Wheelchair Fencing

Fencing is a sport discipline based on offense and defense through a weapon.
  

It comprises three specialties: Foil, épée and sabre

Each specialty has its own characteristics and rules. This sport has a Olympic and Para-Olympic circuit that foresees the same rules and techniques, adapted to the staticity of offence on wheelchairs
Wheelchair fencing is performed only by athletes with physical disabilities (amputees, paraplegic, quadriplegic, poliomyelitic, hemiplegic, athletes with mild spasticity). The use of weapons does not allow person with mental deficits to perform fencing.
On the base of their disability, athletes are divided into three functional categories, corresponding to three medical classes:
 
1. Category A: class 3-4  
2. Category B: class 2  
3. Category C: class 1a\1b
 
Class 1a: athletes with no sitting balance, presenting a handicapped arm, no efficient elbow extension, no residual function/holding power. The weapon must be fixed to the hand with a bandage of the hand;  
Class 1b: athletes with no sitting balance, with sufficient elbow extension but poor flexure (bending) of fingers, so that the weapon must be fixed to the hand with a bandage of the hand;  
Class 2: athletes with low sitting balance and normally fencing  arm;  
Class 3: ahtletes with good sitting balance although without support of legs, with normally fencing arm;  
Class 4: ahtletes with good sitting balance, with active supp.ort of legs, with normally fencing arm.   

 
Besides normal circuits of federal competitions, some particular competitions integrate wheelchair fencing and “standing” fencing. Integrated competition thus allow able-bodied athletes be seated on a wheelchair and fight against disabled athletes in a context of competitive spirit, passion, equality and sharing make sport a means of integration and cohesion.
Integrated sport is the objective of this event, thus the Club Circolo Scherma Flaiano Pescara   holds a foil “integrated team completion”.
On the base of the number of participants, two or more mixed teams will be built, made up of both disabled and non-disabled athletes. They will all be sitting on wheelchairs to compete for victory in single assaults of 5 thrusts, each lasting 3 minutes. The teams which obtain the higher number of victories will be the winner
According to the number of teams formed, organizers will decide whether there are direct elimination or (example: two teams fight for the first place in a sole assault)  legs in case of four participating teams; in legs, each team will fight all the other ones, then a knockout phase will follow; in the end, the final encounter, with matches being determined by scores obtained in legs (example: the team with the best score will face the one with the worst score). Also a fight between third and fourth placement is foreseen.
In the organizing the assaults, no distinction is made between male and female categories, while disability categories will be considered, so that athletes with the same abilities/disabilities will face one another.

Regolamento della Scherma in Carrozzina

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