Purpose

Throughout history, capturing the colors of an opposing force was a mark of bravery and success. Not letting the colors fall was, therefore, a highly important task on the battlefield. So long as the company banner was held high, morale and organization could be maintained. This was so important that it was not unheard of for routed or overrun units to nail their colors to a tree such that they would not fall, before making a triumphant last stand. Or running for dear life.

This tournament is meant to reflect that. Your unit is your club (or whoever you hired on with). Your colors are your club colors. As a small band of soldiers, it’s your job to keep them aloft, while taking the other side’s. This is meant to replicate small unit tactics with more cohesion than “count 1, 2, 1, 2” from past years.

Archery has been added to better replicate historical conditions. Small armies brought bows, and knights hated it. The goal is to figure out what level of force multiplier they really are.

General Event and Melee Combatant Rules

Win Condition

You win if:

• You successfully capture the other team’s colors while you retain yours
• Their colors fall to the ground while yours remain standing
• The other team has no remaining fencers (which usually means one of the first two objectives have most likely been met)
• The other team has fewer fencers than you at a time-halt
• Your colors and two additional fencers/archers cross the opposite starting line, this is worth an extra point (2 instead of 1)
  • Fencers must cross within a 15 second window

You lose if:

• The other team captures your colors
• Your colors fall to the ground
• You have no remaining fencers
• The other team has more fencers than you at a time halt

You tie if:

Upon sight of a successful win condition, a halt will be called. However, in the flurry of a fight, this may be delayed. Protect your colors until that halt is called.

• Both colors hit the ground or are taken before the halt
• Both teams are out of fencers (try not to double)
• Both teams have the same number of fencers are a time halt

Upon a tie:

If no fencers are left standing, a fencer will be nominated by each side from all fencers. They will fight in single combat until the first valid single hit.

If there is a tied number of a fencers, the champion selected will be of the remaining fencers. This includes the standard-bearer.

If only the standard-bearer is left standing on each side, they will fight in single combat until the first valid single hit.

All single combats will be fought without a shield. All other rules apply.

Note: If two teams have the same number of points at the end of all bouts, the team with the highest cumulative total number of fencers and archers still alive wins.

Team Size

Your team should generally consist of members of your club. Minimum team size is 10. Maximum is 20. There will be no adjustment for undersized teams. If you are 10 vs. 20, better hope you can take 2-3 for every 1 of yours. You may recruit from clubs too small to field their own team.

Recruitment:

You may cajole, persuade otherwise work to convince fencers to your team, up to a total of 20. Bribes in the form of money, alcohol or equipment are not permitted, however historical.

Colors

Also referred to as “banner” or “standard.” Your colors shall be between 4’ and 8’ tall, or otherwise visible above most of your team. The colors themselves (that is the flag, banner, streamers or whatever else you choose) should match your club and be large enough they can be seen in a melee. Remember, the colors represent your club’s honor, they should look the part.  

The pole may be wood or plastic. Metal poles, due to risk of damage to swords if struck, are not permitted. Brittle materials, such as glass, are also not permitted, for those of you who like to find holes in rules. The judges reserve the right to deny a pole for being unsafe. Also prohibited are sticking flags on metal fencing weapons, but use of a spear or polearm is acceptable. You may not fight with it, however.

All teams, regardless of being a single club or 20 random attendees, must have colors.

Equipment

Protective Equipment:

Full longsword tournament kit is required. This includes, but is not limited to, shin guards, knee protection, puncture-resistant thigh covering, athletic protector, chest protector, jacket, gorget, mask, back of head, elbow protection, forearm protection (either standalone or sufficiently long cuffs) and longsword-rated gloves.

Melee Weapons:

All swords shall have steel blades. Modern Olympic Fencing (MOF) blades, as are seen on some rapiers and many smallswords, are prohibited. All weapons up to and including longsword are permitted, provided that the weapon can be held with a longsword rated glove. This is true even in baskets. While this rule may seem excessive, understand that you may have to hold your banner aloft. No one wants to remember they had a soft glove on with a broken finger.  Greatswords are not permitted. The line between “longsword” and “greatsword” is blurry, therefore all swords shall be under 5’ long and weigh less than 4lbs. All weapons must be carried and cannot be worn on a belt, even if in a good retention system.

Impact weapons are not permitted. That includes, but is not limited to, maces, flails, axes and non-spear polearms.

Spears of up to 8’ are allowed. The 8’ includes the spearhead itself. The spearhead shall be rubber or similarly flexible material. Spears, regardless of having either a traditional spearhead or something roughly spear like (glaive, partisan) may only be used in a thrust. The haft or butt may not be used in striking. Polearms with clear striking heads, such as poleaxe trainers, are not permitted.

