Fencing Draft notes:Protective Equipment: Difference between revisions

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;Was 2.8 Wearing protective equipment, now 8 Protective equipment
==Notes of things to fix==
:Intro has been incorporated into 8.1 General requirements
==Change log==
;Was
;8.3.4 - Head
:This section describes the protective clothing and other equipment that you must wear for combat. Your equipment must be designed and worn so that there are no gaps over vital body areas, and no more than incidental gaps over other parts of your body. These are the minimum standards for fencing clothing and equipment. You can wear additional equipment, including appropriate period clothing like hoop skirts or gauntlets with stiffened cuffs, but you need to make sure that you are still able to feel and call "good" blows.
;Now
:This section describes the protective clothing and other equipment that you must wear for combat.
:8.1 General requirements
:1. Your armour is to be designed and worn so that no gaps form over vital body areas when you assumes any reasonable position, and no more than incidental gaps on other areas.
::a. If there is a small gap in coverage for areas required to be covered by abrasion-resistant material, such as a loose seam on a glove, then the item is still considered safe and legal.
::b. A "Hold!" should not be called for incidental gapping in abrasion resistant armour, such as a gap between glove and sleeve, or a sock slipping down during a lunge.
:2. These are the minimum standards for fencing clothing and equipment. You can wear additional equipment, including appropriate period clothing like hoop skirts, or additional protective equipment such as a chest protector for comfort, but you need to make sure that you are still able to feel and call "good" blows.
;Functional change
:None
;Reason
:Explanatory language, and clearer example, making clear that comfort-based safety equipment is legal.
<hr>
;Was 2.8.1, now 8.1.3 in in General requirements,
:
;Was
:You must wear full face protection for weapons drills using a spear.
;Now
:You must wear full face protection for weapons drills against an opponent using a spear.
;Functional change
:You must wear full face protection if you are drilling against an opponent who has a spear, rather than if you are using one yourself
;Reason
:Facing the spear is the risky part, not using it.
;For notes section
:October 2023 - You must wear full face protection when your opponent has a spear during drills.
<hr>
 
;Was 2.8.1.1, now 8.1.4 in General requirements
:
:
;Was
;Was
:Fencing practice sessions can also include drills and other classes that do not involve fighting. During sword or dagger drills with an opponent, you must wear eye protection, such as spectacles, sunglasses, safety glasses or a fencing mask or helm.
:If you wear a mask, the rest of your head must be covered by at least penetration-resistant material. This can be worn inside or over the mask.
;Now
:It is strongly recommended that during sword or dagger drills with an opponent fencers wear eye protection. Safety glasses, a fencing mask or a helm are appropriate. Spectacles and sunglasses are not considered eye protection.
;Functional change
:Spectacles and sunglasses are not considered eye protection.
;Reason
:There is significant literature noting that spectacles, sunglasses and other equivalent eyewear do not provide protection to the wearer.
<hr>
 
;Was 2.8.1.3, now 8.2
:Moved what was section 5.1 in Rules for equipment to be 8.2 in Protective equipment
;Reason
:Better loaction for it with the other protective equipment information.
<hr>
;Was a bullet point of 5.1.2 in Rules for equipment, now 8.2.2 in Protective equipment
;Was
:...Example of rigid material that may comply with the standard are:
:*0.8mm stainless steel or 1mm mild steel
:*1.6mm aluminium, copper or brass
:*One layer of hardened heavy leather (225g/8oz; 4mm).
;Now
;Now
:...Examples of rigid material that may comply with the standard are:
:If you wear a mask, the rest of your head must be covered by at least abrasion-resistant material. This can be worn inside or over the mask.
:*0.8mm stainless steel or 1mm mild steel
:*1.6mm aluminium, copper or brass
:*One layer of hardened heavy leather (8oz; 3.2mm).
;Functional change
;Functional change
:Heavy leather may be lighter than previously listed
:The required protection has been reduced from penetration-resistant to abrasion-resistant material.
;Reason
;Reason
:The handbook currently has two conflicting definitions of heavy leather. This standardises and aligns with Society rules at 3.2mm. 8oz is a measure of thickness of leather, not an imperial weight that needed to be converted to metric.
:To reduce the risk of heat injury, which has been occurring at a significantly higher rate than penetration injuries
;For notes section
;For notes
:October2023 - The handbook previously had two contradicting definitions of 8oz heavy leather. We have settled on 3.2mm for 8oz leather to be consistent with Society rules.
:Following extensive experimentation across several kingdoms, the Society Fencing Marshals' Handbook was updated in January 2024 to reduce the level of armour required in fencing (but not Cut and Thrust) to support a reduction in heat injuries.
<hr>
<hr>


