FIE 100 by SWORD SPORT

The International Fencing Federation (FIE) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world governing body of fencing. We are proud to be an Olympic sport since 1886 and to have 143 affiliated member federations all over the world. In 2013, the FIE will celebrate its’ 100th anniversary. PR ES IDEN T F IE ALIS HER U SM ANO V Since 1896, the history of fencing and the Olympic Games have been intertwined. The first Olympic Games of the modern era took place in Athens. Nobility, Honour, Respect and Tradition are the key words governing fencing are these were reflected in the Olympic ideal. Thirteen fencers representing four countries participated in the foil and sabre events; epee was not yet an Olympic event. The discipline was entirely male. 1900: The Olympic Games were held in Paris within the context of the International World Fair. 156 fencers representing seven countries participated in this event. Epee became an Olympic discipline. 1908: Rome Olympic Games. Foil was removed from the Olympic programme that year since the French and Italians were not able to agree on the organisation of the event. 1912: The organisers of the Stockholm Games wanted to modify the rules relating to the foil target area. The dissatisfaction this caused highlighted the need to unify the rules in fencing. 1913: The International Fencing Federation was founded on 29 November. 1924: Paris Olympic Games. Women’s Individual Foil was included in the Olympic programme. 1936: Berlin Olympic Games. The epee electrical apparatus, which had been around since 1934, made its Olympic appearance. Metallic pistes replaced the old cork pistes. 1956: Melbourne Olympic Games. The electric foil, which appeared in 1954, became an Olympic weapon. 1960: Rome Olympic Games. Women’s foil events were added. 1988: Seoul Olympic Games. The electric sabre was included; there had been electric sabres since 1986. 1996: Atlanta Olympic Games. First women’s epee events, individual and team. Women epee fencers had already competed during the 1989 World Championships. 2004: Athens Olympic Games and first Women’s Individual Sabre events. Fencing became completely mixed, both men and women could compete in all three weapons, in individual and team events. 2008: Beijing Olympic Games. 212 fencers participated, twelve more than in Athens. There were five men’s events (three individual and two team) and five women’s events (three individual and two team). Thus, full gender parity was reached in Beijing.

AL L O LY MP I C CH AMP I O NS

1896 ATHENES 1900 1904 PARIS ST. LOUIS 1924 PARIS

1908 LONDON

1912 STOCKHOLM

1928 1932 AMSTERDAM LOS ANGELES

1920 ANTWERPEN

1936 1948 BERLIN LONDON

Foil Foil target - the torso, and the portion of the bib 1.5-2cm below chin level. The foil is light and flexible, originally developed in the mid-17th century as a training weapon for the Pariser small sword, a light one-handed sword designed almost exclusively for thrusting. Electric foils have a push-button on the point of the blade, which allows hits to be registered by an electronic scoring apparatus. In order to register, the button must be depressed with a force of at least 4.90 newtons (500 grams-force) for at least 15 milliseconds. Foil fencers wear conductive jackets (lamé) covering their target area, which allow the scoring apparatus to differentiate between on- and off-target hits. The target area is restricted to the torso, including the front and back includes as valid target area the part of the mask's bib below a straight line drawn between the shoulders. Foil fencing is conducted using rules of right of way. Epee The épée is a thrusting weapon: to score a valid hit, the fencer must fix the point of his weapon on his opponent's target. The épée target area is the entire body. No rules control the timing of hits. When fencing electronically, fencers do not wear conductive lamé jackets as they do when fencing foil and sabre. In the event of both fencers making a touch within 40 milliseconds of each other, both are awarded a point (a double hit). The épée is the typically heaviest of the sporting weapons, although some épée blades weigh only 150 grams (5.3 oz). An épée is composed of a blade, a point, a bell guard, and a handle or grip (French or pistol grip). Épée has less restrictive rules for footwork and physical contact than the other two weapons. There are no restrictions on crossing of the feet or use of the flèche attack in épée; if the fencers pass each other, the attacking fencer may score until he passes his opponent. The defending fencer has the right to one continuous riposte, and may still score after the attacker has passed. Sabre Sabre is the 'cutting' weapon: points may be scored with edges and sides of the blade. The sabre target covers everything above the waist, except the hands (wrists are included) and the back of the head. Any contact between any part of the blade and any part of the target counts as a valid touch. Earlier conventions stipulated that a valid touch must be made with the point or either the front or back cutting edge, and that a point attack must not merely graze the target and slip along (pass) the opponent's body. These requirements had to be abandoned, because of technical difficulties, shortly after electronic scoring was introduced into sabre fencing in late 1980s. Sabre is subject to similar right of way rules as foil, with slightly different definitions of a correctly executed attack and parry.

1896 ATHENES

1900 PARIS

1904 ST. LOUIS

1908 LONDON

1912 STOCKHOLM

1920 ANTWERPEN

1924 PARIS

1928 AMSTERDAM

1932 LOS ANGELES

1936 BERLIN

1948 LONDON

2013