SpringSteel 2026

Hosted by San Diego Swordfighters, Springsteel 2026 is a two day HEMA tournament bringing together fencers of all experience levels for a weekend of competition, camaraderie, and skill. Taking place May 23–24, 2026, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Pine Ave Community Center in Carlsbad, the event features multiple competitive formats designed to challenge both individual and team performance.

Competitors can test their abilities in Saber and Longsword divisions with Open and Under-represented Gender (URG) categories, along with dynamic team competitions: Open Saber Team Relay and URG Longsword Team Relay.

Whether you’re stepping onto the tournament floor or cheering for blood from the sidelines, join us for a weekend of spirited competition and community celebration of HEMA - followed by our tradition of pizza and celebratory imbibing. 

REGISTRATION OPENS FEBRURARY 27!!! 

Participation caps
Open Longsword - 90 
URG Longsword - 30 
Open Saber - 50 
URG Saber - 25 
Open Saber Team Relay - 16 teams (3 people per team, must all be from the same club)
URG Longsword Team Relay - 12 teams (3 people per team, must all be from the same club)

Team Relay Registration Information
Only one person from the team needs to purchase registration for it (and will fill in the field for who the team members are), but all team members must have event registration purchased for me to consider the team registration confirmed. Teams consist of three members and all members must be from the same club. So try to figure out your teams before registration opens on Friday!

The full results of all tournaments will be submitted to HEMA Ratings. If you do not wish to be visible on HEMA Ratings, feel free to contact them about anonymization - more details here.

Want to help? Sign up to volunteer here!