BELGRADE, Serbia, Dec. 9-11 – Alice Volpi, former world champion and current number-2, earned her 6th World Cup gold this weekend following a definitive win in the finals over Germany’s Leonie Ebert, 15-6. In the semifinals, Volpi came off another solid defeat over Italian teammate, Francesca Palumbo, 15-8, while Ebert clinched a win over current world number-1, USA’s Lee Kiefer, 15-13.

In the team event, Italy won out over USA, 45-22, in the finals following a close semifinal match against France where Italy won 45-41. Likewise in the semifinals, USA solidly defeated Japan, 45-22. The bronze went to France following a medical withdrawal from Japan.

Team USA placed impressively in both events, taking silver in the team event and an individual bronze finish for Lee Kiefer in the individuals. They also ended with a top-16 finish for Zander Rhodes (14), top-32 finishes for Stefani Deschner (19), Lauren Scruggs (27) and Morgan Partridge (28), and top-64 finishes for Jacqueline Dubrovich (34) and Maia Mei Weintraub (41).

Results

Individual

1. Alice Volpi (ITA, gold)
2. Leonie Ebert (GER, silver)
3. Lee Kiefer (USA, bronze)
4. Francesca Palumbo (ITA, bronze)

5. Azuma Sera (JPN)
6. Pauline Ranvier (FRA)
7. Erica Cipressa (ITA)
8. Julia Walczyk-Klimaszyk (POL)

Team

1. Italy (gold)
2. USA (silver)
3. France (bronze)
4. Japan
5. China
6. Spain
7. Poland
8. Ukraine

Full results can be found on the FIE Competitions pages (1, 2) or here.

Italy sweeps Foil gold in Belgrade

The FIE Congress met on November 25 in Lausanne, Switzerland for their annual decisions regarding proposed rule changes as well as the additional decisions by the Executive Committee. Below is a recap of the consequential rule changes for the average fencer and major decisions of note.

Proposal 2: Expanding Medical/Injury Definitions

This proposal moves to use the term “medical reasons” to be inclusive of the previous definition of “injuries and medical reasons such as cramp, illness, trauma” in addition to other possibilities. This will largely impact medical delegates, fencer replacements, substitutions and withdrawals during competitions, as well as medical breaks during bouts.

Proposal 6: Revising the rules on pool arrangements in cases of absent fencers

The previous language of this rule allowed the tournament organizers to reorganize pools to create pools of 7 or 6 by shifting fencers in the event of absent fencers from the original pool arrangements. The shift now puts the responsibility on the Tournament Director. Additionally, it expands to allow that decision in cases of more than one pool round.

Proposals 13, 15, and 16: Falling

There were several shifts to rules around falling, both in scoring and in penalties. Proposal 13 clarifies that hits made during or after a fall are annulled regardless of it being intentional or accidental. Proposals 15 and 16 together clarify the penalization around falls, specifying that intentional falls to avoid a touch or scoring a hit on a fencer after they have intentionally fallen are both penalties. These are allowing exceptions to cases of accidental falls. 

Proposal 17: Unwillingness to Fight

This proposal was aimed to simplify the process around unwillingness and increase consistency in the application. It removes the second instance of a p-red card altogether. In addition to this, yellow and red p-cards will be awarded simultaneously to both fencers following respective one minute unwillingness to fight decisions. P-black cards will now be awarded on the third instance of a one-minute unwillingness to fight call. In the case of a tie, it will be awarded to the lower-seeded fencer but otherwise, it will be awarded to the fencer with the lower score in the bout, allowing the higher seeded fencer or higher scoring fencer to win in each case.

Likewise, in team events, yellow and red p-cards will be awarded to the teams in the first and second instances of unwillingness to fight. P-black cards will be awarded to the team with the lower seeding in the case of a tie, or the team with the lower score in other cases, allowing the other team to win.

These proposals have been accepted and will go into effect starting in 2023. Full rule modifications can be found here.

Notable Executive Committee Decisions

• Competition Schedules for World Championships 2023 in Milan, as well as Junior and Cadet World Championships 2023 in Plovdiv were announced
• Changes to COVID-19 sanitary measures at FIE competitions include: sanitary masks recommended as opposed to compulsory and participants will have to present a negative COVID-19 test to organizers carried out up to 72 hours prior to arrival in the country

The full letter of decisions, as well as the competition schedules for the Senior, Junior and Cadet World Championships 2023 can be found here.

