So I decided to interview some fellow fighters and Belegarth veterans to give a more inside look on the sport and the event! So here it is, straight from the…er…well, you get the point.

Lord Marshall Talon Blackwolfe (Realm Leader of Sword Coast, the realm I am a member of):

What is your title in Bel?

Realm Leader.

What is your favorite part about BFTR?

Large groups fighting on a big field.

What did you like about this year as opposed to past year?

Vendor’s row…I prefer when foam fighting events mix in a little extra. My ideal event would be a Ren Faire with a Bele battle field.

Can you give some advice for someone attending their first event?

HAVE FUN, protect yourself, don’t try to be a badass your first year. It’s okay to die every battle, most people do.

The lovely lady behind the event, Anastasia Nagel:

You put so much effort into all of this. What is the best part about throwing such a huge event?

The best part about doing an event like BFTR is to see how the younger generations who take up fighting enjoy the event and also bond with their friends. I met my first true friends in the sport and felt very accepted by it, and that was a feeling that I had not had until much later in my life. I am so happy when I see others enjoying that camaraderie, finding themselves in the sport, and also finding friends that they will keep for a lifetime. I think that’s why I put on the event; I want people to have something to come together for, so that they can enjoy that sense of belonging to a community.

What are some things we can expect from BFTR in the coming years?

In the future, I think we can expect BFTR to keep growing bigger and better. Everyone always thinks I am crazy when I tell them how big it will be, but I really hope to see 1000 people here by 2017. I know we have a lot more people on the West that might come, and of course, we keep growing in California so that even more of our own people come. We have a great spot in January that puts us opposite the largest summer events for the major fighting organizations. I hope we can get more of those snowbirds to come visit sunny So Cal during the winter. As for changes to the event, we may increase the duration if it gets very big. I think we still want to try having some vendors and hopefully in the future, food vendors or food trucks. Otherwise, I think we will keep on doing what we have been.

Lord Black, his awesomeness, who helps with the event:

What got you started with Bel?

My friend Torn invited me 3 years ago.

What was your first BFTR? How was it different form this year’s?

First BFTR was in 2011. It’s camping now; before it was a one day event.

Did you or your realm win anything this year?

I won an award for contributing to the sport in SoCal. The prize was a bottle of Patron.

Darth Cheeseheart (on the left), who also helps host this great event:

How is BFTR evolving in your eyes?

Okay, so in my eyes, Battle for the Ring is quickly evolving into a medieval extravaganza. It’s quickly growing into a multi-faceted event in which the combat isn’t the only important thing about it. This past year, we took a shot at introducing some cultural aspects to the event, such as drumming, brewing, and dancing classes, as well as an assortment of vendors that specifically cater to a medieval community. I hope to see a growth in both, and can’t wait until our event looks like an SCA event; taking up the ENTIRE park, and having not hundreds, but thousands of attendees. While that is far into the future, I imagine we’ll have 1000 attendees by Battle for the Ring X. Having the game room open late at nights is a great way to develop a very social, very friendly community to attendees from all games, sports, and regions. But, being partial to the fighting aspect, having been the Head Herald for the event three years running, with at least one more year at that position ahead of me, I really do want the fighting to grow the most. I want to create a fighting experience like no other event has ever seen, with unique battles and scenarios that not only encourage strategy, tactics, communication, and intense teamwork, but that also highly encourage fun, and most importantly, encourage having good honor.

What is your favorite thing about the event?

My favorite thing about the event, unsurprisingly, would have to be the tournament that I host on the third day of the event, the Bel Bowl. The Bel Bowl is an eight-to-ten person tournament in the style of Aztec Football. (Game rules here: http://geddon.org/Aztec_Football). I love multiple aspects of that tournament. For me, being Hispanic and therefore having ties to Aztec culture gives me an excuse to break away from my normal personas, and adopt a persona that is more savage, tribal, violent, and, dare I say…God-like. Not only that, but the level of competition during this tournament is unmatched by any other fighting during the event. To win at Aztec Football requires everything: tactics, team strategy, communication, brute strength, speed, and a little bit of violence in each of the participants. In my opinion, it makes for an awesome game to watch and participate in as well. I hope that as the years go on, I can include more ceremonies and theatrics which will surround the tournament. I started that off this year with a Field Procession Contest, in which the competing teams were all trying to have the best entrance onto the field. It was fun to watch the creativity, and in some cases, the lack thereof.

How does BFTR compare to other Bel events?

As far as how our event stacks up to other Foam Fighting events that I’ve been to (both Belegarth and Dagorhir, and some LARP get-togethers), the obvious thing to consider is the attendance. Other than Chaos Wars, BFTR is the event with the largest attendance that I’ve ever been to. I know that events on the East Coast see our numbers regularly, but for a young event that takes place in a still-growing region and is hosted by a relatively young realm (Anduril is six years old, approximately), the growth and attendance of the event is impressive. Again, I’d like to think that our event offers some unique things, such as the fighting and the social atmosphere that we create. But perhaps the most unique thing is that it is run primarily by young fighters, and they continue to run things well. Our event is going to quite literally breed the next generation of leaders in the Foam Fighting Community. I could try to list all of the people I saw stepping up, much to my pleasure and surprise, but that’d be an article on its own.

Kaji Akumu hitchhiked all the way from Montana to get to the event:

So, you hitchhiked all the way? What made you want to? How was that experience?

It took three rides, the last of which bought me a bus ticket the rest of the way. I left Missoula to escape from the norm for a little and to see my Bel family. It was quite the trip. I had a sage fire on my way down there. The sage was so dry and dead it pulled itself out of the ground, lol; it was very cleansing. I met another man named Dpak (who gave me the ride from Dillon, MT to Sacramento, CA) who was helping another person at the same time as he was helping me: a young woman who was having a real bad time of it (broken leg and recently stabbed in the back (with a real knife…) so that was something else too. People always assume the worst of people are all that’s out there, and I get to see in my own life how untrue that really is, and couldn’t be more proud of the huge leaps of culture we have been making as a whole. I also saw a man die in Fresno…he parked his car, walked into the bus station, and fell down dead… that was also something else…

What do you love most about Bel and attending events like BFTR?

I love Bel for the feeling of family and community. We always help out other Belegrim (other Bel participants) without being asked a lot of the time. We are a large group of people, you know that we are just that, people. We don’t need any reason to love each other, but I have seen more love in Bel than anywhere in this world…not even Rainbow Gathering has us on that, lol.

There you have it, folks. We are a very tight-knit family in Bel. As you can see, the people involved are all very passionate about it. If you like all things medieval, if you like sword or weapon fighting, or are even interested in it at all, I hope that whoever reads this gets a chance to check out the sport someday! You can find more information about the sport itself here.

Much love!

-Ardenwolfe