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SECTION 7. - INFORMATION REGARDING MARSHALING

1. DUTIES OF THE FIELD MARSHAL.

A Marshal's duties shall be defined as follows:

1. To monitor the safety of the combatants, marshals, non-contact participants, and non-participants with respect to the activity which he/she is marshaling.

2. To supervise the combat activity upon the field.

3. To give warnings to combatants when necessary for infractions of the rules and to report any warnings given to the Marshal-In-Charge (unless otherwise designated, the Marshal-In-Charge at an event will be the Local Marshal of the hosting group).

4. To assist the combatant(s). This duty may include, but is not limited to:

a. Assistance with armor, clothing, and/or weapon(s)

b. Giving a requested opinion about the nature of a blow that might have been landed on the asking combatant. It is stressed that the Marshals should always remain objective when giving such opinions and that the final decision with regard to the validity of any blow rests solely with the combatant who may or may not have received the blow in question. The marshal will in no way call blows for the combatants.

5. To have read and to have an understanding of all rules of combat, armor standards, and weapons standards pertaining to the combat style which he/she wishes to supervise.

II. MARSHALING EQUIPMENT:

1. While marshaling, a Marshal must have in hand a marshaling staff. The marshaling staff will conform to the following specifications:

a. The staff would preferably be made of rattan, but may be made of hard wood or other similar suitable material.

b. The length of the staff used will be left to the discretion of the Marshal. The diameter of the staff material should be a minimum of 1 & 1/4 inches.

c. No marshaling staff shall be constructed so as to be a hazard to the user or any other participant on the field (i.e. no sharp edges, protrusions, or other dangerous ornamentation).

d. Any heavy-combat legal weapon may be used as a marshaling staff. Foils, epees, musketeers, and heavy rapiers, etc. will not be used as marshaling staffs.

2. Any Marshal may wear miscellaneous pieces or armor for protection if desired. No item may be worn that will present a hazard to the Marshal wearing such or to any other participant on the field. Marshals shall not wear so much armor that they might be mistaken for a combatant upon the field.

III. CALLING A "HOLD".

1. A Marshal must call "Hold" in any situation where there is a danger to the combatants, marshals, non-contact participants, and/or non-participants. These situations may include, but are not limited to, the following:

a. injury on the field.

b. A failure of armor.

c. Any weapon failure.

d. Combatant(s) out of field boundaries, or in imminent danger of moving out of field boundaries (i.e. rushing toward field boundaries).

e. Someone other than a Marshal or the currently engaged combatants enters the field (i.e. non-contact participant, child, dog, etc.).

f. Exhibition of dangerous conduct by either or both combatant(s) including, but not limited to, grappling, kicking, shield punching (in heavy combat), striking with a buckler (in rapier combat), bell punching (in rapier combat), and purposefully striking a prohibited target.

g. Any act or action that a Marshal deems a hazard to safety.

2. In addition, a "Hold" must be called in the following situations:

a. Either or both combatants drop all offensive weapons.

b. Immobilization of a weapon due to entanglement (i.e. by clothing, armor, or, in rapier combat, by a cloak).

c. In rapier combat, blinding of a combatant due to a thrown cloak.

d. At such time as the controlling Marshal determines that a combatant's actions on the field have justified an official warning.

e. At such time as an assisting Marshal believes that a combatant's actions on the field have justified an official warning. The assisting Marshal must then discuss the offense with the controlling Marshal. The controlling Marshal will, at his/her discretion, take whatever action is deemed necessary to continue the combat.

3. A Marshal may call "Hold" at any time during combat activity if he/she believes there is just cause for doing so.

4. No other term or command shall be substituted for the "Hold" command.

IV. THE CONTROLLING MARSHAL AND PROTOCOL AMONG THE MARSHALS.

1. One of the Marshals upon the field shall be designated the "Controlling Marshal". All other Marshals are designated as assisting Marshals. The controlling Marshal will have the following duties:

a. Ensure that the combatants have calibrated, if necessary.

b. Ask for and receive verbal acknowledgment of readiness from the combatants and participants.

c. Give the command to begin - typically LAY ON.

d. Restart any combat which has been hafted by a "HOLD" after the question(s) and/or problem(s) have been resolved.

e. Give any official warnings deemed necessary and report such to the Marshal-In-Charge.

2. If the Marshals on the field do not clearly identify the controlling Marshal, it shall be considered to be the Marshal who gives the command to begin the combat.

3. In a melee, there may be several controlling Marshals, each assigned to a particular area of the field.

4. Note that any Marshal can call Hold and must do so if he/she believes there is just cause to do so.

5. If an assisting Marshal believes a warning is in order for one or more combatants, he/she must call a "Hold," then discuss the matter with the controlling Marshal. If a warning is to be given, the controlling Marshal will issue the warning in unambiguous terms.

V. MARSHALS PRESENCE ON THE FIELD

1. The Marshals should keep out of the way of the combatants as much as possible during combat. The Marshals should not get so close to the combatants as to be in danger of being struck by the combatants or be so close that they might be overrun by the combatants should the combat suddenly move toward the Marshal. The Marshals should, however, be close enough to observe the combat and to move in quickly should the combat need to be stopped suddenly.