2022 FIE Congress Decisions and Rule Changes

Team France wins both team epee events this weekend in Canada. Hungary’s Gergely Siklosi and Italy’s Giulia Rizzi win the individual men’s and women’s events.

Men’s Epee

Gergely Siklosi won his second World Cup gold after defeating France’s former World Champion and current number-1, Yannick Borel, 15-12, in the final this weekend. In the semifinals, Siklosi won against China’s Lan Minghao, 15-10, while Borel beat French teammate, Alexandre Bardenet, 15-12.

In the team event, France won a solid victory in the final against Italy, 45-34. In the semifinals, Italy scraped a win following a slow-paced matchup against Israel, 35-34, while France beat Japan, 45-39. Japan went on to win the bronze medal over Israel, 45-41.

Team USA ended lower than expected with a team placement of 12th after coming in at 5th seed. In the individual, they had two top-64 finishes for Tristan Szapary (47) and Jonas Hansen (56).

Women’s Epee

In the women’s event, Giulia Rizzi won her first World Cup gold after a solid win over Hong Kong’s Kong Man Wei Vivian, 15-9, in the final. Kong came off a semifinal win over Canada’s Alexanne Verret, 15-8, while Rizzi beat Hungary’s Anna Kun, 15-11.

In the team event, France earned a hard-fought win in the finals versus Korea, 37-36.In the semifinals, Korea came off a win against Israel, 45-39, while France beat Switzerland, 45-40. Lastly, Switzerland went on to defeat Israel, 45-36, for the bronze.

Team USA placed lower than expected here as well, again coming in 5th seed and ending in 12th place. In the individual event, they had two top-32 finishes for Margherita Guzzi Vincenti (25) and Catherine Nixon (28) as well as three top-64 finishes for Katherine Holmes (36), Isis Washington (49) and Anne Cebula (54).

Results Men’s Epee

Individual

1. Gergely Siklosi (HUN, gold)
2. Yannick Borel (FRA, silver)
3. Alexandre Bardenet (FRA, bronze)
4. Lan Minghao (CHN, bronze)
5. Romain Cannone (FRA)
6. Volodymyr Stankevych (UKR)
7. Yonatan Cohen (ISR)
8. Alexis Bayard (SUI)

Team

1. France (gold)
2. Italy (silver)
3. Japan (bronze)
4. Israel
5. Hungary
6. Korea
7. China
8. Switzerland

Results Women’s Epee

Individual

1. Giulia Rizzi (ITA, gold)
2. Kong Man Wai Vivian (HKG, silver)
3. Anna Kun (HUN, bronze)
4. Alexanne Verret (CAN, bronze)
5. Marie-Florence Candassamy (FRA)
6. Auriane Mallo (FRA)
7. Lauren Rembi (FRA)
8. Dzhoan Feybi Bezhura (UKR)

Team

1. France (gold)
2. Korea (silver)
3. Switzerland (bronze)
4. Israel
5. Hungary
6. China
7. Hong Kong
8. Canada

Full results can be found on the FIE Competitions pages of the men’s events (1, 2) and women’s events (1, 2) or here.

France takes two World Cup wins with epee teams in Vancouver, Siklosi and Rizzi earn Gold

ORLÉANS, France, Dec. 8-10:

Aron Szilagyi, defending World Champion and three-time Olympic champion, earned his first gold of the season with a win over Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze, 15-10, in the finals. In the semifinals, Bazadze won decisively against Italy’s Luca Curatoli, 15-6, while Szilagyi beat Korea’s Kim Junghwan, 15-8.

The win marked Szilagyi’s fourth Grand Prix win in his career – with the previous gold earned this past May in Padoue. His next competition will be in the upcoming Grand Prix in Tunisia, January 13.

Despite the defeat in this event, Bazadze still looks good for the season. In addition to the silver won this weekend, he won the World Cup gold in Algeria last month, showing a promising start to the season for the world number-2. He will compete as well in Tunisia next month.

