A fencing bout
involves three participants - you, the
fencer, the person opposite you who serves
as your target, and the referee you have to
convince of the rightness of your actions.
On a good day, the referee is
invisible, managing an orderly flow of the
bout so that you and the target can fence.
However, on
some days the referee becomes an active
opponent, helping your target win the bout.
This season we have seen two really good
examples of this. In one case the referee
called a penalty for nonexistent crossing
the feet in sabre based on complaints by the
other fencer's coach - later the referee
admitted to our fencer that he did not see
the feet cross and only assessed the penalty
because the other coach demanded that he do
so.
And then we
have the case of an epee fencer who scored a
clean toe touch. The referee, from the club
of the opponent, asked the opponent's mother
if the touch landed. She said "no;" we will
make the charitable assumption that she
simply did not have a good view of the
target. The referee then denied the hit by
our fencer.
No qualified,
honest referee will ever act in the way
these two referees acted. They can feel
good because they helped their favorites
win. However, they denied our fencers a
fair bout and damaged the sport by their
actions. You, as the fencer, must be able
to protect your rights against such calls,
and you must do it at the instant it
happens. No one else can do it. So, what
to do?
First, know the
rules of fencing, specifically the technical
rules, backward and forward. You cannot
protest what you do not know. If you have
not studied the rules you are vulnerable to
being cheated. The rules are available
online for free.
Second,
immediately protest the referee's action. A
protest delayed loses all its rights to
correcting the evil done. Be polite, but be
immediate, and be adamant that the rules be
followed.
In the first
case - "Excuse me sir, but did you see me
cross my feet?" If the referee answer "yes"
and you did not, you know that either the
referee is dishonest and that you have to
modify your technique to defeat that
dishonesty, or that the referee has it right
and you have to correct your technique.
But if he says
"no," you have every right to ask why he is
assessing a penalty for something he did not
observe. His only possible answer is that
the other coach told him to do so. Your
answer is very simple "under the rules of
fencing you cannot do that. If you believe
I may be crossing my feet you may appoint
two observers, and have them watch both
fencers specifically for feet crossing.
However, those observers must be neutral and
not members of my opponent's club." If he
says "no, I will not do so, the penalty
stands," you should immediately appeal to
the head referee or the bout committee. The
referee must honor that appeal and request
the bout committee to hear the appeal. Do
not leave the strip and do not resume
fencing until the bout committee hears your
appeal.
In the second
case - "Excuse me sir, but why are you
asking my opponent's mother (or other
bystander) whether or not the touch
landed?" There is no possible good
answer to this
one. If the referee does not immediately
correct himself by either allowing the touch
or ruling it a doubtful hit (an honest way
of acknowledging that he could not
distinguish where the hit landed), the same
comments about the appeal process above
apply to this.
We strongly
suggest that you read every article on
refereeing by Jeff Bukantz in American
Fencing. The December issue has an
article on conflicts of interest by referees
that is directly on point for the calls
discussed above.
Fencing is a
wonderful sport. It deserves to have honest
referees who fairly manage bouts so that the
fencers can fence. It should not be the
ground for constant bickering about calls or
litigious relationships between fencers,
referees, and bout committees. Referees
will make honest errors in situations of
fact, but they should never violate the
rules of the sport. When they do, you must
politely call them to account. Not doing so
ensures that your rights as an athlete will
be trampled on, and that the sport will
suffer.