Fencing glossary, A to Z.

Definitions here say what a term means and who uses it; they are not instructions. How to fence, move or train, and anything to do with preparing, assembling, checking or mending weapons and kit, are matters for a qualified coach or a qualified armourer. Injuries are named here only, never treated: any injury, a suspected concussion, a penetrating wound, heat illness or a heart problem needs medical care.

Foil, epee and sabre are three separate weapons with separate targets and scoring rules, so their terms are never merged, and every rule names its body, its document and its edition: the FIE Technical Rules (December 2024 edition, read from the German Fencing Federation's copy because the FIE's own copies could not be opened), the FIE Organisation Rules and Material Rules (both August 2026), the IWAS wheelchair fencing rules of 2018 (the newest found), and the national rules of British Fencing and USA Fencing with their dates. Equipment entries say what a rule or standard requires; whether a product meets it, or may be used, is for the FIE's homologation, the standard or the national rule, and for the armourers and officials who check it. Where sources disagree, each version is given with who says it, and items resting on a single report or a search summary are labelled unconfirmed. Events are as the research recorded them on 26 October 2026, and no result is given for an event that had not finished by then.

Jump to: 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

0-9

12 kg punch requirement (masks)

A mask requirement in m.25.7.c of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition, at all three weapons: the whole mesh must withstand a conical punch applied at 12 kg pressure without permanent deformation. The rule states the result a mask must meet; this site does not describe how it is checked. USA Fencing's Athlete Handbook 2026-27 likewise says masks must withstand the 12 kg punch test, and that masks which fail are impounded and marked not approved for use at any level. (Masks)

1600 N bib

The FIE's requirement for the mask bib at all three weapons: under m.25.7.d of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition the bib must be made of cloth resistant to 1600 newtons, and Annexe A describes several layers of cloth, at least one inner layer of Kevlar fibre or similar, extending about 10 to 12 cm to protect the neck. The FIE's 2009 homologation handbook says that, after FIE Information Letter 9-04 of 15 March 2004, all masks with the FIE emblem had to be marked 1600 Newton. British Fencing requires a CEN 2 mask with a 1600N bib for FIE competition and for its National Championships at U17, U20, U23 and Senior, while USA Fencing's Rules for Competition (October 2026, m.25.7.e) require 350 newtons for the bib in its own competitions. (Masks)

350 N (CEN Level 1)

The lower protection level for fencing clothing as the bodies applying EN 13567:2002+A1:2007 describe it: British Fencing calls CEN Level 1 350 newtons for jackets, plastrons and breeches, with a 350N mask bib (Equipment by Activity, updated 2 October 2026). In the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition the only 350 N figure is the cuff of the sabre glove (m.33.1); no 350 N clothing level appears there. National bodies use it below FIE level for foil, epee and sabre: USA Fencing's Rules for Competition (October 2026, m.25.7.e) require a mask bib resistant to 350 newtons, and British Fencing's Domestic Variations (6 December 2023) require 350 N jackets and breeches at domestic events. The text of the standard itself was not read, so these figures are the bodies' descriptions, not its words. (EN 13567 and protection levels)

800 N (CEN Level 2)

The protection level the FIE requires for clothing at its competitions, at all three weapons: under m.25.3.c of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition jackets, under-plastrons, breeches and trousers must be made entirely of cloth able to resist 800 newtons, and an 800 N under-plastron is obligatory; Annexe A says fencing clothing must resist perforation by a force of at least 800 newtons. The sabre glove must give 800N protection on the areas the rule's diagram shows (m.33.1). British Fencing calls 800 newtons for clothing CEN Level 2, and says a jacket marked 800N without an FIE mark is not approved for FIE competitions; the FIE's 2009 homologation handbook says EC tests of clothing, under-plastrons and masks for FIE homologation were done to EN 13567 level 2. (EN 13567 and protection levels)

A

Abuse-Free Sport (Canada)

The Canadian safe-sport system that the Canadian Fencing Federation (Fencing Canada) signed on to from 31 March 2023, giving access to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner: complaints go to Abuse-Free Sport or the federation's Independent Third Party, and the Commissioner handles complaints under the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS). Fencing Canada then adopted the Canadian Safe Sport Program from 1 April 2025, under which Sport Integrity Canada administers the UCCMS. It covers Fencing Canada's activities at all three weapons. (Safeguarding)

AFLA (Amateur Fencers League of America)

The body founded on 22 April 1891 by New York fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union, which became today's USA Fencing, the national body for all three weapons in the United States. USA Fencing says the AFLA was renamed the United States Fencing Association in 1981, that its national office opened in Colorado Springs in August 1982, and that it is the recognised National Governing Body for fencing in the United States. (The FIE and national bodies)

AIN (Individual Neutral Athletes)

The label under which fencers holding Russian or Belarusian passports competed at FIE events while the FIE's protective measures were in force: senior World Cup results at foil, epee and sabre up to May 2026 list them as AIN (Wikipedia, secondary), and FIE Information Letter 6-26 of 14 April 2026 attached further lists of athletes granted the status. The FIE Executive Committee then lifted all protective measures from the 2026 Senior World Championships in Hong Kong, so passport holders could compete under their national acronyms, flags and anthems. A search extract of FIE Information Letter 8-26 dates the decision 29 May 2026, and press reports date its announcement 2 June 2026; the FIE's own text was read only as a search extract, so its wording is unconfirmed. (World Championships 2026)

Annexe A (FIE Material Rules)

The safety-standards annexe of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition, covering all three weapons. It sets the specification for blade steel (able to withstand high exertion, strongly resistant to breaking, with low susceptibility to corrosion), recognises forging a steel cylinder or folding a sheet of steel as the two ways to make a blade, gives minimum mechanical properties and a nickel-cobalt maraging composition for blade steel, and sets the requirements for masks, bibs and clothing, the FIE quality labels and the homologation process run by the SEMI Commission. It states the results equipment must meet; this site does not describe how they are checked. (FIE homologation)

Annexe B (scoring apparatus)

The annexe of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition that specifies scoring apparatus weapon by weapon. As the FIE text states it: at foil a current flows permanently and a hit registers when the circuit is broken, with red or green lamps for valid hits and white for off-target hits, and after 300 ms (plus or minus 25 ms) from the first hit no further hit registers, a period the rule says has no relation to the fencing time used to judge foil; at epee hits less than 40 ms apart register as a double hit and hits more than 50 ms apart register only the first; at sabre, after one hit registers, the opponent's hit counts only within 170 ms (plus or minus 10 ms). (The scoring equipment)

Anti-blocking lamps (foil)

Two yellow lamps on foil scoring apparatus that show an insulation fault between a fencer's conductive jacket and weapon, lit below 450 ohms and never above 475 ohms; under Annexe B of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition, if one stays lit the referee must stop the bout. Epee apparatus may instead carry optional orange lamps for short circuits to earth, and sabre apparatus uses yellow lamps for a fencer's own weapon touching their own conductive equipment. (The scoring equipment)

Anti-doping (FIE)

The FIE's anti-doping programme, which covers all three weapons. The International Testing Agency stated on 9 February 2024 that it delivers an independent anti-doping programme for the FIE; the date it took over from the earlier arrangement was not found. The FIE's Anti-Doping Operational Instructions (2025) say testing follows the WADA International Standard for Testing and Investigations, name the FIE as Results Management Authority, and set in-competition testing by weapon and sex, for example two fencers per event at Senior and Junior World Championships, World Cups and Grands Prix. Under o.29.4 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition, participants under the host country's age of majority must be accompanied by an adult able to act for them on doping-control matters. (Anti-doping)

Apron (wheelchair epee)

In wheelchair epee, earthed flexible lame aprons cover the non-valid areas; under t.63 of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Technical Rules, January 2018 version (the newest found; World Para Fencing may have amended them since), if their clips come loose the referee halts the bout and annuls any hit. The wheelchair epee target is the upper body above a horizontal line between the tops of the hip bones plus any part of the wheelchair above that line (t.62), which differs from standing epee, where the whole body is target (t.91 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). (Wheelchair fencing)

Assault and bout

Terms defined in the glossary of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition (o.5), used at all three weapons: an assault is a friendly combat between two fencers, and it is called a bout when the score is kept to decide a result in an individual competition; the three sections of a direct elimination bout are called periods. In a team match each of the nine bouts is called a relay, and the aggregate of the relays between two teams is a match (o.6 and o.7). (Bouts and formats)

Athlete exposure (AE)

The exposure measure many fencing injury studies use, with rates given per 1,000 athlete exposures. The IOC's review chapter (Harmer, 2010) reports that studies of time-loss injuries found 0.0 to 0.3 per 1,000 AE across a wide range of competition and training settings, and Harmer's 2008 study of US national competitions (2001 to 2006, about 78,223 competitors) gives 0.3 per 1,000 AE overall, with sabre at a significantly higher time-loss risk than foil and epee in that study; Harmer's 2019 study of FIE competitions (2010 to 2014 seasons) instead reported epee at lower risk than foil and sabre, a finding seen only as a search excerpt and unconfirmed here. Other studies use different populations and measures, and their rates are never combined here. Any injury needs medical care. (Injury research)

Attack

One of the offensive actions named in t.7 to t.9 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened), with the riposte and the counter-riposte; the parry is the defensive action. At foil (t.83) the rules define a correct simple attack as one in which the arm straightening, with the point threatening the target, comes before the lunge or fleche begins, and actions with a bent arm count as preparations. At sabre (t.101) the arm straightening, with point or edge continuously threatening the target, must precede the lunge, and the hit must arrive at the latest when the front foot lands. The conventions that use these definitions exist only for foil (t.82 to t.89) and sabre (t.100 to t.106); epee has none (t.92). (Foil)

B

Back strap (mask)

British Fencing's term for the elastic strap at the back of a fencing mask: in British Fencing's Safety Guidelines, 23rd edition (approved 25 June 2026; a 24th edition approved in September 2026 is listed by British Fencing but was not read) a back-strap is at least 35 mm wide, secured to the side mesh at each end and passing under any spring piece, and for FIE events masks with a fabric main retainer instead of a back spring must also have a separate back strap. British Fencing requires masks of at least CEN Level 1 with a back safety strap in its activities. At FIE level the rule is two different safety systems at the rear of every mask, at all three weapons (m.25.7.a and m.25.7.e of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). (Masks)

Bib (by weapon)

The cloth part of the mask below the mesh that protects the neck. Its covering differs by weapon under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition: at foil the bib below a line 1.5 to 2 cm under the chin is covered with conductive material and forms part of the foil target (m.27.2, and t.77.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)); at epee the mask may carry no conductive covering and the bib must reach below the collar bones (m.30.1 and m.30.2); at sabre the bib and any trim are entirely covered with conductive material (m.32.3). USA Fencing's Athlete Handbook 2026-27 says foil and sabre masks with an electric bib may not be used for epee at any level, and British Fencing says foil and sabre masks cannot be used for epee at FIE and EFC events. (Masks)

Black card

The heaviest penalty card in the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) (t.158 to t.162), at all three weapons: exclusion from the competition and suspension for the rest of the tournament and the following 60 days of the active season. The FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025, as its decisions document reads (a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), defined the active season, with immediate application, as running from 1 September to the World Championships, for cadets and juniors and for seniors. The P-black card used for unwillingness to fight is described under non-combativity. (Officials and video refereeing)

Blade

The flexible steel part of the weapon. Under m.2.1 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition every weapon has a flexible steel blade with a button at the front and a tang at the rear, plus a handle and a metal guard, and maraging steel blades are obligatory at all three weapons; blade length includes the button and everything in front of the guard's convex face (m.3.1). Maximum blade lengths are 90 cm at foil (m.8.4) and at epee (m.16.3) and 88 cm at sabre (m.23.1); the foil blade is rectangular in section, the epee blade triangular without cutting edges, and the sabre blade approximately rectangular. Any alteration of the blade between guard and tip is forbidden (m.1.3). (Blades and maraging steel)