Shields:

Shields must lay flat in a 36 in x 36 in square. Shields may be wood, plastic or steel. Wood or thin plastic shields should be edged in a durable material to avoid splintering. If you are not sure if your plastic shield requires an edge, edge it. Aluminum, as is popular in the SCA, is not permitted. Shields are for defense only, and may not be used to strike.

Heavy gloves must be used with all shields. Attacks may come from weird angles, meaning hands that are typically protected in one-on-one combat may not be. Even if the hand is inside a basket, a heavy glove is still required.

The Fight

Valid hits

For the purposes of this event, any hit struck such that it is felt is valid. If you’re not sure, take it. The next hit may be harder. The only quality requirement is you felt a sufficient impact to realize you were hit. To this point, you do not need to swing like a home-run derby. Out-of-control, excessive or otherwise unsafe strikes are ground for ejection.

Striking from behind

If you are behind someone, you may not strike them except by using a flat against their side or arm, delivered with a slide such that the action is felt.

When you are hit:

If you are hit, call out dead and place your weapon on your head. Back out of the fight and leave the arena at the nearest area. Stay alert and do not turn your back to nearby fighting.

Back of the head hits

If someone is struck on the back of the head, fault will be assigned and the offending fencer ejected. Note the definition of fault: While in most cases, the fault will be assigned to the striking fencer, in some cases the fault may also be assigned to the fencer hit. In rare cases, all fault may be assigned to the fencer hit. This is to cover cases where a fencer turned at a time when a blow could not be halted, and they had reasonable reason to expect to be hit.

Striking a judge

Don’t. Regardless of root cause, you will be ejected. However, any further penalties will be assessed against the specific situation. A judge may be deemed at fault due to their own lack of situational awareness. If so, no further penalties will be assessed.

Standard Bearer

The standard bearer may change through the fight. If they are struck, they must drop the banner immediately. Hopefully, someone notices. Whoever picks up the banner before it hits the ground is the new standard bearer.

The standard bearer is allowed to defend themselves with the banner. However, they may not strike. This means a meisterhau type action is not permitted. Static parries only.

The first standard bearer is not permitted a shield. If, and only if, the original standard bearer dies and the standard is caught by a fencer carrying a shield, they may continue to use the shield.

Dropped Items

If the colors hit the ground, they are “dead” and may not be picked up.

If a weapon or shield hits the ground, they are “dead” and may not be picked up.

If a person hits the ground, they are considered “dead” and a safety hold will be called to allow the person to leave. Action will continue once they are clear.

Time

Fights will last 5 minutes. At the end of 5 minutes, halt will be called.

Preparation

One person will be designated standard-bearer at the start. Teams will line up at a fixed distance. On whistle blow, fighting will commence.

Signals

A single steady whistle blow will signal start, hold and end. If you hear a whistle, stop immediately. A call of “hold” or “halt” will also signal a stop, but due the size of the event, whistles are preferred. If everyone suddenly stops, it’s best you do too. This also means that line commands by participants shall not include the words “hold” or “halt.”

Two short puffs of a whistle will indicate “attention.” Please stop talking and listen to staff at this time.

If a fencer notices a safety issue not caught by staff, they may call halt. Staff will blow the whistle to indicate halt once noticed, but all fencers are expected to stop and wait if they hear halt until this happens.

Prohibited Actions (not otherwise covered)

Grappling is not permitted. Punches, kicks, and any other striking actions are not permitted. Attacks delivered with a leap, charge or similar is not permitted. Exercise common sense, if you’re brain goes “this is probably a bad idea” then… don’t do it.

Note that “charging” in this case means running into an opponent to knock them over. Running at, or into, a line isn’t a problem. But if you’re shield bashing or trying to knock people over, that is.

Melee TL:DR

• Teams are 10-20 people, and should generally be from the same club
• You may recruit mercenaries, but may not pay them
• Single life fights, you win if their banner hits the ground or you capture it
• All weapons up to and including longsword, plus spear 8′ and under are permitted provided they are wielded with a longsword-rated gloves
• When behind, deliver a slice with the flat to an opponents side or arm to eliminate them
• Do not hit a judge
• Do not hit the back of the head
• Again, do not hit a judge
• No grappling or dumb actions

Archery

New for 2024 is archery. This gets its own section so it’s obvious what is new.

All ammunition and bows will be checked prior to the event. If possible, get your bow cleared prior to the start of the melee at the archery range for draw weight and suitability.

Note: Due the experimental nature of archery, archers are strongly encouraged to bring longsword gloves and alternate weapons as back-up, as event organizers reserve the right to remove archery from the field at any time if it becomes unsafe. Don’t make us do this, please be respectful.

Archery Equipment

Bows and crossbows are permitted. Thrown weapons of any manner or size are not permitted. Ranged weapons that do not meet the layman’s interpretation of “bow” or “crossbow” are also not permitted. Edge cases must be cleared in advance of the event. Bow-on-a-[weapon], e.g. spear, are not permitted. Bows and crossbows may not be used to strike (no bayonets).

