Raleigh Open August 7th-9th
Raleigh Open 2026 is being held Friday, August 7th through Sunday, August 9th, 2026! Come join us for competition and camaraderie celebrating our shared martial art.
This year’s event will include six tournaments:
Rookie Longsword
Tier A Longsword
Tier B Longsword
Sidesword with Mixed Companion
Broadsword & Sabre (& Spadroon)
Spear & Partisan (new!)
Event Information
Longsword:
Longsword will be divided into three tiers: Rookie, Tier B, and Tier A. If you want to participate in the Rookie Tournament, please add "Longsword (Rookie)" to your cart. For Tier A and B, please add “Longsword (Tier A & B)” to your cart. You will be notified of your tier placing and be given the chance to verify you are in the correct event.
Rookie Tournament: you qualify if you (1) have been practicing HEMA for less than two years as of August 2026, (2) have competed in two or fewer HEMA longsword tournaments, and (3) have not made it out of the pools in a longsword tournament. The Rookie Longsword Tournament will have a maximum of 32 competitors.
Tier A: If you (1) have placed in the top 8 (or quarterfinals) in a longsword HEMA event with 40 or more competitors, OR (2) have placed in the top 4 in an event with 10 or more competitors, then you will be placed in Tier A Longsword (maximum 32 competitors).
Tier B: All other longsword competitors will be placed in Tier B (max 64 competitors).
All Other Tournaments:
Sidesword with Mixed Companion (max 64 competitors), Broadsword & Sabre (max 48 competitors) and Spear & Partisan (max 32 competitors) are open tournaments. Broadsword & Sabre and Spear & Partisan will have loaner weapons available. Spear & Partisan loaner partisans were made possible by our generous sponsors at Descendant Armory.
Rules and Equipment:
Please check out the Raleigh Open Rules and Equipment Requirements here.
Spectators:
Spectators are welcome, but will not be allowed on the field.
Registration Information
Cost: Rookie Longsword is $45, all other tournaments are $60 each.
We are also selling T-shirts that are available for purchase with Registration! T-shirts are $25.
As part of registration you are required to complete the electronic waivers that are linked in the registration window.
Registration will close on July 31st, 2026 at midnight EDT, this will also be the final deadline to request a refund.
Volunteering
The volunteer sign-up form can be found here. This event runs on volunteers, so consider helping out!
Tentative Schedule*
*Schedule is subject to change.
Friday Evening, August 7th:
Broadsword & Sabre (& Spadroon)
Saturday, August 8th:
Tier B Longsword (morning)
Rookie Longsword (early afternoon)
Tier A Longsword (late afternoon/evening)
Sunday, August 9th:
Sidesword with Mixed Companion (morning)
Spear & Partisan (afternoon)
Event Location
Address:
SoFive Apex (new!)
1016 Investment Blvd, Apex, NC 27502
(Please note that this is a new location from past years, due to ongoing renovations at the previous venue.)
Directions & Parking:
The venue has ample free on-site parking.
Located directly off of US-1, the venue is roughly 20 minutes away from the RDU airport.
Where to Stay:
The closest hotels are clustered at the intersection of NC-55 and US-1, roughly 1 mile away from the venue.
The town of Apex has plenty of rental locations, roughly 1.5 miles away.
Questions?
Contact us at raleighopentournament@gmail.com.