From The East Kingdom Accessibility Porter

 

     From the Accessibility Porter Greetings to the good gentles of the East from Lord Edouard Chartier, Accessibility Porter, on this day of August 23rd  AS XXXV (2000).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the good gentles that have worked to make events more accessible. Here are some of the improvements that I and others have seen.

 1. Maps have been placed in many troll booths. This is very helpful for SCADIANS with memory problems as well as just helping everyone find places faster.

2. Many events are mentioning in the Pikestaff who to contact person if you have special dietary needs. This is extremely helpful, so SCAdians can plan their meals and Feastocrats can better provide for them.

3. More events are planned at sites that have handicap accessible toilets, ramps, or elevators. As time goes on more public buildings will comply with the new building codes, so in the future it well become easier to find accessible sites.

4. Autocrats as well as the populous are helping out SCAdians with disabilities. I have found that when faced with a problem most SCAdians are willing to help. Good examples are carrying things for others, opening doors, helping SCAdians up and down stairs or ramps. These may seem unimportant to many, but let me tell you it does make a difference.

     Because of all your hard work, I would like to offer you an opportunity to participate in the East Kingdom Accessibility Challenge (Challenge). This will give you an chance to show what you have done to improve your site. The winner of the Challenge will receive a scroll and a write - up of the winning event in the Pikestaff.

The rules of the challenge are:

any official event can enter, your SCA group can enter only one (1) event, so enter your best event;
to enter please contact your Regional Accessibility Porter Deputy at least 30 days in advance, to give him/her a chance to find a deputy that can evaluate your site;
the Challenge will run for 12 months to give everyone a chance to enter, and will start in February AS  XXXV (2001);

the East Kingdom Accessibility List (AList) will be used to evaluate the event, If you want a copy of the AList please contact your  Regional Accessibility Deputy;
every item on the AList that you have will give you one point;
no points will be taken away for items on the AList that you do not have;
your points will be added up, so the event with the highest point total will be the winner, you will be sent a copy of your event's AList;
If there is a tie, all tied events will be winners.

      Remember only the winner(s) results will be published in the Pikestaff. Therefore, if you do poorly your event will not be hurt by entering. You could use this to see how you are doing in relation to other events held in the East Kingdom.

     Again I would like to say thanks to all. Your efforts are helping to make the SCA more accessible to all.