It is very important that you be on time! We
will have many bouts to fence.
Although this is a tournament, and it should be
fenced competitively, remember that fencing is a sport of honor,
respect, and sportsmanship. Please do not follow the recent examples of
several Olympic fencers who showed a distinct lack of sportsmanship on
the strip.
No matter how well (or poorly) you do, remember
that not so long ago—weeks for some of you, months for others, years
for a few of you—none of you could fence at all. The mere fact
that you can fence at all is an achievement in and of itself.
Rather than a test of you against another fencer,
let this competition be a test of you against yourself. Strive to do
your best. And have fun.
The Details
The day of the competition, check in at the time
listed above for your event(s). Those fencers who have not checked-in by
the end of the check-in time will not be allowed to participate.
There
will be a brief lecture on judging, right-of-way, and other basic rules
for fencers immediately after the close of check-in for each event. This
lecture is mandatory for all fencers and judges.
This tournament will be standard (non-electrical)
foil only. As such, a jury comprised of four judges and a director will
visually judge each bout. In the event that we are unable to secure
enough judges, fencers will be expected to judge at the pleasure of the
directors during the tournament.
This
tournament is not sanctioned by the United States Fencing
Association.
The Fencing Strip
The fencing strip shall be of smooth wood or other
resilient surface. The strip shall be 14 meters (45 feet, 11 inches)
long. The strip shall be between 1.5 meters (4 feet, 11 inches) and 2
meters (6 feet, 6 inches) wide.
A centerline shall divide the strip in half at the
seven-meter mark. Guard lines for each fencer shall be marked two meters
(6 feet, 6 inches) back from the centerline. The two-meter area at each
end of the strip shall be distinctively marked to alert the fencer that
they are close to the end of the strip. Additionally, there shall be a
run-back area of at least 1.5 meters (4 feet, 11 inches) beyond the end
of the strip.
The strip itself may be raised no more than 15
centimeters (6 inches) from the surrounding floor level. Raised strips
shall have ramped run-back areas at the ends, and shall also have a
safety border (either raised or ramped) that is at least 0.25 meters (10
inches) wide on either side of the strip.
During
the course of fencing, if a fencer retreats past the end line of the
strip with both feet (i.e. no feet in-bounds and at least one foot out
of bounds), then the opposing fencer shall be awarded a touch.
If,
during the course of fencing, a fencer crosses a sideline of the strip
with both feet (i.e. no feet in-bounds and at least one foot out of
bounds), then the bout shall be halted, the opposing fencer shall
be advanced one meter from the position he occupied at the halt and the
fencer who stepped out of bounds shall be required to take up a position
at proper fencing distance. If the fencer who stepped out of bounds ends
up placed on guard with both feet behind the end line of the strip, then
the opposing fencer shall be awarded a touch.
Director
The director shall be the sole arbiter of
right-of-way, violations of the rules, and the polling of the jury. The
director's decisions are final and are not subject to appeal or protest.
Protests, arguments, etc., before, during, or after the bout will result
in warnings and penalties as described later in this document. In the
event that there is uncertainty about a particular rule, the director(s)
shall have the final decision.
The
director shall call a halt and separate the fencers to proper fencing
distance whenever the fencing becomes too confused or dangerous,
including when the bell guards of the two fencers collide.
Correctly
determining right-of-way is, of course, of utmost importance for a
director. The key determination is a straight arm!
The arm should be straight and the point threatening the target
area prior to the initiation of the lunge or fleche. The director should
not hesitate to declare that attacks were simultaneous if there is doubt
as to the right-of-way. It is the responsibility of the fencers to fence
cleanly and clearly for the jury.
The
director shall face the audience, except when one fencer is left-handed,
in which case the director will face away from the audience to give to
spectators a better view of the fencing. The director shall speak
their decisions clearly and audibly, using hand gestures as necessary.
Judges
When only one of the fencers is left-handed, the
judges shall change ends halfway through each bout so as not to watch
the same fencer the entire time. Otherwise, the fencers shall change
sides at the point when the first fencer achieves a majority of the
touches needed to win the bout (i.e. three touches for five-touch bouts,
or eight touches for 15-touch bouts).
The judges shall raise their hand in a manner
clearly visible to the director (optionally accompanied by foot stamp)
whenever they see any of the following conditions:
1)
Any touch, either on- or off-target, which is received by the
fencer facing them (i.e. on the opposite end of the strip).
