Dear NZLARPS community,
First of all, I’d like to say my own big thank-you to you all for your support of the Taupo tournament.
About a month ago (just prior to the Waikato Winter Show), Anna brought me up to date on the happenings and concerns of NZLARPS at the 2009 tournament. It is safe to say that I was both alarmed and somewhat in awe of what NZLARPS went through over the weekend.
Before I get into discussing the role of NZLARPS at the tourney, I’d just like to say that 2009 did not run to plan. We had a lot of curveballs that threw the organisation off balance, communication was less than ideal and the massive scale-up of participants took its toll as well. Not to mention that a couple of my own crew took it upon themselves to ignore the agreed plans for the event and go it alone on the day; which contributed no small amount to my own stress levels over the weekend, which were anything but optimal, and are something I will have to resolve for future events.
So between all that and the heat too, the event came very close to not happening in 2010. I have, nonetheless, agreed to do it again, in the hope that in 2010 all wrongs can be righted and the event move forward on its long-term plan.
I asked NZLARPS to run the gate. I asked because I trust you guys pretty implicitly, in a way I don’t think I could ever wholeheartedly trust a re-enactment group. Funny that, as I know them far better than I know you all, yet it is to yourselves that I happily entrusted the most sensitive part of the whole event. Two years running have proven that this was a sound decision.
In addition to running the gate, we also asked that you run a knight school for the kiddies. To be honest, this was one of the run-away successes of the weekend. The kids loved it, I loved seeing it happen and I hope sincerely that the Knight School was not to arduous a task for you all to perform.
That, as they say, was that. Those two things were all I had your name by for the tournament. What happened after that will bear some explanation, and I ask you to forgive me now for what may seem a long post, but a full disclosure is far better than a half-hearted attempt and vastly better than nothing at all.
The Banquet.
This was supposed to be staffed by re-enactor non-coms. How you guys got dragged into it is a factor of the communication breakdowns surrounding this part of the event. You were supposed to be fed at about 6.30 and spend the rest of the evening enjoying yourselves. In the end, nobody got fed on time and NZLARPS found themselves putting in many more hours doing someone else’s job and dealing with a lot of abuse for the privilege. I apologise for this wholeheartedly. It should not have happened.
I did bring the 20 non-coms to the tent, and there I left them in the hands of the Maître’d. About an hour later I learned that they had been sent away and that you guys were in the breech. It was a bit of a shock, but at the time, I assumed that the situation was under control and that you had volunteered. As I say, it wasn’t until the middle of last month that I discovered that this was not the case.
When running an event the scale of Taupo you have to trust that the people you’ve put in place to do a job are the right people and are doing their job well. Generally speaking, this was the case; but the shocking breakdown in communications surrounding the banquet ensured that small incidents became large incidents and that no matter how good the people in place, they could not do their job to the best of their ability, because they weren’t sure how their job related to the others around them.
Case in point. Raven, the Maître’d; believed that you guys were supposed to be her staff, so she sent the non-coms home again and the hard work fell to you all. By all accounts you did do a great job, and I do, sincerely, thank you for doing it. Especially as it was not yours to do.
Another case well worth mentioning at this time is the food. You were supposed to be fed with the other participants around 6.30, an hour before the banquet. I discovered at about 9.30 that the kitchen had made a call to feed the public before the participants. This was definitely not part of the plan, because the participants (which includes NZLARPS); had just put in a hell of a day and needed fed early. Again, communications breakdown. Nobody told me that, and I really would have liked to know. For my own part, I came past the feast tent just before all hell broke loose and saw a bunch of re-enactors tucking into bowls of stew. “Great,” thought I, “the re-enactors are being fed.” I discovered the truth around 9.30. By then it was already too late.
I should have asked, in both cases, but like I said, you have to trust that the people in the job are the right people, doing the right job and following the agreed plan. When that doesn’t happen, things go west fast. It wasn’t their fault, it was mine; because I didn’t ensure that the lines of communication were maintained and the plans followed.
The abuse.
I would like to personally and wholeheartedly apologise for this. There is no way on earth or in heaven that you deserved that. If I knew who was responsible for the slanging, I would be taking it up with them in person, but this is not possible, so I apologise to you. You guys were stars. You worked hard, far above and beyond the call of duty; and to receive abuse from the very people you were helping was ill-mannered and downright wrong. All I can say in the defence of the abusers is they they were probably hungry and tired. It’s not an excuse. You guys were hungry and tired too, and you were still working. Larpers have a bit of reputation for being squishy. If you ask me, your Taupo crew were made of hardest granite.
Kid’s Corner.
Another surprise was hearing that the kid’s area was being helped out by NZLARPS. It wasn’t an area that I had a lot of influence over, however, and I believe that Istar and Maree thought that the helpful larpers were, in fact, the non-coms that had volunteered to assist. To those who stepped up for that one too, I thank you also. Once more acting above and beyond the call.
There is one last thing I would like to mention. A cheque was posted to Anna on the 12th of March, dated the 7th of February. That cheque and two others never arrived at their destination. It was only as I was checking the books leading up the Waikato event that this became apparent, and at that time, the money was not in the account to pay these debts. I have another cheque written now, following the Waikato show which amounts to a significant part payment on my financial debt to NZLARPS. The remainder will follow as it comes to hand; this I promise you.
I also owe you a sizeable ethical debt for the exceptional work you all put in for my event, far beyond what you were asked to do. I have said to Anna that should NZLARPS ever require any of the equipment in my possession, or need help with graphics, magazine layouts or anything else which it is in my power to assist with, you have only to ask and I will do all I can to help.
So, to conclude. I would like to say a huge thank-you to all those who came along and helped the event to happen. I said after 2008 that we couldn’t have done it without NZLARPS, and it appears that this goes much further for 2009. You were the glue that held us together and I cannot thank you enough.
Yours most truly,
Nic
