Photo by Sean Sreamach
By Brita Svensdottir
Rapier Reporter, PI
Youth Rapier:
A 17 year old youth rapier fighter authorized Tuesday as an adult fencer (Ealdomere) after trying rapier for the first time at this Pennsic and attending youth practice every day since Wednesday of Peace Week.
Also, two division 1 youth fencers, Connor and Rory, both 6 years old, were sparring. The Princess of Ansteorra took time from watching her tournament to observeå them and gave them tokens for their joy and enthusiasm.
For adult rapier, there were three tournaments in the morning. The Ansteorran Tourney had 99 entrants for a single elimination, best two-out-of-three tourney where fencers could also enjoy an impressive array of refreshments. Semi-finals came down to a three-way tie: Millicent Rowan, Bumi, and Miguel Vaello de Villa Joiloso. They solved this by fencing each other. Miguel and Bumi advanced to the finals – best two-out-of-three. Bumi took the first bout, there was a double kill in the second, and Bumi of Atlantia was the victor in the third bout, winning the tourney.
Don Santiago Rodrigo y Draco de Arunjuez, MiC, said that Ansteorra runs this tourney every year because Ansteorra is where SCA Fencing started. They had the first white scarves. They have a long tradition of rapier and wanted to spread the love to Pennsic.
The Armor as Worn Tourney, was run two women from An Tir, who had run this style of tourney in their home Kingdom. It was a double round robin – one fencer held the list against all others, then another took over until everyone had a chance to fence everyone else. Rules were that armor had to be historically accurate as much as possible. Stiff armor was proof against all shots, flexible armor(such as leather) was proof against cuts. So, the challenge was to find the openings in your opponent’s armor. Taran Daestringr, MiC, said the tourney was a chance for people to show off their pretty armor and experience the protection they actually would have gotten.
The Cadet Tourney was open to any nongrant-level rapier fighter who was sponsored by a grant-level or higher fencer. There were 119 entrants contending for the first, second, third and fourth prize in a double elimination tourney. Master Po Silvertop the Rogue, Æthelmearc, has run this tourney every year and it is one of the most popular for up-and-coming fencers. This year the winners were: Trian O’Brudair, First; Jourdan Escarabine, Second; Fredericas Vargas, Third; and Cailtram MacDomhall taking Fourth.
The Rapier Woods Battle took place in the afternoon. It is a 1-hour resurrection battle for possession of three flags situated at different spots in the woods. “Flags” are long poles with one end blue and the other red, stuck in hay bales. Checks are done at 20 min, 40 min, and 60 min, plus or minus 2 minutes, to see which teams’ color is up. The East was victorious at all three time checks. His Highness Alexandre Herot d’Aigne of Insula Draconis (Drachenwald) helped secure one of the flags for the East in the last few minutes by death from behind the five people around the flag.
Today’s Rapier Events:
10 am Novice Tourney
10:30 am Tadcaster Extravaganza
1 pm Baronial Rapier Champions Tourney
8 am to 12 noon Rose Tourney
3 pm Cut-and-Thrust Honey Badger Tourney
Tomorrow’s Rapier Events
10 am Lady Rapier Tourney
10 am Cut-and-Thrust Bear Pit
10 am Combined Rapier & Armored Scenario
1 pm Rapier Field Battle
4 pm Edmund the Lame Memorial Two Hander Tourney