Authorisation Tests

General

The procedures in this section do not apply to fencing or equestrian authorisations.

The purpose of authorisation is to ensure the candidate is able to take the field without presenting a danger to themselves or others, and that they understand the basic rules of SCA combat. The candidate is not required to demonstrate great skill with their weapons, only enough to mount a minimally-credible attack and defence against a reasonably experienced opponent.

1. Armoured combat authorisations in the Kingdom of Lochac must be carried out according to these procedures. No person may be granted a Lochac armoured combat authorisation, even by the Crown, until they have successfully completed the testing procedures set out in this chapter.
2. Authorisations must be carried out at official events or official practices.
3. The authorisation process must be administered by a rostered senior marshal and two experienced authorised combatants, one of whom may be the rostered senior marshal. One experienced combatant is to serve as the examining opponent for the candidate, and the other as an additional witness to the authorisation.
   1. In order to conduct authorisations, the authorising senior marshal must hold a current subscribing membership at the time of the authorisation.
   2. It is not required for the candidate to be a member in order to authorise, or for the experienced combatants to be members.
   3. If the group lacks sufficient experienced combatants, the requirement for the second experienced authorised combatant to witness the authorisation process may be waived at the discretion of the Kingdom Earl Marshal.
   4. For the purposes of the authorisation process, an "experienced combatant" is a currently active fighter with at least two years of regular fighting experience in the relevant combat forms.
   5. For all authorisation processes, the examining experienced combatant must hold a current authorisation in the specific forms being examined.
   6. In the event of there being no suitably qualified marshals to conduct the authorisation, such as in the situation where a new authorisation type is being bootstrapped in a group, or where all of the relevant authorisations in a group have lapsed, the Kingdom Earl Marshal may at their sole discretion forego the practical steps of the marshal authorisation process and instead grant the authorisation after conducting a thorough verbally administered theory test. This process may only be applied to combat authorisations under exceptional circumstances, and then only to experienced fighters with reasonably current combat experience.

Authorisation Paperwork

1. Candidates must present a complete and signed authorisation form to the authorising senior marshal prior to the authorisation. In Australia, this must include a properly completed waiver.
2. The authorising senior marshal must not countersign the authorisation paperwork until the authorisation process has been successfully completed.
3. All authorisation tests and forms must be completed in accordance with the instructions on those forms. Forms that are incorrectly filled out, or incomplete, will not be processed by the lists officer and will have to be redone and submitted again.
4. Deliberate forging of authorisation paperwork or test results is a serious matter and will result in severe sanctions against those involved.
5. It is the responsibility of the newly-authorised combatant to ensure the relevant paperwork is submitted to the correct lists officer or deputy within the required timeframes.
6. Authorisation forms must arrive with the lists officer not more than three calendar months from the date of the authorisation. Forms that arrive later than this will not be processed, and the associated authorisation process(es) will have to be redone.
7. The newly-authorised combatant should keep a copy of the authorisation paperwork if they wish to participate in combat-related activities before they have received their authorisation card. If an authorisation card has not been received within one month of submitting the paperwork, the combatant should contact the relevant lists officer and ensure the paperwork has been received and is correct.

Practical Component

1. The candidate must present themselves on the field in armour for inspection.
   1. The armour must be inspected on the body and must pass the current armour requirements for combat. This inspection must be complete and exacting.
   2. Any deficiencies in the candidate's armour and equipment must be permanently corrected before the person may authorise or renew, no temporary fixes are permitted.
2. The authorisation process shall be conducted in accordance with one of the following sections as appropriate to the type of authorisation being sought by the candidate.
3. The authorising senior marshal and examining authorised fighters shall confer to decide if the candidate exhibits adequate performance in the minimum criteria for authorisation listed below:
   • Does the candidate know and understand the Rules of the Lists Does the candidate know and understand the Conventions of Combat as they apply in Lochac?
   • Does the candidate exhibit safe behaviour on the field, for both themselves and others?
   • How does the candidate react to pressure?
   • Do they fight back or become disoriented and confused?
   • Can the candidate defend themselves adequately?
   • How does the candidate react to a call of "HOLD"?
   • Can the candidate feel and judge received blows?
   • Does the candidate have adequate calibration of thrown blows?
   • Can the candidate repeatably accurately judge 5 metres range to a closing opponent?

Heavy Combat Authorisation Test

The heavy combat authorisation entitles the authorised fighter to fight both as a heavy combatant and as a plumed participant.

1. If any portion of the authorisation procedure is not satisfactorily completed, the procedure shall be stopped and the candidate shall be told of the problems observed and instructed as to how to correct the problems.
2. The candidate may authorise using any legal weapons form with the exception of fibreglass spear.
3. The examining combatant must be armed with sword and shield.
4. For the first few minutes of the bout for authorisation, the candidate and the authorised fighter shall fight at 1/2 to 3/4 speed and verbally acknowledge all blows landed. During this phase of the authorisation, the senior marshal and witnessing experienced fighter should get an impression of the new fighter's style, technique, ability to call blows, and ability to defend themselves.
5. If the first portion of the bout has progressed satisfactorily, then the combatants will proceed to full-speed list-type combat, properly enacting all received blows. The full-speed combat rounds must cover the following scenarios:
   1. Candidate fights standing against a standing opponent; and
   2. Candidate fights standing against a kneeling opponent; and
   3. Candidate fights from their knees against a standing opponent; and
   4. Candidate fights from their knees against a kneeling opponent.
6. During this phase, the authorising senior marshal and witnessing experienced fighter should observe the new fighter's control, reaction to blows, and ability to cope with pressure.
   1. At some point during this combat the examining marshal should call a hold without warning to ensure the candidate reacts appropriately.
7. The candidate must demonstrate that they can "die" defensively in a manner appropriate to war combat; i.e. On their side covering themselves with their shield with their legs pulled up as close as possible, as well as in a manner appropriate to tournament lists combat.
8. The candidate must demonstrate that they can correctly enact a kill from behind, as well as correctly respond to one. The candidate must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the different ways in which a kill from behind may be enacted.
9. After the authorisation bouts, the candidate and the examining fighter shall move at least 10-12 metres apart and shall repeatedly close with each other in turn, both at a walk and at a run, and the candidate shall be required to enact a called kill appropriate to a plumed combatant on their opponent when they have closed to 5 metres. The authorising senior marshal and the examining combatant must satisfy themselves that the candidate is able to repeatedly judge 5 m to a reasonable degree of accuracy.
10. If the authorising senior marshal and examining authorised fighters agree that the candidate meets these requirements, the authorising senior marshal will notify the fighter that they are now authorised and shall complete the authorisation paperwork with the newly authorised fighter.