QUEEN'S GAMBIT 2025
July 11-13
Carolina Futsal Development Center
2822 Commerce Dr, Rock Hill, SC 29730
Queen's Gambit is a 3-day event where practitioners of many fencing schools come together to learn, socialize, and compete. This year we are pleased to offer sparring tournaments using sideswords with mixed companion weapons and longswords, an invitational spear tournament, a dagger sparring tournament, a skills-based obstacle course, workshops, lectures, the return of Cutting with sharps and our first ever Tier A cutting tournament! Enjoy the evening with your fellow fencers at our Saturday masquerade dinner and peer awards ceremony, with after-dinner Renaissance dancing!
.png)
Events and Schedule
Friday, July 11:
10:00am – Doors Open
11:00am - Open Cutting Tournament - Round 1
1:00pm - Break
1:15pm - Open Cutting Semi-Finals
1:45pm - Break
2:00pm - Open Cutting Finals
2:30pm - Break
2:45pm - Tier A Cutting - Round 1
4:45pm - Break
5:00pm - Tier A Cutting Semi-Finals
5:30pm - Break
5:45pm - Tier A Cutting Finals
6:15pm - Awards: Cutting
​
5:00pm – Dagger Rules Briefing
5:15pm – Gear Check
5:30pm – Dagger Tournament – Both Divisions Concurrently
7:00pm – Dagger Finals – Rose Division
7:30pm – Dagger Finals – Crown Division
​
8:00pm - Lectures/Workshops TBD
11:00pm – Everybody Out
​​
Saturday, July 20:
7:45am – Doors Open
8:30am – Spear Rules Briefing
8:45am – Gear Check
9:00am – Spear Tournament - Both Divisions Concurrently
10:30am – Spear Finals - Rose Division
11:00am - Spear Finals - Crown Division
11:30am – Lunch Break
12:30pm – Longsword Rules Briefing
12:45pm – Gear Check for Longsword Rose Division
1:00pm – Longsword Pools – Rose Division
2:15pm - Longsword Finals - Rose Division
2:45pm - Break
3:00pm – Gear Check for Crown Division
3:15pm – Longsword Tournament – Crown Division
6:00pm – Crown Division Finals
6:30pm - Break
7:30pm – Masquerade Dinner
7:30pm-8:30pm – Free Portraits available courtesy of Dustin Jones Photography
8:30pm – Peer Awards and Raffle
9:00pm – Group Photo
9:15-10:15pm – Renaissance Dancing
11:00pm – Everybody Out
​​
Sunday, July 21:
8:30am – Doors Open
9:00am - Lectures/Workshops TBD
10:00am - Lectures/Workshops TBD
11:00am - Lunch Break
11:30am – Sidesword Rules Briefing
11:45am – Rose Division Gear Check
12:00pm – Sidesword Pools – Rose Division
1:15pm - Sidesword Finals - Rose Division
1:45pm - Break
2:00pm – Crown Division Gear Check
2:15pm – Sidesword Pools – Crown Division
5:00pm – Sidesword Finals - Crown Division
5:30pm – Event Ends / Farewell
Workshops and Lectures
Queen's Gambit is proud to host in-depth workshops and lectures taught by nationally recognized instructors on a variety of topics.
2025 Lineup:
TBD - Check back soon for updates!
Tournaments
We are hosting ELEVEN tournaments this year! And cutting has returned!
​​
Cutting - Open Two-Handed. We are hosting an open two-handed cutting tournament. Longswords from reputable makers - outlined in the rules posted below - are welcome, though limited to one sword per competitor. The feats are listed in the rules below.
​
Cutting - Open One-Handed. We are hosting an open one-handed cutting tournament. Sideswords, messers, and arming swords from reputable makers - outlined in the rules posted below - are welcome, though limited to one sword per competitor. The feats are listed in the rules below.
​​
Cutting - Tier A Two-Handed. For those who have extensive cutting experience or have competed and medaled in cutting within the last two years, we are pleased to offer for the first time an advanced cutting tournament! The first round of feats are posted in the rules below! One sword per competitor.
​​
Sidesword with Mixed Companion Weapons - Rose Division. A sparring tournament exclusively for fencers under 5'10" using sideswords accompanied by bucklers, daggers, hand axes, or cloaks. Fencers are required to provide their own steel weapons and companion weapons.
​​
Sidesword with Mixed Companion Weapons - Crown Division. A sparring tournament recommended for fencers 5'10" and above using sideswords accompanied by bucklers, daggers, hand axes, or cloaks. Fencers under 5'10" who wish to compete in Crown will be added to a wait list and moved based on tournament capacity. Fencers are required to provide their own steel weapons and companion weapons.
​​
Longsword - Rose Division. A sparring tournament exclusively for fencers under 5'10" using longswords accompanied with an optional dagger. Fencers are required to provide their own steel weapons and companion weapons.
