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Sunday, March 3, 2024
Running an Airtight Event Gate
Why Do This?
Reconciling your gate information at the end of the event can be a difficult process. This system closes many of the gaps suffered in running an event gate and answers most questions that can come up in the case of a discrepancy or error.
Common gate/sheet issues:
Members forget to put membership info on the gate sheet
(causing the branch to owe more NMS than it collected to the kingdom)Tills don’t balance
Non-members forget to sign a waiver
Checks cross from one gate sheet to another and make reconciliation difficult
Staff members are not SCA members (they must be per Corpora)
So- how do we prevent this?
Prior to the Event
Generate a roster for gate staff consisting of the following:
Modern name AND SCA name
Contact information (phone number, e-mail, address, as you see fit)
Membership number and expiration
This will allow you to track and verify your gate staff’s activities.
Generate a gate sheet reconciliation document (GSRD) consisting of the following on each line:
For seed money going out:
Seed money given out
Gate captain initials
Staff initials
For finished sheets coming in:
Cash subtotal
Check subtotal
Envelope total
Seed money taken in
Gate captain signature
Staff signature
You will use this throughout the check in process
You will also need:
Lots of pens; they tend to walk away with attendees
Gate Sheets
Non-member roster waivers
Child waivers
Clipboards
Peel-and-seal envelopes (trust me, do not get lick-and-seal)
Seed money (in $5 or $1 increments)
Cash box
A list of comped members - preferably with photos so that your gate staff can easily identify these individuals (officers/champions/royalty/nobility/staff)
Who will be working?
The GATE CAPTAIN is in charge of holding seed money in a cash box, providing double custody of seed money out, seed money back in, and incoming cash and checks. They hold completed, sealed envelopes of intake until these are removed by the event steward or exchequer.
All GATE STAFF (including the captain) must be paid members of the SCA, per Corpora. They should be attentive to detail, willing to follow an order of operations, able to sit several hours or more per shift, and congenial in welcoming people. There should never be less than 2 people at the gate at any given time.
At the Event
Before Working Gate
All gate staff members must fill out a line on the gate staff roster. This allows you to prove your gate staff are SCA members and also track who handled which envelopes. Have a snack, use the restroom.
Receiving a Gate Packet
Each staff member is given a clipboard with an envelope containing an amount of seed money ($50 or whatever they will need to make change for people signing in), a single gate sheet, a single non-member roster, and access to child waivers as needed. They must verify their seed money and initial on the GSRD with the gate captain before they may work.
The envelope, gate sheet and roster waiver should be given the same number , and the event details written at the top of the gate sheet and non-member roster.
When Signing People In
Gate staff must verify membership details BEFORE receiving any money. If a person claims to be a member, they must prove it with their card, online details, or a printout right then and there or they will be charged the non-member surcharge. The NMS, once paid, is NON-REFUNDABLE. The envelope will later be sealed and no refund can be given for producing membership details after the fact.
Non-members should sign the waiver AFTER presenting payment and BEFORE they fill out the gate sheet information. This ensures your waivers are filled for everyone who comes through the gate.
If someone pays with a check, the check number should be included on the gate sheet to the right of EACH of the lines to which it applies so that this can be reconciled.
If a group wants to sign in with a check or large bill and there are not enough lines left on the sheet, STOP. Have them check in with someone else or wait for you to turn in the sheet and get another. Checks and bills should never cross from one sheet to another.
The gate captain should NEVER handle their own gate sheet, except to process comped members on a separate gate sheet or sheets. All other gate staff should send comped members directly to the captain.
When a Gate Sheet is Full/Shift Ends
The gate staff member brings the full gate sheet (or partially full) to the gate captain. They remove the seed money or an equivalent amount in other bills if necessary and set this aside. Both should count that amount to verify. The cash subtotal and check subtotal are added and verified. The gate sheet itself has totals to add up for NMS (if applicable), gate fees, and totals. Additionally verify that the gate sheet total matches to the cash and check subtotals.
Having confirmed all of this, write the cash and check subtotals and the envelope total on the envelope itself and on the GSRD. Fold up the gate sheet, non-member roster, and any child waivers for that sheet with all cash and checks and seal this in the envelope. The gate captain and staff member initial the envelope over the seal.
