Today we are going to share with everyone the necessary equipment/clothing for fencing at the club and in competition. Remember a good general rule to follow when purchasing equipment is you get what you pay for. This has very few exceptions in fencing.
First we will start with what you need to fence at the club!
Everyone will need to start out with comfortable clothing that they can move around in. We recommend a T-Shirt, athletic pants, and sneakers. Jeans are never a good choice to fence in. They rip easily (as I have experienced myself!) and do not allow the student to move well.
The following is a list for our club foil fencers:
Jacket
Plastron
Chest protector (optional for men, required for women)
Foil Mask (NO Lame on the bib unless you are fencing internationally)
Glove
Foil Lame
Body Cord (We recommend 2 prong as they are easier to fix)
Electric Foil with a 2 prong socket – Size 2 or 0 blades for Y10 and younger. We recommend you use Viscounti grips or something similar.
The following is a list for our club saber fencers:
Jacket
Plastron
Chest protector (optional for men, required for women)
Saber Mask
Head Cord
Glove
Saber Lame
Body Cord (We recommend 2 prong as they are easier to fix)
Saber – Size 2 or size 0 blade for Y10 fencers.
The following is a list for our club epee fencers:
Jacket
Plastron
Chest protector (optional for men, required for women)
Epee Mask
Glove
Body Cord
Electric Epee – Size 2 or 0 blades for Y10 and younger. We recommend you use Viscounti grips or something similar.
For any one fencing in competition the lists of required equipment is a little bit different.
For foil competitions:
Jacket
Plastron
Chest protector (optional for men, required for women)
Foil Mask (NO Lame on the bib unless you are fencing internationally)
Glove
Knickers
Long Socks
Foil Lame
At least 2 Body Cords (We recommend 2 prong as they are easier to fix)
At least 2 Electric Foil with a 2 prong socket – Size 2 or 0 blades for Y10 and younger. We recommend you use Viscounti grips or something similar.
For saber competition:
Jacket
Plastron
Chest protector (optional for men, required for women)
Knickers
Long Socks
Saber Mask
2 Head Cords
Glove with electric cuff
(Electric over glove if your glove does not have an electric cuff)
Saber Lame
At least 2 body cords (We recommend 2 prong as they are easier to fix)
At least 2 sabers – Size 2 or size 0 blade for Y10 fencers.
For epee competition:
Jacket
Plastron
Chest protector (optional for men, required for women)
Epee Mask (NO Lame on the bib unless you are fencing internationally)
Glove
Knickers
Long Socks
At least 2 Body Cords
At least 2 Electric Epees – Size 2 or 0 blades for Y10 and younger.
When fencing in competition you may choose to have more than 2 weapons and body cords. I frequently will bring 4 weapons with me to North American Cup events. Having extra weapons allows a stress free environment in case a wire breaks or the tip malfunctions. Competitive fencers will also frequently have spare wires, screws, tips, etc. This lets them do any necessary on-site repair.
When picking out your equipment feel free to consult with us about what you are ordering. We want to make sure you have the best product for what you want to do. Also remember club members in good standing will receive a 5% discount when ordering through The Phoenix Center.