Fence Dry!

Combined 1 Touch Youth Epee

2011-12-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

We successfully tested the format of fencing different age groups in a single event with a 1 Touch Epee for Youth 10 and Youth 12 at Salle Green on 18 December. With 8 fencers (3 Youth 12 and 5 Youth 8) we were able to have a large enough pool unique that, when fenced twice through, gave everyone enough bouts. We did 56 bouts in 50 minutes - the key was to use two strips with a coordinator managing the bout order, calling the fencers for each strip, and recording results with a single scoresheet.

Updates to the Rules

2011-12-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

We have added new rules to the rule book:

t 110 describes the targets as being substantially the smae as those for electric fencing, with the exception of the bib in foil, and with a description of border of the target on the hand. We decided not to include the bib target area for electric foil to make it easier for beginning fencers to fence with the typical beginner's mask supplied by most vendors.

b 120 provides a table of bout orders for pools in competitions for 2 to 14 fencers, and establishes a seeding order for the positions in the pool. This bout order differs from that of the USA Fencing and FIE rules, and is based on the standard rotating bout order used in competitions in many other sports. We chose that format because it allows you to compute bout order easily, even without a table, for any size pool. Fencers should be aware that this bout order changes the flow of the pool, with higher seeded fencers fencing the bottom half of the seeding first.

Modern Pentathlon Format and Lancet Rules Updated

2011-09-12T05:33:00.001-07:00

We have published new rules for dry bouts using the format of Modern Pentathlon competition. These include use of the Modern Pentathlon scoring system to familiarize fencers with how this scoring works.

We have also updated the Lancet rules to clarify the judging process based on our experience in holding dry Lancet events.

Rankings Updated

2011-04-16T18:09:00.001-07:00

The individual fencer rankings on the website have been updated to reflect results of the Lancet competition on 14 April.

Lancet Epee Test Successful

2011-04-15T04:51:00.000-07:00

The first registered Lancet Epee tournament at Salle Green provided a useful test of the Lancet Epee rules. There were some interesting challenges - how do you call a hit in the back hand when the opponent is trying to grab the weapon? The answer was non-priority hit and learn not to grab the tip...

Because of the mobility of the fencers, judges ended up watching both fencers, or one or the other, depending on angles. We need to codify how voting works under these conditions. But, in general, judging worked well, with judges able to make consistent choices as to which contacts were hits in the sense of penetration and which were too light.

For the directors, there was a tendency to try to describe actions in right of way terms, just to have a way to capture the timing. We need to develop a clear way to describe the hit sequence - "left hit right then right hit left within one tempo" does not work because the fencers may be perpindicular to the director's line of sight, and, with fencers moving around each other, the traditional left is on the refree's left side just confuses people when left is on the right side.

Calling based on tempo is difficult, especially when calling hits into compound actions. Tempo tended to be defined as much by body movement as by the parts of the blade action, and this worked to everyone's satisfaction.

All in all a success - with the participants wanting more.

Registered Competition Test For Lancet Rules

2011-04-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Our new Lancet rules will receive their first test on 14 April at Salle Green's Dry Lancet Epee Tournament. This will be fenced as a pool unique, with one set (best 2 of 3 touches) as the pool bout. We expect enough fencers to have a full jury of director and 4 judges, so we will have an opportunity to address judging issues.

New Rules for Lancet Epee

2011-04-07T10:01:00.001-07:00

New rules for Lancet Epee have been posted on the website at http://fencedry.org/rulesLancet.html. This is a test edition, and after they are used for several competitions, we will roll them into our standard rulebook. We need feedback as to how well they work.

Lancet Epee was developed at RedStar Fencing in Chicago, and our rules generally follow the Chicago rules, modified for dry fencing. Lancet has a different field of play (large and rectangular), a different approach to touches (with priority based on the target and the sequence of hits), and a different format (best 2 out of 3 sets).

New Format for Website

2011-03-02T04:25:00.001-08:00

We have redone the website front page. It remains very utilitarian, with zero frills. But we have shifted the links to the center and top of the page so that they are the first thing you see. The majority of our site users are already engaged in our programs, and this makes it a little faster and a little easier to access the information on the rest of the website.

Rules Book Updates

2011-02-10T08:50:00.001-08:00

Two new sections have been posted to the rule book: m 200-m 201 on the fencing mask and b 205-b 210 on bout time limits.

Note that the mask rules include a requirement that fencers keep their masks in good condition, including cleanliness. Given the selection of skin diseases, one of which can be fatal, that have the possibility of being transmitted from person to person, this seems a reasonable requirement if we are concerned about fencer safety.

