Elizabethtown College is home to countless clubs and activities. With so many amazing organizations, sometimes some fly right under the radar, often not getting the recognition they deserve.
This week, take a bit of time and learn about Etown’s jousting club. Jousting club is one of Etown’s longest running clubs, starting all the way back in the 1940s. The club teaches traditional and modern safe ways of jousting.
Jousting club hosts biweekly meetings and monthly trips to reenact traditional jousting in non-violent mannerisms. The club teaches others how to safely get on and off trained horses, along with how to ride. Once this step is mastered, the club allows members to start learning traditional jousting techniques with a modern twist. This twist uses safer tools to replicate the historic event. These tools include lightweight PVC pipes that are painted and decorated to look like the original sword or lance.
This club was originally created to honor the renaissance period, where real life jousting was a form of entertainment. The club’s goal is to honor history and recreate this incredible event using modern methods and adaptations, creating a new form of entertainment at Etown.
“I didn’t know this school had a jousting club, that’s so cool,” sophomore political science major Rebecca Green said “I wouldn’t join personally, but I’d go to every event. I want to know where they keep the horse.”
During the academic year, the club hosts regular fundraisers like horse rides or secret admirer candy grams to honor their lady. The group saves all of their earnings from fundraising in hopes to build a barn on campus so they do not have to travel as far to practice on horses.
Having a barn on campus with three to five horses has been a goal for the club but due to financial burdens, this has been a hard accomplishment to reach. The club is always accepting donations to help them thrive and surpass their goals. The club often uses their personal bicycles to reenact the jousting events when they are unable to travel off campus to ride real horses.
The club has been seen as controversial in the past due to joustings lacking modern use but many students think the club is entertaining. Kelly Salvatore, a first-year English literature major, says she supports the club because “I love medieval times so sure, why not!”
Next semester, the club plans to have a field trip to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and attend as many events as possible, including the jousting performance of course. They even plan to interview cast members and hear about their experience with jousting reenactment and come up with creative ways to enhance the club on campus.
The jousting club is always looking for activities related to jousting and history and want a chance to highlight their hard work on campus, along with encouraging other students to give it a shot.
The club only has about 10 members and they are always looking for more students to join. If you or someone else on campus would be interested in learning the art of non-violent jousting, check out their website: JoustingAtEtown.edu or email them at jousting@etown.edu.
