Die Turniere in der Gurkenschlucht

(translated - Tournaments at Cucumber Gorge)

All ye fine and noble gentles! Hearken to the calling of Their Excellencies,

Bryngerðr Þiðreksdóttir

and

Ronan na f-fiacal mac Connail,

 Righ Tuatha of Caer Galen!

In the lofty crags above the splendor that is Caer Galen lies a glen that is purported to imbue warriors with the strength of ten men, and the courage of a hundred! Come, make camp under the tall pines and witness the clash of steel, and marvel as rapier fighters vie for honor and glory that is Die Turniere in der Gurkenschluct (The Tournaments at Cucumber Gorge)!

You are bid welcome, and are invited to join Them in an exciting and resplendent weekend filled with feats of skill and honor!

Their Excellencies are also excited to host the Baronies Of Caerthe, Unser Hafen, and Dragonspine! Welcome all!

When

May 31-June 3, 2024

Gate opens May 31, 2024 at 3pm, concluding on Monday June 3rd, 2024 at noon

Due to a couple of campsites being used by mundanes on Friday, please be respectful of their space. Starting that Saturday, we should have all of Pickle Gulch for the rest of the weekend.

 As this is a mountain camping event be mindful that-

•  Days will be warm

•  Nights can get chilly

• Possibility of rain

• It is bear country

  • Pickle Gulch campground comes with bear-proof food lockers and bear-proof garbage containers. Individuals are highly encouraged to make use of these amenities. More information available here.

What

A multi-day rapier and Cut & Thrust camping event.

• Baronies in attendance will be acknowledging those individuals wishing to vie for the title (and responsibility) of Champion. If you are one of the brave, make time to confer with your Baron and Baroness a to your wishes in this matter.

Tournaments include one-on-one fights and small team melee, and a woods battle.

A pickled foods competition.

Event Schedule

Friday, May 31

4pm Site opens

Saturday, June 1

11am -6pm Gurkenschluct Pickling Competition (display tables near the list field; description below)

9am - 11am List sign-up for all tournaments (please present site token to MOL)

Noon - 2:30 Pageantry & Prowess Tournament (description below)

3pm - 5:30 Cut & Thrust Tournament (format to be determined, stay tuned)

6pm Court

8pm Bardic

Sunday, June 2

9am  Panache & Valor - The Bannerete  at Pickle Gulch (description below)

Noon MoD/DWS Q&A and discussion

1pm Ransom Woods Melee

3pm Court

Monday, June 3

Noon Site closes (safe travels)

Some thoughts about the event - what to expect.

-pageantry

spectacular display; pomp: the pageantry of a coronation.

-panache

a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair.

-procession

a group of individuals moving along in an orderly often ceremonial way

-valor

Gallant bravery and strength, especially on the battlefield or in the face of danger. Valor comes from the Latin valorem for “strength, moral worth.” 

This event is very much  about the return of pageantry and panache, as well as prowess and courtly grace. To this end, two of the weekends tournament festivities will call for these two often overlooked foundations. What better way to cultivate and foster these ideals than to be given the chance to process before for Crown and populace, to announce to all your convictions and your intentions for the day.

There will be a "Pageantry and Prowess" one on one tournament, and a return of the "Bannerete" small team melee.

Both will entail some means of group identification. For Pageantry and Prowess, gather an entourage to escort you on t the field of honor. They can include a herald, banner bearers, a significant other, musicians etc.

The Bannerete will have a similar take, each team should be identifiable in some way; tabards, sashes, helm crests, etc. Show your bravado in the face of your opponents. Make the most boisterous and outlandish claims of your merits above all others! Fight as a team! Stand or fall to a man!

This can be an opportunity for individuals to broaden their game. So involve those who might otherwise just be sitting on the sidelines, or worse, in camp or at home. Engage a tailor for help if you need, ask that vociferous friend if they would herald you onto the  field. Children can be awesome standard bearers. The sky's the limit!

Now, Without further ado!

Pageantry & Prowess Tournament

Find a herald, gather your entourage, dress your best, proclaim your love, and make your most worthy challenges!

This tournament consists of two parts, a grand procession, followed by the feat of arms.

• The Procession

  • Herald to announce (there might be heralds available at the opening of the tournament, or you can herald yourself in...)

    • • Who you are

        • Titles and awards

      • Partner, if any (similar to a consort)

      • Any challenges you care to make

  • The entourage can include

    • Partner/spouse

    • Cadets and/or provosts

    • Standard bearers

    • Musicians

  • If you have passed arms, use it to style your entourage

  • If you a badge passed, use it

Sashes, capes, and tabards are but a few examples that can help unify your entourage.

• Tournament format

  • Best two out of three fights, double elimination

Gurkenschlucht Cut & Thrust Tournament

Weapon aficionados, this is a tournament for you.

A variation of the Swiss 5, throwing in "choose the weapon” and "first blood.”

• Three bouts per match

  •  To "first blood"

  • No penalty for "killing" your opponent

  • Doubles are destructive to one, possibly both. 

