Post by Crynolyn on May 18, 2009 16:30:59 GMT -7
Per email to crynolyn@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Attention Mid-western and Western Dagorhir Chapters--
Ragnarok 25 Proposal
Friday, May 15, 2009 7:40 AM
From: This sender is DomainKeys verified"David Stifler" <david.wf.stifler@gmail.com>Add sender to ContactsTo: altosax_ofdoom11@hotmail.com, archrli7@yahoo.com, haaldarin@sbcglobal.net, hnh10780@ucmo.edu, BusterOfShadows@hotmail.com, dnomrd2@hotmail.com, crynolyn@yahoo.com, Timmy_Page44@yahoo.com, Rabbitisgood4P8@yahoo.comCc: "Andrew Baker" <andrewbaker13@gmail.com>, "Andrew Welton" <alric@drentha.com>, "Aaron Orians" <aorians@gmail.com>, aragorn97@hotmail.com
Greetings, this is Magnus, the Taurendor (Philadelphia, PA) chapter representative.
Over the past month or so, I have been working to secure a new site for Ragnarok 25, in 2010.
As I and others have been feeling for some time, the current site--Spring Valley--is too small for our needs. While it is an excellent campground, the fact remains that the camping areas become noticeably more crowded each year, and this problem is exacerbated by the tendency of sites--as we saw last year--to flood with, again as we saw last year, sometimes alarming results.
Moreover, the fighting field has become noticeably more cramped as our battles have gone from some 175 fighters at Ragnarok XVII to over 700 only 6 years later, and this has resulted in inflexible fights in which many fighters have to wait for some time until they can actually enter combat, while others tend to get crushed and injured in the densely-packed field. Add to this the proximity of the stream, a safety hazard that requires us to make the field even smaller in order to avoid falling into it, and the result is a field that feels smaller and smaller every year, and requires us to fight more and more on the hills, inviting more tripping and rolling of ankles.
While Dagorhir should not abandon Spring Valley, it is no longer an appropriate site for Ragnarok. Therefore, I propose that we move Ragnarok 25 to a new site, Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, PA.
Here are some of the pros:
--The camping area is much, much larger, as it has accommodated events in excess of 12,000 participants.
--The battlefield area is gigantic compared to Spring Valley, and in the past has sufficed for battles of over 4,000 fighters with none of the crowding problems we face at Spring Valley.
--The facilities are vastly superior to those at Spring Valley, and they include more showers (35 total, versus 16 at Spring Valley including the shower trailer), more permanent bathrooms (not counting port-a-johns), an amphitheater, electricity and water hook-ups, and, perhaps most importantly, a permanent castle/fortress structure with two-story walls, walkable ramparts, and a gate. These facilities, including the shower and bathroom trailers as well as trash pickup and port-a-johns, would be available to us for no additional charge beyond the camping fee.
-There would be no security concerns with mundane campers, nor any noise issues with them or the campsite owners, who have hosted similarly loud, rambunctious, and/or alcohol-fueled-drumming-filled events to Ragnarok for many, many years now.
As for the cons, here are those that have occurred to me so far:
1-The site is more expensive: we would probably have to charge $55-60 dollars for the week, rather than $45.
2-Western realms (such as yourselves, hence my reason for sending you this e-mail) could see their drive times increased by up to two and a half hours, as this site is somewhat east and north of Spring Valley.
3-We would have to secure a new arrangement with a new campsite, rather than simply renew an existing contract.
I think that, in general, the pros outweigh the cons, but here are my specific responses to these points:
1-Another $15 is not a huge increase; it is about the price of a large pizza, and less than the cost of two movie tickets. I am confident that people will be able to find an extra $15 in their budgets, especially seeing as other expenses (food, for example) would not be increased. Moreover, we would be paying more and getting more, as opposed to remaining at Spring Valley, where we pay the same but get less and less every year.
2-This would of course mean extra driving time and extra gasoline; however, even in a vehicle with terrible gas mileage the added driving distance (at most 300 miles) would increase the gas cost by no more than $60, assuming gas prices do not increase sharply between now and next year. As someone who drove 12+ hours three years in a row, I do not consider an additional two hours on top of a drive that is already that long to be an insufferable increase, but I can't speak for everyone.
3-The only answer I have to this is that we have to negotiate well, be clear and firm on our position, and have a focused and productive discussion at Ragnarok 24 War Council regarding our needs for the next year and what we want to bring to the table when making our arrangement with the campground owners.
Please let me know your feelings on the subject. I welcome (and in fact, request) your opinions, questions, concerns, and I will address them to the best of my ability. It is important, I feel, to resolve as many issues as possible before the War Council, so that we can take action there rather than try to work these things out at the last minute.