The seed money is returned to the cash box OR placed into a new envelope to be used with the next gate sheet. The numbered, totaled, sealed, and initialed envelope is placed in the cash box.
Sealed envelopes should periodically be removed to a secure location or safe, and taken off site if possible. NEVER leave gate contents in a car even if it is locked as this is a prime location for theft.
After the Event
Final Reconciliation
The sealed envelopes, the cash box containing seed money and the GSRD should be taken to a secure location, preferably offsite, before doing a final reconciliation. Also bring the empty check register created prior to the event. The branch exchequer and event steward will reconcile the amounts, or another trusted SCA member if one of these two is not present.
Each envelope should be opened one at a time (cut the end of the envelope so that the contents and the initials of the gate captain and staff are not damaged). Confirm:
The event details are filled out correctly
The number of adults, children, and non-members are collected
The waivers for all non-members are found with the sheet
The cash and check amounts match the GSRD
Copy any check details for the sheet to the check register.
When you are done, there will be a pile of cash and a pile of checks. Recount the total cash amount and reconcile this against the cash subtotals on your GSRD. Confirm the check total on your check register against the GSRD.
If all has gone well, you have matched your cash and checks up and are ready to deposit. You will make three separate deposits to your bank or credit union, for clarity: incoming seed money (so you know it matches the amount withdrawn prior to the event), incoming gate cash, and incoming gate checks. This allows your exchequer to see each total coming in and account for them.
Now that you know how many gate sheets you have in total, add this information to the bottom of each. All of your gate sheets, non-member waivers and child waivers should be filed by the branch or sent to the kingdom if applicable. Your exchequer will make a check out to the kingdom for NMS if applicable.
If You Discover a Problem
You are armed with a tremendous amount of information. You have your gate sheet reconciliation document with initials and signatures. You can prove who handled all cash and checks. You can find which waivers go with each gate sheet. You have a check register to confirm which checks belong with which gate sheets.
Is the seed money being returned inaccurate?
Did seed money get removed from each envelope correctly before sealing it? You know what the cash subtotal of each envelope should have been and who handled it.Did a check or cash get left in an envelope when reconciling?
You can determine precisely which check is missing if one is not found. The gate sheets allow you to reconcile your checks and see which are not present on the check register.Did a non-member fail to sign a waiver?
Numbered non-member waivers allow you to match non-members to gate sheets and find exactly which non-member has not signed. It is not too late to pursue this and get them to sign a waiver for you, if they can be reached.
In Closing
This method of separately handling each gate sheet ensures cash and checks can be easily reconciled. It requires more staff and does take longer to finalize. In return, you minimize the risk of costly mistakes and prevent most problems before they start. Staff members may find the steps of initialing and signing cumbersome, but the reliability of the information for your event more than makes up for these small delays. This document was created in collaboration with HL Morgan Woodsende of Hoghton
An Tir Awards and the Order of Precedence
Tri- Baronial Recommendation Lists:
DM: http://dragonsmist.antir.sca.org/award-recommendations/
3M: http://baronyofthreemountains.org/848-2/baronial-awards/
Strom: https://www.stromgard-sca.org/awards
Kingdom Recommendations: https://antir.org/our-people/award-recommendation/
Kingdom OP (Order of Precedence): https://op.antirheralds.org/
What is the OP? A centralized record of awards and recognitions earned by various populace throughout our kingdom and beyong. An Tir’s OP also includes records of time spent volunteering for various officer positions as well. These listings help us to know which populace are being recognized for their efforts, help us know forms of preferred address and courtesies to be used and can also help us to figure out more complex scenarios like who gets to make toasts at feasts, who gets to present themselves to the King/Queen in a list first, etc.
So how do you use it? The OP website is a database that has increased in complexity over the life of our Kingdom, not only does it now hold records of our awards, but also of awards our populace may have earned when living in or visiting other kingdoms. You can search this database in many ways, the easiest being by a recipients’ name. You can also search however by many other factors: The award title, the home branch of the recipient, the date of the award or by the name of the reign in which the award was granted.
You can also choose to look at the OP as a whole, meaning that it will list every populace member that has a recorded award of Office in the Kingdom of An Tir from top (#1 King) to bottom (#5xxx, newest recipient of an AOA).
If you take time to explore further, you will see that there are also links to a heraldry game, as well as the listing for An Tir’s Riderless horse honor and also some charts/graphs with basic comparative data on award ratios and rates.