In the women’s event, Martina Criscio defeated France’s Manon Apithy-Brunet by a single touch, 15-14, in the final to earn her win. In the semifinals, Apathy-Brunet won out over world number-3, Greece’s Despina Georgiadou, 15-11, while Criscio beat her fellow Italian, Chiara Mormile by a score of 15-12.

Criscio’s win earns her first gold in a Grand Prix while preventing Apithy-Brunet from her own first Grand Prix gold, both having previously earned bronze in earlier events. They are each signed up to compete in the Tunisia Grand Prix next month.

Team USA ended with several top placements in each event. The best placing went to Magda Skarbonkiewicz (7) in the women’s event with Elizabeth Tartakovsky (16) earning a top-16 finish. In the men’s event, Daryl Homer (10) earned a top-16 finish while Andrew Doddo (29) earned top-32.

Results Men’s Sabre

Individual

1. Aron Szilagyi (HUN, gold)
2. Sandro Bazadze (GEO, silver)
3. Luca Curatoli (ITA, bronze)
4. Kim Junghwan (KOR, bronze)

5. Iulian Teodosiu (ROU)
6. Bolade Apithy (FRA)
7. Gu Bongil (KOR)
8. Matyas Szabo (GER)

Results Women’s Sabre

Individual

1. Martina Criscio (ITA, gold)
2. Manon Apithy-Brunet (FRA, silver)
3. Despina Georgiadou (GRE, bronze)
4. Chiara Mormile (ITA, bronze)

5. Anna Bashta (AZE)
6. Misaki Emura (JPN)
7. Magda Skarbonkiewicz (USA)
8. Cyrielle Girardin (FRA)

Full results can be found on the FIE Competitions pages (1, 2) or here. Streams of the event can be found on the FIE page or their Youtube page.

Szilagyi and Criscio win Gold in Orleans Saber Grand Prix

TOKYO, Japan, Dec. 9-11 – Tommaso Marini earned his second World Cup gold this weekend with a win over France’s Maxime Pauty, 15-13, in the finals. Marini advanced past the semifinals following a medical withdrawal from Egypt’s Alaaeldin Abouelkassem while Pauty emerged with a win over Japan’s Nagano Yudai, 15-12.

Notably, the individual event featured several upsets over former champions. Abouelkassem beat Italian Olympic champion, Daniele Garozzo, in the quarterfinals, 15-11, while Pauty won against Italian world champion, Alessio Foconi, 15-10, in the round of 16, and the United States’ Alexander Massialas defeated Hong Kong Olympic champion, Cheung Ka Long, 15-12.

In the team event, the United States solidly defeated Japan, 45-31, in the finals having already secured a definitive victory over France in the semifinals, 45-28. Japan came off their own semifinals with a win over Italy, 45-30. In the bronze medal match, Italy won out over France, 45-38. 

In addition to the gold in the team event, Team USA ended well in the individual event as well with top-16 finishes for Alexander Massialas (8) and Nick Itkin (11) and a top-64 finish for Adam Mathieu (52).

Results

Individual

1. Tommaso Marini (ITA, gold)
2. Maxime Pauty (FRA, silver)
3. Alaaeldin Abouelkassem (EGY, bronze)
4. Nagano Yudai (JPN, bronze)

5. Daniele Garozzo (ITA)
6. Alexander Choupenitch (CZE)
7. Alexandre Ediri (FRA)
8. Alexander Massialas (USA)

Team

1. USA (gold)
2. Japan (silver)
3. Italy (bronze)
4. France
5. Korea
6. Hong Kong
7. Hungary
8. Egypt

Full results can be found on the FIE Competitions pages (1, 2) or here.

Marini, Team USA Foil take Gold in Tokyo

USA Fencing Ends Vaccine Requirements for National Tournaments

The USA Fencing article delves into justifications on why this is now the policy moving forward. The overall community reaction is one of disappointment, both at the announcement and the situation.

USA Fencing Indicates Intent to Extend FIE Restrictions on Russian and Belarusian Athletes

This announcement twofold – part announcement on intent to vote in a particular way in the annual FIE Congress, and part internal policy announcement. This congress just concluded, and these restrictions were extended further, with USA Fencing voting in the direction they indicated in the article. In addition to this, USA Fencing has imposed an effective ban on all Russian and Belarusian athletes that have held an FIE license for one of these two countries in the past 3 years. This is inclusive of competing, coaching and refereeing; and is a more restrictive policy than the one implemented earlier in the year. The US does have a good number of Russian and Belarusian coaches and competitors inside its borders right now for a variety of reasons – many of which have been here for quite a long time and will not be impacted by this policy. It is currently unclear and undisclosed the number of individuals this policy change will impact. The largest impacts moving forward will likely be on the NCAA athletes, as many colleges have previously recruited from these countries, as well as the hiring of international coaches and referees.

