August Coronet Tournament format:
We wish to incentivize the practice of weapon systems other than sword and shield for a number of reasons. We believe these are skills vital to the health of our armored fighting community and ability to defend the Principality and thus the Western Borders of the Kingdom. We also believe that even if a Warrior does not choose to use an alternative weapon system they should at least be familiar in defending from such in a high pressure environment such as a tournament offers. Finally, We believe that the tournament format proposed below will give an increased chance to those Warriors who are more comfortable in the use of alternative weapon systems, as well as an increased level of chance for those who are watching the tournament.
We do not wish to mandate; that would require an additional burden of authorization that may discourage some otherwise noble candidates from pursuing the Celestial Coronet. But nor do we wish to merely encourage with fine words; as fine as they are, they will only appeal to those already convinced. We wish instead to incentivize via the scoring system of the tournament itself. The format will be thus:
Round Robin format, whereby each Entrant will contest each other Entrant once in a best of 3 combat.
The contests will result in the following point allocation:
- For entering the list, 1 point
- For using any SCA legal weapon system other than single sword and shield or buckler, 1 point
- For winning the best 2 out of 3 rounds, 3 points
Double kills will garner no status towards the best of 3 requirement and will need to be refought. If there are 3x double kills in a single match between the same Entrants, both Entrants must retire from the field without either earning the 3 points. It is thus possible that a single match results in 1 point for an Entrant who entered with sword and shield and 2 points for the Entrant who entered with an axe, but both ended up double-kills three times.
To recognize the importance of tactical footwork, three Edge Of The World violations by the same Entrant in a single match will result in that Entrant’s loss of the match and the award of the 3 points to their opponent. Entrants will be formally warned by the Marshal after the first and second violations.
After the Round Robin, points will be calculated and the decision made to move straight to a final round or whether there is a requirement for a semi-final. In both final and semi-final, the point system does not apply; it is strictly the victor of 3 out of 5 fights in a match who carries the victory, regardless of weapon system used.
If there are less than 10 entrants, the top two scoring Entrants will move immediately to a best 3 out of 5 contest to decide the Coronet. If there are 10 or more Entrants to the tournament, or no clear top two scores (in the case of ties) a semi-final round of the top 4 point holders will be held to determine the two finalists. If a semi-final round is held, it will be a simple double elimination format of best 3 of 5 matches.