Are you looking to join a mace swinging competition? At this point, information on Steel Mace (or Macebell/Gada) Competitions isn’t exactly easy to come by.
So, we’ve done the research and reached out to our contacts in the mace community to get as much information for you as we could.
Below we will list the mace competitions that we know of in the United States, Canada and other countries in the world. We will provide competition information, locations, and dates.
As we learn about more mace competitions, we will update this article. Moreover, we will be updating this article yearly with the new mace competition dates and locations, and links to sign up…so you can bookmark this page for quick access.
As of writing this, it is July 14th, 2019, so a couple of 2019’s mace competitions have passed. We will list them so you can pay attention to those organizations for next year, and they might be doing smaller mace competition throughout the year that we will be looking out for as well.
**Updated on September 6, 2019**
MACE COMPETITIONS, DATES & LOCATIONS
1. Vintage Strength Games (USA)
**UPDATE** NEW EVENT
Here is an update for the next event!
When: Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 1 PM – 6 PM EST
Where: LyonStrong by Lyonel Lumarque: 6895 SW 81 Street, Miami, Florida 33143
Info: Join us for the Vintage Strength Games, a first of its kind event featuring time-honored strength competitions of the mace and club. All experience levels are welcomed and encouraged to participate.
Scoring:
- Athletes weigh-ins are used to break ties within same mace weight events
- Men and Women Competitions
- Each weight increment within each event has separate Award ranking (Men - 5 lb increments & Women - 2.5 lb increments)
- Event Scoring (Including Challenge Round):
- 1st place – 3 points
- 2nd place – 2 points
- 3rd place – 1 point
- Overall men’s and women’s winner
- In the event of a tie, the lighter competitor is given the winMost points gathered from all events, regardless of weight usedTies are determined by placement in an optional Challenge Round
- Individual events are medaled
- Overall male and female winners are awarded at the end of the day.
About Vintage Strength Games
Vintage Strength Games is an event created by Vintage Strength Training and the American Kettlebell Alliance.
Vintage Strength Training focuses on movements in lifting that were performed hundreds of years ago using thick grip dumbbells, barbells with Kettlebells, Clubs and Maces.
The Vintage Strength Games bridges the gap between fitness enthusiasts and Kettlebell Sport. At the Vintage Strength Games, you will find a variety of competitions for Kettlebells, Clubs and Steel Maces.
As this post is about Mace Competitions, we will only discuss information on that.
When and Where:
Vintage Strength Game Mace Competitions have taken place for a few years now. They hold a couple of mace competitions throughout the year, the biggest one being at the Arnold Classic, which they have done the past 3 years.
Vintage Strength Mace Discipline:
Adex MACE - 10 to 2 Swing (Adex adjustable maces are the official mace of this mace competition)
Adex Mace (or Gada) Swing Competitions include Men and Women competitions, separately.
Weight:
Mace competition weight classes - 10lbs, 15lbs, 20lbs, 25lbs, 30lbs mace competitions
Form:
Here are the acceptable ways to perform the Adex Competition mace 10 to 2 swing, which is the one and only mace swing competition lift:
Taken from the official Vintage Strength Games Facebook page:
“In this event, the lifter will complete as many repetitions as possible in 5 minutes without putting the mace down.
The lifter will start with the mace on the floor and either throw or swing the club up to start.
One counted complete repetition includes a swing to both the left and to the right (or vice versa) to achieve ONE POINT.
*A swing to only one side will NOT achieve .5 point.
The lifter has to reverse the swing when the mace head is over their shoulder, both on the left and the right sides.
The lifter has to aim for a non-stop continuous flowing movement without rests or breaks.
The count is given when the mace comes to extension of the elbow in front of the body, hands to the belly button or belt line.
Hands not reaching the belly button (chest Swing) will result in NO COUNT.
The lifter must also complete a full back swing with the hands reaching behind the head to NECK LEVEL, if the lifter doesn’t complete the back swing than no point awarded but may continue to lift.”
Vintage Strength Mace Awards:
Each individual event will be awarded.
However, there is also an overall award that combines all of the weight classes and other events such as the kettlebell and club competitions)
Vintage Strength Overall Award:
“The Vintage Strength Overall Award is based upon total weight (kg) lifted across all VS events entered. (The more events in which you participate and the heavier your bell/mace weight will affect your overall score.)”
