In an entry from early 1782, Millington writes some notes about the code of etiquette governing the game of skrimshaw. These weren't hard and fast rules, but they were an unwritten (well, unwritten before Millington wrote them down) code of ethics that skrimshaw players abided by. The following is a transcript of Millington's notes on the subject.
NOTES UPON THE ETIQUETTE OF THE GAME OF SKRIMSHAW
as observed by Edgar Rutherford Millington, botswain of the Norwegain whaler Trondheim
Arguing with the Ruling Lourde
- It is unacceptable to refer to the Ruling Lourde in a derogatory way. Words that shall not be used to refer to the Ruling Lourde include, but are not limited to, the following: ninny, nincompoop, mental retard, Canadian, lily livered, sexer of men, hunchback, squid fackler, idiot, moron, coward, twerp, faggot, ratmilker, shite-eater, fairy, girlyman, or Pope Pius the First.
- A player may argue with a decision by the Ruling Lourde, but not for longer than ten seconds.
- Players may make mockery of the Ruling Lourde by use of pantomimed taunts or scowled faces, but it is acceptable for the Ruling Lourde to slap any player doing so.
Composition of Teams
- Players should not apply any type of lubricant material that would make it more difficult for an opposing player to ground them. The Ruling Lourde can sometimes eject a player for greasing himself with whale blubber, seal blood, deck varnish, or fish mucus.
- No player of Congolese extraction should measure more than a fathom and one-fifth in height.
- Finlanders are generally not trusted at the position of Dutch Clipper, though incorporation of a Fin at Dutch Clipper is sometimes used for confusatory purposes.
- No player should be currently suffering from gout, rickets, or scurvy.
- Under the bizarre circumstance in which a player hails from the isles of Oh-wyhee, that player shall periodically declare, "Take caution lads, for I am an Oh-wyhee boy!" This is done to prevent the Oh-Wyhee native from exercising his natural sneakiness and taking unfair advantage of players from more honest races.
- It is rude to rub the belly of a Chinaman for luck during a game. All agitation of the bodies of Asiatics should be completed before the contest is commenced.
- No team shall field more than four Muscovite players simultaneously, for it is well known that Muscovites roving in groups of four or more are captivated by an inclination to rape.
Celebration of Scoring
- A player scoring a freshie, saltwater halfie, or brackish quarter should perform a show of celebratory jubilation immediately afterward.
- Celebrations may include, but are not limited to: demonstrations of strength, pantomimed taunts, dances, the recitation of slogans, the imbibement of alcohlic beverages such as mead or barley beer, the summary slaughter of a baby seals or sea otters, and displays of sexual prowess.
- Failure to celebrate a score is considered unsportsmanlike, as it is an indication that scoring against the opposing team is not worth celebrating, and therefore a grave insult.
- No celebration shall involve defecation, unless deemed sufficiently hilarious.
- No member of the opposing team should interrupt or otherwise detract from the glorious jubilee of a scoring celebration.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
The Original Rules of Skrimshaw
In his journal, Edgar Rutherford Millington wrote of the curious sport taught to him by his fellow sailors. In perhaps the most important entry, Millington wrote a surprisingly in-depth and thorough summary of the rules of the sport. Whether this work was Millington's own attempt to summarize the laws of the game or merely a copy from some other pre-existing rulebook cannot be known, but these rules are by far the most comprehensive record of skrimshaw's original rules of play.
From Millington's journal:
THE RULES AND GOVERNING LAWS of THE GRAND AND GALLANT SPORT OF SKRIMSHAW
as compiled by Edgar Rutherford Millington, Botswain of the Norwegian whaler Trondheim
Field of Competition
- A regulation field of competition for the game of skrimshaw shall measure twenty-five yards in width and seventy yards in length.
- There shall be a scoring zone ten yards in depth at both ends of the field. It is recommended, but not required, that these scoring zones be coloured differently than the rest of the playing surface.
- A smaller field is recommended for skrimshaw games with fewer players than regulation.
The Ball
- The skrimshaw ball shall be ovular in shape.
- In size it shall be larger than a salmon head but smaller than a newborn sea lion pup.
- The ball should be constructed of leather or some similar material, such as sturdy whalehide or otter pelt.
Teams
- A regulation team shall consist of no more than 14 players, six of which may occupy the field of competition during play.
The Governing Lourde
- Play shall be conducted under supervision of at least one Governing Lourde, whose task it shall be to uphold the laws of the game of skrimshaw and impose all penalties for breach of those laws.
- The Governing Lourde shall wear accoutrements of a different colour and hue than that of the teams in the game being officiated.
