Updates for 2019

For 2019, IGX continues its tradition of supporting ongoing HEMA tournament formats while piloting new formats. This year, after a 4+ year hiatus, IGX is excited to add a Historical Weapons tournament to its tournament lineup! Run by the founder of the United States Historical Ringen Association (USHRA), Tim Hall, and New England’s own Ringen aficionado Harold Vance, this tournament will pilot a rule set heavily influenced by historical sources.

For Longsword and Mixed Weapons, we will continue with the same rule set you saw in 2018, with some very small modifications. We will also once again host a Cutting tournament, under the leadership of Andrew Kilgore from Athena School of Arms.

Tournament List

Historical Wrestling: Fighters will participate by weight class, and will fight using a historical rule set. This is an Open event. Cap of 30 fighters.

Mixed Weapons: Fighters will use the 2018 “Hit Points” rule set with a wide array of single-handed swords (steel preferred, nylon may be allowed if no steel equivalents are available). This is an Open event, but will have Wisdom and Women’s tracks if there is enough interest. Cap of roughly 40 fighters.

Open Longsword: This event format will feature steel longswords using the 2018 “Hit Points” rule set. This is an Open event, but will have a Wisdom and Women’s track if there is enough interest. (psst! there is!) Fighters competing in this event may not compete in the Beginner Longsword tournament. Cap of roughly 60 fighters.

Beginner Longsword: Because the goal of this tournament is to help expose newer HEMA practitioners to longsword competition, this event is separate from the Open Longsword tournament, but will use the same “Hit Points” rule set. Fighters will get more feedback from both coaches and officials to help develop competitive HEMA skills. Fighters competing in this event may not compete in the Open Longsword tournament. Cap of 24 fighters.

Cutting Tournament: This skills competition will feature innovations from other cutting tournaments around the country and continue some of the unique elements of the IGX event. Our focus remains on challenging the competitors to demonstrate cutting skills in applications more like cutting in combat, including movement, measure, and reaction based feats. Basic Qualifications will also be included.

Event Reminders

• Please review guidelines on safety and general expectations and the more specific equipment requirements.  
• Tournaments are BYOS (Bring Your Own Steel). Tournament loaners will be provided as needed. See equipment requirements for further details.  
• Due to the ongoing growth of our event, we expect to cap tournaments this year. Register early to guarantee your spot.  
• IGX highly recommends all competitors have a coach in their corner, to help with both bouting feedback and as a potential go-between with tournament staff. If you need a coach, please speak with one of the IGX staff and we will do what we can to ensure you have one.
• While we will have staff for every lane, last minute snafus in scheduling often arise and you might be asked to judge. Please consider accepting this task as an honor as the IGX staff have identified you as someone who is fair and experienced.