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Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Fauna of Australia

Fauna of Australia
The first original and comprehensive survey of a countries fanua on Wikipedia. The article has been though formal and several rounds of informal peer review by interested editors.--nixie 03:13, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Object:
 * The images Image:Cercartetus lepidus.JPG, Image:Long-tailed mouse.jpg are under a license of "no commercial use". This is an unacceptable license for Wikipedia.
 * The image Image:Emu big 500px.jpg is licensed under the GFDL, but does not indicate the creator.
 * The image Image:FierceSnake Olive.jpg does not have any source information.
 * --Carnildo 05:58, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Repaced one, found the author of one, and on point one- if you read the licence on those images you would see that commercial use is permited as long as the original source is credited- which puts in on par with Cc-by-sa-2.0 or the GFDL for freeness.--nixie 06:15, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Removed photos mentioned in point 1 anyway.--nixie 06:47, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * The wording is a bit complicated, but the key terms seem to be "to download, print and otherwise reproduce the information for non-commercial purposes only" and "If it is indicated on a website that specific information may be used for commercial purposes". Without knowing the source website, it's not possible to check to see if the site's got an exception for commercial use, and in any case, it doesn't appear to allow derivative works. --Carnildo 19:52, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Support, of course. More great work by nixie.--Cyberjunkie | Talk 11:05, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * It looks great on a cursory glance, but I need a little more time to go through this with a fine-tooth comb. - Mgm|(talk) 11:51, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment: amazing article Nixie! However, "The Australian Psittaciformes comprises a sixth of the world’s parrots..." what is a Psittaciformes? However, I really must say that I think you've done a superb job!!!!! If you could sort this small thing out, I give you an enthusiastic support! - Ta bu shi da yu 13:17, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Psittaciformes is the order of birds that includes parrots, I've reworked the sentence. --nixie 13:26, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Support, great work, but with a few comments
 * The establishment and speciation of the present-day fauna... (under Fauna of Australia, para 1) - I think that "evolution" would be a better word than speciation, since it encompasses change in general, while speciation is really just a split in a lineage.
 * giving rise to a diverse group of arid-specialised flora and fauna (same section, para 2) - I don't usually think of "flora" and "fauna" as countable objects (with the exception of a slightly different usage of the words in systematics) - why not just say "plants and animals", "organisms" or "species"?
 * Fauna of Australia, paras 1,2 - I find the sentances here rather long, with too many semi-colons; might it not make for easier reading if you broke some of those sentances up?
 * Australian snakes come from seven families (Fauna of Australia, para 5). Might "belong to" be better wording?  Somehow "come from" just doesn't feel like the best choice of words.  Also - snakes after lizards?  Aren't snakes sexier than lizards? ;)
 * Invertebrates occupy all ecological niches (Fauna of Australia, para after table) - I disagree with that statement; if that were true, then there would be no unoccupied niches for verts to fill. Or are you Aussies all invertbrates which have evolved to look like humans?!!! ;)
 * Introduced species that have and continute to cause significant environmental degradation (same para) - I don't like this sentance (a) shouldn't it be "that have caused and continue to cause", and (b) should it be "that" or "which"?
 * 3.7 m earthworm? Wow.  (That isn't a suggested change, it's just amazement)
 * Guettarda 13:58, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I think I've covered all your points, thanks for the careful once over.--nixie 14:31, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Object Comment:, a few points based on the lead and the first section.
 * The anon that struck out above oppose, was me. - Mgm|(talk) 13:29, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I'll continue reading and reviewing the rest of it later. - Mgm|(talk) 15:30, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * 1) The word endemism needs a quick explanation or rewording.
 * 2) I don't think marsupial is a common word to non-native English speakers, maybe a quick explanation in the lead would help?
 * 3) Explain what a monotreme is.
 * 4) The lead mentions different animals getting extinct by hunting, introductions of enemies and general habitat destruction. Maybe you can include some examples?
 * I have addressed most of your objections, however I am not in favor of redundant definition of terms, endemism for example is explained in the context of the preceeding sentence, and is a wikilink.--nixie 03:28, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * favor? I thought favour was prevalent in Australia ;) =Nichalp   «Talk»=  18:45, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Comment Please use &nbsp; between a number and its unit. =Nichalp   «Talk»=  11:37, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I think I got them all.--nixie 16:57, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * One more thing, please move the Gang Gang and koala images a bit lower, it currently squeezes the text in lower resolutions. =Nichalp   «Talk»=  18:45, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Support =Nichalp   «Talk»=  18:15, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Support—Informative text and excellent pics. Tony 13:49, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Conditional Support wow. Take care of MgM's objection though :). Ryan Norton T 17:36, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * He said he already did, he just didn't agree with one of them, which is fine. I've got a few other points now though: the last ones, I promise.
 * 1) You say the Cane Toad has become a pest, can you reference that for us non-Australians so we know it's not overstated?
 * 2) Salties also live in fresh water rivers? Was that a typo or is that something I just didn't know?
 * 3) Since Australia has the most venomous snakes of any continent in the world, I think a snake picture is appropriate in that section. If you need the space, I suggest you remove the lizard one.
 * 4) The same goes for spiders, but they're not as important.
 * 5) Is archæological proper Aussie spelling? - Mgm|(talk) 19:14, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * The Cane Toad, along with the rabbit and the fox, is the most destructive and virulently despised introduced pest, and especially prominent since it has become established in Australia's Eden. So concerning is its spread, that the CSIRO is developing biological controls. The Australian Museum confirms its status. Footnote forthcoming.
 * Saltwater Crocodile is a misnomer: they do habit freshwater rivers and so on.
 * Yes, archæological is proper AusE.--Cyberjunkie | Talk 09:56, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

 * I would like to have a photo of a snake or spider, but there are no free snake pictures as far as I can tell. There is one free spider picture that I know of, but I'm not sure that the identification is correct. I'm happy to alter the pics if and when there are some with compatible licences. --nixie 22:47, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I was able to identify one of the spider pics more conclusively so it is in the article now.--nixie 00:35, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I added a link to a good external website with images of lots of Australian snakes and other venomous species, which will hopefully take care of that point until there are some free snake images.--nixie 03:18, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Looks good. I like has this article has developed. -- ZeWrestler  Talk 20:29, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Support excellent article. Oh and Salties also live in fresh water rivers? Was that a typo or is that something I just didn't know? They move between both salt and fresh water. Sabine's Sunbird 20:49, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Support Object - beautiful article, well written and illustrated. One (easy to fix) issue though - I think the bloody cane toad needs a bit more written about it. You use very strong words, "disastrous" and "devastating" but don't explain why so.  Without the two "d" words it would have been ok, but those particular words demand a little bit more info about their impact.  I'd mention their hardiness and adaptability, their extreme toxicity and their seemingly unstoppable encroachment in a mere 70 years.  (I think they've spread into Kakadu, of all places, so "disastrous" may yet become "catastrophic"). A couple of brief sentences would cover it.  Everything else is great.  Rossrs 09:30, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I've added an extra sentence specifying their effect.--Cyberjunkie | Talk 09:56, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Sums it up nicely. Thank you.  Rossrs 13:16, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Since Image:FierceSnake Olive.jpg is PD from the German Wikipedia and since venomous snakes outnumber non-venomious ones in Australia would anyone object if I replaced the lizard image with Image:FierceSnake Olive.jpg? - Mgm|(talk) 09:04, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
 * The Fierce Snake deserves illustration and as it's the most venomous land snake in the world, it's "notable". Probably more notable than the blue-tongued lizard, but even though the lizard picture is less "sexy" (to paraphrase a previous editor), it's a great image just the same.  I've never seen a blue-tongue with its mouth wide open like that showing its tongue and the blue-tongued lizard is quite iconic in Australia.   If both photos could be used, I'd be extremely pleased. Rossrs 11:35, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

 * If you're going to use Image:FierceSnake Olive.jpg, you need to provide a source. And no, "From German Wikipedia" isn't good enough. --Carnildo 19:34, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Ah, apparently it's not as free as I thought. Maybe we can have the Image sleuths take a look at this and see if they can dig up a free version? - Mgm|(talk) 20:18, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I've listed it now and contacted some active Sleuths to take a look at it. Hopefully they'll come up with a free alternative in a couple of days. - Mgm|(talk) 20:39, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Support. I'm not going to let the one missing image throw me off, but I'll keep trying to find a free alternative for the snake image. Thanks for addressing my concerns. - Mgm|(talk) 11:26, 11 October 2005 (UTC)


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Earl Strom

Earl "Yogi" Strom (December 15, 1927 – July 10, 1994) was an American professional basketball referee for 29 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and for three years in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Strom is credited as one of the great referees in the history of the NBA and was known for his flamboyant style and ability to control the game. Nicknamed "The Pied Piper", the assertive Strom made foul calls with his whistle by using a "tweet-pause-tweet-tweet" tune and pointing at the offending player. In addition to calling fouls with flair, he was known for ejecting players from games with style and he sometimes supported his rulings with physical force.

Over the course of his career, he officiated 2,400 professional basketball regular season games, 295 playoff games, 7 All-Star games, and 29 NBA and ABA Finals. For his extensive contributions to the game, Strom was posthumously elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.