Blade sizes (youth)

Numbered shorter blade sizes used by young fencers. British Fencing's Safety Guidelines, 23rd edition (approved 25 June 2026; a 24th edition approved in September 2026 is listed by British Fencing but was not read) say children under 10 should fence with size 0 blades and under-14s normally with size 3 at foil and size 2 at epee and sabre, or smaller. USA Fencing's Athlete Handbook 2026-27 sets a maximum blade length of 32.5 inches for Y8 and Y10 competitions and standard lengths of 70 to 90 cm at foil and epee and 70 to 88 cm at sabre elsewhere; its table of lengths by size was read from a PDF extraction whose row alignment is unconfirmed, so those figures are not given here. Fencing SA (South Australia) sets its own junior limits, for example sizes 0 to 3 at all weapons for under-9s. (Youth equipment levels)

Bodywire

The wire that connects a fencer's weapon to the scoring circuit through the spool and cable (the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition, m.24.4 at sabre; at foil and epee the guard carries a socket for it, m.2.3). Bodywires at all three weapons must have a transparent connecting plug at each end and a security device against unplugging if the weapon has none (m.29.1.b, m.31.2, m.35); British Fencing's summary of the 2020 FIE rule changes says transparent plugs became compulsory for all from the 2020-2021 season. British Fencing's Domestic Variations (6 December 2023) do not require transparent plugs at domestic events and permit bayonet plugs. (The scoring equipment)

Breeches

Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition breeches or trousers at all three weapons must be made entirely of cloth able to resist 800 newtons (m.25.3.c) and fasten below the knee (m.25.5.a), and the jacket must overlap them by at least 10 cm in the on-guard position (m.25.4.a); the FIE Medical Committee's definition of parts vital to protect says the trousers must protect the abdomen, groin and genitals, the last by a protective cup (Annexe A, 3.2). British Fencing's Domestic Variations (6 December 2023) require 350 N jackets and breeches at domestic events, and British Fencing's Safety Guidelines, 23rd edition (approved 25 June 2026; a 24th edition approved in September 2026 is listed by British Fencing but was not read) let full-length trousers replace breeches when both fencers use non-electric foil blades or size 0 blades, except in BF-licensed competitions. (Jackets, plastrons and breeches)

Brisbane 2032

The Olympic and Paralympic Games after LA28. As of 26 October 2026 no source found confirms fencing's place or its foil, epee and sabre events for Brisbane 2032: AP reported on 27 May 2026 that the IOC had not confirmed the sports list, that it would be shorter than LA28's 36 sports and could be confirmed in December, and that the detailed medal-event programme would take until 2029. (The Olympic and Paralympic programme)

British Fencing

The British national fencing body for all three weapons, with England Fencing, Scottish Fencing, Welsh Fencing, Northern Ireland Fencing and the Guernsey Union d'Escrime listed under it by Wikipedia. Wikipedia traces it to the Amateur Fencing Association, founded in 1902 and renamed the British Fencing Association in 1996, while the British Academy of Fencing, the coaches' association, dates the association to 1901 on its history page; British Fencing's own page on its founding was not found. British Fencing says Great Britain was one of the FIE's nine founding nations, where Olympedia says the FIE had eight founding members. It reported 11,645 individual members at the end of March 2025 and 393 affiliated clubs. (The FIE and national bodies)

Broken blade

A blade that breaks during fencing. Under t.56 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened), at all three weapons, when the fencer against whom a hit registered has broken their blade, the hit is annulled unless the break clearly happened after the hit registered. The IOC's review chapter (Harmer, 2010) records that 7 of the 10 penetrating-wound deaths it counted from 1937 to about 2009 came from a broken blade, and British Fencing's Safety Guidelines state that almost all serious fencing injuries are caused by penetration by a broken blade. An engineering study of one broken epee blade and one broken foil blade (Kibaroglu and colleagues, 2017) found that failure began at a notch from an impact or at the groove for the wire; no sabre blade was examined. A penetrating wound needs emergency medical care. (Penetrating injuries and deaths)

Button

The end of the blade. Under m.2.1 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition every blade has a button at the front; at sabre the end must be folded over or made in one piece to form a button of square or rectangular section, 4 mm to 6 mm (m.23.2), while at foil and epee the tip carries the spring-loaded pointe d'arret. For non-electric foil and epee, British Fencing's Safety Guidelines, 23rd edition (approved 25 June 2026; a 24th edition approved in September 2026 is listed by British Fencing but was not read) require the point to be covered with a commercially produced plastic button in good condition or an integrated button. (Blades and maraging steel)

C

Cadet

The FIE age category for fencers under 17 at midnight on 31 December of the current season (o.29.2 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition), at all three weapons. The Junior and Cadet World Championships include six cadet individual events (o.37), and the FIE cadet ranking counts the best six World Cup results plus the World Championships (o.108.1.c). No fencer may hold an FIE licence before their 13th birthday (o.29.1). (Ages and categories)

Carranza, Jeronimo Sanchez de

The author of a book on the philosophy of arms, the founding text of the Spanish verdadera destreza, printed at Sanlucar de Barrameda in 1582 according to the Spanish sports historians Valle Ortiz and Curtis (2009). Its colophon says the work was completed in 1569, and some references give 1569 as its date (an enthusiast page seen only as a search extract). It is historical swordsmanship, older than the sporting foil, epee and sabre. (The first treatises)

Categories A, B and C (wheelchair fencing)

The three competition categories that group the five sport classes at official IWAS wheelchair fencing events at foil, epee and sabre: Category A is classes 3 and 4, Category B is class 2 and Category C is classes 1A and 1B (IWAS Classification Rules, 12 November 2016, the newest edition found). British Fencing and USA Fencing say only categories A and B compete at the Paralympic Games, while World Cup and Satellite events include all three; USA Fencing says its national tournaments combine the categories, while international events run by category. (Wheelchair fencing)

CE mark

As British Fencing's page on CE, CEN and FIE markings explains it (minimum standards as at 13 March 2026), the CE mark is the maker's declaration that equipment complies with EU law, and fencing equipment without it is not legal for sale in the UK or mainland Europe; meeting CEN Level 2 does not by itself make an item FIE-approved, which only an FIE marking shows. The FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition (Annexe A) say CE certificates are given by specialised institutes and that FIE homologation tests check against the FIE rules and CE/EC standards. Both apply to protective kit for foil, epee and sabre. (FIE homologation)

Chest protector

A breast or chest protector of metal or rigid material, which m.25.4.c of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition makes compulsory for women and optional for men at all three weapons; at foil it must be worn under the plastron, with its whole outer face covered by soft material such as EVA 4 mm thick carrying the SEMI technical mark. British Fencing's Safety Guidelines, 23rd edition (approved 25 June 2026; a 24th edition approved in September 2026 is listed by British Fencing but was not read) make rigid chest protection compulsory for anyone with female breasts and recommend it for girls from age 10 or the onset of puberty if earlier, while British Fencing's older Domestic Variations page (6 December 2023) made it mandatory only for women's foil. British Fencing also says that from 1 January 2026 FIE rules require women to wear chest protectors for lessons at FIE competitions and camps. The nearest FIE text found is the t.20.2 amendment of the FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025, which, as its decisions document reads (a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), requires anyone taking a lesson at an official FIE competition, not only women, to wear at least a mask, a glove and a chest protector among other items. (Gloves and chest protectors)

Classification (wheelchair fencing)

The system that places wheelchair fencers in sport classes 1A, 1B, 2, 3 and 4 by sitting balance and fencing-arm function (IWAS Classification Rules, 12 November 2016): class 1A has no sitting balance and an impaired fencing arm, and class 4 good sitting balance with leg support and a normal fencing arm. The eligible impairments are physical: ataxia, athetosis, hypertonia, impaired muscle power, impaired range of movement, limb deficiency and leg length difference. World Abilitysport describes the sport as fenced at foil, epee and sabre, individual and team; USA Fencing says athletes must be at least 13 on 1 January of the competition year and that it introduced a new national classification system from the 2025-26 season. (Wheelchair fencing)

Concussion

A head injury named in fencing data and policies. No FIE concussion policy was found: a text search of the FIE Technical Rules (December 2024) and Organisation Rules (December 2025) found no use of the word, so head injuries fall under the general medical-break rule (t.45). British Fencing's Concussion Guidance v1.1 (23 May 2024) uses the line 'If in doubt, sit them out', requires removal until medically assessed and says fencers should not return to competition before day 21; Fencing Canada's protocol is adapted from Parachute's 2017 Canadian Guideline; USA Fencing announced CrashCourse concussion education in February 2022 and no standalone USA Fencing policy was found. In US emergency-department data for 2013 to 2023 (Stanicki and colleagues, 2025) concussion was 4.7% of fencing cases; weapon was recorded too rarely to compare foil, epee and sabre. A suspected concussion needs medical care. (Concussion by body)

Conductive piste

The metal, metal mesh or other conductive surface covering the whole piste and run-off, under m.57 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition: end-to-end resistance of no more than 5 ohms, built for a 14 m piste with 1.5 to 2 m extensions, so 17 to 18 m long overall; the apparatus must not register hits on it (m.51.1). At epee the referee disregards hits on an uninsulated floor, and a hit on the conductive piste that makes the apparatus register is annulled (t.93 and t.94.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)); at all three weapons the referee must not let a bout start or continue if the piste has holes that could affect the registering of hits (t.47.2.k). (The piste)

Congress (FIE)

The FIE's Congress, in which member federations take part and whose decisions apply at all three weapons; under the Statutes as amended in 2025 it meets in the latter part of November or the first part of December each year and decides by simple majority of votes cast. The Congress of 22 November 2025 in Manama, in which 139 federations took part (123 present, 16 by proxy), amended the Technical and Organisation Rules, approved the LA28 qualification system, approved Abdelmoneim ElHusseiny as interim President and expelled the Mexican federation. (The FIE and national bodies)

Conventions (priority rules)

The FIE's name for the rules that decide which hit counts at foil and sabre: at foil the referee alone decides validity or priority by applying the foil conventions (t.82 to t.89 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)), and at sabre the sabre conventions (t.100 to t.106). Epee has no conventions: when both fencers are hit and the apparatus registers both as valid, a hit is scored against each (t.92). The FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025, as its decisions document reads (a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), added that at foil and sabre fencers may not come on guard in the in-line position. (Foil)

Corps a corps

Body contact between the two fencers. Under t.25.2 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) a fencer may not cause corps a corps intentionally, at all three weapons, and the rules list a fleche ending in a jostling collision among the irregular actions for which any hit by the fencer at fault is annulled (t.122). (Bouts and formats)

Counter-riposte

One of the three offensive actions named in t.7 to t.9 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened), with the attack and the riposte; the parry is the defensive action. The rules say their glossary of technical terms is there to help readers understand the rules and does not replace a treatise on fencing. These actions matter for priority at foil and sabre; epee has no priority conventions (t.92). (Foil)

Croissard

USA Fencing's word, in its Athlete Handbook 2026-27, for the strap that passes between the legs: epee and foil require a full jacket with a croissard, and foil and sabre lames must have one. The FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition describe a non-conductive band at least 3 cm wide passing between the legs on the foil lame (m.28.7) and a strap between the legs on the sabre conductive jacket (m.34.5). (Jackets, plastrons and breeches)

Cut (sabre)

A hit with the edge of the blade, which only sabre allows: under t.96 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) sabre is a weapon for thrusting and for cutting with the cutting edge and the back of the blade, and hits with the cutting edge, the flat or the back all count. Foil (t.76.1) and epee (t.90.1) are thrusting weapons only, scoring with the point. At sabre, hits through the blade, touching the opponent's sabre and the valid target at the same time, are valid when they clearly arrive on target (t.96.4). (Sabre)

