IKV Melota Bat'leth Tournament 2008

November 8,2008 was the date,Purtis Creek state park was the location. KAG ships in attendance were the IKV Melota,IKV Bayou Serpent,and IKV Qin Vagh with at least 2 non-klingon clubs also represented. The IKV Bayou Serpent made it's 5th appearance at what I consider the best yearly event that I have attended. I personally have attended every fall tournament since 2004. This year I was accompanied by Bayou Serpent officers B'ehrmaq and Rhiana,both first timers to the tournament. B'ehrmaq was the first ship member on Friday to arrive which surprised me since he drove 7 hours to get there. Myself and Rhiana arrived in plenty of time to set up camp,help with tournament setup,and tell tales of previous tournaments around the campfire. The weather was far better this year with no rain though it did get very cold Friday night.My vehicle just isn't big enough to pack for every possibility so I was cold but not miserable. Saturday morning got started with bat'leth up first as always. I got knocked out first round by the formidable KartoQ who later went on to take first place in both bat'leth and points. He also drew first blood of the tournament on me in this round which left me with a bloody thumb but nothing that would hinder further combat. There was some great fighting,a disarm,and we even had one of our Binar scorekeepers enter bat'leth for the first time.She wound up in 3rd place which is no small feat considering the bat'leth is almost as tall as she is. Great job Amoreth! Mekleth came up next and while this is usually my worst weapon class,I eventually came in 3rd.The second half of the Binars entered the ring by this point,her first time in combat. More furious fighting and another disarm with Sir Gavvin,a non-klingon but trained combatant winning mekleth for the second year in a row. D'k-tahg was up last and is my best and favorite weapon class. There were no extremely lengthy matches this year which usually happens with d'k-tahg but the fights were very colorful. As always,the blades are painted with finger paint to mark hits since it's very difficult to see.With several colors to chose from we all wound up looking more like body art than conquering warriors. I took first place in d'k- tahg. By this point is was getting close to dark so the ceremonies were set up with help from many and one or two non-combat games were played.Rhiana got in on one of these but B'ehrmaq and myself were assisting with ceremony setup. This year we had use of the covered and lighted pavilion for the awards ceremony. Bloodwine was opened and trophies were handed out for the following: 1st place bat'leth: KartoQ of the Melota 1st place mekleth: Gavvin 1st place d'k-tahg: Ri'Par(myself) IKV Bayou Serpent 1st place points: KartoQ 2nd place points: Ri'Par 3rd place points: Gavvin B'ehrmaq was recognized as "fartherest traveled" and will be given his award at a later date. KartoQ was awarded a "first blood" trophy for his drawing of blood from me. The rest of the night was filled with song,fellowship,and drink. Once again,thanks to the Melota for putting on and inviting us to their glorious event and allowing me to judge once again.Thanks to my officers Rhiana and B'ehrmaq for their support and documenting the tournament both in video and still photos.Thanks to B'ehrmaq for his extremely long journey to stand with his shipmates.