Wheelchair Fencing

Introduction

Wheelchair fencing was constituted by Sir Ludwig Guttmann at the Stroke Mandeville Hospital for para-athletes. It is a variant of fencing for the athletes with a disability. The sport was first introduced in 1953 at the Stock Mandeville Games in England especially for war veterans. Wheelchair fencing is governed by International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation. It is a federation of the International Paralympic Committee. Both men and women participate in fencing events that have locomotor disability relating to amputations, spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy. Men and women both can take part in foil and épée whereas sabre event is only for the males. The difference between regular Olympics fencing and wheelchair fencing is that the wheelchairs are fixed on the ground so as to limit the game space and allows the athletes to fence without moving the chair anywhere.

Objective

To score more points than the opponent.

History of Wheelchair Fencing

Wheelchair fencing was included at the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, and each Paralympics since.

Sir Ludwig Gutmann, who established the Paralympic Movement, was himself a sharp fencer and immediately perceived the potential for the game to contend from a wheelchair. It was in this way nothing unexpected that wheelchair fencing was included at the International Stoke Mandeville Games in 1954 – an ancestor of the Paralympic Games composed by Gutmann.

Amid that occasion, wheelchair fencing was just demonstrated as a show between a paraplegic fencer and his physically fit educator. In any case, the next year, sabre fencing rivalry was added to the program. In 1956, the foil occasion was held for ladies fencers. The following year, epee occasions were included. Today, each of the three sword types is challenged in wheelchair fencing.

Fencers at first contended in substantial darker wheelchairs known as travaux seats. Notwithstanding, as wheelchair outlines created and new lighter materials were utilised, movement amid bouts turned into an issue. The underlying arrangement was for somebody to squat behind the fencers and physically hold the seats.

Be that as it may, by the 1957 Stoke Mandeville Games, frames were being trialled that held the seats set up. These were grown further, first in the Netherlands and after that in Italy, prompting the structures that contain the seats of wheelchair fencers set up in rivalry today.

In 1960, wheelchair fencing was a piece of the absolute first Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy. However, just three medal events (men's sabre, men's sabre group and ladies' foil) were challenged, and only Italian competitors contended.

No wheelchair fencer has won more Paralympic awards than Italy's Roberto Marson. Marson won his first wheelchair fencing award at Tokyo 1964 and proceeded to win 15 altogether. Marson likewise won Paralympic medals in swimming and athletics.

Events

Épée

Foil

Sabre

Participants

Male and female participate in épée and foil events whereas the sabre is only for the male athletes.

Equipment

Wheelchair Fencing - Wheelchair

The wheelchairs are fastened on the floors with the help of a rod and a metal frame which gives the participants to have the freedom of upper body.

For Sabre

The fencers wear lame jacket, lame bib on metallic face mask, lame cuff in this event.

For epee

Apart from the regular prescribed clothing the fencers wear lame apron from the waist to the bottom which covers the non-target area.

For foil event

The clothing for the wheelchair fencers consists of lame jacket, lame bib on the face mask for foil events.

Playing Area

The area of competition measures 4m by 1.5m. The fencers are connected to an electronic counting system by special sensors that help to indicate whether the touch is valid or not. Based upon these signals the referee decides whether the fencer has earned the point or not.

Officials

Referees

They are responsible for the proper conduct of the match. If the referee feels the player unfit to compete then he can stop him/her to participate on the basis of ill health.