Will you award prizes to the winners at your event? And, if you do, what kind of prizes?
There are different schools of thought on the matter. The considered position of our organisation is that small tournaments really don’t need (or warrant) big prizes, and that people who win large and high-intensity tournaments probably don’t need another pair of gloves. Therefore, medals might be quite appropriate, and a relevant book or a bottle of wine or whisky or suchlike might be quite a nice touch, but there’s no need to worry too much about prizes.
By deciding to limit your prizes just to medals, this removes a lot of complexity from the organiser, and it also leads to a more informal and friendlier atmosphere at the event. If there is an expensive prize, then people are going to fight harder to win it, and this can lead to a less safe environment; removing this from the equation entirely can lead to a safer event for everyone.
If you do want there to be prizes at your event, then can the prizes be relevant in some fashion? For example, in a steel longsword competition, is there much point in giving the winner a synthetic sword as a prize? Or in a sabre competition, is there any point in giving the winner a buckler as a prize? Can you arrange for the most relevant prizes to go to the people who might make best use of them?
You might consider approaching local businesses or well-known HEMA companies to ask for sponsorship for the event. This might involve sponsoring prizes, or equipment for the event itself, or catering for the participants, or anything else. Sometimes some local sponsorship from a local company can be quite a powerful thing.
Book a judge training workshop
We offer judge training workshops to help your staff and/or club members improve their judging skills. Becoming a better judge usually leads to developing skills that are useful for fencing, such as perceiving openings and predicting an opponent’s behaviour, so judge training has a wide range of benefits.
If you would like to book a judge training workshop, then please send us an email to discuss your requirements, and we would be delighted to help.