SCA Minimum Armour Requirements
Dee Cadoret
practice, tournament, war, or demos. Here is the armour standards from
the marshal's handbook. Remember this is for your safety so please read
and follow the requirements. All non-authorized fighters must go through
an armour check with the authorized fighters before taking the practice
field.
VI. ARMOR REQUIREMENTS
A. All participants on the field during adult armored comb at shall meet
the Society minimum armor standards for
a fully armored combatant. This includes, but is not limited to, combat
archers, siege engineers and other
combatants. It does not include marshals, water-bearers, or chirurgeons.
Special attention should be paid to
appearance and the atmosphere of a medieval event should be maintained.
Helms
1. Helms shall be constructed from steel which has a thickness of no
less than .0625 inch (1/16 inch or 1.6mm), or of equivalent
material. Alternative materials, such as stainless steel, brass,
bronze, or like materials, are permissible as long as the material
is structurally equivalent to 0.0625-inch-thick steel. The mass of
the helm is an important part of the protection. As such, no
titanium, fiberglass, aluminum, or other ultra-light materials may
be used. If a spun-metal t op is to be used in the construction of
the helm, it shall be a minimum of 0.0747 inch (14-gauge) steel. The
process of spinning the top thins the metal,thereby requiring a
heavier gauge.
2. All joints or seams shall be constructed in one or a combination
of the following ways, with all welds
sound and rivets secure:
a. Welded on the inside and outside.
b. Welded with a single bead that extends through both surfaces.
c. Lap joints welded or brazed at the edges of both pieces.
d. Helms will be riveted with iron or steel rivets no more than
2½ inches (63.5 mm) apart, or with
equivalent riveting techniques. Screw- and pop-type rivets,
along with other lightweight rivets, are
not to be used.
3. Face guards shall prevent a 1-inch (25.4mm) diameter dowel from
entering into any of the face guard
openings.
4. The face guard shall extend at least 1 inch (25.4mm) below the
bottom of the chin and jaw line when the
head is held erect.
5. Bars used in the face guard shall be steel of not less than 3/16
inch (4.8mm) in diameter, or equivalent. If
the span between crossbars is less than 2 inches (5 0.8mm), 1/
8-inch (3.18mm) diameter bars may be
used.
6. All movable visors shall be attached and secured in such a way
that there is minimal chance that they will
become detached or come open in normal combat use.
7. There shall be NO major internal projections; minor projections
of necessary structural components shall
be padded. All metal shall be free of sharp edges. Face guard bars
or mesh should not attach to the interior
of the helm, unless of structurally superior design and workmanship.
8. All parts of the helm that might cause injurious contact with the
wearer’s head shall be padded with a
minimum of ½ inch (12.7mm) of closed-cell foam or equivalent
padding, or shall be suspended in such a
way as to prevent contact with the wearer during combat. Similarly,
parts of the inside of the helm that
might come in contact with the wearer’s neck or body should be padded .
9. All helms shall be equipped with a chinstrap or equivalent means
to prevent the helm from being
dislodged or metal contacting the w earer’s face during combat. An
equivalent might be, for example, a
bevor or a chin-cup suspension system. A “snug fit” is NOT an
equivalent. The chinstrap shall be at a
minimum a ½ inch (12.7mm) in width and shall not be placed in the
helm in a manner that could strangle
the wearer.
Eye Wear
The lenses of all eyewear shall be constructed of shatterproof
industrial safety glass or plastic.
Ordinary glass lenses are prohibited. The wearing of contact lenses or
“sports glasses” is strongly
recommended.
Neck Armor
The neck, including the larynx, cervical vertebrae, and first thoracic
vertebra must be covered by
one or a combination of the following and must stay covered during
typical combat situations, including
turning the head, lifting the chin, etc.:
1. The helm,
2. A gorget of rigid material.
3. A mail or heavy leather camail or aventail that hangs or drapes
to absorb the force of a blow. If the camail
or aventail lays in contact with the larynx, cervical vertebrae, or
fi rst thoracic vertebra, that section must
be padded with a minimum of .25in (6mm) of close cell foam or
equivalent.