Bows and crossbows shall be passably historical (e.g. no compound or scifi bows). More modern additions, such as arrow shelves, will be overlooked.

Bows

Bows shall measure 35 lbs or less at a draw of 28 inches, with a recommended target of 30 lbs. The cut off of 35 is hard. 35.1 lbs will fail. Note than bows less than 20 lbs lack enough power to be reliably felt through HEMA kit, in addition to limited range. While there is no official minimum, 20 lbs is the recommended low end.

Even if your draw is shorter than 28 inches, the weight will be tested at 28 inches, unless impossible for the bow to be drawn to that distance.

Crossbows

Crossbows shall measure 600 in-lbs or less. This is calculated by multiplying the poundage of the bow by the distance from neutral to the lock (where the string rests when cocked). For example, 60 lbs at a 10 inches draw is acceptable (60*10 = 600) but 55 at 11 inches is not (55 * 11 = 605).

Ammunition

Both SCA-grade homemade ammunition, hereafter referred to as “make” and store bought/LARP ammunition, hereafter referred to as “buy” ammunition, is permitted.

Make Ammunition

Metal

Metal shall not be used in the construction of ammunition, with the exception of threaded inserts or screw on blunts. Metal heads are strictly prohibited.

Shafts

Shafts shall be fiberglass, plastic or carbon fiber. Metal, wood, or some material not listed is prohibited. Shafts shall be straight and free of obvious signs of damage.

If shafts are fiberglass, they shall be:

• Solid pultruded fiberglass between .250 inch and .375 inch in diameter.
• Of good quality, defined as “significant bending pressure as applied by a judge shall not cause the shaft to break.” Do not bring floppy shafts. You may snicker at this.
• The shaft must be covered from behind the blunt, to the front of the fletchings or fletching-equivalent device, in a study, tear resistant tape such as strapping, electrical or duct tape.

If shafts are plastic, they must be within the same weight range as fiberglass or carbon fiber and are expected to be designed for archery tag.

Blunts

Blunts shall be SCA or LARP specific foam, rubber, or similar soft material. SCA “star” or “lu-shan” blunts, as well as a variety of LARP-rated blunts, are all acceptable. A 1” diameter striking surface is recommended, but may be waved for softer heads. Ask prior to the event if you are not sure if your blunts are acceptable.

Buy Ammunition

Buy Ammunition shall not violate the requirements given previously. Ammunition from a reputable, known source is recommended.

Ammunition Marking

All ammunition shall be marked with club name. There aren’t a lot of color differences between clubs, so distinct color alone is not enough. Ammunition that cannot be easily assigned an owner will become IGX property after the event.

Archer Protective Equipment

Archers are required full longsword equipment, except gloves. Gloves may be lighter than one would use with a sword, but must still be worn. It is recommended that one wears the heaviest gloves that still allows manipulation of the bow or crossbow. Removal of finger tips only to manipulate the string is allowed.

Archers are not permitted a backup weapon. Should an archer attempt to catch a standard, note that your gloves will not likely be rated to take a longsword hit. You are not prohibited from catching a standard, but you assume the risk that comes with it. This is considered still safe as archers will be eliminated by proximity, see “Archer Elimination,” thus it is not expected that an archer will catch a standard while under melee threat.

Archers and Shields

Archers may carry a shield. They may not plant a shield (e.g. a pavise) to use as cover.

Archer Fight Rules

Archers are allowed to move anywhere in the field. They are not restricted to certain zones.

Archer Limits

There is a limit of five (5) archers per team. Archers count towards the 20 person limit.

Back Up Weapons

Archers are not permitted back up weapons. However, even if out of ammunition archers count as “alive” for the purposes of scoring. This is true regardless of what gloves you wear.

Ammunition Limits

There are no ammunition limits. One may carry as many arrows as physical possible. Ammunition must be carried on the archer’s person and cannot be carried on to the field in a separate container.  Note than when an archer dies, they may not hand their remaining arrows to team mates.

Archer Elimination

Archers are considered “dead” if they are within 10 feet (think “in longsword measure”) of any opponent who makes direct eye contact. It is recommended that fencers point their sword or otherwise make obvious eye contact with archers. Saying “Archer, Kill” loudly may also help. For safety reasons, archers should be generous in calling themselves out.

If an arrow is loosed at roughly the same time a fencer gets into the 10′ zone, this shall be considered a simultaneous kill and both are eliminated.

Should a fencer cross in front of an archer with their back turned, the archer may use an arrow like a dagger to eliminate that combatant. However, this is only expected in cases where a combatant has lost situational awareness and the archer otherwise would need to make a pointblank shot (see “safe range.”) Archers may not chase with the arrow as a rondel, and should the combatant turn, the archer will be treated as “eliminated.”

