Welcome to Crossroads 2022!!

The goal for all our Crossroads events is to present experiences that support personal growth of fighters as well as the growth of our local, regional, and national HEMA community.  All participants are expected to display skill, control, good sportsmanship, and should conduct themselves with respect for the weapon, their opponents, and the tournament staff. Any participant that is deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others (excessive force/illegal targeting, etc) will be warned first by the director or judge. Should dangerous force continue the fencer will be removed from the tournament.

General Logistics

• The event will be structured with Pools into single Elimination bracket(s)
• All fighters will advance to Elims
• 1st to 3rd place will be awarded
• 3min continuous fight clock
• First fighter to 7 points or time expiration
• Head and torso thrust or cuts award 2 points
• Arm or leg thrusts or cuts award 1 point
• Disarms award 2 points
• If a fighter loses footing and falls to the ground, a safety halt will be called
• Valid and scored in-tempo after-blows will be applied against the final awarded score per exchange
• Strikes must of be good quality to be awarded
• For Longsword, any awarded strikes made with only one hand on the weapon will only be 1 point
• Excessive force is not allowed and insufficient contact will not be awarded
• Punches, Kicks, Take-Downs, Leg Sweeps, Set-Ups, Throws, and Ground Fighting are NOT allowed
• Any grapples will be limited to a 5-count for scoring resolution
• For Longsword only, daggers can be worn and deployed during an active grapple and award 1 point for a valid touch
• Ring-outs will cause a reset but will not award a score

In our Open Longsword tournament this year, the top third fighters based on pool results will advance to a Tier A single elim bracket and all remaining pool fighters will advance to a Tier B single elim bracket - 1st through 3rd place in both tiers will medal/award

Equipment

All fighters will present themselves and their equipment to the equipment inspector prior to the beginning of the tournament for compliance inspection and approval. Loaner gear MAY be available, we recommend contacting us in advance if you need something.

Weapons

• All weapons will be inspected for “fit for use”, including acceptable amount of flex
• Tips will be reviewed to determine if a cover is required for safety
• Blades should be free of nicks and burrs that would tear fabric or skin
• Fighters wishing to use a weapon not on this list must inquire before the tournament date

* vendor list is subject to change and will be revisited during the planning phase for each event

Gear

• No exposed skin
• 3-weapon mask in good condition with no discernible rusting or breaches
• Rigid neck protection that covers the larynx must be worn
• HEMA gloves or gauntlets (non-metal) which protect the hand, fingers, and the portion of the wrist nearest the hand. Unpadded gloves alone are not sufficient.
• Groin protection is mandatory for men and strongly recommended for women
• Rigid chest protection is highly recommended for all participants
• Fighters must wear a padded jacket that completely covers the torso, back, and arms
• Use of rigid elbow and knee protection is mandatory
• Fighters must wear some kind of enclosed toe footwear
• Rigid shin and forearm protection is mandatory for the weapon arm and both legs

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Bout Logistics

Sequence of Actions

1. Gear check will occur prior to the start of each event
2. Fight Table will announce the “fighting-now”, “on-deck”, and “in-the-hole” fighters after each match
3. Fighters will check in with the Fight Table to verify names and color assignments
4. Fighters will enter the ring and take positions at the appropriate color starting marker
5. The Director will invite the fighters to acknowledge each other
6. The Director will ask the Table, Judges, and Fighters if ready and then signal “FIGHT” to begin
7. Upon witnessing a valid scoring technique, the Director will call “HALT”.
8. Fighters will stop and return to their starting marks
9. Line Judges will then semaphore for the observed scoring results
10. The Director will announce the action(s) and and will report the awarded score to the table, table will echo reported score back to the ring
11. The Director will resume the fight by asking “Fighters ready?” and then announcing “Fight”
12. If a safety condition arises (ring-out, equipment failure, completion of a grapple five (5) count, disarm, or fall to the ground) the Director will call “HALT” and request fighters to reset to starting marks, consult with the Line Judges, and award any scored points
13. The Fight Table will announce when 1 minute, and then 30 seconds, remain
14. The Fight Table will call “Final Exchange” when time reaches zero if an exchange is in progress
15. A “Final Exchange” call will extend the action until natural resolution
16. The Fight Table will announce the winner, and the Director will reiterate
17. The Fight Table will then call the next competitors into the ring

During an Exchange

• To be awarded during an exchange a fighter must either 1) deliver a hit with quality to a valid target area, 2) present a pommel strike or blade attack during a grapple, or 3) disarm their opponent
• Invalid target areas include the back of the head, spine, and feet
• “With Quality” is defined as an attack delivered with sufficient intent, authority, control, and stability
• Drawing cuts must be delivered by drawing or pushing at least half the blade length
• Half-swording is allowed as long as it is performed with control
• Short edge strikes are valid providing there is good edge alignment and sufficient movement
• Blade grabbing is allowed provided the weapon is generally static
• Light snips, attacks that travel little distance, lazy blows, and strikes with the flat will not be awarded
• Blows that are sloppy, wild, twist in the strike, or otherwise fail to show authoritative control, angle, and blade presence will not be awarded
• Weak blows made blindly against an opponent in a grapple will not be awarded
• Blows made wildly from “Hail-Mary” leaps, rolls, stumbles, etc. will not be awarded
• In the event of a grapple, fighters have a verbal 5-count by the Director to perform a scoring action
• Fighters may discard their weapons when performing grappling techniques with no penalty
• For Longsword only, daggers can be worn and deployed during an active grapple and award 1 point for a valid touch
• Open-palm strikes, pushes, traps, and checks are allowed (though non-scoring)
• Pommel strikes are only valid when presented unchecked to the front of the mask during a grapple
• An after-blow will be awarded if delivered with quality to a valid target in tempo of the initiating action
• Fighters who lose their weapon for any reason in the process of initiating or responding to an action during or immediately after an attack are considered disarmed and do not score a point
• If a fighter loses their weapon out of measure to their opponent and not related to any presented action, the Director will call a safety halt fighters will reset, with no points awarded
• Fighters who intentionally fall to the ground will be warned and then penalized if repeated