4. A collar of heavy leather lined with a minimum of .25in (6mm) of
close cell foam or equivalent.
Body, Shoulder, and Groin Armor
1. The kidney area and the floating ribs shall be covered with a
minimum of heavy leather worn over 1 ⁄4
inch (6mm) of closed-cell foam or equivalent padding.
2. For men, the groin must be covered by a minimum of a rigid
athletic cup (e.g., a hockey, soccer, karate, or
baseball cup) worn in a supporter or fighting garment designed to
hold the cup in place, or equivalent
armor.
3. For women, groin protection of closed-cell foam or heavy leather
or the equivalent is required to cover the
pubic bone area. The wearing of a male athletic cup by female
fighters is prohibited.
4. Separate breast cups are prohibited unless connected by or
mounted on an interconnecting rigid piece, for
example, a heavy leather or metal breastplate.
Hand and Wrist Armor
The outer surfaces of the hand, to one inch above the wrist of both arms
and including the thumb, must be
covered by one or a combination of the following:
1. A rigid basket or cup hilt with enough bars or plates to prevent
a blow from striking the fingers or the
back of the hand. If a basket or cup hilt, shield ba sket, or
center-grip shield is used, a vambrace and or
partial gauntlet shall cover the remaining exposed portions of the
hand and wrist.
2. A gauntlet of rigid material, either lined with ¼ inch (6mm) of
closed-cell foam or equivalent or designed to
transfer potentially injurious imp act to the surfaces being grasped.
3. A gauntlet of heavy leather lined with ½ inch (12mm) of
closed-cell foam or heavy padding. (Note: A
hockey glove is considered to be the equivalent, but looks blatantly
modern; their use is discouraged.)
Street hockey gloves are NOT equivalent, as the padding is lighter
than a regular hockey glove. Street
hockey gloves will be treated only as padding.
4. A shield with a shield basket or equivalent. A shield alone is
NOT sufficient, since it covers the back of
the hand, but not the fingers, thumb, or wrist.
5. Combat archers, siege engineers, and those using a thrown weapon,
need only a half gauntlet made to the
above standards for gauntlets but without finger protection.
Arm Armor
The elbow point and bones at either side of the elbow joint must be
covered by a rigid material underlain by at
least ¼ inch (6mm) of closed-cell foam or equivalent pa dding. This
armor shall be attached in such a way that
the elbow remains covered during combat. A shield alone is NOT
sufficient, since it covers only the outermost
point of the elbow.
Leg Armor
1. The kneecap, an inch above and below, and both sides of the knee
joints must be covered by rigid
material, lined by at least ¼ inch (6mm) of closed-cell foam or an
equivalent padding. This armor shall be
attached in such a way that the knee remains covered during combat.
2. Combatants should wear footwear that provides adequate protection
and support for the terrain and
activity of combat.
Shields
1. Shields shall be edged with leather, padding, or other covering
or constructed in such a way as to
minimize damage to rattan weapons or other fighters.
2. No bolts, wires, or other objects may project more than 3/8 inch
(9mm) from any part of a shield without
being padded. Rounded shield bosses are not considered to be
projections.
3. Shields may be constructed with leg(s) so that they can act as
freestanding Pavises during melee combat.
a. The leg(s) used to keep the pavise standing must be at least
1.25 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter or 1.25inches (3.2 cm) square
and be well attached.
b. Pavises are destroyed by a single hit from siege engine
ammunition. Combatants behind the paviseare not killed. The
pavise must then immediately be removed from the field or
dropped flat.
c. A pavise can be carried in a manner which does not require
hand control (such as a shoulder strap). In this case, the
fighter is not allowed to actively block with it, nor can they
use their own weapon, and if struck by a hand weapon, the blow
is counted as if the pavise was not there.
Dee Cadoret
it is time to send out the general information posts that I have in the
past. There will be several so don't get upset.