Fencing Draft:Behaviour On The Field

This section is for combatants.

Fighting by the rules

1. You must obey these rules and the instructions of marshals, or people supervising the field, when you are practicing or fighting.
2. You are responsible for your behaviour.
3. You must always control your attacks and defence. You are not allowed to make uncontrolled attacks such as running at your opponent.
4. Deliberately hitting your opponent too hard, or trying to hurt them, is not allowed.
5. If you do not follow these rules, or you hurt your opponent, the person supervising the field can take action, including telling you to leave the field or stopping you from taking part in further combat.

Issues on the field

Holds

1. The call of "Hold!" is used to stop the combat because of a safety issue. This might include:
   • a problem with your weapons or protective equipment
   • an injury
   • you or your opponent moving too close to a boundary
   • an unexpected hazard on the field.
2. Anyone can call a hold, including you, your opponent, the marshal or a spectator. When you hear "Hold!", you should:
   1. stop fighting and freeze in place; and
   2. repeat the call of "Hold!"; and
   3. check if you or someone else is in danger - then move your weapons to a non-threatening position, such as pointing loaded rubber band guns at the ground, or resting the muzzle or point of your weapon on your shoe to keep it out of the dirt. The marshal may require you to discharge your rubber band into the ground.
3. A call of "Hold!" stops combat for an entire field. There are no "local holds" in Lochac fencing.
4. Masks and other protective equipment must remain on during a Hold until a marshal calls "masks off".
5. Marshals must ensure that rubber band guns are safely discharged before calling "masks off" after a Hold is called.
6. The person supervising the field will tell you when fighting can start again.

Injuries

1. If you have an injury involving free flowing blood, you must leave the field immediately and may not return until the flow of blood has stopped. Clean affected weapons and equipment before use.
2. If there is an incident where you think you may have been concussed, you must leave the field immediately, and may not return to combat activities of any type until cleared to do so by a healthcare professional. The signs and symptoms of suspected concussion can be found in Concussion in Sport Group's Concussion Recognition Tool.

After the bout

1. After a bout, the person supervising the field will ask you if you are satisfied with the outcome. This is a chance for you to talk to your opponent about any concerns you have and resolve issues before leaving the field.
2. If you are not happy with the result of the discussion, you can raise it with the marshal or the Marshal-in-Charge for further review.
3. If you disagree with a decision by the marshal, you can lodge an appeal in the process described in Rules for managing incidents.