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Please find the below the comprehensive list of all equipment (including weapons) required for our tournaments:

Protective Gear:

  • Fencing Mask: must be in good condition with no tears, large dents or any other signs of overuse that would make it unsuitable for competition.
  • Mask overlay: SPES/Red Dragon or similar overlay for the fencing mask,
  • Back of the Head Protection: rigid protector covering back of the head with no significant gaps,
  • Throat Protection: rigid throat guard (gorget) or a layered throat protection preventing the blade to go under the bib (3 layers minimum),
  • Jacket: well padded HEMA jacket or similar offering good protection against strikes (under plastrons/rigid chest protectors are highly recommended but not necessary),
  • Elbow Protector: hard shell protection of the elbow joints,
  • Knee Protector: hard shell protection of the knee joints,
  • Shin Protection: hard shell protection of the shin is required,
  • Forearms Protection: additional forearm protection is recommended (especially for sabre) but not necessary,
  • Gloves: sparring gloves with full level of protection applicable to chosen weapon, eg. Sparring Gloves, SPES heavy gloves, Koning Gloves for Longsword, (Red Dragon gloves are only acceptable for sabre with fingertip protectors highly recommended)
  • Groin Guard: Obligatory for men,
  • Rigid Chest Protector: Obligatory for women.

Weapons:

Tournaments are conducted on a BYOW (Bring Your Own Weapon) basis. Organizers will have some spare weapons supplied by themselves and event sponsors, but it is recommended to bring your own.

For Longsword:

  • Steel HEMA sparring longsword or federschwert with safe flex, blunt edges and safe tip (rolled or spatulated)
  • Allowed weight range: 1300-1600 g
  • Allowed blade length: 90-100 cm

For Sabre:

  • Steel HEMA sparring sabre with safe flex, blunt edges and safe tip (rolled or spatulated)
  • Allowed weight range: 750-950 g
  • Allowed blade length: 80-90 cm

Each weapon will be checked before the bout for signs of damage, and flex tested. Any weapon judged likely to behave in too dangerous a manner (too stiff, too much flex etc., unsafe tip, jagged ill-maintained edges, etc.) will be rejected immediately