The following rules will be implemented and enforced by the Marshall of the field, his judges and the Lady of Honour. In the interest of a fair and chivalrous competition, after September 1, 2009 any questions or challenges to the rules must be directed to the Marshall and his staff.

Marshall of the Field -
Michael Carroll (Rochester NY, USA)
Scoring Judges/Knights of Mercy -
Mike Spivey (Merritt Island FL, USA)
Rod Perrino (New York NY, USA)
Micah Nelson (Bloomfield NY, USA) -alternate-
Lady of Honour -
Michelle Rawlings (Victorville CA, USA)
Scorekeepers/Lady Judges -
April Apperson (Santee CA, USA)
Tracie Carroll (Rochester NY, USA)
Julia Nelson (Bloomfield NY, USA)

All required equipment will be reviewed and inspected by the Marshall upon the competitor's arrival. All competitors have been informed of the requirements and any competitor lacking the required equipment will be disallowed participation and replaced with an alternate.

The Challenge will be cried and the rules read each morning of the tournament, immediately following the 10:30am Skill at Arms session.

The Competition-

The six competitors will be divided into two teams of three competitors each.

Defenders and last year's victors, The Order of the Star, will hold the field against the Challengers, The Order of the Crescent, in two days of multi-event competition.

The Tournament will consist of three parts over two days-

The Joust (including 4 sessions, 12noon and 4:30pm each day),
Pollaxe Combat on Foot (Saturday 2:30pm), and
Club Tourney (Mounted Melee) (Sunday 2:30pm).

Scoring for each part is described below, but to summarize:

Joust – 9 points possible for each session, 36 points total
Pollaxe Combat on Foot – 12 points total
Club Tourney – 21 points total (15 maximum attainable by winning team)

The team with the most points scored after the final joust session will be declared victors.

Equipment-

Full 15th century armour is required-
Including helmet (armet, great bascinet or frogmouth preferred), pauldrons or spaudlers, vambraces, breast and backplates, left gauntlet, right gauntlet (required for Foot Combat and Club Tourney, optional for the Joust), cuisses, and greaves (covering at least the front of the leg). Harness, clothing and all accessories should be in historically accurate mid-late 15th century style.

The armour pieces noted above should be of sufficient strength, regardless of material, to withstand strong strikes from tough soft wood lance 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 each event 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, with minimum dimensions of 14” (38cm) high x 13” (33cm) wide, though larger shields may be used. "Heater shaped" shields are not allowed. 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. Shields must be strapped and/or affixed strongly and securely to the rider so they remain in place and in proper position during courses. Unstable shields may cause point loss for the bearer, as it puts opponents at a disadvantage for lance breaking. Scoring zone will be identical on all opponents, regardless of shield shape or size. If a shield moves out of correct position immediately prior to or during a course, his opponent may strike the target zone even without the shield present and the course will be scored appropriately. The competitor whose shield has moved must correct the issue prior to successive courses.

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 competitors, however competitors may bring their own if they meet the following requirements -

Distance from the front of the grip to the end receiving the replaceable tip will be no greater than 68” (172.7cm). With the addition of the replaceable 36” (91.4cm) long tip, the total length forward of the grip is 104” (2.64m), exclusive of the coronel. It is required that only historically shaped lances be used, for fairness, historical accuracy and safety purposes. Straight “pole” type lances are not acceptable.

Arrets de Cuirass (lance rests) or Arrets de lance (grappers) are allowed for the joust, however they may not both be used concurrently. Please declare your arret use (if any) to the other competitors before the tournament commences.

Lances may be fitted with vamplates at the choice of the competitor. In the joust, use of a steel 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 during the joust. Steel gauntlets for both hands are required for the Foot Combat and Club Tourney.

Replaceable lance tips will be provided by the tournament organizers, made of 1-1/4” (32mm) diameter, untapered soft wood, 36” (91.4cm) long. All tips will be sawn twice along no more than 1/2 of their length, beginning at the coronel end. All lance tips will be supplied painted to match the lance colors, and fitted with coronels.

All competitors will caparison their mounts with historically accurate 15th century trappings approved by the tournament organizers.

The tournament organizers reserve the right to replace competitors lacking the appropriate equipment.

Competitors are invited to bring and use their own saddles and/or horse equipment. If you intend to do so, please inform us and provide a photo of your equipment by October 1, 2009. 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.

Rules for the Joust

Pass Conduct and Horsemanship-

All riders are expected to align their mount appropriately to receive their lance at the start of each course, then signal their readiness to their opponent in some manner (usually by lifting the lance, though "appearing ready" may suffice). 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 at least an even canter or gallop through their entire course 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 course. If a rider becomes unhorsed for any reason, he scores no points for that course.

All riders must retain their lance until fully stopped at the end of each course, 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 course. Riders will not cast their lances to the ground (except where safety is a concern), but will hand them to footmen or a mounted squire after stopping at the end of the course. If a rider believes a safety concern exists after the course has already begun, he should move his lance tip away from the tilt and his opponent, indicating that he wishes not to be struck. The course will be immediately re-run and any points scored in the aborted course will be void.

In each course, 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 course.)

