Youth Armoured Combat:Armour Requirements

All divisions

1. These are minimum required armour standards.
2. While it is the goal of the SCA to encourage a medieval appearance for all participants, given the specific nature of Youth Combat visible modern sports equipment may be worn as armour.

Head

1. Helmets must completely cover the head. Hockey helmets, lacrosse helmets, and other sports helmets with facemasks are acceptable. They may need to have additions or alterations to fully enclose the head. Period looking helms are permitted. Bearing in mind the size and development of the youth, the marshal-in-charge may disallow the use of a helm deemed too heavy for the youth to wear safely.
2. The helmet must be constructed of a continuous rigid material. Helmets with "floating" segments, attached only with straps, are not permitted.
3. All helmets must have grills, rigid mesh, or face plates that prevent a weapon from making contact with the face. No helmet shall have a gap exceeding 5 cm in the area protecting the face.
4. Helmets must have a chinstrap or equivalent means to prevent the helmet from being dislodged or contacting the wearers face during combat.
5. Helmets in combination with neck protection (such as a gorget or aventail) must be constructed so that a weapon may not touch any exposed area of the head or neck.
6. Helmets must fit properly and be padded inside so that the rigid portions of it do not contact the head. Padding must provide progressively resistant give.
7. The mass of the helmet will not be presumed to provide any additional protection.
8. Helmets may have hanging aventails, camails, or bevors to aid in protecting the neck.

Neck

1. An aventail, camail, gorget, or coif may be used with a MISSING TEXT as long as in conjunction all required areas are protected. Society rules say: An aventail, camail, or coif may be substituted or used in conjunction with a gorget as long as all required areas are protected.

Groin

1. Minimum protection is a sports cup or padded skirt until reaching puberty after which a rigid athletic cup or equivalent armour appropriate to the youths physical characteristcs is required.

Hand and Wrist Protection

1. Gauntlets of heavy leather or rigid material lined with closed cell foam or heavy padding are acceptable. Lighter gloves with a basket hilt and additional wrist protection, such as a half gauntlet, are acceptable. Street Hockey gloves alone are NOT acceptable.

Feet

1. Participants must wear properly fitting, closed-toe shoes that provide safe reliable footing. Open toes, sandals, toe shoes, flip-flops, crocs, etc. are NOT acceptable.

Shields

1. Shields may be made of wood, plastic, foam, aluminum, or an equivalent material.
2. Shield edges must be covered by plastic tubing, leather, or foam at least 13 mm wide to minimise damage to youth weapons or other fighters.
3. No wires, bolts, screws, or other objects may project more than 6 mm without padding or tape covering them. Rounded shield bosses are not considered to be projections.
4. Shields should be of a shape similar to that used in period.
5. Shields should be of an appropriate weight for the size and strength of the combatant.

Division 1

Neck

1. The throat and larynx shall be protected by a minimum of light leather or the equivalent.

Body

1. All combatants must have the torso, shoulders, and armpits covered with a minimum of cloth. Tunics, shirts, or bodices, and pants, shorts, or skirts are acceptable.

Elbow and Knee Joints

1. At a minimum, a layer of cloth must cover the elbows and knees. Elbow and knee joint protection is not required. A long sleeve shirt and long pants, or a short sleeve shirt and shorts with elbow and kneepads meet this requirement.

Hand and Wrist Protection

1. A minimum of light gloves is required.

Division 2

Neck

1. An aventail, camail, gorget , or coif may be used with a as long as in conjunction all required areas are protected.
2. A minimum of medium leather with padding is required.
3. The larynx, cervical vertebrae, and first thoracic vertebra must be covered.

Body

1. All combatants must have the torso, shoulders, and armpits covered with a minimum of cloth. Tunics, shirts, or bodices, and pants, shorts, or skirts are acceptable.
2. Kidneys must be protected by a minimum of a medium leather kidney belt with padding or the equivalent.
3. It is recommended but not required that youths developing breasts have chest protection.

Elbow and Knee Joints

1. Elbows and knees must be protected by a minimum of soft pads.

Hand and Wrist Protection

1. A minimum of gloves with at least 6 mm of foam or padding protecting the fingers, back of the hand, and wrist are required. Street Hockey gloves are acceptable, as is a light glove, with extra wrist protection, in a basket hilt.