If you’ve been at enough competitions you know this moment by heart. The score is 14:14. Your fencer lunges, gets hit and misses her touch, and immediately – without even a split second of hesitation – points their weapon at the referee.

The arena goes quiet. Well, as quiet as a fencing venue ever gets. Everyone watching knows what’s happening. The fencer is asking: “Check my weapon. I think I hit too, but it didn’t register. Maybe my equipment is broken. Annul that touch against me.”

And now the referee begins what looks like a complicated ritual – inspecting the bell guard, checking connections, examining the tip, pressing it with their palm. The whole time, you’re sitting there with your heart pounding, wondering: Will the referee annul the touch? Will the score go back to 14:14? Or will it advance to 14:15, and your fencer is eliminated?

This happens constantly in epee. Less so in foil and sabre, but it happens. And if you’ve watched enough bouts, you’ve probably wondered: What exactly is the referee checking? Why do they sometimes annul the touch and sometimes not? 

This post is going to walk you through the entire process – what the rules say, what the referee is looking for, and what actually determines whether a touch gets annulled. The rules are clearly specified in the FIE technical rules book for every weapon (rule t. 80-81 for foil, t.93095 for epee, and t.99 for sabre)  but as often happens with the rules, they are a bit cryptic for non professionals. So while this post is detailed and a somewhat technical, I tried to organize all this information in a way that makes sense for parents and newer fencers.

Why This Happens Most in Epee

Before we dive into the mechanics, let me explain why this whole weapon-check situation happens so much more in epee than in foil or sabre.

In epee, the mechanism in the tip is incredibly delicate. Unlike in foil, epee’s tip has two springs – a pressure spring, which like in foil is responsible to create a resistance to a certain pressure, and a contact spring, which is unique only to epee. That little spring inside deforms from repeated touches. This is the most common point of failure in epee. And here’s the kicker – the scoring machine in epee doesn’t give you any warning when something’s wrong. In foil, the machine screams when something malfunctions and the tip falls out less often than in epee due to the insulation tape that covers the top of the blade and tip. In sabre, there are no moving parts, so most of the failures are body cord related. Also, in right of way weapons the referee has a liberty to decide about the validity of a touch based on the priority and completely ignore the malfunctioning weapon. He will request the fencer to replace it, but nevertheless award the touch based on the priority of the fencing phrase.

In epee on the other side the weapon might just stop registering touches, and you don’t know until you realize you’re getting hit but not hitting back.

Of course, in most of the cases the touch is not registered not because of equipment malfunctioning, but due to other reasons. These are the most typical ones:

1. The hit was made but the time between her opponent touch and her hit exceeded allowed lock-up time in epee (40ms) for registering double touches and thus the machine prevented registration of her touch
2. The hit was within the lock-up time but the pressure of the tip was insufficient to establish the touch (less than 750 gram) or the tip landed flat
3. The tip glided through the surface without being sufficiently pressed or missed the target completely

The weapon check request is the fencer’s way of saying: “I’m pretty sure I hit. If my equipment is broken, that explains why my touch didn’t register. Check it and annul that touch against me.”

But here’s what most people don’t understand: even if the weapon IS broken, the touch doesn’t automatically get annulled. The referee has to determine WHY it’s broken – and whether that’s the fencer’s fault or not.

The Two Critical Rules

Before the referee checks anything, there are two rules every fencer needs to know:

Rule #1: Ask immediately

You must ask for the weapon check the instant the referee stops the bout to award the touch against you. If the referee says “Fence!” and restarts the bout, you’ve lost your right to annul that touch. Even if you discover two seconds later that your weapon is broken, that previous touch stands.

I’ve seen fencers lose matches because they hesitated too long.

Rule #2: Never check it yourself

Do not – and I mean DO NOT – test your weapon yourself by tapping it on the floor or your shoe or by pressing the tip with your finger. I see fencers do this all the time. They get hit, they tap their tip on the strip to see if the light comes on, it doesn’t, and THEN they ask the referee to check.

Too late. You just forfeited your right to annul the touch.

Even if the referee checks your weapon and confirms it’s broken, the touch against you stands. They’ll tell you to replace it or the body cord, but that touch you just received? It counts.

