VII. Directing
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VII. Directing
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June 4, 1936
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12
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en
VII. DIRECTING
The Start of the Bout
When you act as director in a tournament, you may also have to assume the duties of a master of ceremonies. Frequently the Bout Committee or organizing committee merely hands you a score sheet, with the names of the contestants written in, and it is up to you to get the tournament going. Now and then, judges are assigned to you. Often you have to select them yourself from the members of the audience or from the inactive fencers.
Your first duty is to call the competitors’ names, so that they will be ready when the bouts are called. You should check up to see that all who are scheduled to fence are present, and you should instruct them to sit nearby to avoid unnecessary delay.
Immediately thereafter you should place your judges in such a way as to provide the contestants with approximately equal judging strength on both sides of the strip. If one judge is notably weak in ability, and you have to use him, you should place him on your side where you will have a better opportunity to detect and correct his mistakes. Place your stronger judges on the other side of the strip.
Then you should instruct your judges as to the manner in which you wish them to call touches. I suggest that you follow the plan outlined in my articles on judging. Have them stand a little behind and to the side of the opponent of the fencer they are watching, so that you may have an unobstructed view of the play. Have them signal a touch, whether fair or foul, by a decisive upward movement of the hand. Impress upon them the desirability of quick and definite reaction. Admonish them also not to call halt except when an accident occurs.
If at all possible, avoid keeping score while you direct. Ask the Bout Committee to appoint an official scorer. If this is not possible, pass the job on to any capable member of the audience. Scoring is distracting, and may affect the accuracy of your judgment. Further, the divided attention of the director may result in scoring errors. Of course, if no scorer is available, you will have to perform his duties.
You should instruct the scorer to announce the score of the bout in a loud voice after each touch, so that both the contestants and the audience may be kept duly informed of the progress of the bout. When one contestant has three touches (in foil and sabre) or after each touch in epee, they should change sides on the strip. The scorer should announce the change, and AT THIS POINT, should call the next pair of contestants to be ready.
Much time can be saved in the running of a tournament if the bouts follow one another without long intervals of waiting. Immediately at the conclusion of each bout, the next pair should be called by the scorer. If they have been forewarned at the change of sides, no time will be lost in gathering equipment, testing weapons, and the like.
Incidentally, in major tournaments like the Olympics, the Nationals, and the Intercollegiates, it is customary to enforce strictly the rules governing specifications of weapons. Frequently the weapons are examined beforehand and marked with an identifying sign. At the start of the bout, it is the duty of the director to check up on the armament of the competitors, and to make sure that they comply with the rules.
You should also glance at the equipment of the fencers to see that they are adequately protected. In some of the competitions for beginners you will find young fellows who wear no glove on the sword hand, or who use masks without bibs, or jackets which are badly torn. These are all dangerous. Although you are under no legal liability for negligence in inspecting equipment (Rule I-B-1), it is always best to take precautions against even slight injury to the fencers.
Next you should look at the length of the strip in order that you may acquaint the fencers with the rules on retreating. If the strip is the standard 40 feet in length, there is no trouble. But some clubs have short strips, 30 and 36 feet in length, and the rules may have to be modified to allow adequate retreating distance to each contestant. In international competitions strip lengths of 60 and 90 feet are often used. In case of doubt it is best to have a conference with the Bout Committee, and the contestants on your strip should be apprised of the result.
The strip should be marked clearly in the middle. (The markings to warn the fencer that he is approaching the end of the strip vary, and I shall discuss these with you later.) Note, however, that the international rules provide that two guard lines should be marked, two meters (6 feet) on each side of the center line. At the start of the bout, the fencers are placed so that their back foot on the guard position is squarely upon the guard line. If no guard lines are available, the distance between the fencers should be such that neither fencer can touch the other without a "jump-lunge." In other words, the fencers must be "out of distance." Some directors achieve this result by having the fencers "cross blades" and then each take a step back. I prefer to avoid those commands, and simply place the contestants on guard so far apart that the tips of their weapons would barely touch on the guard position.
When the fencers are properly placed, you call "on guard" and step away from the strip. You may, if the circumstances warrant it, announce to the audience the names of the competitors. Then you simply give the command "Play" or "Fence" and the bout is on.
The rules allow you a position not more than 4 meters (13 feet) away from the strip. I advise you to be not less than six feet away. If you are too close, you cannot see the play well. You must be far enough from the fencers that you can see the play of both. Of this, more anon.
M. A. de C.
