One of the questions we get asked most is how to buy / borrow / build a jill aka groin protection for SCA female fighters. Here is a cheater guide to help you on your way.
According to SCA Rules - Armor Standards, Section 4-C:
For women, groin protection of closed-cell foam or heavy leather or the equivalent is required to cover the pubic bone area. The wearing of a male style athletic cup by female fighters is prohibited.
Remember that your Kingdom may impose more rules on top of this one, so always check your local rules before building. I’ve known a number of women who fight in the bare minimums, but most seem to like to have some semi-solid protection there; go with what your body likes.
To Buy or Not to Buy
There are some extremely talented people who like to make their own stuff, then there are the rest of us. There are two options in buying jills, you can buy the ones made by companies for generic female athlete use or ones made by SCA merchants designed specifically for our use. Both work fine, it is just a matter of preference of the individual user.
Commercially Made Jills:
McDavid Womens/Girls Pelvic Protector
SCA Made Jills:
Female Protective Cups
by The Schmitthenner Armory
Often people will ask how to mount a cup into your gear. There are several ways of doing so.
-Wear two pairs of underwear and slide the cup in between the pairs
-Buy a commercially made jill holder and use that
-Devise a strapping mechanism to belt it into your armor.
Borrow (i.e. the Begging Method)
There are a good number of female fighters in the SCA, and a portion of them have retired from fighting (as in any sport). That means their armor is sitting there begging to be used. If you can borrow a cup in the beginning it just makes life easier, check into your local resources.
Build Your Cup
Luckily a cup is something you can build without having terribly too much artistic or crafty talent (Hey, I could make one!).
Your goal is to protect your pelvic bone and ovaries. The designs of the Schmitthenner cups are the direction you want to go with your cup. Take a sheet of paper and draft the basic outline of the cup. Cut out the pattern and place it where it should reside on your body. Now sit down in a chair and see if your legs cut into the pattern, if so readjust the pattern. Now take your favorite medium (Metal, Leather or Plastic) and cut the shape out of the jill. Depending on your body shape you may want to slightly curve the jill so it fits better on you. Then line the back side of your jill with foam to give it that much needed padding. On all of the jills I have made, I have sewn a fabric case around the cup to give it that finished look.
I found a new fabulously comfy jill. Basically it is made like a pair of bikers shorts with a kangaroo pocket on the front to slide the hard plastic and foam piece into. The pocket has velcro at the top to keep the cup from sliding up and out. I don’t even notice it when it is on. (Yeah!, no more straps riding up where they don’t belong!) This also means that I can actually hit the privy without taking off all my armor. It is made for roller hockey by WSI and is called a “Hockey Joc”. Make sure to get the women’s model!
Elspeth