Early life
Strom was born December 15, 1927, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, to Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Max and Bessie Strom. Earl's father, Max, was a foreman at a bakery, and Earl grew up in the kosher household as the youngest of seven children comprising five boys and two girls. As a child, he became interested in athletics and competing in sports, and this interest lasted throughout his childhood and into high school. At Pottstown High School, Strom played football, baseball, and basketball. After finishing high school in 1945, he joined the United States Coast Guard towards the end of World War II. Returning from service, Strom attended Pierce Junior College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1951. Following school, the young Strom continued participating in sports and played for a local semi-professional basketball team in his early 20s. During a basketball game, he had an argument with a referee and the referee said "Look, you're not much of a player, and you've got a pretty good mouth on you, so why don't you think about taking up refereeing?" Following the advice of the referee, Strom decided to get into officiating. He officiated high school games for nine years as well as college games in the East Coast Athletic Conference for three years.

In 1952, he married Yvonne Trollinger, and the couple went on to have five children. Outside of officiating, Strom worked at General Electric in customer relations starting in 1956 and continued in this role through his first stint in the NBA. He felt this "day job" provided security to his family since officiating in the NBA did not at the time.

Early years
Strom became an NBA referee with the start of the 1957–58 NBA season after accepting an invitation to join the league from Jocko Collins, supervisor of officials. He further developed his skills in the league by learning from other officials such as Mendy Rudolph, Norm Drucker, and Sid Borgia. Strom ascended to the top of the officiating ladder by the end of his third season in the league as he was assigned playoff games, which was uncommon for lesser experienced referees at the time. The following year, Strom and Rudolph made NBA history when they officiated the 1961 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and St. Louis Hawks. This was the only time in NBA history that the same two officials worked an entire series, which was the result of the two teams not agreeing on any other officials to use in the series.

Six years into his NBA career, Strom had worked every playoff game in the semi-finals and finals along with Rudolph. In fact, the former was assigned to any seventh and deciding game in a series during this time. He was also involved in one of the most memorable moments in NBA history during the 1965 Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. In the seventh and final game, the 76ers trailed the Celtics 110–109 with five seconds left. The 76ers had possession of the ball and attempted to inbound the pass as the Celtics' John Havlicek tipped the pass thrown by Hal Greer and preserved the Celtics victory. Celtics' radio announcer Johnny Most made his most fabled call: "Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!" And all this while, Strom had officiated the game in a cast as he had broken his hand while punching a fan during an altercation at a game the previous night.

Memorable encounter with Wilt Chamberlain
In another significant moment in his officiating career, Strom was saved from an angry mob by legendary center Wilt Chamberlain during a game played in Memphis, Tennessee, in the mid-1960s. Strom had made a call that went against the St. Louis Hawks and at halftime was called a "gutless bastard" by Hawks general manager Irv Gack at the scorer's table. The fiery official asked Gack to repeat the comment as he reached across the table and grabbed Gack by the shirt. Fans started coming down from the seats while Chamberlain, playing for the Philadelphia 76ers at the time, saw what was going on. He stepped across the table, picked Strom up and said, "C'mon Earl. Let's get the hell out of here."

Controversies
More controversies surrounded Strom when he was again involved in a historical NBA moment during the 1967 NBA All-Star Game. As one of the referees in the game, Strom was responsible for the ejection of Red Auerbach, head coach of the East All-Stars. Auerbach remains the only coach to be ejected in an All-Star Game. Nevertheless, Strom was subsequently designated crew chief in 1967 and 1968 when the league hired Dolph Schayes as supervisor of officials for the NBA. He was put in charge of scouting crews, rating referees, and developing the skills of lesser experienced referees as well as working a schedule of games.

Departure to the American Basketball Association
After more than a decade's experience in the game, Strom was offered a salary contract over 82 games for $16,000 for the first time by Commissioner Walter Kennedy in August 1969. It was at this time that Strom became interested in listening to what the ABA, which started in 1967, had to offer in the bidding war that ensued between the two leagues over talent. The NBA did not offer benefit plans such as pension, family hospitalization, and long-term disability, which were of importance to Strom and his family. Lured by Borgia, who jumped from the NBA to the ABA to become supervisor of officials, Strom and three other officials—John Vanak, Norm Drucker, and Joe Gushue met with acting ABA Commissioner Jim Gardner during the summer of 1969. The ABA accepted Strom's demands of a $25,000 per year salary, a $25,000 signing bonus, and a health insurance and pension plan. As the four officials left for the ABA in 1969, it brought reform to NBA referees in terms of compensation and benefits. Regular officials in the NBA were offered contracts and salaries increased significantly. Additionally, medical and pension plans were provided for the officials.

Differences between the leagues
While Strom earned more than twice as much in the ABA than the NBA, he soon became disenchanted with the ABA for the lack of big name superstars and arenas that the NBA provided. Strom had anticipated that the ABA product would be inferior to the NBA, but assumed that the increase in pay would compensate for the level of play. However, he fed off the energy of the fans when officiating games and the small attendance sizes in the ABA made him feel depressed.

Controversies
Controversy again did not elude Strom in the ABA. In a 1970 game between the Texas Chaparrals and Denver Rockets in Denver, Colorado, he was attacked by a fan who came onto the court after Strom confronted the fan who was using profanity. Strom threw two punches before police officers took the fan away. For his involvement in the incident, Strom was fined $250 by the league. Not long after, he was fined by the league again. Following an exhibition game that Strom officiated between the Virginia Squires and Kentucky Colonels, he told a Philadelphia reporter that he had just seen the greatest player alive, referring to Julius Erving. While Erving was a very influential player in his era, the president of the Colonels, Mike Storen, complained that Strom was promoting players. The league fined Strom $50, but he sent $100 to Commissioner Jack Dolph saying, "The first fifty dollars is for the fine and the second fifty dollars is because I'm tellin' ya' he is the greatest."

Departure from the American Basketball Association
After the conclusion of his third season in the ABA, the dissatisfied Strom contacted NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy to discuss returning to the NBA. Encouraged with the support of Wayne Embry and Pat Williams, general managers of the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls respectively, Strom met with Kennedy during the 1972 ABA Playoffs. Kennedy informed Strom that John Nucatola, supervisor of officials, manages the staffing of officials, but Strom received a vote of confidence to come back to the NBA in the form of a handshake from the commissioner. Strom met with Nucatola and discussed salary and benefits. Strom was told by Nucatola that he would be getting a $25,000 salary and was guaranteed a job in the NBA for the start of the 1972–73 NBA season through a handshake agreement although no contract was signed. Strom was told a contract would be available to sign upon the completion of his twelve-game ABA playoff officiating schedule. Strom called the league to ask why he was not scheduled to officiate after his guaranteed schedule of games and was told by Norm Drucker, then supervisor of officials for the ABA, "You know the reason. They know you're going back [to the NBA] and they told me not to assign you any more playoff games."

Return to the National Basketball Association
With his ABA career over following the playoffs in 1972, Strom contacted Nucatola to get an NBA contract signed for the 1972–73 NBA season. Nucatola told Strom to call back after the conclusion of the 1972 NBA Playoffs. Strom called Nucatola following the NBA playoffs, but was told to "wait a little longer." Strom continued to have difficulties with Nucatola over the next several months and finally sought the assistance of Richie Phillips, a Philadelphia attorney and NBA player representative. Strom filed a $275,000 suit against the NBA in December 1972 for breach of an oral contract when John Nucatola told Strom that he could return to the league. The league filed preliminary objections to have the suit dismissed, but were overruled by the court. The NBA then moved for summary judgment which was denied. Concerned that there could be legitimate action taken, the NBA decided to give Strom his job back if he dropped the suit. Strom agreed to the terms and signed a contract before the start of the 1973–74 NBA season.

Changes in the National Basketball Association
Strom returned to the NBA and was among a regular staff of twenty officials. Since Strom had left the NBA in 1969, referees now made twice the salary and received pension, health, and insurance plans.

Memorable games
Strom ejected Chicago Bulls mascot, Benny the Bull, in the third game of the 1974 NBA Playoffs series between the Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. Strom had ejected head coach Dick Motta after receiving a second technical foul for storming onto the court to argue with referee Don Murphy. As Motta left the court, Benny charged onto the court after Murphy and made obscene gestures to both officials, prompting the ejection. It is believed to be the first time a mascot was thrown out of an NBA game in history.

During a game in 1982, Frank Layden, then head coach of the Utah Jazz, had seen enough of his team's poor performance and wanted an early exit. Layden verbally abused Strom so he could get ejected from the game. Strom knew what he was trying to do, and when Layden asked why he didn't eject him, Strom replied, "I know what you're trying to do, Frank, but if I've got to stay out here and watch this shit, so do you." After Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach confronted Strom in the hallway near the locker rooms and told Strom, "That was the worst officiated game I ever saw!", referring to the fact that the Lakers shot 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to the Celtics' 1. Strom stared back at Auerbach and said, "Arnold, you're showing all the class I knew you always had."

The Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls played a game in the late-1980s that Strom officiated. Chicago's Michael Jordan attempted a slam dunk on a fast break and was undercut by an Atlanta player. Strom called a flagrant foul and a player on the Atlanta bench yelled at Strom, "Ah, you're just protecting the superstars" to which Strom replied, "Damn right I am, you eliminate these guys from the game and we're all out of work." Strom officiated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final game during the 1989 NBA Finals. Strom congratulated Jabbar and gave him the game ball in the locker room.

Referee strike
During the 1977 NBA Playoffs, twenty-four of the regular referees in the NBA went on strike. Strom and Richie Powers were the only two referees not to strike. Strom honored his contract since he felt that it was valid through the season and a strike would be a violation of the contract. Referees were seeking the right to collective bargaining, an arbitration clause that would lessen the power that team owners have on officials, life insurance paid to age sixty-five, severance pay, increase in salary and playoff pay, and an increase expense compensation. After fifteen days and two rounds of the playoffs, the referees union, the National Association of Basketball Referees, was recognized as a bargaining agent for officials and playoff salaries increased from $150 a game to $750, $850, and $950 for the final three rounds of the playoffs. During the strike, Strom was officiating a playoff game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets in Denver, Colorado, and was notified at the conclusion of the game of a death threat against him phoned in to McNichols Arena at halftime.