Timekeeping
- A regulaton skrimshaw game shall consist of three ten-minute periods.
- Each of these periods shall begin with a one-on-one battle for possession of the ball. This shall be conducted thusly: One player for each team shall begin five yards from the center of the field, at which point the ball shall be placed seam-side-skyward. Upon the governing lourde's signal, the two players shall attempt to retrieve the ball and return with it to their respective starting positions. The players may not inflict strikes of any any kind upon one another, but grapples, holds, throws, and tackles shall be deemed allowable. The player that returns to his starting position in possession of the ball shall earn the initial possession of the ball for his team.
- The penalty for improper contact shall be forfeiture of the ball as well as the removal of one player from the offending player's team for the first play of the period.
- If the same team wins the possession contests at the beginnings of both the first and second periods, the other team shall be granted initial possession for the third period.
Grounding of the Ball
- The ball shall be deemed grounded when any bodily member of the player in possession of the ball, with the bare exceptions of the hands and the feet, makes contact with the playing surface.
- The ball shall also be deemed grounded when the player in possession of the ball makes physical contact with ground outside the boundaries of play, or when the ball makes physical contact with anything outside the boundaries of the field of play.
- If a team in possession of the ball is stricken with three consecutive groundings, the ball shall be turned over to the opposing team.
The Demarcation of Contest
- The demarcation of contest shall run horizontally from sideline to sideline at the spot in which the ball is deemed aground.
- Between plays the ball shall be place in the horizontal center of the field, exactly five yards from the demarc, on the side of the offensive team
- Players must remain on their team's side of the demarc until a play is begun.
- Play may only be begun when the ball is lifted from its resting place by a player on the offensive team.
- At the beginning of a new possession (other than that initiated by a turnover), the demarc shall be six yards from the offensive team's own scoring area.
- At the beginning of a new possession initiated by a turnover, the ball shall be placed at the spot in which the ball was grounded following the turnover.
The Freshie
- The primary means of scoring is referred to as the freshie. To earn a freshie a team must possess the ball and make physical contact with ground within the boundaries of the opposing team's scoring area.
- A freshie may also be earned by causing the opposing team to ground the ball within the boundaries of their own scoring area.
- A freshie shall count for three points in a regulation skrimshaw match.
Secondary Means of Scoring
- After the achievement of a freshie, a team is given the opportunity to augment their score by attempting secondary scoring. The demarc shall be made six yards from the opposing team's scoring area.
- For secondary scoring, the offense shall restrict their number on the field to three players.
- The defense shall restrict their number on the field to four players.
- During secondary scoring, if a player makes physical contact with ground in the boundaries of the opposing team's scoring area, that player's team shall be granted a saltwater halfie. A saltwater halfway shall be worth exactly one half of a single point.
- If, during secondary scoring, a player manages to make physical contact with ground outside of the horizontal sidelines, but beyond the vertical yard line four yards from the opposing team's scoring area, that player's team shall be awarded a brackish quarter. A brackish quarter shall be worth exactly one quarter of a single point.
Throwing of the Ball
- Throwing of the ball is permissable in any direction, at any time.
- If the ball is thrown outside the boundaries of the field of contest, it shall be deemed grounded at the spot from which it was thrown.
- The ball shall remain open for contestation until it is grounded.
- If the ball is possessed by the defensive team following a blunder by the offensive team, play may continue until the ball is downed. Whichever team was in possession of the ball when it was grounded shall retain possession at the spot in which the ball was grounded (unless, of course, that team has been grounded three consecutive times).
- Grounding following a turnover shall not count toward the limit of three consecutive groundings.
Penalties
A penalty shall result from any of the following offences:
- Crossing the demarc before the ball is lifted by the offense
- Grabbing onto an opposing player other than the possessor of the ball
- Striking an opposing player with the hands or feet
- Ramming an opposing player with the force of one's brow
- Attempting to choke the breath from an opposing player
- Intentionally dropping an opposing player upon his head
- Intentionally making physical contact with an opposing player who is on the ground or outside the boundaries of the field of play
- Restraining an opposing player upon the ground for more than three seconds
- Any other especially violent action which the Ruling Lourde deems inadvertently dangerous
Enforcement of Penalties
- If committed by the offense, a penalty shall result in the negation of any positive yardage gained after the penalty was committed.
- If yardage was lost following an offensive penalty, the demarc will be moved to the spot at which the ball was ultimately grounded.
