Austin hosts World’s Largest Jousting Tournament

Lyst on the Lake is an annual medieval combat competition of the shores of Lake Austin in Austin, Texas. The event boasts to be the largest competitive jousting tournament in the world. 

This year competition included three type of events: melee a pied, melee a cheval and joust a plaisance. 

Melee a pied features knights fighting on foot. A knight defeats an opponent if he makes three hits to vulnerable area, like creases of seams in the protective armor, with his blunted weapons.  Commonly used weapons include swords and battle-axes. 

Melee a chevalis similar to melee a pied except on horseback, using blunted hand weapons rather than lances, although lances might be used for an opening charge. 

Joust a plaisance is the traditional jousting.  Jousting is 90% horsemanship.  New competitors undergo a certification to help insure the safety of the knight and the horse.            

Mounted knights, armed with a lances, charge towards each other down a lyst, a path separated by a barrier.  The combatants make three passes against each other, aiming their lances at a shield mounted on the upper left-hand torso of the knight. 

Points are awarded based on the accuracy of the attack.  One point is earned if the lance hits the shield, two points if the breakaway portion of the lance fractures, and four points if the entire tip is broken. 

Knights compete in round-robin flights with the highest point earners advancing to the semi-finals.  Half of the semi-final competitors advance to the finals.  The highest point earner from the finals is name the Lyst Champion.