D

Deaths in fencing

Recorded on this site only in aggregate. The IOC's review chapter (Harmer, 2010) counts ten deaths worldwide from penetrating wounds in fencing from 1937 to about 2009, all men: 3 at foil, 6 at epee and 1 at sabre; 6 in competition, 3 in practice and 1 unknown; 7 from a broken blade, 2 from an intact blade and 1 unknown. A fencing club's blog gives a lower total of eight and cites no source. The chapter records that the plastron was introduced after a fatal penetrating injury at the 1951 World Championships. No official FIE register of fencing deaths was found. A penetrating wound needs emergency medical care. (Penetrating injuries and deaths)

Direct elimination

The knock-out stage of a competition at all three weapons. Under the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) senior direct elimination bouts go to 15 hits or three periods of three minutes with one-minute rests (t.39.1 and t.40.1), and at sabre the first period also ends when one fencer reaches 8 hits; veterans' bouts go to 10 hits or two periods of three minutes, with the sabre first period ending at 5 hits (t.42). During the rests one person named before the bout may have access to the fencer (t.39.2), and a bout tied at the end of regulation time goes to an extra minute for a deciding hit (t.40.3). (Bouts and formats)

Directoire Technique

The body named in the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) (t.135 to t.139), alongside the referee, as having jurisdiction at official FIE competitions at all three weapons. A medical withdrawal form goes to the Directoire Technique for the FIE supervisor's report (t.45.1), and a breach of the FIE Safeguarding Policy at a competition is named as grounds for the referee or the Directoire Technique to remove a person from the venue. (Officials and video refereeing)

Double hit (epee)

At epee, when both fencers are hit and the apparatus registers both hits as valid, a hit is scored against each (t.92 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)); the apparatus shows a double hit when the hits arrive less than 40 ms apart (Annexe B of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). In pools at 4-4 the fencers fence for one deciding hit and a double hit is not counted (t.38.1.b). Foil and sabre score no double hits: when both fencers are hit, the referee applies the conventions to decide which hit counts, or annuls both in a simultaneous action (t.89 and t.106). Wheelchair epee keeps the double hit (t.64.2 of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Technical Rules, January 2018 version (the newest found; World Para Fencing may have amended them since)). (Epee)

E

Eddy-current check (blades)

The non-destructive electromagnetic check (eddy or Foucault current) that Annexe A of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition requires every blade, at all three weapons, to pass over its whole surface before it is put on the market, to find faults on and below the surface; at World Championships and Olympic Games this check of blades at weapon control is mandatory (m.42.2.g). The rule says what must be checked, not how. The FIE SEMI Commission's July 2025 report records research into alternatives to the Fournier test for detecting blade fractures. (Blades and maraging steel)

Electric scoring

Judging hits with an electrical recording apparatus, which the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) require at all competitions (t.54.1). Each weapon was electrified at a different date, and sources date different steps. Epee: the FIE's Escrime XXI timeline says the Laurent-Pagan apparatus, introduced in 1933, was adopted for the Berlin 1936 Olympics, and the FIE's historical note dates its electrical epee rules to 1936. Foil: first fenced electrically at the 1955 World Championships according to British Fencing, at the Olympics from Melbourne 1956 according to Olympedia, with FIE electrical foil rules adopted in 1957. Sabre: electrified in 1986 according to British Fencing, with FIE electrical sabre rules adopted in 1988 and the Olympics from Barcelona 1992 according to Olympedia. (Electric scoring)

EN 13567

The European standard for fencers' protective equipment (hand, arm, chest, abdomen, leg, genital and face protectors). AFNOR lists EN 13567:2002+A1:2007 as current, the 2007 amended text replacing the 2002 edition, and a revision (prEN 13567 rev) is in development at CEN/TC 162, with its comment period closed on 28 January 2025. The standard's own text was not read for this site, so its levels are given as bodies applying it describe them: British Fencing calls Level 1 350 newtons and Level 2 800 newtons for clothing, with a 350N or 1600N mask bib, and describes FIE kit for foil, epee and sabre as FIE CEN Level 2; the FIE's 2009 homologation handbook says EC tests for FIE homologation were done to level 2. (EN 13567 and protection levels)

Epee

One of the three weapons: a thrusting weapon only, whose attacks are made only with the point (t.90.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). The valid target is the whole body, including clothing and equipment (t.91), and there are no priority conventions: when both fencers are hit and both hits register as valid, each is scored against (t.92). Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition an epee weighs less than 770 g ready for use (m.14), is at most 110 cm long (m.15), has a triangular blade without cutting edges of at most 90 cm (m.16), and needs more than 750 g of pressure on the tip to register a hit (m.19.2). British Fencing's history dates the epee's development to France in the 1860s, as a reaction against the conventions of foil. (Epee)

Equal third

In Mixed Formula B events at all three weapons (the Junior and Cadet World Championships, Junior and Cadet World Cups and Zonal Championships) there is no bout for third place: both losing semi-finalists are placed equal third (o.89 to o.94 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). (Bouts and formats)

European Fencing Confederation (EFC)

One of the five continental confederations the FIE lists, with the African, Pan American, Asian and Oceania confederations; it covers all three weapons in Europe. It reported the 2026 European Senior Championships, held in Antony, France, in June 2026, and its report of 28 July 2026 on the Hong Kong World Championships is the main source for the individual medallists recorded on this site, because the FIE's own results pages could not be read. (Continental championships 2026)

Executive Committee (FIE)

The 21-member body that manages the FIE between Congresses (FIE About page); its decisions apply at all three weapons. On 30 April 2025 it appointed Abdelmoneim ElHusseiny (Egypt) interim President, an appointment the Congress of 22 November 2025 approved, and it lifted all protective measures on athletes holding Russian or Belarusian passports from the 2026 Senior World Championships, a decision that a search extract of an FIE letter dates 29 May 2026, while press reports date its announcement 2 June 2026. Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition it also approves national strips and coloured mask designs. (The FIE and national bodies)

Extra minute

The deciding period at all three weapons when scores are level at the end of regulation time: one extra minute for a deciding hit, with a lot drawn beforehand to decide the winner if scores are still level (t.38.2.b for pool bouts, t.40.3 for direct elimination and t.41.5 for team matches, the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). At a tied score the referee must use video before deciding the deciding hit (t.62). The FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025, as its decisions document reads (a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), kept the rule that no non-combativity card may be given at 14-14 in individual events or 44-44 in team matches, where the extra minute applies instead. (Bouts and formats)

F

Fatigue requirement (blades)

One of the results Annexe A of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition requires for blade homologation, set separately for each weapon: blades must not break before 18,000 bending cycles at foil, 7,000 at epee and 20,000 at sabre, with at least 8 blades exceeding these values; an optional alternate bending check sets 400 cycles for foil and 150 for epee and, the rule says, is not suitable for sabre blades. Homologation stays valid only if the maker sends blades for a periodic simplified check at least once every two years, and a blade is removed from the FIE official blades list after 4 years without them. The rules give the results only, and this site does not describe the methods. (Blades and maraging steel)

FenceSafe

USA Fencing's safeguarding programme for its members at all three weapons. USA Fencing says child abuse and sexual misconduct are reported directly to the U.S. Center for SafeSport, while emotional misconduct, physical misconduct and Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP) violations are reported to USA Fencing, and that the Center can place a jurisdictional hold that suspends membership access. USA Fencing publishes an Ineligible/Suspended List under FenceSafe, which states that its temporary measures where the Center has exclusive jurisdiction are an administrative hold, not a determination of guilt; no names are given on this site. (Safeguarding)

Fencing distance (wheelchair fencing)

The distance between the two fixed wheelchairs, set before the bout and not changed once agreed, under the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Technical Rules, January 2018 version (the newest found; World Para Fencing may have amended them since). At foil it is set by one fencer touching the inner edge of the opponent's bent forearm with a straight arm, and vice versa; a fencer with a shorter arm may choose a distance in between, and category C fencers set it 10 cm beyond the inner forearm. At epee it is set with the point touching the outer edge of the opponent's bent elbow (category C: 10 cm inside it), before the aprons are fitted. USA Fencing summarises the measure as the outer elbow for epee and sabre and the inner forearm for foil, with the chair fixed to a frame at a 110-degree angle to the central bar. (Wheelchair fencing)

Fencing time

Defined in t.7 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) as the time needed to perform one simple fencing action. The foil conventions use it: a stop hit into a compound attack is valid only if it arrives a period of fencing time before the attack's final movement (t.88). Annexe B of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition notes that the 300 ms after which foil apparatus ignores further hits has no relation to the fencing time used to judge foil. (Foil)

FIE (Federation Internationale d'Escrime)

The world governing body for fencing at all three weapons, which states that it was founded in Paris in 1913, is headquartered in Lausanne and is recognised by the IOC; Olympedia gives the founding date as 29 November 1913. The number of founding nations differs: Olympedia says eight founding members, British Fencing says Great Britain was one of nine founding nations, and Wikipedia says nine but names eight. So does the membership: the FIE's About page says 156 affiliated Member Federations, Wikipedia gave 155 as of 2023, British Fencing says over 150 and the FIE's Hong Kong 2026 press kit gives 157; the Congress of 22 November 2025 expelled the Mexican federation. Abdelmoneim ElHusseiny was appointed interim President on 30 April 2025, and the latest FIE document found, Information Letter 10-26 of 8 July 2026, is signed by him in that role. (The FIE, 1913)

FIE licence

The international licence every competitor, coach, referee or designated official at an official FIE competition must hold for the current season (o.2.2 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition), at all three weapons. No fencer may hold one, and so enter an official FIE competition, before their 13th birthday (o.29.1); FIE Medical Commission minutes of 30 June 2017 record a majority vote for the 13th birthday as the threshold, as a proposed rule change. Every bout at an official FIE competition is directed by a referee holding an FIE licence for the current season (t.47.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). (Ages and categories)

Fiore dei Liberi

The author of Il Fior di Battaglia (The Flower of Battle), described by the J. Paul Getty Museum as the greatest fencing master of the late 1300s; the Getty's copy covers combat on foot with sword, dagger and axe, and mounted combat. It is one of the roots of the sport, older than the sporting foil, epee and sabre. Dates differ by copy: the Getty dates its copy to about 1410 and the Morgan Library its copy to about 1410 to 1420 (both seen only as search extracts), while Wikipedia says the Pisani-Dossi copy is dated 1409 in the old reckoning, that is 1410. (The first treatises)

Fleche

A forward movement named in the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened). At sabre the fleche, and any forward movement in which the rear foot completely passes the front foot, is forbidden as a 1st-group offence, and any hit by the fencer at fault is annulled (t.101.5). At foil the rules name the fleche as one of the movements a correct simple attack may begin with (t.83), and at all three weapons a fleche ending in a jostling collision is among the irregular actions for which the fencer's hit is annulled (t.122). The definition here is the rules', not a description of how it is performed. (Sabre)

Flexibility (blades)

The bend a blade must show, within a minimum and a maximum under a load stated in the rule, set separately for each weapon in the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition: m.8.5 for foil, m.16.5 for epee and m.23.4 for sabre. The rule states the limits; checking them belongs to the officials at weapon control, and this site does not describe the measurement. (Blades and maraging steel)

Foil

One of the three weapons: a thrusting weapon only, scoring only with the point (t.76.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). The valid target is the trunk, without the limbs or head, plus the part of the mask bib below a line 1.5 to 2 cm under the chin (t.77.1); a hit off target is not valid but stops the phrase and annuls any later hit (t.78), and the referee decides validity or priority by applying the foil conventions (t.82). Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition a foil weighs less than 500 g ready for use (m.6), is at most 110 cm long (m.7), has a rectangular blade of at most 90 cm (m.8.4) and needs more than 500 g of pressure on the tip to register a hit (m.11.3). British Fencing's history says the danger of the small sword led to the flexible foil and its conventions. (Foil)

