Champion

The safety Officer of any one park

Champions in the world

A champion (identical to the French, from the late Latin campio) is one who has repeatedly come out first among contestants in challenges (especially the winner of a tournament or other competition) or other test, one who is outstandingly skilled in their field. Olympic Gold Medalists, for example, Lindsay Davenport or Jean Claude Killy are champions in this sense. The term can be applied to animals too, in particular racehorses, eg, Secretariat or Phar Lap.1

In sports, a champion is the athlete or team in first place at the end of a season of organized competition (and, if applicable, any associated playoffs). It is for this reason that such competitions are often called championships.

There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further (artificial) divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions can be accordingly styled, e.g. national champion, world champion. In certain disciplines, there are specific titles for champions, either descriptive, as the baspehlivan in Turkish oil wrestling, or copied from real life, such as the koning and keizer ('king' and 'emperor') in traditional archery competitions (not just national, also at lower levels) in the Low Countries.

Champions in Amtgard

Most of this article pertains to the office of Kingdom Champion, though many comparisons can be drawn for the local level

At the Kingdom Level, this produces the Kingdom Champion, which is one of the four primary offices in the kingdom, and fourth in line of succession should something happen to the Monarch, Regent and Prime Minister.

In the early days of Amtgard, the Monarch was sometimes decided by combat, in these cases the Monarch would be the winner of the champion tourney and the champion would be the runner up. This has not been the case for a long time however (the last known time I am aware of any kingdom doing this was Goldenvale in the mid 90s, prior to that it would probably be in the 80's sometime).

The champion is different than the Weaponmaster, whereas the latter is simply a master of weapons, the champion is a position of greater responsibility, and anyone entering the tourney should be willing to do the job if they win.

How do you become a champion?

a champion is typically chosen from those participating in the Champions Tourney at the local and Kingdom level. in some Kingdoms, like Iron Mountains, candidates for the office do not have to enter any Quals. In other places like Golden Plains the office is voted on. The most common practice is that the champion must pass a reeves and corpora test and enter some form or quals. Then they must place above the other applicants for the office in the Warmaster Tourney.

Duties of the Champion

At the local level

Just as at the Kingdom Level the Duties of the Champion are to maintain the saftey of the field. He or She must check weapons, and balance teams. The Champion at the local level is also responsible for running local battle games.

At the Kingdom Level

The Champion is responsible for weapon safety, security, organizing Battlegames, and running the Lost and Found. He or she brings to the attention of the Monarch those amtgarders worthy of recognition for their martial skill. The exact duties may vary from kingdom to kingdom.

The Rewards of the office

The office of Kingdom Champion is in most kingdoms one of the possible qualifiers for becoming a Knight of the Sword and a Knight of the Crown. If a champion serves their term well the Monarch my grant them the Title of Defender, which is added to their name regardless of other titles; As "Duke Sir Thor Tandræbe, Defender of the Iron Mountains" and "Dame Squeak! of the Principality of Winter's Edge, Defender of the Emerald Hills"