Local knight trains jousters for 'Full Metal Jousting' TV show

Shane Adams of the Ohio Renaissance Festival will host History Channel show that premiers Feb. 12

Shane Adams (right), the leader of the Knights of Valour at the annual Ohio Renaissance Festival, is going to host the new History Channel show “Full Metal Jousting,” which premiers at 10 p.m. Feb. 12.

Staff file photo Shane Adams (right), the leader of the Knights of Valour at the annual Ohio Renaissance Festival, is going to host the new History Channel show “Full Metal Jousting,” which premiers at 10 p.m. Feb. 12.

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By Erin Fischesser, Contributing writer 12:40 AM Sunday, February 5, 2012

A local performer is taking steps to bring his sport far beyond the gates of the Ohio Renaissance Festival and into the mainstream.

Shane Adams, the leader of the Knights of Valour at the annual festival, is going to host the new History Channel show, “Full Metal Jousting,” which premiers at 10 p.m. Feb. 12.

The show follows Adams as he trains men to joust one another in a competition, said Cheryl Bucholtz, general manager of marketing at the Ohio Renaissance Festival.

“He took these 16 guys that they whittled down from 50 or more and trained them and went through everything it takes to be a full contact jouster,” Bucholtz said.

She said the show has been more than a year in the making and was born from a New York Times Magazine piece about jousting that featured Adams. She said Adams has always wanted jousting to become more mainstream.

“Shane has always been a big proponent of wanting to bring full-contact jousting into the realm that it’s now entering,” she said. “(He is focused on) getting people to view it as the original extreme sport.”

Adams, who is originally from Canada, has been with the Ohio Renaissance Festival for six years and has made Harveysburg his home for the last five. Bucholtz said he is technically the owner of his troupe, which will continue to perform at the site’s events.

“(Adams) will more than likely be shooting a second season (during the festival this year), but the troupe Knights of Valour will still be here, and that’s a good thing,” Bucholtz said.

According to Bucholtz, discussions about the possibility of a second season of the show have already started, even though it doesn’t premiere for a few more weeks. Those talks already include a twist.

“I have heard rumors that this season all you will see is men, but there have been rumors and small conversations about doing a second season and focusing on women,” Bucholtz said.

She said there are a limited number of female jousters in the U.S., including one who is an Ohio native and part of Adams’ troupe.

Bucholtz said the Ohio Renaissance Festival will enter its 23rd season this fall, but it has never had this amount of exposure on the national stage.

“This is probably the first really high-profile appearance that we’ve seen,” she said.

The Ohio Renaissance Festival is located in Harveysburg and will run on Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day Sept. 1 through Oct. 21.

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