of a fencing match (using blunted swords
and wearing face masks with referees and an
audience) is drawn in Egypt.
1400s: The combination of the new influence of
firearms in warfare and the development of
harder metals results in less armour and
lighter swords. Bullets (from single-shot guns)
can penetrate armor, so mobility becomes more
important.
1500s: The rapier, a narrow and lightweight
sword becomes popular. (Today's epee is the
descendant.) Because men use a sword and
buckler, or shield (hence, swashbuckler),
long-bladed rapiers are developed to enable
fighters to stab from a distance. Writings on
fencing first appear. The earliest was the
Spanish Francisco Roman's treatise in 1532.
Agrippa first numbered the parries (from 1-5)
in 1568.
1600s: Non-military gentlemen begin using a
single, lightweight sword, held in one hand.
This results in the development of the small
sword (a defensive weapon), which becomes
popular with French nobility.
1754: The first record of a fencing teacher in
his own store front in the colonies (USA) ...
John Rievers opens a physical education club at
the corner of Whitehall & Stone in New York
City.
1859: The New York Athletic Club is
established. By the 1880s it is deeply involved
in fencing.
1883: The Fencers Club, the oldest continuous
running fencing club, is founded in New York
City. The first U.S. club devoted exclusively
to fencing was the New Orleans Fencing Club:
date of establishment is not known.
1888: The Amateur Athletic Union holds its
first fencing championships. Professor J. Hartl
of Vienna tours America with a women's fencing
demonstration. As a result, women's fencing
classes begin. Newspapers begin following these
students, so the women begin fencing at private
clubs.
1891: The Amateur Fencers League of America
(later USFA) is founded by a group of New
Yorkers who dislike the AAU's choice of direct
elimination for its national championships.
This group wants a tournament composed strictly
of pool play.
1892: The first AFLA National Championships are
held in New York City. Foil, dueling swords
(epee) and sabre events are held for men.
1894: The Intercollegiate Fencing Association
(IFA) is founded by Columbia, Harvard and Yale.
Annual championships are held.
1896: Fencing is included in the first Olympic
Games in Athens. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the
father of the modern Olympic Games, was a
fencer. Men's foil and sabre events are held.
Fencing is one of only four sports to have been
included in every Games since.
1900: Men's epee is added to the events at the
Olympic Games.
1904: The first and only Olympic gold medal by
an American fencer is won by Albertson Van Zo
Post, on loan to Cuba for the Games, in the
single sticks and team foil events.
1912: The first women's foil National
Championship is won by Adelaide Baylis. It
appears fencers earned subjective "form" points
from the late 1800s until approximately 1912.
This practice was discontinued after the U.S.
team returned from the Olympic Games, because
no other countries scored this way.
1913: The Federation Internationale d'Escrimeis
founded in Paris for the purpose of unifying
the sport's rules. Prior to this, Olympic
competitions were riddled with controversy when
countries couldn't agree on rules.
1919: The first time that hits received (called
"indicators") has an impact on final placement
at the National Championships, eliminating ties
and fence-offs.
1920s: The U.S. experiences a large influx of
European fencing masters, including Hungarians
Joseph Vince and George Santelli, who would
have a dramatic effect on U.S. performance
internationally.
1920: Belgian fencer Victor Boin becomes the
first athlete ever to take the Olympic Oath on
behalf of all athletes at the '20 Games.
1921: The European Championships are held in
Paris, with men's epee the only event.
1922: Men's foil and men's sabre are added to
the program of the European Championships, held
in Paris.
1924: Women's foil is added to the events at
the Olympic Games, with bouts to five touches
(same as men) but with a smaller target area
(the groin was not a valid target area).
1929: The Intercollegiate Women's Fencing
Association (IWFA) is founded by Bryn Mawr,
Cornell, New York University and the University
of Pennsylvania. Women's foil is held at the
European Championships, in Naples, Italy, for
the first time.
1932: George Calnan, a bronze medalist in epee
at the '28 Olympics, has the honor of taking
the Olympic Oath in Los Angeles.
1935: The Riposte magazine, a U.S. publication
devoted to fencing, is established by Jose R.
deCapriles.
1936: FIE changes women's Olympic bouts from
five to four touches. (Remains the rule until
1976.)
1937: The first World Championships is held in
Paris. Epee is electric at the AFLA National
Championships for the first time.
1939: The AFLA National Championships are held
in San Francisco, the first time they are held
away from the New York City metro area.
1941: The NCAA conducts its first fencing
championships at Northwestern University.
1948: The National Fencing Coaches Association
(NFCA) of America is formed.
1949: The first issue of American Fencing
magazine, the official publication of the
AFLA/USFA is printed in November.
1950: The FIE holds the first World Under-20
Championships, with men's foil the only event.
Men's sabre is added in '52, women's foil in
'55, men's epee in '56 and women's epee in '89.
The last men's three-weapon National
Championship is won by Tibor Nyilas.
1951: The NCAA championship results are used to
select an All-American team. Awards are made
retroactive to 1941.
1956: Norman C. Armitage carries the U.S. flag
into the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic
Games for the second time (also '52). He is the
second, and most recent, athlete to carry the
U.S. flag at two Olympic Games.
1957: Electric foil is used for the first time
at the National Championships. Its continuous
problems plague the events to the point that
the men's foil finals are conducted "dry."
1960: Dr. Miguel A. deCapriles of the U.S.
becomes the first non-European president of the
FIE. USA's Albie Axelrod wins a bronze medal in
foil at the Olympics, placing behind two
Soviets and above every European competitor.
1968: Janice Lee York Romary, on her sixth
Olympic Team, becomes the first woman to carry
the U.S. flag into the Opening Ceremonies in
Mexico City.
1981: Women's epee is first held at the
Division I National Championships, won by Sue
Badders.
1989: Women's epee is held at the World
Championships (in Denver, Colo.) for the first
time. Donna Stone in women's epee and Peter
Westbrook in men's sabre make the finals.
1996: Women's epee is added to the events at
the Olympic Games. The U.S. fields a team at
the Paralympic Games for the first time.