Le Ceau Tournament

Only the most famous holoblade tournament in the Alliance.

History and Structure

The first Le Ceau Tournament was held in 71 BA (year 2471), shortly after the invention of the Well Drive, and is nearly as old as the Alliance itself. It was held initially on a station in orbit around Asanao and was known at the time as the Asanao Holoblade Tournament, but it swiftly outgrew the venue and was moved to the planet, to the small town of Le Ceau. It was subsequently renamed the Asanao Le Ceau Tournament, and lost the 'Asanao' monicker by the second year of its move. The town itself grew to service the needs of the tournament and by now has become a city dedicated to hosting and facilitating the sport. The station, which grew too small for the planet's needs as well, was left in geostationary orbit over Le Ceau and is now a fashionable resort for tourists and visitors to use during the sports season.

Le Ceau is the premiere showcase of the holoblade arts and is separated into two major sporting divisions: the fixed length holoblade, and the variable holoblade. In 296 BA, a new event was added for shock-staves, classified as "Adjunct Holoweapons," and at that time the hololance event was moved into this category, out of the fixed length holoblade events.

Each sport in the Fixed Length Holoblade category is separated into men's and women's contests. There was a brief period of nine years, starting in 87 BA, where the categories were shifted from men's and women's contests to digitigrade and plantigrade, but it was judged after those trial years that the differences between male and female contestants was greater than between leg types, and the events were shifted back.

Events

Fixed Holoblade

There are four events in the Fixed Holoblade category, post-296 BA when hololance was moved into the Adjunct event schedule. Each event is separated into male and female divisons.

• Fixed Dagger - Always fought with two weapons.
• Fixed Sword, Single
• Fixed Sword, Double
• Fixed Sword and Holoshield - Of the fixed competitions, this is inevitably the most difficult, and the most discussed. Like the sword length, the shield size must be fixed at the beginning of the match. There has been talk, on and off, of a variable holoshield event, but no real movement toward developing it as a sport.

Variable Holoblade

The match of the tournament, Variable Holoblade is the only event that has a single competition (no male/female separations). Known as 'the chess of the holoblade world,' it is fought by contestants using a holoblade with (I forgot how many, look it up, I think it's eight) strength settings, which can be set anywhere between lance and dagger length. The contest *must* be won on points, and points are awarded based on how frequently the competitor shifts their blade as well as how many touches they score.

This is the most arduous of contests, requiring physical and mental skill, and the champion of the Variable Holoblade event takes home the Le Ceau Trophy, and returns the following year to open the tournament.

Adjunct Holoweapons

The Adjunct category is separated into male and female divisions.

• Fixed Hololance - fought with holoblades set to their longest setting.
• Shock-Stave - the only tournament event not fought with a holosword. The staves used in this event are the same kind used in police and military applications, but the shock effect is prohibited in competition.

Traditional Weapons

The traditional weapons category is separated into male and female divisions.

• Foil - using the traditional Terran foil.
• Other traditional weapons.

Famous Participants

• Avram Hancock won in BA 450, using the variable holoblade style.
• Taylitha Basil won in BA 455.