How does it work?
1/ Arrival
Herja is held from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, and as you often come from far away, sometimes even from other countries, you can arrive as early as Thursday, as the site is manned throughout the day and even at night for late arrivals.
It is also possible to arrive on site on Friday morning for those who prefer or need to leave in the morning.
For those of you who can't make Friday, we have no problem with you only coming for the weekend. You can also arrive on Friday evening/night or Saturday morning, depending on your preferences or constraints.
When you arrive, or at opening time if you arrive during the night, we ask you to go quickly to Reception.
You will be welcomed by our members to register your attendance and answer any questions you may have about the organisation of the weekend. This is also when we'll validate your choices about whether or not to take part in the tournaments.
2/ Checks
This is the first important step of the event. It's at this stage that our members will check the condition, historicity and safety of all your equipment and clothing, as well as their compliance with our rules.
This is done in 2 stages, on 2 different stands to speed things up.
As a reminder, when you check your outfits, equipment and weapons, the decisions taken by those in charge at the time will be indisputable!
Equipment : For this stand, we ask you to bring all your weapons and shields at once so that we can check them one by one. Length, thickness, material, state of wear, safety, history - everything is carefully examined to make sure that the weapon complies 100% with our rules and is not dangerous either for you or for the other participants. If your weapon is validated, a visual indicator (which changes every year) will be placed on it to inform everyone. Of course only weapons with this indicator are accepted during fights at the event.
The outfit: Here you come dressed and equipped as you would fight in the great battles. This will allow our members to make sure that you have respected the historicity and our rules on mandatory elements, but also that everything is visually correct.
Once you've had everything validated at the two stands, the members checking your outfit will give you a medal, the design of which also changes every year, making you eligible to take part in the fights at our event.
Vos armes devant correspondre avec la période et la zone géographique de votre tenue et \"personnage\" nous ne pouvons plus vérifier les 2 séparément.
We ask you to bring only YOUR equipment.It is no longer possible to bring the weapons of your entire group and have everything validated by a single participant.
Danaxes : To enhance the realism with which these simulators are used, these weapons are heavy, which means there is a greater risk of injury on impact. For this reason, anyone wishing to use them in combat must pass an individual handling test to determine whether they are safe enough for everyone.
3/ Fighting
4/ Tournaments
5/ Meals
As well as being a time for sharing and conviviality between participants, meals are also a time to take a break between fights, and are taken together in an outdoor area, in the shade and under cover.
As far as meals are concerned, you are completely on your own for both food and eating utensils. No meals are provided by the organisation.
However, on Saturday lunchtime and evening, as well as Sunday lunchtime, we'll be welcoming a foodtruck (list to come) on site to serve you.
For those who prefer to bring their own snacks, you can still use a small outdoor stove for camping enthusiasts, but you won't be able to make a fire for cooking as you would on a historic camp.
All this equipment will be made available free of charge by our organisation, so please take good care of it. What's more, they will be shared with all the participants, whether in terms of the time spent using them or the space available. We also ask you to respect the cleanliness of the premises.
There are also plenty of restaurants, fast-food outlets and supermarkets within easy reach of the event place, so you can eat out or go shopping if you need to.
WARNING: It is strictly forbidden to consume alcohol of any kind before the fights, including the meal break. So you'll have to wait until the evening to enjoy a little pick-me-up after a good day's fighting. We will be uncompromising on this point.
6/ Sleep
This year too, a dedicated area will be available for those wishing to pitch a tent. There will be no restrictions on the types of tent you can bring, but we advise you to go for the practical rather than the historic.
For safety reasons, it is forbidden to sleep inside the building.
For those who wish, a few places will be available to sleep with members of the organisation. Don't delay, as the few beds available will be filled first.
For those who prefer to sleep in a real bed, there are several hotels within easy reach of the event.
7/ Your business & Bring & Buy
We introduced it in 2020 and have been doing it every year since. Tables and reserved areas for each registered group will be set up inside the hall.
These personal and nominative spaces allow you to store all your belongings, both personal and combat-related (outfits, protective gear, weapons, etc.), as well as your food and water, throughout the weekend, so you don't have to go back and forth to your car.
All we ask is that you respect the area allocated to you so that the room remains accessible and practical for everyone, as well as the equipment provided!
Bring & Buy : A stand will be available for you to store any equipment you wish to sell (related to the practices carried out at Herja).
It will be managed by the organisation, and all you have to do is put the equipment in question on it, along with a selling price and your name, and you will be informed if someone wants to buy it from you.
Of course, we don't take any commission, tax or anything of the sort on the sale, it's a space made available to you free of charge.
8/ Hygiene
The "Foyer du Porteau" where our event take place is a village hall and therefore has WCs which are available to everyone, 24 hours a day, inside the building.
For drinking and other purposes, there are several taps available both inside and outside the building at all times of the day. So bring your own personal drinking container to avoid queues at the water points.
Unfortunately our building does not have a shower, but at the outside water point, 2 shower tents and hoses are available for those who wish to wash up in the fresh air (bring your own toiletries).
9/ Departure
We are well aware that everyone has their own imperatives, whether family or professional, and that some people come from far and wide to take part in Herja. That's why you're free to leave whenever it's best for you.
We deliberately didn't schedule anything for Sunday afternoon, because people often start leaving after lunch so that they can enjoy a leisurely afternoon drive and not arrive home too late.
For those who remain and who still have the strength to fight after these 2 and a half intense days, there are often rather friendly and fun activities on offer, such as our famous interminable bridges with teams as large as possible but also respawn for the dead.
The late afternoon and evening are reserved for dismantling, tidying up and cleaning up by the organisers and any participants who want to lend a hand.
Herja is a 3-day event, from Friday to Sunday, with a packed programme.
There are alternating moments of line battles, tournaments in small groups or solo, rest periods and moments of conviviality and exchange.
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