Ann Arbor Sword Club Winter Tournament
The Ann Arbor Sword club will be hosting a Historical Saber tournament on February 26th, 2022, held at Ars Gladii (32669 Warren Rd. Suite 4, Garden City, MI 48135). The Tournament will start at 2 pm and end approximately at 6 pm. Currently, registration will be limited to 20 combatants and meant as an avenue for intermediate practitioners. Signups are through our event page on Eventbrite.
Spectators are welcome, though required to mask-up. Please note, the rules may change slightly from what is written here, and will be reviewed prior to tournament start. All combatants must be 18 years of age or older.
COVID-19 - All participants must be vaccinated
Rules
- Fighters will compete in round-robin bouts fighting everyone in your randomly assigned pooled group. Each bout consists of 4 to 5 passes ending in landed blow(s).
- Passes will end when Judges call hold. Judges can call for a reset or a re-do of a pass if the exchange gets messy. The head judge will call the hit(s) and confer with their second if there are issues.
- Scoring blows requires solid cuts with the edge, thrust, or disarm. Points are location-based, 1pt for arms and upper thigh, 2 pts for the torso, head, and neck. Judges will refer to these locations as deep and shallow cuts.
- Judges are looking for good rotation and arm and wrist movement for hits to be counted.
- Points are scored for good hits. Doubles and within tempo after-blows will be considered; points being awarded to both combatants.
- Fighters are allowed to self call points they received, but discretion ultimately lies with the list director.
- Minimal grappling of wrists and swords will be tolerated. Throws or submissions are not allowed.
- If passes last longer than 1:30 min, the pass will move on and each competitor will score 0 points for the exchange.
- Top 4 Fighters will move onto the final four
- Ties will be decided by fewest doubles accrued.
- The Final Four will fight in the same manner as above.
- First, Second and Third places will be awarded.
Safety
Above all else, safety is our priority. Fighters will be warned for excessive force, up to 3 times before being disqualified from the tournament.
Weapons
- All weapons will be blunted, tempered steel, flexible in the thrust, in good repair, and free of burs or rust. Sabers will be reviewed at check-in for compliance and safety.
- Sabers shouldn't weigh more than 2 lbs with maximum blade length 35 in
Armor Requirements
- Head protection must cover the entire head and front of the throat. There should be no gaps in coverage that would allow a thrust or strike to the face. A 3-Weapon Mask with SPES-style overlay or Absolute Force HEMA mask with back-of-head protection should be considered minimally acceptable protection.
- A solid or rigid foam gorget is required.
- Clothing should be puncture-resistant, completely cover the torso and arms. Padded jackets are strongly recommended (350N or above).
- Rigid chest protection, such as a modern fencing chest guard, is strongly recommended for female fencers.
- A hard cup is required for all male combatants, which must not be visible while fencing.
- Elbow: hard plastic, leather or steel that protects the back and sides of the joint. Forearms should be protected by additional heavy padding, plastic, leather, etc.
- Knee protection is required.
- Sturdy gloves with finger and wrist protection are required. Something like La-Crosse gloves or more protective is expected.
- All combatants must wear shoes.
