A question to the Kingdom A&S Minister, Master Philip White:
“Does being chosen as King’s or Queen’s A&S Champion mean that you will be made a Laurel?”
Let’s pause there. This question actually pops up in lots of ways. Here are some related examples of this question:
“If I win this upcoming A&S Competition will I be made a Laurel?”
“If I get chosen as a King’s or Queen’s Champion for *fill in the blank* will I get the *fill in the blank* award?
“If I get this volunteer officer/event position will I get the award I want?”
There are any numbers of different ways that this question comes up.
Today, I’ll answer the question I received and use the A&S Champions only as an example. Mainly because that’s the office I work in. My reply is unrelated to any current, past or future Champions.
A reply from the Minister:
Short answer? No. It only means that you will be either the King’s or Queen’s A&S Champion.
Long answer?
No. But does it help? Maybe.
Once you are receiving recognition like this then there is a high chance that you are already “playing at that level”. Think of it like Crown Tourney. If you enter as an unbelt but you are finishing in one of the final rounds then you are probably on the right track. Maybe you are not there every day but you were there at least that one day. You’re headed in the right direction. The same could be said for A&S.
Now, past that demonstration of your skill, that keep the following in mind.
The only people who can decide to make you a Laurel are the King and Queen. They make their decisions based on feedback from the Order of the Laurel and from the populace.
Each King and Queen will make their decisions in different ways. The thing that is the same? Only They can make that decision.
But I said being chosen could help, right? I did. Here’s how.
First up? The Crown get’s to know you well as an individual. That’s really valuable.
And that part above… “They make their decisions based on feedback from the Order of the Laurel and from the populace.” That part too.
If you become King’s or Queen’s A&S Champion then you have a lot of opportunity for renown.
Through your hard work, study, research, and practice you were able to show your work well at the Champion’s competitions to then be selected as Champion. Just right there, at that event, you already get a lot of attention. You could have started out with 20 people knowing you at the event, and by the end of the day, now 100s of people know your name and your skills and your behavior.
And then, in your role as Champion, you will be traveling throughout the Kingdom to Royal Progress events. You end up meeting even more people through your tenure as A&S Champion. Some of those are Laurels. Some are other artisans. You meet people you wouldn’t normally meet because you are traveling to places you wouldn’t normally go and working with people you wouldn’t normally work with. That’s a lot of people.
Now renown is not enough. Becoming a Laurel is not a popularity game.
All this takes work, right? You still need to be doing excellent research and projects. Teaching and learning. Demonstrating peer-like-qualities.
You still do that all that. It is just now that lots of people from all over the Kingdom see you doing this. And it makes it easier for people to know who you are. And know all about that hard work you do.
The spotlight is now on that person as King’s or Queen’s A&S Champion. Your peer like qualities and skills in the arts and sciences, whatever form they take, will be seen by the Kingdom.
So as you see, when you think about it, that’s the same for any role you take. Be it a Champion’s title, or as an officer’s position, or as an event volunteer. Be it for the Kingdom or for your Barony or for some other group.
Your Servant to Command,
~p.w.