Green Chapel Tournament returns with varied HEMA weapons in Nebraska

Green Chapel Tournament packed saber, longsword, smallsword duel, rapier with optional offhand, and sword and buckler into a June 27-28 weekend at the La Vista Community Center gym in La Vista, Nebraska. That mix mattered because it offered heavier steel divisions and more technical single-sword work in the same event, giving traveling fencers more reasons to make the trip than a one-weapon bracket would have.

Sarpy County listed the Green Chapel Armed Combat Tournament for Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 8116 Park View Blvd. in La Vista. The county calendar also showed a preliminary Saturday schedule beginning with saber and longsword, a sign that the event was built to move across multiple weapons rather than forcing every entrant into one crowded lane.

Omaha Metro Armed Combat Academy, which runs the tournament, has built its training around Olympic-style fencing, classical style fencing, HEMA, and lightsaber fencing, and it holds regular classes at the La Vista Community Center. That local base made the return to La Vista a practical fit, not just a convenient address. The academy is also listed by the City of La Vista among its youth and teen fitness offerings, which underlines how firmly the club sits inside the community’s recreation scene.

The 2026 lineup also showed how Green Chapel has evolved. In 2025, the event ran June 28-29 at Bellevue University Lozier Gym in Bellevue and featured smallsword, longsword, rapier with optional offhand, and mixed steel. In 2024, also at Bellevue University Lozier Gym, the weapons were singlestick, longsword, rapier with optional offhand, and mixed steel. This year’s switch to a dedicated smallsword duel division and sword and buckler removed mixed steel but widened the tactical spread, especially for fencers who cross between period styles.

That breadth was not just theoretical. HEMA Ratings lists Green Chapel 2024 with 50 fighters and 108 fights in longsword, 82 in rapier and optional dagger, and 74 in singlestick. Those numbers showed the event already had enough depth to sustain several divisions, and the 2026 format pushed further toward variety instead of doubling down on one headliner.

The sponsor list backed up that sense of scale. Purpleheart Armoury, SIGI Forge, Albion Swords Limited LLC, Castille Armory, Monte Cook Games, and The Knight HEMA Shop were among the names attached to the event, with Castille listed again as a returning supporter. That sponsor mix, plus the academy’s tournament work and public demos, made Green Chapel look less like a standalone bracket and more like a full weekend showcase for Nebraska HEMA.