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Belegarth fights the norm
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They get together eight times a year to battle it out, medieval style. The Belegarth club sport has been going strong at Boise State for two and a half years now, and each year four or five new members find their way into the medieval battles that are recreated at each tournament and practice.
Belegarth is a sport in which participants fight with foam-padded safety equipment, made to resemble weapons from the medieval time period.
It was started in Champagne, Ill., in the 1970s and found its way into Idaho for the first time in 1990.
It is a sport that is seemingly dangerous, but all of the weapons used are padded and safety is stressed throughout the sport.
As a result, it also helps cut down on the cost of the sport because players don’t need to buy any armor to protect them.
The weapons are also wide ranged and participants can choose nearly any type.
Axes, swords, daggers, bows and arrows and clubs are just some of the options. They’re all made from yoga mats and camp pads.
People dress as knights, samurais, orcs (such as those from “Lord of the Rings”) and anything fantastical that they can think of. Sometimes at events there is a good vs. evil theme to make things more interesting.
Other times the characters are randomly assigned.
The battles can be either duels or group efforts. The rules are that one hit to the torso or two hits to appendages result in death.
In a duel this usually happens within 30 seconds. In group battles, which can range anywhere from 60 to 700 people on the field, it can take up to 25 minutes for everyone to be “killed.”
Participants take many things from belegarth.
“The thing about belegarth is that there’s something for everyone,” Club President Dane Johns said. “There are people who do it for the historical aspect. There are people who do it for the fantastical aspect. There are people who do it for the athletics involved and there are people who do it for fun or because they have nothing else to do.”
The sport has been becoming more popular in Boise recently.
The team adds a few new members each year and they are people from all walks of life.
The team currently has three female members and many of their members are from the community.
Only 51 percent of the members have to be Boise State students, so there’s a large contingent of non-students.
Some bring their children and make it a family affair. Idaho in general has also seen a spark in interest.
“In Idaho over the past year, two more realms have been created,” Johns said. “We had one in Caldwell and one in Mountain Home. The sport itself is growing very quickly.”
The team has one tournament a month from March until October, including national and more localized events.
They tend to battle it out with regional teams such as the College of Southern Idaho, Idaho State University, Salt Lake Community College and Utah State.
At the team’s yearly national event in August (Chaos Wars) it has people come from all over the country.
“We try to appeal to a wide variety of people,” Johns said. “It is a whole lot of fun and really addicting. Most people who come out stay for a while and they put a lot of effort in. They have a lot of fun. The pure fun is the best part, in my opinion.”
MICHELLE MILLIKEN
Sports Writer
