Cactus Cup 2026 expands into a full HEMA summer weekend

Cactus Cup is pushing beyond bracket-only fencing and into destination territory, with a July 17-19, 2026 return in Mesa, Arizona, at a bigger, fancier venue backed by Mordhau Historical Combat. The weekend will pair expanded tournament categories with onsite vendors, classes and social activities, a combination that could make the event more useful for competitors, spectators and traveling clubs alike.

The competition slate is wider than a standard open. Planned divisions include longsword, sword & buckler, single rapier, saber, open cutting, open trivia and an experimental division marked TBD. Around those strips, the schedule is built to stretch the weekend: Thursday Night Icebreaker, Friday Night Pool Party and Saturday Night Sword Prom all signal that the organizers want fencers to stay, spend time together and treat Mesa as the center of the summer circuit.

That approach fits the school behind the event. Mordhau Historical Combat is based at 2909 South Dobson Road, Suite 1, in Mesa, where it says it teaches longsword, sword and shield, polearms, ringen, dagger, rapier, saber and more. The school says its first class is free, and its new studio is designed around HEMA use, with a large open training floor, a library, seating for visitors, rubber flooring with foam padding, ample parking, wheelchair accessibility and a family-friendly restroom with a change table. It also offers beginner courses, drop-in classes and women’s classes, which gives the Cactus Cup weekend a built-in training base instead of a one-off tournament atmosphere.

Brittany Reeves, listed as head instructor and co-founder, adds to that credibility. Mordhau describes her as an international instructor and HEMA multi-medalist, which matters for an event trying to grow from a strong regional meet into a fuller showcase for the sport. The school’s setup suggests the tournament is being anchored by a club that already understands how to host, teach and keep people on site all weekend.

The numbers show why the expansion makes sense. HEMA Ratings lists Cactus Cup 2025 in Mesa with 80 fighters and four divisions: Mixed Steel Arming Sword & Buckler, Mixed Steel Longsword, Mixed Steel Sabre and Women’s Steel Longsword. That field gives the 2026 edition a clear baseline, and the added programming suggests the next step is not just more bouts, but more reasons to travel.

Mesa gives the event room to grow. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 estimate puts the city at 517,151, a scale that supports a destination weekend rather than a quick stop. The HEMA Alliance has said tournaments, workshops and exhibitions all matter to raising public awareness of the art, and Cactus Cup is leaning hard into that model. If the venue, vendors and classes deliver, Mesa could become one of the clearest examples yet of how HEMA events are evolving from competitions into full summer gatherings.