Formula A and Formula B

The FIE's mixed competition formulas in the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition, used at all three weapons. Mixed Formula A, for the Senior World Championships, Senior World Cups and Grands Prix, has one round of pools, a preliminary direct elimination table and a main table of 64 over two days, with the 16 highest-ranked entrants exempt from the preliminary phase (o.83 to o.85); 20 to 30 percent of pool fencers are eliminated on their pool indices, and 30 percent at Grands Prix (o.86.1). Mixed Formula B, for the Junior and Cadet World Championships and World Cups and the Zonal Championships, has one round of pools then a full direct elimination table, in one day per weapon, with both losing semi-finalists placed equal third (o.89 to o.94). Olympic formulas are set by the FIE Executive Committee with IOC approval (o.95). (Bouts and formats)

French Fencing Federation (FFE)

France's national body for all three weapons, which says it was founded in 1906 and is responsible for competitive and recreational fencing in France and for the French national teams; a document it created on 30 September 2025 gives nearly 700 clubs and 60,000 licence holders. (The FIE and national bodies)

G

German Fencing Federation (Deutscher Fechter-Bund)

Germany's national body for foil, epee and sabre, founded on 17 December 1911 in Frankfurt am Main and a member of the FIE since November 1913, according to the Deutsche Biographie. That membership supports the nine-nation list, including Germany, in a search extract of the FIE's centenary history page (the page itself could not be opened), although Olympedia gives eight founding members. (The FIE and national bodies)

Glove

At all three weapons the glove's gauntlet must cover about half the sword-arm forearm, to stop the opponent's blade entering the sleeve, and no hole is allowed in the hand of the glove, even for the bodywire (m.25.6 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). At foil the glove may be slightly padded (m.26). At sabre it must give 800N protection on the areas the rule's diagram shows, with seams of at least 200N and a 350N cuff, a conductive gauntlet down below the wrist bone and an FIE quality label stating 800N (m.33.1). USA Fencing's Athlete Handbook 2026-27 requires 800N sabre gloves at all levels of its competitions; British Fencing requires a sabre glove with the FIE 800N label for general training and its competitions, and accepts any fencing glove at foil and epee in training. (Gloves and chest protectors)

Grand Prix

A senior FIE competition, held at one weapon, run in Mixed Formula A with 30 percent of pool fencers eliminated (o.86.1 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition) and with video refereeing compulsory (o.105); Grand Prix results count towards the senior ranking with a multiplier of 1.5 (o.108.2). For 2026-27 a listings site gives the first sabre Grand Prix as Orleans, 3 to 5 December 2026, followed by foil, epee and sabre events into May 2027; those dates come from that site only and are unconfirmed. (The 2026-27 season)

Grand Prix des Nations

The FIE's gold medal, awarded each year in the cadet, junior, senior and veteran categories to the nation with the most gold medals across the individual and team events of that category's World Championships, foil, epee and sabre together, with silver and then bronze counts breaking ties (o.110 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). (Rankings and the World Cup)

Grip and handle

The FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition do not name grips; any handle that conforms to the rules is allowed. Maximum handle length is 20 cm at foil and epee and 17 cm at sabre (m.4.1); handles may not include a device that helps throw the weapon or that adds to the hand protection the guard gives (m.4.4 and m.4.5); an orthopaedic handle that fixes the hand must allow one position only, with the extended thumb tip within 2 cm of the inside of the guard (m.4.6), and at epee may not be covered with leather or anything that could hide wires or switches (m.4.3). Wikipedia names the French and the pistol (orthopaedic) grips at foil and epee and says sabre has a single grip type. (Foil, epee and sabre compared)

Guard

The metal guard of the weapon, which m.2.3 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition requires to be fitted convex face forward; at foil and epee it contains padding and a socket for the bodywire. Its size differs by weapon: the foil guard is 9.5 to 12 cm in diameter (m.9), the epee guard must pass a 13.5 cm gauge and be 3 to 5.5 cm deep (m.17.1), and the sabre guard is one piece, continuously convex, and must pass a 15 cm by 14 cm gauge (m.24). Guards may carry no advertising (m.5.5.c), and hitting with the guard at sabre is forbidden (t.96.3 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). (Foil, epee and sabre compared)

Guttmann, Sir Ludwig

The founder of the Paralympic Movement and himself a keen fencer, whom the IPC and World Abilitysport credit with developing wheelchair fencing, fenced today at foil, epee and sabre, at Stoke Mandeville in the 1950s (IPC, 21 July 2016). (Wheelchair fencing history)

H

Halt and Play (commands)

The referee's commands in the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened), at all three weapons: bout duration counts only the effective fencing time between 'Play!' and 'Halt!' (t.37.1); the referee calls 'Halt!' when play is dangerous, confused or contrary to the rules, among other cases (t.23.5); and fencers must keep the mask on until 'Halt!' (t.125). Under the 2025 Congress amendments (read from the decisions document; a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), intentionally dropping the weapon during a phrase is a 2nd-group offence, while the opponent's hit stays valid if the action started before 'Halt!' (t.56.11). (Bouts and formats)

Heat policies

No FIE heat or venue-temperature rule was found in the FIE Organisation Rules (December 2025) or Technical Rules (December 2024), and no weapon-specific heat rule for foil, epee or sabre was recorded. British Fencing's Guidance on Fencing in Hot Weather (25 July 2023) says layers of fencing kit affect the body's ability to cool, asks for the risk assessment to be updated if a venue is expected to exceed 27 degrees C, and above 32 degrees C asks organisers to consider stopping. Fencing Victoria's Heat Policy 2025, for one named venue, allows 15 minutes between direct elimination bouts above 30 degrees C and cancels competitions above 35 degrees C. These are different bodies' policies for different settings. Heat illness needs medical care. (Heat and venues)

Henri de Saint-Didier

A French master whom Olympedia credits with naming most of fencing's major movements in 1570, long before the sporting foil, epee and sabre took their present form. (Sword schools and origins)

Hit through the blade (sabre)

At sabre, a hit that touches the opponent's sabre and the valid target at the same time; under t.96.4 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) it is valid when it clearly arrives on target. Separately, Annexe B of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition says sabre apparatus must not register a blade whipping over the opponent's blade or guard. (Sabre)

Homologation (FIE)

The FIE's certification that a specific item complies with its rules, which fencing material used in official FIE competitions and carrying the FIE logo must hold without exception (Annexe A of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). It is compulsory for blades, points, protective clothing including masks and gloves, scoring apparatus, pistes, video refereeing systems and competition management software, at all three weapons, and is carried out by the SEMI Commission; makers must wait for the certificate before production or sale, must report any change, and can have homologation withdrawn or suspended. National rules may not require it: USA Fencing's Rules for Competition (October 2026) say an FIE-homologated uniform and mask are not required in its competitions. Whether a given product is homologated is for the FIE's own published lists, not this site. (FIE homologation)

Hungarian sabre school

The tradition credited with making Hungary the most successful sabre nation, with sources differing on who shaped it: Olympedia credits the Italian master Italo Santelli, recruited in 1896 to teach sabre in Budapest; Wikipedia's article on Laszlo Borsody says the modern Hungarian style was modelled on Borsody's rival system (Wikipedia, secondary, unconfirmed); and British Fencing's history speaks of an unnamed Italian master developing the lightweight sporting sabre in the late 19th century. The FIE's sabre rules of 12 June 1914 followed the Hungarian and Ostend rules (FIE historical note). (How the three weapons developed)

I

In line (point in line)

Defined in t.15 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) as a position in which the sword arm is straight and the point continually threatens the opponent's valid target; it matters for priority at foil and sabre. At foil an attack into a point in line must first deflect the blade, a mere contact of blades not being enough (t.84). Under the 2025 Congress amendments (read from the decisions document; a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), fencers at foil and sabre may not come on guard in the in-line position. (Foil)

INSEP study (French elite fencers)

A retrospective study (Gondouin and colleagues, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2025) of 117 elite fencers at France's national institute INSEP from June 2016 to May 2023, counting any musculoskeletal complaint or concussion in training or competition, whether or not time was lost. It recorded 1,470 injuries, 2.55 per fencer per year overall; by weapon, 2.84 at epee, 2.53 at foil and 2.34 at sabre, with no significant difference between weapons or between sexes within a weapon. Because it counts any injury, its figures measure something different from time-loss studies and are never combined with them. Any injury needs medical care. (Injury research)

Insulated tip (foil)

At foil the button and the first 15 cm (plus or minus 1 cm) of the blade must be fully covered with insulating material (m.13.1 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition), a rule in the foil section of the Material Rules; at an official FIE competition foil points are presented bare, not taped, over the first 15 cm at the weapon checking centre (m.38.1). (Blades and maraging steel)

Italian Fencing Federation (Federazione Italiana Scherma)

Italy's national body for all three weapons, founded on 3 June 1909 in Rome after an unsuccessful attempt in Pavia in 1903; it was renamed the Italian Fencing Confederation in 1923 and took its present name in 1933, and CONI lists Luigi Mazzone as president since 2025. The FIE Congress of November 2025 awarded it the 2028 Junior and Cadet World Championships, in Rome on 1 to 9 April 2028. (The FIE and national bodies)

IWAS and World Abilitysport

IWAS (the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation) published the wheelchair fencing rules used on this site: the Technical Rules of January 2018 and the Classification Rules of 12 November 2016, the newest editions found. Wikipedia says IWAS merged with CPISRA to form World Abilitysport (approved November 2022, rebranded April 2023). World Abilitysport lists wheelchair fencing, at foil, epee and sabre, individual and team, under its International Federation section, and the federation adopted the name World Para Fencing from 2025. (Wheelchair fencing)

J

Jacket

At all three weapons the jacket must be made of cloth resisting 800 newtons, with fastenings covered by a flap on the sword-arm side (m.25.3.c of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition), must overlap the breeches by at least 10 cm in the on-guard position and must be lined to give double thickness on the sword-arm sleeve to the elbow and on the flank up to the armpit (m.25.4); at epee it must cover the whole surface of the trunk. Jacket and collar must be fully fastened and the clothing must carry the FIE homologation label (m.25.2). Below FIE level, British Fencing's Safety Guidelines, 23rd edition (approved 25 June 2026; a 24th edition approved in September 2026 is listed by British Fencing but was not read) require jackets of at least CEN Level 1 bearing the CEN safety mark. (Jackets, plastrons and breeches)

Judges

Two officials, one on each side of the piste, who may assist the referee by watching for use of the unarmed hand or arm, target substitution, hits on the floor at epee and leaving the piste; they are obligatory for individual finals of 4 fencers and for the final of team events (t.48 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). The FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025 amended t.48.1, as its decisions document reads (a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), so that judges must be of a different nationality from the fencers, the main referee and the video referee on the piste. (Officials and video refereeing)

Junior

The FIE age category for fencers under 20 at midnight on 31 December of the current season (o.29.2 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition), at all three weapons; the 2025 Congress replaced the older wording, which counted to 31 December of the year before the competition, to match the cadet rule. The junior ranking counts the best six World Cup results plus the World Championships and Zonal Championships (o.108.1.b), and the Junior and Cadet World Championships include six junior individual and six junior team events (o.37). (Ages and categories)

Junior and Cadet World Championships 2026

Finished: held 1 to 9 April 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, with 18 events at foil, epee and sabre (six junior individual, six cadet individual and six junior team events, o.37 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). The FIE's results pages could not be read; Wikipedia's medal table puts the United States first (6 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze), then China and Hong Kong, China, with 26 nations winning medals, and records Jaelyn Liu (United States) winning both the junior and cadet women's foil titles and Pan Qimiao (China) both women's sabre titles. The 2027 host is disputed: Estonia in a 2024 report of the FIE's announcement, Ankara on British Fencing's events page; the FIE called on 26 June 2026 for bids to move the event from Estonia, and the outcome was not found. The 2028 edition is in Rome, 1 to 9 April 2028. (Junior and cadet 2026)

