Welcome to the Granite State Open! This is the first (and probably only) time I'll be hosting this event, so be sure to catch it now before it's gone!
Our host is Crossroads Academy, one of New Hampshire's top K-8 schools, who have generously allowed us to use their gym.
My main goal with this tournament is to offer a large variety of open events, from the common Longsword, Rapier, Saber, and Sword + Buckler to the rarer Singlestick to fun, less serious events like Rapier + Anything and Sidesword + Anything, where (almost) anything can be used in the offhand.
Since my main goal is not to make money, I'll also be paying all of the judges for each event they judge, and for those who register before December 15th, I'll be redistributing the profit from the event in the form of a partial refund. This will especially be for people who judge, people who come to both days of the event, and people who drove a long way to get here, as a way to offset lodging and travel costs.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| General Competitor Entry Attendance · choose one | $40.00 |
| Spectator Attendance · choose one | $0.00 |
| Division | Entry Fee |
|---|---|
| Rapier | $20.00 |
| Sword and Buckler | $20.00 |
| Dueling Saber | $20.00 |
| Rapier and Literally Anything | $20.00 |
| Longsword | $20.00 |
| Sidesword and Literally Anything | $20.00 |
| Singlestick | $20.00 |
Saturday
When you drive in, turn to the right. Drive down to the parking lot. The gym will be on your left. If in doubt, look for other lost people. There are sure to be more.
All penalties are, at the end of the day, assigned by the judges as they see fit. We intend to allow for a relatively high intensity, kept in check by liberal carding.
Be aware that afterblows have a substantially lower force threshold. What would not be considered excessive force for an initial action may very well be substantially excessive for an afterblow. The same is true for actions in a grapple and all one-handed cuts.
While a more formal judge onboarding document will be released eventually, these are the basics.
Since I'm paying you, I do expect you to read the rules and also this.
Assuming your ring is full, you will be paid $60 for an event with a 32 person cap and $40 for an event with a 20 person cap. You will also get an additional bonus from event profit if you volunteer to judge before December 15th.
If you offer to be a judge, but would compete in the event you're offering to judge should your judging be unnecessary, still join the event waitlist. Your position in the waitlist, likely at the top, will not change and therefore, even if the event fills, you will be top priority for getting in the event if you are not needed to judge.
At some point, I will be making a video compilation of exchanges from Hanopen 2 to demonstrate the upper limit of intensity and some cardable offenses, to make sure all judges are aligned on exactly what is and is not going to be an acceptable intensity.
Directors will be responsible for entering in scores on this website.
Both judges should be vocal and should communicate. If the assistant judge disagrees with the director, they should say so.
Judges are expected to collaborate on calls, and defer to the more confident opinion on any given aspect about the exchange.
Judges are expected to be open and honest about their confidence. Having low-confidence in one's opinion only becomes a problem when false confidence is projected instead.
Uncertain actions during a double are treated as such for the purpose of determining priority. Uncertain actions elsewhere are thrown out, as if there is not a double going on at the time then it is more likely that an uncertain action was not quality.
Judges should engage in risk mitigation. For example, if it is unknown whether or not a scoring action is worth 3 or 4 points, and the judges are not more confident in one versus the other, then they should default to the lower-valued scoring action.
Judges should throw out exchanges that they have no reasonable confidence in, and should not be afraid of doing so.
If one judge believes a penalty is warranted while the other is unsure, the penalty will be assigned. If one judge believes a penalty is warranted while the other believes it is not warranted, then the penalty will be assigned but downgraded one severity level to a minimum of a warning. Judges are expected to be honest and not argue for a more severe card in the hopes of downgrading it to the card they actually want. If the judges disagree on a penalty, and the fencer not receiving the penalty disagrees with the penalty, then the penalty will be downgraded one severity level to a minimum of a warning, even if neither judge agrees with the fencer's reasoning.
Directors and assistant judges stand on relatively equal footing. While the final decision does lie with the director, the assistant judge should not be overruled if the assistant judge is more certain than the director.
It is acceptable and expected that there will be times you will miss actions, not know what happened, or be generally uncertain. It is unacceptable for you to pretend otherwise.
Judges should never lie to their fencers. I consider projecting false confidence to be a lie.
If one judge believes another is not following the guidelines, is being biased, or is not applying the rules correctly, please come and find me.