- If a penalty is committed by the defense, any positive yardage gained by the offense shall go unmolested. The offense shall also receive an additional chance to ground the ball (it shall be increased from three consecutive to four consecutive, including the play in which the defensive penalty was committed).
- All penalties shall result in the removal of a player from the offending team, which shall last for the duration of one play. (In a regulation match, this means that the offending team will have to play with five players rather than 6 on the play following a penalty, for example).
- If multiple penalties are committed by a team during a single play, that team shall be given the option of removing multiple players from the field for the play following the penalties, or removing a single player from the field for several plays following the penalties. For example, if a team commits three penalties during a single play, that team may either remove three players from the field for the next play, or remove a single player from the field for the next three plays.
Improper Conduct Toward the Ruling Lourde
- Physical aggression toward or intentional intimidation of the Ruling Lourde shall be grounds for ejection from the skrimshaw contest.
Illegal Scoring
- A team on defense may not at any time place two players in the opposing team's scoring area.
- Any scoring achieved on a play in which this occurs shall be negated. The ball shall be deemed grounded at the spot in which the turnover that led to the score initially occurred.
... and those were the rules. Watch soon for a summary of Millington's pages regarding the strategy, etiquette, and customs of the game of srimshaw.
From Millington's journal:
THE RULES AND GOVERNING LAWS of THE GRAND AND GALLANT SPORT OF SKRIMSHAW
as compiled by Edgar Rutherford Millington, Botswain of the Norwegian whaler Trondheim
Field of Competition
- A regulation field of competition for the game of skrimshaw shall measure twenty-five yards in width and seventy yards in length.
- There shall be a scoring zone ten yards in depth at both ends of the field. It is recommended, but not required, that these scoring zones be coloured differently than the rest of the playing surface.
- A smaller field is recommended for skrimshaw games with fewer players than regulation.
The Ball
- The skrimshaw ball shall be ovular in shape.
- In size it shall be larger than a salmon head but smaller than a newborn sea lion pup.
- The ball should be constructed of leather or some similar material, such as sturdy whalehide or otter pelt.
Teams
- A regulation team shall consist of no more than 14 players, six of which may occupy the field of competition during play.
The Governing Lourde
- Play shall be conducted under supervision of at least one Governing Lourde, whose task it shall be to uphold the laws of the game of skrimshaw and impose all penalties for breach of those laws.
- The Governing Lourde shall wear accoutrements of a different colour and hue than that of the teams in the game being officiated.
Timekeeping
- A regulaton skrimshaw game shall consist of three ten-minute periods.
- Each of these periods shall begin with a one-on-one battle for possession of the ball. This shall be conducted thusly: One player for each team shall begin five yards from the center of the field, at which point the ball shall be placed seam-side-skyward. Upon the governing lourde's signal, the two players shall attempt to retrieve the ball and return with it to their respective starting positions. The players may not inflict strikes of any any kind upon one another, but grapples, holds, throws, and tackles shall be deemed allowable. The player that returns to his starting position in possession of the ball shall earn the initial possession of the ball for his team.
- The penalty for improper contact shall be forfeiture of the ball as well as the removal of one player from the offending player's team for the first play of the period.
- If the same team wins the possession contests at the beginnings of both the first and second periods, the other team shall be granted initial possession for the third period.
Grounding of the Ball
- The ball shall be deemed grounded when any bodily member of the player in possession of the ball, with the bare exceptions of the hands and the feet, makes contact with the playing surface.
- The ball shall also be deemed grounded when the player in possession of the ball makes physical contact with ground outside the boundaries of play, or when the ball makes physical contact with anything outside the boundaries of the field of play.
- If a team in possession of the ball is stricken with three consecutive groundings, the ball shall be turned over to the opposing team.
The Demarcation of Contest
- The demarcation of contest shall run horizontally from sideline to sideline at the spot in which the ball is deemed aground.
- Between plays the ball shall be place in the horizontal center of the field, exactly five yards from the demarc, on the side of the offensive team
- Players must remain on their team's side of the demarc until a play is begun.
- Play may only be begun when the ball is lifted from its resting place by a player on the offensive team.
- At the beginning of a new possession (other than that initiated by a turnover), the demarc shall be six yards from the offensive team's own scoring area.
- At the beginning of a new possession initiated by a turnover, the ball shall be placed at the spot in which the ball was grounded following the turnover.
The Freshie
- The primary means of scoring is referred to as the freshie. To earn a freshie a team must possess the ball and make physical contact with ground within the boundaries of the opposing team's scoring area.
- A freshie may also be earned by causing the opposing team to ground the ball within the boundaries of their own scoring area.
