Fencing Equipment

Fencing is one of the oldest of all sports and involves use of one of the oldest of weapons, the sword. It is a sport that requires high levels of physical fitness and a combination of speed, skill and dexterity. Fencing is also one of the few sports to have featured in every modern Olympic Games and British athletes have participated in all of them bar 3, winning one gold and numerous silver medals. Read more about Team GB's Olympic fencing exploits on the British Olympic Association website.

Fencing is the sport of fighting with swo

rds. The most common version of fencing today, also called olympic fencing or competitive fencing, is divided into three weapon categories: foil, sabre and épée. Classical fencing uses the same three weapons, but approaches fencing as a martial art.

Competitive fencing is one of five sports which has been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games, the other four being Athletics, Cycling, Swimming, and Gymnastics.

Weapons

There are three weapons in modern fencing: foil, épée, and sabre. Each weapon has its own rules and strategies.

Foil : a light thrusting weapon that targets the torso (including the back), neck, and groin, but not the arms or legs. The foil has a small circular hand guard that serves to protect the hand from direct stabs. As the hand is not a valid target in foil, this is primarily for safety. Touches are scored only with the tip; hits with the side of the blade do not count, and do not halt the action. Touches that land outside of the target area (called an off-target touch) stop the action, but are not scored. Only a single touch can be scored by either fencer at one time. If both fencers land valid touches at the same time, the referee uses the rules of "right of way" to determine which fencer gets the point. If both fencers begin their attack at the same time, or the referee is unable to determine who was first, neither fencer scores a point.

Épée : a thrusting weapon like the foil, but much heavier. In épée, the entire body is valid target. The hand guard on the épée is a large circle that extends towards the pommel, effectively covering the hand, which is a valid target in épée. Like foil, all hits must be with the tip and not the sides of the blade. Hits with the side of the blade do not halt the action. As the entire body is legal target, there is not the concept of an off-target touch, except if the fencer accidentally strikes the floor, setting off the electric tone. Unlike foil and sabre, épée does not use "right of way", and allows simultaneous hits by both fencers. However, if the score is tied in a match at the last point and a double touch is scored, nobody is awarded the point.

Sabre : a light cutting and thrusting weapon that targets the entire body above the waist, excluding the hands. The hand guard on the saber extends from pommel to the base of where the blade connects to the hilt. This guard is generally turned outwards during sport to protect the sword arm from touches. Hits with the edges of the blade or the point are valid. As in foil, touches that land outside of the target area are not scored. However, unlike foil, these off-target touches do not stop the action, and the fencing continues. In the case of both fencers landing a scoring touch, the referee determines which fencer receives the point for the action, again through the use of "right of way".

The complete fencing kit includes:

Form-fitting jacket covering groin with strap (croissard) which goes between the legs. In sabre fencing, jackets that are cut along the waist and exclude the groin padding are sometimes used. A small gorget of folded fabric is sewn in around the collar to prevent an opponent's blade from slipping under the mask and along the jacket upwards towards the neck.

Plastron, an underarm protector, which goes underneath the jacket and provides double protection on the sword arm side and upper arm. 

The armpit cannot have a seam, which would line up with the jacket seam and provide a weak spot.

One glove for the weapon arm with a gauntlet that prevents blades from going up the sleeve and causing injury, as well as protecting the hand and providing a good grip

Breeches or knickers which are a pair of short trousers that end just below the knee. The breeches are required to have 10 cm of overlap with the jacket. Most are equipped with suspenders (braces).

Knee-length or thigh high socks which cover knee and thighs.

Shoes with flat soles and reinforcement on the inside of the back foot and heel of front foot, to prevent wear from lunging.

Mask, including a bib which protects the neck. The mask can usually support 12 kilograms (26 lb) on the metal mesh and 350 newtons (79 lbf) of penetration resistance on the bib. FIE regulations dictate that masks must withstand 25 kilograms (55 lb) on the mesh and 1,600 newtons (360 lbf) on the bib. Some modern masks have a see-through visor in the front of the mask. These have been used at high level competitions (World Championships etc.), however, they are currently banned in foil and épée by the FIE, following a 2009 incident in which a visor was pierced during the European Junior Championship competition.

Plastic chest protector, mandatory for females. While male versions of the chest protector are also available, they were, until recently, primarily worn by instructors, who are hit far more often during training than their students. These are increasingly popular in foil, as the hard surface increases the likelihood that a hit fails to register, as well as with youth competitors.

Lamé is a layer of electrically conductive material worn over the fencing jacket that entirely covers the valid target area. It is worn only in foil and sabre, and serves to distinguish hits on target from those that are off-target. In épée, the entire body is a target, so it is not necessary to have a lamé. In foil the lamé is sleeveless, while in sabre the lamé has sleeves and ends in a straight line across the waist. A body cord is necessary to register scoring: it attaches to the weapon and runs inside the jacket sleeve, then down the back and out to the scoring box. In sabre and foil the body cord connects to the lamé in order to create a circuit to the scoring box.