2012 Longsword Tournament Rules Version 1.1

Transcription

1 2012 Longsword Tournament Rules Version 1.1 Format The Longsword and Sword & Buckler tournaments each consist of three phases. (1) Pools, wherein each fighter will be placed into a pool of 4-8 other fighters, all of whom will fight one another. The top 16 fighters from the pools will be entered into a (2) single-elimination phase using a bracket system. The final four will fight in the (3) Finals to determine 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd place. All phases use a four-point evaluation pyramid. In this system, each judge may award up to four points in a single exchange. The match is finished when either fighter reaches seven points (two judges) or 11 points (three judges), or when three minutes have elapsed from the beginning of the first exchange in the match. It is possible to win the entire match in just one exchange. Required Equipment All fencers will present themselves and their equipment to the equipment inspector prior to the beginning of the tournament for compliance inspection and approval Nylon swords of equal dimensions (Purpleheart Armory Type III s) will be provided by the tournament hosts. Additional back-up weapons will be available in case of breakage and to allow the fencers to warm up with. Participants must to provide the following: 1. Mask: 3-weapon mask in good condition with no discernible rusting, breaches of the mesh, tongue, or bib. The mask must completely cover the participant's ears and must be neither too large nor too small to snugly fit the competitor. Other headgear such as "helmet-type" masks will be allowed pending inspection for rust, damage, coverage, fatigue, and other related safety issues. Rigid and/or padded protection for the back of the head is strongly recommended for all participants. 2. Neck Protection: Some form of padded and rigid neck protection that covers the larynx must be worn. 3. Gauntlets: Fencers must wear gloves or gauntlets which protect the hand, fingers, and the portion of the wrist nearest the hand. Gauntlets must have rigid and padded protection; unpadded gloves are not sufficient. Lacrosse or hockey gloves are recommended but must be of a quality that plastic inserts are found above each digit of the finger and without voids on the back of the hand. Steel gauntlets are permissible but will mandate the sacrifice of any hand-based striking by the wearer. Motocross gloves, even with rigid knuckle protection are NOT acceptable hand protection.

2 4. Groin/Breast Protection: Use of rigid groin protection (cup/box) is mandatory for males. Females are required to wear rigid plastron breast protection. Rigid pelvic protectors are highly recommended for female participants. Rigid plastron chest protection is recommended for all participants. 5. Jacket: Fencers must wear a padded jacket that completely covers the torso, back, and arms. Coaches fencing jackets or padded reproduction gambesons are recommended. Acceptable jackets must be available on the open market and from an established reputable manufacturer. A 3-weapon fencing jacket is NOT sufficient protection. 6. Elbow/Knee Protection: Use of padded or rigid elbow and knee protection is mandatory. The protection must completely cover the knee and elbow. 7. Footwear: Fencers must wear some kind of enclosed toe footwear. Historical reproduction footwear is acceptable. 8. Shin: Rigid shin protection is recommended but not mandatory. Conditions 1. Ring size. The tournament ring will be a circle, marked on the ground, approximately ten meters in diameter. 2. Referee. The referee starts and stops the fight, communicates with the fighters, ensures all participants are ready, controls safety in the ring, and interprets the judge s flags for the scorekeeper and the audience. The referee carries a staff as a symbol of office, and to separate fighters as necessary. 3. Judges. Judges interpret and score the action of the fight. There will be two or three judges for every match. The judges may move as required to gain the best view of the action. At no point should anyone but the ring boss, tournament manager, or referees address the judges or otherwise communicate with them. Any fighter or coach attempting to communicate directly with the judges will receive a warning. 4. Fighters. There will be two fighters for every match. No more than two fighters are allowed in the ring at the time. Each fighter may be attended by one coach. The coach may enter the ring when invited by the referee, but must otherwise stay outside of the ring and may not interfere with the judges, referee, other fighters, or any tournament staff. Fighters must report to the ring when called. Any fighter called to the ring three times in a one-minute period without reporting will forfeit the match. 5. Scorekeeper. The scorekeeper tracks the action of the match as reported by the referee, and updates the digital scoreboard for the match. Any fighter or coach attempting to communicate directly with the scorekeeper will receive a warning. 6. Timekeeper. The timekeeper starts and stops the time for each match. The timekeeper shall pause the time in the middle of the match if instructed so by the referee. Any fighter or coach attempting to communicate directly with the scorekeeper will receive a warning. 7. Warnings. All fighters and coaches are subject to the three-warning sytem. Any fighter to receive two formal warnings in a single match will lose the match. Any fighter to receive three warnings over the course of the tournament will be eliminated from the tournament. 2

