The dry fencing competition match (without electronic scoring) depends on the quality of the judges and the director. Bad judges and directors lead to bad fencing, pure and simple. That means that if your fencing club is going to hold dry fencing competitions, you need to train your members to be good judges.

The skill set is deceptively simple. You see a hit; you raise your hand But there is much more.

First, the judges have to be honest and impartial. You see hits and misses; you see no teammates or opponents. Judging dishonestly and shading what you see to benefit one fencer or the other is corrupt cheating and ultimately destroys the quality of fencing.

Second, each possible hit must be evaluated against two simple criteria.

(1) “Did he land on the point and stop in a way that would have caused an injury if the point was sharp” for foil and épée, and that plus “land on the edge” for saber. Keep in mind that cutting edge means different things to different shooters – the traditional meaning of with the leading edge of the blade or the last third of the trailing edge is effectively replaced by the modern reality that any contact with the blade will result in a hit. .

(2) “Did it land on the weapon target or off target?”

Third, the judge must immediately signal an observed hit. If you see a hit that meets the criteria, immediately raise your hand to signal the director. If there are no hands, the director will not stop the action. Then it becomes impossible to go back three sentences, reconstruct what happened, and award the touch correctly.

Fourth, the judge must be prepared to answer the director’s questions about the action at the correct time. This means that he must watch the action carefully and match what he saw with the way the director describes the action. The difference between a hit on the initial attack and a hit on the follow-up attack is small and requires you to look closely to be able to distinguish between the two.

Fifth, the judge must know how to answer the director’s questions. It is a simple set of answers. “Yes” in all three weapons means that a hit (criterion 1) landed on the target (criterion 2). “Yes, but not valid” in foil means that a hit (criterion 1) landed but not on the weapon’s target. “No” means no hits landed; the attack fell short, landed flat, or slid along the body without the point stopping in foil or épée. “Refrain” means you can’t confidently say whether or not the punch landed. It is possible that your angle of view allows you to see the direction but not the depth or that the target has been obscured.

Sixth, you have to be in the right place to see the action. Judging is a job in motion. He should be approximately one meter to the side of the piste and one meter behind his fencer, and move with the fencer, keeping this distance. Move constantly to maintain the correct position. This gives you the best view of the opponent’s target. Keeping a meter to the side and a meter back also keeps you safe from a flapping leaf.

And finally, you have to find the right fencer. You are facing the opponent opposite the fencer behind whom you are standing. You don’t really care if the fencer you’re behind gets hit. You must focus on the opponent in the strip.

The best way to become a competent judge is to practice. Volunteer to judge whenever you can. Look at the directors and how they call to action; this applies not only to directors of dry fencing matches and competitions, but also to referees of electric competitions. Your ability to see and respond to strikes correctly is an important part of raising the level of fencing in your club. This is important work, so practice, practice, practice.