USA Fencing To Prefer States With Inclusive Laws as Host Cities

As a way to live out their stated organizational goals, USA Fencing is now de-prioritizing host cities that are governed by laws that are not in alignment with those stated organizational goals. This is a policy that will take some time to shake out, as many of these hosting contracts are made well in advance. Consequently, this also means there’s some space for these laws to change or be otherwise overruled. It’s likely that this policy will have some budgetary impact, as many of the least expensive states to host events tend to also be the ones that will be covered by this policy. In a similar vein, this might also result in some unusual geographic diversity in hosting, as those same less expensive states are now off the table as hosts, which would be a potentially very pleasing development for some members who have long requested national events to be more geographically equitable.

USA Fencing Implements Transgender and Nonbinary Athlete Policy

This policy is detailed and interested parties should read the text of this one carefully. The general summary is that athletes will be allowed to compete under the gender they have indicated at the start of a season, and if applicable, athletes must adhere to transgender athlete guidelines. As noted in the article, the goal here is for progress, not perfection. The implication of the article is that further changes will likely come over time, and that this is an initial set of changes to address at least some issues identified by membership and leadership of USA Fencing.

USA Fencing Board Adds Ivan Lee and Selina Kaing as Vice-Chair

Ivan Lee and Selina Kaing joined the Board of Directors as Vice-Chairs in volunteer advisory roles to close up existing experience gaps. Vice-Chairs are non-Director positions. Both are deeply experienced in their respective areas of expertise, and are great additions to the USA Fencing leadership team.

USA Fencing News Update Roundup – 2022 Season Edition

This post was last updated Nov 23rd, and we’ll update this further over time as more deals roll in.

If you’re on the hunt for general gift ideas, you can check out our “Best Fencing Gift Ideas for Holidays and Birthdays” guide, which was just updated for 2022!

Current Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals

Leon Paul is running a small Black Friday coupon code this year: 10% Off All FIE Kit & Bags with the code WSL10. Their kits and the Apex bag are all very well regarded and great gift options.

Ongoing General Sales

Below is a list of ongoing sales not directly related to the holiday, but that you can still take advantage of this time of year!

Nike Ballestra/Zoom 1 is currently on sale at both Absolute and AthletePS. Absolute is selling a number of colorways for 20% off ($145 sale/$175 reg). AtletePS is selling three colorways for a similar roughly 20% discount (prices vary).

BF FIE Blades are currently on sale at a few locations (Absolute), but the sale prices still don’t currently beat the regular prices available at NeedABlade.

Allstar and Uhlmann jackets, knickers, and other misc items are on sale at Absolute. These are clearance items for previous generation pieces, and while they’re perfectly good to use, you might have a tougher time finding the right sizing or a matching set.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022 Deals For Fencing

Bern, Switzerland, Nov. 11-13 – Tibor Andrasfi won his first World Cup medal with a victory in the finals over Colombia’s John Edison Rodriguez, 12-11, to earn gold. Earlier Andrasfi also secured several upsets, including over world number 2, France’s Yannick Borel, 11-10, in the round of 32, world number 5, Japan’s Kano Koki, 15-11, in the semifinals, and world number 10, Italy’s Federico Vismara, 15-12, in the quarterfinals.

The individual event featured a number of upsets. Notably, none of the world top 3 made it to the later rounds, with world number 1, France’s Romain Cannone dropping in the round of 64, as well as Borel and world number 3, Ukraine’s Igor Reizlin each losing in the round of 32.

In the team event, France earned a win over Korea, 45-41, in the finals after a close win against Hungary, 45-44, in the semifinals. Hungary went on to secure bronze over Italy, 30-28, following Italy’s defeat by Korea, 45-36 in the semifinals.

Team USA had a disappointing day, finishing 13th in the team event after coming in at 5th seed and with only one competitor, Nicholas Lawson (32), securing a top-32 finish in the individual.

