Venue

SANCon will be taking place in the Otakaro Building at the Christchurch College of Education, Ilam, Christchurch. We've expanded our dominion this year, hiring even more rooms to host even more people in even more events.

History

SANCon was started in 2011 by six University of Canterbury clubs. Our goal: to make a popular culture convention, each of us helping out in any way we could. It was held at the Christchurch College of Education on September 17-18 2011. We ran minimal advertising and tried to source as much talent as we could from within our own clubs. We thought it would be a fun little event for University students to turn up to.

We ended up having 140 people walk through the door over the weekend. The premium workshops were almost all booked out by the time doors opened. It was standing room only in the board gaming room. The event was a huge success.

This year we have funds, we have a history, and we have experience. Our goal is to make SANCon 2013 not just as good as SANCon 2011 and 2012, but far, far better.

About Us

SANCon 2013 is being organised by six different University of Canterbury clubs - the University of Canterbury Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (Sci-Fi Soc), SAGA Inc., KAOS, the UC Fencing Society, and Ordi Cygni.

The University of Canterbury Science Fiction and Fantasy Society is dedicated to the appreciation of various futuristic and historical (or pseudo-historical) literature and filmography, which is a fancy way of saying that they've seen all the episodes of Farscape. Since their inception they have been heavily involved in the promotion of science fiction and fantasy, organising regular TV viewings as well as booking entire cinemas for movie premieres. Sci-Fi Soc are the founding organisation of SANCon.

SAGA Inc. is one of the University of Canterbury's oldest continuously-running non-faculty clubs, and is concerned with all forms of social gaming. They maintain a wide array of board games, and host regular events featuring board gaming and role playing. Their annual convention, Buckets of Dice, draws gamers from world-wide.

KAOS is the founding branch of a national organisation for the pursuit of Killing As an Organised Sport. Probably the only club on campus with a constitutionally-elected dictator, their members practise the art of wearing lots of leather and shooting each other with nerf guns.

The UC Fencing Society follows the time honoured tradition of sticking your enemies with metal rods just long enough that you probably won't get blood on your morning suit while keeping the whole thing refreshingly personal. Nowadays, health and safety requires that they blunt the rods and wear armour, but it's still the best excuse to get dressed up in a Kevlar body-suit.

Ordo Cygni, the University of Canterbury Medieval and Renaissance Society, practises the forgotten arts - bashing each other with swords, drinking mead, and dying of smallpox. Given the way MAF cracks down on smallpox, however, it's mostly the first two. They hold a number of weekly events, including bashing people with swords, bashing people with other types of swords, and bashing people with poleaxes.

ImprovSoc meets to develop the art of being spontaneous. They meet to have a few laughs, polish their rapier wit and let loose their inner drama queen. Emulating popular TV sketch shows such as Whose Line is it Anyway? or Would I Lie to You? they like to get together and make a scene.

Events

This year, SANCon is accepting applications from clubs and individuals to run events. Don't worry, we're still running your favourites from last year - but we're also going to be showcasing new events for your entertainment and amusement.

To find out more about our planned events, check out the events page.

Markets

SANCon's market allows you to peruse the best of geeky fare that Christchurch and New Zealand has to offer. If you're interested in what's up for offer - or you want to show off your own wares, check out the market stalls page.

Sounds Good?

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