How does someone’s name get added to the OP? This can happen one of several ways:
Through the receipt of an award, where a person on the court’s retinue will then send a report to the Dexter Gauntlet (the Herald officer that maintains the OP database). If they cannot find a name listed, they can create a new entry. This can sometimes cause issues with duplicate entries if a name has several options on spelling (Ex: Shawn vs Sean).
You can email the Dexter Gauntlet officer and request that you name be added. It doesn’t have to be registered. And you don’t have to have arms registered. Although those can be updated/added later if you’d like.
If you’ve relocated from another Kingdom and let your OP herald there know that you are moving, sometimes there are transfer notifications between Kingdoms, allowing the New Kingdom’s officer to copy over your data from the Kingdom you came from to your new home.
How to request fixes? So you’ve taken a moment to peruse your entry and that of your friend and you notice that something is wrong- perhaps your name is spelled wrong (Or a deadname needs to be removed), or you are listed living in a neighboring branch instead of your own. Or maybe, we’ve somehow overlooked an award received. How do you fix it?
There are 2 options:
1. On the entry of the person in question, look for the “Corrections/Additions for this person” link.
Then use the drop down to select the action you wish to take:
2. Send an email to Dexter Gauntlet Herald (the keeper of the OP) dextergauntlet@antir.org
** Make sure to be clear about what you need changed and where they can find it to make the change. These are often responded to within 48hrs.
Award “Values” So how are these precedence orders determined? The database has been set up to assign a certain value for each award type (Grant of Arms vs Award of Arms vs Baronial or Shire awards, etc). Generally awards given at a Kingdom level will hold higher numerical value for this process than awards given at a local branch. Officer positions have no value in this calculation as they are here for record keeping purposes only. Generally from the top you will see the rank like so:
#1 and 2 Kingdom Royalty -> Kingdom Heirs -> Principality Royalty -> Principality Heirs -> Kingdom Champions -> Lions of An Tir -> Duke/Duchess -> Count/Countess -> Viscount/Viscountess -> Landed Nobility (Barons/Baronesses) -> Peers (Patent of Arms) -> Grants of Arms -> Court Baroncies -> Award of Arms
Awards process: So you want to recommend someone for an award for their great works! Excellent! There are two ways you can proceed, through your Barony or through the Kingdom.
Step 1: CHECK THE OP!!!! This is super important, both to determine the correct spelling of the recipients’ name, and also to make sure that they don’t already have the award you want to recommend!
Once you’ve confirmed that they are eligible for that recognition, then go to the appropriate recommendation website (see beginning of this document for some of those). Fill out as much information as you can. If you don’t know when they will be at another event, don’t let this deter you, submit your recommendation anyway, there are processes further down the line to help get this information. Make sure the press submit on your form, and copy yourself if you want to!
**Important** in the section where you are asked to write why this person is eligible, please write what you can in your own words about what you see them doing to deserve this recognition. I don’t recommend copying and pasting for multiple recipients or using the same text for multiple recommendations for the same person. Here’s an example submission for an AOA:
So after the recommendation is submitted, what happens to it?
Baronial (at least in Dragon’s Mist): The email goes into a folder and a notification is sent to the B and B. The B/B then read the recommendation and make a decision about when/where/if they would like to grant this award.
They then are arranged on a docket for court during local events and a request is made of the branch scribe to create a charter for that award. Once this document is painted, it’s sent through the Court Coordinator to the B/B for signatures and a seal and then prepared for presentation (trinkets and/or necklaces gathered and ceremony established).
Kingdom (at least in An Tir): The email creates an entry on a royal spreadsheet of award recommendations. They are checked by a retinue member against the OP to make sure they are not duplicates and then shown to TRM for a decision about when/where/if they wish to grant this award.
The list is then taken back over by the Royal Court Coordinator who fills in the missing pieces by reaching out to local Landed nobility to confirm the recipients branch and eventing plans. A request is made of the Royal scribe to create a charter/scroll for that award. Once this document is created, it’s sent through the Court Coordinator to the King and Queen for signatures and a seal and then prepared for presentation (trinkets and/or necklaces gathered and ceremony established).
What if I want to recommend someone for a peerage?
You can do that! You don’t have to be a peer to recommend that someone be recognized as one. These will be passed to the appropriate order by the Crown for discussion.
