Since Longpoint's inception, we have gradually expanded the scope of our events. Longpoint started with Open Longsword, and we quickly added the Women's Longsword division to meet a demand. In 2015, we added the Rookie Training Tournament to give newer fencers or those simply inexperienced in competition a place to get some valuable training. This year, we are splitting Open Longsword into Tier A and Tier B divisions. A post will be following shortly over the next few days that will include our thoughts on this decision, among many other things. This post simply documents the requirements to enter any of the Longsword divisions.

Remember, registration opens on Tuesday at noon! We have 100 slots allocated to Tier B, 60 to Tier A, 40 to Women's, and 36 to the Rookie Training Tournament.
 

Longpoint Longsword Tournament Division Qualification

This document exists to make known the full qualification standards for each of the Longpoint longsword divisions. The document will flow from most strict to least strict tournament based on qualifications.

Rookie Training Tournament

Qualification

• The fighter may not have participated in the Rookie Training Tournament in a previous year.
• The fighter may not have progressed out of the qualifying phase (pools or other early rounds) of any regional or greater longsword tournament.

A regional tournament is defined as a tournament with 20 or more fighters made up of at least 50% of fighters from differing schools or clubs.

Purpose

The Rookie Training Tournament at Longpoint exists as an entry point for those with no or less experience in HEMA longsword tournaments to participate without being overwhelmed. This event is not necessarily a beginner tournament, although it’s usually approached that way, but is an event geared towards easing someone into the pressures of both truly oppositional fencing and judging through coaching and a pseudo-tournament approach.

 

Women’s Longsword

Qualification

• All female fighters are eligible to compete in the Women’s Longsword competition.
• Longpoint defers to the International Olympic Committee rules, as of 11/2015, in regards to transgender fighters participating in the women’s longsword division. Those who transition from male to female are eligible to compete in the female category on condition of providing proof of compliance with the IOC rules.

Purpose

The Women’s Longsword tournament at Longpoint exists for two reasons; because there is demand for it and to provide a space for women who prefer to compete against other women, whether currently or forever, the opportunity to do so.

 

Tier A Longsword

Qualification

The following documents qualifying placements for Longpoint’s Tier A Longsword tournament:

• Any placement within the top 16 of Longpoint’s or Swordfish’s Steel Open Longsword Tournament within 2014 or later.
  • After 2017, only the top 8 placements at Longpoint’s Tier B will count as qualifying placements. This ensures that we do not pull too many less experienced fighters out of Tier B. Top 16 is necessary for the first year to populate the division.
• Any placement within the top 8 of any regional or greater steel longsword event with over 50 participants within 2014 or later.
• Any placement within the top 4 of any regional or greater steel longsword event with over 30 participants within 2014 or later.
• Any placement within the top 2 of any regional or greater steel longsword event with over 20 participants within 2014 or later.

A regional tournament is defined as a tournament with 20 or more fighters made up of at least 50% of fighters from differing schools or clubs.

Open, Women's, and Advanced tournaments are all capable of qualifying fighters for Tier A if they fit into the bullet points above. Rookie or Beginner tournaments and Nylon/Synthetic tournaments do not apply. The participant limits apply to the fighters within any given division, not all longsword fighters at an event with multiple divisions.

Note that exceptions exist for the requirements. The Longpoint event organizers reserve the right to refuse or accept anyone’s qualifications. For example:

• If a highly experienced fighter takes a few years off from competition, they may request to be allowed into Tier A without recent qualifications and the request may be granted.
• Some events, despite fitting into the rough guidelines above, may not qualify. For example, Broken Plow hosts Broken Point and Blood On The River on opposite ends of the year. Broken Point is a 50 person, standard pools to elims tournament and would qualify for top 8. Blood On The River is a 50 person tournament as well, with many of the same fighters, but a majority of the tournament is unjudged, undirected, and conducted at the discretion of the fighters, with only a judged 8 person bracket tacked on to the end. Blood On The River may only qualify for top 4, if at all.

What follows is who may or must register for the Tier A tournament:

• Any fighter with only one qualifying placement within 2014 or later may choose to participate in the Tier A or Tier B event.
• Any fighter with two or more qualifying placements within 2014 or later MUST participate in the Tier A event over the Tier B event.

The may/must rules above allow fighters who exist in the murky gray area between Tier B and Tier A to self-rate and place themselves where they feel they should be while also not allowing those who have demonstrated they belong in Tier A to participate in Tier B.

Note that women with two or more qualifying placements may still choose to participate in the Women’s tournament instead of Tier A. These may/must rules only apply when attempting to register for the mixed gender events.

Purpose

Longpoint’s new Tiered tournaments exist to provide a space for both more experienced fighters and less experienced fighters to fight against people closer to their own skill level, on top of the Rookie Training Tournament that already exists. They will also allow us to continue to follow our self-imposed rule of not allowing fighters who participate in any given tournament to also officiate that tournament, splitting up our staffing opportunities between multiple events.

 

Tier B Longsword

Qualifications

• A fighter must not have two or more qualifying Tier A placements to participate in this event.

• This event is otherwise open.