Controversies
Strom's first notable incident since returning to the league that received attention by the NBA front office was during the 1974–75 NBA season. Strom officiated a game in Seattle and inadvertently pushed a woman who approached him at the scorer's table at the conclusion of the game. Seattle SuperSonics guard Fred Brown pushed Strom into the crowd as retaliation for what he had done to the woman. Bill Russell, who was coaching the SuperSonics at the time and referee Hugh Evans separated Strom and Brown from a further altercation. Strom originally was going to be suspended six games by commissioner J. Walter Kennedy, but was changed to a $600 fine. Strom went to the referees union to appeal the fine based on the notion that he was trying to defend himself. The union did not follow through with the appeal, but the fine was rescinded a year later by new commissioner Larry O'Brien and Strom was reimbursed his fine payment.

Strom was officiating an NBA game during the mid-1970s between the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets with Dick Bavetta as his partner for that game. The game was close at the end and Earl made a last-second call against the Nets, ending the game with a win for Sixers. Suddenly Dick Bavetta ran across floor to the scorer's table, saying, "No! No! I got a push off against McGinnis!" Strom then challenged Bavetta, "Are you overruling my call? I got pushing off right here!" Bavetta insisted, which reversed Strom's call and the Nets wound up with the victory. With the game over, players were walking to their respective locker rooms when the door to the referees' locker room flew open and Dick Bavetta came staggering out. His uniform was ripped and he was wearing a big welt over his eye, running to get away from Strom. Strom stepped out into the hallway and hollered after Bavetta, "You'll take another one of my fucking calls again, right, you motherfucker?" Strom was later fined for the incident.

Strom was suspended from working any further games in the 1976 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns after Game 2 because the Suns had complained about the foul disparity of the first two games in the series. In the first two games, the Celtics attempted 58 free throws while the Suns had 44.

Strom wrote a weekly column for newspapers near Pottstown which provided a perspective of the life of an NBA referee. In the spring of 1979, Strom criticized Chicago Bulls team management, in particular president Jonathan Kovler, over the firing of head coach Larry Costello after 56 games. While this incident was occurring, shortly after, Strom was involved in a shoving match with a fan and security officer following a game played in Phoenix, Arizona. These incidents led to Strom being suspended the remainder of the 1979 NBA Playoffs and was required to apologize to Kovler. In order to keep his job, Strom assured the league that there would be no animosity directed towards the Bulls and decided to discontinue writing his weekly column.

During the early 1980s, The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with Strom to get a perspective on the life of an NBA referee for an article. The sports reporter met Strom in a hotel lobby and was later joined by Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach, John Killelea. The three of them discussed referees and life in the NBA. When the article was published, the reporter wrote that he and Strom were joined by an assistant coach, whom Strom had bought a drink, and the tendencies for Strom to go into pressboxes to drink a cup of coffee and to talk with spectators that he knew in the stands. While the league had approved the article, Strom was fined $2,000 and suspended a portion of the playoffs.

During the mid-1980s, Strom had a couple incidents with team personnel being in the referees' locker room, which was against league rules. In 1985, Dallas Mavericks owner Don Carter entered the locker room and accused Strom of having a vendetta against Dick Motta, coach of the Mavericks. The next year during the 1986 NBA Playoffs game between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics at Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, Hawks coach Mike Fratello was attacked by a fan. Fratello walked into the officials locker room and reported the incident to Strom. Strom eventually was fined and worked a couple more playoff games that year.

Nearly halfway through the 1987–88 NBA season, Strom was fined $150 for reversing a field goal that San Antonio Spurs' Mike Mitchell made at the end of the half against the Indiana Pacers. Strom was concerned about making the correct call after being told by Pacers coach Jack Ramsay and referee Tommy Nuñez that Mitchell's shot attempt came after the period expired.

Final years
During the 1989–90 NBA season, USA Today took a poll on the best players, coaches, and referees in the league as voted by coaches and players. Strom was considered the league's top official in the NBA, receiving 83 out of a possible 193 votes. At the same time, the Detroit Free Press conducted a survey of 500 players, coaches, general managers, broadcasters, writers, and fans to determine the best official in each professional sport. Strom was chosen as the best official in the NBA and the top official overall among Bruce Froemming (Major League Baseball), Jim Tunney (National Football League), and Andy Van Hellemond (National Hockey League).

Strom's final game was Game 4 of the 1990 NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers played June 12, 1990, in a game that saw Strom correctly wave off Trail Blazers Danny Young's half-court heave that would have sent the game into OT, had it come before the buzzer.

Post officiating career
After his retirement from the NBA, Strom worked as a television color commentator for the Los Angeles Clippers from 1990 to 1991 and wrote a book detailing his officiating career entitled, Calling the Shots: My Five Decades in the NBA in 1990. Strom also participated in charitable events, such as being involved in a celebrity golf tournament hosted by Penn State University, and coaching at a basketball tournament run by Celtics great Larry Bird in Indianapolis, Indiana. Not long before his death, Strom wrote a column for the Reading Eagle and Chicago Sun-Times. It was through this column that Strom discovered he had a malignant brain tumor, a form of cancer, by doctors after his wife, Yvonne, found grammatical errors as she prepared to type the column on a computer. Strom began surgery on the tumor in January 1994, which was successful, but he could not overcome the effects of the cancer and died on July 10, 1994.

Legacy
"If there's one official who can't be intimidated or influenced by players, coaches, and fans, it's Earl Strom. The thing I respect him for, aside from being a very good official, is that you can get hot with him one night and have a few words, yet the next time you get him working your team he's ready to start fresh. No grudges or antagonism from him."

"Earl Strom is a throwback, a reminder of the days when the refs had colorful personalities, the days when war-horses like Mendy Rudolph, Norm Drucker, and a younger Earl Strom were called the father, the son, and the holy ghost."

"Coaches, general managers, owners and players always mentioned Earl as the best."

"Watching Strom work a game is like watching Michael Jordan work a defense."

Strom retired having officiated 2,067 NBA games over 29 years. Currently, only referees Dick Bavetta and Jake O'Donnell have officiated more games. Strom was selected to officiate five of the nine NBA Finals that went seven games (the maximum number of games possible in a series) in 1966, 1969, 1978, 1984, and 1988, and is considered the last of an era for the "charismatic referee" type to officiate in the NBA. This is in contrast to today's officials who are said to blend into the background during a game and all bear a similar appearance and use of hand signals. During his career in the NBA, Strom was given the nickname of the "Road Ref" by Harvey Pollack, a statistician for the Philadelphia 76ers. Throughout the year, Pollack noted how many times the home or visiting team was victorious and who were the officials working the game. Strom had the highest percentage of road team victories among NBA referees at 42.9 percent. This was the result of Strom refusing to favor the home team and letting the fans sway his decisions.

When Strom started his career in the NBA, he felt the most important aspect was to get the play right. Instead of selling a bad call, he felt that officials should admit their mistake, and get the call right. To get plays called correctly, he brought up the idea of limited use of instant replay for shots made at the end of a period ("buzzer beaters") and three-point attempts. The NBA eventually adopted the use of instant replay for end of the period field goal attempts and fouls at the start of the 2002–03 NBA season. Strom believed that referee's job was to ensure the game is played correctly, which will allow players to play their particular style. As the NBA began to evolve, Strom opposed the addition of the third official in NBA game for one season, the 1978–79 NBA season, and later in its present form since the 1988–89 NBA season. Strom felt that well-conditioned officials who are able to stay on top of the play would be able to make calls that a third official would be responsible for.

Pottstown High School created the "Earl Strom Financial Aid Scholarship", which is awarded to a member of the senior class who has been accepted by an accredited college.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Earl Strom


text:
Talk:Dearka Elsman

A Member of Terminal?
I'm thinking about adding Terminal under's Dearka's Allegiance. Doesn't anybody object? Or would you or would not not consider him part of Terminal? Neovu79 23:42, 11 June 2006 (EST)

title: Talk:Dearka Elsman


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mike Willbanks

 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was Speedy delete under WP:CSD A7 (non-notable biography). DES (talk) 17:08, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Mike Willbanks
Advertisement, non-notable Avalon 03:15, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Delete Vanity/commercial advertisement Avalon 03:32, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Speedy Delete. No assertion of notability (the web design business he "founded" has nothing in it's portfolio, and as such does not count). Not to mention vanity and advertising as per nominator.--inks T 04:13, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Speedy Delete per Inks. Dottore So 10:59, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Speedy vanity. I would have done it myself if not for the AFD.  Guess I'm not bold enough. Jdavidb (talk) 16:48, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


text:
Talk:Eddie the Eagle

Eyesight
The article says he is short sighted. I always presummed he was long sighted - looking at his glasses suggests as such. Can anyone clarify this?

77.100.142.47 23:20, 9 August 2007 (UTC)WWD

I can find no indication of him being far sighted. Very few people who are far sighted need glasses to do something such as ski jump. For those of you who don't recall, far sighted typically effects reading, whereas near sighted people need glasses to see any distance. I have changed the article to near sighted to reflect the same. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.184.21.126 (talk) 01:19, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Qualified in Australia?
The Eagle who dared to dream Claims in the "Fact File" that:

 * He shocked officials in 1988 by qualifying for the event simply because no other Brit applied and because he recorded a 77 metre jump, small by Olympic standards, in Australia.