1 mace swing (right and left) = 1 points x weight factor
Stay Tuned:
Pay attention to Vintage Strength and AKA as they hold mace competitions at other big events, such as the Arnold Classics, Olympia in affiliation with IUKL, and more.
Past events:
Vintage Strength Games held a mace competition at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. It was held on Feb 28, 2019 at 5pm to Mar 3 at 4pm.
Vintage Strength Games held a mace competition at The Shop Gym - 9311 Wellington Rd, Manassas, VA 20110 on 08/17/2019 @12:00pm - 4:00pm.
2. IKFF WORLD KETTLEBELL CHAMPIONSHIP 2019 (USA)
When: Sat, October 26, 2019, 9:00am – 4:00pm EDT
Where: Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel - 21111 Haggerty Road, Novi, Michigan 48375
IKFF Mace Competition:
Mace Sets will be held at the end of the competition!
Mace Sets:
For those who want to do a 5 or 10 min mace set, below are the options:
- Two Arm 360
- Two 10 to 2's
- One Arm 360's (one hand switch)
- One Arm 360's (multiple hand switches)
Men will use a 10lb, 15lb, or 20lb Mace for two arm sets and 10lb or 15lb for one arm sets.
Women will use a 10lb or 15lb Mace for two arm sets and a 7lb or 10lb for one arm sets.
Maces will be provided
Maces Used for Competition:
IKFF Mace Competitions uses maces with similar structure as SET FOR SET’s maces. So, a round bell with a long lever - watch a women's competition round to see.
About IKFF
The International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation is an organization that promotes kettlebell training and complete mind and body fitness on a global level.
IKFF is an annual competition.
Their competitions take place each year and they consist mainly of different Kettlebell competitions, but as the mace is growing in popularity, they are now running mace competitions at the end of the kettlebell competitions.
Taken from IKFF’s official website:
“IKFF Rankings will be used for all events
Registration Fee:
Early - $85 (On/before August 1st)
Regular - $95 (August 2nd – October 1st )
Late - $105 (October 1st to October 18th)
*Registration fee covers up to two events.
After making payment for your registration, e-mail ikffworlds@ikff.net with the following registration info:
Event, Event K-bell Weight, Event Duration, Projected Weight Class
Questions: e-mail ikffworlds@ikff.net
Weigh-ins:
Weigh-ins will be held at the Sheraton Hotel on Friday, October 25th from 3:00 to 9:00pm.
Travel Information:
Recommended Hotel: Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel (Discounted Room Rates will be available soon)
Closest (Major) Airport: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)”
3. Warrior Flow Mace Competition 2019 (CANADA)
When: Saturday, June 8, 2019 at 9 AM – 4 PM CST (sorry this one has already passed…we will update for next years when we find out about the date)
Where: Warrior Flow, 2410 Dewdney Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan
Follow Warrior Flow on Facebook to Stay Updated
About The Warrior Flow Mace Competition
Warrior Flow Mace Competition recently had their 2nd annual Mace Competition this past June 2019.
Zack Yanyk is the owner and head coach of Regina gym Warrior Flow. Zack said that Queen City is the largest mace fitness community in Canada right now. As of now, he coaches over 30 people, and 15 of those athletes participate in this Mace Competition. Yanyk said it is the country’s largest competition.
Details:
There are three categories for both men and women. For all three categories, athletes in the top three spots receive medals.
This past competition, they introduced, the “Grand Champion” award, it is given to the male and female athletes with the highest combined score across all three events (5 minute 10&2s, 5 minute 360s, 10 minute 10&2s). This also came with a cash prize.
Although this is still relatively small as of now, we believe this is going to grow. It looks very well organized and a lot of fun.
Warrior Flow Mace Competition is welcoming mace athletes from around the world to Regina, Saskatchewan to test themselves on this upcoming platform. This is definitely a competition to keep your eye on.
Rules for Warrior Flow Steel Mace Competition:
Taken from Warrior Flows Facebook:
“Attire: closed toed shoes, athletic pants or shorts, an athletic top are all required. Gloves will be permitted. Braces or supports for elbows, wrists, knees, ankles etc. Will be permitted. Any form of headwear, such as bandanas or hats, will be permitted. Anything that “attaches” the competitor to the mace (such as deadlift straps) are not permitted. Chalk is permitted. Any form of “grip glues”, such as gorilla grip gels, will not be permitted.
