Buying Equipment
Excelsior and it’s members have purchased equipment from the following.
If you have questions or looking for recommendations, talk to one of the coaches as there a lot of factors to consider when buying equipment.
Vendors
Based in the United Kingdom that has Canadian locations
Based in the United States
Note: Import duties will be applied at the border. Absolute Fencing cannot provide the cost of the border fees.
Equipment terms
These are terms you will encounter when looking for equipment.
Dry
At a high level, fencing without electric scoring equipment is called dry fencing (USA) or steam fencing (United Kingdom, Australia).
Two judges are positioned behind each fencer, one on each side of the strip. The judges watched the fencer opposite to see if he was hit.
Reference: Wikipedia: Fencing_rules -> Non-electronic_scoring
Electric
The central component of the scoring system is commonly known as “the box”. In the simplest version both fencers’ weapons are connected to the box via long retractable cables. The box normally carries a set of lights to signal when a touch has been made. (Larger peripheral lights are also often used.) In foil and sabre, because of the need to distinguish on-target hits from off-target ones, special conductive clothing and wires must be worn. This includes a lamé, (a jacket of conducting cloth) for both weapons, a body cord to connect the weapon to the system, a reel of retractable cable that connects to the scoring box and in the case of sabre, a conducting mask and cuff (manchette) as the head and arms are valid target areas.
Reference: Wikipedia: Fencing_rules -> Electronic_scoring
Competition
This is simply having two blades and two body wires as compared to basic electric kit.
This is ensures that you are able to complete even when a piece of equipment breaks.