Battle of the Nations (modern tournament)

The Battle of the Nations is an international historical medieval battles world championship, first held in 2009, in Khotyn, Ukraine and held in Europe, in April, every year until the cancelled 2022 tournament.
It is a full contact competition using metal weapons and a standardized list of rules. National teams compete in several standard events, with all being full contact - no stage reenactment battles are included.
Teams from up to 60 countries have entered the tournaments.
National teams of different countries compete at “Battle of the Nations”. Under the rules of BN, a national team has to consist of at least 8 and a maximum of 50 fighters. Any representative of any of the historical medieval battles (HMB) clubs, as well as an individual fighter, provided they have gone through a selection process conventional for a country, can become a member of a national team.
Qualifying tournaments are competitions, where battles are held in accordance with the unified international rules for the historical medieval battle. National teams organize qualifying tournaments to find the best HMB fighters of a country. The unified international rules, according to which battles are held, have been written especially for "Battle of the Nations”. Before the unified rules were written, the countries had different HMB rules.
The tradition for this combat/competition has largely come from Russia, where enthusiasts have held previous events where full contact "battles" of large numbers of armoured combatants, are held, often in historical sites. The emphasis is put on the combatants wearing historically accurate equipment and heraldry, and the use of appropriate weapons for the combat.
The heraldry, however, reflects the modern competition teams, rather than necessarily historically correct heraldic device that may have been worn by combatants in the medieval period. The first tournament was held at the Khotyn Fortress in Ukraine in 2010. The combatants depict armoured fighters from the 12th - 15th century. A number of different forms of combat take place, including some involving individuals, 5 a side or 21 on each side. Over 200 armoured men at arms take place in the competition, and in addition to melee/hand-to-hand weapons, archery is also featured.
Team Quebec (also known at Ost du Quebec) was the first non-European team to enter the tournament in Ukraine in 2011. Their captain put a team together of 9 fighters and 3 support staff who traveled from Montreal Quebec to take part in the tournament. They also held the first friendly tournament under the HMB rules in St-Eustache in February 2012 where participants from Ontario and USA took part.
US combatants entered a team for the first time in 2012, with a number of their members coming from the Society for Creative Anachronism. The US team is a cross-group association of historic martial arts organizations.
"Battle of the Nations 2012" gathered participants from 12 countries.
By the following year, that number increased to 22 teams which participated in the "Battle of the Nations 2013", which was held in Aigues-Mortes in southern France. This was the first time the event was held outside east Europe.
"Battle of the Nations 2014" took place on 12 June in Trogir, Croatia. This was the year of the first female official nomination in the fencing "Triathlon". An innovation for the championship.
"Battle of the Nations 2015" was held in Prague, Czech Republic, 7–10 May. The women's buhurt category: all vs all - was promoted to be the innovation for that year's championship.
List of participants (Sorted by first-year participation):
2010 — Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland 2011 - Germany, Italy, Quebec 2012 - Austria, United States, Israel, Denmark, The Baltic States- union of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia 2013 - Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic & Slovakia, France, Japan,Luxembourg, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom Fighters from Portugal also attended, and fought with the Luxembourg team. 2014 - Chile, Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Mexico.
About 25,000 attend the event annually.
Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
2. Mikhail Babynin, Russia
3. Franck de Gouil, France
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Ukraine 1
3. France 1
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. France
3. Belarus
Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
2. Ivan Vasilev, Russia
3. Aleksandr Nadezhdin, Russia
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Russia 2
3. Russia 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Belarus
Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
2. Marcin Waszkielis, Poland
3. Alexey Petrik, Russia
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. France
3. Poland
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. France
Full Standings of 2013
Male category “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Sergei Ukolov, Russia
2. Evgenii Lapik, Russia
3. Krzysztof Szatecki, Poland
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Russia 2
3. Russia 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Belarus
Full Standings of 2014
Male category “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
2. Alexeey Petrik, Russia
3. Evgenij Lapik, Russia
Female category “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Tatiana Guseva, Russia
2. Gulina Kokhvakko, Russia
3. Yana Zabolotnikova, Russia
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia
2. Russia
3. France
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Belarus
Full Standings of 2015
Male category “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Yevgeny Lapik, Russia 3
2. Sergei Ukolov, Russia 1
3. Alexeey Petrik, 2
Female category “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Galina Kokhvakko, Russia 2
2. Christelle Carbeaud, France
3. Yana Zabolotnikova, Russia 3
Category Polearm “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Aleksei Naiderov, Russia
2. Mikhail Morgulis, Israel
3. Egor Tomassin, France
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Ukraine 1
3. France 2
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. France
Full Standings of 2016
Male category “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Aleksey Petrik, Russia, Fighter 2
2. Sergey Ukolov, Russia, Fighter 1
3. Aleksandr Nadezhdin, Russia, Fighter 3
Female category “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Galina Kohvakko, Russia, Fighter 1
2. Denise Brinkmann, Germany, Fighter 1
3. Marina Golovina, Russia, Fighter 3
Male Category Polearm “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Evgeniy Baranov, Belarus
2. Jeff Galli, USA
3. Aleksey Nayderov, Russia
Female Category Polearm “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Ekaterina Obade, Moldova
2. Olga Grabovskaya, Ukraine
3. Alina Abdullaeva, Russia
Female Category “Group Battles” 3vs3.