K

Kevlar (mask bib)

The fibre Annexe A of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition names for at least one inner layer of the 1600 N mask bib, which it describes as Kevlar fibre or similar, at all three weapons. Wikipedia says Kevlar or other ballistic nylon came into uniforms after the 1982 death at the Rome World Championships; no FIE document was found that ties a dated rule change to that death. (Masks)

L

LA28

The Los Angeles 2028 Games, upcoming on 26 October 2026. Olympic fencing, under the FIE's qualification system (version of 12 May 2026), has 12 events, individual and team foil, epee and sabre for men and for women, and 212 places, with team places drawn from the FIE Official Senior Team Ranking of 1 April 2028; NBC gives the dates as 15 to 23 July 2028 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Hall 1. Paralympic wheelchair fencing has 16 medal events (7 male, 7 female and 2 mixed or open) and 96 athlete places, as the IPC confirmed on 3 June 2025, in Games running 15 to 27 August 2028. (LA28)

Label of quality (FIE)

The FIE label that, under m.37.2 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition, blades, masks and clothing must carry at official FIE competitions, at all three weapons; by fixing it makers guarantee that equipment meets FIE technical and safety requirements, and the FIE emblem is a registered trademark usable only on homologated equipment (Annexe A). Annexe A sets a label 7 mm wide on blades, a circular 25 mm label on masks and a circular 50 mm label on uniforms, the mask and uniform labels showing the maker's emblem, the year and month of manufacture and the FIE emblem. It also says chip and label installation requirements are suspended, without giving a date. (FIE homologation)

Lame

The conductive over-jacket worn at foil and sabre. Epee has none: there the FIE requires a regulation jacket covering the whole trunk (m.25.4.b of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). The foil lame must cover the whole valid target in the on-guard position, with an insulated interior and a non-conductive band at least 3 cm wide between the legs (m.28); the sabre conductive jacket must cover the valid surface above the line joining the tops of the hip bones and the arms to the wrists (m.34). At both weapons the cloth may have a resistance of no more than 5 ohms between any two points, and a lame with holes or oxidation that could stop a valid hit registering may not be used (m.28.5 and m.34.4). (Jackets, plastrons and breeches)

Lesson dress rule (t.20)

The rule in t.20 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) on what people training or giving lessons must wear on site at official FIE competitions, at all three weapons: anyone who trains with another fencer on site wears FIE-conforming clothing and equipment; a person giving a lesson wears at least a fencing master's plastron, a glove and a conforming mask; and a fencer taking a lesson at least a mask and a glove. The FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025 amended it, as read from tracked-changes text, so that a fencer taking a lesson must also wear a chest protector, a top covering the torso and shoulders and shorts reaching to within 10 cm of the knee. The same article says fencers fence at their own risk and that the rules' safety measures reinforce safety but cannot guarantee it. (What protective equipment is tested for)

Lockout (scoring timings)

The time after a first hit within which the apparatus still registers the opponent's hit, set weapon by weapon in Annexe B of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition: at foil all further hits are ignored from 300 ms (plus or minus 25 ms) after the first hit; at sabre the opponent's hit registers only within 170 ms (plus or minus 10 ms); at epee hits less than 40 ms apart register as a double hit and hits more than 50 ms apart register only the first. The foil rule notes that its period has no relation to the fencing time used to judge foil. (The scoring equipment)

London Masters of Defence

The English body of fencing masters that, according to Wikipedia, Henry VIII sanctioned in 1540 with control of fencing teaching, renewed by Mary I in 1555 and James I in 1605, until the Monopolies Act of 1624 ended its privilege. A wrestling-history site says court records from 1540 to 1624 show no enforcement, making the monopoly largely symbolic; that view rests on a single source and is unconfirmed. It is one of the roots of the sport, before the sporting foil, epee and sabre. (Sword schools and origins)

M

MAAPP (Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies)

The U.S. Center for SafeSport's policies for protecting minor athletes: the 2025 version, published 5 January 2024 and effective 1 January 2025, requires education and training, and prevention policies limiting one-on-one interactions between adults and minor athletes. USA Fencing publishes a 2025 USA Fencing MAAPP for its members at all three weapons and takes reports of MAAPP violations through its FenceSafe programme. (Safeguarding)

Maraging steel

The nickel-cobalt steel that m.2.1 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition makes obligatory for blades at all three weapons; Annexe A's composition for the listed steel has 18 to 20 percent nickel, 8 to 13 percent cobalt, 4 to 5 percent molybdenum, 0.5 to 2.0 percent titanium and no more than 0.03 percent carbon. The obligation came weapon by weapon and the dates differ by source. Epee: non-maraging blades were no longer homologated after 1 January 2014 and not accepted in FIE competitions from 31 December 2015 (FIE note reproduced in USA Fencing's October 2026 rules). Sabre: the FIE Material Rules, July 2020 edition say the obligation, first set for the start of the 2020-2021 season, was postponed to September 2021, with maraging and non-maraging sabre blades both allowed until 31 August 2021; British Fencing's summary of January 2020 gives the 2020-2021 season, and its FIE and EFC equipment rules page (March 2026) says sabre blades stamped only 'M' were allowed until September 2022; a maker's product page says after the Tokyo Olympics. Foil: no FIE date was found. The International Molybdenum Association says injuries from failed carbon-steel blades in the 1980s led the FIE to seek a new material. Below FIE level, British Fencing does not require maraging blades at domestic events, and USA Fencing's rulebook does not carry the general requirement. Any injury needs medical care. (Blades and maraging steel)

Marxbrueder (Brotherhood of St Mark)

A German association of fencing masters. A historian at the University of Warsaw, Maciej Talaga (2022), describes the 1487 privilege granted by Emperor Frederick III as creating the first association of fencing masters in German history, the document being held in Frankfurt am Main; a search extract of the same chapter says it was issued on Maximilian I's initiative, which is unconfirmed. Wikipedia records a rival guild, the Federfechter, recognised by Frankfurt in 1575. This is historical swordsmanship, older than the sporting foil, epee and sabre. (Sword schools and origins)

Mask

The protective head covering worn at all three weapons. Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition the mesh openings are at most 2.1 mm, of wire at least 1 mm in diameter (m.25.7.a), the whole mesh must withstand a 12 kg punch (m.25.7.c), the bib must resist 1600 newtons (m.25.7.d), and every mask must have two different safety systems at the rear (m.25.7.a and m.25.7.e); coloured or decorated masks need FIE Executive Committee approval. The covering differs by weapon: insulated mesh and a conductive bib at foil, no conductive covering at epee, and conductive mesh and bib at sabre. When the two-rear-system rule began is disputed: FIE SEMI Commission minutes of July 2014 record an urgent decision for 1 September 2014 and later for immediate effect, while Fencing Australia applied the new fastening requirements to its own circuit events, and the UIPM adopted the same rule, from 1 January 2019. A mask that fails at weapon control is made visibly unusable (m.38.6). (Masks)

Mask wire

The covered wire that connects the mask to the jacket at foil, whose conductive bib is part of the target, and at sabre, whose mesh must conduct electricity. Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition it is white or clear, 30 to 40 cm long, with crocodile clips at both ends, and coiled mask wires are not allowed (m.27.3 at foil, m.32.4 at sabre); resistance is at most 1 ohm between the clips at foil and under 5 ohms from clip to any point on the mask at sabre. The FIE's 2009 homologation handbook allowed a foil mask wire of 40 to 45 cm, or a coiled cable of 25 cm at rest, so the rule has changed since. (Masks)

Material Rules (FIE)

Book 3 of the FIE Rules for Competitions, which sets the rules for weapons, protective equipment and scoring apparatus at foil, epee and sabre, with Annexe A (safety standards and homologation) and Annexe B (scoring apparatus). This site reads the August 2026 edition and takes its article numbers from it; an older July 2020 edition is cited only for the dated sabre maraging postponement. (FIE homologation)

Medical break

The pause allowed under t.45 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened), at all three weapons, for an injury or other medical reason attested by the FIE Medical Commission delegate or the doctor or medical provider on duty: no more than 5 minutes, timed from the medical official's intervention. A further break the same day needs a different injury or medical reason, a break judged unjustified is penalised, and if the medical official decides the fencer cannot continue, the fencer retires or, in a team event, is replaced if possible. FIE Medical Commission minutes of 30 June 2017 record approval of a change to what was then rule t.33, cutting the break from 10 to 5 minutes, after trials at the 2016 and 2017 Cadet and Junior World Championships. Any injury needs medical care. (Medical rules at competitions)

Medical delegate

A member of the FIE Medical Commission appointed to an FIE competition (o.18 of the FIE Organisation Rules, December 2025 edition); at World Championships the Executive Committee appoints three. Medical delegates are responsible for the medical organisation of a competition, oversee the medical services and the anti-doping control, and supervise the handling of any injury or medical reason under t.45 (o.21); where there is none, the competition's doctor on duty takes the role (o.22.3), and among the criteria for a World Cup competition in o.4, a doctor must be present on the premises for the whole competition (o.4.9). o.18, o.21 and o.22.3 were read in the December 2025 edition only; the August 2026 edition lists the same World Cup criteria, including o.4.9. These rules apply at all three weapons. Any injury needs medical care. (Medical rules at competitions)

Medinet Habu relief

A relief at Medinet Habu, near Luxor, Egypt, which Olympedia gives as the earliest known depiction of a fencing bout, dated about 1190 BCE; Olympedia says fencing as a sport began in the 14th or 15th century and that Italy and Germany both claim its origins, while British Fencing's history dates modern fencing to the late 15th century; all of this is long before the sporting foil, epee and sabre took their present form. A fencing club's blog argues that sport fencing began in Egypt as a stick-fighting game; the museum and governing-body sources regard the relief as the earliest depiction, not as the origin of the modern sport. (Sword schools and origins)

MS I.33 (Royal Armouries)

Royal Armouries MS I.33, a German manual of sword and buckler fencing that the Royal Armouries describes as the oldest known European fencing manual. Its date differs: the museum's text places it in the early 14th century, around 1330, while the image caption on the same page says late 13th century, and Wikipedia gives about 1300. It belongs to historical swordsmanship, not to the sporting foil, epee and sabre. (The first treatises)

N

National strip

The national logo strip on a fencer's uniform at all three weapons: under m.25.3.f and m.25.3.g of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition strips must be approved by the FIE Executive Committee, are compulsory on both legs at official FIE competitions and optional on the arms, and are identical for all fencers of a federation. The fencer's family name and federation abbreviation go on the back of the jacket in dark blue capitals 8 to 10 cm high; a World Champion may wear them in red for the following season and an Olympic Champion in gold until the end of the next Olympic Games (m.25.3.h). Clothing may be any colour except black (m.25.3.d). (Jackets, plastrons and breeches)

NEISS (US emergency-department data)

The US National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, run by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which gives weighted national estimates of emergency-department visits. Stanicki and colleagues (2025) found 129 fencing cases from 2013 to 2023, a national estimate of 3,418 visits, with a median patient age of 16; strains or sprains were 26.4% of cases, lacerations 15.5%, fractures 11.6%, concussion 4.7% and punctures 3.9%. Weapon was recorded in only about 5% of cases (2 foil, 5 sabre, no epee), so the data cannot compare weapons, and the figures count emergency visits, not risk per fencer. Any injury needs medical care. (Injury research)

Newton rating

The figure in newtons (N) in which fencing protection levels are given, as a force the cloth must resist. Exactly as the documents give them: 800 N for jackets, under-plastrons, breeches and trousers and 1600 N for the mask bib at FIE events (m.25.3.c and m.25.7.d of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition); 800N on defined areas of the sabre glove, with 200N seams and a 350N cuff (m.33.1); 350 N for jackets, breeches and some plastrons where British Fencing allows it below FIE level; and 350 newtons for the mask bib in USA Fencing competitions. A rating states what the rule or standard requires; whether a product meets it is for the homologation, the standard's certification and the officials who check kit at foil, epee and sabre. (EN 13567 and protection levels)

