SFX Weekender - Questions for Organisers

[DanteLucien]

At the Weekender I saw people in armor with sheathed swords. A costume I'm planning involves having a sword. Are steel replicas allowed, sheathed or unsheathed, or will I need a plastic weapon?

[CaraG]

I'm pre-ordering my costume at the end of the month and I think that the character I'm going for has a knife but I'm going to play it safe and get as realistic a plastic one as I can find. I don't know what the policy is though.

[Galactic Knights]

Originally Posted by DanteLucien

At the Weekender I saw people in armor with sheathed swords. A costume I'm planning involves having a sword. Are steel replicas allowed, sheathed or unsheathed, or will I need a plastic weapon?

This is a fairly complex issue and one that you have to be careful with. The costumes you are refuring to were part of a group of profesional re-enactors (they weren't Galactic Knights) and that allows them to carry swords under the law - as long as they weren't waving them around or threatening people with them and as long as the blades aren't live - ie: real and sharp (the same law allows the Galactic Knights to carry the replica weapons you see the Stormtroopers, Clone Troopers and Colonial Marines with)
The weapons you saw them carrying were "Peace Bonded" which means that they could not be drawn from the scabards (they were tied to the scabards by strong cord and would not move more then an inch - I checked them myself). This was something that they weren't legaly required to do, but did for safety.
When it comes to the general public it's not accepted by the police, who class it as an offensive weapon and will at best confiscate it, at worst arrest you.
My advice would be carry a plastic replica unless you are a part of a re-enactment or recognised costuming group.

[Stumpy]

The Galactic Knight's advice is spot on. A replica, plastic knife or blade is the best option but that may also be required to be Peace Bonded as even a plastic blade can cause damage, to the eyes for example. The best advice is simply to use some common sense. My wife and I did that this year with our Feegle costumes, opting to use inflatable swords instead of plastic ones, simply for reasons of safety.

As an aside, the law regarding sharp pointy things also covers arrows, just in case someone should decide to bring a bow and arrows as part of their costume. I am an archer and have been reliably informed that during a competition, should you need the lavatory for example, you MUST remove your quiver and leave it and any arrows in the arena. So, as this is the case, I would not advise taking arrows at all as part of a costume. The simple way around it is to have non-headed arrows in a quiver and have the shafts buried into a lump of putty or suchlike so the arrows cannot be removed from the quiver. That way the bow is itself peace bonded as the arrows cant be taken from the quiver and nocked onto the string.

I know this all may sound like kill joy, over reaction on the part of health and safety, but the reason these rules are in place is usually because something has happened in the past resulting in an injury. So as I have already said, "Use your common sense" and think what is the worst that could happen. If its bad, leave the prop behind.

[Andrew.poole]

Another safe option would be to pick up some LARP weapons.

Although can be a bit pricey, the latex/foam weapons now used are V realistic and safe.

For example:

www.eldritch.com

www.darkbladeuk.co.uk

www.characterkit.co.uk

[Galactic Knights]

One important thing to note is that no mater if you are a part of a group covered by the re-enactment laws or a member of the public carrying a foam or toy weapon, it should at all times be covered over when traveling to and from an event. It's worth stating at this point that the Police will not take any chances and should they see what appears to be a gun or a sword in the back of a car or poking out from a bag, then you WILL find yourself face to barrel with an Armed Responce Unit.
It's standard operating procedure with Galactic Knights members to ensure that blasters etc are stowed in cases with the costumes or (if they are large) carried in secure rifle bags and not visible by the public. I advise taking a similar approach.

[mini_beastie]

Also a replica sword is a really pricey piece of kit. You wouldn't want to risk losing it during the night's festivities.

I spent ages mading myself a cardboard axe to go with my costume then forgot to bring it with me. Doh!

[DanteLucien]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I thought it would be a health and safety and legal issue but I thought it was worth an ask. I'll probably End up buying a larp sword and having a fake quiver of arrows with a bow. Thanks guys.

[mithras23]

Just to point out how upset the police can get- my girlfriend was stopped by the police at the weekend for a blown brakelight- the officer absolutely freaked at her because she had a saw in the passenger footwell that she was bringing over to mine- she got a real b*llocking and was told it had to go in the boot........

[darkblu3]

Good Afternoon All,

First of all, here is a copy of a question I asked before the event last year that was never clearly answered:

Does anyone know what's allowed in terms of cameras etc?

I know at other conventions people can bring DSLR's and stuff and only use the flash for the first few minutes of talks and last year at the sfx weekender I thought I saw a few people with DSLR's. Just wondering if there's any rule that says we can't bring these and are limited to just small cameras. Or are we ok to bring out the good stuff as long as it's just for personal use?

Sorry if i've missed the obvious somewhere along the lines.


Secondly:
At the 1st SFX Weekender in Camber Sands there was photshoots on the schedule but due to the level of demand for the autographs and these taking a long time to process I wondered whether there is any talk of doing them at this years event?

Third and Finally:
As much as I mainly go to this event because it's great fun and meet lots of people, can we please have reassurances given that there is going to be a clear and fair system in place for autographs as I have issues with my skin and health when in enclosed spaces and warm which led to a very uncomfortable time for me at this years event due to spending 5 hours+ in queues....and this was only for 3 guests.