By Teeebone

In this next series, I'd like to talk about the other parties from the CSPC's past, back in the days of Interbay. One party that stands out is one called Rough N' Tumble or RnT for short. This event was first conceived on FetLife, of all places. The champion posted a thread there on July 29, 2009 to get the ball rolling. And roll it did.

Interest was generated, and an in-person meeting was put together at the Free Tuesday Social that was held at the Center in early August. After that, the pitch for the party was made at the Big Committee Meeting later that month, where it got a tentative green light. At that time, the party had the working title "Tuesday Night Fights" with the focus being on takedowns, wrestling, boxing, sparring, and other contact sports. The core crew started gathering the necessary gear to make things happen: Boxing gloves, headgear with face protectors, chest protectors, karate gloves, footgear, assorted padded weapons, and rubber training knives, to name a few.

However, there was one problem. The Center did not have any mats, which would be required in order for this event to be more safely held. The estimated cost was $2,000. The CSPC provided the funding for this purchase, which was also supplemented by the Naked Women's Oil Wrestling fundraiser.

Another issue that came up was when the director asked that the name of the event not have the word "Fight" in it . . . And "We've got to figure out a way to describe it that involves sex or sexuality. That keeps it within our mission statement and won't (I hope) draw the attention of the state regarding fighting." After some discussion, it was decided that "The Tuesday Rough-N-Tumble" would be the name of the party.

And so, on November 17, 2009, the first Tuesday Rough-N-Tumble happened. Here's a quick review from an attendee: "Forty-plus people came to the party, which I thought was great for a first-time party. We had boxing, kickboxing, grappling, wrestling, pillow fights (which were adorable), and boffer fighting. Everyone was responsible and the party went extremely smooth for a first event. There was some instruction by an MMA practitioner on grappling and jiu-jitsu techniques. A Judo practitioner did some instruction and demonstrations on various throws. Some of the hottest action I saw was when they were teaching a new person (visiting from out of state) some moves and then of course a bit of wrestling for fun too . . ."

But in spite of an excellent opening night, the party was put on hold, due to some things that became apparent to the director afterward: "There are several logistic issues that need to be addressed before we can put this party on again. One deciding factor was that there were too many people in attendance for the space and we may have to move it to a different night or just a once-a-month event when we can use the RAW/Annex or the RAW/mainspace." Luckily, the wait was a short one. It was decided that the party would be scheduled for the fourth Monday of the month, in the Annex/RAW Dungeon and simply named "Rough-N-Tumble." On December 28, 2009, the party started all over again.

In August of 2010, the founder of RnT stepped down as host and chose a successor who would carry the party legacy. And carry on it did. So much so that in January of 2012, an additional RnT event called "The Dojo" was created, which focused on instruction and demos of fighting techniques, and it was scheduled on the second Monday of the month.

Both events ran until the Center closed at the Interbay location in 2016. The last Dojo was on August 8 and featured "The Art and Science of the Pillow Fight," while the last RnT was held on August 22 and featured an American Gladiators theme, complete with a photo shoot area for publicity, promotion, and posterity and a generous potluck dinner!

Rough-N-Tumble was an excellent party and remains a good example of consistent quality delivered to the community on a steady, reliable basis. Rumors abound that this event has even been rebooted yet again and is now being hosted at a different venue . . .