Is anyone able to verify this, and if so, at which resort the jump was? Andjam 03:16, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Didn't he change the jump style?
I vaguely remember these facts:

a) he didn't always jump the shortest distances b) he had a unique jump style that involved having his skis apart, apparently giving him extra lift... but he ended up with atrocious style marks partly because of that. c) at the next winter olympics all the competitors had adopted this skis-apart style... because it gave them longer distances...

Can anyone verify these? Did Eddie change the sport? WolfKeeper 02:07, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

No, I don't think he did. See:

http://www.javaperformancetuning.com/newsletter014.shtml

It was Matti Nykanen that changed the rules.WolfKeeper 02:19, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

 * It was neither Eddie nor Matti Nykänen, it was Jan Boklöv. JdeJ 09:59, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

 * But other articles say Jan invented it in 1985. I don't remember V-style at Calgary, was it used, and was Eddie one of its adoptees? MMetro (talk) 21:20, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

The Best Of British?
Is it correct to say that despite not being the best in the world, at the time of his Olympic entry, Eddie was the best ski jumper in Great Britain? If so, then it should be recorded. DavidFarmbrough 11:38, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
 * One of his Calgary jumps set a British record of 73.5m, so I think that it would be fair to say that he was the best ski jumper in Great Britain at the time. -- Derek Ross | Talk 05:21, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Eaglettes? Fine-Dining? No verification
The link to the source for "Eaglettes and Fine Dining" (Source) actually states that there was no "fine dining" or adoring female entourage:

"An online encyclopedia says, "Edwards lived the high life in Calgary, fine dining and accompanied by an adoring female entourage of 'Eaglettes.'" Please, tell me more.

I wish! At the time, one of the hotels in Calgary was putting on a cabaret show based on the Games. When I became Eddie the Eagle the performers started calling themselves the Eaglettes. I went to watch the show one night and the Eaglettes dragged me up on stage for their final song.

They came to the ski hill on one competition day but they didn't follow me around. In fact, after I became [a phenomenon]. I wasn't allowed out of the Olympic village on my own. I had to be accompanied by officials.

There was no fine dining."

 * Well that answers that. If you find something as definitive as this its probably safe to go ahead and make the edit.  I'll take this out. --Atomicskier 23:27, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

The claim the he was "scared of heights"
any source for this?--Vintagekits 12:23, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Welcome to this article's talk page, Vinny. I'm on holiday at the moment, but why don't you try a little newspaper research in your local library in England. Most Librarians will be very helpful if you explain what you are looking for. Unfortunately the "Eagle"'s fame pre-dates by a few years the on-line editions of most newspapers. Try and keep out of the sun, though, I know it can be very fierce at this time of year down south. God bless! W. Frank ✉ 17:50, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Call me Vinny or Vinny the V again and I will report you.
 * you either get a source for the detail you added or I will remove it within 48 hours.--Vintagekits 21:43, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Latest news suggests that he's not scared of heights. From The Guardian:

"They said I was afraid of heights. But I was doing 60 jumps a day then, which is hardly something someone who was afraid of heights would do."

WombatDeath 08:51, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Eddieedwards.JPG
Image:Eddieedwards.JPG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 02:37, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

The Eddie 'the Eagle' Rule
That rule wasn't much or a rule, was it? Not if Eric Moussambani almost drowned while doing a "much less dangerous" sport at the Olympics, while not even being close to the rule to be allowed to participate. The IOC is supposed to be impartial, but are they? Don't tell me about "wildcards". Moussambani really was close to drowning there. And, either way, I think that a lot of people much more enjoyed seeing Edwards and Moussambani than the people who actually won the medals (and were expected to). Just my opinion. wjmt 01:55, 11 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Interesting point, wjmt.
 * Now if you could just find a good source or two (WP:V), we can wack it into the article. W. Frank talk ✉ 07:20, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

I was certainly one of the people who enjoyed seeing him. The Olympics has all these great athletes, and here was an overweight plasterer with bad eyesight who finished dead last. He was the competitor for all of us who aren't great athletes. I think that the music he used should have been Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. Jhobson1 19:14, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

 * It does seem that the rule is inconsistent with the spirit of competition, which is what the Olympics is supposed to be all about. Captain Quirk (talk) 09:24, 13 March 2016 (UTC)
 * To be fair, I can see the need for the organisers of the Olympic Games to weed out the large numbers of wannabees who simply want to participate in Olympics so tghey have a story to tell later on, even though they suck at their sport. Without a rule like that, the competitions would be full of people like that, and you'd need a lot of preliminary rounds to eliminate them until the actual finals would run. So a rule like that is certainly legitimate. As for Moussambani: The article on him sounds like he qualified on the basis of a special rule for developing countries, which could be an exception to the "Eddie the Eagle rule". SchnitteUK (talk) 12:14, 6 August 2016 (UTC)

Reasons for poor performance
Currently the article states the following:

Edwards was handicapped by his weight - at about 82 kg (181 lb), more than 9 kg (20 lb) heavier than the next heaviest competitor - and by his lack of financial support for training - he was totally self-funded - and so he finished last in both the 70 m and 90 m events

To me, the use of the word 'so' implies that these were the only two reasons that he came last. I would suggest that this is opinion (there are surely other reasons which may have contributed to his performance level, not least natural talent.) I would suggest that this be split into two factual sentences. I'll change this in a couple of days if there are no objections. Ged UK 16:14, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

I apologise for the poor edit, im not sure why the citation didnt work, have reverted the page, i request that someone enters the citation for the Eddie the Eagle Rule at page http://sport.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2161239,00.html Rory (talk) 21:22, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

I've added it where i think you were trying to. Ged UK (talk) 21:49, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Didn't finish last?
When Eddie was interviewed by local TV stations during his visit to Calgary yesterday for the 20th anniversary celebrations, he mentioned that in point of fact he ''didn't" come last, that apparently a French athlete actually finished ranked lower because of a broken leg. Can anyone verify this? 23skidoo (talk) 13:57, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * That does vaguely ring a bell, but surprisingly the olympic site doesn't seem to have records. Ged UK (talk) 16:13, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Arm-flapping
My memory of footage of the time (not reliable) is that Eddie had to wave his arms in circles as he went through the air, to correct his stance so that he would land the right way up. More skilled ski-jumpers took off right so that they didn't need to do this. And this was what gave him his "Eagle" name.

This may all be a figment of my imagination; but if anyone cam confirm it, I think it's worth mentioning. Maproom (talk) 21:33, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

 * He certainly wobbled his arms, but I'm not sure if that's where he got the nickname from. I suspect that is was just an easy bit of journalism by some British media about the only person we'd ever had (or ever have!) who flew through the air quite like that! I'll have a look see if i can find anything. Ged UK (talk) 22:12, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

"the Eagle"
"The Eagle" is surely a proper noun - there's only one Eagle and that is Eddie Edwards. Isn't this article misnamed? --kingboyk (talk) 18:40, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

 * I;m not sure, but I was rather under the impression that it is a proper noun because the 'E' is capitalised. Unhelpfully, the wikilink doesn't talk about 'the' in a comparable context. Ged UK (talk) 18:45, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Moved. --kingboyk (talk) 15:12, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Top 50 single
That Eddie Edwards had a single make the UK top 50 is a total fiction. No such entry exists in the Guinness Book of UK Hit Singles, which includes the UK top 75, let alone the Top 50. I have deleted this line. Vauxhall1964 (talk) 21:25, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

Personal best
What is the source of a personal best of 115 m in 1997 (see infobox)? Hobbema (talk) 02:03, 16 March 2016 (UTC)

"Citation needed" pollution
The section titled "Return to Calgary and other media appearances" has a "citation needed" on nearly every sentence, certainly every claim. None of the claims sound unrealistic, and I don't think citations are actually going to help the article, it is just good practice. So I'd ask future editors to not mark each and every sentence with "citation needed". Everyone will understand that citations are missing, and their addition would be appreciated with only a couple of examples. It also seems unlikely that any single person is going to get all the citations needed, and it even seems likely no one will ever fix all of them.The article is rendered nearly unreadable with all the markups. The alternative is to delete the uncited claims, and this would be a preferable solution also. If this problem is not addressed I will just delete all of the questionable sentences. There's no reason to pollute articles in this way. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cuvtixo (talk • contribs)

2017 comment
I would like to point out that the statement "he narrowly missed the Great Britain team for that event for the 1984 Games" is totally false. In order to qualify for the British Senior Team, from which the Olympic team was selected, he would have first been in the British Junior team. I was a member of the Junior team from 1979-81, and had never heard of him until he became a ski jumper. It was, and still is, a small world, and it is simply impossible that neither I nor my former team mates would not have known him if he had been anywhere near selection for the Olympics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.222.60.227 (talk) 21:07, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

Requested move 18 May 2018

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: moved as requested per the discussion below. Dekimasu よ! 19:47, 25 May 2018 (UTC)

Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards → Eddie the Eagle – Eddie the Eagle is his clear common name, the first line of this even says he's "known as Eddie the Eagle". His name is Michael Edwards, his common name is Eddie the Eagle, the name Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards doesn't even make any sense, as Eddie Edwards is not a name ever used by or for him. And he's clearly the primary topic for "Eddie the Eagle", as that redirects here. Joseph2302 (talk) 15:02, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Support per nom, per common and most familiar name, and per the 2016 film Eddie the Eagle. Randy Kryn (talk) 16:05, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Support per nom. No such user (talk) 09:57, 21 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Support per nom and this is not how we title articles. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:01, 23 May 2018 (UTC)

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

title: Talk:Eddie the Eagle


text:
User talk:Kenny56

Areas of Interest
Science: Develop an intuitive approach to understanding a gyroscope based upon  the basic concepts of physics.

