What It Takes to Become a Knight at Knight Camp

Only 24 campers in 16 years have reached Knight Camp’s highest rank. In August 2026, Noah Barach and Oscar Goldsmith became the latest two to complete the journey.

In August 2026, surrounded by their families, fellow campers, and instructors at Academie Duello in downtown Vancouver, two teenagers knelt as squires and stood again as knights.

For Noah Barach, 14, and Oscar Goldsmith, 15, the ceremony lasted only a few minutes.

Getting there took more than seven years.

Across 16 years of Knight Camp, only 24 campers have earned knighthood. It is the highest point on a path that begins for every first-time camper as a Page and continues, rank by rank, through years of training, learning, service, and leadership.

At the end of that path is the rank Noah and Oscar earned: Knight of the Order of the Iron Helm.

A Rank That Has to Be Earned

Most campers advance one or two ranks over the course of a summer. With each new rank, more is expected of them.

The public Knight Camp rank path begins with Page, then progresses through Squire, Man-at-Arms or Lady-at-Arms, Swordsman or Swordswoman, Guard, Captain, and finally Knight.

But advancing is not simply a matter of attending enough weeks.

As campers progress, they are expected to demonstrate greater skill in historical martial arts, deeper knowledge of subjects such as history and heraldry, and an increasing ability to lead, serve, and take responsibility for themselves and others.

The most advanced campers enter a final stage as Knights on Vigil, working through the trials required before they can be considered for knighthood.

Those trials are deliberately demanding.

“To become a knight, a student has to prove their martial knowledge and pass tests on speaking, history, and presentation, plus put in hours of service at home and in the community,” says Devon Boorman, director and founder of Academie Duello. “We take it very seriously. That is exactly why it means something to the kids who earn it.”

Following in His Brother’s Footsteps

Noah knew what the journey looked like before he began it.

His older brother had gone through Knight Camp before him and eventually earned his own knighthood. Noah had seen first-hand how much work stood between starting camp and reaching its highest rank.

“My brother became a knight before me, so I knew exactly how hard it was,” Noah says. “Earning it myself is the proudest thing I’ve done.”

That sense of progression is an important part of Knight Camp. Returning campers do not simply repeat the same experience each summer. New ranks bring new material, new responsibilities, and new expectations.

A child who begins by learning the fundamentals of swordplay and heraldry can eventually find themselves mentoring younger campers, tackling leadership challenges, and working toward the same trials Noah completed.

From Eight-Year-Old Camper to Knight

Oscar began Knight Camp when he was eight.

He kept coming back.

Over the years, camp became part of a much larger journey in historical martial arts. By the time he was knighted, Oscar was already training alongside adults in Academie Duello’s year-round swordplay programs, one of the youngest students on the floor.

That journey from first-time camper to experienced martial artist is unusual, but it reflects something built into Knight Camp from the beginning.

There is always somewhere further to go.

A first week introduces the world. Returning gives a camper the opportunity to advance through it.

What Campers Are Working Toward

For a first-time camper, none of this begins with a years-long list of tests.

It begins with a week of Knight Camp.

A typical day mixes historical martial arts with hands-on learning. Campers train in disciplines such as longsword, sword and shield, quarterstaff, polearms, grappling, and archery depending on their rank and experience. They learn with purpose-made training equipment, and sparring is structured, supervised, and done with appropriate protective gear.

There is also another side to the curriculum.

Campers learn heraldry, play medieval games, explore history, make equipment, and take on increasingly complex academic and leadership challenges as they advance.

The martial skills matter, but they are only part of what rank represents.

Every day also includes the Virtue Circle.

Campers explore knightly virtues including Integrity, Charity, Courage, Humility, Mercy, Justice, and Nobility, then look for those qualities in one another throughout the day. At the afternoon Virtue Circle, campers recognize their peers for moments when they saw those virtues put into practice.

Someone might be recognized for helping a younger camper, admitting a mistake, keeping their composure in a difficult match, or encouraging someone who was struggling.

Those moments matter too.

Rank advancement runs through the whole experience: the skills campers learn, the effort they put in, the responsibility they take on, and the way they treat the people around them.

Why Knighthood Is Rare

It would be easy to make everyone a knight at the end of the week.

Knight Camp deliberately does not.

The title means something because campers know it is not automatic. They see older students progressing ahead of them. They meet instructors who once stood where they are standing. They earn new ranks as their skills and responsibilities grow.

And, for a small number of campers who stay with that journey long enough, the goal that once seemed very far away becomes possible.

That is what Noah and Oscar achieved in August.

Their knighthoods represent years of sword practice and historical study, but also patience, public speaking, leadership, community service, and repeatedly choosing to come back and take on the next challenge.

The ceremony is the visible part.

The accomplishment is everything that came before it.

The Path Starts With One Week

Every knight at Knight Camp once arrived for their first day as a new camper.

Knight Camp is a five-day medieval adventure day camp for kids ages 8 to 14, held at Academie Duello in downtown Vancouver. Campers learn historical swordplay, archery, crafts, history, games, and knightly virtues, with a rank system that gives returning campers new challenges to work toward year after year.

For some, it is simply a memorable week of summer.

For others, it turns out to be the beginning of a much longer journey.

Learn more about Knight Camp and upcoming Spring and Summer break weeks at knightcamp.ca.