A Scoring Judge on foot at each end of the tilt will view each course, indicating the area of lance strike to the scorekeeper and marshal.

A mounted Marshal and the mounted Lady of Honour 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, Lady of Honour and Judges’ discretion. The Marshal has the ultimate authority on awarding or deducting points for any segment of the competition.

• 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".

  - or -

• 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).

  - or -

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

• The coronel must be the first part of the lance to contact the target to score.

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

• The maximum points attainable is 4 for each course.

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 that a competitor retire from the joust portion of the competition.

The team with the highest point total for the session will be declared the session's victor.

In the event of a tie score in a session, the team captains will choose a representative to continue with courses until one competitor scores higher than the other(s).

There will be 4 joust sessions (2 each day), consisting of 9 matches of 2 courses each, between each pair of riders -- Each competitor will face each opposing team member for 1 match.

A team will receive one point for each match won per session, for a total of 9 points per session or 36 total points for the joust.

Rules for Pollaxe Combat on Foot

Full armour as described above should be worn. It is required that steel gauntlets be worn on both hands. Combatants may choose to lift or remove their helmet visors, if they wish. Should they do so, they assume all risk therein.

The combatant who is first to strike his opponent with 5 solid telling blows with the blade or hammer of his axe will be the victor.

Also-
The combatant who forces his opponent to the ground will be the victor.
The combatant who disarms his opponent will be the victor.
The combatant who forces his opponent to yield will be the victor

Cuts with the axe, or strikes with the hammer of any sort to any target area are allowed. Thrusts with the spike or queue are allowed to any target area except the helm’s sight, though they will not count for score.

Grappling and wrestling are allowed, though arm twists or other such holds which may cause undue injury to a combatant are disallowed.

Telling blows will be scored by judges viewing from within the lists. The judges will call out the number of blows struck. A marshall will oversee the judging and cry hold -ONLY- if a safety concern arises due to the combatants' endangering the audience, or losing essential armour.

All combatants must conduct themselves with chivalry and consideration for their opponent, and not take undue advantage of them.

For safety and to minimize damage to harness, axes will be constructed of a wooden haft with a hard rubber head molded around an aluminum core for stiffness, and weighted as close to historical examples as possible.

Each combatant will fight each of the 3 members of the opposing team for a total of 9 combats, with each victory scoring 1 point. There are 9 total points for this event.

The Challengers will present one combatant to face the Defenders. The Defenders will choose a combatant to meet the Challenger. The victor will stand for the next combat, or may relinquish his position to another team mate. Combat will continue in this fashion until all combatants fight 2 combats each or all 6 combats occur. (Note: the sequence of challenges in actual practice differed from the above).

Rules for the Club Tourney
(Mounted Melee)

All combatants must wear full armour, as in the joust and the pollaxe combat on foot. Combatants may choose to lift or remove their helmet visors, if they wish. Should they do so, they assume all risk therein.

Baston Clubs are the only allowed weapon.

Combatants must strike only above the waist.

The Marshall of the field will be mounted and shall observe the combat, supervising his list personnel. Three mounted "knights of mercy" will each carry a staff to which a white scarf is affixed and remain on the perimeter of the list until called on by the Marshall. Directed by the Marshal, the "knights of mercy" will select individual combatants to retire from the field when considered bested by their fellow combatants. A "knight of mercy" will drape his scarf over the selected combatant's sight indicating they should retire, then escort them to the edge of the field.

Any disarmed combatant will retire from the field immediately.

Any combatant striking a horse will receive a warning on the first occurrence.

If a second blow is struck by a combatant to a horse, the Marshall will instruct the combatant to retire from the field. Neither he nor his team receives points for his participation in that segment.

The team with the last combatant remaining on the field shall be declared the victor and will receive 1 point for their team.

Military Skill at Arms

Skill at arms will be scored for IJL ranking, but will not count in overall scoring for the tournament. Competitors in addition to the Tournament combatants may be included.

Each activity noted below will be performed separately, with all riders completing each activity before moving on to the next.

The following skills will be scored, though additional activities may be included in the session:

Quintain –
The number of complete revolutions of the target after striking are counted and score one point each.

Rings –
Three rings will be suspended at roughly chest height, at equal intervals across the field. One point is scored for dislodging the ring, Two points for carrying each ring on the spear. The rings must remain on the spear until the rider stops at the end of the run.

Cut and Thrust –
Two cabbages will be placed at equal intervals across the field. The rider will be awarded 1 point for a clean backhand cut to the first cabbage, and one point for a successful thrust into the second cabbage. An additional point is awarded if the rider carries the second cabbage away on his sword.

Thrown spear –
Riders throw a spear at a ground target, aiming for the centermost of three concentric rings on the target. The center ring scores three points, the second scores two points, and the outer ring scores one point.

Ground target (tent pegging) –
Small shield shaped targets bearing the colors of each competitor will be placed in a line on the ground, parallel to the line of travel. Each rider shall attempt to thrust into and carry the shield bearing his own colors on his spear. One point is awarded for striking, and a second point for carrying it away on the point of the spear.

Submitted for your consideration by,

Jeffrey Hedgecock, Gwen Nowrick -- Event Producers
The Tournament of the Phoenix 2009