 * Mass
 * Inertia
 * Momentum
 * Moment of Inertia
 * Angular momentum

Motorcycles: Performance, design, suspension, handling, testing, racing.

 * Countersteering

 * For countersteering, develop both an intuitive explanation and a rigorous mathematical proof.

Inertia Reverts
Kenny, I saw you added the phrase ((dubious)) in many places of the inertia article. Instead of doing that, please just revert the dubious edits. The current editor, Light current, is trying to disable and delete much of the current article, and I could use some help in defending it. StuRat 02:00, 28 October 2005 (UTC)
 * i used the dubious tags because i thought that was the recommended approach to disagreements based upon incorrect facts or science. i also added a ((disputed)) tag to flag the beginning of the article, also based upon my reading of the wiki procedures, etc.  Thanks for the update and information, and hopefully a defense can be established without too much wasted time and effort. Kenny56 04:47, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

It also appears that you've removed all your comments from the inertia talk page (moved there from the gyroscope talk page). That leaves a one sided conversation there. You semed to have excellent responses to many of Light current's claims, why did you remove them all ? StuRat 03:32, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

 * i felt like i had been responding to a troll or a crank looking for a fight. At first i thought he was a curious student seriously interested in the subject; then i found out later he didn't really want a serious answer or to spend any time or thought researching the answer on his own, as much as he was looking for someone with whom to argue.  A teacher once told me that arguing with a fool is like wrestling with a pig:  you can't win, you both get dirty, and the pig likes it. Kenny56 04:47, 28 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Yes, but I dont consider myself a fool... and neither should you. Most people here argue in good faith and try to expose erroneous arguments. If this means playing devils advocate sometimes, then so be it.--Light current 03:27, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid he took the removal of your responses as saying "I withdraw all objections, make whatever chages you like"...which he then did. StuRat 13:05, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

Is it possible to get any good articles in wiki?
Is it possible? See the following discussion from talk:inertia.

Your answer is, again, very interesting. I agree with you that the article should present inertia in terms of newtonian dynamics. But the title of the article being Inertia, I think it should also gives the meanings that the word inertia has in others contexts. --24.202.163.194 02:56, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

I am pleased to read you find my considerations interesting. I think I have contributed all I can. I have been roaming around on wikipedia talk pages for some time now, and I don't think it is possible to obtain good wikipedia physics articles. Different people can be committed to totally different theories about physics, so different that there is no prospect of reaching a consensus. I am committed to a particular point of view, to me my point of view looks like the only logical one. Different belief systems about physics keep clashing; I don't think it's ever going to work. --Cleonis | Talk 09:38, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

In Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, it is said:«NPOV (Neutral Point Of View) is an official Wikipedia policy which states that articles should be written from a neutral point of view, representing all views fairly and without bias. According to Wikipedia founder Jimbo Wales, NPOV is "absolute and non-negotiable".»

Thus we have, we must!, represent all views i.e. here, all theories (wikipedia has criterias for this too). That means that we don't need at all to get a consensus, but made a fair place to each of the theories which respond to the criterias mentionned above. If we don't follow that, I agree with you that, surely and very certainly, 'it's ever going to work'. But if we follow the principles of wikipedia, it will work. It will take time, but it will work. So lets give it a try, at least. --24.202.163.194 16:34, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Zyklon B
Could you say which specific facts on the Zyklon B page you are disputing, and what contradictory information you have? Thanks, --Squiddy | (squirt ink?)  20:09, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Magnetic field decline
Can refer me to the source where you got the exponential decay? --Octupole 22:45, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

Gyroscopic effects in [Countersteering]
Do you have a reference or have you done the math to back up your sentence "Motorcycles turn corners using the gyroscopic roll reaction force of the spinning front wheel"? It appears to contradict The "throw it off balance" method. It also seems odd that motorcycles would use a special effect that bicycles seem not to, and that they would depend on an effect that is inversely related to their forward speed. AndrewDressel 14:20, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

File:Gyro3axes.jpeg listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, File:Gyro3axes.jpeg, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the discussion to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Skier Dude ( talk ) 06:24, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Kenny56


text: Talk:List of storms named Harvey

title: Talk:List of storms named Harvey


text:
Talk:List of storms named Hazel

Todo
Why does this name exist. It should be Tropical Depression Hazel. This title should be 1965's Hazel because that storm was retired. Leave Message ,Yellow Evan home ,Sandbox[ 13:52, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

 * There were hurricanes and tropical storms named Hazel. -- Yue of the North 15:04, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of storms named Hazel


text: Talk:List of storms named Helene

title: Talk:List of storms named Helene


text:
Talk:List of storms named Henri

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Hurricane Henri (1979) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 14:31, 30 October 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of storms named Henri


text:
Talk:Blueschist

Untitled
What is the elemental composition of blueschist?

Its a rock, it varies. Rolinator 08:02, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

only minerals have definite elemental composition. Ezkerraldean 11:18, 18 January 2007 (UTC)Ezkerraldean

title: Talk:Blueschist


text: Talk:List of storms named Hilda

title: Talk:List of storms named Hilda


text: Talk:List of storms named Hortense

title: Talk:List of storms named Hortense


text: Category:Science and technology in the Czech Republic


text: Talk:List of storms named Humberto

title: Talk:List of storms named Humberto


text:
Vanaraja Chavda

Vanaraja (IAST: Vanarāja Cāvaḍā) was the most prominent king of the Chavda dynasty who ruled Gujarat from c. 746 CE to c. 780 CE.

Early life
Kṛishṇabhaṭṭa’s (also known as Kṛṣṇakavi) Ratnamālā (c. 1230 CE) says that in 695/696 CE (Samvat 752) Jayaśekhara, the Cāvaḍā king of Pañcāsara, a village (in modern-day Patan district, Gujarat), was attacked by the Chaulukya king Bhūvaḍa of Kalyāna-kaṭaka in Kanyākubja (probably Kanauj) and slain by Bhūvaḍa in battle. Before his death Jayaśekhara, he sent his pregnant wife Rūpasundarī to the forest in charge of her brother Surapāla, one of his chief warriors who now turned to banditry. After Jayaśekhara’s death on the battlefield, Rūpasundarī gave birth to a son named Vanarāja. This tradition is of dubious validity, as there is no city called Kalyāna-kaṭaka near Kanauj, and the Cālukya capital of Kalyāṇa in the Deccan was only founded in the 11th century, about 250 years after the events are stated to have taken place. Additionally, there is no known king named Bhūvaḍa, although some scholars guess that it may refer to the Cālukya king Vijayāditya, who was also known as Bhuvanāśraya.

Merutuṇga, the author of the Prabandhachintāmaṇi, tells a story that Rupasundarī was living in Pañcāsara and had placed her infant son in a hammock on a tree, when a Jain monk named Śīlaguṇasūri who was passing by noticed that the tree's shade was not bending, which he believed was a sign of the boy's role to be a propagator of Jainism. The story adds that a nun named Vīramatī brought up the boy whom the monks called Vanarája, literally "the forest king". When eight years old, the monk told Vanarāja to protect his place of worship from rats. The boy’s skill in shooting rats and his horoscope convinced the monk he was not fit to be a monk but was worthy of a kingdom. He therefore returned the boy to his mother. These details seem invented by the Jain writers themselves. No mention of any such story occurs in the Ratnamálá.

In the Purātana-prabandha-saṅgraha, in Ambāsana village, two Cāpotkaṭa brothers, Canda and Cāmuṇḍa, are foretold by an astrologer that Cāmuṇḍa's unborn son would kill Canda. Cāmuṇḍa's unnamed wife is cast out and she moves to Pañcāsara, where she gives birth to Vanarāja and places him in a hammock on a tree, when Śīlaguṇasūri who was passing by noticed that the tree's shade was not bending, and then proceeds to take them both to live in a temple.

According to the Dharmāraṇya-māḥātmya, Gujarat was conquered by Āma, king of Kanauj, who then gave it away as dowry to his son-in-law Dhruvapaṭa of Valabhi. Due to this, the Brāhmanas fled to Jayaśekhara of Pañcāsara. Dhruvapaṭa thus invited Āma to attack Jayaśekhara, who then dies on the battlefield. His wife, Akṣaṭa, is given refuge in a forest by Brāhmanas, who then foresees a royal future for her son.

In the forests where Vanarája passed his youth lived his maternal uncle Surapála, one of Jayaśekhara’s generals, who, after his sovereign’s defeat and death, had become an outlaw. Vanarája grew up under Surapála’s charge. The Prabandhachintámaṇi records the following story of the origin of Vanarája’s wealth. A Kanyákubja king married Maháṇaká, the daughter of a Gujarát king. To receive the proceeds of the marriage cess which the Gujarát king had levied from his subjects, a deputation or panchkúla came from Kanyákubja to Gujarát. The deputation made Vanarája their leader or sellabhrit to realize the proceeds of the cess. In six months Vanarája collected 24 lákhs of Páruttha drammas and 4000 horse, which the deputation took and started for Kanyákubja. Vanarája waylaid and killed them, secured the money and horses, and remained in hiding for a year. With the wealth thus acquired Vanarája enrolled an army and established his power assuming the title of king.

Accession to Aṇahilaváḍa
Aṇahilaváḍa (or Aṇahilapura, now Patan, Gujarat) was founded in 746 or 765 CE. The story of the choice of the site is the usual story of a hunted hare turning on the hounds showing the place to be the special nurse of strength and courage. Vanarája is said to have asked a Bharváḍ or Shepherd named Aṇahila son of Śákhadá to show him the best site. Aṇahila agreed on condition that the city should be called by his name. Aṇahila accordingly showed Vanarája the place where a hare had attacked and chased a dog. The city may have been called after some local chief since it was popularly known as Aṇahilaváḍa (Sanskrit:Aṇahilaváta) that is "the place of Aṇahila".