The Crown is just as pleased to receive recommendations for the Peerage Orders, however, please do not use the award recommendation form for these or other major awards recommendations. Write to the Crown at crown@antir.org with a detailed justification for major awards.
Commonly used Awards found in An Tir: http://www.sca.org/awards/antir.html
An Tir Award Descriptions: http://antirheralds.org/op/awards
The arms of the kingdom are Chequy Or and argent, a lion rampant tail forked and nowed sable, crowned gules, grasping in dexter forepaw a laurel wreath bendwise vert.
Many awards' names and badges incorporate elements of the kingdom's arms. The symbol of An Tir is the black lion.
Membership in the Order of the Rose is offered by the reigning Consort to those who have completed serving a term as consort to the sovereign. Members of this order are charged with encouraging chivalric and courteous behavior among all members of the Society.
Membership in An Tir's Order of the Lords and Ladies of Valorous Estate is given by the reigning principality Consort to those who have completed serving a term as a principality consort. Members of this order are charged with encouraging chivalric and courteous behavior among all members of the Society.
Patents of Arms
Former kings and queens, princes, and princesses are awarded Patents of Arms when they step down from the thrones, if they do not already have one.
Grants of Arms
The titles of Court Baron and Baroness, the third highest token of personal favor the Crown can bestow for service to the kingdom, convey an Grant of Arms. The following awards also convey a Grant of Arms:
Order of the Goutte de Sang: given for substantial service to the kingdom. The token takes many forms, generally a medallion with a red drop on a checky gold and silver field. The order's badge is: Checky Or and argent, a goutte de sang.
Order of the Jambe de Lion: given for skill in the arts and sciences and willingness to share their skill with others. The token is a pewter medallion of the order's badge: Chequy Or and argent, a lion's jambe bendwise inverted erased sable.
Order of the Grey Goose Shaft: given for excellence in archery. The order's badge is: Checky Or and argent, a goose within four arrows lying as on a mascle sable. The token for the Order is a white leather archer's bracer. Members of the Order have the right to take "arcarii" or students.
Order of the White Scarf: given for skill in rapier combat. The token is a white scarf. Members of this Order also have the right to take students who are entitled "cadets".
Ordo Hastae Leonis (Order of the Spear of the Lion): given for excellence and chivalry in the pursuit and practice of the art of war.
The Lion et du Lance: given for excellence and chivalry in the pursuit and practice of the equestrian arts.
Award of Arms
Awards of Arms may be given at the Royalty's discretion. Territorial Barons and Baronesses receive Awards of Arms when they are invested, if they are not already armigerous.
Non-armigerous awards
With the exception of the Honor of the Lion of An Tir, these awards have no bearing on an individual's standing in the Order of Precedence.
Order of the Honor of the Lion of An Tir: given, with the recommendation of the previous recipients, to honor those who emulate the ideals and embody the essence of An Tir and the Laurel Kingdoms. It may be bestowed only once per reign. Recipients may place the title "Lion of An Tir" after their names, and are so styled. They are entitled to include: A lion, tail forked and nowed Sable, as a supporter in their arms, and may add to their personal banner: A stripe on dexter chequy Or and Argent, to signify their estate.
An Augmentation of Arms is considered the highest honor a person can receive for sustained service to Crown and Kingdom.
Order of the Rose: given to those who have served a complete term as consort of An Tir. The members of the order are charged with encouraging chivalrous and courteous behavior among all members of the Society.
Order of the Lords and Ladies of Valourous Estate: consists of those who have served a complete term as consort of a territorial prince or princess. The order is charged with encouraging chivalrous and courteous behaviour among all members of the Society.
Order of the Silver Rose: given by the Royal Consort to the person who finishes second in the Crown Tournament. The token is a pewter medallion of a heraldic rose, and the order's badge is: A rose argent, barbed and seeded, slipped and leaved, proper.
Order of the Silver Lily: given by the Royal Consort to the consort of the fighter who finishes second in the Crown Tournament. The token is a pewter medallion in the shape of a lily, and the order's badge is: (Fieldless) Three lilies conjoined at the stems in pall inverted argent.
Honor of the Lion's Sword: given by the King upon an individual's completion of a term as Champion of An Tir, either by holding the position until the next Champion's Tournament or by ascending the throne during their tenure as champion.