1. Ukraine
2. Russia
3. France
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Ukraine 1
3. Russia 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Belarus
Male category “Sword and Shield” 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Robert Szatecki, Poland
3. Lukas Kowal, UK
Female category “Sword and Shield” 1vs1.
1. Galina Kohvakko, Russia
2. Maya Olchak, Poland
3. Martina Ravarini, Italy
Male Category Polearm "Duel” 1vs1.
1. Evgeny Ageev, Russia
2. Jose Abuedo, Spain
3. Evgeny Baranov, Belarus
Male category “Sword and Buckler” 1vs1.
1. Ilya Ivanov, Russia
2. Krzysztof Szatecki, Poland
3. Konstantin Nataluha, Ukraine
Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
3. Ilya Ivanov, Russia
Female category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Galina Kohvakko, Russia
2 .Maria Davydova, Russia
3. Irina Ilnitskaya, Ukraine
Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Russia 2
3. Russia 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Ukraine
2. Russia
3. France
Male category “Sword and Shield” 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Marcin Waszkielis, Poland
3. Matthieu Bakto, France
Female category “Sword and Shield” 1vs1.
1. Galina Kohvakko, Russia
2. Agnieszka Lasota, Poland
3. Denise Töpfer, Germany
Male Category Polearm "Duel” 1vs1.
1. Evgeny Ageev, Russia
2. Evgeny Baranov, Belarus
3. Sergey Moroz, Ukraine
Female Category Polearm "Duel” 1vs1.
1. Olga Grabovskaya, Ukraine
2. Lisa Galli, USA
3. Alina Abdullaeva, Russia
Male category “Sword and Buckler” 1vs1.
1. Ilya Ivanov, Russia
2. Konstyantyn Natalukha, Ukraine
3. Robert Szatecki, Poland
Female category “Sword and Buckler” 1vs1.
1. Ksenia Vjunova, Russia
2. Irina Ilnitskaya, Ukraine
3. Esther Veldstra, Netherlands
Male category Longsword “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
2. Krzysztof Szatecki, Poland
3. Alexandr Vasilinich, Ukraine
Female category Longsword “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Coline Marod, France
2. Olga Grabovskaya, Ukraine
3. Malgorzata Zeblinska, Poland
Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Henri Depal, France
3. Ilya Ivanov, Russia
Female category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Galina Kokhvakko, Russia
2. Anastasia Mesheriakova, Russia
3. Coline Marod, France
Male category “PROFIGHTS” U75 1vs1.
1. Vyacheslav Levakov, Russia
2. Grigoriy Chaploutskiy, Ukraine
3. Marсin Janiszewski, Poland
Male category "PROFIGHTS” 75-85 1vs1.
1. Lukas Kowal, UK
2. Robert Szatecki, Poland
3 .Maxim Slavchenko, Russia
Male category “PROFIGHTS” 85-95 1vs1.
1. Ilya Dragan, Moldova
2. Franck de Gouil, France
3. Konstyantyn Natalukha, Ukraine
Male category “PROFIGHTS” O95 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Krzysztof Szatecki, Poland
3. Ivan Tyutyunnik, Ukraine
Male Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Russia 2
3. Russia 3
Female Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia
2. France
3. HMBIA 3
Category “Mass Battles” 21vs21.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. France
Male category “Sword and Shield” 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Marcin Waszkielis, Poland
3. Lukas Kowal, UK
Female category “Sword and Shield” 1vs1.
1. Alina Lappo, Russia
2. Agnieszka Lasota, Poland
3. Melanie Gras, Germany
Male Category Polearm "Duel” 1vs1.
1. Yaroslav Rusanov, Russia
2. Mihal Bednarski, Poland
3. Kang Lu, China
Female Category Polearm "Duel” 1vs1.