- A freshie shall count for three points in a regulation skrimshaw match.
Secondary Means of Scoring
- After the achievement of a freshie, a team is given the opportunity to augment their score by attempting secondary scoring. The demarc shall be made six yards from the opposing team's scoring area.
- For secondary scoring, the offense shall restrict their number on the field to three players.
- The defense shall restrict their number on the field to four players.
- During secondary scoring, if a player makes physical contact with ground in the boundaries of the opposing team's scoring area, that player's team shall be granted a saltwater halfie. A saltwater halfway shall be worth exactly one half of a single point.
- If, during secondary scoring, a player manages to make physical contact with ground outside of the horizontal sidelines, but beyond the vertical yard line four yards from the opposing team's scoring area, that player's team shall be awarded a brackish quarter. A brackish quarter shall be worth exactly one quarter of a single point.
Throwing of the Ball
- Throwing of the ball is permissable in any direction, at any time.
- If the ball is thrown outside the boundaries of the field of contest, it shall be deemed grounded at the spot from which it was thrown.
- The ball shall remain open for contestation until it is grounded.
- If the ball is possessed by the defensive team following a blunder by the offensive team, play may continue until the ball is downed. Whichever team was in possession of the ball when it was grounded shall retain possession at the spot in which the ball was grounded (unless, of course, that team has been grounded three consecutive times).
- Grounding following a turnover shall not count toward the limit of three consecutive groundings.
Penalties
A penalty shall result from any of the following offences:
- Crossing the demarc before the ball is lifted by the offense
- Grabbing onto an opposing player other than the possessor of the ball
- Striking an opposing player with the hands or feet
- Ramming an opposing player with the force of one's brow
- Attempting to choke the breath from an opposing player
- Intentionally dropping an opposing player upon his head
- Intentionally making physical contact with an opposing player who is on the ground or outside the boundaries of the field of play
- Restraining an opposing player upon the ground for more than three seconds
- Any other especially violent action which the Ruling Lourde deems inadvertently dangerous
Enforcement of Penalties
- If committed by the offense, a penalty shall result in the negation of any positive yardage gained after the penalty was committed.
- If yardage was lost following an offensive penalty, the demarc will be moved to the spot at which the ball was ultimately grounded.
- If a penalty is committed by the defense, any positive yardage gained by the offense shall go unmolested. The offense shall also receive an additional chance to ground the ball (it shall be increased from three consecutive to four consecutive, including the play in which the defensive penalty was committed).
- All penalties shall result in the removal of a player from the offending team, which shall last for the duration of one play. (In a regulation match, this means that the offending team will have to play with five players rather than 6 on the play following a penalty, for example).
- If multiple penalties are committed by a team during a single play, that team shall be given the option of removing multiple players from the field for the play following the penalties, or removing a single player from the field for several plays following the penalties. For example, if a team commits three penalties during a single play, that team may either remove three players from the field for the next play, or remove a single player from the field for the next three plays.
Improper Conduct Toward the Ruling Lourde
- Physical aggression toward or intentional intimidation of the Ruling Lourde shall be grounds for ejection from the skrimshaw contest.
Illegal Scoring
- A team on defense may not at any time place two players in the opposing team's scoring area.
- Any scoring achieved on a play in which this occurs shall be negated. The ball shall be deemed grounded at the spot in which the turnover that led to the score initially occurred.
... and those were the rules. Watch soon for a summary of Millington's pages regarding the strategy, etiquette, and customs of the game of srimshaw.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Story of Skrimshaw
Skrimshaw is a sport that may not be familiar to everyone, but its history is nonetheless rich and storied.
In late 2008, a document was uncovered in the bottom drawer of an antique armoire. That document was a journal kept by Edgar Rutherford Millington, a British sailor serving as botswain aboard the S.S. Trondheim, a Norwegian whaling ship. Among descriptions of the Trondheim's adventures at sea, Millington's journal described a game played by himself and the other sailors. That sport was known as skrimshaw.
This blog's goal is to tell the story of skrimshaw, to encourage its growth, and to rediscover the sport for the modern day.
In late 2008, a document was uncovered in the bottom drawer of an antique armoire. That document was a journal kept by Edgar Rutherford Millington, a British sailor serving as botswain aboard the S.S. Trondheim, a Norwegian whaling ship. Among descriptions of the Trondheim's adventures at sea, Millington's journal described a game played by himself and the other sailors. That sport was known as skrimshaw.
This blog's goal is to tell the story of skrimshaw, to encourage its growth, and to rediscover the sport for the modern day.
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