Equipment Requirements

Prior to all tournaments, fencers will report to their assigned piste and have their equipment checked by the head referee and staff.

 

The following general rules apply:

• Changes in protective gear during the tournament are allowed but must be raised with your head referee.

• Any intentional removal of mandatory protective gear will result in an immediate Red Card penalty.

• Across all tournaments, no exposed skin is allowed on any part of the body.

 

Equipment requirements are as follows:

 

• Mask - must be at least FIE 1600N rated. Must show no signs of significant wear e.g. rusting and dents.

• Overlay and back of head protection - mandatory for all fighters. Must be without significant gaps.

• Gorget - mandatory for all fencers. Must be worn under the mask and have a rigid plate. Red Dragon and PBT gorgets are permitted, alongside harder plastic versions such as Vytis.

• Jackets - all jackets should be fencing style and be at least 350N rated with padding. All jackets should have an in-built blade catcher at the collar. Jacket should cover down to the hips, and if not, additional newton rated protection should be worn such as padded fencing pants or skirt.

• Chest protectors - required for all tournaments and weapons.

• Elbow protection - solid protection for the elbows is mandatory for all weapons and tournaments.

• Forearms - solid protection is a requirement for all weapons and tournaments.

• Knees and Shins - solid protection is required for both during all tournaments.

• Trousers/breeches - a minimum 350N rated fencing pants are  required for all tournaments.

• Groin Guard - mandatory for men, recommended for W+ fencers.

 

Gloves

Due to the nature of this tournament, which often sees mismatched weapons put up against one another, we must treat gloves differently. Gloves need to be suitable for the weapons you are fighting against and in consideration of the level of hand protection that the weapon set you are using provides.

 

As such, gloves are divided into three categories, heavy, medium and light:

• Heavy - Heavy gloves such as SPES Heavies, Sparring Gloves (with underglove), Thokks with longsword attachment, or any other similar hardshell glove. These are gloves that are usually considered suitable for a steel longsword tournament.

• Medium – Medium gloves include Red Dragon or lacrosse style as well as any articulated gloves with rigid protection. We recommend finger protectors for gloves without hard shells such as classic Red Dragons

• Light – Lighter gloves such as leather or kevlar gloves made for rapier/smallsword without any rigid protection.

 

For each event, the gloves used must reach the following minimum standard or meet the ‘covered hand’ rule:

• Longsword vs sword and shield – Heavy

• Spear – Medium

• Sword and Companion - Medium

• Single Sidesword - Medium

• Two swords – Medium

• Rapier and companion - Light

 

Covered Hands

If the fighter is using a weapon set where the hand is highly protected by the weapon (such as a large shield or heavily guarded weapon hilt) then the level of hand protection required may be reduced to enable the effective use of that weapon set. For example, if a fighter is taking part in the Longsword vs Sword and Shield event and cannot effectively wield their shield with a heavy glove then they may be permitted to wear a medium level glove provided that the hand is fully covered behind the shield. This is done at the judge’s discretion and with their prior approval.

 

Team Event

When fighting in the team event, the level of gloves required depends on the combination of weapons on the piste for each match. If any longswords are present then heavy gloves are the minimum* required. If there are no longswords present then the requirement falls to medium gloves. Light gloves will only be allowed if all fighters are using rapiers (and companions).

 

*The ‘covered hands’ rule continues to apply and fighters may use lighter gloves than the minimum if their hands are sufficiently covered and they have the approval of the head referee.

 

Fighters may change gloves between matches to match the changes in the weapons in play.