Youth Armoured Combat Draft:Weapon Standards

General

1. You have to get your weapons inspected before you can use them. The marshal will look for foam that is falling apart, and whether the core of the weapon in damaged or broken, or anything else is damaged or broken.
2. Your weapon must not have any metal in it. This includes things like basket hilts, pommel weights, screws, nails or other fasteners, and hose clamps.
3. You are not allowed to have a flail (a weapon on a rope, or with moveable joints).
4. You are not allowed to use materials that might shatter or splinter on impact for the core or cross guard of your weapon.
5. You are not allowed to use PVC (a specific kind of plastic) in any weapon.
6. The core of your weapon is allowed to be made out of:
   1. Rattan, either with or without the skin, with a diameter between 19 mm and 25 mm for most weapons.
      1. Two-handed weapons longer than 165 cm, used in Division 3 only, can use rattan between 19 mm and 32 mm in diameter.
      2. Both ends of the rattan must be rounded.
   2. Common forms of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe (it's used for irrigation and plumbing)
      1. You can use any size of HDPE pipe as long as:
         1. the outside diameter of the pipe is 19 mm or bigger
         2. you can hold on to it properly
         3. your weapon doesn't weigh too much.
      2. HDPE pipe must have both ends capped, plugged, or otherwise covered to stop the pipe from cutting through the foam.
   3. The Kingdom Youth Armoured Combat Marshal can only approve other materials after they have been properly tested and prove that they are good enough, and are included in the rules.
7. The striking surface of your weapon must at least 38 mm wide.
8. You have to mark the thrusting tips and cutting edges with a different colour than the rest of the weapon so that people can know where they are.
9. We recommend that you have a wrist strap or a lanyard, so you don't accidentally throw your weapon away if you drop it, but you don't have to.
10. The pommels, cross-guards, and the butt ends of your weapons that don't have butt spikes have to be covered with at least 9 mm of closed cell foam and covered with a loose single layer of duct tape or cloth.
11. Your weapon has to weigh less than 75g per 10cm of length. If your weapon is 1m long, it can't weight more than 750g.
12. If your weapon has a head:
    1. It can only be made of lightweight foam.
    2. It has to be firmly and securely attached to the haft.
    3. The striking surfaces of your weapon have to be at least as squishy as a weapon that doesn't have a head.

Single-handed weapons

1. The striking surfaces of your weapon must be covered with at least 9 mm of closed cell foam that covers more than 25 mm past the end of the core material. The foam must be covered with a single loose layer of duct tape or a cloth sleeve.
2. Thrusting tips must be constructed of closed cell foam covered with duct tape or cloth.
   1. Thrusting tips must extend 5 cm past the end of the core and be at least 6.5 cm in diameter.
   2. Thrusting tips must be constructed so that they do not fold over.
3. Your weapon is allowed to have a basket hilt that is not made of metal.

Two-handed weapons

1. If you have a two-handed weapon (including ones that you can also use with just one hand), it needs to be made the same way as a single-handed weapon, but there are some extra rules that they need to follow.
2. You are not allowed to make two-handed weapons for Divisions 2 or 3 out of HDPE pipe as they get too bendy when its hot. You can use it for Division 1 weapons.
3. Your two-handed weapon is not allowed to have cutting and/or smashing surface at both ends.
4. Your weapon has a maximum length:
   1. In Division 1, it is not allowed to be longer than 1.5 meters.
   2. In Division 2, it is not allowed to be longer than 1.65 meters.
   3. In Division 3, it is not allowed to be longer than 2.25 meters.
5. If your weapon is longer than 1.8 metres, it's a spear and it is only allowed to be used for thrusting. You are not allowed to use it for cutting or smashing.

Thrown weapons

Throwing Axes

1. A throwing axe is made entirely out of closed cell foam and tape.
2. Your axe is not allowed to be excessively large or heavy. It still has to weigh less than 75g per 10cm of length.

Javelins

1. Javelins are made from a single length of HDPE pipe.
2. The thrusting tip on your javelin must be made the same way as the thrusting tip for a single-handed weapon.
3. The butt end of your javelin must be padded with foam so that it is too big to fit through a 5 cm opening.
4. You are allowed to put fins or stabilisers of foam or duct tape on the back end of your javelin.
5. Your javelin has to be between 125 and 165 cm long.