    • Any blow that lands ends the bout, even to an arm or hand.  If the combatants both strike each other, the better blow wins: 

      • Body & head is better than foot & leg

      • Foot & leg is better than hand & arm.  

    • If both get struck with the same blow, then neither win that bout.

There will only be 4 rounds before the semifinal elimination. Four with most bouts won go to the semifinals, which are the same format per bout but best two out of three, single elimination.

Choice of weapons. 

When the herald reads the list, and the combatants pair up, the one with the lower precedence chooses the weapon that the match (meaning all three bouts) will be fought with:

• Single Rapier

• Rapier and dagger

• "Short" sword (blade under 35") and buckler

• Two Handed Sword

• Spear

If combatants have equal precedence, a coin toss will determine who gets to choose weapon style.

Don't choose the same weapon twice unless it's an authorization issue.  We won't keep track of that, it's on your honor.  You might end up fighting the same style twice anyway depending on your rank and what your opponents pick; that is by design.  There will only be 4 rounds before the semifinal elimination, so you might not be fighting with every style; which is by design.

Panache & Valor - The Gurkenschlucht Bannerete

This is a small team processional tournament melee similar in concept to a pas d’armes.

• Teams will consist of 5 fighters, having up to two MoDs, Knights, White Scarves, or Theigns, in any combination (one peer and one GoA, two peers, two GoA’s, etc.)

• Each team shall designate a captain who will speak for the team.

• Each team will be given 4 tokens to be used in voting for the most valorous team, and the team with the most panache (victory conditions described below).

Procession

• This is another processional tournament, starting off with a "call to muster" to the Crown.

• Herald and entourage

  • Herald to answer the call to muster (the team captain can herald for the team)

    • Team name

    • Any challenges

  • Entourage

    • Entourage can include standard bearers and/or musicians, but are considered non-combatants and are not allowed on the tournament field during fighting

  • This is team endeavor, so it highly encouraged that teams make a concerted effort to have a unifying identity so that nobility and populace can identify who is who. Consider-

    • A common theme in dress

    • Passed arms or a badge can tie a team together (and is very period)

    • Sashes, capes, or tabards

All teams must be gathered and ready to go when the processional is announced (shortly after 9am)

• The tournament herald will call forward the teams, one at a time, announcing to the gathered audience "Come forward (name of team) and present yourselves to the Crown of The Outlands! You have leave to make any proclamations, claims, or challenges to those assembled here today!"

  • At this point the team will have a moment to do any, or all, of these things

Tournament Format

• Single fight, double elimination if enough teams are registered, otherwise single fight, round robin

Victory conditions

• Prowess shall be awarded to the team with the most wins in the tournament

• The other two victories will be decided as follows-

  • Near the tournament field will be a collection of boxes, two per team,  marked with each team's number. One box is valor, the other is for panache

    • Each team will be supplied with four tokens marked with their number

  • At any time during the tournament, a team captain can vote for any other teams valor and panache

  • The Crown, Landed Nobility, and visiting dignitaries (such as The Ladies of the Rose) that are in attendance shall have the opportunity to vote as well

• At the end of the tournament, the boxes shall be opened and the votes tallied. The most votes in each category will determine the winner of each category.

• A team can be awarded multiple victories

Gurkenschluct Ransom Woods Melee

Similar to a William Marshall tournament. Each fighter is given 5 coins at the beginning of the tourney for their ransom, regardless of their Society rank or title. Fighting can be either to incapacitate, as with a regular ransom tourney, or to the death. With each loss, the losing combatant must give up a coin to the winning fighter. As long as a fighter still has a coin to their name, they can continue to compete.

Tournament Format

• Two hour timed melee tournament

• The one with the most coins wins

• An area (let's call it the barracks) will be set aside where fighters who have lost all their coins can hang out (if they care to) and be "hired" by one who has coins to spare (be aware, though, that one you hire might wind up winning the tournament).

  • Fighters in the barracks can do pickups, game, converse, etc.

Gurkenschulct Pickling Competition

The Baroness of Caer Galen, Her Excellency Bryngerðr, has put forth the call for a pickling competition at Die Turnerie in Der Gurkenschulct! If you profess to an aptitude for such an art, then you are encouraged to enter! Bring your brined gourds and roots to the event and show your worth!

• All manner of pickled foods are welcome, but please provide an ingredient list.

•  Judging will happen all day Saturday by popular vote based on bead accumulation.

• Anyone can vote.

• The one with the most beads is victorious. (Her Excellency will provide the voting beads)

• Winner will be announcing in court on Sunday 

Where

Pickle Gulch Campground - Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee National Grasslands

From Interstate 25 in Denver, travel west on 6th Avenue to State Highway 6 and continue through Clear Creek Canyon. Turn on State Highway 119 toward Black Hawk and Central City. Follow the highway 4 miles north of Black Hawk, to the campground (look for signage).

It seems to map correctly in both Apple Maps and Google Maps - type in "pickle gulch"