2)
Any unsafe equipment (e.g. an undone jacket, an untied shoe,
etc.).
The judges, when polled by the director, shall cast
their vote in one of the following ways (and the judges shall express
their votes audibly and in a clear voice):
1)
“Yes” (meaning, yes, there was a touch, and it arrived
on target)
2)
“Yes, off target” (meaning, yes, there was a touch,
but it arrived off target)
3)
“No” (meaning, no touch arrived)
4)
“Abstain” (meaning, the judge could not determine
whether a touch did or did not arrive, and/or whether it was on or off
target)
The
materiality of the touch is of utmost importance to the judges. The
touch must arrive with the point of the foil and as the result of a
thrusting action (as opposed to a flick, slap, drag, etc.). The foil
must visibly bend as a result of the touch. In other words, the touches
must be clear.
Judges shall endeavor to remain as close as
possible to the fencing without setting foot on the strip and without
being ahead of his or her fencer’s trailing shoulder.
Pools
For individual events, the fencers shall be divided
into one or more pools. The pool assignments shall be at the discretion
of the organizers. The order of fencers on the pool sheet(s) shall be
determined by drawing lots. The pools shall be announced just prior to
the beginning of each event.
Pool bouts shall be to three minutes of fencing
time or to the first fencer to reach five touches, whichever comes
first. The clock shall be stopped whenever the director calls a halt.
Should a fencer be required to fence two consecutive bouts in the pools,
the fencer shall be granted a three-minute rest period between bouts.
A fencer who withdraws or is excluded from the pool
is deleted from the pool, and the results from that fencer are annulled
as if they had never taken part.
Direct Elimination
At the conclusion of the pool bouts, the organizers
will seed the top 70-80% of the fencers into a direct elimination table
based solely on the results of the pools. The actual number of fencers
to be promoted will vary depending on the number of fencers, but shall
be determined prior to the beginning of each event.
The format of the direct elimination portion may be
straight direct elimination, direct elimination with repechage, direct
elimination with all places determined, or a combination of all three,
depending on the number of entrants. The format will be announced prior
to the beginning of each event.
Fencers shall be seeded into the direct elimination
table based on the following successive indices:
1)
The ratio of victories to bouts fought (higher numbers are
better)
2)
Touches scored minus touches received (higher numbers are better)
3)
Touches scored (higher numbers are better)
The first index shall be used to determine seeding
for the direct elimination table, except in the event of equality in
this index, in which case the second index shall be used to separate
fencers with equal first indices. Likewise, the third index shall be
used only to separate fencers with equal first AND second indices. In
the event of equality between two or more fencers on ALL THREE indices,
the relative seeding order of the tied fencers shall be decided by
drawing lots.
Should there be absolute equality between the last
fencers to qualify for the direct elimination table, there will not be a
barrage, and all the fencers in question shall qualify, even if they are
in excess of the number determined at the beginning of the competition.
Direct elimination bouts shall be to nine minutes
(divided into 3 three-minute periods with a one-minute rest between
periods), or to the first fencer to reach 15 touches. The clock shall be
stopped whenever the director calls a halt. Fencers shall be placed at
the guard line at the beginning of each period.
Should a fencer be required to fence two
consecutive direct elimination bouts, the fencer shall be granted a
ten-minute rest period between bouts.
A fencer who withdraws or cannot complete their
direct elimination bout forfeits the bout to the other fencer, who is
declared the victor. A fencer who withdraws from direct elimination does
not lose their place in the overall classification of the competition.
Time Limits
In the event that the bout clock is not visible to
the fencers, a fencer may inquire as to how much time is remaining in
the bout each time that the fencing is interrupted. Additionally, the
timekeeper shall give a clearly audible warning to the fencers when
there is one minute remaining on the clock (unless the bout clock is
clearly visible to the fencers, in which case no warning shall be
given).
For the finals, semi-finals, and third-place
barrage of the tournament, the clock shall be placed so that it is
visible to the two fencers and to the director. No warnings about time
remaining shall be given.
If time expires in a bout (either pool or direct
elimination), the fencer with the higher score shall be declared the
victor. If the
score is tied at the end of regulation time, the director shall reset
the fencers at the guard lines and the match continues for a deciding
touch (“sudden death”).