The rules on bout time limits assign time limits to three weapon bouts and are consistent with the USA Fencing Rules, except that a 6 minute total time limit is set for sabre bouts. In electric competition time is often not kept in sabre bouts based on the speed of the fencing. However, beginners in sabre may fence bouts that take as long as foil bouts, and the use of a shorter time limit seems appropriate to preserve the character of the weapon as one fenced quickly.

New Rules on Weapons

2011-02-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

New rules m 100-m 105 cover the types and configurations of weapons for fencing in Fence Dry! competitions.

Age Groups Revised

2011-02-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

Rules b905 and b909 have been revised to change youth age groups for Fence Dry events. This brings our age groups closer to USA Fencing Age Groups, with the requirement that fencers are asisgned to age groups based on their actual age at the time of the event. Current age groups are:

Youth 8 - 6-8 year olds
Youth 10 - 9 and 10 year olds
Youth 12 - 11 and 12 year olds
Youth 14 - 13 and 14 year olds
Youth 17 - 14, 15, 16, and 17 year olds.

Fencers can fence one age group up.

Senior and Veteran age groups remain the same.

Rules Revisions Published

2011-02-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

The revised Fencer Ranking System has been posted in the administrative rules section, paragraph a200.

New Individual Ranking Point System

2011-01-14T19:48:00.000-08:00

Our current system of awarding points for fencing results in competitions has proven to be accurate in predicting performance. However, it is cumbersome and requires an inordinate amount of effort to process the results of competitions. In addition, results were very dependent on the order in which fencers met opponents in an essentially random system. Therefore, starting in calendar year 2011 we are instituting a new system:

(1) every fencer starts with their current point total as of 1 January 2011. New fencers will join with a total of 700 points.

(2) at the end of competitions, the total record of each fencer for the competition will be calculated using the following formula:

new point ranking = old point ranking + (3 x (victories - defeats)) + indicators

For example, a fencer fencing in a club competition registered with Fence Dry! who:

... had a ranking of 723, won 4 victories and lost 1 and had an indicator of +10 would score as follows ...

723 + (3 x (4-1) + 10 = 742

... had a ranking of 687, won 2 victories and lost 3, and had an indicator of -6 would score as follows ...

687 + (3 x (2-3) + -6 = 678

(3) victories and defeats include all of the pool and/or elimination round bouts. Indicators are the total of touches scored minues touches received in pool and/or elimination rounds. Fencers should note that this increases the importance of both scoring touches and reducing the number of touches received in bouts.

A revision to the ranking system on the website will be posted shortly. This formula can easily be entered into a spreadsheet, allowing a rapid calculation of the resulting rankings at the end of the event.

2009-2010 Season Rankings Posted

2010-08-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

The rankings and classifications for the 2009-2010 season are posted on the Fence Dry! website. The new fencing season started on 1 August.

New Registered Competion

2010-08-08T06:27:00.001-07:00

Salle Green's August Chase, a three weapon competition running from 1 August through 31 August, has been registered. The winner in each weapon is the fencer who fences the most bouts.

Bout Formats Added To Rules

2010-08-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

We have added section b 100 through b 112, Fencing Competition Formats, to the Rules, available on the website, to provide standard formats for Fence Dry! competitions. This section is of particular importance to bout committee members and tournament organizers.

Articles Added

2010-07-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

We have a new page on the website for articles. We will be uploading articles on a monthly basis to help create a knowledge base for dry fencing programs. Currently on the page are: Why Fence Dry?, Classical One Touch Epee, Three Weapon Fencing Bouts, and Ladder Tournaments For Fencing.

Competition Results ...

2010-01-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

... have been received for Salle Green's two events, Fence Til You Drop on 1 January and the Open Women's Meet on 2 January. These will be posted as soon as we can work through them - Fence Til You Drop is 188 bouts representing all three weapons, and will take most of the coming week to work through.

Registered Events

2009-12-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

Salle Green is hosting two events that have been registered as Fence Dry! tournaments:

Fence Until You Drop - New Year's day from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. The winner is the fencer who fences the most bouts in the two hour period, whether those bouts are won or lost.

Women's Open Foil and Epee - 2 January starting at 2:00 pm.

Fence Dry! License

2009-11-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

We are now issuing a paper document with paid memberships that provides documentation of membership and data current at the date of issue on the fencer's rank and classification. Updated licenses are available on request and at any competition where we have access to the Fence Dry! database and a printer.

Online Application

2009-11-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

We have added an online application with provision for payment by PayPal to the website. This application gathers a little more data to help identify the characteristics of our membership, and the print application will be updated shortly to the same standard.