Thank you for your attention,
Magnus of Taurendor
David Stifler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Attention Mid-western and Western Dagorhir Chapters--
Ragnarok 25 Proposal
Friday, May 15, 2009 7:40 AM
From: This sender is DomainKeys verified"David Stifler" <david.wf.stifler@gmail.com>Add sender to ContactsTo: altosax_ofdoom11@hotmail.com, archrli7@yahoo.com, haaldarin@sbcglobal.net, hnh10780@ucmo.edu, BusterOfShadows@hotmail.com, dnomrd2@hotmail.com, crynolyn@yahoo.com, Timmy_Page44@yahoo.com, Rabbitisgood4P8@yahoo.comCc: "Andrew Baker" <andrewbaker13@gmail.com>, "Andrew Welton" <alric@drentha.com>, "Aaron Orians" <aorians@gmail.com>, aragorn97@hotmail.com
Greetings, this is Magnus, the Taurendor (Philadelphia, PA) chapter representative.
Over the past month or so, I have been working to secure a new site for Ragnarok 25, in 2010.
As I and others have been feeling for some time, the current site--Spring Valley--is too small for our needs. While it is an excellent campground, the fact remains that the camping areas become noticeably more crowded each year, and this problem is exacerbated by the tendency of sites--as we saw last year--to flood with, again as we saw last year, sometimes alarming results.
Moreover, the fighting field has become noticeably more cramped as our battles have gone from some 175 fighters at Ragnarok XVII to over 700 only 6 years later, and this has resulted in inflexible fights in which many fighters have to wait for some time until they can actually enter combat, while others tend to get crushed and injured in the densely-packed field. Add to this the proximity of the stream, a safety hazard that requires us to make the field even smaller in order to avoid falling into it, and the result is a field that feels smaller and smaller every year, and requires us to fight more and more on the hills, inviting more tripping and rolling of ankles.
While Dagorhir should not abandon Spring Valley, it is no longer an appropriate site for Ragnarok. Therefore, I propose that we move Ragnarok 25 to a new site, Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, PA.
Here are some of the pros:
--The camping area is much, much larger, as it has accommodated events in excess of 12,000 participants.
--The battlefield area is gigantic compared to Spring Valley, and in the past has sufficed for battles of over 4,000 fighters with none of the crowding problems we face at Spring Valley.
--The facilities are vastly superior to those at Spring Valley, and they include more showers (35 total, versus 16 at Spring Valley including the shower trailer), more permanent bathrooms (not counting port-a-johns), an amphitheater, electricity and water hook-ups, and, perhaps most importantly, a permanent castle/fortress structure with two-story walls, walkable ramparts, and a gate. These facilities, including the shower and bathroom trailers as well as trash pickup and port-a-johns, would be available to us for no additional charge beyond the camping fee.
-There would be no security concerns with mundane campers, nor any noise issues with them or the campsite owners, who have hosted similarly loud, rambunctious, and/or alcohol-fueled-drumming-filled events to Ragnarok for many, many years now.
As for the cons, here are those that have occurred to me so far:
1-The site is more expensive: we would probably have to charge $55-60 dollars for the week, rather than $45.
2-Western realms (such as yourselves, hence my reason for sending you this e-mail) could see their drive times increased by up to two and a half hours, as this site is somewhat east and north of Spring Valley.
3-We would have to secure a new arrangement with a new campsite, rather than simply renew an existing contract.
I think that, in general, the pros outweigh the cons, but here are my specific responses to these points:
1-Another $15 is not a huge increase; it is about the price of a large pizza, and less than the cost of two movie tickets. I am confident that people will be able to find an extra $15 in their budgets, especially seeing as other expenses (food, for example) would not be increased. Moreover, we would be paying more and getting more, as opposed to remaining at Spring Valley, where we pay the same but get less and less every year.
2-This would of course mean extra driving time and extra gasoline; however, even in a vehicle with terrible gas mileage the added driving distance (at most 300 miles) would increase the gas cost by no more than $60, assuming gas prices do not increase sharply between now and next year. As someone who drove 12+ hours three years in a row, I do not consider an additional two hours on top of a drive that is already that long to be an insufferable increase, but I can't speak for everyone.
3-The only answer I have to this is that we have to negotiate well, be clear and firm on our position, and have a focused and productive discussion at Ragnarok 24 War Council regarding our needs for the next year and what we want to bring to the table when making our arrangement with the campground owners.
Please let me know your feelings on the subject. I welcome (and in fact, request) your opinions, questions, concerns, and I will address them to the best of my ability. It is important, I feel, to resolve as many issues as possible before the War Council, so that we can take action there rather than try to work these things out at the last minute.
Thank you for your attention,
Magnus of Taurendor
David Stifler