What does a fencer wear?
Fencers wear specialized, head to toe, protective clothing. This gear includes a uniform , a steel mesh mask with ballistic padding, protective socks, shoes, and a leather glove for the sword arm only. Because fencers wear so much gear, its important to have well fitting, quality equipment. Equipment that is poorly made or ill-fitting will impede the athlete's movement and maybe not protect him or her at all.
What type of swords do fencers use?
FOIL
Epee
Saber
All three weapons are especially made to compete safely and do not have a sharp point or edge.
Where do fencers duel?
Fencers compete on their very own field of play called a "piste" or "strip". A strip is 14 meters long (about 42 feet) and 2 meters wide (about 6 feet). Fencers begin the match in the center of the strip, behind the on-guard lines.
How do fencers know who wins?
A match or "bout" lasts for 5 or 15 points (depending on the competition). In this way the athletes can determine which fencers has the most skill and not just the most luck. A bout is officiated by a referee who determines whether a fencer did or did not follow the rules. In addition to the referee, modern competitions and fencing schools use electronic scoring devices which tell the referee who hit who, where and when.
How does the electronic scoring machine work?
The scoring machine has at least four lights. Two of the lights are white, a third light is green and the fourth is red. Each white light sits next to either the green or the red light. If the fencer to the left of the machine hits his opponent on-target, then the red light signals the touch. If the fencer to the right of the machine hits the opponent on-target, then the green light signals the touch. The white lights that sit to either side of the colored lights will signal that a fencer has hit the opponent off-target or in a non-valid area of the body (such as the arm in foil fencing).
