The cutting tournament will be judged by Tea Kew of New Cross Historical Fencing. There will be a loaner Albion Crecy which competitors are strongly encouraged to use. This event is designed to introduce people to safe cutting competition. The judging will be relatively generous and the cutting patterns have been chosen to avoid favouring particular systems.

Please ensure you read the rules carefully and completely. Breaking any rules through ignorance will be punished just as harshly as breaking them deliberately.

SAFETY

Sharp swords are live weapons that can cause catastrophic injuries through even a momentary lapse of attention. For this reason, abiding by the safety rules is of extreme importance. Violation of any of these rules will almost certainly lead to instant disqualification from the competition and may be met with expulsion from the event.

All staff instructions must be promptly obeyed. In particular, disregarding any instruction to stop cutting, even accidentally, will at best lead to instant disqualification.
While a sharp sword is being used, only one person may be on the cutting floor.
During their cutting round competitors are strictly forbidden from handling the mats or targets.
- - If a mat needs adjusting tournament staff will do this on the instructions of the judge.
  - While this is happening, the competitor must move off the cutting floor and hold the sword in the safe position.
All sharp swords must always be held in the safe position except when on the cutting floor. The safe position is in front of you, with the point down but not on the floor.
In order to reduce the chance of accidentally cutting yourself, it is forbidden to make a descending cut towards the lead leg.
- - When cutting down from the right, the right leg must be forwards.
  - When cutting down from the left, the left leg must be forwards.
  - This rule is relaxed in the second round of the competition.

This list is not exhaustive and may be expanded.

EQUIPMENT

A (very sharp) loaner sword will be provided for use in cutting tournament. This will be an Albion Crecy sharpened by Tea Kew. All competitors are strongly encouraged to use the provided sword.

Competitors who possess their own swords are allowed to bring them, subject to the following conditions:

The use of any personal sword in the cutting tournament is subject to judge approval on the day.
You are advised to ensure the blade is extremely well sharpened using a belt sander. There will be no allowances made in the judging for poor cuts due to the use of an inadequately sharpened sword.
Personal swords must be kept in a case at all times except when being used to cut or cleaned immediately afterwards – this is mandatory to mitigate the risk of accidental injuries.

No other equipment is required for the cutting tournament. Competitors are advised to wear comfortable athletic clothing.

SCORING

The scoring for this competition is based on the Iron Gate Exhibition cutting tournament, looking at the trajectory of the severed piece. This scoring method does not perfectly capture all aspects of the cut, but it gives a reasonable way to evaluate cut quality and is fairly easy to reliably judge. The standard penalty points will be:

0 points: piece falls to the floor
1 point: piece flies along the arc of the cut
2 points: piece flies out more than the arc of the cut
3 points: incomplete cut, mountain, wrong cut
4 points: did not attempt cut or missed the target completely; hitting the stand
Disqualification: safety violations

Specific rounds of the competition may have additional penalties. Ranking will be based on performance in the current round only. If necessary, performance in previous rounds may be used as a tiebreaker.

STRUCTURE

The tournament will take place in an arena, containing a cutting floor. All spectators and inactive competitors are required to remain outside the arena at all times. Tournament staff (judge and logistical crew) will be stationed at the edge of the arena.

Each round of the competition will proceed in the same way. First, a list of competitors will be announced or published.

Each competitor in turn will:

Wait outside the arena for the mats to be ready and the sword to be clean
When instructed by the judge, enter the arena, collect the sword and go to the edge of the cutting floor.
- - Competitors who are using their own sword to cut are only allowed to remove it from storage at the edge of the arena.
When instructed by the judge, execute their cuts. Once finished, wait at the edge of the cutting floor.
When instructed by the judge, return the sword to the cleaning area and leave the arena.

After this, the logistical crew will clear away the cut mats, place new targets and clean the sword.

Once all competitors have had their turn, the judge will complete the scoring, rank all competitors and announce the next round.

If there are any issues, any member of the tournament staff can yell “STOP”. The competitor must immediately stop cutting and lower the sword to the neutral position. They must not resume until the judge instructs them to.

QUALIFIER

All competitors will perform the qualifier. It tests the fundamental ability to perform basic cuts successfully. There is no time-limit, it is not required to step with the cut, and competitors may pre-measure and otherwise prepare to cut.

On one mat:

Descending cut from the right
Descending cut from the left
Ascending cut from the competitor’s choice of side
If the competitor has spare mat and feels confident, they may execute additional cuts of their choice, which will be taken into account for a tie.

All cuts may be long/true or short/false edge. Using the long edge is recommended.

ELIMINATION

The top 6-8 competitors (depending on tournament size) will go to the elimination round. This round tests the ability to perform basic cuts under constraints of distance and time.

Competitors will face two mats from behind a line marked on the floor. A series of cuts will be displayed, competitors are required to execute the correct cut within 3s. Cuts must be delivered to alternate targets. The competitor must retreat one of their feet behind the mark between every cut.

All cuts may be long/true or short/false edge. Using the long edge is recommended.

In addition to the usual scoring, there will be extra penalty points as follows:

Not retreating between cuts – 1 point
Executing the cut on the wrong mat – 1 point
Missing the time window for a cut will be scored as no attempt for the missed cut and potentially as wrong cut + wrong target for the time window it is actually executed in.
For this round only, the rule about cutting towards the lead leg is relaxed. Competitors are strongly recommended to still follow it.

FINALS

The top 3-4 competitors (depending on tournament size) will proceed to the finals. This round is designed to test the ability to perform basic cuts with good form & power throughout the cutting arc. Competitors are not required to step with their cuts.

On a double-mat stand, with two targets 6″ apart:

Descending cut from the right
Descending cut from the left
Ascending cut from the competitor’s choice of side
If the competitor has spare mat and feels confident, they may execute additional cuts of their choice, which will be taken into account for a tie.
The target will be rotated between cuts to allow more efficient use of the mat.

In addition to the usual scoring, there will extra penalty points as follows:

Line of cut changes between targets – 1 point

ALTERNATIVE FINALS

In the event that we can’t set up a double-mat target, the final round will instead be designed to test competitor’s ability to transition fluidly between basic cuts.

On two mats, set up separately:

Lightning cut (descending cut, ascending cut on the reverse line, descending cut again) on one mat.
- - Hesitation between cuts is a 1 point penalty, +1 point for each full second wasted.
Double-cut (ascending cut from either side, any second cut through the falling piece) on one mat.