Non-combativity (t.124)

The rule in t.124 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) on unwillingness to fight, at all three weapons: one minute of fencing without a hit or an off-target hit, after which the referee calls 'Halt!'. In the December 2024 text, individual direct elimination brings a P-yellow card to both fencers the first time, a P-red card to both the second time, and a P-black card the third time to the fencer with the lower score (or, if level, the lower initial seeding), and team events follow the same pattern; no P-card may be given at 14-14 or 44-44. Fencing Ireland's April 2026 national rule book still prints the three-step sequence. The 2025 Congress amended t.124 with effect from the 2026-27 season; as the tracked-changes text of its decisions reads, the first minute would draw a P-red card and the second a P-black card, but that reading is unconfirmed until a clean 2026 text of the rule is read. (Bouts and formats)

O

Offence groups

The FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) divide offences into four groups with escalating penalties, summarised in a table at t.170 (t.164 to t.170), at all three weapons. Examples recorded in the research: covering the foil target, a fleche at sabre and leaving the side of the piste with both feet to avoid a hit are 1st-group offences (t.79, t.101.5 and t.35.3); refusing the salute is a 4th-group offence (t.122), a rule the 2025 Congress extended only to the end of the 2025-2026 season, with no later text read; and under the 2025 Congress amendments (read from the decisions document; a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read) intentionally dropping the weapon during a phrase is a 2nd-group offence (t.56.11). (Officials and video refereeing)

Off-target hit

A hit outside the valid target, which the rules handle differently by weapon. At foil it is not valid but stops the fencing phrase and annuls any later hit (t.78 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)), the apparatus showing a white lamp (Annexe B of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition); covering or substituting the target is a 1st-group offence, and an off-target hit counts as valid when the fencer, by an abnormal position, substituted a non-valid area for the target (t.79). At sabre an off-target hit is not registered, does not stop the phrase and does not annul later hits (t.98). At epee the whole body, clothing and equipment are target (t.91), but a hit on the guard of the fencer hit, or on the conductive piste, is annulled (t.94.1). (Foil)

Olympic fencing programme

Fencing has been held at every modern Summer Games since Athens 1896, according to Olympedia, and the FIE's Organisation Rules (August 2026) say the programme currently comprises twelve events, a number only the FIE Congress can change (o.43). By weapon, Wikipedia gives men's individual foil and sabre from 1896 and men's individual epee from 1900. Women first fenced at Paris 1924 and fenced only foil until 1996 (Olympedia); women's team foil came in 1960 (NBC Olympics), epee in 1996 and individual sabre in 2004 (Olympedia), and team sabre in 2008 (Wikipedia). Wikipedia's table gives 10 events from 1996 to 2016 and Tokyo 2020 as the first Games with all 12, and Olympedia says professionals (fencing masters) could compete only in 1896 and 1900. (Fencing at the Olympics)

P

Paralympic wheelchair fencing

Wheelchair fencing has been on the Paralympic programme since the first Games, Rome 1960, where three events were held (men's sabre, men's team sabre and women's foil) with only Italian athletes (IPC). The IPC credits Sir Ludwig Guttmann with developing it at Stoke Mandeville in the 1950s, and World Abilitysport also credits him with developing the sport. The start date differs: the IPC describes 1954 as a demonstration only, with sabre competition from 1955, a women's foil event in 1956 and epee in 1957; Wikipedia says the sport was introduced in 1954; and British Fencing says it was first introduced in 1953, a single-source statement. Women's sabre first appeared at Tokyo 2020 (held 2021, IPC), only categories A and B compete at the Paralympics, and LA28 has 16 medal events and 96 places. (Wheelchair fencing history)

Parry

The defensive action named in t.7 to t.9 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened). At foil and sabre every correctly executed attack must be parried or completely avoided (t.83 and t.101), and at foil a parry gives the right to riposte (t.86); at sabre a properly executed parry means the attack is declared parried even if, through the blade's flexibility, the tip touches the target (t.105.2.b). Defensive actions at all three weapons must be made only with the weapon (t.21.1). (Sabre)

P-cards

The cards for unwillingness to fight in t.124 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) (P-yellow, P-red and P-black), at all three weapons, separate from the ordinary yellow, red and black cards; they apply only to the bout or match in which they are given and may not be awarded at 14-14 in individual events or 44-44 in team matches. The 2025 Congress amended t.124 with effect from the 2026-27 season; as the tracked-changes text of its decisions reads, the first minute would draw a P-red card and the second a P-black card, but that reading is unconfirmed until a clean 2026 text of the rule is read. (Bouts and formats)

Penalty cards

The yellow, red and black cards of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) (t.158 to t.162), at all three weapons: a yellow card is a warning, a red card is a penalty hit added to the opponent's score, and a black card means exclusion from the competition and suspension for the rest of the tournament and the following 60 days of the active season. The P-cards (P-yellow, P-red and P-black) are separate cards for unwillingness to fight. British Fencing's Safety Committee says referees give a yellow card for a mask that is not securely fastened or falls off, and may confiscate it (notice of 20 March 2026). (Officials and video refereeing)

Penetrating injury

A wound in which a blade enters the body, recorded at all three weapons. The IOC's review chapter (Harmer, 2010) says the consistently low share of puncture wounds across studies shows they are not common; in Harmer's study of US national competitions it gives 0.008 per 1,000 athlete exposures for any penetrating time-loss injury and 0.0016 for penetrating wounds to the trunk. In US emergency-department data for 2013 to 2023, punctures were 3.9% of fencing cases (Stanicki and colleagues, 2025). FIE Medical Commission minutes record a penetrating wound from a broken blade at the 2017 Leipzig Senior World Championships. Deaths are covered under deaths in fencing. A penetrating wound needs emergency medical care. (Penetrating injuries and deaths)

Period

One of the sections of a direct elimination bout (o.5 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition), at all three weapons: senior bouts have three periods of three minutes with one-minute rests (t.39.1 and t.40.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)), the first period at sabre also ending when a fencer reaches 8 hits, and veterans' bouts two periods (t.42). Under the 2025 Congress amendments (read from the decisions document; a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read) the fencers are placed on guard in the middle of the piste at the start of each period and of any extra minute. (Bouts and formats)

Piste

The strip on which bouts are fenced, the same for all three weapons (t.17.2 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)): 14 m long with a total tolerance of 4 cm and 1.50 m wide (t.18), crossed by a broken centre line, two on-guard lines 2 m either side of it and two rear-limit lines 7 m from the centre, with the last 2 m before each rear limit clearly distinguished, if possible by a different colour (t.19). A fencer who crosses the rear limit with both feet is counted as hit (t.34), and one who crosses a side boundary is moved back one metre (t.35). A raised platform may be no higher than 50 cm (m.57.3 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). (The piste)

Plastron (under-plastron)

The protective garment under the jacket. Under m.25.3.c of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition an under-plastron covering the vital upper areas of the body and resisting 800 newtons is obligatory at all three weapons; the FIE Medical Committee's definition says it must protect the neck under the bib, the hollows above and below the collar bone, the region around the sword-arm armpit and the heart (Annexe A, 3.2). The IOC's review chapter (Harmer, 2010) records that it was introduced after a fatal penetrating injury at the 1951 World Championships, where the fencer's jacket was found to be of inadequate thickness. Rules differ below FIE level: USA Fencing's October 2026 rulebook is internally inconsistent, stating 800 N for under-plastrons in its m.25.3.c but saying in its note to t.64.5 that the plastron need not be 800 newton material, and British Fencing's own pages differ, giving 350N as the minimum for metal club fencing (March 2026) but requiring a CEN 2 (800 newton) plastron for general training (October 2026). A penetrating wound needs emergency medical care. (Jackets, plastrons and breeches)

Pointe d'arret

The spring-loaded tip on foil and epee blades; sabre has no spring tip (m.24.4 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). Only traditional or homologated pointes d'arret are accepted at foil and epee (m.5.5.a); a foil hit needs more than 500 g of pressure on the tip (m.11.3) and an epee hit more than 750 g (m.19.2); the foil tip is 5.5 to 7 mm across (m.11.1) and the epee crown 8 mm (m.19.1.b). USA Fencing does not require a homologated pointe d'arret in its competitions. British Fencing's history says it was developed for the epee to help judge hits, first as a single point 2 mm long and later as a safer triple point. (Foil, epee and sabre compared)

Pommel

The rear part of the handle that locks it on the tang, where the handle is a grip plus a pommel rather than one piece (m.2.2 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition), at foil, epee or sabre; at sabre the handle and pommel must be fully insulated (m.24.7). (Foil, epee and sabre compared)

Pool

The first round of most competitions, at all three weapons. Pool bouts end when a fencer scores 5 hits or after three minutes of effective fencing time (t.38 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)), with an extra minute if tied; at epee, at 4-4 the fencers fence for one deciding hit and a double hit is not counted (t.38.1.b). Under the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition pools have 7 and 6 fencers (o.67), and fencers are ranked after them by victories divided by bouts (V/M), then hits scored minus hits received, then hits scored, then by lot (o.73). Pool referees must be of a different nationality from every fencer in the pool, which the 2025 Congress changed to 'if possible', a reading of tracked changes that is unconfirmed. (Bouts and formats)

Priority (right of way)

The conventions that decide which hit counts at foil and sabre when both fencers are hit; epee has none (t.92 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). At foil the referee alone decides validity or priority by applying the foil conventions, often called right of way (t.82): every correctly executed attack must be parried or completely avoided, and the phrase must be continuous (t.83). At sabre the referee applies the sabre conventions (t.100), with the same principle and the added rule that the hit must arrive at the latest when the front foot lands (t.101). Foil scoring apparatus indicates no priority between hits (Annexe B of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition); the referee decides. (Foil)

R

Ranking (FIE)

The FIE's rankings, by weapon and category. The senior individual ranking counts a fencer's best five results from World Cup, Grand Prix or Satellite events plus the World Championships or Olympic Games and the Zonal Championships (o.108.1.a of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). Points run from 32 for first to 0.25 for 129th to 256th, multiplied by 1 for a World Cup, 1.5 for a Grand Prix or Zonal Championship, 2.5 for World Championships individual events and 3 for the Olympic Games, and only fencers who reach a direct elimination table score; rankings are rolling, each event's points replacing those of the same event the previous season. No overall 2025-26 leader at foil, epee or sabre is given on this site, because no FIE final standings could be read. (Rankings and the World Cup)

Rapier

A thrusting sword that British Fencing's history says was introduced in Spain and spread through Italy and the rest of Europe, became obsolete with a change of fashion in the first half of the 17th century, and was replaced in France by the lighter small sword by the mid-17th century; the danger of the small sword, even with buttoned tips, then led to the flexible foil. It is an ancestor of the sporting weapons, not a competition weapon. (How the three weapons developed)

Rear limit

The line 7 m from the centre of the piste at each end (t.19 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)), on the piste used for all three weapons (t.17.2). A fencer who crosses it with both feet is counted as hit (t.34), and the last 2 m before it must be clearly distinguished, if possible by a different colour. A fencer moved back after crossing a side boundary who ends up beyond the rear limit is also counted as hit (t.35.2). (The piste)

Red card

The penalty card in the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) (t.158 to t.162) that adds a penalty hit to the opponent's score, at all three weapons, between the warning yellow card and the black card; the P-red card is the separate card for unwillingness to fight. (Officials and video refereeing)