3 Any warning issued to a coach is applied to that coach s fighter. Warnings are issued by referees, ring bosses, and the tournament manager. Conduct of Bouts The Head Scorekeeper will announce the immediately scheduled competitors as well as the names of those competing in the following bout. Fencers will enter the ring, dressed to compete, and take their positions at the Blue and Red starting markers in accordance with their assigned corner. Fencers are expected to be on their guard and ready to fence at all times when in the ring. Only the referee and two fencers will be within the arena during each bout. The referee will signal to the fencers, timekeeper, scorekeeper, and judges that the bout is about to begin. The referee will call Fight to signal that the bout has begun and the timekeeper will begin the clock. Fencer then shall begin the competition. Upon witnessing a valid technique judges will call point. After allowing time for potential after-blows, the referee will call halt, drop his staff between the fencers, and holding his staff horizontally, immediately separate the fencers by walking between them. Both fencers will immediately return to their appointed corners. The referee will immediately poll the judges regarding their scoring according to the criteria set forth in the proceeding section of these rules. The referee will communicate the scores to the scorekeeper who will record the result. The referee will immediately signal to the fencers to continue fencing. The timekeeper will signal the end of the round by and the referee will immediately halt the action. Alternatively, the Scorekeeper will indicate that the bout has reached the requisite number of points or three double hits should that occur before time runs out. The referee will summon the fencers to join him in the center of the ring while the scorekeeper announces the final score and the next competitors. Allowed and disallowed targets and techniques The entire body is a valid target area except for the groin, back of the head, neck, and spine. The point and edge are valid striking surfaces of the sword over the entire target area. A pommel strikes shall be a scoring hit to the mask only. Ricochet or Caroming Strikes shall be scored as a single hit. These are defined as any strike that contacts the opponent more than once in a single action. For example, Fencer A cuts downward at Fencer B striking the mask and glancing onward to the shoulder. "Incidental strikes may score as a hit subject to the judges discretion. An "Incidental strike" is defined as any touching of the blade to the other fencer in an unintentional fashion. For example, Fencer A hits Fencer B, but while attempting to defending against that hit B unintentionally strikes 3

4 A's target areas. The Judges may determine how to score this within the Scoring Criteria section of these rules. A hit shall be awarded if the other fencer steps completely out of bounds with BOTH feet. A hit shall be awarded for a clean takedown or throw. See Special Scoring Considerations section below for further definition Standup grappling, throws, and takedowns are generally allowed, but all action will be halted upon completion of a fall or takedown. The referee will allow three seconds for fencers to apply grappling technique. If no discernible advantage has been achieved by one fencer within that time action will be halted and reset. Submission grappling techniques whose inherent nature is serious injury (fractured bones, dislocated joints, suffocation, and the like) MUST be stopped short of full application by the competitors. Failure to do so will result in ejection from the tournament. All throwing techniques whose inherent nature is to deposit an opponent onto their head are forbidden. Regardless of the result, throwing an opponent onto their head will result in automatic ejection from the tournament. If both fencers fall as the result of an attempt to grapple neither competitor will be penalized for the fall. The judges may award a hit to one of the fencers if they are in a clear position of dominance when the fencers reach the ground. Neck-wrenching techniques are forbidden. Only "straight" kicks above the waist and below the neck are valid kicking techniques in this tournament. While valid, straight-kicks do not score a hit. Closed-fist punches are forbidden. Open-palm strikes, "straight-arms", "traps", and "checks are permissible hand/arm-based techniques but do not score a hit. Blade grabbing is allowed provided the weapon is generally stationary (e.g, no currently involved in a strike). For example, grabbing a blade immediately upon parrying is acceptable; grabbing a blade as it executes a cut is not. Grabbing a thrusting blade is acceptable provided the grab is performed in the same direction as the thrust in a tempo that is consistent with the thrust. A hit may awarded any time an opponent loses their weapon, for whatever reason, (e.g. disarm or dropped weapon) except in the case of equipment related phenomena as long as no other rule is violated. This is subject to the Judges discretion of the reason for loss of the weapon. If a fencer should unintentionally fall, a hit may be awarded to his opponent. If the fencer who falls never loses control (e.g. skillfully rolls out of the fall), the judges may disregard the fall. Striking with the cross of the sword is forbidden. (e.g. mortschlag type techniques) Throwing the sword is forbidden. Intentionally striking an unarmed, fallen, or incapacitated opponent is forbidden. Fencers 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 fencers, coaches, director, judges, staff, or spectators by any fencer or coach during the tournament. 4

