USA Fencing
USA Fencing Rules
Every sanctioned event runs under the same rulebook.
Fencers are expected to know the rules they compete under. What follows is where they are published, and the ones that decide bouts most often.
Before your first bout
One rulebook
Every sanctioned event runs the same rules, wherever in the country it is held.
Kit is checked
Inspected before your first bout. Anything that fails is out for the day.
Cards, mostly for kit
Most first cards are equipment or footwork, not anything anyone meant to do.
For spectators
There is a separate code of conduct for spectators, and it is the one worth reading if you are a parent. It covers conduct towards the officials running the event — who at a local event are very often volunteers, and sometimes teenagers.
The documents
USA Fencing's own, and always the version to trust. They open in a new window.
- Athlete Handbook ↗
2025-26
How the competitive season works — eligibility, tournament structure, and how national points are earned. The one to read first if a fencer is starting to enter events seriously.
- USA Fencing Rulebook ↗
November 2025
The rules every sanctioned event in the United States runs under, following the international FIE rules in American terminology. Reach for it to settle a specific question, not to learn the sport.
- Penalty Chart ↗
November 2025
One page setting out what earns a yellow, red or black card. Worth a look before a first tournament — most first cards are for kit or for stepping off the strip, not for anything anyone did wrong on purpose.
- Codes of Conduct ↗
Current
Separate codes for members and for spectators. The spectator one is the one parents should read — it covers conduct in the hall, which is the thing that most often goes wrong.
The authority on this
Rules and compliance at USA Fencing ↗The rulebook and penalty chart are reissued during a season. We check this page weekly, but theirs is the one that decides a bout.
Penalty cards
Penalty cards
Three cards, in order. A first offence can go straight to red or black if it warrants it.
Yellow
Warning
Stands for the whole bout. The next minor infraction becomes a red.
Typically
Turning your back, touching the strip with the unarmed hand, minor equipment problems.
Red
Penalty point
One hit awarded to the opponent. Can be given first, without a yellow, for a serious offence.
Typically
Jostling, brutal actions, covering the target area, repeating a yellow-card offence.
Black
Disqualification
Immediate exclusion from the tournament and the venue, followed by a suspension.
Typically
Gross unsportsmanlike conduct, cheating, tampering with a weapon, refusing to shake hands.
Passivity cards
A separate set, for fencers who stop fencing. They do not carry over into the standard cards.
P-Yellow
Passivity warning
The first warning for non-combativity. Given to both fencers at once unless the score is uneven.
Typically
Roughly a minute with no hits scored and no attacks made.
P-Red
Passivity point
One hit awarded to the opponent. Can be given more than once.
Typically
Continued lack of combativity after a P-Yellow.
P-Black
Passivity loss
Immediate loss of the match on the current score, or a random draw if it is tied.
Typically
Persistent passivity once P-Reds are exhausted — mainly in team matches.
“The entire secret of fencing lies in two things: to give and not to receive.”
MolièreLe Bourgeois Gentilhomme, 1670