Jousting as a Modern Spectator Sport?

[oshron]

i'm watching A Knight's Tale on BBC America right now, and it got me thinking: what if jousting persisted as a sport through to the present day (rather than something that's re-enacted at Renaissance fairs) and remained popular worldwide, perhaps with there even being an Olympic version? while it was at first relegated to nobility, i imagine by the modern 19th or early 20th centuries it would be more inclusive. and what do you all suppose would be some of the general rules for modern competitive jousting? would there eventually be jousting teams whereby a replacement comes in in the event that a jouster is injured during a competition and the jousters themselves are rotated much like baseball players? i imagine, in general, that jousting would be more comparable (VERY loosely comparable) to wrestling rather than a team sport, though

[Alex1guy]

I imagine it might come to resemble this.

[jakewilson]

It's the state sport of Maryland, but unfortunately we don't seem to do anything with it.

[Errnge]

Totally had a thread like this inspired by the exact same movie a couple of years ago

I think the general opinion was that it was too dangerous, and that nobles grew tired of sports that kept killing them... that and something about carousels...

[9 Fanged Hummingbird]

Originally Posted by Errnge

Totally had a thread like this inspired by the exact same movie a couple of years ago

That's because it's a great movie and an awesome idea, even if I don't know how it could be achieved.

[Daztur]

Wasn't there some sport jousting in the South before the Civil War?

[RGB]

Full Metal Jousting. There could be some modification but they got the basic idea down.

Cons: very expensive!

[Malta Shah]

Originally Posted by jakewilson

It's the state sport of Maryland, but unfortunately we don't seem to do anything with it.

It happens out in the boondocks.

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by Daztur

Wasn't there some sport jousting in the South before the Civil War?

You mean, perhaps, dueling?

If dueling stayed legal, then, jousting is definitely permissable.

I think one possibility is that the major "jousting houses" can "adopt" and sponsor young likely competitors to joust with their banner or something like that. That maybe kind of addresses the potential European noble squeamishness of reducing their own numbers. In America, without explicit nobility, it would be a bit less blue-blooded but it could still be organized loosely on how Europeans could structure it.

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by RGB

Full Metal Jousting. There could be some modification but they got the basic idea down.

Cons: very expensive!

Couldn't carbon fiber armor be re-used, even adjusted for size, maybe?

They might mechanize the thing and charge each other on motorcycles, maybe the motorcycles could be all chromed and leathered up Harley-Davidson or Indian-brand vehicles with horns built on to give a heraldic blast or something like that.