1. Olga Grabovskaya, Ukraine
2. Alina Abdullaeva, Russia
3. Maja Celińska, Poland
Male category “Sword and Buckler” 1vs1.
1. Ilya Ivanov, Russia
2. Grigoriy Chaploutskiy, Ukraine
3. Bohumil Masnicak, UK
Female category “Sword and Buckler” 1vs1.
1. Maria Davydova, Russia
2. Aleksandra Soloshenko, Kazakhstan
3. Aleksandra Sokolsky, Ukraine
Male category Longsword “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
2. Alexander Vasilinich, Ukraine
3. Vladimirs Maksimenko, Latvia
Female category Longsword “Duel” 1vs1.
1. Anastasia Mesheriakova, Russia
2. Olga Grabovskaya, Ukraine
3. Sigrid Karlsson, Sweden
Male category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Sergey Ukolov, Russia
3. Ilya Ivanov, Russia
Female category “Triathlon Duel” 1vs1.
1. Alina Lappo, Russia
2. Anastasia Mesheriakova, Russia
3. Maria Davydova, Russia
Male category “PROFIGHTS” U75 1vs1.
1. Vyacheslav Levakov, Russia
2. Mykola Shalimov, Ukraine
3. Anatolii Iushan, Moldova
Male category "PROFIGHTS” 75-85 1vs1.
1. Alexander Nadezhdin, Russia
2. Lukas Kowal, UK
3. Maksim Skorikau, Belarus
Male category “PROFIGHTS” 85-95 1vs1.
1. Ilya Dragan, Moldova
2. Sebastian Coors, Germany
3. Maksim Slavchenko, Russia
Male category “PROFIGHTS” O95 1vs1.
1. Alexey Petrik, Russia
2. Lukasz Wojciechowski, Poland
3. Artem Semenenko, Moldova
Male Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia 1
2. Russia 3
3. France 1
Female Category “Group Battles” 5vs5.
1. Russia
2. Finland
3. Ukraine
Category “Mass Battles” 12vs12.
1. Russia
2. U3. Belarus
Category “Mass Battles” 30vs30.
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. UK
The first meeting for the organization of the festival and the championship was held in Kharkiv in 2009. Its participants, captains of the first national teams, came to a consensus concerning how to hold the event. Since the rules could vary in different countries and even in different regions of one country, they also agreed of a set of unified international rules for the conduct of battles.
The first "Battle of the Nations" event was held in 2010 in Khotyn (Ukraine). It was attended by the national teams of four countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland. Russia won most of the first places. The program included three categories: a duel (1 vs 1), group battles (5 vs 5) and mass battles (21 vs 21). For those who were not members of the national teams, but came to support the comrades, there were non-security buhurts.
The second event, in 2011, was also held at the Khotyn Fortress. seven national teams participated; the previous four and three novice teams: Italy, Germany, Quebec. Two more categories were added to the three classic ones, namely the “professional fight” and “all vs all”. The latter category allows participants who are not members of the national teams to fight for their countries. The first places were won by Russia. The festival was attended by about 30,000 spectators and a documentary about the life of the participants was shot.
The 2012 event was held in Warsaw, Poland, and included representatives of twelve countries. A feature of the festival were battles of mounted knights, that were included in the program of the traditionally foot world championship in HMB for the first time. The top four teams were Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and USA.
The 2013 event was held in Aigues-Mortes, France. Twenty-two teams from Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific Rim took part. With the increase of teams, there were no "pro rules" fights or mounted jousting in the main arena. The top four teams were Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and USA.
In 2014, due to the dissatisfaction of some of the members with HMBIA, the organisers of the Battle of the Nations, some member states went on to create the International Medieval Combat Federation.
The 2014 event was the fifth event, and was held in Trogir, Croatia. Around 30 countries were expected.
The 2015 event was the sixth event, and was held in Prague.
The 2016 even was the seventh event, and was held in Prague. 35 countries were expected.
The 2017 event was the eighth event, and was held in Barcelona, Spain and was the first year that the Chinese, Brazilian and Turkish team joined Battle of the Nations.
The 2018 event was the ninth event, and was held in Rome, Italy
The 2019 event was the 10th event, and was held in Smederevo Fortress, in Smederevo, Serbia.
While the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID-19, the 2022 was cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Valid battle categories of the competitions held among national teams on the HMB and a brief explanation of them:
For the 10th anniversary in 2019, the HMBIA announced the 150 vs 150 category, a unique mass-battle event where alliances of teams from the 30vs30 category fight in the largest mass battle category ever offered.
Old categories:
Valid non-battle categories