As you may know, authenticity has been part of the sport since the very beginning of it. Even when it was not called officially Authenticity Committee yet, our armors, shields, and weapons have always been inspired by middle age artifacts and manuscripts.
During Buhurt International era, the Authenticity Committee will be driven by the council of 5 people: 4 counsellors who have been elected by the Authenticity Officers, and 1 head of Authenticity, voted by National Representatives. All of them have 2-years terms and in this news, we want to share with you who they are.
From Brazil, Flávio Pinho de Almeida Reis is an authenticity officer since Battle of the Nations 2017 in Spain. He made hundreds of authenticity checks, and is usually asked as a reference for late 15th century armor, as that has become his field of study.
From the United States, Bryce Newtson is from Minneapolis, MN. His lifelong passion for medieval armor and martial arts has led him to buhurt in 2018. Bryce is a Field Captain and Coach for his local team, the Twin Cities Wyverns. Additionally, he serves as the Authenticity Representative for Medieval Combat USA. Bryce is dedicated to making authenticity rules and standards more accessible without compromising safety, effectiveness, or imposing excessive costs.
From France, Alex “Reaper” Bourlot is an armor smith and authenticity referee of the team he used to fight with (Ar Groaz Du). He has been diving into research for years now, and it never stops. Theory and crafting, along with frequent practice of various kinds, allowed him to understand the depths of what is true (western European) armor, what it is supposed to be and how it should be worn. Authenticity and armors are very often prone to misconceptions and misunderstandings in the sport, be it with new or older fighters. He hopes to make parts of that knowledge accessible and understandable to the community.
Another french counselor, Hubert Lartigue is an authenticity officer and fighter for many years, he has a good vision of the compromise between sporting optimization and historical consistency of armor. Having a good knowledge of reference documents and their limitations, he always tries to advise fighters in their choice of armor pieces for our sport based on solid sources.
And for Head of Authenticity, Xavier Depeyre, also from France, was elected by National Representatives during our very first AGM in October 2023. He is one of the oldest French fighter still active, have been marshal for almost 10 years, and now fully dedicated to Authenticity since 2018. He knows the task will not be easy, but with the support from other counselors, authenticity officers and the whole Buhurt International community, we can do everything!
