Clothing, jewelry, art objects, utensils, furniture, foodstuffs, music, dancing, games, and other components of pre-1600 cultures provide the backdrop that makes the SCA dream come to life. If it was made or studied in the middle ages or Renaissance, the odds are very good that someone in the SCA can teach you how to re-create it. There are ample opportunities to display the fruits of your creative labors, as well, both in your own camp and at events organized specially for that purpose.
From single combat in formal or informal tournament settings all the way to huge melees hosting hundreds of warriors on a side, with a wide variety of single and double-handed weapons, shields, bows, and siege engines, the SCA can satisfy just about any combat craving you may have. You may find yourself sprinting across open fields, crashing through the woods, assaulting heavily-defended towns, pushing and bludgeoning a path over bridges, leaping and dodging your way through tavern brawls, and even navigating narrow gangplanks at speed in (simulated) ship-to-ship battles.
You will discover how to design and build your own shields and weapons and have the opportunity to learn the armorer’s craft. Safety rules help make sure warriors in the SCA go home hale and hearty. The battles and wars here have no enemies, only friends. Our blows are never struck in anger, but in the spirit of friendly competition.
If making things come together is your passion, the SCA has you covered. From assistant to a local officer all the way up to senior executive corporate positions, the SCA’s administrative infrastructure is an ideal place to gain experience in the day-to-day operations of an educational nonprofit organization. There are dozens of events held almost every weekend of the year worldwide, each of which requires a team of dedicated volunteers. As part of our nonprofit educational mandate, the SCA also puts on many different demonstrations of medieval and Renaissance life for local schools and other educational organizations.
Volunteer work not only reaps great immediate rewards, it forges friendships that can last a lifetime. Occasional helper or lifelong dedication to serving, the SCA has a place for you.