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This page explains what governing bodies, standards bodies and researchers publish. It is not a substitute for lessons from a qualified coach, for a qualified armourer's checks or for medical advice.
Separate competitions, separate rankings
The FIE tells competitions apart by weapon, by the competitors' sex, by age and by whether they are individual or team (Organisation Rules, August 2026, o.9). It keeps senior, junior and cadet individual rankings and senior and junior team rankings (o.108 and o.109), and announces the first-ranked fencer of each individual ranking at the end of a named championship (o.108.3, set out below). Article numbers below are from the August 2026 Organisation Rules.
The official FIE competitions
The FIE lists its official competitions as (o.3):
- fencing at the Olympic Games;
- the World Championships in all categories;
- the Grands Prix;
- the cadet, junior and senior World Cup competitions;
- the junior and senior Zonal Championships;
- Satellite competitions;
- FIE-approved international competitions with more than five nationalities.
Every competitor, coach, referee or designated official at an official FIE competition must hold an international licence for the current season (o.2.2). The FIE also recognises the same Regional Games as the IOC where fencing is on the programme, such as the Mediterranean, Pan American and Central American and Caribbean Games, plus the Commonwealth Games (o.44.1).
What makes a World Cup
To count as a World Cup, an individual senior event in Europe needs fencers from at least eight countries, including at least ten fencers from the FIE top 32 representing at least five countries. Outside Europe the requirement is at least five countries, and junior individual events also need at least five (o.4.1 and o.4.2). The criteria further require at least four FIE A or B grade referees of different nationalities, scoring equipment approved by the SEMI (the FIE's equipment commission), a doctor on site throughout, and anti-doping testing (o.4.3 to o.4.10). The FIE Congress of 22 November 2025 amended these World Cup admission criteria with application from the 2026-2027 season.
Championships and team events
- The Senior World Championships have twelve events: men's and women's individual and team foil, epee and sabre (o.36).
- The Junior and Cadet World Championships have twelve individual events, six junior and six cadet, and six junior team events (o.37).
- The Senior Team World Cup consists of five competitions, across all continents if possible, and the Junior Team World Cup of eight, with one team per weapon per country (o.41).
- At the Senior World Championships each nation may enter four fencers per weapon individually and one team per weapon; at the Cadet World Championships three per weapon; at the Junior World Championships four per event and one team (o.57 and o.59).
How individual events are run, including the Formula A used at Grand Prix and Senior World Cups, is on the bouts and formats page.
How the individual rankings are counted
Which results count
| Ranking | Results counted | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Senior individual | Best five results from World Cup, Grand Prix or Satellite events, plus the World Championships or Olympic Games and the Zonal Championships | o.108.1.a |
| Junior individual | Best six World Cup results, plus the World Championships and the Zonal Championships | o.108.1.b |
| Cadet individual | Best six World Cup results, plus the World Championships | o.108.1.c |
The rankings roll. Points from the first event of the current season replace those from the first event of the previous season, and so on through the calendar (o.108.1.d).
Points by placing
| Placing | Points (before any multiplier) |
|---|---|
| 1st | 32 |
| 2nd | 26 |
| Each 3rd | 20 |
| 5th to 8th | 14 |
| 9th to 16th | 8 |
| 17th to 32nd | 4 |
| 33rd to 64th | 2 |
| 65th to 96th | 1 |
| 97th to 128th | 0.5 |
| 129th to 256th | 0.25 |
Source: o.108.2.a. Only fencers who reach a direct elimination table score points (o.108.2.b to f).
Multipliers by competition
| Competition | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| World Cup | x1 |
| Grand Prix and Zonal Championships | x1.5 |
| Senior and Junior World Championships, individual events | x2.5 |
| Olympic Games, individual events | x3.0; fourth place is awarded 54 points |
Source: o.108.2.b to f. Where two fencers finish level in the ranking, the tie is broken by the number of first places, then second places, and so on (o.108.1.e). The first-ranked senior fencer in each ranking is announced at the end of the Senior World Championships or the Olympic Games; the junior and cadet ranking winners are announced at the end of the Junior World Championships (o.108.3).
The team ranking
A senior team's ranking counts its best four Team World Cup results plus the World Championships or Olympic Games and the Zonal Championships. Team points run from 64 for first place down to 4 for 33rd to 64th, and are doubled at the World Team Championships (o.109). The senior team ranking matters for the Olympics: LA28 team places come from the FIE Official Senior Team Ranking of 1 April 2028 (FIE LA28 Qualification System, version of 12 May 2026). See the Olympic and Paralympic programme.
At Team World Cups the first four teams are placed in the table by the FIE team ranking, and the remaining ranked teams by drawing lots in pairs (o.102.1).
Pools at World Cups and Grand Prix events
Pools are normally of 7 and 6 fencers. At World Cup and Grand Prix events the organising country may add fencers of its own nationality so that every pool has 7 (o.67). In the Formula A used at those events, the 16 highest-ranked entrants on the FIE ranking are exempt from the preliminary phase (o.83 to o.85).
The nations' prize
The Grand Prix des Nations, the FIE gold medal, goes each year in the cadet, junior, senior and veteran categories to the nation with the most gold medals across that category's World Championships individual and team events, with silver and then bronze counts as tie-breaks (o.110).