What happens if neither fencer attacks?
A · Advanced · Conduct and refereeing · 2 of 3If a minute of fencing passes without a hit, the referee calls halt. In a direct elimination bout both fencers get a red "P" card, which gives a hit to each opponent. If it happens a second time, a black P card ends the bout: the fencer who is behind loses, or the lower-seeded one if they are level.
How it works
- The trigger: "one minute of fencing without a hit or without a hit scored off the target".
- Halt: the referee calls it at once, as a decision of fact.
- First time, direct elimination: "the Referee sanctions both fencers with a P-red card".
- Second time, scores unequal: a P-black card for "the fencer with the lower score". The other fencer wins the bout.
- Second time, scores level: a P-black card for the fencer with the lower initial seeding. The higher seed wins.
- Teams: the same steps, applied to both teams and then to the team behind or the lower seed.
- The clock resets: after each hit, each off-target hit, each annulled hit, each penalty hit and at the start of each period or relay.
- This bout only: P-cards are valid for that bout or match and do not carry over.
- Kept separate: P-cards are recorded separately and do not add to other cards.
- Not at the last hit: no P-card may be given at 14-14 in an individual bout or 44-44 in a team match.
- Not in extra time: when scores are level at the end of regulation time, the deciding minute applies and this rule does not.
- Still ranked: a fencer who loses by a P-black card is ranked as having lost the bout, not excluded.
The glossary has the unwillingness to fight entry, the penalty hit, the red card, the black card and the bout.
Tricky cases
A minute passes with no hit and the fencer in front is the one refusing to engage. Who is penalised the second time?
The fencer with the lower score. The rule does not ask who was more passive.
Both fencers get a P-red card. Does the score change?
Yes, for both. A red card is a penalty hit, so each fencer's opponent gains one.
An off-target hit in foil lands after 50 seconds. Does the minute keep running?
No. The minute starts again after each hit off the target.
Is a fencer who loses on a P-black card thrown out of the tournament?
No. They are ranked as having lost that bout. An ordinary black card is the one that excludes.
Why the rule exists
A fencer with a lead has every reason to stay out of distance and let the clock run, and an opponent who cannot catch them has little reason to walk on to a counter-attack. The result was bouts where nothing happened. The one-minute rule puts a cost on doing nothing and puts most of it on the fencer who is behind.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Individual direct elimination | P-red to both, then P-black to one | FIE t.124.1 |
| Team matches | The same, for teams | FIE t.124.2 |
| Summary table | The table also prints a three-step line of P-yellow, P-red and P-black. Which events use it was not established | FIE t.170 |
| Level at the end of time | The deciding minute, not this rule | FIE t.124.3; FIE t.40.3 |
From the rule book
Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, Technical Rules (August 2026), articles t.40, t.41, t.124 and t.170. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FIE Technical Rules (PDF).