Wheelchair Fencing

【Competition Venues:Makuhari Messe Hall B

  • Overview

    Wheelchair fencing is a sport in which two fencers in wheelchairs compete using swords to win points by making contact with their opponent.

    IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Grand Prix 2014 Hong Kong

    IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Grand Prix 2014,
    Hong Kong

    The rules for wheelchair fencing are basically the same with those for able-bodied fencing. Wheelchair fencing is, however, distinctive in the way that fencers compete using only the upper half of their body while their wheelchairs are fixed immovably to a piece of equipment called a “piste.” There are three different disciplines available for men and women, each with its own weapon: foil (with thrusts to the trunk area of the opponent), épée (with thrusts at the opponent anywhere above the waist), and sabre (with thrusts and cuts at the opponent anywhere above the waist), each of which is classified into two classes according to the type and extent of the athletes' impairment.

    Fencers wear a uniform and a mask, and compete with metal swords. Seated in a wheelchair, the fencers cannot use footwork as able-bodied fencers do. Sword control and speed, therefore, are decisive factors in winning a duel. These duels, conducted at lightning speed with the aim of catching the opponent off guard, are as thrilling as those in able-bodied fencing.

    History

    Wheelchair fencing has been an official sport since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. It is a popular sport for athletes with an impairment, especially in Europe. In Japan, the Japan Wheelchair Fencing Association was established in 1998. Japan sent its national squad to three consecutive Paralympic Games, from the Sydney 2000 to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

    Detail

    Sports Event
    MenWomen



    Event
    Epée Category A
    Epée Category B

    Epée Team
    Foil Category A
    Foil Category B

    Foil Team
    Sabre Category A
    Sabre Category B
    Epée Category A
    Epée Category B

    Epée Team
    Foil Category A
    Foil Category B

    Foil Team
    Sabre Category A
    Sabre Category B
    Eligible impairment
    • Limb deficiency (lower limb impairment)

    (Updated on April 10, 2019)