Mountain Melee Championship – Sept 27 – Sept 29th
Mountain Melee Championship developed through the inspirations of Lincoln Hawk.
Lincoln Hawk first started his interest in Armored Combat about 5-6 years ago while attending the Irwindale, Ca Renaissance Fair. “From afar I heard the clashing of swords and metal.” said Lincoln. He headed over to check it out and that’s where he met Brad Blackmon and Jay Tesla. “Fifteen minutes of watching them battle-it-out, I HAD to know how I could join!” After getting contact information he slowly started meeting the Golden Knights and is now hooked on the Steel Fighting and armor upkeep.
Lincoln, his wife and three cats live in the small town of Idyllwild. It’s a beautiful little town located in the San Jacinto Mountains of Riverside County, California. The picturesque community is a favorite tourist destination for hiking, mountain and rock climbing, mountain biking, and horseback riding.
But the nearly perfect weekend getaway site has experienced some hard times in the last few months.
Around noon on July 25, 2018, numerous fires, (set by an arsonist) began to spread around the mountain community and that evening the fire, (referred to as the Cranston Fires), had burned 4,700 acres with only five percent containment. By July 27 over 7,000 people had to be evacuated including the residents of Idyllwild. It wasn’t until August 10, 2018, the Cranston Fire was fully contained. Its devastation burned over 13,139 acres.
During the “Cranston Fires” Lincoln had the only car for his family and he was using it for his commute to LA.
“Luckily the town came together and got my wife and our three cats down to the safety of the desert”.
Then, on February 14, 2019, heavy rains, in conjunction with the burn scars from the Cranston Fires , caused numerous mudflows and floods.
The deadly Valentine’s Day flood took two lives and created a sinkhole in Highway 243 near Idyllwild. All roads leading to Idyllwild were closed as the “atmospheric river” storm enveloped Southern California.
“My home town Idyllwild has been through the ringer this year with massive fires and losing some roads to flooding. The community needs the healing power of steel!” says Lincoln Hawk.
Enter The Idyllwild Renaissance Fair!
Lincoln got the idea of helping his town while visiting the local Renaissance Fair. “The festival crew last year was pretty small, so I met the main guy organizing it and told him about Armored Combat and maybe I could bring up some knights to put in a good show.”
The organizer was thrilled at the idea of having knights in armor at their small festival. “I still don’t think he fully understands the impact and excitement it will bring!” says Lincoln. After planning with the Renaissance Fair organizers Lincoln said that “one thing led to another” and it kind of “developed into a melee championship”. But as it turns out this may be a very good thing and the bump in tourists that Idyllwild desperately needs. People have been a little afraid to visit the small town, but events like the Renaissance Fair will help bring people back and that will help to make this beautiful town thrive once again.
For more information on the Idyllwild Mountain Melee Tournament please check out event listing at
https://www.armoredcombatsports.com/events/mountain-melee-championship-1/
