Site Rules

Please remember that the guiding principles of the Society are Chivalry and Courtesy to all. Camp Wombaroo is a private property, with the right to refuse entry without cause of any kind.

If you are asked to do something by a member of the Festival Staff, please be patient and courteous. Festival is a large event with a lot happening all at once, and we need things to happen in a calm way.

The following rules are draft and subject to change. Violation of ANY of the rules (including general), dangerous or disruptive behaviour, can lead to fines, expulsion from site, refusal to camp at future events, or other appropriate sanctions or restrictions.

You will be required to sign an agreement stating that you have read and understood these rules and will abide by them before entering the site.

NSW LAW

Anything against the criminal code of NSW is prohibited at Festival.
Do not bring illicit drugs of any kind.
Crossbows are illegal in NSW. Don’t bring them.
Merchants must have any permits required by law and/or regulation to sell their wares, including food vendors.
No-one may sell alcoholic beverages without the proper license.
Providing alcohol to minors is an offense. Do not do it or you will be asked to leave.

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GENERAL

Please obey all directions from the Stewards and their representatives including Constables, Marshals and any other officers of the Stewarding Team in their areas of authority.

Your token is proof of entry. It is given to you at the gate and must be carried and displayed at all times; it must also be shown at the gate for re-entry.

Certain tokens will define your length of stay on site.

You must make an attempt at pre-17th Century historical costume at all times outside of their tent. As much as possible this rule should apply to all aspects of your camping as well.

People may not attend in person events if they are currently unwell, or have experienced COVID like symptoms within the past 72 hours, or have visited any identified high-risk areas or exposure locations within the last 14 days

Attendees must not vilify any person for wearing a face covering,

Guide and support animals are allowed on site, however Stewards must be notified when they arrive on site.

There are no other animals allowed on-site without permission by prior arrangement with the Stewards, including horses.

Any members of the media must make prior arrangements with the Rowany Seneschal and Festival Stewards. Any media persons arriving and hoping to report from Festival without having made prior arrangements will not be permitted on site.

All site buildings are nut free. This means the kitchens, the dorm rooms, the bathrooms, the meeting room (which will be used for meetings). The camp sites can have nuts, however you will need to act responsibly with the products and their waste.

Smoking of tobacco products or e-cigarettes (vaping) is not permitted within public temporary or permanent structures or within 4 metres of entryways to these structures.

The use of petrol or diesel powered generators, without express permission of the Stewards, is prohibited.

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CARS AND ACCESS

There will be traffic lights on the dirt access road directing when you can drive onto and off site. The period of red will be set to allow people enough time to travel in the other direction. You must obey the lights.

Please adhere to the posted speed limits and drive on only specifically designated roads.

Do not park in the spaces reserved for Royalty or Stewards, unless you have permission.

Loading zones provided near the sign-in tent are for short-term parking only. You will be asked to move your vehicle if deemed necessary.

There is a parking section for people with a disability permit. Ensure your permit is displayed.

Cars will be allowed on site at the following times:

10am Sunday 13th April (set up day) – 9am Wednesday 16th
Quick Unload Only: 9am Wednesday 16th April – 8am Friday the 18th April
No cars on site: 8am Friday 18 April – 9am Monday 21st April
Quick Pick up Only: 9am Monday 21st April – After closing court (roughly 3pm) Monday 21st April
3pm Monday 21st – 3pm Tuesday 22nd April (site closed)

During Opening Court – we request that no cars be driven on site, and any cars arriving wait at the gate during all courts.

Quick Unload Only – this means drive on site, unload, drive off site and THEN deal with your gear. If you are arriving on Thursday, you might like to organise with people in your campsite to help you unload.

Quick Pick up Only means all gear stacked and ready to be loaded, THEN drive on site, load and drive off site.

Wombaroo reserve the right to change their decisions about car access during Festival, depending on the weather before and during the event.