;Was 2.8.2.2.a, now 8.3.2.a in Head
;8.5.1 - Torso
:
:
;Was
;Was
:Modern fencing masks meet this requirement, but you might need additional padding if the mask's padding degrades as it gets older.
:You must wear penetration-resistant material to protect your torso, including your chest, back and abdomen, and your upper arm extending at least 10cm from the armpit.
;Now
;Now
:Modern fencing masks meet this requirement, but you might need additional padding if the mask's padding degrades as it gets older. Whether your padding is suitable will be checked by a Marshal during inspections.
:You must wear penetration-resistant material to protect your torso, including your chest, back and abdomen, groin, and your upper arm extending at least 10cm from the armpit.
;Functional change
;Functional change
:None
:No change
;Reason
;Reason
:Clarifies if and when this will be checked and is reiterated in the inspection procedures.
:Changed to explicitly include the word groin as part of the torso requiring coverage by penetration-resistant material for all combatants. This is a clarification of an existing rule, not a change.
;For notes
:Not required
<hr>
<hr>


;Was 2.8.2.4.a and b, now 8.3.4 in Head
;8.6.1 - Legs, feet and arms
:
;Was
:a. For combat involving rubber band guns, we recommend you use resilient padding or rigid material to protect the back of your head.
:b. You must wear rigid material to protect the back your head in Cut and Thrust fencing.
;Now
:a)removed and b now 8.3.5
;Functional change
:None, a. was a recommendation
;Reason
:a. Unnecessary and not in line with risk or Society standards. Note that this is not currently a requirement.
<hr>
;Was 2.8.3.1-2, now 8.4.1-2
;Was
:1. You must wear a gorget (collar) made from rigid material to protect your entire neck and throat. This should be backed by resilient padding or penetration-resistant material.
:2. You must also protect your cervical vertebrae with rigid material. This might be a combination of a gorget, helm or hood insert.
;Now
:You must wear a gorget (collar) made from rigid material to protect your entire neck and throat. This should be backed by resilient padding or penetration-resistant material. Figure 2 shows the area which must be protected.
:What was 2.8.2 has been removed and replaced by 8.4.2:
:Neck protection with a gap of less than 9mm (for example, where the ends of two plates meet) meets this standard, so long as the gap is not within the front or rear 90 degree arc.
;Functional change
:Clarifies areas that must be covered by rigid material, and what sized gaps may be allowed.
;Reason
:Updates rules to remain practical and more in line with Society requirements, without reducing safety from existing practice.
:The deleted section of this rule has not been enforced since a variation was introduced at least prior to 2008, as the understanding of "cervical verterbrae" differs from what is strictly written. As currently written, gorgets must protect the entire cervical column to the base of the skull, which no known gorgets do so (though gorget combined with rigid back of head protection often does so). This revised rule is equivalent to what fencers in Lochac are currently doing already, and what is accepted international practice. This issue has been raised with SRM on two occasions with no response; I expect because it would require a rapid change, such as what we are proposing here. There is no loss in safety by having a small gap, and Lochac rules are already stricter than Society level rules. Fencing blunts will not be able to penetrate this gap; this clarifies expectations around incidental gaps.
;For notes section
:October 2023 - Image added to clarify what parts of the neck must be protected by rigid material, and what sized gaps may be allowed.
<hr>
;Was 2.8.4.2, now 8.5.2 in Torso
:
:
;Was
;Was
:Breast protection, such as a plastron or extra padding, is strongly recommended.
:You must wear abrasion-resistant material on your legs, feet and arms.
;Now
;Now
:Breast protection, such as a plastron or extra padding, is encouraged, but not required.
:You may wear abrasion-resistant material on your legs and arms if you prefer, but it is not required. Note that the upper arm extending at least 10cm from the armpit must be covered by penetration-resistant material.
;Functional change
:None
;Reason
:Clarifying and explicitly stating that it's not required.
<hr>
 
;8.6.3 in Legs, feet and arms
:
;Insert new rule
:3. All participants, including combatants and non-combatants such as marshals, must wear enclosed footwear.
::1. Period-style footwear is strongly encouraged.
::2. Footwear with soles that provide good traction is strongly recommended.
::3. Footwear which provides ankle support is strongly recommended.
;Functional change
;Functional change
:Everyone on the field must wear enclosed footwear.
:You no longer have to wear any material on your legs, or arms below 10cm from your armpit. It can be bare skin.
;Reason
;Reason
:To prevent punctures and resulting infection.
:To reduce the risk of heat injury, which has been occurring at a higher rate than abrasion injuries.
;For notes section
;For notes
:October 2023 - Everyone on the field must wear enclosed footwear.
:Following extensive experimentation across several kingdoms, the Society Fencing Marshals' Handbook was updated in January 2024 to reduce the level of armour required in fencing (but not Cut and Thrust) to support a reduction in heat injuries.
<hr>
<hr>


