Full armour is preferable-

Including helmet (armet, great bascinet or frogmouth preferred), pauldrons (that is, shoulder armour that overlaps the breast and back plates), vambraces, breast and backplates, left gauntlet, right gauntlet recommended though optional, cuisses, greaves (covering at least the front of the leg). Harness, clothing and all accessories should be in the mid-late 15th century style.

The armour pieces noted above should be of sufficient strength, regardless of material, to withstand strong strikes from tough balsa tips and/or lance sockets without denting in such a way as to impair the armour’s function, compromise its protective qualities, or cause the wearer injury.

It is the responsibility of each competitor to ensure he is armed adequately. There will be an “armour safety check” in advance of the joust to ensure all competitors are properly protected. Please honor your opponents by wearing armour that will protect you sufficiently so that your opponents will not be unduly concerned with injuring you.

“Ecranche” style shields are required, minimum dimensions are 13” (33cm) high x 13” (33cm) wide. Shields may not be rigidly fixed to the wearer’s armour or body, but must be slung from a neck strap with sufficient arm strapping to maintain proper and stable presentation to the opponent. We can provide a shield for you if desired. Please notify us no later than March 1st if you would like us to provide a shield for you.

Lances used will be a standard “shaped” design like the lances sold by Historic Enterprises, or the dimensional and performance equivalent. Lances will be provided for all international competitors, due to the difficulty of transporting them from abroad. Distance from the front of the grip to the end receiving the breakable tip will be no greater than 68” (172.7cm). With the addition of the breakable 36” (91.4cm) long tip, the total length forward of the grip is 104” (2.64m), exclusive of the coronel. It is strongly recommended that only historically shaped lances be used, for historical accuracy and safety purposes. Straight “pole” type lances are not acceptable.

Arrets (lance rests) are allowed, however no lances to be used with arrets may be fitted with grappers. Please declare your arret use (if any) to the other competitors before the jousts commence. Grappers may be used on lances as long as arrets are not used.

Lances will be fitted with vamplates. Use of a right gauntlet is at the discretion of the competitors, but it is recommended that all competitors consider a situation that will allow the best control of the lance. All competitors will use a minimum of a leather glove on their right hand.

Breakable lance tips will be provided by the joust organizers, made of 1-1/4” (32mm) diameter, untapered balsa, 36” (91.4cm) long. All tips will be sawn twice along a portion of their length, beginning at the coronel end. Each segment may also be notched internally, though this is still undecided. All lance tips will be supplied painted to match the lance colors, and fitted with firm rubber coronels.

All competitors will caparison their mounts with trappings approved by the tournament organizers. The tournament organizers reserve the right to provide competitors with horse caparisons at their discretion. Please send us a photo of your caparison no later than March 1st.

Competitors are invited to bring and use their own saddles. If you intend to do so, please inform us and provide a photo of your saddle by March 1st. Saddles may not be so high-fronted as to obstruct strikes to any allowed target area. The tournament organizers reserve the right to review and approve all horse equipment.

All riders are expected to align their mount appropriately to receive their lance at the start of each pass, then signal their readiness to their opponent in some manner (usually by lifting the lance). Both competitors will begin their pass with the intent of encountering each other at the center of the tilt, then proceed to the end of the list and stop. It is expected that all competitors maintain an even canter or gallop through their entire pass and excercise good control of their mounts and lances at all times.

All riders must present their shield in a way that offers their opponent a fair target. Competitors should not “fold” or “table” their shield, even inadvertently, preventing their opponent from having a reasonable opportunity of a good strike to the shield. It is the marshal and judges' responsibility to alert a competitor of poor shield presentation, and to deduct points for infractions, as necessary.

All riders must remain mounted through the entire pass. If a rider becomes unhorsed for any reason, he scores no points for that pass.

All riders must retain their lance until fully stopped at the end of each pass, except for a situation where retaining the lance would cause a safety issue or injury to the rider or mount. If a rider releases his lance for any reason other than that resulting from an extremely strong impact or a safety concern, he scores no points for that pass. Riders will not throw down their lances (except where safety is a concern), but will hand them to ground crew or a mounted squire after stopping at the end of the pass. If a rider believes a safety concern exists after the pass has already begun, he may move his lance away from the tilt and his opponent, signalling to his opponent that he wishes not to be struck. The pass will be immediately re-run and any points scored in the aborted pass will be void.

In each pass, each rider will have two attempts to enter the tilt against his opponent. If a rider fails to enter the tilt on his second attempt but his opponent is successful, his opponent will be awarded 3 points. If a rider fails to enter the tilt with two consecutive opponents, he may be warned by the marshal or may be asked to retire from the field for that session.

Scoring- (The maximum points attainable is 4 for each pass.)

A spotter on foot at each end of the tilt will view each pass, indicating the area of a strike to the scorekeeper and marshal.

A mounted Marshal and up to two mounted lady judges will reside mid-list to measure lance breakage as necessary and observe horsemanship, style and conduct of the competitors. Points may be awarded or deducted at the Marshal and Judges’ discretion.

• 1 point is awarded for striking an opponent between his neck and waist, including shield, shoulders, body, arms and hands. This is called an "attaint".

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• 2 points are awarded for breaking the lance on an opponent between his neck and waist, but not on his shield (this includes shoulders, body, arms and hands).

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• 3 points are awarded for breaking the lance on an opponent’s shield.

• The coronel must contact the target first to score a strike.

• 1 additional point is awarded for breaking more than half the lance tip’s length.

• The maximum points attainable is 4 for each pass.

Should a rider fail to present his shield properly, his opponent may strike the target area that would otherwise be covered by the shield, and appropriate points will be awarded at the discretion of the marshal and judges.

The marshal will carry a baton to measure the amount of breakable tip remaining in a competitor’s lance.

Improper shield presentation, poor horsemanship, or unchivalrous behavior may cause up to a complete point loss for the pass, at the marshal and judges’ discretion.

Strikes to a competitor’s head, below his waist and swipes across the body are disallowed and score no points. Strikes to the saddle bow or any portion of a horse are disallowed and score no points, and on the first occurrence will carry a warning from the marshal. On the second occurrence, the offender will retire from the field for that session. Repeated offenses may require a competitor retire from the competition.

The competitor with the highest point total for the session will be declared the session victor.

In the event of a tie score, the tying competitors will continue making passes until one competitor scores higher than the other(s). If more than two competitors are tied, the competition will continue in a “round robin” style, and competitors with the higher point total (if still tied) for each round will continue on, until one competitor scores higher for a round than the other(s).

Submitted for your consideration by,

Jeffrey Hedgecock & Gwen Nowrick, hosts
American Sword of Chivalry Tournament 2008