​​
Longsword - Crown Division. A sparring tournament recommended for fencers 5'10" and above using longswords accompanied by daggers. Fencers under 5'10" who wish to compete in Crown will be added to a wait list and moved based on tournament capacity. Fencers are required to provide their own steel weapons and companion weapons.
​​
Dagger Duels - Rose Division. A sparring tournament exclusively for fencers under 5'10" using Descendant Leather daggers. Daggers will be provided.
Dagger Duels - Crown Division. A sparring tournament recommended for fencers 5'10" and above using Descendant Leather daggers. Daggers will be provided. Fencers under 5'10" who wish to compete in Crown will be added to a wait list and moved based on tournament capacity.
​​
Spear - Rose Division. A sparring tournament exclusively for fencers under 5'10" using Descendant Leather Partisans or Boar Spears. Partisans will be provided for those that need them.
Spear - Crown Division. A sparring tournament recommended for fencers 5'10" and above using Descendant Leather Partisans or Boar Spears. Partisans will be provided for those that need them. Fencers under 5'10" who wish to compete in Crown will be added to a wait list and moved based on tournament capacity.
Swordwind reserves the right to remove any entrants from participating in any tournament at their discretion. This decision may be based on factors such as violation of rules, unsportsmanlike conduct, breaching the Code of Conduct, or any other behavior deemed inappropriate by the organizers. The Organizers may take into account behaviors shown at any event, tournament, club activity, or that we are otherwise made aware of that would cause safety concerns.
The organizer's decision in this matter is final and not subject to appeal.
Each case will be re-examined and discussed on a yearly basis. We believe in growth and second chances!
​
Location and Accommodations
Queen's Gambit 2025 will be held at:
Carolina Futsal Development Center,
2822 Commerce Dr, Rock Hill, SC 29730
Recommended Lodging:
There are 13 hotels within a 5 minute drive of the venue at all price points. We are currently working with York County to get better room rates at one or more of these hotels. We will update when/if we manage to secure discounts.​
​​
There are many rental home options nearby for those wishing to rent a Sword House for their traveling crew. ​
​​
Tournament Rules
You can view our 2025 sparring ruleset here
Our 2025 cutting ruleset can be found here.
You can view of Code of Conduct here
These rules are subject to change until July 1, 2025. Please follow us on social media or join our Facebook event page to be notified of any updates.
www.facebook.com/swordwindHS
Registration
Register for Queen's Gambit in two easy steps:
​​
-
Fill out this registration form and select which tournaments you want to compete in.
-
We will send an invoice to the email address you provided in your registration - you MUST pay the invoice for your registration to be complete and valid. If you have not paid for a tournament then it may fill up.
*Note that it may take up to a week for you to receive this invoice - we are all volunteers with day jobs.
​​
Costs:
​Event Fee: $100
Cutting Tournament: $50
Sparring Tournaments: $35/per tournament
Guest Dinner Ticket: $45
Event T-Shirt Pre-Order: $30
Early Bird Pricing of 15% off will be available for event and tournament fees until April 31st.
Refunds
Will be issued in Full until June 20
50% refunds will be issued June 21 - July 4
No refunds will be issued on or after July 5
Please contact QueensGambitNC@gmail.com if you need a refund or have questions about your registration.
Sponsors
Queen's Gambit is made possible thanks to the support from our sponsors. ​
​
​​
Kreiger Armory is the sponsor for our​
2025 Longsword and Sidesword Sparring​
Competitions.
Prizes will be awarded ​
for Fencers who place
1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th​
​
​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​More Sponsor Announcements Coming Soon!
.png)
Volunteering
Queen's Gambit cannot happen without the help of our volunteers! We have positions available for many different skillsets. Please consider volunteering! Our sign-up sheet can be found by clicking here.
Budget
We at Queen's Gambit like to be transparent. Hosting events is a costly endeavor and one that leaves many clubs, schools, and individuals in debt - sometimes to the tune of thousands of dollars!
Our ticket prices change yearly with the aim of breaking even. If we have a surplus after the event we will carry that amount over into our operating budget for next year and adjust pricing accordingly. The team that organizes and runs this event is comprised entirely of volunteers. We put in months of unpaid work ahead of the event day to ensure as smooth an event as possible for YOU. We do this because we love our community. Hug your event team and give them a quick thank you - we'd appreciate it!
2025 Estimated Budget
Venue Rental: $4,500
Tatami Mats: $1,200
Special Event Insurance: $1,500
Portable A/C Rentals: $2,000
Food and Drinks for Volunteers: $3,300
Volunteer T-Shirts: $1000
Awards: $850
Lanyards: $450
EMS Team on-site Friday thru Sunday: $2,000
Instructor Fees: $900
Event Shirts to Sell: $1,200
Miscellaneous: $500
​
Saturday Dinner and Dancing
Food - $4,350
Open Bar - $1,500
Table and Chair Rental - $1,600
Everything else (Dance Instructor, Bartenders, Plates, Napkins, Cups, etc): $1,100
​
2024 Fundraising Raffle: -$2,200
Visit York County Grant: -$1,000
Total Estimate: $24,750