In the late summer of 2004, Canadian membership contact was made with Callum Forbes, World Secretary of the International Jousting Association, in New Zealand.
Soon after, a small gathering of like-minded of people took place, the IJA-Canada was formed. On 01 November 2004, an Interim Board of Directors mailed off an application for a federal non-profit corporation. The first face-to-face meeting of the interim Board took place on the 4th/5th of December 2004. On 22 February 2005, our Letters Patent were received (back dated to 04 November 2004) from the federal government, which formally instated the Board of Directors.
IJA-Canada membership procedures and fees for 2005 were quickly set in place, including the first edition of the IJA-Canada Members Book. The group had hoped to hold its first full membership meeting, as well as a sanctioned tournament, in the summer of 2005. However, working to determine a default lance style for IJA-Canada and learning what it would take to put on an IJA sanctioned tournament took longer than expected.
Although no public IJA-Canada events took place in 2005, the Board members were active in the greater jousting community (both in Canada and abroad). The Board continued to meet, and administrative work forged on, establishing banking and other official procedures with the government. As well, individual equestrian training and joust experimentation continued.
2006 saw the first official IJA-Canada joust, the Wild Hunt, which took place at the Severn Bridge Fall Fair, Ontario, in September of that year.
2007 saw a repeat of the Wild Hunt, with two international competitors taking part in the joust.
The core group of IJA-Canada members are determined to make 2008 a grand year for IJA jousting, as we plan a bigger and better event for Bracebridge, Ontario, in August.
Any and all who are interested in jousting as a competitive sport in a medieval reenactment environment are welcome to join the IJA-Canada.
Contact the IJA-Canada Secretary for more information.
