Styles of Jousting

In all styles except the Southern Italian, the knights pass left shoulder to left shoulder with the lance over the horses neck. The impact angle is about 30°. This makes jousting a sport where skill is more important than strength or weight. Scoring is based on a point system.

Styles with Basic Armour With or Without Shield

Northern and Southern Italian (Not Historical Names)

In both these styles the knights wear no additional armour and do not carry shields. Northern Italian passes are the normal left shoulder to left shoulder. Southern Italian passes right shoulder to right shoulder so that the impact angle is about 5°, far more direct and forceful than with Northern Italian or other styles. Southern Italian is the hardest hitting of the various styles.

French

The Knight carries an emblazoned shield that is the target area for the opposing knight.

Geminedeutsche-Gestech

This is jousting with wooden targes and frog-mouthed helms. This is the traditional German joust and not commonly seen in Maryland.

Styles with Reinforcing Pieces Added to the Armor

The next three styles use additional pieces of armor for reinforcement and protection. These pieces are the:

Plackard: A second layer of armor bolted over the left side of the breastplate.
Grandguard: A sort of attached shield that bolts on to the breastplate to cover the left breast and shoulder. A smooth grandguard is used in Welshgestech.
Gridded Grandguard: This grandguard consists of no less than 9 squares with the grids no less than 1/8^th inch high. It is used in Realgestech.
Buff: Covers the neck and lower part of the helmet on the left side. The buff gives additional protection but limits vision and the ability to turn the head.

Plankengestech

In this style the target is a plackard bolted over the left side of the breastplate. The plackard shown here (over an undershirt rather than the usual breastplate so that you can see it better) not only reinforces the breastplate but also has a mini buff, and a wing that is designed to catch the tip of the lance. This combination makes it easier to break a tip, shatter a lance, or unhorse a rider. Expect a lot of broken tips with Plankengestech.

Welshgestech

In this style the Knight wears a smooth grandguard and buff. The grandguard is the target area and the buff protects the head and neck. This style is similar to Realgestech except that the grandguard is smooth rather than gridded.

Realgestech

A real crowd favorite. In this style the Knight wears a gridded grandguard and buff. With the gridded grandguard the opposing knight's lance often locks in, which creates a very devastating strike. Expect to see more broken lances and even unhorsings with this style.

Point System

Charging at each other from opposite ends of the list, knights lower their lances in an attempt to strike and unhorse the other rider. They most often score points for touching their opponent or breaking their own lance on the other knight's armour. The lances are wood with the part above the pennant of balsa. Points are scored for each knight and are independent of the number of points scored by the other knight.
Points are as follows:

1 point for a touch.
3 points for breaking the tip of the lance (in front of the pennant).
5 points for a shattered lance.
5 points to each knight in the rare event of a tip-to-tip strike.
10 points for unhorsing your opponent.
0 points for breaking a lance by sweeping.
-5 points (penalty) for throwing a lance at a squire.
-10 points (penalty) for hitting a horse the first time.
Disqualification for hitting a horse the second time.
Note: The highest score possible for a single pass is 10 points. So, if a knight breaks his lance while unhorsing his opponent, only 10 points are awarded.

In this picture, the Knight on the left scores 3 points for a broken tip (which you can see flying through the air) and the knight on the right scores 5 points for a shattered lance (the lower broken half is dropping from his hand).

Knights Seen in Maryland

Red and Gold—Sir William Westmoreland, The Kings Own Champion, 10 times US Champion, 6 times east coast champion, 6 times Canadian champion, 2 times world champion.
Burgundy and Gold—Don Martino Fernandez, Captain of the Spanish Royal Guard, 2010 East Coast Champion and 2011 US National Champion.
Red and White—Sir Edmond Howard, Champion of Somerset
Blue and Silver—Sir Ian McFarland, from the Highlands of Scotland, champion of Scotland and 2011 East Coast Champion
Red and Black—Sir Barchan of Revel Grove, Champion of Revel Grove
Blue and Gray—Sir John Byington of the King's Burg, Champion of Sicamore Shoals
Gold and Green—Sir Rogan Lors of Scarborough
Black, White and Red—Cavalero Soltoro di Tuscany, Champion of Pisa
Black and Gold—Sir Edward DeVere, Champion of White Hall.
Blue, Gold, and Silver—Dame Brunhilde Von Wellenstein, Champion of Wellenstein.
Blue, White, and Red(?)—Dame Freydis Eriksdotter of Norway.
Blue and Gold—Sir Tarmac MacAdam, Champion to the Crown of Scotland.
Green and Gold—Sir John De Vere, 15^th Earl of Oxford.

Results of the Fourteenth Annual Ravenswood Jousting Championship (2012)

8^th place...Sir Edward DeVere with 57 points;
7^th place...Cavalero Soltoro di Tuscany with 76 points;
6^th place...Sir Rogan Lors with 81 points;
5^th place...Sir John Byington with 84 points;
4^th place...Sir Barchan of Revel Grove with 97 points;
3^rd place...Sir Ian McFarlandwith 102 points;
2^nd place...Sir Edmond Howard with 103 points;

And the Grand Champion with 122 points:

Don Martino Fernandez! Viva Espania!

Results of the Nineteenth Annual Gath of Baal International Jousting Tournament (2012)

8^th place...Sir John Byington with 55 points;
7^th place...Sir Rogan Lors with 87 points;
6^th place...Sir Charles Howard with 97 points;
5^th place...Sir Edward DeVere with 99 points;
4^th place...Sir Barchan with 102 points;
3^rd place...Sir Ian McFarland with 113 points;
2^nd place...Prince Killem with 114 points;

And with 120 points, the Grand Champion...

Don Martino Fernandez!