Fencing referee hand signals, explained
From the stands, a fencing bout can look like the referee is doing interpretive dance. They are not. Every gesture is a specific call, and once you know a handful of them you can follow the score in real time. Here is how to read the referee, in plain English.
Starting and stopping the action
The referee runs the tempo with a few spoken commands and matching gestures:
- "En garde" tells the fencers to take their ready stance behind the on-guard lines.
- "Ready? Fence!" (or the French "Allez") starts the action.
- "Halt" stops it. Everything freezes the instant the referee calls halt, even if a blade is mid-swing.
Who gets the touch: the pointing
The simplest thing to watch is where the referee points. After a valid hit, the referee raises the arm on the side of the fencer who scored and often points toward them. Arm up on the left means the fencer on the referee's left gets the point. In epee there is no right-of-way, so if both lights come on, both arms go up and both fencers score.
Right-of-way: reading the phrase (foil and sabre)
When both fencers hit in foil or sabre, only one point is awarded, and the referee's hands explain why. They "reconstruct the phrase" with gestures before pointing to the winner:
- Attack: the referee extends a forearm forward, showing which fencer started the attack. The attack usually has priority.
- Parry and riposte: a short blocking or brushing motion of one hand, then a point forward. This says the defender knocked the blade aside and the answer counts.
- Point in line: an arm held straight out with the finger extended, meaning a fencer had their arm and point established first, which the attacker has to deal with.
- Counter-attack or "attack no": the referee waves off one fencer's action, meaning it came into a right-of-way attack and does not score.
New to the concept itself? Start with how scoring and right-of-way work.
No touch: off-target and simultaneous
- Off-target (foil): in foil, hits off the valid torso area stop the bout but do not score. The referee halts and indicates the off-target zone. The colored (usually white) light on the box means the same thing.
- Simultaneous (foil and sabre): if both fencers attack together with no clear priority, the referee pushes both arms forward at once. No touch, and the bout restarts from where it stopped.
- Both score (epee): two lights and both arms up means each fencer takes a point, which is unique to epee.
The cards: warnings and penalties
Fencing enforces its rules with cards, held up so everyone can see:
- Yellow card: a warning for a minor infraction (a small floor fault, a body block). No point changes hands the first time.
- Red card: a penalty touch. The referee awards a point to the opponent. Repeated yellow-card offenses become red cards.
- Black card: the serious one. It means exclusion from the event, usually for dangerous or unsportsmanlike conduct.
A few more you will see
- Corps-a-corps: the referee brings fists together to signal the fencers made body contact, which stops the action.
- Covering target (foil and sabre): a gesture showing a fencer blocked their own valid target with an arm or shoulder, which can annul their touch.
- Passing / crossing: if a fencer runs past their opponent, the referee halts and resets the distance.
Heading to your first event? Pair this with tournament day: what to expect and keep the glossary handy. Running the event yourself? Our pool sheet and bracket generator handle the scoring for you.
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