Why? Because the rules say so. The referee must be the first and only person to inspect the weapon after you request the check. If you’ve already touched it to anything, you’ve contaminated the inspection.

So the only correct move is: Point weapon at referee immediately. Don’t touch anything. Wait.

What The Referee Is Actually Checking

Now let’s walk through what happens when the referee accepts your request to check the weapon. This is where it gets detailed, so pay attention.

The referee follows a specific sequence. They’re not just randomly looking at your equipment – they’re checking specific points of potential failure in a logical order. And at each step, they’re asking: “Is this the fencer’s fault, or is this equipment failure beyond the fencer’s control?”

If it’s the fencer’s fault – meaning the fencer failed to maintain their equipment properly – the touch stands. If it’s legitimate equipment failure that the fencer couldn’t have prevented, the touch gets annulled.

Let me walk you through the inspection step by step, exactly as the referee does it.

Step 1: Inside the Bell Guard

The referee first looks inside the guard to check the connection between the body cord socket and the weapon’s internal wiring.

What they’re looking for:

• Is the body cord plug actually connected to the socket inside the guard?
• Is it fastened properly with the little fastener?
• Are the wires coming from the blade to the socket intact, or are they torn?

If the socket is disconnected or not fastened: Touch stands. Not annulled. It’s the fencer’s responsibility to ensure their body cord is properly connected to their weapon. The referee will point this out, tell you to fix it, and the bout continues with the touch counting against you.

If the wires are torn: Touch stands. Not annulled. Also, the referee will confiscate your weapon because it’s non-functional. You’ll need a backup weapon to continue. But that touch? It counts.

The logic here is simple: maintaining your weapon’s basic integrity is your responsibility. If your wiring is torn or your socket is loose, you should have caught that during the bout and ask the referee’s permission to fix it.

Step 2: The Body Cord Connection at Your Back

If everything inside the guard looks good, the referee moves to check the body cord connection at the reel socket behind the fencer.

What they’re looking for:

• Is the body cord plug actually connected to the reel socket?
• Is the reel socket’s fastener working and in good condition?

If the body cord is disconnected BUT the reel socket fastener is working fine: Touch stands. Not annulled. It’s your responsibility to make sure you’re plugged in properly. The referee will tell you to reconnect, the score advances to your opponent, and you resume from the en garde lines.

I’ve seen this happen when fencers retreat quickly and the body cord pops out because they didn’t secure it well enough. That’s on you.

However – and this is important – if the reel socket’s fastener is broken, missing, or not securing properly and the plug is out of the socket: Touch is ANNULLED. This isn’t your fault. The venue’s equipment failed. The referee will call the armorer to fix or replace the reel. The score goes back to what it was before that touch, and you resume from the same position on the strip where the action was halted.

I’ve seen referees check this in different orders – sometimes they check the back connection first, sometimes the bell guard first. Either way is fine. The point is they check both before moving forward.

Step 3: The Tip of the Epee

If both the bell guard area and the back connection pass inspection, now – and only now – the referee examines the tip of your weapon.

This is done in a very specific sequence.

First: Are both screws present?

The referee checks if one or both of the tiny screws holding the tip assembly together are missing.

If one screw is missing: The referee STOPS. Does not check further. Touch stands. Not annulled.

Why? Because it’s your responsibility to maintain your weapon. One missing screw means your weapon is non-conformant, and you should have tightened the screws properly before the bout.

If both screws are missing: Here’s where it gets weird. If BOTH screws are missing, the tip will have fallen out. When the referee inspects the blade, they’ll see this immediately, and they WILL annul the touch.

Wait, what? One screw missing = touch stands. Two screws missing = touch annulled?

Yes. I know it seems backwards and illogical. You’d think two missing screws shows MORE negligence than one, right?

But here’s the thing: any rule here would be “unfair” to someone. If we don’t annul touches when screws are missing, it’s unfair to the receiving fencer whose weapon broke. If we DO annul touches when screws are missing, it’s unfair to the scoring fencer whose opponent didn’t maintain their equipment.

So the rules just draw a clear line. Both screws missing = obvious catastrophic failure, touch annulled. One screw missing = maintenance issue, touch stands.

Is it perfectly logical? No. But it’s clear and consistent. You just need to know it and accept it.

