Keep in mind these tournament rules
Behave as honorable knights, not as fools

The Tournament

Participation in the tournament is free. All aspiring duelists may register on-site during the festival before the start of the tournament. Our organisation runs the tournament as safely as possible, but participation is still at your own risk.

1. Safety rules

 

• It is forbidden to stab with a LARP sword.
• It is not permitted to strike the head or neck, and these are not considered valid hit locations.
• Physical contact is forbidden under any circumstances. You may only strike your opponent with a LARP sword.
• Take care not to strike with full or excessive force.
• It is not permitted to run or charge towards your opponent in a duel.
• Shield-bashing is not allowed. (You may only strike your opponent with a LARP sword.)
• Although these are valid hit locations, please be exceptionally cautious about strikes to the crotch, chest, or wrists.
• Over-hand and under-hand strikes are both permitted, but again, please be sure to avoid strikes to the head and be careful about striking the crotch.

2. The duel

 

• Duels take place on the tournament field. If a participant exits the field during a duel, the opponent scores one point.
• Duelists will be armed with swords provided by the ESRG Knights of the Kitchen Table. It is the participants' responsibility to handle these weapons carefully. Damage to the tournament weapons due to reckless use is the liability of the participant. It is not possible to use your own weapons for tournament duels.
• It is, however, permitted to fight with your own weapons on the tournament field when it is not in use for an event or activity. You may also use your own weapons for sparring in the festival area, but only at a safe distance from stalls and other festivalgoers. Of course, all participants in swordfights/sparring must give prior consent before being involved.
• There are no rules concerning armor in this tournament, and thus armor gives no strategic advantage, although wearing it is permitted if desired.
• Unless the referees make an exception, only two duelists and the referees are allowed on the tournament field during each duel.
• Cheating is not permitted. This includes any behaviour not discussed in these rules that the referees decide is forbidden for reasons of safety or fairness. Please respect the decisions of the referees, as they have the final say.
• A duel begins (or resumes) upon announcement by the referees, and may be ended or paused by referee announcement or in accordance with the previously-stated rules.

3. Valid forms of contact with weapons

 

• A duelist is considered to have been ‘struck’ when there is contact between their person and the blade of a LARP sword.
• If a duelist is struck, it is their own responsibility to communicate this. This can be done with a verbal signal such as “hit” or “strike”, or with a visual signal by standing still and holding your sword horizontally in the air.
• Not signaling when you have been struck is cheating, and will be punished accordingly.
• A valid strike (i.e., a strike that is eligible to earn a point) is any strike, performed with a large visible blow, that is not disallowed under the tournament rules.
• Small blows are not valid. Small blows are strikes made with small, low-power movements. In practice, these will be distinguished by the referees.
• After each strike that is made, the duel will be paused and the participants will take distance from each other before resuming the duel.

4. Points and win conditions

 

• A duelist earns a point when they perform a valid strike upon the other duelist without simultaneously being struck themself.
• In the case of ‘double contact,’ i.e. both duelists being struck by the other at once, neither duelist receives a point.
• The winner of a duel is the person who scores for a total of 5 or more points, while also being in the lead by 2 points or more, similar to tennis.
• Each duel has a time limit of 2 minutes. If neither duelist has won before the 2-minute mark, the duelist with the most points at the end of the 2-minute period wins the duel.
• If, at the 2-minute mark, the duelists each have the same number of points, then the duel continues, and the next duelist to score a point wins.

5. Rules violations

 

• If the referees witness a violation of the rules, they will call a stop to the duel.
• Upon a duelist’s first offence, their opponent earns one point.
• Upon a duelist’s second offence, they lose the duel automatically. If a duelist loses two duels in this manner, they are entirely disqualified from the tournament.
• If a violation leads to the opponent being injured, the opponent wins the duel automatically. If the injured person is not in a state to continue the tournament afterwards, the violator is also disqualified from the tournament.
• If both duelists commit a violation at the same time during a match, neither receives a point. The rest of these rules still apply.

6. Referees

 

• The referee team consistes of three individuals: one head referee and two ‘hit referees’.
• The head referee keeps score and watches for violations. The head referee is also responsible for keeping order during the tournament.
• Each hit referee is paired with one duelist and watches for when and where their assigned duelist is struck. They ultimately determine whether a strike is valid.
• In the case of doubt about the validity of a strike, the relevant hit referee has the last word. Most other decisions are determined by majority vote, with the head referee presiding and making the final call when necessary.
• In any case of ambiguity of the rules, the referees determine the final interpretation.

We hope that these rules are sufficiently clear, and wish everyone an enjoyable tournament experience.

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See you at the court!