FORMS of FENCING

Olympic fencing (or simply "fencing") refers to the fencing seen in most current competitions, including the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Competitions are conducted according to rules laid down by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the international governing body. These rules evolved from a set of conventions developed in Europe between mid 17th and early 20th century with the specific purpose of regulating competitive activity. The three weapons used in Olympic fencing are foil, épée, and sabre. In competition, the validity of touches is determined by the electronic scoring apparatus and a set of rules called right of way, so as to minimize human error and bias in refereeing. In the United States, athletes compete at a local and national level. At a local level, athletes may register for tournaments in their division via a website called "Askfred.net."^[5] At a national level, athletes compete in tournaments called "North American Cups", or NAC's for short^[6]. At these tournaments, competitors fence each other depending on what age group or division they are in. Some of the age groups are Y12 (Youth 12, or 12 or younger), Y14, Junior (20 or younger), and Cadet (16 or younger). In fencing, your rating represents how good you are in general. Fencers can be rated A through E (A being the highest and E the lowest) or U if they have not yet earned a rating ("unrated"). In certain competitions, fencers may be of any age, but must meet the rating criteria in order to fence. Division I fencing requires fencers to have a rating C through A. Division II requires fencers to have a rating of C or lower. And Division III requires fencers to have a rating D or lower. In the most common format for tournaments, fencers first fence 4 to 6 other fencers in 5-touch bouts, in what are called "pools." Depending on how the fencer does within that pool, the fencer is then "seeded" into a table chart with the other fencers of the tournament. Fencers then fence the opponent they are paired with in a single-elimination bout, usually 15 touches (if they win, they advance in the table chart, if they lose, they are eliminated from the competition). This table chart phase is called "Direct Elimination", or DE for short. In a NAC setting, if that fencer was one of the fencers in the bottom 20% after the pools, than that fencer does not advance to the direct elimination rounds. Seeding is usually done so that higher seeds will not face each other early in the DE rounds. Wheelchair fencing, an original Paralympic sport, was developed in post-World War II England. Minor modifications to the FIE rules allow disabled fencers to fence all three weapons. The most apparent change is that each fencer sits in a wheelchair fastened to a frame. Footwork is replaced by torso or arm movement, depending on the fencer's disability. The proximity of the two fencers tends to increase the pace of bouts, which require considerable skill. The weapons are identical to those used in Olympic fencing.
Other variants include one-hit épée (one of the five events which constitute modern pentathlon) and the various types of competitive fencing, whose rules are similar but not identical to the FIE rules. One example of this is the American Fencing League (distinct from the United States Fencing Association): the format of competitions is different, there is no electronic scoring, and the priority rules are interpreted in a different way. In a number of countries, the accepted practice at school and university level deviates slightly from the FIE format.