the responsibility of the current champion to organize the tournament to choose their successor at the appropriate Principality Event. A list of the current champions and their contact information is on the Principality Officers page.

As an autocrat, it is your job to assemble the team and to be that team's leader. It is hard to be an effective leader If you are frazzled and overworked and exhausted at the event. It is your responsibility to make sure that you rest, eat, drink plenty of water, and not necessarily be the one running from one end of the camp to another. Pick a central location where you are visible and accessible, and let your team leaders know where you're going to be. Not every issue needs your personal attention; trust the team you have assembled and delegate what you can so that you are available and relatively un-frazzled if and/or when an issue arises that *does* require your personal attention.

The An Tir Autocrats site offers a good list of recommended staff.

Prepare Event Copy

Newsletter copy needs to be published in both the Sentinel and the Crier. For deadlines and email addresses, see #3 under How to Register a Level 1 Event in the Tir Righ Event Policies and Procedures.

For an event copy checklist for the Crier, see the last two pages of the Crier. Although it says there is a 300 word restriction for Crier Copy, Principality Events are allowed to go up to 450 words if it is necessary. Keep the Crier copy down to the bare essentials - it is often challenging to keep to the 450 word count even by only listing the required items. Make reference to the website and list the URL - you can be much more expansive there.

Event copy should also be prepared for the various email lists such as the Northern Road, Steps-Announce, and other mailing lists (such as the Lions Gate list or the Rocks, the email list for groups on Vancouver Island).

It is important to have information available on a website - this is how the majority of people now access information. If you do not have a person capable or access to equipment that will allow for the maintenance of a website, the Kingdom Calendar has space for event copy. If you do have your own website for the event, a refererring URL should be sent to the Kingdom Calendar for inclusion on the website. Event copy and/or the URL for the event website may be sent to either calendar [at] antir.sca.org or events [at] antir.sca.org.

Site Deposit and Other Pre-Event Expenses

If the site needs a deposit and/or there are other pre-event expenses that your branch funds cannot cover, contact the Principality Exchequer. Check the Principality Officer page for the current information.

Pre-Registration

Many autocrats like to offer pre-registration to the prospective attendees. It is not required that pre-registration be offered; however, it can be an effective method to speed up the Gate process for some people, which eases the Gate congestion overall. One option for pre-registration is to have the form made and hosted on the Kingdom Forms site. If you would like to have this service, contact Mistress Lenora di Calizzan at lenora [dot] is [at] shaw [dot] ca.

Scheduling and Site Handouts

Copying schedules from previous Principality events will give you a good base to start with and you can modify/add to to schedule from there. It is essential to consult with Royalty and the pertinent officers and champions when working out a schedule.

It is important to have a site handout, but it is not a newsletter - it does not have to be long or elaborate. It is an information sheet that should contain site rules, a schedule, a map of the site if necessary, and any other pertinent information if required (i.e. Ithra classes). For sample site handouts, see "Previous Events" at the bottom of this page.

Site Tokens

Site tokens are a tradition at events, but they are not required. The main purpose of site tokens used to be to provide proof of registration and payment, but that is rarely checked now. Unless you are going to strictly monitor who has a site token, it is recommended that you do not bother with ribbons, small beads on strings, etc. If you want to make a event memento that is of a higher caliber (a pewter token, a small cutting board, etc.) that is fine but be careful of cost overruns.

Gate

The An Tir Forms site offers a number of Gate Sheets available for use. There is an Waiver Signing at NSCA Events document that can be found on the NSCA site. Waivers you will need are:

SCA Waivers:

05 Event Waiver (Minor) and 28 Multiple Minors Event Waiver (for all non-SCA member minors attending)

21 Event Waiver, Roster (Adult) (for all non-SCA members)

04 Medical Authorization for Minors (US) or 04 Medical Authorization for Minors (Canada) (ONLY REQUIRED if minor is attending event WITHOUT parent or legal guardian and is under the supervision of another adult

NSCA Waivers (unless in Shittimwoode):

NSCA Adult Roster Event Waiver (for all those who are participating in a risk activity and who do not have a current NSCA membership with the word "WAIVER" stamped on the card. Usually not at Gate but rather at the sign up for the activity, i.e. lists, etc.)

NSCA Minor Family Event Waiver (for ALL minors age 18 and under regardless of SCA membership status)

Site Fee Exemptions

Those who qualify for site fee exemption are:

Royalty At the Event

An important part of your autocratting team is a Royal Liaison. This is the person who will work with the attending Royals' Head(s) of Retinue to ensure that necessary arrangements are made and that Royalty have a smooth and pleasant experience at your event. There are two very good resource documents regarding hosting Royalty at an event:

Royal Needs at An Event by HL Yolande Chastellain

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner: How to Host Royalty at Your Event by Mistress Olivia Visconti

To Feast or Not to Feast

It is not required that a feast be offered at a Principality event. If you're hosting Winter Investiture at a hotel, it may not be possible to host a feast; most hotels will not allow you to bring in your own food.

At past events, some of the camping events have offered a feast and some have not, depending on facilities available at the site. If you want to have a feast at a camping event, you must have a place where food can be safely prepared for 50 - 100 people, and you have to have somewhere for those people to sit and eat (preferably indoors, for if it rains you're going to have a great many unhappy feasters.)

Scheduling can also be an issue when it comes to feasts... Principality event schedules are *very* full and it's not unusual for things to be running an hour or two behind schedule by 3:00 or 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. Feast cooks need to be prepared for a possible delay in the feast start time.

Taverns/Bars at Events

It is not permitted for any branch or principality funds to be used to purchase alcohol, a special events license for the purpose of serving alcohol, or a Serve-It-Right certificate for an individual. This applies to all events, not just principality events. However, a tavern or a bar can be run on an event site providing that (a) the site permits this, and (b) that a third party run the bar, purchase the alcohol, and pays for the special events license. This third party can be member(s) of the local group, as long as the person in charge of the bar has a Serve-It-Right certificate and all mundane laws are observed.

Event Profits

From Principality Law, Article VI - Events, 3.b: "Twenty-five percent of any profit made on a Coronet Event may be kept by the host group provided all final reports, receipts and the remaining seventy-five percent have been sent to the Principality Exchequer within thirty days after the event. If the final report and all funds are returned after thirty days, then only ten percent of the profit may be retained by the hosting group, and the remaining ninety percent is to be sent to the Principality Exchequer. All final reports for Coronet Events must be sent to the Principality Exchequer within 60 days after the close of the event. If it is the wish of the host group, they may donate some portion of their share to the Principality".

Event Report

There is now an Event Reporting form. The pdf version can be found on Page 7 of the Tir Righ Event Bid form, and the Excel version can be downloaded from the forms section of the Tir Righ Website.

NMS Submission

Fill out the NMS Branch Submission Form and send the form and a cheque for the NMS collected to the NMS deputy (contact information listed under Seneschal's staff in the Crier). Email contact, nms@antir.sca.org.

Resources

Maitresse Yolande Chastellain has created a great checklist that covers just about everything! It's a handy resource for anyone autocratting a Principality event.

Fall Coronet, September 16-18, 2005, Barony of Seagirt
Autocrat: Mistress Lenora di Calizzan
Resource Documents from Fall Coronet 2005:
Submitted Bid Form
Crier Copy
Site Handout
A General List Sign-Up Sheet
Event Report

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