Cars can ONLY be driven on roads. Some roads are permanent roads. Some roads will be marked by a line of white rocks for our event.

When loading/unloading, do not leave the road. Do not leave the roads to park in your campsite. You may park your car on the edge of these roads to allow others through.

Please be mindful of others who need to use these roads. Unload as quickly as you can, and move your vehicle as soon as possible.

If you have a disability permit and are staying in the cabins, there is additional, escorted access – please ask the Stewards for more details, or at the Gate.

Further to this – if your campsite own a cart that you have finished using, you might like to donate it to the Gate for others to use through the weekend.

Any driver found misusing these regulations may be asked to leave site.

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HIRE GEAR

Hire equipment including marquees will be delivered and erected on or about the Monday prior to Festival.

Pavilions will be erected in campsites. All other hire equipment can be found at the Tavern, where people can be signed off the equipment register, and collect it. Do not take any equipment without first seeing the Holder Of The Clipboard.

You can park on the side of the road near the tavern. Your equipment will need to be carried across the Village Green. Bring your household members to help.

At the end of Festival campsites that have had equipment hired will have to return equipment to the Tavern. Campsites must be left completely clear, apart from hired pavilions, by Tuesday 12pm.

Please make sure you return all your equipment or you will be required to pay for it.

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CAMPSITES

All guy ropes must be marked with white material to avoid accidents.

Campsite areas must be kept clean – we are the SCA and we leave areas cleaner than we found them!

No powerful electric light sources (i.e. LED or fluorescent lighting like Coleman lanterns) may be used outside or in public areas.

In case of heavy rain, do NOT dig trenches.

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NOISE

Attendees are to be considerate of their neighbours when it comes to loud talking, singing, and playing instruments.

The playing of drums and drum circles are not allowed after 10pm

Loud conversations, singing and playing of other instruments are allowed until 11pm.

After 11pm please keep noise levels within campsites to conversational levels

Individual campsites can determine an earlier finish for the noise restrictions to start within their own campsite

Areas that that are exempt from this Noise Policy:

The Combined Colleges campsite
The Tavern
The Bardic Circle Firepit
The Great Hall
The War Field

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DrugS and Alcohol

You may bring your own Alcohol and consume it on site.

Alcohol must not be supplied to minors

Consumption of Home Brew can be done discreetly in campsites. This includes the setup of a campsite ‘bar’

No Home Brew can be sold or advertised as being available within a campsite/bar

You cannot recoup costs for Home Brew supplied in any way, directly or indirectly.

These home brew rules have been confirmed with NSW Liquor and Gaming as complying with NSW Law and will be strictly enforced.

The use of illegal drugs is forbidden on site and any offender will be asked to leave site.

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FIRE

All fires and flame sources must be attended by a minimum of line of sight. This includes lanterns and candles.

Campfires must be in a four (4) metre diameter cleared area, free from long grass, tents and overhanging trees. Only existing fire circles and braziers/above ground fire pits with appropriate protection for the ground may be used.

Fires must be above ground with no damage to the grass to occur. No pits/holes may be dug to accommodate fires.

All campsites must have a clear method for extinguishing their fire nearby such as a chemical fire extinguisher, multiple buckets of water or sand for each fire, or a fire blanket.

Firewood is available for purchase in the nearby towns. Please make arrangements to bring firewood on site. There is a VERY LIMITED amount of firewood to be collected on site – it is already in piles. Please don’t take wood which is not in piles.

Please be sensible with any flame powered device – cookers, candles etc. Keep your indoor cooking areas clear and safe, and never leave cooking unattended.

Please use care when disposing of tobacco ashes. Ensure coals and ashes are cool before emptying them into the bin provided.

No flames are to be left unattended inside tents. This includes candles.

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WATER

Soak pits must not be dug for wastewater disposal. Wombaroo supplies waste water points around the site.

Showers can drain onto the grass as long as (perforated) matting is down to prevent mud forming and to protect the grass. Showers must not drain into other campsites or any public spaces.

