Although very different from the classical style we practice at CCF, you may be interested in watching the 2012 Summer Olympic fencing in London.  Unfortunately, television broadcast of fencing is somewhat overshadowed, favoring the more mainstream sports such as cycling over sabre bouts. However, if you have a mobile device and a cable subscription, you can stream nearly every bout live.

During live coverage, you can select one piste from several with bouts underway, although you will first have to deal with setting up your ap, and a rather advertisement-intensive presentation.  Here’s how:

1. Search your ap store for “NBC Olympics Live Extra” for a free download.  This is one of two aps available from NBC so be certain to get the”Live Extra” version to stream video. Download and install the ap.
2. Configure your ap by selecting your cable subscription company, and logging in with your user/password.
3. Once configured, you can select live coverage by sport; scroll to fencing, then select coverage of any active piste.

Be forewarned that this new technology does have its issues, such as unpopular ratings due to the ad-laden presentation, lack of retina display, issues with vertical/horizontal display, and lack of elegant design overall. Regardless, it works.

One of the big hurdles a viewer faces is knowing when bouts and different weapons are scheduled.  Here is the official page that will help with scheduling.  Click on the date you are interested in for events scheduled live in London. Select “My Time” in the upper-left to find when you can see the live stream in your local time zone.  You might also find the USA Fencing Team official site interesting.

Not being an Olympic fencing aficionado,  I initially found the action confusing.  The uninitiated will find that the electric scoring technology has resulted in action that is far more focused on speed in obtaining a very light touch, and far less concerned for keeping oneself safe during and after an attack.  Consequently, Olympic fencing has evolved into a very different sport. Also, bout scores are expressed in terms of positive points obtained by the successful attacker, not points against the person touched.  Bouts go to 15 points, likely due to the fast action overall.

Question or comment?  Feel free to join in the conversation by commenting below.