If a target is not listed as having a scoring slice, slices to that target do not score and do not stop the exchange.
If there is a double, consult the following priority list. A double with priority is 2 points. A true double is 0 points.
For each of the following, if it is unclear whether or not the priority item is true, assume it does not and move down the list. If all six items are untrue, then the double is a true double.
If there is an afterblow, with fencer A hitting first and fencer B hitting second, points will be awarded depending on the value of their blows as per the following table, with syntax (Points A, Points B):
| A: 4 | A: 3 | A: 2 | A: 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: 4 | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) | (0,2) |
| B: 3 | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) |
| B: 2 | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) |
| B: 1 | (4,0) | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) |
Note that the point differential for A is Points A - Points B + 1, and that there are no (0,0), (1,0), or (0,1) afterblows.
Cuts with questionable quality under these requirements will be given the benefit of the doubt if they land cleanly or as afterblows, but will lose doubles at item 3.
If a target is not listed as having a scoring slice, slices to that target do not score and do not stop the exchange.
If there is a double, consult the following priority list. A double with priority is 2 points. A true double is 0 points.
For each of the following, if it is unclear whether or not the priority item is true, assume it does not and move down the list. If all six items are untrue, then the double is a true double.
If there is an afterblow, with fencer A hitting first and fencer B hitting second, points will be awarded depending on the value of their blows as per the following table, with syntax (Points A, Points B):
| A: 4 | A: 3 | A: 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| B: 4 | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) |
| B: 3 | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) |
| B: 2 | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) |
Note that the point differential for A is Points A - Points B + 1, and that there are no (0,0), (1,0), or (0,1) afterblows.
Cuts with questionable quality under these requirements will be given the benefit of the doubt if they land cleanly or as afterblows, but will lose doubles at item 5.
If a target is not listed as having a scoring slice, slices to that target do not score and do not stop the exchange.
If there is a double, consult the following priority list. A double with priority is 2 points. A true double is 0 points.
For each of the following, if it is unclear whether or not the priority item is true, assume it does not and move down the list. If all five items are untrue, then the double is a true double.
If there is an afterblow, with fencer A hitting first and fencer B hitting second, points will be awarded depending on the value of their blows as per the following table, with syntax (Points A, Points B):
| A: 4 | A: 3 | A: 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| B: 4 | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) |
| B: 3 | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) |
| B: 2 | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) |
Note that the point differential for A is Points A - Points B + 1, and that there are no (0,0), (1,0), or (0,1) afterblows.
Cuts with questionable quality under these requirements will be given the benefit of the doubt if they land cleanly or as afterblows, but will lose doubles at item 4.
You may bring as many potential off-hand items as you like, and use as many or as few of them as you like. You must choose before seeing what your opponent chose.
Once during each match, you may request a temporary hold between exchanges to swap out your off-hand item(s).
Once during each match, you may elect to put down your off-hand item(s) permanently, using only your non-sword hand itself.
If you elect to have no off-hand item, normal rapier rules now apply to you with regards to penalties.
If a target is not listed as having a scoring slice, slices to that target do not score and do not stop the exchange.
If two blows from the same fencer, one with each weapon, land cleanly in double or afterblow time with each other, then take the higher-valued one.
If two blows from the same fencer, one with each weapon, land cleanly in double time with each other and in afterblow time with an opponent's blow, then take the higher-valued one.
If there is a double, consult the following priority list. A double with priority is 2 points. A true double is 0 points.
For each of the following, if it is unclear whether or not the priority item is true, assume it does not and move down the list. If all seven items are untrue, then the double is a true double.
Note that, if you land two blows (one with each weapon) and your opponent only lands one, you are at a significant advantage as both of your blows must lose one of the above priority items compared to your opponent's blow. As such, some combinations (such as an clear cut to the head and an unclear thrust to the leg) will not lose any of the tiebreakers even if there is a superior single action such as a thrust to the head.
If there is an afterblow, with fencer A hitting first and fencer B hitting second, points will be awarded depending on the value of their blows as per the following table, with syntax (Points A, Points B):
| A: 4 | A: 3 | A: 2 | A: 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: 4 | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) | (0,2) |
| B: 3 | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) |
| B: 2 | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) |
| B: 1 | (4,0) | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) |
Note that the point differential for A is Points A - Points B + 1, and that there are no (0,0), (1,0), or (0,1) afterblows.
