Frogfecht 2026

Longsword, Team Longsword, and Rapier Ruleset

Scoring

Scoring fencing actions

Clean cut thrust, or slice (“hit”): 3 points

Bilateral hit with priority: 2 points

Dominance in grappling: 3 points

Other

Opponent steps out of ring with both feet: 2 points

Indicated cut or thrust when opponent exposes back of head: 3 points

Lockout Time

A bilateral hit occurs when two fencers land quality hits within lockout time. Lockout time is determined based on the nature of the actions landed. To be within lockout time, the sword must be in motion of an attack as the fencer receives a hit. If while delivering an afterblow a fencer rechambers, hesitates, or takes more than one step, their action is not within lockout time.

Matches in pools are first to 11 points, matches in eliminations are first to 15 points. Matches will cap at this quantity of points, and will not go over (eg., a fencer in pools with 10 points who lands a clean hit will then go up to 11 points).

Quality Requirements

Speed, power, and strength do not factor into quality requirements. Hitting with excessive force will be penalized.

Longsword 

Cuts must be made with the edge and must travel at least ~40 degrees to score. Cuts with the strong of the blade to the head will not score and are subject to penalty. Cuts that make contact only with the tip are not quality. One handed cuts will be penalized, regardless of if they make contact. 

Thrusts must make deliberate contact with the tip in the direction of the thrust. Thrusts do not have to “stick” to be scored.

Slices must consist of at least one deliberate and forceful sawing motion with the edge. A missed thrust that makes sliding edge contact does not score as a slice. 

Rapier 

Thrusts must make deliberate contact with the tip in the direction of the thrust. Thrusts do not have to “stick” to be scored.

Cuts must be made with the edge and must travel at least ~60 degrees to score. Cuts must be made with the middle or weak of the blade to score. Cuts that make contact only with the tip are not quality.

Slices must consist of at least one deliberate and forceful sawing motion with the edge. A missed thrust that makes sliding edge contact does not score as a slice.

Priority Scoring

For all weapons, target priority supersedes tactical priority (where you hit matters more than when you hit). Tactical priority assigns fault in a bilateral hit to equal targets. Truly simultaneous attacks to equal targets will end the pass and score for neither fencer.
Appendix A explains tactical priority in depth.

Longsword Targets

High priority “deep target”: Cut, thrust, or slice to the upper arm (above the point of the elbow), head, or shoulders. Thrust to body. 

Low priority “shallow target”: Cut, thrust, or slice to the lower arm (on or below the point of the elbow), hands. Cut to body.

Lowest priority: One handed thrusts, regardless of target area, lose priority in a bilateral hit. Cut or thrust to leg. Dominance in grappling.

Rapier Targets

High priority “deep target”: Thrust to upper arm, head, or torso.

Low priority “shallow target”: Thrust to leg or lower arm.

Lowest priority: Cut to thigh, arm, shoulders, or head. Dominance in grappling.

Cuts to the body, knee, and shin do not score.

Grappling Conventions

A grapple is defined as one or more fencers making purposeful hand contact to an opponent or their sword.

If one or more fencers in grappling ring out, the pass will reset.

If no progress is being made in the grapple, the director will call hold and the pass will reset.

Scoring Actions from the Grapple:

• Dominance in grappling (3 points): A fencer who has suppressed their opponent’s blade and has their blade free will score. The fencer need not indicate a pommel, thrust, or cut.
• Disarm (3 points): A fencer without hand contact on their sword is considered disarmed.

Disallowed Actions from the Grapple:

• Throws/Overbearing/Sumo: If a fencer causes their opponent to fall as a direct result of bodily contact, they will be red carded.
• Contact with the cross or pommel is subject to penalty.
• One handed cuts are subject to penalty (longsword only).
• For rapier only, disarms are subject to penalty due to the potential for joint injury.

Gear Requirements

Any clothing or equipment deemed distracting, unsportsmanlike, or unsafe will be disallowed.
All worn gear/clothing will be counted as target area.