2. If a combatant appears to be unaware of the proximity of the boundaries of the field, a Marshal may give a verbal command to make him/her aware of the nearness of the field's boundaries. This should be done as little as possible and the Marshal should always be prepared to stop the combat quickly should the combatants begin heading off the field.

3. Ideally, the Marshals should interfere as little as possible with the combat. Combatants who are courteous and well versed in the rules will require very little "controlling".

VI. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS.

1. Combatants are called onto the field by the field herald prior to the call of "Lay On". The combatants should enter the field with their weapons and be fully armored. The herald may direct any appropriate salutes and then must leave the field before combat may begin.

2. The combatants, even though they have already undergone armor and weapons inspection, should be quickly checked to insure that no required pieces of armor have been omitted and that such armor is property in place. This quick inspection should include, at least:

Rapier Combat Heavy Combat

a) Mask a) Helm/chin strap

b) Body armor b) Gorget

c) Throat protection c) Kidney belt

d) no skin showing d) Elbows/Knees

e) Tips on weapons e) Groin protection

f) Lanyard

3. The controlling Marshal must have the combatants calibrate if they have not already done so. He/she must then ask for and receive a verbal affirmative response from each involved combatant as to his/her readiness in order to begin combat. In the case of melees or wars, the commander of each team or army may speak for the readiness of his/her team or army. Any combatant not yet ready should speak out at that time and will be allowed to ready themselves or will be required to leave the field if they are unable to quickly prepare.

4. When verbal confirmation has been given and the controlling Marshal is satisfied that the combat may safely begin, he/she may give the command of "LAY ON" and combat may commence. The controlling Marshal will not be satisfied that combat may safely begin until all non-participants have left the field and all other authorized participants on the field are ready.

5. The normal course of combat will be allowed to flow with the appropriate Holds being called as needed. After each Hold, the controlling Marshal may restart combat only after the problems and/or questions have been resolved and verbal confirmation of readiness has again been obtained from each combatant.

6. When the combat has been resolved, the herald may be summoned onto the field by the controlling Marshal to announce the combat's result and to call the next set of combatants to the field.

VII. WARNINGS.

1. The controlling Marshal upon the field is responsible for giving any official warnings to any participant who warrants such action and is the only Marshal on the field who has the power to do so. When a controlling Marshal gives an official warning to a participant, he/she shall follow the following guidelines:

a. The warning must be given in unambiguous terms.

b. The warning must be accompanied by an explanation of the rule(s), convention(s), and/or safety concern(s) which have been violated and must include specifics about the act or action that must not be repeated.

2. The Marshal-in-Charge must be informed, by the controlling Marshal, of any official warnings that have been given. The Marshal-in-Charge will then submit a written report to their regional Marshal (or other Marshallate superior).

3. Any participant who must be warned three times at any one Society event may, at the discretion of the Marshal-in-Charge, have his/her authorization suspended for the remainder of that Society event. The three warnings need not be for the same type of offense or during the same combat. Any participant so suspended may appeal up the chain of office within the marshallate as described in Appendix B of this handbook.

VIII. INJURIES ON THE FIELD.

1. Should an injury occur upon the field, the Marshals must immediately stop all combat and assess the needs of the injured individual.

2. Marshals should see to it that non-essential individuals are not allowed to enter the field unless called for by the controlling Marshal.

3. The injured party's significant other may be allowed on the field. Also, any person(s) who may have pertinent information about the injured party's condition, armor, etc., may be allowed onto the field.

4. If the injured individual requests a Chirurgeon, one may be called to the field by the controlling Marshal (the injured person must be the one to make the request). If the injured individual cannot request a Chirurgeon for any reason, it is up to the controlling Marshal to summon one to the field. The field then belongs to the Chirurgeon and the injured party. The Marshal's job is now to keep a crowd off the field and away from the injured individual. All combat must be suspended from the field until such time as the injured individual is able to leave the field, or can be safely moved.

5. All injuries must be reported to the Marshal-in-Charge who must then make a written follow-up report to their regional Marshal (or other Marshallate superior).

IX. REPORTS FROM THE MARSHALS.

1. There are no formal, written reports required from unwarranted Marshals. The only responsibility in the area of reporting is to verbally report any problems, incidents, warnings, and injuries to the Marshal-in-Charge.

2. The Marshal-in-Charge should provide the Marshallate with a written report of any incidences, warnings, injuries, etc., which occurred at the Society event or practice for which they were marshaling.

3. The Marshallate may make a general request for written accounts about a specific incident or injury in order to gather information about such. It is hoped that any unwarranted Marshal upon the field at the time of the incident or injury would cooperate by providing a written account of the matter if they were, in fact, a witness.

X. MARSHALING IN SPECIFIC SITUATIONS.

The following rules are intended to supplement the above rules:

1. Marshaling in a Melee: There may be more than one controlling Marshal during a melee.

2. Marshaling at Practice:

a. Each SCA sanctioned combat activity at an official SCA practice should be attended by at least one authorized Marshal.

b. If the practice is in a public place, such as a park, both the combatants and the Marshal should be especially careful to ensure that the combatants do not injure non-participants.

c. The local Marshal is to be considered the Marshal-in-Charge at local practices.

d. A Marshal at a practice can give a combatant an official warning. Such warnings should be given in unambiguous terms and should be reported to the appropriate local marshal.