Maryland’s state sport is jousting.

The military origins of jousting date back to sometime in the late 11th century in northwestern France, as a form of combat training. But it wasn’t until the 13th century that the sport became the central event of medieval tournaments, with knights galloping headlong toward armored opponents, aiming wooden lances, and smashing against each other in an explosion of splinters, sometimes with deadly results. By the mid-17th century, the sport had migrated to North America, taking root in one British colony in particular — Maryland. 

Jousting tournaments were held in Maryland in colonial times, but really gained steam in farming communities during the Civil War. According to the president of the Maryland Tournament Jousting Association, these events became an effective method of fundraising after the war, by which time they had lost their military trappings and become strictly for sport. The tradition stuck, and the state’s love of jousting culminated in a 1962 law making it the official sport of Maryland. Not only was Maryland the first to choose jousting as its state sport, but it was also the first state to have an official sport at all.

Today, jousters in Maryland don’t put on medieval-style displays. Instead, participants maneuver their lances into various-sized rings suspended above the ground, capturing the rings for points. This “ring jousting” ensures that no one — horse or human — gets injured. Fortunately, the appetite for blood sports has lessened considerably since jousting began, even as the passion for the sport itself remains.