5 Any means of delaying the action via the tournament administration processes are forbidden. Examples include, but are not limited to, walking slowly back to the corner between exchanges, communicating with others outside of the arena during the bout, and excessive celebration. Injuries during a bout Fencers 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 fencer who acts in an unsafe or malicious manner may be disqualified from further participation in the tournament at the discretion of the tournament administrator. No fencer, coach, or spectator will enter the arena to assist with an injury unless called for by the referee. If a fencer injures his opponent to such an extent that he is unable to continue participating in the tournament following a five-minute recovery period, the bout will be recorded as I (incomplete due to injury). In evaluating such cases, the referee and will ask the injured party if he can continue; however, the ultimate decision to allow the injured fencer rests with the referee, tournament administrator, and the on-site medical personnel. In all cases of injury, the judges and tournament administrator will make an assessment as to whether the injury was inflicted maliciously. A fencer who injures his opponent maliciously shall be disqualified from the tournament. Injury inflicted on any other party (referee, judges, administrative staff, spectators) may result in disqualification, depending on the circumstances and at the discretion of the tournament administrator. Scoring Criteria The four scored criteria for a strike or thrust are Contact, Quality, Target, and Control (of the opponent s weapon). Gaining each successive point is dependent on having also received the one before it in the pyramid. I.e., you cannot receive a point for Target from a judge if you did not receive a point for Quality from the same judge. 1. Contact. Any strike with the edge or point of the sword to any allowable target, or a strike with the pommel or buckler to the mask, counts for contact. To gain this point two judges must agree that (a) a fighter hit his opponent, and (b) that the hit was not part of a double-hit, or (c) the scored strike was not an after-blow. 2. Quality. To earn the bonus point for quality, the blow must have been delivered with balance, stability, and clean placement. This does not mean that the blow needs to be hard. To earn this point the fighter must be in full control of his/her movement balanced or grounded, not stumbling, falling, or wildly lunging. The fighter s lead hand must be on the handle to score the bonus point for Quality. A judge may also withhold this point for grazing blows or other sloppy strikes. A fighter who falls, tumbles, fumbles their weapon, or runs out of bounds immediately following his/her strike will not be awarded the point for Quality. Strikes made with only the offhand on the grip will not be awarded the point for Quality. 5

6 3. Target. This bonus point is awarded for blows to the head and torso, except for blows to the throat and back of the head, which are off-limits. The top of the shoulder, to the seam at the point of the shoulder, is considered part of the torso, as the inside of the hip and any torso or hip area normally covered by the fencer s jacket. 4. Control (of the opponent s weapon). This bonus point is awarded when the scoring action is performed on an opponent who is unable to immediately respond due to actions by the scoring fencer. Examples include attacks from crossed swords or the bind which momentarily trap or frustrate the opponent s weapon, off-hand grapples which allow for an undefended strike, and slicing or pushing actions which unbalance an opponent prior to striking (the follow-on strike must still be performed). This point is not awarded for striking an opponent who has missed wildly, fallen down, voluntarily turned their back, or has otherwise become ineffective through their own actions; to earn this point, the judges must rule that the scoring fighter has actively controlled his opponent s ability to immediately respond. Examples of Control a. Red binds Blue sword-on-sword, then thrusts down along Blue s blade. Blue s weapon is momentarily trapped in the action and cannot be used for defense or offense. b. Red kicks Blue in the chest and strikes at his head while Blue staggers back. In this example, the kick gains no extra points, but allows Red to earn the fourth point for Control. c. Red wraps his left arm around Blue s weapon and strikes blue in the side or with the pommel or buckler to the mask. d. Red uses a slice to push Blue s arms back or to the ground, then follows up with a strike to the mask or chest. Special Scoring Considerations Double-hits are those which occur when two fencers strike each other in the same tempo (i.e. at the same time). Double-hits also include near-simultaneous hits, such as those landing immediately after a successful hit from the opponent, and which were begun in the same tempo as the successful attack. If three double-hits are accumulated in a single pool match, both fighters will record a loss for that match. If three double-hits are accumulated in an elimination match, both fighters lose the match and will therefore be eliminated from the tournament. Double hits in the finals will be recorded but not scored. After-blows are revenge strikes, or hits begun in the tempo immediately following the tempo in which the opposing fencer made a successful hit. (Generally defined as the time required to execute a single step.) Both fencers are entitled to perform the after-blow. Any fighter who receives an afterblow following a scoring strike (i.e. point for Contact) can only receive points for Quality. Points for Contact, Target, and Control will be negated. If the scoring blow receives no points for Quality, the scoring fencer receives no points for the action. Grapples which do not result in a scoring hit or throw will be halted by the referee after a verbal three-count. 6

