by Devon McNeely
Updated for the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The 2020 Olympics have been postponed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic and will take place July 23rd – August 8th, 2021.
Fencing is one of the few combat sports featured at the Olympics and currently the only one using weapons. (Dueling with pistols was an event in 1906). Fencing has been a part of the Olympics since the first Olympiad in Athens and had been an event in every Olympics after.
History
At the first Olympics, there were 3 fencing competitions; Foil, Sabre, and masters foil. Masters Foil was a competition for Professional fencers, the only event in that Olympics which allowed non-amateurs to compete.
At the 1900 Olympics in Paris, they added the épée as an event. They also had master events for all three of the weapons: foil, sabre, and épée. As well as a competition for both the professionals and amateurs to compete together in the Amateurs-masters épée. This was the last year that Professional fencers would have their own categories.
The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis added the first Team fencing event in Foil. Team events in the other weapons were added for the 1908 London Games. It was not until the 1920 games in Antwerp, Belgium that we had all 6 of the categories we have today. These consist of 3 solo events for foil, sabre, and épée, and the team events for each.
Up to this point however only men were allowed to compete and it wasn’t until the next Olympics, the 1924 Paris games that Women got a single event in foil. In 1960 they added a second women’s event for Team Foil. In 1996 women could compete in solo or team épée.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be the first year with the full 6 events for both men and women.
Fencing is governed by the Federation Internationale d’Escrime (FIE).
Weapons
There are 3 weapons used in fencing at the Olympics. Each has its own rules for the competition as well. A fourth weapon, Singlestick, was an event at the 1904 Olympics as part of the fencing competition but has not been in any of the games after.
Foil
The foil is a light thrusting weapon with a small circular hand guard and a flexible rectangular blade. The tip of the blade is flat and rectangular and is most often equipped with a button or electronic sensor to indicate when a point is made.
Points are scored only with the tip of the foil and only to the opponent’s torso. Matches are scored to 15 points and consist of three 3 minute rounds. Each point stops the action and any contact that is not to the torso is considered ‘off-target’ and will also stop the action but will not award a point.
Foil competition also has the concept of ‘right of way’. This rule is used to determine which competitor is awarded a point when both make legal contact at the same time. Priority is decided by the referee but is based on a number of factors including who started the attack first, if it was parried, evaded, or a counterattack, and if the arm is fully extended.
Many aspects of the other fencing styles are the same as those used for foil competitions. Below will be the differences between the weapons and rules and will refer to the above information about foil.
Sabre
A sabre is a slashing as well as thrusting weapon. With this weapon, points can be scored anywhere above the waist except for the hands and points can be scored with the edge of the blade as well as the tip.
Another difference from the use of the foil is that ‘off-target’ hits, in this case anywhere to the lower body or hands, are still not counted as a point but also do not stop the action. Sabre matches also follow the rules of ‘right of way’.
A fencer using a sabre is called a Sabreur if male and a Sabreuse if female.
Épée
An épée is a stiffer and heavier version of a foil. It also has a fuller groove and a large circular guard that extends over the hand called a bell guard.
In a match, points are scored only with the tip of the blade like with the foil. Unlike the foil, however, all areas of the opponent’s body are legal targets. Épée matches also do not follow the rules of ‘right of way’ and instead will award both competitors points if they land blows at the same time.
Singlestick
Singlestick is a dueling style that, while similar to fencing, uses a stick instead of a blade. Though the sport has a history of popularity dating back to the 16th century it was only ever presented at the 1904 Olympics and only had 3 competitors in the event.