At this time we find it necessary to post about safety, specifically the MC rules regarding pregnant players. This post is to clear up any confusion regarding the entry in the rule book, to ensure we all know the rules, and to foster understanding of why they are in place.
Firstly from the rule book:
“Players who are pregnant or have children may bring them along to tournament days only and may not enter any form of combat. They must inform gate house if they are pregnant or with children and fill out the specified spectator waiver.”
To be clear, Pregnant players may not be on the field in any capacity beyond as spectators at tournaments and may never engage in any form of MC combat. Tournament days have a ban on combat outside the designated areas so can be safely attended. However there is an expectation that you will make your status known so that other players can bear it in mind during play.
There are two reasons why this rule exists and why there is no flexibility regarding it:
- Physical and mental safety of mother and child: MC is inherently dangerous, during normal mission days MC cannot reasonably guarantee that a player will not be hit or engaged in combat despite their best efforts or non-com status. While we allow non-coms we acknowledge they may be on occasion accidentally engaged in full combat and they enter the field knowing that they are taking on a certain level of danger themselves. The game and its ownership are not willing to run events where danger to expecting mothers or their unborn children is present in any way and see non-com roles as insufficient for safety on normal mission days considering the possible outcomes of accidental combat.
- Physical and mental safety for other players: The game holds an expectation that players take their health into consideration when entering the field and do not put other players into a position to cause undue harm accidentally though normal levels of play. This is represented in our waivers and insurance and also is a matter of informed consent between players. When a player enters the field they take on a certain risk of being the cause or a part of the cause of injury to other players within the bounds of reasonable play, and the safety rules Medieval Chaos maintains. We have all left bruises on each other, or had other minor injuries from play. Much like any combat sport there is a level of consent expressed from all players within the rules of the game. Medieval Chaos and its owners hold that the harm of being part of the loss of a pregnancy is an unreasonable risk to expose players to and considering the mental anguish that may result for all involved would represent a violation of the consent noted above.
This is the policy and it is non-negotiable. I hope the above underlines why it is in place and why it is so important that it be followed.
In the interest of healthy play and for the safety of everyone at MC events and in the community at large, any player or Volunteer found to be attending or having attended a normal mission day while knowingly pregnant, or to have failed to disclose that status when attending a tournament day will be removed from the field and banned from future play. We take violation of this rule very seriously for the reasons listed above. Due to the stakes there can be no argument or flex, it is a hard and fast rule from ownership supported by the directorship and will be enforced.
Pregnant players are of course welcome to come by the parking lot outside play, they are welcome to say hello, drop off other players, and pick up players. Pregnant players are welcome to tournament events with the limitations listed in the rule noted above and we hope they will continue to be a part of the larger MC community while they are pregnant.
Due to the nature of this being a sensitive issue comments on this post are disabled. This is not an invitation for discussion, but rather a reminder and clarification of an important rule for the safety and wellbeing of everyone who plays Medieval Chaos.