| The Tournament of the Grail first Wednesday of each month -- 7:00 p.m. next Grail Tourney: June 3, 2009 |
The Tournament of the Grail is a monthly
competition held on the first Wednesday of
each month at 7:00 pm at Green Knight
Academy.
If you are competing in the tourney, it is
recommended that you arrive between fifteen and
twenty minutes early in order to sign up, get on
your armor, and get warmed up. Remember, if
you are a Green Knight Academy student, you
must be at least the rank of Companion in order
to compete in the Grail Tournament!
A GRAND TOURNAMENT
The Grail Tourney is an opportunity for our
students to get exposure to the competitive
environment of a real medieval tournament.
Borrowing symbolism from the legends of
King Arthur and his Knights of the Round
Table, we strive in our tourney to be not only
fierce competitors, but also chivalrous and
honorable as well.
TWO AWARDS, TWO GOALS
To that end, there are two awards given at
each Grail Tournament for each division of
fighters: the Gawain Medallion, for victory in
the tournament, and the Galahad Medallion,
for the fighter that the victor judges to have
shown the best honor and chivalry during the
course of the event.
Those who win the right to wear the Gawain
medallions are then expected to return the
following month to be the honored hosts of
the next Grail Tournament!
competition held on the first Wednesday of
each month at 7:00 pm at Green Knight
Academy.
If you are competing in the tourney, it is
recommended that you arrive between fifteen and
twenty minutes early in order to sign up, get on
your armor, and get warmed up. Remember, if
you are a Green Knight Academy student, you
must be at least the rank of Companion in order
to compete in the Grail Tournament!
A GRAND TOURNAMENT
The Grail Tourney is an opportunity for our
students to get exposure to the competitive
environment of a real medieval tournament.
Borrowing symbolism from the legends of
King Arthur and his Knights of the Round
Table, we strive in our tourney to be not only
fierce competitors, but also chivalrous and
honorable as well.
TWO AWARDS, TWO GOALS
To that end, there are two awards given at
each Grail Tournament for each division of
fighters: the Gawain Medallion, for victory in
the tournament, and the Galahad Medallion,
for the fighter that the victor judges to have
shown the best honor and chivalry during the
course of the event.
Those who win the right to wear the Gawain
medallions are then expected to return the
following month to be the honored hosts of
the next Grail Tournament!
| Sir Urban (left) and Terentia in the first combat of the first Grail Tournament. |
| In the foreground,Colleen (right) shows off her dancing moves while battling against Andrew in the finals for the boffer division of the fourth Grail tournament, while Nicholas and Sir Bjorn look on. |
INVOCATION
The tournament begins with each fighter giving
a brief toast to his or her fellow competitors, to
make oneself known to the assembled fighters as
well as the gathered spectators, who are known
as "the gallery." The toast is made with a
medieval-recipe drink called sycanjabin, a
non-alcoholic thirst quencher made with mint,
sugar, vinegar and water. Those who still wish
to abstain may pour a small amount of the drink
on the ground instead of sipping while making
their toast.
CHALLENGES!
Once the toasts are complete, each division of
fighters is divided into two groups based on
their experience level. The newer fighters then
challenge the more experienced ones one at a
time until all the pairings for the first round are
made. The tourney then commences, running
in double-elimination format. When two
fighters in each division remain, a
best-two-out-of-three finals is fought for each.
The tournament begins with each fighter giving
a brief toast to his or her fellow competitors, to
make oneself known to the assembled fighters as
well as the gathered spectators, who are known
as "the gallery." The toast is made with a
medieval-recipe drink called sycanjabin, a
non-alcoholic thirst quencher made with mint,
sugar, vinegar and water. Those who still wish
to abstain may pour a small amount of the drink
on the ground instead of sipping while making
their toast.
CHALLENGES!
Once the toasts are complete, each division of
fighters is divided into two groups based on
their experience level. The newer fighters then
challenge the more experienced ones one at a
time until all the pairings for the first round are
made. The tourney then commences, running
in double-elimination format. When two
fighters in each division remain, a
best-two-out-of-three finals is fought for each.
| Above, Sir Urban makes his toast during the invocation of the first Grail Tournament. |
| Above, Jake receives the Galahad Medallion at a recent Grail Tournament. |
| Most recent Grail results (5/6/09): Gawain the Elder: Sir Bjorn Jorsalfar Gawain the Younger: Michael D'Agostino Galahad the Elder: Zach Mackell Galahad the Younger: Cory |
VICTORY
Once the finals of each division are complete, a
short ceremony completes the tournament. The
victors of the two divisions receive their
respective "Gawain" medallions from the
previous month's winners, and then each new
Gawain then names the fighter he or she found to
have displayed the best honor and chivalry
during the tournament, and awards that fighter
the "Galahad" medallion for that division.
For the next month those who wear the
medallions are known by special titles:
Once the finals of each division are complete, a
short ceremony completes the tournament. The
victors of the two divisions receive their
respective "Gawain" medallions from the
previous month's winners, and then each new
Gawain then names the fighter he or she found to
have displayed the best honor and chivalry
during the tournament, and awards that fighter
the "Galahad" medallion for that division.
For the next month those who wear the
medallions are known by special titles:
| Sir Richard d'Camville, victor in the heavy division of the first Grail Tournament, contemplates who shall receive the Galahad medallion. |
| Victor in heavy division: "Gawain the Elder" Victor in boffer division: "Gawain the Younger" Most chivalrous and honorable in heavy division: "Galahad the Elder" Most chivalrous and honorable in boffer division: "Galahad the Younger" Check back at the top of this page for the results of the most recent Grail Tournament! |
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