In the Prabandhachintámaṇi, Merutuṇga gives 746 CE (S. 802) as the date of the accession of Vanarája, while in his Vicháraśreṇi the same author gives 765 CE (S. 821 Vaisakha Śukla 2) as the date of the foundation of the city. The discrepancy may be explained by taking 746 CE (S. 802) to refer to the date of Vanarája’s getting money enough to fix the site of his capital, and 765 CE (S. 821) to refer to the date of his accession in the completed Aṇahilaváḍa. According to local tradition, an image of Ganpati in the city also have an inscription dated S. 802 but it seems late installation.

Vicháraśreṇi gives 765 (S. 821) seems the more probable date for the accession to the throne as the Prabandhachintámaṇi says that Vanarája accessed to throne at Aṇahilapura when he was about fifty. This accords with the date fixed on other grounds. Placing Vanarája’s birth at about 720 CE would make him 44 in 765 CE (S. 821) corresponding to date mentioned in the Vicháraśreṇi. Merutuṇga in both his works gives the length of Vanarája’s life at 109 and of his reign at sixty years. The figure 60 seems to mark the length of his life and not of his reign. So long a reign as sixty years is barely possible for a sovereign who succeeded late in life, and the 109 years of his life can hardly be correct. Taking Vanarája’s age at 45 when he was installed in 765 CE (S. 821) and allowing fifteen years more to complete the sixty years, he probably died circa 780 (S. 836), the closing year of his reign. Vanraja was succeeded by his son, Yogaraja.

The Prabandhacintāmaṇi narrates how Vanarāja lived the first half of his life as a vagabound who robbed and plundered throughout the region, but yet was able to gain the support of rich and powerful merchants for his future reign. His Tilaka ceremony was performed by a woman named Śrīdevī of Kākara village (probably Kankrej) whom in fulfillment of an early promise Vanarāja had taken to be his sister. The story regarding the promise is that once when Vanarāja had gone with his uncle on a thieving expedition to Kākara village and had broken into the house of a merchant he by mistake dipped his hand into a pot of curds. As to touch curds is the same as to dine at a house as a guest, Vanarāja left the house without taking anything from it. Hearing what had happened the merchant’s sister invited Vanarāja as a brother to dinner and gave him clothes. In return Vanarāja promised that she would place the tilaka on his head at his coronation. Vanarája chose as chief minister a merchant named Jāmba (also known as Jamba). The story is that three of Vanarāja's bandit followers came across a merchant Jāmba who had five arrows. Seeing only three enemies, Jāmba broke and threw away two of the arrows, shouting ‘One for each of you.’ The bandits being impressed with Jāmba's warrior skill took him to Vanarāja, who promised to make him his chief minister at his coronation. From the absence of any reference to him in these and similar tales it is probable that his uncle Surapála died before the installing of Vanarája. According to the Nemināha-cariu by Haribhadrasūri, after the coronation of Vanarāja, he asked an elderly Jain merchant-prince of the Prāgvāṭa lineage from Gambhūya village (although originally from Śrīmālā) named Ṭhakkura Ninnaya to live in Aṇahilapāṭaka as a minister in Vanarāja's court, and Ninnaya's son Lahara became a general (daṇḍapati). Lahara captured elephants from the Vindhyas for Vanarāja and was thus granted the village of Sandāthala, where Lahara erected a statue of the goddess Vindhyavāsinī.

The Kuvalayamālā mentions a legend about Vanaraja that he was assisted by a Jain monk in acquiring his kingdom.

He also credited with the foundation of Champaner, in honour one of his generals, Champa.

Religion
Vanaraja Chavda is not portrayed as a Jain by birth, yet he is shown participating in distinctly Jain rituals of kingship by Jain authors.

Temples
Merutuṅga's Prabandhacintāmaṇi states that at the suggestion of Śīlaguṇasūri, Vanarāja built the Pañcāsara chaitya (temple), which contained an idol of Pārśvanātha with a statue of Vanarāja as a worshipper. The figure of Vanarája is still shown at Sidhpur and a woodcut of it is given by Alexander Kinloch Forbes in his Rás Málá (1856). He also erected a temple to Kaṇṭeśvarī near his palace. Neither of these temples survived till modern-day.

Haribhadrasūri's Nemināha-cariu states that the minister Ninnaya built a temple of Ṛṣabha at Aṇahillapāṭaka, and his son, the general Lahara built a temple to Vindhyavāsinī at Sandāthala.

In popular culture
Vanraj Chavdo (1881), a Gujarati novel written by Mahipatram Rupram Nilkanth, is based on the life of Vanraja Chavda. Indian films on the king include: Vanraj Chavdo (1923) by Shree Nath Patankar, Vanraj (1930) by Nanubhai Vakil.

title: Vanaraja Chavda


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Alexina Louie

Alexina Diane Louie, (born July 30, 1949), is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music. She has composed for various instrumental and vocal combinations in a variety of genres. She has fulfilled a number of commissions, and her works, which have been performed internationally, have earned her a number of awards, including the Order of Canada and two Juno Awards.

Early life and education
Louie was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She earned an ARCT in Piano Performance diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of 17 while under the tutelage of Jean Lyons. Shortly thereafter, Louie received a Bachelor of Music in music history from the University of British Columbia in 1970. In 1974, she completed her M.A. degree in composition from the University of California, San Diego.

Career
While studying in the Greater Los Angeles Area, Louie was a member of an ensemble, and later she taught piano, theory, and electronic composition at Pasadena College and Los Angeles City College. One of her earliest compositions, completed in 1972, is an electronic piece for 4-channel tape entitled, Molly. The object in this composition, based on the last segment of James Joyce's novel Ulysses, was to make an electronic composition sound "human."

She created a number of piano compositions, including Scenes from a Jade Terrace, Distant Memories (dedicated to Jean Lyons) and I Leap Through the Sky With Stars for solo piano, Dragon Bells for prepared piano and pre-recorded prepared piano, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Louie moved from Los Angeles to Toronto in 1980. Soon after, in 1982, she composed O Magnum Mysterium: In Memoriam Glenn Gould. She composed the opening music ("The Ringing Earth") for Expo 86 in Vancouver, and that year was named Composer of the Year by the Canadian Music Council.

Louie has twice won a Juno Award for Best Classical Composition: in 1989 for Songs of Paradise (1984), and in 2000 for Shattered Night, Shivering Stars (1997) - both are orchestral works. She has received several additional nominations for various works.

Orchestral scores include The Eternal Earth (commissioned by the Toronto Symphony), Music for a Thousand Autumns (commissioned by the Ensemble SMCQ) and Music for Heaven and Earth (commissioned by the Esprit Orchestra).

Louie's works of chamber music include The Distant Shore for piano trio, Edges for string quartet, Music from Night's Edge for piano quintet, Riffs for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and Gallery Fanfares, Arias and Interludes (commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1993).

In 1990, 1992, and later in 2003, Louie received the SOCAN Concert Music Award for the most performed Classical composer of the year.

Louie and her husband Alex Pauk, conductor of the Esprit Orchestra, collaborated on several film scores including Don McKellar's Last Night, which received a Genie nomination for Best Original Score in 1998, and The Five Senses, a film by Jeremy Podeswa that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival the following year. In conjunction with David Henry Hwang, Louie composed a full-length opera, The Scarlet Princess (1996–2002).

In 1996 Louie received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. That year she was composer-in-residence at the Canadian Opera Company. In 1999 she won the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music for Nightfall, a work for 14 strings written for I Musici de Montreal.

The Scarlet Princess, which was premiered by the Canadian Opera Company in 2002, is an erotic ghost story based on a 17th-century Japanese Kabuki play. Her eight-minute comic mini-opera entitled, Toothpaste (1995), based on a libretto by Dan Redican, has been broadcast in more than a dozen countries. With Redican, Louie also completed Burnt Toast, which consists of eight comic mini-operas for television, in 2005. She draws upon the music for the Queen of the Night aria, "Der Hölle Rache", from Mozart's The Magic Flute, as well as music from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

Songs of Paradise was re-recorded by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Geoffrey Moull in 2004, and subsequently released on the album, Variations on a Memory. It became the best-selling disc of the Canadian Music Centre in 2005.

Louie's composition Three Fanfares from the Ringing Earth, was performed at the opening of the new National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and Scenes from a Jade Terrace, opened the new Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Her Infinite Sky With Birds, a National Arts Centre commission, debuted on February 22, 2006. That year, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Louie's composition Mulroney: The Opera, a musical satire of Brian Mulroney's life, was released by Alliance Films in April 2011. In 2013 her composition "Bringing the Tiger Down From the Mountain" was performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their tour of China.

Louie was honoured in 2019 by the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, which hosted a feature event of her compositions.

Awards

 * Canadian Music Council Composer of the Year, 1986
 * Juno Award for Best Classical Composition, 1989, 2000
 * SOCAN music award. 1990. 1992, 2003
 * Honorary doctorate, University of Calgary, 1996
 * Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music, 1999
 * Order of Ontario, 2001
 * Officer of the Order of Canada, 2005
 * Molson Prize, Canada Council for the Arts, 2019

title: Alexina Louie


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Radek Černý

Radek Černý (born 18 February 1974) is a Czech former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played principally for Slavia Prague in the Czech First League between its inception in 1993 and 2005, when he moved to England. Černý spent eight years in England with Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers before returning to his former club Slavia in 2013, where he played one season before his retirement. Černý enjoyed a brief international career, making three appearances for the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2002.

