Youth Development
Youth Development
The Soft-Sword training system with its padded swords, shields, and protectors was originally developed for training with children and adolescents and only later adapted for adults. The system makes it easy to engage a very young audience in Medieval Combat. Internationally, there are already training facilities and competitions for athletes as young as 4 years old in some countries.
In Österreich wird an unterschiedlichen Standorten bereits seit 2014 aktive Nachwuchsarbeit betrieben. So hat zum Beispiel der VgVK Wien bereits 2012 erstmalig Probetrainings für Jugendliche von 12 bis 17 Jahren angeboten. Neben einem eigenen Kurs für Teenager wurde im Jahr 2016 am Standort Wien auch das Team Junior Bloodhounds Vienna als eigene Nachwuchs (Wettkampf-)Mannschaft gegründet. Die Nachwuchssportler:innen des Teams werden durch den Verein gesondert gefördert (bspw. mit erhöhten Reisekostenzuschüssen für Wettkämpfe oder mit hinsichtlich der Anschaffung von Sportausrüstung).
2017 was an eventful year for the Medieval Combat youth. The ARMORED COMBAT AUSTRIA assembled an Austrian youth national team and sent it to the 3rd European MSF Championship - the Youth European Championship - in Minsk, Belarus. There, the team achieved some initial successes (Matteo INGEGNERI: 2nd place MSF Sabre & Buckler 16-17 years | 3rd place MSF Triathlon 16-17 years).
In autumn of 2017, the HMB Soft World Championship took place in Prague, Czech Republic, for the first time, in which the Austrian youth national team also participated.
In 2018, the Austrian youth athletes participated again in the 4th European MSF Championship in Minsk, Belarus. Matteo INGEGNERI successfully defended his Vice European Champion title from the previous year (2nd place MSF Sabre & Buckler 16-17 years).
In 2022, SAFE Federation (see link: World Federations) took over the worldwide development of Medieval Combat youth work as well as the organization of the European and World Championships from the predecessor organization (IFMSF). As the national partner in Austria, the ARMORED COMBAT AUSTRIA implements the guidelines and requirements of the world federation at the federal level.
Currently, several Austrian Medieval Combat clubs offer children's and youth training classes either regularly, as part of events, or on demand. Starting from 2024, regional (state) championships in youth disciplines will also be held in Austria.
2nd Place
1 vs 1 – MSF Sabre & Buckler (Soft)
3rd European MSF Championship 2017 (BL)
3rd Place
1 vs 1 – MSF Triathlon 3. Platz
3rd European MSF Championship 2017 (BL)
2nd Place
1 vs 1 – MSF Sabre & Buckler
4th European MSF Championship 2018 (BL)
YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
In 2024, the Austrian Youth Championship in Soft-Sword competitions will take place for the first time. The championship is planned to be held annually thereafter. For more information, please visit https://armoredcombat.at/en/meisterschaften/
Fotos: FFSAF, SAFE Federation, VgVK Wien