About our sport
Overview
Overview
Para fencing is an exciting, dynamic and fast paced sport. It is played by two athletes either as an individual event or as part of a team event.
Weapons – foil, epee and sabre, are used to score points on specific areas on the body, depending on the weapon type.
Fencers must meet the minimum disability criteria and be classifiable under the World Para Fencing classification rules.
Rules of Engagement
The rules are based on those of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) with amendments appropriate to the needs of Para fencer. For example, wheelchairs are fixed in position in a frame on the piste and fencers must remain with at least one half of their bottom on the seat at all times.
In wheelchair fencing, to ensure the two fencers can reach each other, their distance has to be measured and the frame adjusted as required. Once the wheelchair is fixed into the frame, the distance is measured with one fencer extending their fencing arm with their weapon attached and the other fencer bending their arm. For epee the distance is for the weapon to touch the end of the elbow of their opponent. For foil and sabre the distance is measured at the inside bend of the elbow.
Men and women compete in their choice of the sport’s three weapons; foil, epee and sabre. Fencers fight to five points in the early rounds (Poules). In the following knockout stage (Direct Elimination) they fight up to fifteen points.
Competition format at the World Championships and Paralympic Games, where wheelchair fencing is featured, features an exciting repechage, essentially offering fencers a second chance to make it onto the podium.
The basic rules of fencing apply also in Para fencing.