Slavia Prague
Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Černý turned professional in 1993 as a 17-year-old with Slavia Prague, his home team. His father was a goalkeeper, who started out as a youth at Slavia before playing in the Czech third and fourth divisions, while Černý's older brother Petr was another goalkeeper playing for the club.

Černý did not get a chance to play for Slavia in the early years of his career, having been loaned out to three different Czech clubs and not returning until 1997, when he finally made his debut. Petr Černý was later signed as a deputy to his younger brother.

Černý played for SK České Budějovice JČE in the first two seasons of the Gambrinus Liga and Union Cheb in the third before playing for Slavia's first team. He went on to make more than 150 appearances for Slavia, many of them in European competition. He was twice a domestic cup winner and scored one goal, the last goal in a 4-0 league victory against FK Jablonec 97 in the 1999-2000 season.

Tottenham Hotspur
Černý joined Spurs on an 18-month loan in January 2005, which was extended until the end of 2008 to replace Kasey Keller who, finding himself unable to win back the Spurs number one jersey from Paul Robinson, had signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Spurs had also signed Márton Fülöp, a young Hungarian goalkeeper, in the previous summer, but it was Černý who was called to deputise for Robinson for the last three games of the 2004/05 season. He made his debut at White Hart Lane against Aston Villa. Spurs won 5–1 but were unable to win a UEFA Cup spot that season.

Černý played in the Peace Cup pre-season tournament in South Korea, which Spurs won, but once Robinson returned, Černý was back on the bench again. Černý did not make an appearance in the 2005/06 season as Spurs finished fifth.

The 2006/07 season was more of the same for Černý, as Robinson, now the established number one for club and country, was initially playing in all of Spurs' matches, despite them playing in four competitions. Fülöp had left to join Sunderland and Robert Burch, a former youth team player, was being loaned out without starting for any of the clubs who employed him. Robinson was injured in March 2007 for the FA Cup quarter-final at Chelsea where Černý made his first competitive appearance for nearly two years in a memorable match that ended 3–3. Robinson returned for the replay, which Spurs lost 2–1. Černý was on the bench for the rest of the season as Spurs finished fifth again.

The 2007/08 season began badly for Spurs, with Martin Jol leaving in November 2007 and Robinson under pressure after making a number of goalkeeping errors. New manager Juande Ramos eventually lost patience with Robinson's loss of form and for the first time in his Tottenham Hotspur career, Černý displaced Robinson, being preferred for the League Cup semi-final first-leg at Arsenal. However, Robinson again replaced Černý after a Černý goalkeeping error in the UEFA Cup against his former team threatened Tottenham's chances of winning in the round.

Queens Park Rangers
On 4 May 2008, Černý told Sky Sports News that he would be joining QPR of the Championship at the end of the season because of the lack of first team action at Spurs. The transfer was confirmed on 13 May. He made his debut in the QPR 2–1 victory over Barnsley at Loftus Road. After some uncertain displays at the start of the year, a string of fine performances enabled Černý to establish himself as the R's first-choice goalkeeper. He was left out of the 2012–13 QPR Premier League squad, losing out to fellow goalkeepers, Júlio César, Robert Green and Brian Murphy.

Return to Slavia Prague
Radek Černý spent the 2013–14 season at Slavia Prague before ending his professional career in 2014.

International career
Černý has represented the Czech Republic at youth level, earning 11 caps for the Czech under-21s. He has also represented them at full international level with three caps for the senior Czech Republic, during his time at Slavia Prague.

Honours
Tottenham Hotspur
 * Football League Cup: 2007–08

Queens Park Rangers
 * Football League Championship: 2010–11

title: Radek Černý


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Tom Higgins (Canadian football)

Thomas Joseph John Higgins Jr. (born July 13, 1954) is the defensive coordinator for the Calgary Colts of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL). He has previously served as the Director of Officiating for the Canadian Football League (CFL) and is a former Canadian and American football player, head coach, and general manager.

Early years
Higgins, the son of a former Philadelphia Eagles tackle, Tom Higgins Sr., was a high school football standout at Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. He played nose guard at North Carolina State University. He was an All-American and was a starter in four consecutive bowl games. He was also an All-American wrestler at NC State.

Professional playing career
After graduating from college in 1976, Higgins attempted to enter the National Football League, but was not selected in the 1976 NFL Draft. He instead played in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders for three years. In 1979, Higgins was signed by the Buffalo Bills and played one year in the United States, before returning to Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL.

Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Higgins began coaching at the University of Calgary, winning the 1983 CIS title in the second of his three years as an assistant coach under Canadian Football Hall of Fame coach Peter Connellan. In 1985, Higgins joined the Stampeders coaching staff, serving in many different capacities until becoming a head coach in 2001.

Higgins became head coach of the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos later that year, leading the team to the playoffs in each of his four seasons. In 2002 and 2003, he won division titles, and he won a single Grey Cup as a head coach, with the Eskimos in 2003.

In 2005, he returned to the Calgary Stampeders as head coach. He held this position for three years, making the playoffs in each. He was fired after a first round loss during the 2007 playoffs.

Higgins served as the Director of Officiating from April 2008 to December 2013.

Higgins was hired as the new head coach of the Montreal Alouettes on February 24, 2014. He coached a historic 2014 football season starting 1–7, turning the team around to a 9-9 second-place finish, hosting a play off game and defeating the BC Lions. On August 21, 2015, Alouettes ownership relieved Higgins of his coaching duties.

Higgins was hired in early 2020 as the defensive coordinator of the University of Alberta Golden Bears. After the 2020 season was cancelled, he coached for two seasons with the Golden Bears.

On April 1, 2023, it was announced that Higgins had been hired as the defensive coordinator for the Calgary Colts.

Personal
Tom and his wife Sharon have three grown children, Holly, Hillary and Thomas.

title: Tom Higgins (Canadian football)


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William Shija

William Ferdinand Shija (28 April 1947 – 4 October 2014) was a Tanzanian politician and the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association between 2007 and 2014. He had also served as a member of the African Union's Pan-African Parliament.

Early life and career
Shilija was born in Nyampande village in Sengerema District of Mwanza Region. Before entering politics, Shilja worked as a civil servant and a teacher. After receiving higher education in India and the United States, he taught communications in Tanzania.

Politics
Shija was a member of the National Assembly of Tanzania from 1990 to 2005. During this time he held the positions of Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education; Minister for Information and Broadcasting; Minister for Energy and Minerals; and Minister for Industries and Trade. He was a member of the Pan-African Parliament in 2004 and 2005 and chaired the Committee on Education, Culture, Tourism and Human Resources. He was appointed the first African Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on September 9, 2006 and took up the position on 1 January 2007. His term lasted until 2014.

Personal life
Shija was married with five children. When he assumed the post of Secretary-General of the CPA, he lived in London. Dr. Shija was a patron for a Welsh based charity that works extensively in Tanzania.

Death
He died on 4 October 2014 in London. He was buried in his home village of Nyampande in Sengerema District, Mwanza Region.

title: William Shija


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Category:Czech businesspeople

See also Category:Czechoslovak businesspeople

title: Category:Czech businesspeople


text: User talk:68.99.234.88

title: User talk:68.99.234.88


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SCA Rapier Combat

Rapier Combat is a style of historical fencing practiced in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). The primary focus is to study, replicate and compete with styles of rapier sword-fighting found in Europe during the Renaissance period, using blunted steel swords and a variety of off-hand defensive items. Participants wear period clothing while competing, along with or incorporating protective equipment (such as modern fencing masks) for safety. In the April 2020 update of the rules, the sport was renamed 'Fencing Combat'.

History
Since the founding day of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), there was an interest in simulated combat sport with a "medieval style". The first "tournaments" were highly informal and used a mishmash of fencing equipment and wooden weapons. The first combat style among the SCA that evolved into a formal rule set from this was Armored Combat, which uses wooden, padded and rubber weapons along with specially made body armor unique to that style.

As early as 1969, there were informal discussions about introducing "rapier and dagger" style combat as a society activity. Several early rule sets using sport fencing-like systems were experimented with in the 1970s, with rules and activities being adopted in several kingdoms. In 1979 the Society Board of Directors formally approved the activity and approved the first set of rules.

Overall, the goal is distinct style within the organization focused more on the civilian dueling styles of the 14th, 15th and 16th century. Unlike the aforementioned armored combat, fencing in the SCA is closer to the modern sport fencing, using light body protection and flexible metal swords, though the rules are much less rigid. Since the time of its introduction, fencing has gained a significant following in the SCA, and having over one hundred competitors is not uncommon at larger event tournaments. The ultimate goal of SCA fencing as stated by the rules is to safely simulate fencing "with a real blade, extremely sharp on point and edge."

Weapons
A wide variety of blades and sword styles are permitted, but all fall into one of two classes: "Light rapier" and "heavy rapier." It is not permitted for the two classes of rapier to be used against each other; participants must all be using light or heavy. Light rapiers consist of commercially manufactured foil and épée, though the hilt and guard are sometimes replaced or altered to make them more closely resemble a historical sword. Heavy rapier are full-sized replicas of historical swords, with certain differences for safety reasons: The edges and tip must be blunt, with tips covered with a cap made of rubber, leather or plastic. Heavy rapier blades must pass a minimum flexibility test to be used.

In addition to strictly "rapier" hilt types, other period swords are permitted so long as the blade meets the aforementioned safety criteria. These include side-swords, two-handed swords such as longswords, and single-edged swords including Großes Messer, szablas, scimitars, and katanas.