Referee

The official who directs every bout, holding an FIE licence for the current season at official FIE competitions (t.47.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)), at all three weapons. Listed duties include checking weapons, clothing and equipment before each bout, supervising the electrical apparatus, penalising faults and awarding hits (t.47.2); referees may not combine refereeing with another role, such as team captain, at the same tournament (t.46.2), and must declare potential conflicts of interest (t.50.3). Team matches have two referees (t.51). The FIE examines referees weapon by weapon, giving successful candidates, aged at least 20, Category B in the weapon tested (invitation for the Cairo examination, 28 to 31 October 2026); USA Fencing ranks its referees from P up to N1. (Officials and video refereeing)

Regulator decision on fencing clothing (EU 2011/49/EU)

The one regulator decision on fencing equipment recorded in the research: European Commission Decision 2011/49/EU of 25 January 2011 upheld a United Kingdom prohibition on a 350N fencing jacket and breeches, after a UK test report found insufficient penetration resistance under EN 13567:2002, and found a serious risk for users; the certificate carried the number of a body notified only under the Machinery Directive, not the PPE Directive. Jackets and breeches are worn at foil, epee and sabre alike; the maker and importer are not named here. (Recalls and incidents)

Relay

One of the nine bouts of a team match, at all three weapons (o.6 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). Relays run in 5-hit steps (5, 10, 15 and so on), each with a maximum of 3 minutes, the next pair taking up the score where it stopped, and the winning team is the first to 45 hits or the one ahead when regulation time expires (t.41 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)); a tie after the last relay goes to one deciding hit with a maximum of one minute, fenced by the fencers of the last bout (t.41.5). At the Senior and Junior World Championships a team is three fencers with or without a reserve (o.97). (Bouts and formats)

Riposte

One of the offensive actions named in t.7 to t.9 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened), with the attack and the counter-riposte. At foil a parry gives the right to riposte (t.86). The right to riposte belongs to the priority conventions, which exist only for foil (t.82 to t.89) and sabre (t.100 to t.106); epee has none (t.92). (Foil)

Rules for Competitions (FIE)

The FIE's rule books for all three weapons: Book 1, the Technical Rules; Book 2, the Organisation Rules; and Book 3, the Material Rules. The FIE's historical note says the rules were first codified in 1914 by the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat and Paul Anspach, adopted in Paris in June 1914 and issued in 1919 as Rules for Competitions, then renamed and restructured several times, most recently in a restructuring accepted by the 2017 Congress. This site reads the Technical Rules in the December 2024 edition (from the German Fencing Federation's copy, the FIE's own copies not opening), with the 2025 Congress amendments read separately, and the Organisation and Material Rules in their August 2026 editions. (The FIE and national bodies)

Russian and Belarusian athletes (FIE decisions)

Covered here only as the bodies' own dated decisions. On 1 May 2025 the FIE named a group to review eligibility; from January 2026 Russian and Belarusian cadet and junior fencers were reportedly no longer registered as neutral athletes (a law firm's report of an FIE letter, unconfirmed); on 7 May 2026 the IOC said it no longer recommends restrictions on Belarusian athletes (read only as a search extract); and the FIE Executive Committee lifted all protective measures, at all three weapons, from the 2026 Senior World Championships, a decision that a search extract of FIE Information Letter 8-26 dates 29 May 2026, while press reports date its announcement 2 June 2026. No IOC decision on participation at LA28 was found. (World Championships 2026)

S

Sabre

One of the three weapons, for thrusting and for cutting with the cutting edge and the back of the blade; hits with the edge, the flat or the back all count (t.96 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). The valid target is any part of the body above a horizontal line between the tops of the hip bones (t.97.2); an off-target hit is not registered and does not stop the phrase (t.98); the referee applies the sabre conventions (t.100), the fleche is forbidden (t.101.5), and in senior direct elimination the first period ends at three minutes or 8 hits (t.39.1). Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition a sabre weighs less than 500 g ready for use (m.22), is at most 105 cm long (m.21), has a blade of at most 88 cm (m.23.1) and has no spring tip (m.24.4). British Fencing's history says sabre derives from military swordsmanship and was the last weapon electrified. (Sabre)

Safeguarding

The policies bodies publish to protect participants at all three weapons; this site names policies, never people. The FIE Safeguarding Policy is Chapter XIII of the FIE Statutes (December 2018 text), covering psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and neglect, with at least two Safeguarding Officers at each World Championships; 2025 Congress amendments, as read from the Congress's decisions document, require referees, coaches and officials to tell the FIE of any current safe-sport allegation, sanction or conviction before an assignment. Nationally, British Fencing's Safeguarding Policy v2.1 was last approved in January 2026 (the document says 25 January, its file name 27 January); Fencing Canada signed on to Abuse-Free Sport from 31 March 2023 and adopted the Canadian Safe Sport Program from 1 April 2025; and in the United States the U.S. Center for SafeSport and USA Fencing's FenceSafe programme share jurisdiction. (Safeguarding)

Salute

The fencer's salute, defined in t.1 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) as a gesture of civility to the opponent, the referee and the spectators made before and after each bout, at all three weapons; refusing it is a 4th-group offence (t.122). The FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025, as its decisions document reads (a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules was not read), made an urgent decision extending the t.122 salute rule until the end of the 2025-2026 season; no later rule text was read, so whether the rule applies beyond that season is not confirmed here. (What fencing is)

Satellite competitions

Official FIE competitions below World Cup level (o.3 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition), at all three weapons, whose results can count among the best five that make up a senior's individual ranking (o.108.1.a). FIE Information Letter 6-26 (14 April 2026) says a change to Administrative Rules article 9.3.3, revising ranking points for Satellite competitions, takes effect from the 2026-27 season. In wheelchair fencing, British Fencing says World Cup and Satellite events include all three categories. (Rankings and the World Cup)

Scoring apparatus

The electrical apparatus that registers hits at all three weapons, which the organisers supply with extension lamps, spools and cables, the conductive piste, the power source and, for finals, a countdown clock (m.44 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). Only wired apparatus showing hits by light signals with auxiliary sound is authorised, apart from wireless apparatus the SEMI authorises (m.45); signal lamps sit on top and stay lit until reset (m.51.3 and m.51.4); and extension lamps, obligatory at official FIE competitions, sit at least 1.80 m above the piste, with red and green lamps of at least 2600 lumens and white lamps of at least 1100 (m.59). Apparatus used at a World Championships or Olympic Games must be approved by the SEMI for that specific competition and design, not as a general approval of a maker's products (m.46 to m.48). (The scoring equipment)

SEMI Commission

The FIE's equipment commission, which carries out homologation under the supervision of an Executive Committee representative; it has 10 elected members plus that representative and may consult outside experts (Annexe A of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). SEMI delegates supervise the checking of equipment at the World Championships and Olympic fencing and may seize any weapon, bodywire, lame or clothing for examination (m.36); the SEMI alone may take blades for checks and buy items on the market for random quality control. Its July 2025 report set up a sub-group to make homologation more transparent and efficient. Its rules apply at all three weapons. (FIE homologation)

Simultaneous action

At foil and sabre, the case in which both fencers are hit and neither is at fault, so both hits are annulled; at foil this applies even if one of the hits was off target (t.89 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened); t.106 at sabre). When the double hit is caused by one fencer's fault, only that fencer is counted hit, and when the referee cannot judge where the fault lies, the fencers are put back on guard. Epee has no such rule: a double hit scores against both (t.92). (Sabre)

Small sword

The lighter sword that, according to British Fencing's history, replaced the rapier in France by the mid-17th century; its danger, even with buttoned tips, led to the flexible foil and its conventions, which limited the target to the torso and introduced right of way. A historian writing on an equipment maker's blog places the foil conventions in mid-17th-century France, before the wire mask existed (seen only as a search extract). (How the three weapons developed)

Smirnov, Vladimir (1982)

The USSR foil fencer and 1980 Olympic champion whom Olympedia records as fatally injured at the 1982 World Championships in Rome, when his opponent's weapon broke and a piece pierced his mask. The date of death differs: Olympedia gives 28 July 1982 and Wikipedia 29 July 1982. A 2012 Reuters report quotes the FIE's technical director attributing current safety standards to his death, and Wikipedia links it to maraging blades, ballistic fabrics and stronger masks; but no FIE document was found that ties a dated rule change to the 1982 death, and the IOC's review chapter (Harmer, 2010) said that FIE safety changes had been based on face validity and that, as of its 2010 publication, none had been tested for efficacy. A penetrating wound needs emergency medical care. (Safety history)

Socks and shoes

With breeches, the fencer must wear socks covering the legs up to the breeches, held so they cannot fall, matching in design and colour, with a 10 cm turn-over in national colours allowed (m.25.5.b to m.25.5.d of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition), at all three weapons. No article on fencing shoes was found in the extracted text of the August 2026 Material Rules; British Fencing's Safety Guidelines, 23rd edition (approved 25 June 2026; a 24th edition approved in September 2026 is listed by British Fencing but was not read) say socks must be covered by the breeches with no bare skin showing and that indoor trainer-type shoes should be worn. (Shoes and socks)

Spool

Part of the scoring circuit at all three weapons, with the bodywire and the cable (m.24.4 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition), supplied by the organisers (m.44). Each spool wire may have a resistance of at most 3 ohms, the spool must allow 20 m of cable, and the plugs connecting bodywire to spool have three 4 mm pins in a straight line (m.55.1, m.55.3 and m.55.6). (The scoring equipment)

Stop hit

A foil term in the conventions of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened): a stop hit into a compound attack is valid only if it arrives a period of fencing time before the attack's final movement (t.88). The research records it only for foil. (Foil)

T

Target substitution

Covering or substituting the valid target with another part of the body. At foil it is a 1st-group offence, and an off-target hit counts as valid when the fencer, by an abnormal position, substituted the non-valid area for the target (t.79 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)); at sabre any hit by the fencer at fault is annulled (t.97). Judges may watch for it (t.48). (Foil)

Target (valid target, by weapon)

The area where a hit counts, different at each weapon in the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened). Foil: the trunk only, without limbs or head, from a collar line up to 6 cm above the collar bones down to a line across the back joining the tops of the hip bones, plus the part of the mask bib below a line 1.5 to 2 cm under the chin (t.77.1). Epee: the whole body, including clothing and equipment (t.91). Sabre: any part of the body above a horizontal line drawn between the tops of the hip bones (t.97.2). Wheelchair epee differs from standing epee: under the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Technical Rules, January 2018 version (the newest found; World Para Fencing may have amended them since) its target is the upper body above the hip line plus the parts of the wheelchair above that line (t.62). (What fencing is)

Team match

A match between two teams of a nation, at all three weapons, made up of nine relays (o.6 and o.7 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition), run in 5-hit steps to 45 hits (t.41 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)), with two referees (t.51). At the Senior and Junior World Championships a team is three fencers with or without a reserve and may begin a match only if complete (o.97); the Senior Team World Cup has five competitions and the Junior Team World Cup eight (o.41). The senior team ranking counts a team's best four Team World Cup results plus the World Championships or Olympic Games and the Zonal Championships, with points from 64 for first, doubled at the World Team Championships (o.109). (Bouts and formats)

Technical Rules (FIE)

Book 1 of the FIE Rules for Competitions: general rules common to the three weapons, then separate conventions for foil, epee and sabre, then disciplinary rules. This site reads the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened); a later edition, possibly December 2025, could not be opened, so any article may have been amended since. The 2025 Congress amendments, applying from 1 January 2026 unless another date is stated, were read from tracked-changes text, and items whose reading is uncertain are labelled unconfirmed. The rules say their glossary of technical terms does not replace a treatise on fencing. (The FIE and national bodies)

Three weapons

The FIE recognises three weapons, foil, epee and sabre, and authorises a weapon only if it conforms to the Material Rules and their annexed safety standards (m.1.1 and m.1.2 of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition); each must be built so that it cannot normally injure the user or the opponent (m.1.3). All three are fenced on the same pistes (t.17.2 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)) and judged with electrical apparatus (t.54.1), but each has its own target and scoring rules, which this site keeps apart. (Foil, epee and sabre compared)

