Staff Structure
Pennsic staff is made up of various divisions and departments. The structure of staff aids the oversight of various functions and tasks to ensure smooth operation of the event. “Pennsic senior staff” consists of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayors and Department Heads who oversee and manage other staff and have input to the operation of the event (including financial responsibility for the operation of their divisions). Additional staff positions within divisions exist to aid with management of specific functions or activities. All staff positions, including senior staff, are volunteer positions. Some divisions (e.g. Event Safety – the Watch and Event Resources – Registration) require significant additional volunteers to ensure their continued operation during the event. While these additional volunteers fulfill a critical role, they are not generally considered part of the full-time Pennsic Staff and will operate with direct oversight from a staff member. Individual divisions maintain their own policies and procedures to guide their function and to define the roles and responsibilities of volunteer staff. While these individual policies are not publicly published, they may be made available, either in whole or part, and examined by attendees in circumstances where Pennsic staff determine it is beneficial to clarify and provide insight into Pennsic operations.
Rules, Policies, and Procedures
Background
The Pennsic War (Pennsic) will run from Friday July 25, 2025, until Sunday August 11, 2025, when all attendees must be off-site. During Pennsic, all people in attendance must abide by the Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the USA; the rules and policies of Cooper’s Lake Campground (CLC)[1]; the Governing Documents of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (SCA)[2]; and the rules and policies of Pennsic as provided here. Anyone who chooses to ignore these regulations may be subject to appropriate sanctions. Anyone who may be in actual violation of law will be referred to appropriate modern authorities.
Pennsic is a complex event made possible by a collective agreement between attendees, staff, and the property owners. Pennsic does not operate without a baseline of agreed policies, rules, and procedures which ensure an equitable playing field for all involved. Since its inception, Pennsic has grown from a small weekend event into what amounts to a small city operating over the course of multiple weeks. The resources necessary to operate Pennsic are drawn from hundreds of hours of volunteer work, even beyond the direct hours involved in the time of the event itself. In addition to those invaluable volunteers, rental contracts, service contracts, and modern resources (such as EMS) are necessary to fully support the day-to-day operation of the event. Because of this, Pennsic is likely unique among all other SCA events. And uniquely, this requires Pennsic to adhere to what, on its face, appears to be a lengthy set of rules. But all of these rules are in place to ensure that all attendees, as well as the staff, are able to enjoy the magic that is called Pennsic.
As you review these rules, please understand that the letter of them underpins an intent to ensure the safe and efficient operation of Pennsic using the limited resources available. Individual attendees should seek clarification whenever intent is unclear.
Scope
These policies and rules exist as a baseline of expectation for all attendees. Whenever provided, please attempt to understand the intent as much as the letter of the rule.
The rules and policies contained in this document constitute the baseline of rules which every attendee must follow while in attendance – both letter and intent (when provided). Additional policies and rules may be provided for individual functions (e.g. battle/combat scenarios), and attendees participating in those activities must additionally follow those rules as provided. By attending Pennsic, each attendee agrees to these rules and policies.
[1] Cooper’s Lake Campground, as a subsidiary of Cooper’s Lake Farms, Inc. is the host of Pennsic and maintains their own site rules and policies. While many of those policies are incorporated or expanded by Pennsic specific rules, the hosting facility still supersedes on determining rules beyond those explicitly provided on their own site (https://www.cooperslake.com/clchome/rulesandregulations.php) or within this document. Pennsic event staff consults with CLC staff in cases where a conflict may occur.