Advantages of Tournament of Champions

[Ysabeau Chanteuse (Ysabeau Chanteuse)]

We have discussed several of the disadvantages of Tournaments of Champions, but I don't see a thread about the advantages? So let's look at that.

*As a person with disability, this is the option that best ensures accessibility for me in any contest that involves a physical challenge (e.g. heavy combat, rapier, archery, equestrian, dance etc).

*With appropriate limitations (as discussed by Count Stephen elsewhere) that limit the number of times in succession that a Champion could fight, this option should increase the number of people able to contest a Crown.

*This option does not appear to add extra workload for event stewards.

*This option combines well with some of the other alternatives (e.g. tournaments that include multiple competitions, tournaments alternating between heavy/rapier etc.)
 
Does anyone else have ideas about other advantages?

[Collette de Harcourt (Collette de Harcourt)]

Given appropriate limitations on champions to reduce the risk of people using crownmakers, I think that this is probably the second fairest option after a pure lottery. It has options, pageantry, and ease of transition.

[Sigi]

Would I be correct in assuming that this option would be most palatable to the BoD, thereby allowing the door to greater change edging open? 

[Safflington (Safiya bint Abd al-Shahid)]

Would I be correct in assuming that this option would be most palatable to the BoD, thereby allowing the door to greater change edging open? 

To the US Bod? Probably, though I think they're reluctant to discuss change either way.

I think it's one of the easiest/most logical next steps, even if it only ends up being a stepping stone for some other Crown selection method.

[Gwen verch David (Gwen verch David)]

I like that the use of champions, especially alongside self-contesting crowns, is a 'constitutionally conservative' option. That is to say, it requires the minimal possible changes to our ruleset. I like that it preserves our pageantry and traditions, in a way that opens the actual Crown up to all. I like that it combines well with other possibilities. I like that it could be used for other formats, e.g. rapier tourneys with champions permitted, and that it could make any armoured tourney preserved in rotation into something more inclusive.

I would like to see the following aspects:
- Champions and self-contesting Crowns in the same tourney
- Champions treated as part of the structure of the reign (required to attend coronations, listed in the reign history, unable to contest Crown Tourney during the reign)
- Champions contributing to the letter of intent

This is my favourite option so far. In The Last Tournament, the very first SCA event, the combatants fought for the right to crown a Queen, not to be crowned King. I think having combatants fight for the right to crown a reigning pair speaks to this tradition in a resonant way, preserving something that is distinct about our society, while opening up broader possibilities.