Time-loss injury

An injury serious enough to make a fencer withdraw from competition, the measure the IOC's review chapter (Harmer, 2010) uses: it reports studies finding 0.0 to 0.3 per 1,000 athlete exposures. The studies disagree on who is most at risk, and are never combined here. On sex: Harmer's 2008 study of US national competitions (2001 to 2006) found women at higher risk (relative risk 1.35); his 2019 study of FIE competitions (2010 to 2014 seasons) reported men at higher risk (1.42), seen only as a search extract and unconfirmed; and a 2025 meta-analysis (Grivas and colleagues) found no clear overall difference among professional fencers. On weapons: the 2008 study found sabre at higher risk than foil and epee (1.62); the 2019 study reported epee lower than foil and sabre (unconfirmed); and the meta-analysis found low-quality evidence that professional sabre fencers may be at higher risk than epee fencers. Any injury needs medical care. (Injury research)

Transparent (visor) masks

Masks with a transparent visor instead of a mesh front. The FIE's 2009 homologation handbook listed approved visor masks, required them to carry the CE mark and EN 13567 and made the visor valid for 2 years from its month and year of manufacture. FIE SEMI Commission minutes of July 2014 agreed that the Annexe A section on visor masks should be removed and record that visor masks were removed from use. The contents page of the August 2026 Material Rules still lists a section headed transparent masks, but no such section was found in the body text, so their current FIE status is unconfirmed. Masks are required at all three weapons. (Masks)

Two rear safety systems (masks)

The FIE requirement that every mask, at all three weapons, has two different safety systems at the rear, with both strap ends firmly fixed to the sides (m.25.7.a and m.25.7.e of the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition). For a mask with a metal tongue, the central strap is at least 45 mm wide, closed by a double security system with a minimum breaking strain of 750 N/cm; for a mask without one, the main strap has 3 fixing points and the magnetic strap remains mandatory; mechanical rear systems are not allowed at the moment, and retro-fitting is for the original manufacturer only. The start date is disputed: FIE SEMI Commission minutes record an urgent decision for 1 September 2014 (later for immediate effect), while Fencing Australia applied the requirements to its own circuit events, and the UIPM adopted the same rule, from 1 January 2019. British Fencing has required two rear systems at its Cadet, Junior, U23 and Senior National Championships since 1 September 2022. (Masks)

U

Unwillingness to fight

The wording the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) use for non-combativity, at all three weapons: one minute of fencing without a hit or an off-target hit, after which the referee calls 'Halt!' and the P-cards apply; the cards and the 2025 Congress change, whose reading is unconfirmed, are given under non-combativity. (Bouts and formats)

USA Fencing

The recognised National Governing Body for fencing in the United States, at all three weapons, founded on 22 April 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America and renamed the United States Fencing Association in 1981. It reported an all-time high of 45,157 members and a record 752 affiliated clubs at the close of the 2024-25 season, and Reuters reported in August 2026 that it is targeting 70,000 members before LA28. Its Rules for Competition (October 2026) follow the FIE rules with announced exceptions: an FIE-homologated uniform and mask are not required, and the mask bib need resist only 350 newtons. (The FIE and national bodies)

V

Veterans

The FIE's age categories for older fencers, at all three weapons: 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70 and over, by age in the year of competition (o.114 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition; the same groups appear in the December 2025 edition). Veterans' direct elimination bouts go to 10 hits or two periods of three minutes, with the sabre first period ending at 5 hits (t.42 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)); video refereeing and wireless apparatus are optional at the Veteran World Championships and the piste is not raised on a platform there. The 2026 Veteran World Championships in Tbilisi are finished; the FIE invitation gives 9 to 17 October 2026 on its cover and 9 to 16 October in its welcome message, USA Fencing gives 9 to 17 October, and no results were found. (Ages and categories)

Video refereeing

Video review of an action, compulsory at all three weapons at Grand Prix and Senior World Cup events, Junior and Cadet World Championships, World Championships, the Olympic Games, Zonal Championships and Olympic qualification events, and optional at the Veteran World Championships (o.105 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). Only the fencer on the piste may request a review: one appeal per pool bout and two per direct elimination bout individually, one per relay in teams, kept when the referee agrees (t.60 to t.62 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened)). An action may be replayed at most 4 times; at a tied score the referee must use video before deciding the deciding hit; and the referee's decision after review is final. The FIE Congress held in Manama on 22 November 2025 renamed the video consultant the video-referee, a reading of tracked changes that is unconfirmed. (Officials and video refereeing)

V/M (pool index)

The first figure by which fencers are ranked after the pools, at all three weapons: victories divided by bouts, followed by hits scored minus hits received, then hits scored, then lot (o.73 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). Under Mixed Formula A, 20 to 30 percent of pool fencers are eliminated on these indices, and 30 percent at Grands Prix (o.86.1). (Bouts and formats)

W

Weapon control (equipment check)

The checking of fencers' equipment at competitions, at all three weapons; this site describes who checks and what is presented, never how. Under the FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition checking at World Championships and Olympic fencing is supervised by the SEMI (m.36); fencers stay responsible for their own equipment (m.37.1); at official FIE competitions a fencer may present at most four weapons, three bodywires, two conductive jackets, two masks and three mask leads (m.38.1); equipment presented after 5 p.m. the day before may be refused (m.38.3); checked items are marked (m.41.1); and a mask that fails is made visibly unusable (m.38.6). Organisers must allow at least one day per weapon for the checks (o.34 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). (FIE homologation)

Wheelchair (as fencing equipment)

In wheelchair fencing the chair is fixed in a fencing frame on the piste, arranged so each fencer can use their preferred arm, and frames must be approved (t.13 of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Technical Rules, January 2018 version (the newest found; World Para Fencing may have amended them since)); USA Fencing says the frame holds the chair by all its wheels and that the wheelchair counts as fencing equipment. The January 2018 Material Rules amendments require spoke protectors on both rear wheels, a back at least 15 cm high and a side guard on the non-fencing side, set a maximum height of 53 cm from floor to seat rail, and require the conductive jacket at foil and sabre to cover the whole target with the fencer seated on guard. (Wheelchair fencing)

Wheelchair fencing

Fencing at foil, epee and sabre from wheelchairs fixed in a frame, governed internationally by the body that adopted the name World Para Fencing from 2025. Under the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Technical Rules, January 2018 version (the newest found; World Para Fencing may have amended them since) pool bouts go to 5 hits in at most 3 minutes and direct elimination to 15 hits in at most 9 minutes; a fencer whose foot leaves the footrest or who uses the floor to gain advantage is penalised and any hit they score is annulled, and lifting from the seat is forbidden, though raising one buttock is permitted. Wheelchair sabre keeps the priority conventions and wheelchair epee the double hit. Fencers compete in categories A, B and C; British Fencing says the sport is practised in 73 countries (August 2023, a single-source statement). (Wheelchair fencing)

Wire mask (history)

The mesh mask now required at all three weapons. Who introduced it, and when, differs by source: Malcolm Fare, writing on an equipment maker's blog, says Texier de La Boessiere is generally credited with inventing it in the mid-18th century, without an exact year; a search extract of an FIE article (2 June 2015) gives 1780 and credits the Chevalier de Saint-Georges with some help; and the British Academy of Fencing, the coaches' association, says only that the wire mask was introduced in the late 18th century. (Safety history)

Wireless scoring

Scoring without a wired connection to the fencer. The FIE Material Rules, August 2026 edition authorise wireless apparatus using encoded waves when the SEMI authorises it (m.45), and make it optional at the Veteran World Championships (m.44.7); under t.44.4 of the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) no hit registered by wireless apparatus after time expires is awarded. British Fencing's history says a wireless system was perfected for sabre in the late 1990s and first used at the 2001 World Championships for sabre, at the 2004 Olympics for sabre, at the 2007 World Championships for epee and at the 2008 Olympics for foil. (Electric scoring)

World Championships 2026 (Hong Kong)

Finished: held 22 to 30 July 2026 at AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong, with 12 events at foil, epee and sabre (FIE press kit). The FIE's results pages could not be read, so results rest on other sources, each labelled. The European Fencing Confederation gives the individual golds as Alexandr Choupenitch (Czechia, men's foil), Martina Favaretto (Italy, women's foil), Lucas Malcotti (Switzerland, men's epee), Larissa Eifler (Germany, women's sabre) and Pavel Graudyn (Russia, men's sabre); women's epee gold went to Song Sera (Korea) according to a single press report, so it is unconfirmed. ANSA put Italy top of the medal table with four golds; the FIE's own table was not read, and several bronze medallists were not found. (World Championships 2026)

World Championships (senior)

The FIE's annual senior championships, with twelve events: individual and team men's and women's foil, epee and sabre (o.36 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition). The FIE's historical note says they were called European Championships until 1936; Wikipedia says the first, in Paris in 1921, had men's epee only (unconfirmed), and the FIE counted the 2026 edition in Hong Kong, 22 to 30 July 2026, as the 85th. The 2026 Championships are finished; the 2027 Championships are upcoming in Tashkent, 20 to 28 July 2027, as a listings site and British Fencing give them. (World Championships 2026)

World Cup

The FIE's circuit of individual and team competitions at each weapon. Under o.4 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition a senior individual event in Europe needs fencers from at least eight countries and at least ten fencers from the FIE top 32, with at least four FIE A or B grade referees, SEMI-approved scoring equipment, a doctor on site and anti-doping testing; the 2025 Congress amended these criteria from the 2026-27 season. A World Cup counts with a ranking multiplier of 1 (o.108.2). The 2025-26 season is finished, and no overall winners are given because no FIE final standings were read; the 2026-27 season is in progress, its first senior World Cup being the epee event in Casablanca on 15 to 18 October 2026. (Rankings and the World Cup)

World Para Fencing

The name the international federation for wheelchair fencing adopted from 2025, announced on 15 January 2025; the IPC says the name reflects the range of disabled people who fence and the aim of extending the sport to other impairment groups, so that wheelchair fencing at foil, epee and sabre becomes one discipline of Para fencing, and that Pal Szekeres chairs its Executive Committee. Names in use differ by page date: British Fencing's 2023 page and USA Fencing's classification page say IWAS or World Abilitysport. No World Para Fencing rulebook newer than the IWAS rules of 2018 was found. (Wheelchair fencing)

Y

Yellow card

The warning card in the FIE Technical Rules, December 2024 edition (read from the German Fencing Federation's copy, because the FIE's own copies could not be opened) (t.158 to t.162), at all three weapons; a red card adds a penalty hit to the opponent's score and a black card excludes. A P-yellow card is the separate first step for unwillingness to fight in the December 2024 text. British Fencing's Safety Committee says referees give a yellow card for a mask that is not securely fastened or falls off (20 March 2026). (Officials and video refereeing)

Youth Olympic Games

Fencing has been on the Summer Youth Olympic Games programme since Singapore 2010, according to Olympedia. The Dakar 2026 Games were upcoming on 26 October 2026, running 31 October to 13 November 2026, with fencing among the sports closing the Games at Diamniadio (Francs Jeux); that the programme has six individual events, at foil, epee and sabre for men and women, rests on a search extract of a federation notice and is unconfirmed. (Junior and cadet 2026)

Z

Zonal Championships

The continental championships among the FIE's official competitions (o.3 of the FIE Organisation Rules, August 2026 edition), at all three weapons, run in Mixed Formula B and counting towards the senior ranking with a multiplier of 1.5 (o.108.2); video refereeing is compulsory (o.105). Four senior Zonal Championships of 2026 are finished, all held in June 2026: the European in Antony, France, the Asian in New Delhi, the Pan American (whose host city, Lima, is unconfirmed) and the African in Abidjan (Wikipedia); the Oceania championships were not researched. (Continental championships 2026)