Full Results

Individual

1. Tibor Andrasfi (HUN, gold)
2. John Edison Rodriguez (COL, silver)
3. Kano Koki (JPN, bronze)
4. Luidgi Midelton (FRA, bronze)
5. Mate Tamas Koch (HUN)
6. Federico Vismara (ITA)
7. Valerio Cuomo (ITA)
8. Enrico Garozzo (ITA)

Team

1. France
2. Korea
3. Hungary
4. Italy
5. Japan
6. Israel
7. Switzerland
8. Spain

Full results can be found on the FIE Competition pages (1, 2) or here. 

Andrasfi and France edge out Rodriguez, Korea in Bern Epee World Cup

TALLINN, Estonia, Nov. 11-13 – Alberta Santuccio earned her first World Cup gold this weekend with a win over France’s Marie-Florence Candassamy, 15-11, in the finals. Santuccio had just come off a semifinal win over China’s Zhu Mingye, 11-6, who had gone on a run of upsets including the 13th-seed, Italy’s Mara Navarria, 13-8, in the table of 64 and the 4th-seed, France’s Rossella Fiamingo, 15-9, in the table of 16.

In the team event, Italy secured a patient win over Ukraine, 33-28, for the gold. In the semifinals, Italy had a strong win over France, 42-29, while Ukraine defeated Poland, 44-37. For the bronze-medal match, France won out over Poland, 45-39. 

Team USA secured a 7th place finish in the team event although their final placements in the individual event were confined to the top-64 with Katherine Holmes (33), Hadley Husisian (37), Catherine Nixon (39), and Anne Cebula (53).

Full Results

Individual

1. Alberta Santuccio (ITA, gold)
2. Marie-Florence Candassamy (FRA, silver)
3. Zhu Mingye (CHN, bronze)
4. Song Sera (KOR, bronze)
5. Anna Kun (HUN)
6. Kong Man Wai Vivan (HKG)
7. Lin Sheng (CHN)
8. Nicol Foietta (ITA)

Team

1. Italy (gold)
2. Ukraine (silver)
3. France (bronze)
4. Poland
5. Korea
6. Hungary
7. USA
8. China

Full results can be found on the FIE Competitions pages (1, 2) or here.

Italy wins two Epee Gold in Tallinn World Cup

Japan’s Matsuyama Kyosuke and the United States’ team won respective gold medals in Germany this weekend for the men’s foil events.

BONN, Germany, Nov. 11-13 – Matsuyama Kyosuke won his first World Cup gold this weekend with a win over Italy’s Alessio Foconi, 15-11, in the final. In the semifinals, Foconi came off a run-stopping victory over Britain’s Marcus Mepstead, 15-8, while Matsuyama upset the world number 4, France’s Enzo Lefort, 15-12.

The individual event featured a number of upsets with many of the top 16 seeds falling early, including world number 1, Italy’s Tommaso Marini (17), world number 2, Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka Long (33), Japan’s Shikine Takahiro (34), Spain’s Carlos Llavador (18), Italy’s Giorgio Avola (35), and USA’s Alexander Massialas (36). 

In the team event, Team USA scored a victory over Italy, 45-40, for the gold. In the semifinals, the USA crushed France, 45-20, while Italy defeated Japan, 45-38. To cap off the final four, France won out over Japan, 45-43, to earn bronze. 

In addition to the gold in the team event, the USA had a promising individual event with Miles Chamley-Watson (7) and Nick Itkin (10) securing spots in the top 16.

Full Results

Individual

1. Matsuyama Kyosuke (JPN, gold)
2. Alessio Foconi (ITA, silver)
3. Enzo Lefort (FRA, bronze)
4. Marcus Mepstead (GBR, bronze)
5. Daniele Garozzo (ITA)
6. Mohamed Hamza (EGY)
7. Miles Chamley-Watson (USA)
8. Alexandre Ediri (FRA)

Team

1. USA (gold)
2. Italy (silver)
3. France (bronze)
4. Japan
5. Egypt
6. Hong Kong
7. China
8. Germany

Full results can be found on the FIE Competition pages (1, 2) or here. 

Japan’s Matsuyama, Team USA win Gold in Bonn Foil World Cup