New Activity for the Gunflint Canoe Races?

I think this would be tons of fun to add to the Gunflint Canoe Races. It would probably be a great way to end the evening since all throughout the races people push off of each other’s canoes in an attempt to find some open water.

Canoe Jousting Rules
I. Tournament Setup

Form of teams. Each team shall consist of:
1 boat – This shall be the canoe provided by the jousting club
2 people
2 paddles
2 lances
2 life vests, which must be used in the manufacturer’s recommended manner
Optional equiptment – goggles (to not lose contact lenses), gloves (for better grip on the lance), swim shoes (to keep feet out of the muck when in the water), extra large shirt (goes over life vest to not allow spearing through the vest), cigarettes, viking helmets

Eligibility: All jousters much be sufficient age and stature to compete without significant chance of injury. Any jouster that has had significant diciplinary action at a previous from the preceeding 24 months, may be asked to not joust at the behest of the officials.

Officials: The official judges shall be decreed to be those gathered that are not actively jousting and care about the ongoing match. Their rulings are final. At the discretion of the officialls, they may elect a set of static officials to take over this function.

Format of the Tournament: The tournament format shall be set before the tournament start by the host.

The Joust

Order of Play

Teams are asked to gather and prepare as required. This includes putting on life vests, and bailing out the boats, if required.
Once ready, the teams should row out to lake, within 100 feet of shore, and at least 50 feet apart. The starting location should be decided by the jousters, but the officials may ask any team to move.
The referee will signal a match start, and the jousters have 10 minutes to make as many passes as they can.
Two teams then paddle towards each other at a “reasonable speed”. The officials may rule speed as unacceptable, and ask the jousters to correct this. Further violations are subject to penalties.
At an appropriate range, the jousters may put down the paddle, and pick up the lance.
Each jouster attempts to strike the opposing jouster between the waist and neck, trying to capsize the other canoe, or remove a jouster from the canoe.

Faults and Penalties
Faults

Unsportsman-like conduct
Hitting the neck or above on a jouster, or below the waist
Illegal hits on the canoe
Grappling
Bailing your canoe of water. This fault is always assessed a “loss of lance” penalty

Penalties

Official warning – reserved for minor infraction
Loss of Lance
Removal from tournament and/or location – reserved for the most severe of infractions or repeat offense.

Deciding victory

Victory for a match occurs when:

A jouster is ejected from the opposing canoe
the opposing canoe capsizes
a team is disqualified for any reason
a team is penalized to the point where it lacks any leagal way to fulfill the first two conditions

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