Piste (fencing)

Last updated

In modern fencing, the piste or strip is the playing area. Regulations require the piste to be 14 metres long and 1.5 metres wide. [1] [2] The last two metres on each end are hash-marked to warn a fencer before they back off the end of the strip, after which is a 1.5 to 2 metre runoff. The piste is also marked at the centre and at the "en garde" lines, located two metres either side of the center line.

Contents

Retreating off the end of the strip with both feet results in a touch awarded for the opponent. Going off the side of the strip with one or both feet halts the fencing action, and is penalized by allowing the opponent to advance one metre before being replaced on guard. If the offending fencer would then be replaced behind the rear limit of the strip because of this, a touch is awarded to the opponent. If play is halted for any reason other than stepping off the side of the piste a fencer may never be replaced on guard behind the rear line.

After each touch, fencers begin again at the en garde line, 4 metres apart, or if these lines are not available, roughly at a position where their blades can nearly touch when fully extended. If no touch is scored but play was halted, the fencers come en garde at the position they were stopped.

Most pistes at fencing tournaments are "grounded" to the scoring box, thus any hits that a fencer makes against the piste will not be registered as a touch. This is to prevent accidental touches to the piste from registering as off target and resulting in a halt.

Types of piste

There are three different types of piste:

Made from conductive material with a rubber back; lightweight, approximately 25 kg.

Made from sections of rolled aluminum which are bolted together; weighs approximately 300 kg

Made from woven metal with no backing; weighs approximately 70 kg

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fencing</span> Type of armed combat sport

Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. The three disciplines of modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre ; each discipline uses a different kind of blade, which shares the same name, and employs its own rules. Most competitive fencers specialize in one discipline. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century and is based on the traditional skill set of swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with an opponent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handball</span> Team sport with two teams of seven players each

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the goal of the opposing team. A standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes, and the team that scores more goals wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parry (fencing)</span> Fencing bladework maneuver

A parry is a fencing bladework maneuver intended to deflect or block an incoming attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foil (fencing)</span> Weapon and type of modern fencing

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.

<i>Épée</i> A weapon and type of modern fencing

The épée, sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern épée derives from the 19th-century épée de combat, a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword.

Classical fencing is the style of fencing as it existed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. According to the 19th-century fencing master Louis Rondelle,

A classical fencer is supposed to be one who observes a fine position, whose attacks are fully developed, whose hits are marvelously accurate, his parries firm, and his ripostes executed with precision. One must not forget that this regularity is not possible unless the adversary is a party to it. It is a conventional bout, which consists of parries, attacks, and returns, all rhyming together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabre (fencing)</span> A weapon and type of modern fencing

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of fencing</span> Overview of and topical guide to fencing

Fencing – family of combat sports using bladed weapons. Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games. Also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing.

Rapier Combat is a style of historical fencing practiced in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). The primary focus is to study, replicate and compete with styles of rapier sword-fighting found in Europe during the Renaissance period, using blunted steel swords and a variety of off-hand defensive items. Participants wear period clothing while competing, along with or incorporating protective equipment for safety. In the April 2020 update of the rules, the sport was renamed 'Fencing Combat'.

In fencing, a body cord serves as the connection between a fencer and a reel of wire that is part of a system for electrically detecting that the weapon has touched the opponent. There are two types: one for epee, and one for foil and sabre.

In fencing, the grip is the part of the weapon which is gripped by the fencer's hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flèche (fencing)</span> Fencing technique

The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée.

The Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) was founded on April 22, 1891, in New York City by a group of fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. As early as 1940, the AFLA was recognized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) and the United States Olympic Committee as the national governing body for fencing in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penalty card</span> Reprimands issued during various sports matches

Penalty cards are used in many sports as a means of warning, reprimanding or penalising a player, coach or team official. Penalty cards are most commonly used by referees or umpires to indicate that a player has committed an offence. The official will hold the card above their head while looking or pointing towards the player that has committed the offence. This action makes the decision clear to all players, as well as spectators and other officials in a manner that is language-neutral. The colour or shape of the card used by the official indicates the type or seriousness of the offence and the level of punishment that is to be applied. Yellow and red cards are the most common, typically indicating, respectively, cautions and dismissals.

Priority or right of way is the decision criterion used in foil and sabre fencing to determine which fencer receives the touch, or point, when both fencers land a hit within the same short time-frame. After this window, if one fencer had already landed a hit, the electrical scoring apparatus would "lock-out," or fail to record, an opponent's subsequent hit, and thus the one fencer to land a hit is awarded the touch. In épée fencing, if both fencers land valid hits at the same time, they each receive a point. Because of this, foil and saber are considered conventional weapons. After a halt, a referee parses what happened into actions, from which it can be determined whether to award a point or not.

Fencing practice and techniques of modern competitive fencing are governed by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), though they developed from conventions developed in 18th- and 19th-century Europe to govern fencing as a martial art and a gentlemanly pursuit. The modern weapons for sport fencing are the foil, épée, and sabre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortifications of the inner German border</span> East Germanys barriers to prevent its citizens from entering West Germany

The inner German border was a complex system of interlocking fortifications and security zones 1,381 kilometres (858 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fencing tactics</span> Movement or approach used in competitive fencing

Tactics are very important to playing well in modern fencing and although technique is important in the sport, using an array of tactics will help fencers make the most of that technique.

This is a glossary of terms used in fencing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shin A-lam</span> South Korean épée fencer

Shin A-lam is a South Korean épée fencer.

References

  1. "International Fencing Federation Technical Rules - The International Fencing Federation official website" (PDF). International Fencing Federation - The International Fencing Federation official website.
  2. "Home". BRITISH FENCING.