Besides a primary sword, combatants are permitted to use an additional item in their off-hand. These include a parrying dagger (or main gauche), a shield or buckler, a cloak or other flexible item, a cane, stick, or baton, or even a second sword (known as wielding "a case of rapiers"). Nearly any item is permitted so long as it is durable, has no sharp edges and is not likely or designed to trap an opponent's sword in an unsafe manner. An empty off-hand may be employed to parry as well, but is vulnerable to normal thrusts and cuts from the opponent's weapon.

Protective Gear
Since the entire body is a potential target, a participant's entire body must be covered. No bare skin may show, and all clothing must be at least durable enough to not snag open or tear from light abrasions. Certain areas of the body must have stronger protection. For example, the front of the head, the neck and the top of the spine must be protected by rigid items. A modern, regulation fencing mask is the most common type due to their low cost and reliability, though some fencers wear steel helmets of a more historical design. The neck and top vertebrae are protected by a gorget made of heavy leather and/or steel. The torso and armpits must be covered with a heavy fabric of some sort or leather, that is sufficiently strong to resist puncturing if a blade were to break during a bout. Men are required to wear a protective cup, and women are encouraged to wear chest protection. Fencers must also make an attempt to approximate medieval or Renaissance dress. Popular outfits tend to be based on 14th to 16th century European clothing, but participants are free to design their outfit after any pre-1600 culture normally acceptable with the SCA, including styles of the Middle East, China and Japan. It is a popular tradition in the SCA for female fencers to dress in male attire (similar to La Maupin), though this is by no means a requirement.

Competitions and rules
As fencing in the SCA is intended to be first and foremost fun, safety is the primary concern. All fencing practices and tournaments in the SCA are run by fencing "marshals" who are warranted to watch for unsafe behavior, inspect equipment, and "authorize" others to fence in tournaments (much like a referee). The "authorization" process includes a test of knowledge of fencing rules and bouts fought with previously authorized fencers under the marshal's supervision; the goal is not to prove the fencer's ability to win bouts, but his or her ability to participate safely and courteously in both tournaments and casual sparring. No fencers may compete in an SCA tournament until they have passed authorization, though they can participate in practice bouts until that time.

Unlike modern fencing, SCA fencing has no restrictions or divisions based on gender.

List field
SCA fencing is conducted in an open space permitting sideways movement, rather than back and forth on a linear strip as in conventional sport fencing. The fencers may move freely within a designated fighting space called the "list field". These fields may be any size and are often outdoors. Bouts are observed by one or more marshals, who monitor the fencers for safety as well advising when a fencer is too close to the boundaries of the field. There is no penalty for accidentally bumping into or backing over a boundary; it most often results in the match being halted temporarily for the combatants to re-position.

Valid attacks
The entire body is considered a valid target, and there is no "priority" (right-of-way) rule, which is similar to sport Épée.

A valid blow is scored with either a thrust in line with the blade or a cut with the edge of the blade. In normal rapier rules, the edge may only be used for draw-cuts (placing the blade and pulling or pushing it on the opponent's body), while under "cut and thrust rapier" rules, percussive blows with the edge are also permitted. Only a sword or dagger may be used to strike an opponent. Participants cannot punch, kick, grab, body check or otherwise make physical contact with their opponent's body (beyond unintended fleeting contact), and may not strike an opponent with a shield, cloak, stick or any other parrying device.

The scoring of a blow is based on an honor system; it is the responsibility of the fencer being hit to acknowledge a valid attack from the opponent. The fencer who is struck verbally acknowledges the blow by calling out in a loud voice, or in certain types of combat, dramatically acting out the hit for showmanship. No fencing directors, judges or electronic scoring systems are used. The fighting is overseen by a marshal who monitors the bout for safety and fair play from both participants, but is not permitted to judge the validity of an attack. However, the marshal has the ability to warn a fighter in cases where an obvious blow went unacknowledged, usually by politely asking if they are certain they were not struck. In extremely rare cases, the fighter's authorization to fence can be revoked.

Bouts usually continue until one fighter is struck by an "incapacitating" blow or otherwise becomes disinclined to continue. A fighter may also yield (concede victory to the opponent) at any time during the bout. An "incapacitating" blow is defined as a valid attack to the head, neck, torso, armpit or inner groin area. Attacks to the legs or arms are considered "disabling". A hit to the arm disables that arm, which is held behind the fencer's back or hanging limply at their side. Fencers whose sword arm is disabled can switch hands. Some kingdoms use rules with additional details for strikes to the hand, which may simply disable the hand (represented by making a fist) or apply to the whole arm. For a strike to the leg or foot, the fencer can continue fighting but must kneel, sit on the ground, or balance on one leg. Under Cut and Thrust rules, hits to the leg or foot are considered incapacitating. Many kingdoms contain additional clarifications of these rules, such as only permitting sitting on the ground when the leg is hit, and/or limiting the permitted angle of approach for the opponent while seated (to avoid unsafe strikes to the back).

Bouts can be one-on-one, or a "mêlée" where more than two fencers are involved. Melees can involve teams of fencers that must work as a group, or an every-man-for-himself "grand mêlée". One important matter of safety in a mêlée is attacking an unaware fencer from behind. Normally this is not permitted unless it is announced before that particular match. When allowed, the attacking fencer must not slash or stab an opponent who doesn't know they are there, but rather must lay their blade on his or her shoulder so the tip is visible to the opponent and verbally tell them they have been "killed" in a loud voice.

Tournaments
SCA tournaments are usually conducted in rounds with winners of each round advancing towards the finals.

Some common tournament formats are:
 * Single or double elimination
 * Swiss five
 * Passe de Armes
 * Scenarios (including group combat, terrain, obstacles, and more)

Mêlées
Mêlées between groups of fencers often take place at SCA events; these can be merely mock-brawls between disorganized "factions," but sophisticated small unit tactics are often seen. At Pennsic or the Gulf War it is not unknown for more than two hundred fencers to take the field for a "battle".

The SCA also allows simulations of period firearms to be used under certain conditions in fencing mêlées.

These simulations fire large "rubber bands" made of surgical tubing looped around and securely joined. "Wheel lock" pistols are most common, but muskets are not unknown.

This ammunition has enough mass to allow the target to feel its impact through fencing armor, but is light enough to prevent injury. Some SCA fencers have even built light cannon firing as many as fourteen rubber bands at a single shot, thus simulating the effects of grape shot.

Fencing titles and awards
There are many different awards for fencing within the Society.

Interkingdom awards

 * The Order of the Laurel - Some fencers have been elevated to the Order of the Laurel for research and historical fencing technique.
 * The Order of Defense - Created in 2015, the Order of Defense is a full Peerage-level award, equivalent to knighthood in the SCA, and is the highest honor a fencer can receive for rapier combat. Individuals receiving this award are allowed to wear a white livery collar and a heraldic badge consisting of three rapiers with crossed blades.
 * The Order of the White Scarf - The various Orders of the White Scarf are kingdom orders recognizing excellence in SCA fencing. These orders are almost all signatory to a treaty giving permission to any other kingdom to use the name "White Scarf", which is registered with the SCA College of Arms. The treaty also includes an agreement by the signatory kingdoms to treat visiting members of other White Scarf orders as they treat their own White Scarves. Many people mistakenly think of the collection of these orders as an interkingdom order. There are kingdom Orders of the White Scarf in 13 out of the 20 different kingdoms.  More information is at: http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/White_Scarf and at Moondragon Manor Online.

Kingdom awards

 * The Order of the Golden Rapier is the East Kingdom order for excellence in rapier combat.
 * The Company of the Bronze Ring is the Midrealm order for fencing skill.
 * The Meridian Order of the Blade is the Meridies order for fencing skill.
 * The Order of the Queen's Blade is the Gleann Abhann order for fencing skill.
 * The Order of The Dragon's Steel is given in the Kingdom of Drachenwald to those who display superior abilities in light weaponry. It carries with it a grant of arms. Before creating a new member of the Order, the Crown must consult with the Order.
 * The Stile Fryd and Stile Huscarl are Calontir's awards for skill in cut and thrust. They carry an award or grant of arms, respectively.
 * Ordo Circini Vitruvii. After the creation of the Order of Defence, the Northshield Order of the White Scarf was closed and the grant-level Ordo Circini Vitruvii created.

Historical fencing and the SCA
Along with their practice of fencing, many SCA fencers also study period fencing manuals such as those by Ridolfo Capo Ferro, Giacomo di Grassi, Camillo Agrippa, and Carranza. While study and use of period technique is far from universal, with the increased popularity of accurate rapier simulators (as opposed to foils and épées) as well as Cut and Thrust rules, participants are able to apply a large variety of period techniques in competition as well as being able to study it in a collaborative, non-competitive setting.

Criticism
Some fencers argue that draw cuts are not martially sound techniques and make cutting a due tempi ("double time") action, whereas a percussive cutting action would be in stesso tempo ("single time"). A counter-argument to this is that the slender, light blade of the rapier is a poor "chopping" blade and in period was often not particularly sharp. A drawing cut was far more effective for inflicting a serious wound. With the addition of the Cut & Thrust style and rules, this criticism no longer applies.

SCA Rules and Information

 * The official website of the SCA
 * The SCA's rapier rules
 * http://www.scarapier.com/ Website for SCA rapier in Atenveldt (Arizona)

SCA Fencing Households

 * The Tadcaster Militia - An academy of the East Kingdom League of Rapier Academies located at the Bhakail Baronial Fencing Practice
 * TEΔ - An East Kingdom academy that is affiliated with the Tadcaster Militia (currently, however, there is only one member)
 * The Thieves of Hearts

title: SCA Rapier Combat