7 A clean takedown is defined as an intentional technique whose result is to bring the opponent to the ground and immediately establishes a position of dominance but is not a throwing technique. And opponent is on the ground when any part of his torso, hips, head, or shoulders touch the ground. Clean takedowns will be awarded two (2) points from each judge. A clean throw is defined as any technique whose inherent nature is to project the opponent to the ground while the applier remains standing. These include shoulder throws, hip throws, and tripping or shoving techniques. A fencer who throws his opponent to the ground and retains his weapon will receive four (4) points from each judge, resulting in an automatic match win. If the throwing fencer drops or loses his/her weapon in the process, two (2) points will be awarded by each judge, as in a takedown. A fighter is Out of bounds when both feet clearly leave the ring, whether they touch down or not. One (1) point per judge will be awarded to the opponent of any fighter who goes out of bounds. A fighter has fallen or is down when any part of his/her torso, hips, or head touches the ground. While there is no penalty for accidentally or intentionally falling or rolling, a fighter that does so as part of or immediately following a scoring hit (i.e. Contact ) will not be awarded the bonus point for Quality. The Scoring Process The basic steps for scoring are: 1. When a judge witnesses a scoring action, he/she calls out Point! 2. The referee will wait for a full tempo (to allow for an afterblow), then stop the match by calling Halt! After a halt the fencers should immediately return to their corners. 3. The referee will call Judges? The judges will look down and then raise their flags to indicate which fighter scored Contact, if there was an afterblow or double-hit, or if a special scoring consideration such as a throw or a fencer stepping out of bounds took place. 4. The referee interprets the judges flags and calls out the points earned to the scorekeeper (e.g., Red, two points! ). After the referee calls out the number of points earned, all judges will lower their flags. 5. The referee call out Quality, and the judges indicate their call. As before, the referee tallies and announces the results, and the judges lower their flags. If no points are scored for Quality, the referee calls out No score, and jumps to Step 8, below. 6. As long as at least one point was scored for Quality, the referee and judges repeat this process for Target. (Exception: Target is never called out for a hit that was countered with an afterblow.) 7. As long as at least one point was scored for Target, the referee and judges repeat the process for Control. 8. If either fighter has accumulated 7 points (two judges) or 11 points (three judges), the scorekeeper calls out Match! Red (or Blue) wins and the final score. If neither fighter has yet 7

8 accumulated enough points to win, the referee calls out Ready, Fight! and the match continues. Semaphores All flag positions should be held out along bold, clean lines, to prevent confusion. When not scoring an action, the flags should be at rest, pointed vertically down beside or behind the judge. One flag held out horizontally indicates a point. One flag held out horizontally and the second held straight up indicate an afterblow performed against the flag held out horizontally. E.g., if Red hits Blue, the Blue delivers an afterblow, the Red flag would be held to the side and the Blue flag would be held straight up. This is called as Afterblow on Red. Both flags held out horizontally indicate a double hit. Both flags crossed and pointed down indicate that the judge is abstaining from scoring the hit because he/she did not witness a scoring action or is unsure of what happened. A flag pointing in, towards the ring, indicates a special consideration, e.g., throws, takedowns, and out-of-bounds. The color of the flag should correspond to the color of the fencer receiving the point. The referee will verbally ask the judge what the call is. Point to Red Afterblow on Red Double-hit Abstain/Nothing Seen Special Call When scoring the initial point ( Contact ) at with three judges, the majority (2 out of 3) is called. When scoring the initial point with two judges, both must agree on who-hit-whom according to the following guidelines: If both judges make the same call (e.g., Contact point to [color], Afterblow on [color], Double hit) the call will be scored appropriately. 8

9 If one judge calls a Contact point for [color] and the other calls Afterblow on [color], the hit will be scored as an afterblow on [color]. If one judge calls an Afterblow on [color] and the other calls a double-hit, the hit will be scored as an Afterblow on [color]. Any other combination of scores will be called as no score. Exception: As owner of the ring, the referee may declare a fighter out of bounds. When scoring the three bonus points (Quality, Target, Control), the judges need not agree. Only a judge who called the previous point in the pyramid can call for the following point. Example 1: Judge A and B both call Contact for Red. When the Referee calls for Quality, only Judge A awards the bonus point. When the referee calls for Target, only Judge A may award the bonus point, and so on. Example 2: Judge A calls Afterblow on Red. Judge B calls Double-hit. The referee will call the initial point as Afterblow on Red. Next, when the referee calls Quality, only Judge A may call for that bonus point. These rules Copyright 2012 Jacob P. Norwood. 9