Sparks are flying at the Okotoks Agriplex this weekend.

The Heavy Armored Combat Sports Association is holding their Winter Cup, wherein combatants dressed in full plate amour battle it out with swords, axes, maces, and spears to determine who will represent Team Canada in an international tournament in Madrid this May.

HACSA usually holds the event at the Brooks Medieval Fair, but after its cancellation, their search for a new venue brought them to Okotoks.

The tournament featured teams from Alberta, Yukon, BC, Saskatchewan, and even a team from Texas.

President of HACSA Richard Manns says the Agriplex makes for a great venue for their purposes.

"It's pretty good! The sand is nice. We looked at a few other places, one of them was Beach YYC, but it didn't have the stadium seating and the sand was very deep, and it's tough to fight in sand that's deep."

He says the sport comes with a long list of safety rules and regulations.

"We have two rule sets, one for HMB and one for IMCF. Those we follow as meticulously as we can, they're very long. Some of the main ones are no stabbing, no attacking an opponent who is bent over more than fifty degrees, you cannot strike the head in that case, no back of the leg, nothing that causes intentional injury."

It can get hot under the thick padding and plate armour, meaning the cold snap provided ideal conditions.

Armour and weapons must all be approved, with historical accuracy also emphasized in the rules.

Manns says the proper equipment can be hard to come by around these parts.

"We have very very few people in Canada who will make or repair this type of armour. The locations we usually get them from are overseas. Ukraine is a big one, a lot of these guys get Ukrainian armour."

Despite the need to ship the equipment overseas, Manns says it's relatively inexpensive.

"Actually it's cheaper than hockey! My goalie gear was was something like thirty eight hundred bucks. I can get a cheap kit for this sport for maybe fourteen to fifteen hundred bucks."

He says a lack of awareness is currently the biggest hurdle for the sport; something he hopes to combat by holding more of these events

HACSA will be appearing at the The Calgary Medieval Faire & Artisan Market in June, which Manns says is sure to garner a crowd.

The tournament here in Okotoks continues from 10-2 today (Sunday, January 19th) at the Agriplex.

For more information on HACSA, click here.