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Olympic Fencing

travoholic | Sep 9, 2009 |

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Fencing is essentially sword fighting, something that has been done for centuries. The Olympics has added some protective clothing and an electronic scoring system, but the sport remains the same as it has been for years.

Olympic fencing consists of events named after the different swords used. Men compete in the 'foil', 'sabre' and 'epee' events and women compete only in the 'foil' and 'epee' events. The saber is used for pointing, thrusting and cutting and the foil and epee are only used for pointing and thrusting. The foil sword is 3 feet 6 inches long and the epee is the same except it has a larger hand protector and thicker blade. The sabre is an inch short and also lighter than the foil. The foil is considered to be the best fencing sword and is the one used for teaching new students.

Fencers battle on a special surface that is called the 'piste' which is a portion of metallic mesh measuring 6 feet long and 7 feet wide. Each fencer wears protective gear with jackets that are made of double thickness cotton or Kevlar along with masks made of wire mesh. Because of the weight and heat of the protective clothing, fencing matches are conducted in air-conditioned venues and spectators are urged to dress warmly.

Olympics fencers start 13 feet apart in what is called the 'en garde' position. They use attacks called the 'parry' and 'thrust' to attempt to strike their opponents. An electric scoring system is in place to detect when one player strikes another. Electric scoring was first introduced in 1936 in Berlin and has continued to be in use to present day. The fencer's blades have a circuit in them that records when a touch has been made and a point scored. A red or green light means a fencer has scored, a white light means a touch was made but it was not a valid scoring touch, and lights on both fencer's sides means that a judge will decide who scored based on whose light went on first. In the epee event, however, both fencers will score. In order to win a fencing match, 15 hits must be recorded on the fencer's opponent.

Fencing is an ancient sport of grace, dexterity and speed and it is wonderful to watch, especially at the level of the Olympic Games. This is an unusual sport not generally given any attention outside of the Games so if you get a chance to watch it, go for it.