Get the point! Fencing in modern pentathlon
Photo Credit: Nuno Gonçalves
Did you know, Modern Pentathlon includes fencing?
The fencing part of the competition is really important for getting pentathlon points.
In Modern Pentathlon you fence with a sword called an epee. It has a large guard around your hand, and you wear a mask, a glove and lots of other protective kit to keep you safe.
With epee, the target area is the whole body. That means you have to hit your opponent with your sword on their arm, leg, or anywhere on their white fencing kit to score a point!
Fencing has been part of the Olympic Games since they started, but there are a few differences between regular epee fencing and modern pentathlon. There is always a referee and you salute your opponent, the referee and the crowd watching you before you fence, but there are some differences in regular epee fencing and the fencing you see in Modern Pentathlon. So what are they?
Photo Credit: Virag Buza
One hit wonder!
In regular epee fencing, you can score at the same time as your opponent. That means if you both hit at exactly the same time, you both get a point!
In modern pentathlon, you only have to score ONE POINT for a victory. Double hits don’t count. It has to be a SINGLE hit, so only one person can get the point. You have to be quick and clever to outwit your opponent that fast!
Joe Choong is a modern pentathlete who won an olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games! “I’m 26 now, and I’ve been fencing as part of Modern Pentathlon for nearly 11 years. I love how you get the chance to prove who’s not only faster, but cleverer, in a 1v1 fight against your opponent. In pentathlon, where there’s only 1 hit to fight for, it’s like a real life James Bond duel!”
Be quick!
In regular epee fencing you fence everyone in elimination rounds called poules. In poules you have 3 minutes to get 5 points to win. Then, you move onto longer fights as the going gets tough. The longer fights are called Direct Elimination or DE for short. The fencers get knocked out through quarter, semi and finals until there is a champion. DE fights are first to 15 and have 9 minutes of fencing.
In Modern Pentathlon you only have ONE MINUTE and have to score one point or it’s a double defeat!
Instead of fencing in poules and DE, you fence in pairs around the room to see who will get the most points. If you are with someone from your country, you’ll fence against them first then go around as a pair and fencer everyone else. If you’re on your own, you get paired up with someone else who is alone too. In the end, everyone fences each other for a minute to see who wins the most points!
The fencing points are really important. At the end of the fencing in Modern Pentathlon, your wins and defeats are all added up and turned into points that count in your overall score, along with your swimming, horse riding and the run and shoot (laser run) parts of the competition.
British Fencing is the main organisation for fencing in the UK. They have an athlete development programme that athletes can join and fight for GB all over the world. Recently, the Men’s Epee Cadet team won a gold medal in Belgrade and another fencer Alec Brooke won a gold medal in the individual competition too! If you’re interested in fencing you can find a club on their website.
Did you know, there are courses for teachers to bring fencing to your school! Ask British Fencing about the Explore Fencing course for schools.
https://www.britishfencing.com/explore-fencing-course-for-teachers/
