Pentathlon Rules

Regarding the 2023 Ice Dragon Arts and Sciences Competition and Pentathlon:

There are some changes to the rules this year, especially regarding how to enter items, and to the deadlines. Please read the entire announcement if you wish to enter or judge the competition.

We are continuing the Ice Dragon A&S Competition and Pentathlon as a blend of virtual and in-person participation by both judges and entrants.

Arts and Sciences Competition and Pentathlon Rules

Entry Requirements

  • Items must be photographed and submitted.
  • All documentation must be uploaded at the time of registration.
  • Entrants must state at the time they are registering whether their entries will be on site or must be judged remotely.
  • Please be aware the management would like to make sure the entrants realize that there are drawbacks to remote judging that may adversely affect your score that are out of our hands.
  • We strongly suggest that entrants who cannot attend in person make arrangements for an entry by proxy (whereby some else brings their entrie(s) to the event.
  • Entrants are encouraged to enter multiple photographs but must designate one as primary.
  • Documentation must be submitted in Word or PDF format by the posted deadlines. Deadlines are firm.
  • No significant changes to the documentation should be made after it is submitted and uploaded. Judges will be reading the documentation ahead of the event and may not have the opportunity to read it again at the event. This may impact your score.
  • You may enter up to FIVE items in any Category. The best scoring item will win the Category. Only your top scoring item in the Category will count toward your overall Pentathlon score.
  • Except where specifically noted, the final decision to enter any item in a specific Category is the entrant’s choice.
  • Entrants are allowed up to FIVE entries in each Category. (Examples of arts appropriate to each Category are listed for inspiration for our artisans.)
  • The Pentathlon staff is happy to assist in getting items into appropriate Categories. If the judges determine that an entry in a Category is inappropriate, the Pent Coordinator will discuss it with the entrant. Please bear in mind that items in an inappropriate Category will not be judged as effectively and this may be reflected in the scoring and commentary.
  • Any Category may be deleted, expanded or combined to meet the needs of the entrants and/or judges
  • There are no limits on cross entries.
  • Because of the nature of the competition, documentation is required. Basic documentation should include
    • What your entry is
    • When and where in history it would have been used/found
    • How you made it, how it would have been made historically, and if there are differences, why
    • What it is made of, what it would have been made of historically, and if there are differences, why
    • Where you got this information (There are many different ways of recording this. Any may be used. If I can go look up your references with no problems, we’re good.)
  • Lack of documentation will affect your score.
  • If you are not quite sure what to do, we suggest to use an EZ doc as a guide. (http://www.larsdatter.com/ezdoc/index.html)
  • Releases to publish info are required for entry, and links to the required documents are posted on the main Pent page. They must be signed and uploaded with your registration.
  • The competition cannot be “blind.” As such, items published must include SCA name and modern name on both the entry and the documentation. Any photographs must also be credited.
  • All entered items must be in person at the event unless other arrangements have been made with the Pentathlon Coordinator
    • Please contact Cori and Elska at: idpentguy@wnysca.org
  • Proxy entries are allowed for those entrants who cannot attend in person
  • Comestibles Categories (Beverages and Culinary Arts), Accessories, Performance Arts, and Curiosa must be arranged with the Pentathlon Coordinators by March 1, 2023
    • Please contact Cori and Elska at: idpentguy@wnysca.org
  • Literary Arts and Applied Research Categories must be registered and all written material must be sent to the Pentathlon Coordinators by February 20, 2023
    • Please contact Cori and Elska at: idpentguy@wnysca.org
  • If you do not receive confirmation that we have your registration, we do not have it. Contact us!

Categories

The basic list of categories is the same as last year. There have been updates to some of the descriptions and deadlines.

Please note: The individual arts will still be listed as examples of what you may enter into each Category.

Scoring/Judging

  • Please review the scoring system and judging criteria.
  • An article on using criteria to create and document your entry is also available.
  • Please read the articles linked above completely and address any questions to Cori and Elska at: idpentguy@wnysca.org
  • We are continuing to implement the judging group concept and we expect it will be used in additional categories this year.
  • Entrants and judges should all bear in mind that the Society, and therefore the Pentathlon, covers ALL pre-16th century cultures. There is no start date.
  • Standings will be published after the event. Written permission to publish information is now a requirement for entry and is part of the registration process. Individual score sheets will be forwarded to entrants.
  • We will be using electronic registration again this year. It is to your benefit to register early as it gives us more opportunity to tailor our judging recruitment.

No Kits

If, historically, an artist would have used tools and material from other sources, this is NOT considered a kit. An example of something that is not a kit is needlework patterns. Another example of something that is not a kit is a paint set or pigments for painting. It is strongly suggested that entrants thoroughly document their resources and work.

Group Entries

The Individual Grand Pentathlon and the Group Grand Pentathlon are separate competitions. The Category competitions are not separate, meaning one of the five Pent Group Project entries, like of a wardrobe, could win their category, like the Fiber Arts category, but the whole Pent Group Project is not eligible for the Individual Grand Pentathlon.

The Group entries are defined as entries in which each item entered has been worked on by all members of the group with generally equal contributions. For group entries into the Grand Pentathlon, all members must provide generally equal contributions to all items the group enters.

Example

Jack, Jill, and Joan work together making a loaf of bread, a piece of clothing, and a song.

If Jack makes a loaf of bread, Jill makes a piece of clothing, Joan sings a song, this is NOT an acceptable group entry.

If Jack, Jill, and Joan work together on the bread, work together on the clothing, and sing the song together, this is an acceptable group entry.

The song Jack, Jill, and Joan perform can win the Performance Category without it affecting the outcome of either the Individual or Group Pentathlon outcome.

An individual’s participation in a group entry may NOT be used as part of the individual’s entry in the Grand Pentathlon.

All participants have to fill out the entry paperwork with the publication agreements. It’s strongly urged that people follow their local Covid protocols if working on a group project.

When filling out forms for a group entry, pick a group name and make sure everyone uses it in lieu of SCA name. Include SCA names in the notes section of the registration form.

Exception

The exception to this rule is: If the final project has a cohesive objective, separate pieces may be made by separate individuals. Examples of this include:

  • A Wardrobe (garments, shoes, jewelry, etc.)
  • A sailboat (woodwork, metal fittings, ropes, sails, etc.)
  • Documentation must include support for why these separate items belong together.

If these items are entered together as a Group Entry, the individuals will not be able to cross-enter the same items individually, nor will those items count toward an individuals’ Grand Pentathlon score.

Other Entry Rules

  • You may not enter an item which has previously WON a CRITERIA-BASED COMPETITION. This is any competition in the SCA that has an advanced published criteria set or rubric.
    • Examples:
      • If you won the Grand Pentathlon, those five items used to calculate your score may not be entered again.
      • If you won the Woodwork Category at Ice Dragon 2019 with a chair, do not enter the same chair. If you won the Culinary Category with your loaf of bread, do not bring the same loaf of bread. (Please do not bring the same loaf of bread!)
    • However, you may use the same bread recipe and you may use the same set of construction plans for your next chair.
  • There are no requirements as to time frames items were created in.
  • We are including Novice entries. A novice entry is one in which the entrant has been engaged in the specific art for less than two years AND never won any kind of competition. You may enter multiple Categories with some designated as novice and others not.
  • We are including Youth entries. Minors will enter the same categories. They may choose to compete either as Youth or Adult. If they choose to compete as Youth, they will have a separate set of judges and scoring. We will attempt to group entrants in appropriate age brackets but this will be dependent on the number of entries we get. All minors, whether competing as Youth or Adult, must have permission from their parents. No one’s age will be referenced in any way on the website.