Second: Is the barrel tight?

If both screws are present, the referee checks that the barrel is screwed down tightly.

If the barrel is loose: The referee stops. Touch stands. Not annulled. This is a maintenance issue – you should have tightened your barrel before the bout.

Third: Does the weapon register a touch?

Only after verifying that both screws are present and the barrel is tight does the referee finally test whether the weapon actually registers a touch. They press the tip with their palm while watching the scoring box.

If the light stays OFF: Touch is ANNULLED. The referee has established that the weapon (or body cord) genuinely wasn’t functioning during that last action. Nothing was the fencer’s fault – it’s just equipment failure. The score goes back, the bout resumes from where it was halted, and the referee helps diagnose whether it’s the weapon, body cord or scoring apparatus that needs fixing or replacing. And of course, a snapped weapon automatically annuls the touch.

If the light comes ON: Touch stands. Your weapon works fine. You just didn’t hit, or didn’t hit hard enough, glided through the surface, or hit outside the lock-out time. The opponent’s touch counts, and you resume from the en garde lines.

The Sad Reality of Late Discovery

Here’s a scenario I’ve seen too many times:

Your fencer gets hit. They think maybe they were a bit slow. Okay, fine. Next exchange, they get hit again. Hmm, that felt close. Third exchange, they get hit AGAIN, and now they’re certain – “My weapon isn’t working!”

They ask the referee to check. The referee tests it. Sure enough, the weapon doesn’t register touches. It’s broken.

But here’s the problem: only the LAST touch gets annulled. The two previous touches stand, even though the weapon was obviously broken for those too.

This feels brutally unfair, and parents always ask me: “But the weapon was clearly broken for all three touches! Why don’t they annul all of them?”

Because the rules only allow annulment for the touch immediately preceding the weapon check request. The referee can only state with certainty that the weapon was broken only during the last action, but nobody can tell anything about the previous ones. So once the bout has restarted, previous touches are locked in.

Could the fencer have asked to check earlier? In hindsight, yes. But in real time, with adrenaline pumping and everything happening in milliseconds, it’s genuinely hard to tell whether you missed, hit late, or your weapon malfunctioned.

Even coaches, strip coaching their fencers from the sideline, sometimes can’t tell. That 40-millisecond lock-out time is so short that judging whether a double touch occurred within that window is often impossible with the naked eye.

Strategic Considerations

Now that you understand the mechanics, let’s talk about how to think about this strategically.

Before the bout:

Check your weapon obsessively. Professional fencers check their equipment between every bout, sometimes between every pool bout. They test the tip, ensure screws are tight, verify body cord soundness. They know that a single touch can decide a match.

Your fencer should develop the same habits. Before stepping on strip:

• Test the weapon on the shoe (lights up?)
• Check that both tip screws are present and tight
• Verify the barrel is screwed down
• Ensure body cord is firmly connected and fastened at both ends
• Have backup equipment ready

During the bout:

Pay attention to whether your touches are registering. If something feels off – if you’re pretty sure you hit but the light didn’t come on – don’t wait for three touches to pass. Ask the referee to check after the first suspicious touch.

Yes, you might be wrong. The referee might test your weapon and find it works fine. That’s okay. Better to check and be wrong than to lose three touches to a broken weapon because you weren’t sure.

The Bottom Line

The fencers who succeed are the ones who take equipment maintenance seriously.

Your weapon is your tool. Your only tool. In a sport where a single touch can eliminate you from a tournament, where 14:14 can go either way on one action, you cannot afford to have equipment failures that could have been prevented.

Check your weapon before every bout. During the bout, pay attention to whether your touches are registering. If something feels wrong, ask immediately – don’t wait. And for the love of all that is holy, don’t tap your weapon on the floor to test it yourself before asking the referee to check.

The rules are clear. The inspection process is systematic. The referee isn’t trying to be difficult – they’re just following the protocol to determine whether equipment failure is legitimate or preventable.

Now you know what they’re looking for. You know what gets a touch annulled and what doesn’t. You know the weird rule about one screw versus two screws.

Armed with this knowledge, make sure your equipment is in perfect condition before you step on that strip. Because in a 14:14 situation, the last thing you want is for a preventable equipment failure to decide the bout.