1. How much does Lightsaber Team charge to come to our location and put on a performance?
ANSWER: Lightsaber Team is not a For-Profit performance group for hire. Lightsaber Team does not charge any money or fees for appearances.
2. How much do you charge for joining?
ANSWER: Lightsaber Team does not charge any membership fees. You are responsible for the costs of your own lightsaber weapon prop(s), Lightsaber Team members-only apparel, and any costs you incur for yourself (you pay for your own travel expenses, for example) while participating with Lightsaber Team.
3. What is the minimum age to join Lightsaber Team?
ANSWER: You must be at least 18 years old, and you must be able to verify your age with bona fide identification that proves your age (such as a currently valid Driver’s License).
4. Can Lightsaber Team come to our event/location to teach children under the age of 18 to work out with lightsabers?
ANSWER: Unless we have specific instructions from Lucasfilm Limited, Lightsaber Team does not include children under the age of 18 in any Lightsaber Team activity involving lightsaber weapon props due to various concerns such as safety, legal liability and copyright issues.
5. May my child (who is under 18 years of age) participate in Lightsaber Team work-outs using weapon props?
ANSWER: Unless we have specific instructions from Lucasfilm Limited, Lightsaber Team absolutely forbids its members from any lightsaber-wielding activities of any sort with children under age 18. These policies arose to avoid injury, liability, copyright infringement of Disney/LucasFilm Limited intellectual properties and other legal issues.
6. Is Lightsaber Team a business or a non-profit/charitable organization?
ANSWER: Neither. Lightsaber Team is a private social group and fan club. Lightsaber Team is a fun hobby group, and none of us want to turn this into a business or job where we deal with any kind of paperwork if we can avoid it. We do not collect money for charities; those of us who want to contribute to charity do it on our own or contribute to charities that already exist. Lightsaber Team has ALWAYS steered as far away from any kind of profit-making, money-collecting or income generation since its inception. If our members need money, we get a job or start a business; Lightsaber Team is our hobby and not a means for income or monetary profit for anyone.
7. May I join Lightsaber Team even if I live too far from the nearest club chapter?
ANSWER: YES! We encourage those who are interested in joining Lightsaber Team to first learn what we are about — because Lightsaber Team is not for everyone. If you would like to join Lightsaber Team after learning all there is to learn about us, your next step is to join our group as an Official Member by passing our Initiation and Orientation Process. If you succeed, we will then encourage and assist you to start your own Lightsaber Team club chapter at a more convenient location for you!
8. Why does Lightsaber Team have an Initiation and Orientation Process?
ANSWER: Joining Lightsaber Team is like entering into a new relationship; both parties must mutually consent to forming the relationship, and compatibility is absolutely necessary for the new relationship to succeed. Lightsaber Team is a private social club — among other things — and as such, possesses its own culture, values, club personality and ways of doing things. We seek members who are readily compatible with our group when they join, because this is a hobby club and our members are here for fun, camaraderie, friendship and other good times. We are not here to impose our values on others who do not share them, nor are we here to groom or develop people so they may eventually fit into our growing community. Lightsaber Team is a hobby group and fan club, and it is supposed to be fun. We seek to minimize stress and strife within our membership by carefully selecting those who join us as Official Members.
9. What happens if I do not pass Lightsaber Team’s Initiation and Orientation Process?
ANSWER: Fortunately, there are many Star Wars fan clubs and lightsaber groups. If you do not pass Lightsaber Team’s Initiation and Orientation Process, we can recommend other groups that may be closer to what suits your interests, personality or life situation better. Lightsaber Team members have many friends who are not in Lightsaber Team, and we hope we can count you as one of them even if you do not join us as an official member.
10. I like hanging out with Lightsaber Team, but have no desire to contribute to the group in any significant way. Can I still be a part of Lightsaber Team?
ANSWER: If all you want to do is hang out and socialize, then please hang out with us and have fun socializing – you don’t need to be part of Lightsaber Team to do that! Many of our closest friends are NOT Lightsaber Team members! As such, you are welcome to join us at our events that are open to the general public. Of course, this means that you are not officially part of the team and as such, you will not have access to certain aspects of Lightsaber Team that are reasonably reserved for those who have a stronger commitment and greater investment in our group. We hope to be inviting and accommodating to as many people as reasonably possible, but we also aim to have a team dynamic that fairly and appropriately rewards member commitment, dedication and investment.
11. I noticed that most LightsaberTeam members wield lightsaber pikes and/or staff weapon props. Do Lightsaber Team members wield other lightsaber weapon prop hilt designs?
ANSWER: Yes. All Lightsaber Team members begin weapon prop training with“spear/pike” and/or double-bladed “staff” lightsaber weapon props. We reserve other lightsaber hilt designs for those who have greater levels of commitment and participation with Lightsaber Team as our form of rank designation. If you are interested in wielding different types of lightsaber weapon prop hilt designs with Lightsaber Team, we invite you to consider joining our club and exploring the duties and responsibilities that accompany the different participation levels within Lightsaber Team.
12. May I perform in my Star Wars costume(s)?
ANSWER: We encourage our members to join one or more of the well-known and established Star Wars non-lightsaber choreography costuming groups (specifically the 501st Legion, Mandalorian Mercs and Rebel Legion). However, unless we receive specific instructions from Lucasfilm Limited, we do not combine Star Wars costuming with our weapon prop activities out of respect for the aforementioned costuming groups’ policies against costumed Lightsaber performances and activities.
13. Are members allowed to add a role-playing aspect to our local Lightsaber Team club chapter?
ANSWER: Role-playing games are fun and potentially effective team-building/bonding activities. Because Lightsaber Team is NOT a roleplaying game group, members need to make certain Lightsaber Team is not seen or represented (mistakenly or otherwise) as a role-playing group of any sort to anyone at any time EVER.
14. We learned that you organize Lightsaber Build Days, where your club members get together to help each other build your own lightsaber weapon props. Can we buy lightsabers from Lightsaber Team?
ANSWER: Lightsaber Team members are prohibited by club rules from seeking monetary profit from Lightsaber Team events or activities. Furthermore, we are not allowed to sell, trade or exchange any club merchandise to any non-member.
15. I am now curious about your work-outs but I am not athletic and may be intimidated about all this. What do your BEGINNER’S workouts look like?
ANSWER: Please see the video below to give you an idea how easy we start off. We encourage a spirit of humility within our group, and that allows us to accept that some of us are not as initially skilled, graceful or athletic as we aspire to be someday — but with dedication and teamwork, we hope to achieve our goals of getting in much better physical shape, making new friends who share our fandoms and hopefully producing high-quality staged lightsaber choreographed stunt performances in the foreseeable future!