Longsword Gear

• • No exposed skin
  • Fencing mask free of torn or significantly dented mesh
  • Back of head protection
  • Purpose built longsword gloves (Thokks allowed with peripheral; Red Dragons, lacrosse gloves, etc. are disallowed)
  • Purpose built 350N+ padded HEMA jacket
  • 350N+ thigh protection
  • Hard neck protection
  • Hard forearm protection
  • Hard elbow protection
  • Hard knee protection
  • Hard shin protection
  • Groin protection (if required)
  • Chest protector (if required)

• Chest protector recommended for all fencers

• Padded thigh protection recommended 

Feder Requirements

TLDR: Feders including and between the size of the SIGI mini and standard are allowable

• Must be a purpose built longsword feder from a reputable forge
• No more than 16.3kg (36lbs) of flex as measured by the Swordstem method
• Total length: 115-140cm (45-55in) 
• Mass: 1.25-1.8kg (2.7-4lbs)
• Feders may not have spiked protrusions (e.g. Regenyei Tulip Hilt)
• Tips must have enlarged surface area (e.g. spatulated, leather cover, bullet casing) and may not be made of rubber
• Feders may not have a severe set, active surface rust, or sharp burrs
• Side rings are allowed but count as target area (equal priority to the hand) 

Rapier Gear

• • No exposed skin
  • Fencing mask free of torn or significantly dented mesh
  • Back of head protection
  • Padded light gloves
  • Purpose built 350N+ fencing jacket
  • 350N+ thigh protection
  • Hard neck protection
  • Hard elbow protection
  • Hard knee protection
  • Groin protection (if required)
  • Chest protection (if required)

• Padded thigh protection recommended

• Chest protector recommended for all fencers

• Hard forearm protection recommended

• Shin protection recommended

Rapier Requirements

• Must be a purpose built HEMA rapier from a reputable forge
• Tips must have enlarged surface area (e.g. spatulated, leather covered, bullet casing) and may not be made of rubber 
• Epee/triangular blades are not allowed
• Blades should be free of large sets, sharp burrs, and active rust
• Blades should flex appropriately to reasonable HEMA standards (~30lbs maximum)
• Fencers may not use mechanical assistance to hold their blades (e.g. elastic wristband over the pommel) unless they possess an injury or disability hindering grip

Penalties

Yellow card: 2 points against.

Red card: 6 points against.

Black card: ejection from tournament.

A fencer who receives a card in a pass will receive no points, regardless of actions that would otherwise score. If a fencer receives a card in a bilateral hit, the other fencer’s action will be considered clean (3 points).

If a fencer commits multiple penalized actions during a pass, they will be awarded cards for each penalized action.

At judges’ discretion, any cardable offense can be escalated to any severity of penalty.

Every third yellow card received will become a red card. Two red cards will escalate to a black card. Cards accumulated will reset at the start of the elimination bracket. Cards acquired during elimination matches will continue to escalate throughout eliminations.

Tournament Formats

Longsword and Rapier

The structure of the individual longsword and rapier tournaments will consist of one round of pools seeded into an elimination bracket. Time-permitting, this will be a double elimination bracket. Pools will consist of 5-6 fencers. Matches in pools are first to 11 points, matches in eliminations are first to 15 points.

Team Longsword

Team longsword will consist of a single elimination bracket. Teams will consist of 3 fencers each. Teams are encouraged to consist of fencers from the same club. Teams can be formed in advance but will be submitted to tournament administration Sunday morning.

Each fencer on each team will be designated a number which informs the order of the matchups. During the 9 legs, each fencer on each team will fence each fencer on the opposing team.

Teams will fence to 45 points. Each leg of the tournament will consist of 5 points, or 90 seconds of elapsed fencing time, whichever comes first. The first set of fencers will fence until one team has 5 points. Each subsequent set of fencers will fence until one of them has reached the following 5-point threshold (10 points for round two, 15 points for round 3, etc.) or until the time has elapsed. Regardless of score accumulated in the previous round, the score threshold for each round will always remain the same. 

Due to the scoring system, it is possible for fencers to surpass the score threshold (ie, two clean hits at 3 points surpasses the threshold of 5 and results in 6 points). If this occurs, in the next round, fencers will fence to the following score threshold as normal. 

Appendix A: Detailed Tactical Definitions for Priority Convention

This appendix is used and adapted with permission from Bucks Historical Longsword’s Revolution Rumble tournament.

Attack – offensive action

• Priority shall be granted to the first action that represents the final decision to commit forward.

• The final decision to commit forward shall grant priority regardless of the actions leading up to the final action (IE if the fencer was advancing or retreating)
• An action while stepping forward always has priority over the same action with no step
• In order to gain priority, a step does not have to be straight forward, but must make forward progress towards the opponent (IE it must cause the distance between the attacker and the opponent to decrease). Steps that are directly lateral or move away from the opponent shall be considered counterattacks.

• An attack will be reset via a “chambering” action – If after the fencer has started moving forward the sword moves backwards during the attacking action, that shows that the action was not the fencer’s final decision to commit, and the subsequent action will therefore be considered a renewal.
  • A chamber is defined as an action that brings the tip of the sword and the hands away from the opponent
  • If a fencer re-chambers during their final approach to attack, they have given up their attack priority, and the following action will be considered a renewal. 
  • Note: The blade does not need to go directly straight to the target to maintain priority, it can travel in a curved path, as long as it does not go backwards.

