Armed combat tournament brings medieval knights to Okotoks

Eight teams from across Canada and the United States competed in the ‘Canada Cup’ that saw heavy steel blades and swords clank together at the Okotoks Ag Arena on Sunday.

The event sees participants dress in full heavy armour, weighing up to 90 kilograms (200 pounds) while striking each other with axes, swords, hammers and hatchets.

It’s a mix of MMA and Game of Thrones style-medieval sword play.

“All we're trying to do is increase the visibility of the sport,” said president Richard Manns of the Heavy Armoured Combat Sports Association (HACSA)

“(We want to) show how great being a knight can be and really just bring attention to what we can take from the old medieval style and bring it to today.”

GROWING

The event has grown in size, becoming more international.

The Salt Lake City Crusaders attended from Utah.

The Crusaders team includes Aspen Francis, who says the sport has given her a newfound confidence.

“It really pushes me. I have gotten way stronger at multiple different levels, obviously physically, mentally, definitely,” she said.

“It's helped my camaraderie a lot," she added. "It's very heavy. It's hard to move and you get tired very quickly. But it's exhilarating.”

Her teammate Trevor Hutton says the sport is slightly different in Canada compared to the U.S. but the event is primarily about creating new relationships.

“You (Canada) have a lot of the technical ability of the sport that I think is still trying to come to the [United] States,” he said. “Although we do violence in the list (fighting ring) outside of it, we’re nothing but hugs and love.”

Players cannot pierce or jab swords. Rather, they swing and hit others as hard as they can.

Group matches see teams fight to the bitter end and to win, you must knock the other players to the ground. The armour is made of steel and titanium, costing thousands of dollars to make.

Manns says they are always encouraging more people to sign up for the sport with a gym located in Calgary.

The first event was held in January 2020.