Honor of the Lion's Rapier: given by the Royal Consort upon an individual's completion of a term as the Champion of Rapier Combat.
Honor of the Lion's Arrow: given by the Crown upon an individual's completion of a term as Kingdom Protector.
Honor of the Lion's Heart: given by the Crown upon an individual's completion of a term as the Kingdom Arts and Sciences Champion
The Troubadour of the Lion given by the Crown upon an individual's completion of a term as Kingdom Bardic Champion.
The Ordre du Cheval et du Lion given by the Crown upon an individual's completion of a term as Kingdom Equestrian Champion.
Order of the Iron Chain: given upon recommendation of the previous recipients for deeds of true courage and bravery in the face of personal and real danger. The token of the order is a black iron chain.
Honor of the Lion's Cub: given to children in the realm who have shown noble merit.
Honour of the Belated Rose: given on the recommendation of the Orders of the Rose and of the Lords and Ladies of Valorous Estate, for courteous and courtly behavior. The badge is: On a heart chequy Or and Argent, a rose slipped and leaved Sable.
Order of the Carp: given by the Royal Consort for excellence in period dress, thought, speech, behavior, and encampment.
La Mano d'Oro: given on the advice of the Minister of Arts and Sciences, for significant time and service to the furtherance of the arts and sciences in the Kingdom. Only one per reign is customarily given. Its token is a medallion of a gold hand, palm forward, on a purple field. The badge is: Purpure, within a double tressure Or, a dexter hand couped apaumy Or.
Sable Chime: given for performance of period bardic arts throughout the Kingdom.
The Sable Scrivener is given by the Crown for excellent service to An Tir by a member of the scribal community. Muckin' Tall Maul: given upon recommendation of the previous recipient for ferocity on the field during the Crown Tournament lists.
Old Shattered Shield: presented for valor and authentic death in the crown lists. The recipient must place his/her mark on the shield, and present it to the most deserving combatant at the next crown tournament.
The Maul and Shield are considered "comic" awards, more burden than honor.
Lion's Torse: given by the Sovereign for armor worn on the field that is period, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.
Fury of the Lion: given for ferocity and chivalry on the field of battle.
The Throne's Favor given to a subject or group for a significant contribution to the Kingdom through conspicuous service. Recipients have the right to display a chequy Or and argent pennon, with ribbons in colors associated with the awarding royalty.
Forget-me-not: given by the Queen as a token of personal favor. Its token is the initial of the Queen dependent from a pewter forget-me-not blossom.
King's Favor: given by the King as a token of personal favor.
The Lion's Strength: given for consistent and significant contributions to the Kingdom for 20 years or more.
The Leo Minor: given to the teens of An Tir for continued service to the Kingdom.
The Rath of An Tir: is given for period encampments that are pleasing to the Crown.
Ordre la main de Sainte Nicholas: given to those who have gone above and beyond the obligations of fealty and rank to contribute to the word fame of the Kingdom through donations of time, goods, and service in the creation of largesse, clothing for the Crown, and Kingdom regalia. It is customarily given no more than twice per reign.
The Bountiful Hand: given to the individuals and groups who contribute to the word fame of the Kingdom through donations of time, treasure, and service in the creation of largesse, clothing for the Crown, Kingdom scrolls, Kingdom regalia, and anything else created on behalf of the Crown or Kingdom.
The rank of Sergeant of Arms was established in A.S. 12 to provide a way for unbelted fighters to demonstrate their proficiency in the martial arts and in the gentler disciplines of medieval culture. The rank, which is not armigerous, is bestowed and administered by the territorial Barons and Baronesses of the kingdom. During the tourney the candidates are tested in heraldry, calligraphy, the arts and sciences, chess, other medieval games, and more. Their chivalry and courtesy are judged, and they compete in a tournament where the sergeants and knights judge their skill. Successful candidates swear an oath of fealty to their baroness, are addressed as Sergeant, and wear a belt with the baronial badge on the buckle. If a sergeant is elevated to the Chivalry, the rank of Sergeant is resigned. If the Baron/Baroness step down, the sergeants of that barony may choose to resign or to renew their vows to the new Baron/Baroness. In the same manner, archers may earn the rank of Yeoman, rapier fighters may earn the rank of Gallant, and those skilled in the arts or in service may earn the rank of Courtier.
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