Registered Event

2009-11-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

The Amelia Steel Rain or Shine Fence Dry! II youth tournament sponsored by Amelia Steel, the 4 H Fencing Club in Amelia County, Virginia, on 14 November has been registered as a Fence Dry! event.

New Rule for Three Weapon Events Points

2009-11-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

Three weapon events are conducted relatively infrequently. Therefore, for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, the requirement for participation in two events for eligibility for Annual Point Championships is relaxed to 1 three weapon event and participation in events in at least one of the other weapons, in those cases where only one three weapon event is held within a reasonable distance of the fencer.

Rank Rule for Entering Age Groups

2009-11-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

Because we have now had fencers who enter a more senior age group with ranking points, a need emerged for a rule on how to transition their points from one age group to another. As far as we can tell this will generally be for moving up in age group, a Youth 13 fencer fencing in Youth 17, for example. The following rule is being applied:

When a fencer first fences in another age group the Ranking they hold in their original age group will be applied for their first bout in the new age group. From that bout forward they earn a Ranking in the new age group. This does not effect their Ranking in the previous age group.

Victories, classifications, and annual points do not carry forward to the new age group.

New Registered Event

2009-07-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

Amelia Steel, the 4-H Fencing Club in Amelia County is hosted a youth dry foil and epee at the Amelia Middle School in Amelia Courthouse on Saturday, 25 July, with registration opening at 0830.

Change In Results Format

2009-07-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

We have made a minor change in how results are displayed for competitions, eliminating the table boundaries. This is time saver in the production process - for reasons we do not quite understand, Microsoft Excel tables do not translate easily to Microsoft Expression, requiring a lot of work to make the table and cell boundaries appear. So, in the interest of being able to get results up more rapidly, we are printing results without the lines for all newly entered competitions. The information is the same.

Season Ends 31 July.

2009-07-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

The 2008-2009 Fence Dry! Season ends on 31 July, and the 2009-2010 Season starts immediately thereafter on 1 August. Individual bout victory totals toward classification, current classifications, and rankings transfer to the new season. Competition points for the Annual Point Championships are reset to zero.

Standard Formats for Bouts

2009-05-15T16:47:00.001-07:00

We are working on our set of competition rules. Our current policy is that the following formats can be used for Fence Dry! competitions:

1. Individual bouts:

1.a. Pool competitions: 1 touch epee; 5 touch epee;5 touch foil; 5 touch sabre; best of 11 touch 3 weapon (best of 5 hits of foil, 1 hit of epee, and 5 hits of sabre); best of 15 touch 3 weapon ((best of 5 hits of foil, 5 hits of epee, and 5 hits of sabre).

1.b. Double elimination competitions: as for pool competitions.

1.c. Single elimination competitions: 15 touch foil, epee, or sabre; 10 touch foil, epee, or sabre; best of 11 touch 3 weapon (best of 5 hits of foil, 1 hit of epee, and 5 hits of sabre), best of 15 touch 3 weapon ((best of 5 hits of foil, 5 hits of epee, and 5 hits of sabre).

2. Team matches:

2.a. Relay format: 45 touches in foil, epee, or sabre

2.b. Bout format: 9 bouts each fought for 5 touches in foil, epee, or sabre - in elimination competitions the match may be terminated when one team wins 5 bouts.

2.c. Three weapon: 1 bout of foil for 5 touches, 1 bout of epee for 1 touch, 1 bout of sabre for 5 touches; 1 bout of foil for 5 touches, 1 bout of epee for 5 touches, 1 bout of sabre for 5 touches.

We are examining other formats for multiple weapon competitions and ladder competitions.

New Registered Event

2009-05-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

Salle Green's annual championships in foil, epee, one-touch epee, sabre, classical foil, and 3 weapon has been registered as a Fence Dry! event. This event runs through 1 June 2009.

Updated Criteria for Annual Points Champions Certificate

2009-05-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

Because there is so much variability in the conditions under which our members fence, this year we are going to test a model for the Annual Points Championships certificate designed to recognize a broader number of top competitors. If at least 3 fencers compete in a weapon and age group, the top 3 fencers in the annual point standing who have fenced in two or more tournaments receive a Certificate. With increasing numbers of fencers, a larger number of certificates will be awarded as follows:

4-10 fencers - top 4
11-15 fencers - top 5
15-25 fencers - top 6
16-40 fencers - top 7
41-60 fencers - top 8
61-80 fencers - top 9
81-100 fencers - top 10

This parallels (although the values are different) the qualifier system used by the United States Fencing Association for the Summer Nationals.