BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.9//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:24@wessexleague.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T090000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261025T180000 DTSTAMP:20261012T214909Z URL:https://wessexleague.org/events/wessex-league-2026-cambridge/ SUMMARY:Wessex League 2026 - Cambridge DESCRIPTION:Wessex League 2026 – Cambridge Swavesey \n\nWhen\n\nOctober 24\, 2026 - October 25\, 2026    \n\n9:00 am - 7:00 pm\n\nWhere\n\nSwa vesey Village College\, Gibraltar Ln\, Swavesey\, Cambridge CB24 4RS\n\n  The Wessex League returns to Cambridge for the second leg of the year. \n \nOxford might be over but to the east the next round brews. The league co ntinues in Swavesey\, Cambridge. \n\n \;\n\nSkill Divisions\n\nWe aim to run skill divisions whenever the number of participants and schedule a llows. For this event that will be Open Longsword and Open Sabre. Particip ants will be divided into each tournament based upon their HEMA Rating sho rtly before the event. Those without a public HEMA rating will be placed t o the best of our abilities.  Simply sign up for the tournament and you w ill later be placed in the appropriate event.  In future events\, medalis ts from earlier league events this year will also be placed into the the A division regardless of rating. The league points for A and B are the same \, but you cannot win a league medal if you have not reached a quarter fin al in the A division for the weapon or an undivisioned tournament. Anyone with enough points to be considered for a medal will be placed in A for th e final event.\n\nWe will be running  the following competitions:\n\nOpen Longsword (A &\; B)\n\nOpen Rapier &\; Dagger (No division)\n\nOpen Sabre (A &\; B)\n\nOpen Sword &\; Buckler (No division)\n\nWomen’ s+ Longsword (No Division)\n\nWomen’s+ Rapier &\; Dagger (No division )\n\nWomen’s + Sword &\; Buckler (No Division)\n\nWomen’s + Sabre ( No Division)\n\nIf you miss out on tickets for a particular tournament the re is a waiting list which we will offer tickets to as and when they drop out. We recommend registering for any other tournaments you are interested in\, and then filling out the waiting list form here.\n\n \;\n\nSched ule\n\nPlease note that the schedule is subject to change. We have updated the timetable below as there will be no Sabre A/B split. \n\n \;\n\n \n\n \;\n\n \;\n\nWe have taken your comments on board and have al so changed so finals will follow the specific tournament they are for. We will also pause all action when these take place.  \n\nVenue &\; Trav el:\n\n \;\n\nSwavesey Village College\, Gibraltar Ln\, Swavesey\, Cam bridge CB24 4RS\n\n \;\n\nWhat 3 words- ferried.dogs.teamed\n\nThis is the sports ground entrance. Drive to the 3G parking area.\n\nFor addition al car parking the front of school is an option CB24 4RS but preference is sports ground entrance.\n\nFor public transport users\, Swavesey is acces sible from Cambridge Central or North using the Busway. \n\n \n\nSocials \n\nFriday social: The Maypole\, 20A Portugal Pl\, Cambridge CB5 8AF from 7pm\n\nSaturday social: The Maypole\, 20A Portugal Pl\, Cambridge CB5 8AF from 7pm\n\n \;\n\nMeals and refreshments:\n\nIt is highly recommended to bring food with you as there is only a Londis nearby with a limited ra nge. \n\n \;\n\nTea\, coffee and biscuits will be provided for staff only. Anyone staffing at any point over the weekend may help themselves at any time. There will also be lunch provided. \n\n \;\n\nRules &\; Equipment\n\nPlease be sure to read the tournament rules and minimum requ ired equipment requirements. It is your responsibility to make sure you ha ve the correct equipment for the event – if you do not have sufficient o r appropriate equipment you will not be allowed to fence in the tournament . If you are missing particular items please contact us and we may be able to arrange something to be borrowed.\n\n \;\n\nSword Changes\n\nThe f ollowing rules codify how Wessex League the “vibes based” sword check run prior to 2024\, or make changes that either increase permitted swords or do not block swords used last year. Almost all swords that passed check s last year will pass this year\, although some swords may need to be tipp ed that weren’t previously. These rules will be changing from 2026 to fu rther reduce swords that are too stiff.  We are giving a year grace perio d to allow people to acquire new swords if necessary.\n\n \;\n\nMaximu m flex on swords (measured by pushing the sword into a scale from the cros sguard and taking the maximum reading):\n\nLongsword: 16Kg\n\nSabre and Sw ord &\; Buckler: 14kg\n\nRapier: 12kg\n\n \;\n\nTip Area\n\nNo swor d may have a tip area below 75mm2 (9mm bullet case\, Sigi Standard Longswo rd)\, with a preferred tip size over 120mm2 (greater than .323 bullet case \, or Regenyei Standard rolled tip). Swords with plastic tips may be up to 1cm longer than the normal allowed sword length maximum to allow for the extra material in the tip.