Special cases:

• From the bind/grapple – In the event that an exchange involves a prolonged bind or broken grapple, the first offensive action following the bind or broken grapple shall be considered the attack. 
• Beating the blade – An attack upon the blade prevents the action from being reset by a chambering action. In order for an action to be considered an attack to the blade, it must have otherwise not hit the opponent if the blade was not there. In cases where it is difficult to tell if an action was a blade beat or a parry, the judges shall rule the action a parry, and score the exchange accordingly. A failed, disengaged, or missed beat always ends the attack, and the following action will be considered a renewal. 
• Point in Line – In some conventions, such as past IGX rulesets or Tyrnhaw’s FEBUS, extending the point straight forward can grant priority in certain cases. This is not the case in this ruleset, a fencer with a fully extended point is subject to the same conventions as a fencer standing in any other position. Note: moving the tip forward constitutes an attack (thrust). It is possible to maintain priority if a fencer is proactive in their point forward position.

Counterattack – offensive action into opponent’s offensive action

• An offensive action is considered a counterattack if it is made after the opponent has made their final decision to commit forward

Riposte – offensive action immediately following a defensive blade action

• Parry – a blade action that prevents the defender from being hit by the initial attack
  • If the parry arrests the attack’s momentum or diverts it from its original target, the defender’s next immediate action will be considered the riposte, and any further contact from the opponent’s blade will be considered a renewal
  • If the attack lands before or simultaneously to the parry making contact, or if a cut continues to the same target without stopping, then the parry will be considered unsuccessful and the original attack will be scored
  • Transition from a parry to a riposte is considered a chambering action, therefore an unsuccessful parry followed by a riposte will be considered too late.

Renewal – Continuation after a finished attack

• An offensive action is considered a renewal if:
  • It is thrown after an initial attack has fallen short and therefore ended
  • It is thrown after an attack has been parried, or pushed through after the parry has arrested the momentum of the attack
  • An attack is pulled or re-chambered after the fencer has made the final decision to commit

Appendix B: Fencer’s Rights

Interaction with the judges

• Fencers may decline points awarded to them.
  • Fencers must wait until the director has made a decision before declining.
• Fencers must refrain from influencing the judges for any reason bar safety concerns.
  • Self calling is disallowed. Fencers may not announce or indicate their own or their opponents’ scoring actions.
  • Excessive celebration is disallowed. Small acknowledgements (e.g. saluting your opponent upon their hit) are allowed.
• Fencers or coaches are encouraged to ask the judges for clarification on their call, including for actions deemed no quality.
• Fencers and coaches are encouraged to be vocal about safety concerns, especially if you suspect injury.

Ringside coaches

• Fencers may have a coach accompany them besides the ring.
  • Coaches are also permitted to request clarification and address safety concerns.
  • Coaches may not speak to the fencers during an ongoing pass.
  • Coaches are encouraged to speak to their fencers briefly between passes.
  • Coaches are subject to the same rules regarding unsportsmanlike conduct; penalties will be given to a fencer if their coach breaks a rule.

Appendix C: Judging Conventions

Our goals are accuracy, celerity, and transparency.

Conduct of matches

• Refer to all competitors as “fencer.”
• When referring to fencers, use their color (e.g. green fencer, yellow fencer).
• Directors and judges should not use personal pronouns when referring to fencers (simply refer to them as “green fencer” or “yellow fencer”). If pronouns must be used, directors and judges must use they/them pronouns.
• When beginning a pass, say “ready, fence.”
• Directors should begin the match by asserting, “Table ready. Judge ready. Fencers ready. Fence.” 
• Directors need not verify the table and judge’s readiness every pass. Judges and tables are expected to speak up if they need to delay the fencing for any reason.
• Director or judges will end the fencing action with a loud call of “hold.”
• If fencers are circling excessively or such that you feel your vision is obscured, halt the exchange and issue a verbal warning. 
  
  

Communication: Fencers should always understand the calls and the director’s rationale.

• When announcing scoring actions, directors should recount all relevant information about the fencing actions of the pass. 
• Directors should announce why a fencing action was deemed nonscoring due to quality requirements (e.g. cut was flat, thrust insufficient normality, cut insufficient chamber).
• In the event of significant disagreement between the judges or a very unclear exchange, the pass should be thrown out.
• If an action is decisive and requires no deliberation, make the call quickly and proceed.