Maces: Any mace size is permitted as long as it is an Agatsu brand mace [similar style steel mace as SET FOR SET].
Pre-lift: Competitors will have 5 minutes to get their scorecard into their judge's hands, get themselves situated on the platform with their mace, and make any preparations they require to the mace (such as chalking).
If a competitor is not ready to begin their set at the end of these 5 minutes they will be disqualified.
Start of Lift: The time judge will count down from 3 to indicate the start of the lift. During this countdown the competitors must have their hands off of the mace. Upon hearing the word “Go” the competitor will launch their mace and begin their set. If there is a “false start” all competitors will stop their sets, place the maces back on the platform, and wait for another countdown. If the same competitor causes two false starts they will be disqualified.
During the lift: 10&2s: the competitor will swing the mace from one side of their body to the other and back again. Reps will be counted each time the competitor changes directions. “No rep”s will occur if; The competitor does not bring their hands to the required depth (elbow on the bottom arm must open beyond 90 degrees). The competitor does not reach the required depth in their back swing (at least the top hand must be hidden behind the head during the back swing).
The competitor does not bring the mace to the required height (the mace must reach the “10” and “2” position- at least as high as the edge of the competitor’s shoulder) If the mace touches the competitor’s shoulder (but does not stop moving). The judge will inform the competitor “no rep” each time it occurs to the best of their ability.
360s: the competitor will swing the mace around the body, and continue on in that direction for proceeding reps. One direction change is permitted. Reps will be counted each time the competitor pauses their hands in the “stable” or "front rack" position (mace may continue to travel while hands are paused)“No reps” will occur if; The competitor does not pause their hands (mace may continue to travel while hands are paused) The competitor does not bring their hands to the required depth (elbow on the bottom arm must open beyond 90 degrees). The competitor does not reach the required depth in their back swing (at least the top hand must be hidden behind the head during the back swing). If the mace touches the competitor’s shoulder (but does not stop moving). The judge will inform the competitor “no rep” each time it occurs.
End of the lift: The competitor's set ends when; Their time is up. Their hands part further than one inch (judge's discretion) from each other. The mace touches the platform or the ground around the platform. The mace comes to a complete stop in contact with any part of the body other than the competitor's hands. The competitor receives three “no reps” IN A ROW.
Scoring: After the judges have recorded every competitor's reps they will determine scoring by multiplying the rep count by the mace’s weight in kilograms. The top three male and top three female competitors for each event will be rewarded a corresponding medal. The male athlete and female athlete with the highest combined score across all three events will be awarded the title of "Grand Champion" and the corresponding cash prize.”
4. Macebell Magyarország (Budapest)
We don’t have too much info on this as it is all in Hungarian, but we are sure they run mace competitions.
For those in Europe, this is one to pay attention to. Reach out to them to find out more info.
Follow Macebell Magyarország on Facebook
That’s all we have for now. We are going to continue our research and update this post as we go.
For now, and for those in the USA, it seems Vintage Strength Games and IKFF are the main mace competitions. There are going to be a lot of mace athletes at those events so get your mace game up!
INDIA:
We know there are many Gada competitions in India but we don't have any clear information on this. We will be looking into this more. It would be amazing to travel to the home of the first maces, India, to take place in a Gada Competition.
Mace Competition Results:
We are going to look into some results from past competitions to set the bar for you all. Stay tuned.
More Resources:
Listen to Steel Mace Warriors Podcast featuring Mr. Maceman. He talks a lot about mace competitions.
PREPARE & PRACTICE FOR MACE COMPETITIONS:
If you need some maces to prepare for the events, SET FOR SET is offering a discount for those looking to compete.
Use Code MACECOMPETITION20 for 20% OFF our steel maces (7-30LB maces available)
SET FOR SET’s Mace Competition:
Currently, we don’t run any mace competitions, but this is something that we are planning to start. We are looking to collaborate with some people and organizations to get this going. So stay tuned.
We are really looking forward to watching the sport grow and any organization or people helping with that we appreciate and support fully.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Since you are read this, we thought you might be interested in - How to start and run a successful steel mace class.
Sam Coleman
Author