Siar Geata
A chapter under the Principality of Westmarch, in Dragonspine. Located in Escondido, CA (north of San Diego)
Contents
Heraldry
Siar Geata initially picked their heraldry in two stages. In the first stage, we picked a black & white design. In the second, we chose colors.
Previous candidates can be found here, on the Westmarch boards.
It was pointed out by Arthur that the area above and around the pommel looks rather ass-like. This played a strong role in the pattern's selection by the voting populace on Feb 8, 2008.
"It's nice...but when I look at it all I see is ass and thighs." --Arthur
History
Pronunciation: shar gee-A-tah (or some reasonably close facsimile thereof)
Meaning: Siar Geata is (rumor has it) Gaelic for "West Gate".
Siar Geata is the name taken by two struggling shires in the San Diego area, Strathclyde and Nazzeroc. They merged in August of 2005. The original Strathclyde members have all since been consumed by Real Life.
It took almost a year, but they're finally making Barony numbers. Once upon a time, 10 fighters was a good day. The current attendance record is 66 sign-ins without so much as a single walk-up. This feat was achieved September 13, 2008. Siar Geata's previous record was 56 people (locals plus a large contingent of walk-ups, a regular day at the park in a SHIRE) set on March 15th, 2008.
On the date of September 20th 2008, The Kingdom of Dragonspine saw fit to promote Siar Geata to the status of Barony.
Attendance tends to spike after the Escondido Ren Faire, where Siar Geata holds a booth & small ditch field. They hand out fliers and invite anyone and everyone to come swing some foam. The Esco faire runs two weekends, every six months. After the previous fair, they averaged well over 20 for a couple months before tapering off to 15-ish. Prior to the 2005 demos, the park's record attendance was 16. Ah, the bad ol' days.
They have been privileged to be visited/raided/crushed by Sir Clalibus, Sir Father Thomas, Dame Wynd, Sir Drakknar, Sir Phocion, Warlord Thedro, and Squire Talen... driving home the point that the local top of the heap are just little fish in a big pond.
After receiving a contract from Burning Lands in July of 2007, Siar Geata held an Althing, and unanimously decided to petition Dragonspine for membership, followed by a similar decision to join Westmarch as soon as it became an official entity.
- July 14th, 2007, Siar Geata officially joined Dragonspine.
- November 7th, 2007, Siar Geata was voted in as a member land of Westmarch, the first land to join since its founding.
- October 5th, 2008, Siar Geata was promoted to Barony.
- On November 3rd 2008, Siar Geata took part in a promotion for the movie "Role Models" that landed them on the morning news. Good stuff. Milan of Amber and Cadooogan were interviewed, and many of our core members were on display, along with Talen who was visiting his brother at the time.
- On Jan 4th 2009 Siar Geata was featured in the North County Times, a local newspaper.
Quests
- December 8, 2007 - Missing Peasants
- December 15, 2007 - Spellcaster Bounties
- December 22, 2007 - Tribes at War
- May 17th, 2008 - Kill the invading Dragon!
- September 6th, 2008 - Execute/save/murder Ryuke
People
See also our Imports and Fresh Blood
Officers
- Lucas The Lost - Monarch, GM Healers, Monks, Warriors
- Wendy - Regent
- Gonzo - Prime Minister, GM Barbarians
- Dourn - Champion
Other Positions
- Die Katze - GM Druids
- Eve El Wy'fe - GM Color
- Lag - GM Archers, Court Scribe
- Lucas The Lost - GMR, GM Healers, Monks, Warriors, Captain of the Guard
- Miles Ookami - GM Bards, Monsters, Sages, Smiths, Court Herald
- Nico - Heir Apparent
- Scoot - GM Scouts
BOD
Siar Geata elected a Board of Directors January 17th, 2009, as part of a push towards Duchy status. Their first meeting was held January 24th, where they selected officers from among their number:
- Brigade - Treasurer
- Gonzo - PM seat, VP, Former alternate
- Lag - Secretary
- Lucas The Lost - President
- Madame Bon Derriere - Former alternate.
- Cadogan - Monarch seat
- Tweak - Liaison
When Wendy stepped down Feb 17, 2009, she left the position of Vice President open, which was filled by the former Alternate, Gonzo. MBD was elected as the new alternate that April.
In mid-May, Gonzo was elected PM of Siar Geata, meaning he was taking up two seats, which is a no-no. This promoted MBD to full member status, and left the alternate slot open again. :lukor:
Previous Positions
Directions
- Kit Carson Community Park, just off I15.
<googlemap version="0.9" lat="33.076799" lon="-117.064819" zoom="14" scale="yes" controls="large"> (A) 33.07563, -117.061815 Siar Geata Main Site (B) 33.08013, -117.061161 Alternate Location </googlemap>
We meet Saturdays at 1:00pm in Kit Carson Park in Escondido. From the 15, take the Via Rancho Parkway exit east. Via Rancho transforms into Bear Valley. Take the first park entrance on the left (first left after the Beethoven Drive light). Siar Geata meets in the field between the jungle gyms and the tennis courts after the first stop sign.
Siar Geata has officially made an "alternate" meeting location. It is north of the tennis courts past the pond. There is an open clearing behind the trees which may eventually become our primary meeting spot. If you don't find us by the tennis courts, we will be there, 200 yards north.
Siar Geata hosts two fighter practices:
- Wednesday night (6:30pm) at the Main Site, cozied up to the tennis courts for illumination.
- Sunday afternoon (2:00pm) at Doyle Park in La Jolla.
Siar Geata also has a Wandering A&S night, held Friday nights at one of several different locations. Check their forum on CAAmtgard.com for details.
Archery in San Diego
The Bad News
San Diego County forbids anyone from carrying or firing "archery devices" in public parks... without permission, permit, etc etc. Such permits are impossible to obtain. It is difficult to tell whether this applies to parks in Escondido (which is in San Diego County, but not the city of SD proper).
The Good News
Siar Geatans have been using bows (as many as 7 on the field at once) at Kit Carson since the beginning of '06 without issue. We have been observed doing so by park rangers and off-duty police officers, none of whom made any comment one way or the other. This bodes well.
For information on other chapters in Amtgard look here
