Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre ; winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, singlestick, appeared in the 1904 Olympics but was dropped after that, and is not a part of modern fencing. Fencing was one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics. Based on the traditional skills of swordsmanship, the modern sport arose at the end of the 19th century, with the Italian school having modified the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refining the Italian system. There are three forms of modern fencing, each of which uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules; thus the sport itself is divided into three competitive scenes: foil, épée, and sabre. Most competitive fencers choose to specialize in one weapon only.
A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing, all of which are metal. It is flexible, rectangular in cross section, and weighs under a pound. As with the épée, points are only scored by contact with the tip, which, in electrically scored tournaments, is capped with a spring-loaded button to signal a touch. A foil fencer's uniform features the lamé. The foil is the most commonly used weapon in competition.
The Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, commonly known by the acronym FIE, is the international governing body of Olympic fencing. Today, its head office is at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FIE is composed of 157 national federations, each of which is recognized by its country's Olympic Committee as the sole representative of Olympic-style fencing in that country.
Mariel Leigh Zagunis is an American sabre fencer. She is a two-time Olympic champion in the individual sabre and the first American to win a gold medal in Olympic fencing. She was Team USA flag bearer in the 2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. She has two Olympic bronze team medals and is a five-time Olympian.
The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union, in a dispute over rules for national championships. The AFLA changed its name to the United States Fencing Association in 1981.
The sabre is one of the three disciplines of modern fencing. The sabre weapon is for thrusting and cutting with both the cutting edge and the back of the blade.
The Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) is the governing body for the sport of fencing in the Philippines and is recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) as one of its National Sports Association members. Founded by Don Francisco Dayrit Sr. as Philippine Amateur Fencers Association or PAFA, PFA is a member of the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) and one of the founding members of the Southeast Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) and the Asian Fencing Confederation (AFC).
Fencing in the Philippines is governed by the Philippine Fencing Association or PFA. Founded by Francisco Dayrit Sr., PFA is recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) as one of its National Sports Association members and by the Federation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the international governing body for the sport. PFA is also a founding member of the Southeast Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) and the Asian Fencing Confederation (AFC). Richard Gomez is currently the president of PFA while Celso Dayrit is currently the president of the Fencing Confederation of Asia.
Matthias Behr is a German foil fencer. He won a gold medal and three silvers at three Olympic Games.
Aldo Montano is an Italian fencer and a four-time Olympic medalist.
José "Peping" Sumulong Cojuangco Jr. is a former Filipino congressman and the 9th President of the Philippine Olympic Committee from 2004 to 2018.
Weston "Seth" Kelsey is an American épée fencer and three time Olympic fencer. He competed at three Olympiads: 2004, 2008 and 2012. He finished 4th in the individual competition at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Italian Fencing Federation is the national governing body for the fencing sport in Italy. The FIS is currently based in Rome. The FIS was founded is 1909 and was one of the nine founding nations of The Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) in 1913. The FIS has in total achieved 219 metals at Euro Championships, 319 medals at the World Championships and 123 Olympic medals. FIS is funded mainly by sponsors among which are Kinder.
Nicole Ross is an American foil fencer. Fencing for the Columbia Lions fencing team, she won the 2010 NCAA individual women's foil title, and was a three time All-American. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she competed in individual women's foil, coming in 25th, while in the team event she and her teammates came in sixth. At the 2018 World Championships, she and her Team USA teammates won the gold medal in the women's team foil event.
Sarra Besbes is a Tunisian épée fencer, seven-time gold medallist at the African Fencing Championships. She represented Tunisia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, placing eighth, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, placing fifth.
The fencing competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 14 August at the Carioca Arena 3 inside the Barra Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca. Around 212 fencers competed in 10 events -- six individual and four team.
Almario Vizcayno is a Filipino athlete, coach, chef and restaurant owner. He is one of the famous athletes throughout the Philippines. He graduated from the University of Santo Tomas and the Sergio Osmeña Sr. High School. Vizcayno is one of the veteran members of the Philippine National Fencing Team with Richard Gomez.
The Philippines participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6 October to 18 October 2018.
Celso "Cito" Limjuco Dayrit was a Filipino fencer and sports executive who served as President of the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Fencing Confederation of Asia.
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