\n\n \;\n\nNote: please check your sword bef ore coming\, in particular sabres\, sideswords and arming swords as many o f these have smaller tips. Many smaller tips (e.g. heat shrink end caps) c an also come below this minimum. We will have tipping supplies present but you must tip your sword at least 45 minutes before you are fencing to all ow the plastic to set. PCL thermoplastic (recommended brand: Whitemorph or Colourmorph by Thermoworx) remains our preferred method for tipping\, see this article for best practice on tipping: https://historicalfencingresea rch.com/2025/06/13/common-thermoplastic-tip-failures-and-how-to-avoid-them /\n\n \;\n\nSword Length\n\nSwords for Sword &\; Buckler may be up to 95cm in length. This reflects the changes in the market since the rules were first written as many sidesword providers do not offer swords within our original permitted lengths.\n\n \;\n\nSword Mass:\n\nThe maximum mass for longsword is reduced to 1700g\n\nThe minimum mass for sabre is re duced to 750g\n\n \;\n\nWomen’s+ Tournament Entries\n\nThe women’s category in HEMA tournaments was originally created to provide meaningful challenges for women. The ultimate aim of providing them has been to: all ow fencers to test their skills in a situation without routine physical di sadvantages\; understand their progress relative to their peers year on ye ar\; give greater access to tournaments to an under-represented gender in our sport\; ensure people realise that their gender does not prevent them from participating in HEMA.\n\n \;\n\nWhile the primary intent in the past has been to support women\, we recognise that many of considerations above apply equally to many non-binary fencers as well. Therefore\, this t ournament is open to:\n\n a) Women (for the avoidance of doubt: cis or tr ans)\n b) Any non-binary fencers who feel the issues above also apply to them\, and that their presence in the tournament wouldn’t detract from t he aims in regards to women\n\n \;\n\nWe recognise that there are a wi de range of non-binary genders\, and not all of them will feel comfortable participating in the women’s tournament. It is entirely up to the fence r in question whether they think the Women’s+ is suitable for them. The Open tournaments are all open to any gender. \n\n \;\n\nVolunteering: \n\nIf you would like to volunteer but haven’t signed up\, there may sti ll be opportunities depending on how many volunteers we have. Please email at wessexleague@gmail.com so that we can apply the discount after the fac t.\n\n \;\n\nCompetitors who would like to help us as volunteers recei ve a discount on your ticket in exchange for working 2 shifts using code.\ n\nThis year we are offering one free tournament entry for volunteers\n\nO NLY volunteering as an official\, without participating in any tournaments – FREE of charge. We will pay up to £50 towards your travel costs and will provide lunch on a day of volunteering.\n\nCost to attend: \n\n ON LY volunteering as an official\, without participating in any tournaments – FREE of charge.\n\n \;\n\n£40 per competition entry\n\nDisclaimer : By registering you agree to the following statement:\n\n \;\n\n“I understand that whilst every care will be taken to give safe instruction\, I accept full responsibility and consider myself fit to participate\, and that there are inherent risks with competitive martial arts. I will follo w instructions by judging staff and tournament organisers\, be respectful of my fellow competitors\, and use equipment in good condition with no kno wn flaws. I have answered all questions correctly and all medical and heal th considerations are noted below.”\n\n \;\n\nHow we use your data: Your will be used primarily for managing our events\, and for research int o safety at HEMA tournaments.  By registering you agree to share the data from your matches with HEMA Ratings and HEMA Scorecard\,. We cannot accep t your registration if you do not agree to this as these are necessary to run the event. Your results will also be posted on our website. We record injury data as part of understanding and managing risk across our events. Anonymised data (including injury data) may be shared with researchers for specific projects\, but we will not share your name or other details\, an d your data will never be used for marketing purposes outside of informing you of our own events. For a more detailed description see our privacy pa ge.\n\n \;\n\nIf you don’t want to appear in HEMA Ratings\, you can contact HEMA Ratings directly and ask for your record to be anonymised. Yo ur data will still be submitted\, but it will not appear in any public pag e. If your HEMA rating is anonymised\, please email us about whether you f eel Tier A or Tier B is more appropriate for you in any of the tournaments you have registered for.\n\n \;\n\n If anyone drops out we will cont act you. 2 weeks after booking opens we will be reviewing W+ spaces and ma y expand opens if there are free pistes. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://wessexleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2026 /03/Wessex-logo.png LOCATION:Cambridge\, Swavesey Village College\, Swavesey\, CB24 4RS\, X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Swavesey Village College\, Swavesey\, CB24 4RS\, ;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Cambridge:geo:0,0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260329T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20261025T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR