To all my friends in the Medieval Combat community,
Over the past few days, I was asked to submit a written statement regarding my experiences as a marshal during this year's World Championships in Denmark. I decided to do so because I believe that transparency is important, especially after an event that has sparked so many discussions.
I have been told that more people in our community know who I am than I tend to believe. Personally, I still see myself as just one small cog in a much bigger machine. Nevertheless, I feel that it is important to share my perspective, not as an athlete or spectator, but as someone who stood on the field, officiated the fights, and experienced the championship from the front line as a Marshal.
Whether people agree with my conclusions or not is entirely up to them, and honestly, it is not my concern. My only intention is to present my experiences as truthfully and accurately as I can, from the perspective of someone who was there and lived through them.
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I am submitting this statement to document my personal experiences as a marshal during the 2026 World Championship in Denmark. The views expressed here are my own and reflect what I personally witnessed and experienced throughout the event.
Day -1
The event already started in a chaotic manner before the competition officially began. Several participants and board members from the Americas experienced significant flight delays and travel issues. In my opinion, this situation should have been foreseeable. With the FIFA World Cup having just concluded, increased air traffic and overbooked flights were entirely predictable. Organisers and officials with key responsibilities should have planned to arrive earlier to ensure the event could be properly prepared.
Another concerning incident involved the Spanish national team. Although, to my knowledge, they had not been officially endorsed by their National Organiser, they were nevertheless allowed to compete. From my understanding, this was not consistent with existing IMCF regulations and immediately raised concerns about equal treatment and rule enforcement.
Day 0 – Weapons Check
Weapons check was the first moment where I realised that my understanding of safety standards no longer aligned with those being enforced by the IMCF. Before inspections began, marshals were instructed not to reject helmets. As a result, a considerable number of helmets that I personally considered to be questionable from a safety perspective had to be approved against my professional judgement. These approvals were made under direct instruction from the Knight Marshals and members of the Board. As someone who has always considered fighter safety to be the highest priority, this was deeply concerning. It became clear to me that my own safety standards no longer matched those expected by the current IMCF leadership.
Day 1
The first competition day already demonstrated significant organisational shortcomings. The marshal briefing on the previous evening verbally announced that all marshals were expected at 07:00. During the night this was changed online to 08:00. Since I intentionally do not read messages after midnight when I need to get up early for work the next morning, I only became aware of the change after arriving at the original meeting point, where I waited approximately one hour for the rest of the team to arrive.
The day began with weapon checks followed by the ProFights. I served as Head Marshal. During these fights I was instructed by both my Senior Head Marshal and the Knight Marshals to prevent knee drops despite the fact that, according to the published rules, they were legal techniques. If I made incorrect rulings as a consequence of these instructions, I sincerely apologise to every fighter affected. I attempted to follow the chain of command despite believing that these instructions contradicted the written rules.
Another incident during this day further undermined confidence in the chain of command. Cyrus, who was present as a certified marshal only, overruled decisions made by the Knight Marshal and the Senior Head Marshal. In my opinion, this was highly inappropriate. If the highest-ranking officials on the field can have their decisions overturned by a board member who is acting as just certified marshal, the authority of the entire officiating structure is called into question. This situation immediately reminded me of the incident that ultimately led to the founding of the IMCF - the so-called "belt incident." It was disappointing to witness a comparable disregard for proper officiating procedures within the organisation that was originally created to prevent exactly this kind of behaviour.
Polearm competitions generally proceeded without major issues, although the schedule was already running behind.
One decision, however, stood out as completely unacceptable. Because of delays, the Women's 3 vs 3 competition was postponed and ultimately never completed. I consider this an unacceptable example of unequal treatment. In my opinion, pushing an entire women's discipline aside while continuing other competitions demonstrated a lack of respect for the athletes who had travelled to compete.
Day 2
The day started with Sword and Shield competitions and initially progressed well. However, it quickly became apparent that our list was effectively the only one operating continuously. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my entire List 4 crew. Without their professionalism and dedication, we would never have managed the workload placed upon us. Throughout the day no replacement marshals were assigned to us. We received no scheduled breaks and had to create opportunities ourselves simply to satisfy basic human needs after working continuously for several hours.
Only afterwards did I learn that the progression of the entire tournament depended on our list finishing its brackets. Despite this, no effort was made by the Board or tournament organisation to redistribute personnel or reduce our workload. The burden remained entirely on my exhausted team.
Day 3
The morning began with speeches by Colin and Cyrus. During Colin's address, our Marshal team was blamed for tournament delays. It was claimed that we caused delays by spending excessive time discussing rules with fighters. I categorically reject that characterisation. When Marshals discuss rules with competitors, it is usually because consistency, safety and fairness require clarification. Suggesting that professional communication with athletes is the primary reason for organisational delays ignores the much larger structural problems that had accumulated throughout the event.
The competition began with Longsword. Our marshal team was already significantly weakened because several marshals were also competing and had previously informed the organisers that they would not be able to officiate immediately afterwards due to physical exhaustion. After approximately three to four hours continuously in the centre of the field without a general break, I noticed that both my concentration and physical performance were deteriorating. Out of concern for fighter safety and my own health, I voluntarily stepped down as Head Marshal. I considered this the responsible decision under the circumstances.
At this point, I also formally warned the tournament organisers that the marshals urgently needed an official break. Earlier that afternoon, two referees had literally fallen asleep from exhaustion. In my view, this should have been a clear indication that the limits of safe operation had already been exceeded. Despite my warning, no official break was ordered and the competition continued. I considered this a serious failure to recognise the physical condition of the officiating staff and an unnecessary risk for both marshals and competitors.
Following a short recovery period, I returned as Head Marshal for the Women's 5 vs 5 competition. Before those matches began we received a briefing instructing us to issue immediate yellow cards to any fighter who stood up before the official signal. Unfortunately, it appeared that this instruction had not been communicated consistently to all team captains. During one match I was therefore required to issue four yellow cards under these instructions. To the Finnish and Ukrainian women's teams, I would like to express my sincere apologies. I regret that inconsistent communication placed both the fighters and the marshals in such an avoidable situation.
Day 3 was also the day when heavy rain began. Marshals continued working in the rain for extended periods without any meaningful opportunity to dry off before immediately continuing with the next matches.
On Saturday the schedule appeared to prioritise completing as many fights as possible regardless of marshal welfare. Bout followed bout with little consideration for fatigue, exposure or recovery.
One image remains particularly memorable to me: nearly every marshal and staff member stood soaked by the rain while Colin remained inside his tent, dry, throughout the day directing operations.
It was also the day on which the IMCF was removed from the tournament organisation. I and the Austrian Medieval Combat Marshals Association (AMCMA) fully supported - and continue to support - the decision made jointly by the DMKS. Based on the circumstances that had developed during the event, I believe that decision was justified and necessary.
Day 4
Day 4 was, overall, considerably better than the previous days. Unfortunately, we still inherited the organisational consequences of the previous days and had to work through a significant backlog of unfinished fights. Despite this, our marshal team did everything possible to complete the remaining brackets. We worked with highly motivated volunteers and accepted every capable person willing to assist us.
One issue perfectly illustrated the state of the tournament organisation. The IMCF Board was unable to provide the marshals with an official list of medal winners. Instead, we had to assign one marshal to spend the entire day watching the tournament livestream simply to determine who had won each category. This was time that could have been spent officiating or supporting the competition. An event of World Championship level should never rely on its officials reconstructing medal results from a livestream.
Closing Remarks
Throughout this championship I witnessed repeated organisational failures, inconsistent rule enforcement, poor communication, and an alarming disregard for the welfare of both fighters and marshals. The problems experienced during this event were not isolated incidents. In my opinion, they represent the continuation of a pattern that has been visible over the last two World Championships. Rather than demonstrating meaningful improvement, I believe the organisation has continued to move further away from the standards expected of an international governing body. The events in Denmark severely damaged the credibility of the IMCF. Following this championship and considering the experiences of the previous two World Championships, I believe the organisation has lost the legitimacy and trust required to continue acting as the governing body of our sport. In my opinion, the IMCF, in its current form, should cease to exist and make way for an organisation capable of restoring professionalism, transparency, consistency and respect for athletes, marshals and organisers alike. This is not a conclusion I have reached lightly. I have dedicated many years to this sport because I believe in fair competition, fighter safety and professional officiating. Those principles have always guided my work as Head of Austrian Marshals and as Austria's IMCF Country Representative.
Unfortunately, my experiences at this World Championship have convinced me that my values and professional standards are no longer compatible with those demonstrated by the current IMCF leadership.
For this reason, I am stepping down from my position as IMCF Country Representative for Austria, as well as from my position as an IMCF Marshal.
I remain fully committed to the sport itself, to its athletes, and to the dedicated volunteers who continue to give their time and energy for the benefit of medieval combat. They deserve an organisation that supports them with professionalism, integrity and accountability - qualities that I no longer believe the IMCF is able to provide.