Also note that, if the first fencer to hit lands a second blow in afterblow time with the first, the greater of the two hits will count as the "first" hit. Therefore, for example, a 2 point hit followed by a 4 point hit will count as a 4 point hit even if the 4 point hit was after the opponent's afterblow.
Cuts with questionable quality under these requirements will be given the benefit of the doubt if they land cleanly or as afterblows, but will lose doubles at item 3.
One-handed actions score one fewer point. For example, a one-handed cut to the head will score only 3 points, and a one-handed thrust to the legs will score only 2. Recall that one-handed cuts will be held to a stricter intensity standard.
If a target is not listed as having a scoring slice, slices to that target do not score and do not stop the exchange.
If there is a double, consult the following priority list. A double with priority is 2 points. A true double is 0 points.
For each of the following, if it is unclear whether or not the priority item is true, assume it does not and move down the list. If all four items are untrue, then the double is a true double.
If there is an afterblow, with fencer A hitting first and fencer B hitting second, points will be awarded depending on the value of their blows as per the following table, with syntax (Points A, Points B):
| A: 4 | A: 3 | A: 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| B: 4 | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) |
| B: 3 | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) |
| B: 2 | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) |
Note that the point differential for A is Points A - Points B + 1, and that there are no (0,0), (1,0), or (0,1) afterblows.
Cuts with questionable quality under these requirements will be given the benefit of the doubt if they land cleanly or as afterblows, but will lose doubles at item 3.
You may bring as many potential off-hand items as you like, and use as many or as few of them as you like. You must choose before seeing what your opponent chose.
Once during each match, you may request a temporary hold between exchanges to swap out your off-hand item(s).
Once during each match, you may elect to put down your off-hand item(s) permanently, using only your non-sword hand itself.
If a target is not listed as having a scoring slice, slices to that target do not score and do not stop the exchange.
If two blows from the same fencer, one with each weapon, land cleanly in double or afterblow time with each other, then take the higher-valued one.
If two blows from the same fencer, one with each weapon, land cleanly in double time with each other and in afterblow time with an opponent's blow, then take the higher-valued one.
If there is a double, consult the following priority list. A double with priority is 2 points. A true double is 0 points.
For each of the following, if it is unclear whether or not the priority item is true, assume it does not and move down the list. If all five items are untrue, then the double is a true double.
Note that, if you land two blows (one with each weapon) and your opponent only lands one, you are at a significant advantage as both of your blows must lose one of the above priority items compared to your opponent's blow. As such, some combinations (such as an clear cut to the torso and an unclear thrust to the leg) will not lose any of the tiebreakers even if there is a superior single action such as a thrust to the head.
If there is an afterblow, with fencer A hitting first and fencer B hitting second, points will be awarded depending on the value of their blows as per the following table, with syntax (Points A, Points B):
| A: 4 | A: 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| B: 4 | (2,1) | (1,1) |
| B: 3 | (2,0) | (2,1) |
Note that the point differential for A is Points A - Points B + 1, and that there are no (0,0), (1,0), or (0,1) afterblows.
Also note that, if the first fencer to hit lands a second blow in afterblow time with the first, the greater of the two hits will count as the "first" hit. Therefore, for example, a 2 point hit followed by a 4 point hit will count as a 4 point hit even if the 4 point hit was after the opponent's afterblow.
Cuts with questionable quality under these requirements will be given the benefit of the doubt if they land cleanly or as afterblows, but will lose doubles at item 2.
Slices and thrusts are not scoring actions.
If there is a double, consult the following priority list. A double with priority is 2 points. A true double is 0 points.
For each of the following, if it is unclear whether or not the priority item is true, assume it does not and move down the list. If all five items are untrue, then the double is a true double.
If there is an afterblow, with fencer A hitting first and fencer B hitting second, points will be awarded depending on the value of their blows as per the following table, with syntax (Points A, Points B):
| A: 4 | A: 3 | A: 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| B: 4 | (2,1) | (1,1) | (1,2) |
| B: 3 | (2,0) | (2,1) | (1,1) |
| B: 2 | (3,0) | (2,0) | (2,1) |
Note that the point differential for A is Points A - Points B + 1, and that there are no (0,0), (1,0), or (0,1) afterblows.
Cuts with questionable quality under these requirements will be given the benefit of the doubt if they land cleanly or as afterblows, but will lose doubles at item 4.