Wheelchair Fencing

WHEELLCAIR FENCING

☀The World Wheelchair Fencing Championships are held as part of the World Fencing Championships. Their media exposure is less, if not totally non-existent. During the 2006 Fencing World Championships in Turin, disabled and valid programs take place simultaneously2. It is during the 2010 World Championships at the Grand Palais in Paris, the most successful in history in terms of public affluence3, that disabled fencing receives real media exposure. As in Turin in 2006, the handisport program was mixed with the program of the disabled, giving rise to an alternation of valid finals and handisport retransmises live (in France) on the television channel France 4. Since then, despite the success Media championships of the 2010 championships, the world championships are organized in the margin of the competitions of the able shooters.In this static variant of the fencing, the two athletes are installed face to face in a wheelchair that is fixed on the ground. The distance between them is determined by whoever has the shortest arm. The armchairs are fixed at an angle of 110 ° with the central separation line. The competitors hold with one hand their weapon (foil, sword or saber), and on the other cling to their armchair. During the meeting, they must remain seated, and can not use their legs. Armchairs should not be lifted. Athletes have standard fencing equipment, plus extra leg protections. Those who lack grip on their weapon can fix it with a tape or similar device. Each key reports a point. The validity of a key depends on the weapon: Foil: the trunk, except the head and arms. The button must be made with the tip of the blade. Sword: any part of the body above the hips. The button must be made with the tip of the blade. Saber: any part of the body above the hips. The key can be made with the tip or the side of the blade. In individual events, shooters compete for 3 periods of 3 minutes, the first totaling 15 keys winning (or the one with the highest number of keys). There is an additional period of one minute to decide between the opponents in the event of a tie. For the preliminary rounds, one is content of a single period of 4 minutes with 5 keys to be victor. In the group event, the teams are composed of three players. The first to total 45 keys is victorious.Athletes wishing to compete must be wheelchair-bound, following spinal trauma, under-the-knee amputation or cerebral palsy, subject to other disabilities.

The selection committee observes them and then classifies them into three categories corresponding to increasingly severe handicaps:

Category A: with trunk balance. Category B: without trunk balance. Category C: tetraplegic.

The various Paralympic events are:

The men's foil (categories A and B)     The female foil (categories A and B)     The men's sword (categories A and B)     The women's sword (categories A and B) The men's saber (categories A and B).

Unlike the FIE (with its world championships), the International Olympic committee does not organize fencing competitions for the disabled.Even for clairvoyants, fencing is a sport that makes great use of sensations (touch with the opponent's blade for example). With a little training, it is possible to do fencing while being blind. This fencing is practiced on track, the rules are the same as for standard fencing. It is good to have the markings on the ground in relief to allow the shooters to easily realize their position.

Enzo Yigit 5C