In all cases, the actual scores of the fencers
(including hits received) shall be the ones recorded on the score sheet.
Team Tournaments
A team consists of three fencers, with an optional
fourth fencer as a reserve. A team may not begin a match if it consists
of less than three fencers.
The competition shall be run by direct elimination.
In the event that the direct elimination table is incomplete, some teams
may receive a bye.
Seeding for the direct elimination table shall be
according to their points. Adding together the points obtained by the
individual members in the previous day’s individual foil events, using
the following formula, results in each team’s points (participants in
both events use the higher number):
|
Open
Tournament
|
Novice
Tournament
|
|
1st
place
|
32 points
|
1st
place
|
10
points
|
|
2nd
place
|
26 points
|
2nd
place
|
9 points
|
|
3rd
place
|
20 points
|
3rd
place
|
8 points
|
|
4th
place
|
18 points
|
4th
place
|
7 points
|
|
5th
place
|
16 points
|
5th
place
|
6 points
|
|
6th
place
|
15 points
|
6th
place
|
5 points
|
|
7th
place
|
14 points
|
7th
place
|
4 points
|
|
8th
place
|
13 points
|
8th
place
|
3 points
|
|
9th–16th
places
|
8 points
|
9th–16th
places
|
2 points
|
|
17th–32nd
places
|
4 points
|
17th–32nd
places
|
1 point
|
|
did
not compete
|
0 points
|
did
not compete
|
0 points
|
If a team has four members, then only the three
highest scores shall be used. In the event that two or more teams have
the same number of points, their relative seeds shall be determined by
lot.
All places in the table shall be fought for.
When one team fences another team, it is referred
to as a match. The position of each team on the match score-sheet (team
A or team B) is decided by drawing lots. Each match is contested in a
relay format. The three fencers of one team fence the three fencers of
the opposing team in nine relay bouts. The team captains decide the
order of the individual fencers for each match. The fencers of team A
are numbered 1, 2, and 3. The fencers of team B are numbered 4, 5, and
6. The reserve members of the two teams (if any) are not numbered. The
team member numberings are for that match only.
The bouts of each match must be fought in the
following order:
If this order is altered, either intentionally or
accidentally, the team making the alteration loses the match.
Each ‘lap’ (bout) of the relay match consists
of five touches (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.); the maximum time for each bout is
3 minutes.
The first two opponents fence until one of them has
scored five touches, within the time limit of 3 minutes.
The next two opponents fence until one of their
team scores has reached ten touches, within the time limit of 3 minutes,
and so on with successive bouts, cumulatively, of five touches.
If by the expiration of 3 minutes of fencing time
the intended score for the bout has not been achieved, the next two
fencers take up the score where it was left off and fence up to the
maximum score intended for their bout as normal, within the time limit
of 3 minutes.
The winning team is that which first reaches the
maximum score of 45 touches, or that which has scored the greatest
number of touches after the expiration of regulation time.
If
at the end of regulation time for the last bout the scores are equal,
the director shall reset the fencers at the guard lines and the match
continues for a deciding touch (“sudden death”), which is fought for
by the fencers of the last bout in the match.
In the course of a match the captain of a team may
ask to substitute for a fencer the reserve nominated before the start of
the match. This substitution may only be made at the end of a bout. The
fencer who has been replaced may not fence again during that match in
order to replace a fencer on the strip, even in the case of an accident
or unavoidable circumstances.
The
announcement that a fencer is to be substituted, which must be reported
by the Director to the opposing team captain, must be made at the latest
before the beginning of the bout preceding the next bout of the
fencer who is to be replaced (i.e. at least one entire bout prior to
when the substituted fencer will fence).
If an accident occurs in the bout that follows the
request for a substitution, the team captain may annul that request.
If the captain of the opposing team has also
requested a substitution, this substitution may be implemented or
cancelled.
If a member of a team is obliged to retire during a
match as the result of an accident which has been duly recognized by a
medical representative, the captain of his team may ask to put in a
reserve to continue the match at the point where the competitor who was
obliged to retire withdrew, even during a bout in progress.
However, a competitor who is thus replaced cannot
again take his place in the team during the same match.
If both a fencer and the reserve, if any, are
forced to retire, or if a fencer is excluded, their team has lost the
match.
Offenses and Penalties