Shower Zones accessible to all (marked on the campsite map) have been provided for campsites unable to meet the above requirements. Matting will still need to be provided for showers set up in this area. Showers cannot be set up in bush areas, or any non-campsite area, other than the Shower Zones.

All other wastewater must be gathered in containers, strained if required, and disposed of at greywater drain sites, shown on the Campsite map as ‘Shower Zones’.

Campsites cannot split or divert water sources without seeking permission from the Stewarding Team PRIOR to Festival set up.

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WASTE

Campsite recycling (paper, cardboard, unbroken bottles, rigid plastic, and metal) is to be deposited in communal recycling bins (at Village Green and near most toilet blocks) to be sorted by the waste team. If the bins are full, alert the constabulary team rather than overfilling it.

Campsite waste must be disposed of in the general rubbish skip behind the Hall rather than the communal garbage bins on the Green.

In your campsite, waste and recycling is to be gathered in a bin/bag that will prevent it blowing away or being eaten by native animals.

Wherever possible, please take your rubbish home with you.

Chemical toilets are NOT to be emptied on-site.

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SWIMMING

Wombaroo has stated there will be no public nudity on their site. This is also supported by the SCA BOD, who have stated that the SCA does not endorse nudity at their events.

Clothing of some sort must be worn while swimming. An attempt at historic attire is appreciated, but not necessary. Be sensible in your choices – loose clothing such as voluminous chemises can often become a swimming hazard.

Shoes are recommended when swimming.

No glass containers are to be used in or within 5 metres of the dam.

Be aware that the swimming hole is away from the main camp. All swimmers swim at their own risk. Swimmers are advised to take friends with them and not swim alone.

Children MUST BE SUPERVISED at all times. See the Parent Code of Conduct and the Parental Supervision Guidelines for more details

As with any venue on site, you are advised to guard against the sun and heat. Hats, sunscreen and water will be needed as there is very little shade by the dam. Avoid swimming in the middle of the day when UV is highest.

At past Festivals, a nearby camp has offered a communal tent for changing, and lightweight swimming tunics are often able to be borrowed. Please respect this offer by leaving things as you found them. Borrowed tunics are to remain at the dam.

Anyone found acting in a dangerous manner, or intoxicated around the dam will be asked to return to their camp for their own safety. Continued dangerous behaviour may result in expulsion from the event.

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CHILDREN

You are always responsible for your child/ren and their actions. To help parents understand the expected standard of behaviour, a Code of Conduct has been developed. You will need to take the time to read, understand, and sign the Parental Supervision Code of Conduct. You can review the relevant documents here:

The Code of Conduct will be available across SCA Lochac websites and FB pages and available to be signed at the Rowany Festival registration point.

The requirements for parental supervision are age-dependent. Please read the guidelines attached and be sure you are aware of the supervision levels required for your child/children.

The constabulary will be required to intervene only when a young child is unsupervised, a child is breaking the rules of festival, is in a prohibited area, is endangering themselves/ others or disturbing the peace, including Schola.

Parents are required to provide supervision when children are at Schola. This is not a care service.

Children aged 7 and under will be required to wear a tag identifying who they are, their campsite and their parent/ caregiver. (These are available at the Sign-in Tent.) The parent or guardian of any child found without this identification will be warned once and then asked to leave if it occurs again.

The tavern area is legally prohibited to minors. Children may pass through the tavern only if accompanied by a parent/carer, and must not be within one metre of the bar at any time. During the Market, the bar is closed and children may enter.

Dams and waterways are prohibited areas to unaccompanied minors. Children under 14 years must be accompanied by a parent/carer.

The archery field and war field are prohibited areas to unaccompanied minors. Children under 14 years must be accompanied by a parent/carer.

The Steward has the authority to impose a range of sanctions or restrictions in response to behaviour that is dangerous, disruptive or against the Festival Rules, up to and including expulsion from Festival.

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