About Hemagrades
Hemagrades tracks competitive performance in Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) tournaments and assigns grades to fighters based on their tournament performance.
Tournament results are sourced from hemaratings.com. Grades are computed from placings in events, accounting for field size, event tier, and weapon discipline. We do not treat gendered tournaments as separate divisions for the purposes of fencer grading.
Grading system
Each fighter earns a grade per weapon and gender category. Grades range from E (entry level) through D, C, B, and A (elite). Grades decay over time if a fighter is inactive — competing regularly is required to maintain a grade.
Each division is assigned an event tier based on the number of competitors and the grades already held by fighters in the field. Higher tiers reward more grades and to higher places. A division must meet all requirements to qualify for a tier; otherwise the next lower tier is tried.
Where a tier lists several grades, no individual fencer can satisfy multiple grade criteria.
Event tiers: All weapons — current rules, effective 2022
Applies to every weapon without a table of its own below.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | 6 | — | — | 1st → E |
| D1 | 12 | ≥4 E | ≥2 E in top 8 | 1st → D 2nd-4th → E |
| C1 | 12 | ≥2 C ≥2 D ≥2 E |
≥2 C in top 8 ≥2 D in top 8 |
1st → C 2nd-4th → D 5th-8th → E |
| C2 | 20 | ≥4 D ≥4 E |
≥4 D in top 8 | 1st → C 2nd-4th → D 5th-8th → E |
| C3 | 50 | ≥15 D ≥10 E |
≥4 D in top 8 ≥4 E in top 12 |
1st-4th → C 5th-8th → D 9th-16th → E |
| B1 | 12 | ≥2 B ≥2 C ≥2 D |
≥2 B in top 8 ≥2 C in top 8 |
1st → B 2nd-4th → C 5th-6th → D 7th-8th → E |
| B2 | 20 | ≥2 B ≥2 C ≥2 D |
≥2 B in top 8 ≥2 C in top 8 |
1st → B 2nd-4th → C 5th-8th → D 9th-12th → E |
| B3 | 50 | ≥15 C ≥10 D |
≥4 C in top 8 ≥4 D in top 12 |
1st-4th → B 5th-8th → C 9th-16th → D 17th-32nd → E |
| A1 | 12 | ≥2 A ≥2 B ≥2 C |
≥2 A in top 8 ≥2 B in top 8 |
1st → A 2nd → B 3rd-4th → C 5th-6th → D 7th-8th → E |
| A2 | 20 | ≥2 A ≥2 B ≥2 C |
≥2 A in top 8 ≥2 B in top 8 |
1st → A 2nd-4th → B 5th-8th → C 9th-10th → D 11th-12th → E |
| A3 | 50 | ≥15 B ≥10 C |
≥4 B in top 8 ≥4 C in top 12 |
1st-4th → A 5th-8th → B 9th-16th → C 17th-24th → D 25th-32nd → E |
| A4 | 60 | ≥10 A ≥10 B ≥10 C |
≥4 A in top 8 ≥4 B in top 12 |
1st-8th → A 9th-16th → B 17th-24th → C 25th-32nd → D 33rd-48th → E |
Event tiers: All weapons — previous rules, 2000–2021
Applies to every weapon without a table of its own below.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: All One-Handed Cutting Weapons — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Errythang — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Messer — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Rapier & Dagger — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Rapier With Any Sidearm — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Sabre — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Sidesword & Dagger — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Single Rapier — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Single Sidesword — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Singlestick — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Smallsword — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
Event tiers: Sword & Buckler — previous rules, 2000–2023
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Tier | Min competitors | Graded entrants required | Graded top-N finishers required | Place → Grade awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 15 | — | — | 1st → C |
| A | 30 | — | — | 1st → A 2nd-4th → B |
How placements are calculated
Placements are derived from raw bout data scraped from hemaratings.com. Each bout has a stage label (e.g. "Final", "Semi-Final", "Quarter-Final", "Pool 1"). The parser normalizes these labels into a bracket tier and works down from the top to assign finishing positions.
Bracket-based placement
When a division has recognizable bracket stages (at least a quarter-final), placements are assigned by bracket stage:
- Gold final winner → 1st; loser → 2nd
- Bronze final winner → 3rd; loser → 4th
- Semi-final losers → 3rd-4th (if no bronze final)
- Quarter-final losers → 5th-8th
- Round of 16 losers → 9th-16th
- Round of 32 losers → 17th-32nd
- Round of 64 losers → 33rd-64th
Fighters who only appear in pool or elimination rounds are ranked by win count and appended after all bracket-placed fighters.
Pool/win-count fallback
If no meaningful bracket stages exist (pools or round-robins only), all fighters are ranked by total win count across their bouts.
Tie-breaking and ambiguous results
Ties are resolved pessimistically: all tied fighters receive the worst place in their group. For example, four quarter-final losers all receive 8th place rather than 5th. Draws, double losses, and bouts with missing results are treated as losses for both fighters.
If a stage labelled "Final" contains more than two bouts sharing the same label, it is reclassified as a round-robin finals group and fighters are ranked by win count instead.
Sub-brackets
Some events split a division into Tier A and Tier B sub-brackets. Each sub-bracket is processed independently and produces its own set of placements.
Submitting placement corrections
Placements are estimated from bout data on hemaratings.com and may not always match official results. If you believe a placement is incorrect, see how to submit a correction — export the division's standings, fix them in a spreadsheet, and send the file back.
Contact
Questions or feedback: [email protected]