;Was 2.8.7.3, now 8.8.3
;8.7.1 - Hands
:
:
;Was
;Was
:You take responsibility for your own safety on the field, based on any advice from your doctor or health professional. You can ask a marshal for advice, but you will be the best expert for determining your safety.
:You must wear gloves made of at least abrasion-resistant material to cover your hands and fingers.
;Now
;Now
:You take responsibility for your own safety on the field, based on any advice from your doctor or health professional.
:It is recommended that your hands and fingers be covered by abrasion-resistant material, but is not required.
;Functional change
:None
;Reason
:Marshals don't have any additional skills that make them good judges of medical requirements
<hr>
 
;Added 8.9 Protective identifiers
:1. If you are a gunner, you must wear scarves on both arms to show that you are not a fencer, and may only be shot or declared "killed", not struck.
::(a)The scarves must be a contrasting colour to your sleeves.
::(b)If you have a Standard fencing authorisation, but are carrying only a gun, you can choose to wear scarves on both arms and be subject to the rules for killing gunners, or choose to not wear scarves and be slain as normal for a fencer.
:2. Combatants under the age of 18 are exempt from the Society rule requiring a marking to identify them as a minor.
;Functional change
;Functional change
:None
:You no longer have to have any form of hand protection. You can have bare skin.
;Reason
;Reason
:Captures what was 2.5.3.2 in Rules for Fencers Single combat and melee, and 1.5.5 in Youth activities.
:To reduce the risk of heat injury, which has been occurring at a higher rate than abrasion injuries.
;For notes
:Following extensive experimentation across several kingdoms, the Society Fencing Marshals' Handbook was updated in January 2024 to reduce the level of armour required in fencing (but not Cut and Thrust) to support a reduction in heat injuries.
<hr>
<hr>

Latest revision as of 00:24, 7 May 2025

Notes of things to fix

Change log

8.3.4 - Head
Was
If you wear a mask, the rest of your head must be covered by at least penetration-resistant material. This can be worn inside or over the mask.
Now
If you wear a mask, the rest of your head must be covered by at least abrasion-resistant material. This can be worn inside or over the mask.
Functional change
The required protection has been reduced from penetration-resistant to abrasion-resistant material.
Reason
To reduce the risk of heat injury, which has been occurring at a significantly higher rate than penetration injuries
For notes
Following extensive experimentation across several kingdoms, the Society Fencing Marshals' Handbook was updated in January 2024 to reduce the level of armour required in fencing (but not Cut and Thrust) to support a reduction in heat injuries.
8.5.1 - Torso
Was
You must wear penetration-resistant material to protect your torso, including your chest, back and abdomen, and your upper arm extending at least 10cm from the armpit.
Now
You must wear penetration-resistant material to protect your torso, including your chest, back and abdomen, groin, and your upper arm extending at least 10cm from the armpit.
Functional change
No change
Reason
Changed to explicitly include the word groin as part of the torso requiring coverage by penetration-resistant material for all combatants. This is a clarification of an existing rule, not a change.
For notes
Not required
8.6.1 - Legs, feet and arms
Was
You must wear abrasion-resistant material on your legs, feet and arms.
Now
You may wear abrasion-resistant material on your legs and arms if you prefer, but it is not required. Note that the upper arm extending at least 10cm from the armpit must be covered by penetration-resistant material.
Functional change
You no longer have to wear any material on your legs, or arms below 10cm from your armpit. It can be bare skin.
Reason
To reduce the risk of heat injury, which has been occurring at a higher rate than abrasion injuries.
For notes
Following extensive experimentation across several kingdoms, the Society Fencing Marshals' Handbook was updated in January 2024 to reduce the level of armour required in fencing (but not Cut and Thrust) to support a reduction in heat injuries.
8.7.1 - Hands
Was
You must wear gloves made of at least abrasion-resistant material to cover your hands and fingers.
Now
It is recommended that your hands and fingers be covered by abrasion-resistant material, but is not required.
Functional change
You no longer have to have any form of hand protection. You can have bare skin.
Reason
To reduce the risk of heat injury, which has been occurring at a higher rate than abrasion injuries.
For notes
Following extensive experimentation across several kingdoms, the Society Fencing Marshals' Handbook was updated in January 2024 to reduce the level of armour required in fencing (but not Cut and Thrust) to support a reduction in heat injuries.
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