Former Kingdom A&S Champions

Maestro Eduardo Francesco Maria Lucrezia

Looking back from this distance the memories of preparing for the championship, the day of the championship, the year spent as champion and the four years since being honored with the champion's cloak seem to swirl together. It is hard to separate out all the different things I went through; wonder, doubt, elation, exhaustion, anxiety, stress, happiness, hysteria, relief, joy, on and on and on.
But let me try to separate out all the feelings and tell you what happens in each of the four stages of championship.

PREPARING FOR CHAMPIONSHIP
You have made the decision to actually enter. CONGRATULATE yourself. Few people make this brave decision, four or five at the most in any one year.
You are among a select group who have chosen to challenge themselves, to push themselves to places not yet imagined. Sounds like an inspirational seminar, right? But it's true. Making the decision to enter is the first step on a long, hard journey towards the actual event and beyond. This stage is one of the most exciting times you will have. Questions are everywhere. What do I enter? What categories will these entries fit into? HOW CAN I GET IT ALL DONE IN TIME?! Keep asking those questions, and many, many more.
You'll find the answers, eventually. Most importantly keep asking yourself what do I want to learn? And subsequently what am I learning? For me the whole process of championship was about these questions. It was one big learning experience. Constantly pushing my comfort zone by asking questions. These questions will take your projects to new heights. Questions about technique, medieval mindset, the materials, the tools and the presentation you choose will challenge you at every turn. Answer these questions as honestly and fully as you can and when you come upon one, or several, you can't answer dig into the research. This will be a very challenging time. Enjoy the challenge - don't let it weigh you down.

The Day(s) of Championship
You've finished your projects. You've asked all the questions you can think to ask yourself. You know there is so much more to do, so many more questions to ask and answer. But you also know, if you're really true with yourself, you have done everything you possibly can with the resources available. You have given it your best and have learned more than you ever thought possible. Now is the time to let it go. The hardest of all the lessons, at least for me. Let it go, there is nothing more you can do. There are no more cherries to pick or cheese to make or pigments to grind. Let it go and look at the amazing things you have created. The great things you have learned about your crafts and yourself. Now is the time to share that learning. Share with the other contestants, with the populace, with the judges, with yourself. Don't just share the facts. Share the enthusiasm, share the joy, share the pain when your first tile exploded in the kiln. Process is the key to product and if you don't share how you got to the spot you're at now you have cheated yourself not to mention the judge and the populace. This day will be stress-filled. You have probably been up late for days in a row. There are many people around you, all looking at the projects you have poured your blood into over the last few months, or years. Stress is a natural reaction. Breath, learn, share and LET GO! Knowing you have learned more than you thought you would and that if you are chosen to present your learning in the finals on the next day the stress will continue. For me day one was worse than day two, but both days were helped by my team of support. Throughout the process of championship support is important, but especially on the day of the championship. A small group of trusted friends who will understand when you freak out because you can't find where you put the whatchamacallit. Who will make you eat something even if you snap that you are not hungry. Who will help you LET IT GO! Day two you will have as audience a group of judges (who have been exactly where you are right now) and many others who are VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU HAVE TO TEACH THEM. This is your job. They are not here to pick you apart or "judge"you. They are here to learn from you. Teach them. All of them. Include the audience as well as the judges. And if you possibly can, have some fun.

A of Year Championship
No matter how much you prepare for the possibility of this moment the energy you feel when you have the cloak put around your shoulders will be much, much more than expected. For me it was more intense than being elevated to my first peerage. Possibly because of the exhaustion, but more likely because of the process I went through to get to that point. Because of the process I will never be the same and my crafts will never be the same. On some level my body knew this and it was very emotional. Little did I know that the journey had barely begun. The year of actually being the champion would put me through more tests. There is no job description for champion. The old adage "he more you put in, the more you get out" is very true. Your job is what you, the crown and the populace make it. I was very lucky. The support I received from all was monumental and I ran with it. Teaching anywhere I was asked. Judging contests in Shires I didn't know existed. Taking many moments with one person at a time encouraging, pointing in the right direction and sharing their joy in what they had created. And standing IN ENDLESS COURTS. No one else will tell you about the one downside of being champion. My feet really hurt after a year (think about this, a whole year) of standing at every court for the entire court. There will be three different sets of royalty while you are champion and all of them will have a different mission for you. Talk to them about that mission. They will most likely want your input. Remember the more you put into this year the more you will get out of it.

Post Championship
The first thing you will more than likely do after you step down as champion is answer the question of the person who is wearing a very familiar cloak. The question will be: "What does the champion do?" Take a breath and tell them what it meant to you. Then you will want to take a long nap. You will be asked to teach, you will be asked your opinion and you will always be a champion, an ex-champion but none the less a champion. But what are some concrete things that came out of championship? For me I truly believe the process I undertook for championship allowed me to produce the work I eventually presented at Oxford for the Symposium on Food History. It taught me valuable life lessons about learning, and living and letting go which I continue to use in my daily life. It taught me about process and product and presentation. It taught me that the more you give the more you receive.
Enjoy feeling all the things you will encounter from the moment you take that first step and decide to enter to the day the next champion takes the cloak. And most importantly learn, Learn, LEARN as much as you can about yourself, about your crafts, about the people who share this space with you.