On May 22, The Steel Wolf Cup was held in Wellington. It was the first HMB competition within the HMBIA Duel League ranking system. It was attended by fighters from all over the North Island of New Zealand:
Northern region: Auckland Armoured Combat
Eastern region: The Titans: Tauranga Armoured Combat
Central region: Steel Thorns: Taupō Team
Southern region: Felag “Wellington Medieval Armoured Combat”.
Currently there are no HMB clubs in the Southern Island.
“The Steel Wolf Cup event was an excellent opportunity for members to experience a whole day focused on HMB Duel Categories because in New Zealand we usually cover all HMB categories in our tournaments. I was overjoyed that our HMB friends from all around the world were watching, commenting, and encouraging the fighters on the live stream. With the in-person audience and the live stream audience the Steel Wolf Cup was a well-attended exciting event”, said Dayna Berghan-Whyman, President of the New Zealand National Federation.
The Men’s Heavy fights were fought first in the morning.
Results of The Steel Wolf Cup tournament:
Men’s division
Sword and Shield
First: Eduard Sadrutdinov (Felag)
Second: Sage Lawler (Felag)
Third: Daryen Berben (Titans)
Sword and Buckler
First: Eduard Sadrutdinov (Felag)
Second: Benoit Delville (Auckland Armoured Combat)
Third: Sage Lawler (Felag)
Longsword
First: Eduard Sadrutdinov (Felag)
Second: Daryen Berben (Titans)
Third: Benoit Delville (Auckland Armoured Combat)
Polearm
First: Eduard Sadrutdinov (Felag)
Second: Daryen Berben (Titans)
Third: Benoit Delville (Auckland Armoured Combat)
Triathlon
First: Sage Lawler (Felag)
Second: Daryen Berben (Titans)
Third: Benoit Delville (Auckland Armoured Combat)
Sage Lawler, Captain of Felag Club:
“It was a fantastic day, lots of awesome clean fights! We had so much fun we are already planning the next one!”
Sage showed brilliant results at the end of the tournament. However, one category was not easy for him.
“For me the Sword and Buckler fights in my pool were very evenly matched and often had to go into a 3rd round. Me and Denny Ng, also the Felag club fighter, train with each other every week so we were practically scoring point for point, then trying to get that last point on each other at the end. Was very stressful but very tactical”.
After a break for lunch, the Marshals regrouped and the Women’s Heavy Fights went through the afternoon.
Results of The Steel Wolf Cup tournament:
Women’s division
Sword and Shield
First: Maddie Knibbs (Titans)
Second: Jess Te Wiata (Felag)
Third: Laura Whitburn (Felag)
Sword and Buckler
First: Maddie Knibbs (Titans)
Second: Jess Te Wiata (Felag)
Third: Laura Whitburn (Felag)
Longsword
First: Maddie Knibbs (Titans)
Second: Jess Te Wiata (Felag)
Third: Dayna Berghan-Whyman (Felag)
Polearm
First: Maddie Knibbs (Titans)
Second: Laura Whitburn (Felag)
Third: Dayna Berghan-Whyman (Felag)
Eduard Sadrutdinov from Felag was awarded a special commendation by the Marshal team for exemplary weapon control in the Men’s Halberd.
Among the participants and prize-winners there are two fighters for whom the tournament was the first in their competitive career – Ian Hendl from Steel Thorns: Taupō Team and Laura Whitburn from Felag. The newcomers received distinctive awards from the Marshals.
“The tournament went very smoothly, Marshals did a great job and the fights were all hard and well fought, I really enjoy the new aspect of the Duels League events as it means you can run tournaments without having to have so many fighters and that we also get international rankings just like Buhurt League which is very exciting! I hope it helps to grow the number of duel fighters in the sport. By the way, the tournament was run at Felag’s indoor venue known as “The Ministry”. In New Zealand, the capital city, Wellington is where the New Zealand Parliament is, and all the Government administration is located. Many people in Wellington work for the government ministries, so the Felag Club expresses affection for Wellington by naming their HMB venue “The Ministry”, said Sage Lawler, the fighter and Club Captain from the Felag HMB club.
The competition was judged by a team of certified marshals led by HMBIA certified Marshal, Justin Harris.
Field marshals:
Eduard Sadrutdinov (the International Marshal)
Wade Cashmore (certified marshal of the Australasian-Pacific region)
Anna Gubinskaya (HMB Russia marshal, certified marshal of the Australasian-Pacific region)
Line marshals:
Sage Lawler (certified New Zealand national marshal)
Elena Averwood (trainee marshal)
Trudy Knibbs (trainee marshal)
On site Medic: Vicky Field (certified New Zealand paramedic)
New Zealand joined the project in March 2021. According to Dayna Berghan-Whyman, the President of the HMBNZ, it is planned that by the end of the competitive season the country will host another tournament within the framework of the Duel League.
HMBIA News editors congratulate the winners of The Steel Wolf Cup and thank all the participants, marshals, organisers for their work!