Archers who end up carrying the standard during the fight are still eliminated by the same rules. Archers will be given a specific color to indicate they are not to be struck.

Indicating “Dead” as an Archer

Archers will be provided a flag to hold up when eliminated. This is due to the fact that various drawing methods or rest positions can be interpreted as the archer was eliminated. Archers should still rest their bow against their mask, as is done with melee weapons, to indicate they are out. This flag is additional.

Safe Range

Archers are not permitted to loose at targets within 10 feet, as measured from the point of release, with a goal of not closer than 15 feet. However, given that a melee combatant may run down a target, there is the risk that an arrow will be loosed within this range. No penalty will be assessed should this happen. However, archers may be penalized for repeatedly loosing at very close range.

Shots From Behind

Archers are expected to aim low (lower back to flank) when a target is not facing them. Back of head protection is, naturally required, in the chance a shot goes wrong. However, either intentional (as assessed by a judge) or repeated back of head hits will be subject to penalty. In this case, intentional is defined as hitting a target in the back of the head while they are not facing you, whereas accidental would be should they turn or step into the line of fire.

Last year, much of the melee stayed on a fixed line, so there should be relatively low rates of back of body hits.

Striking an Archer

Striking an archer with a melee weapon who otherwise has line of sight to you is subject to penalty. Archers may still be eliminated from behind as anyone else. If the archer turns and realizes a fencer is within the 10′ limitation, this counts as elimination.

Spent Ammunition

Spent ammunition may not be picked up and shot again.

Between Rounds

Ammunition must be inspected between rounds for damage. This is an expected duty of all team mates. Ammunition that is obviously broken shall be removed from play; all participants are allowed to make this call. Ammunition that is suspect shall be cleared by a safety marshal.

Spectators

Spectators are encouraged to keep distance. However, know that you will be at risk of a stray shot and should be paying attention. We cannot hold the melee in a glass room.

Shooting a Spectator

Don’t. Doing so will be subject to penalty. Doing so obviously, or repeatedly, will result in ejection. And the spectator (or delegate) will be allowed to shoot you back.

Archery TL;DR

• 35 lb at 28 inch draw limit to bows, 600 in-lbs to crossbows
• LARP or SCA ammunition only
• Archers die if a fencer gets within 10 feet
• Archers may not carry a backup weapon
• Archers must have full longsword kit, minus gloves. They still need gloves
• Ammunition is spent if loosed until re-inspection
• Don’t shoot spectators
• Don’t shoot judges
• Aim low if behind someone

Errata

Do to questions, asks, “but what if” and other edge cases, this section is intended to clearly allow, or ban, certain items, along with explanations of why.

• Can I carry my arrows out in a wheeled/dragged/not-on-my-person container?
  • No. In the same way that pavises are not allowed as they present trip hazards, the same goes for arrow caddies.
• Why can’t I just hand off my quiver if I die?
  • The dead must clear the field ASAP and handing off ammunition prevents this. Each fight tends to be 2-3 minutes, so even 15 seconds is, relatively speaking, a long time.
• Can we have anti-arrow nets, fortifications, etc.?
  • No, between time to set up and risk of tripping, entrapment or other issues, such items and anything that falls into that category are prohibited.
• Can we mount shields on our crossbows?
  • Yes, and on your bows too if you can figure out how. Shield size rules still apply.
• Why can’t I strike with my crossbow/bow/etc or just stab with an arrow?
  • Risk of loosing an arrow at very close range and risk of damage to bows. Note, if you are close enough to stab them you count as “dead.” Therefore, the rules don’t actually allow for melee from archers. This rule will not be changed.
• Why can’t I enter into melee if I have longsword gloves and a bow?
  • Risk of damage to the bow, which may not be noticed until too late. No one wants a bow exploding in their face. Also, there is a prohibition on sheathed sidearms, meaning one would either have to carry the sword while manipulating the bow, or leave on the sideline, where it is out of play. This rule applies to everyone equally, it is simply called out again in archery to make it obvious
• Can we use hooking, pulling, or other person-manipulation weapons?
  • No. This was asked, for those confused. In the same way grappling is not allowed, pulling someone around with a hook is equally unsafe.
• Can we have distraction, “for-the-lulz,” or meme weapons?
  • While not, strictly speaking, ahistorical, the answer is still no. This opens up too many “what-ifs” that may prevent the event from running well, even if perfectly safe. There is enough happening on the field that we do not want to add shenanigans.
• Can we have elastic-powered bows/crossbows
  • If referring to a PVC-pipe and bungee cord arrangement, no. If referring to a bow/crossbow which derives its energy from elastic cord versus tension in the arms, please clear it with event staff as those will be handled on a case-by-case basis.