Disallowed Targets and Techniques

• Intentionally attacking a fallen or incapacitated opponent is forbidden
• Striking with the guard of the sword is forbidden
• Throwing the sword or other equipment is forbidden
• Kicks are not allowed
• Closed-fist punches are not allowed
• Joint locks or submission grappling techniques are not allowed
• Throwing or taking down of your opponent is not allowed
• Set-ups for takedowns are not allowed
• Picking up your opponent is not allowed
• Neck-wrenching and small-joint manipulation techniques are not allowed
• There is no ground fighting. Ground fighting will result in Disqualification

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Safety Halt During a Bout        

In the event of a ring-out, equipment failure, completion of a grapple five (5) count, disarm, or fall to the ground, the Director will call a “Safety Halt”.  After a safety halt is called the Director will ask the judges if there was any scoring action before the halt. If none, the fighters reset to their corners to resume the bout.

Injuries during a Bout

Fighters must act in a prudent and reasonable manner at all times in order to avoid injury to themselves, their opponents, tournament staff, and spectators. Any fighter who acts in an unsafe or malicious manner may receive a red card or be disqualified from further participation in the tournament at the discretion of the Tournament Administrators.

If an injury results in the inability to see a bout to completion, the Director will consult with the involved fighters and Tournament Administrators to determine the recorded outcome.

In all cases of injury, the Director and Tournament Administrator(s) will make an assessment as to whether the injury was inflicted maliciously. A fighter who injures his opponent maliciously shall be disqualified from the tournament.

Injury inflicted on any other party (Director, judges, administrative staff, spectators), accidental or otherwise, may result in disqualification, depending on the circumstances and at the discretion of the Tournament Administrator in conference with the match Director and the match Line Judges.

Penalties (Cards)

The Director may card the fighter for use of disallowed technique, safety infraction, unsportsman-like action, interference by a coach, intentional delays, or gross misconduct.

• Verbal warning from the Director
• Yellow Card, Second Offense
• Yellow Card, Third Offense, the Director shall issue a penalty and award one point to opponent
• Red Card: after two yellow cards or gross misconduct/intentionally endangering competitors - two points awarded to opponent and you may be immediately disqualified from the match or the event

In the event that it is determined  that a competitor has egregiously and intentionally used one or more disallowed techniques, the Director may escalate such penalties immediately to point penalties (second yellow card) or disqualification (red card). Fighters who are identified by the Tournament Administrators as consistently using disallowed techniques across multiple matches may be ejected from the tournament.

Disqualifications

In the event of a disqualification from a Match, the disqualified fighter’s scores will reflect losing every exchange in that match.

If a fighter is Disqualified from the Tournament, every exchange that they have completed or are scheduled for, will be recorded as a loss and their opponents get the win.

Participants

Director

The Director starts and stops the fight, communicates with the fighters, ensures all participants are ready, controls safety in the ring, award score, and present awarded scoring to the table.  The Director may halt action for any reason including grappling stalemates, immediate safety hazards, injuries, equipment failures, Ring-Outs, or any other reason.

The Director is the final authority in the ring and will coordinate with the other ring officials as needed regarding scoring or to resolve any problems or issues arising from concerns of the competitors.

Line Judges

The role of the Line Judges is to observe, identify, and indicate valid scoring techniques performed by the competitors in accordance with the tournament rules.

During a match Line Judges will call “POINT” when they witness a valid scoring technique. Line Judges will position their batons or flags to indicate votes after the director requests.

• Abstain/Nothing Seen (0 pts) – batons crossed low in an “X” pattern.
• No Quality (0 pts) – Action was seen but did not have quality – batons crossed in an “X” pattern in front of the chest/face
• Scoring Action – Fighter(s) performed a scoring action/after-blow with quality - baton(s) of the correct color fighter will be raised straight overhead for head or torso hits, out horizontally for arm or leg hits

Fight Table

The Fight Table assists in organizing the queue of fighters for the ring, designates colors, fields any ring-specific questions from the fighters, tracks the time and action of the match, and updates the scores as reported.

Fighters

Fighters are expected to conduct themselves in a mature and sportsmanlike manner throughout the tournament. There will be no derogatory insulting, back-talk, or baiting of other fighters, coaches, Director, Line Judges, staff, or spectators by any fighter or coach during the tournament.

Fighters must report to the ring when called and may be attended by a coach. The coach may enter the ring when invited by the Director but must otherwise stay outside of the ring and may not interfere with the Line Judges, Director, other fighters, or any tournament staff. The coach is expected to help the fighter with any needs that may come up during the match.