It is a beautiful Thursday afternoon. A gentle breeze is blowing and the sun is shining all around the field between Bryan Jr. auditorium and Bauman telecommunications center.
Suddenly, a taunting battle cry pierces the air.
UNCG student Ira Knight shouts, “Minions, kill him! Kill the one with blonde hair!”
An army of 15 people brandishing swords and pole arms, charges forward. Whap, Whap, the sound of foam hitting skin. This is Guilford’s unknown sport. This is Amtgard.
“Contrary to popular myth, Amtgard is not an acronym,” reads the official Amtgard website. “The word is essentially Norse/Icelandic in origin, and refers to a land between Midgard and Valhalla, a plain of existence for heroes who are more than human but still less than the ‘gods’.”
It is a live-action role-playing game that recreates individual and group combat from medieval eras and fantasy genres.
The organization is based in El Paso, TX, but membership spans the nation. Guilford’s chapter is sponsored by the Yachting Club.
To participate in Amtgard events, which now take place on Thursday and Saturday afternoons, you need only sign a waiver and enjoy fighting with foam weapons.
Several battle variations are played throughout the course of one afternoon. Games range from team combat, to every person for themselves, to minion, a complicated game where the slain become slaves to those that killed them.
After players make 12 appearances, they advance one level and gain extra powers and additional lives. This constitutes the role-playing aspect of Amtgard.
The two men in charge of Guilford’s chapter, Brock Mitchel-Slentz and James Wooten, both graduated from Guilford in May. But that could not keep them away from doing what they love.
Mitchel-Slentz is Guilford’s most experienced player, a sixth-level barbarian. He has participated regularly since the school began hosting Amtgard events three years ago. He has seen it grow from 15 people on a given afternoon to almost 40.
“It’s impressive,” Mitchel-Slentz said. “Having so many people is awesome. It makes the games that much more interesting.”
“It’s fun to play. You get to run around with fake weapons and get beaten up and it doesn’t hurt. The only downside is that we can’t do it more often.”
Wooten is the less experienced fighter of the pair, but you would never guess from watching him play. Wearing a homemade suit of armor composed of over 30 individual pieces of metal and binding leather strips, and carrying a foam-padded shield, he fends off attackers left and right.
“I used to hit my brothers with sticks when I was younger,” Wooten said. “It worked, but foam padding is better. Now no one gets hurt.”
Despite the game’s violent nature, injuries are a rare sight on the field. “Nationally, the worst injury that occurred was a broken leg when someone stepped in a gopher hole in Texas,” said Wooten.
There are no pads, aside from armor worn by various players, but junior Gregory Black noted, “Some people do wear cups.”
Amtgard meets on Thursday afternoons at 3:45 and on Saturday afternoons at 2:00 in between Bryan Jr. and Bauman. Extra weapons, for those who don’t have their own, are made available by the Yachting Club. Everyone is encouraged to give it a try at least once.