PARAFENCING
Wheelchair fencing ("Parafencing") is a fast moving game of tactics and techniques, and is one of the original sports of the Summer Paralympic Games.
Check us out on GBH News!
Aaron Askanase, a wheelchair user, had been searching for the perfect adaptive sport, and he found it: parafencing.
“I was looking for an adaptive sport that ... was going to make me feel good after I left, not in more pain,” he said.
He has been training at Boston Fencing Club for the past eight months, got a chance to test his skills Saturday against Noah Hanssen, a Paralympian who competed in Paris last summer.
“It felt good that I scored a couple points,” Askanase said.
parafencing classes
Through June 16: Mondays 5:30-6:30
Ages 14+
Our Parafencing program is designed for new and continuing fencers. Classes will be focused on the tactics and skills required for parafencing. Athletes will learn rules of right of way, technical rules of the game, and the skills required for bouting. Classes will focus on foil tactics and techniques. Athletes may choose to attend all or some weeks
Each class $30
Private lessons are available upon request
PRIVATE GROUP CLINICS
Do you have a group of athletes on your sports team, in your rehab program, or from your school who would be interested in trying parafencing? Please contact us to plan a group clinic! Clinics can be scheduled on weekdays before 4pm and on weekends. We welcome groups to our facility, and in some cases, we can come to you!
Cost is variable
Summer para week
August 4th-8th
'C' category athletes 5:30pm-6:30pm
'A' and 'B' category 6:30pm-8:00pm
Spend your summer trying something new! Para Week will give athletes the opportunity to concentrate on the sport of Parafencing for the whole week, jumpstarting your entry into the sport or giving experienced athletes an opportunity to quickly make improvements in your game and prepare for the upcoming season. Our Parafencing program is designed for new and continuing fencers. Classes will be focused on the tactics and skills required for parafencing. Athletes will learn rules of right of way, technical rules of the game, and the skills required for bouting. Classes will focus on foil tactics and techniques.
In parafencing, athletes are classified into 3 categories indicating their degree of disability:
Category A is for fencers with movement affected at a moderate to high degree in the legs or the absence of limbs. These fencers all have good sitting balance, enabling a good lunge motion forwards in attack and backwards lean in defence. They have full movement range in the fencing arm.
Category B is for fencers with coordination affected in the trunk and legs. Some are also affected to a low degree in the fencing arm. These fencers either have fair sitting balance and an unaffected fencing arm or good balance but affected fencing arm.
Category C athletes are those with a disability in all four limb and who have the lowest degree of mobility and balance.
To register, email outreach@bostonfencingclub.org with athlete full name, date of birth, category, and date(s) of class(es) planning to attend.
Pre registration by August 2nd is required
Cost is $20/60-minute class (or $75 full week) and $30/90-minute class (or $100 full week)
History of
PARAFENCING
Wheelchair fencing was first introduced in 1953 by Sir Ludwig Guttmann -- who is also the founder of the Paralympic Movement. In 1960, wheelchair fencing debuted at the first-ever Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy. Though at the time, only three medal events were contested (men’s sabre, men’s sabre team and women’s foil) and only Italian athletes competed. Today, male and female athletes compete in all three weapons (foil, epee, and sabre) and the sports is officially known as parafencing.
Classifications
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category A (athletes with full trunk movement and good seated balance)
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category B (athletes with impaired trunk and balance functions)
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category C (athletes with a disability in all four limbs, little trunk mobility, and impaired seated balance)
About PARAFENCING
Athletes compete in wheelchairs that are fixed to the floor, limiting the movement of the chair. The chairs are placed at a fixed distance, which is determined by the fencer with the shorter reach and adjusted before the start of the bout. Fencers have complete freedom of the upper body, allowing them to lean, duck, turn, and lunge in their chairs.
Athletes are divided into A, B and C classifications, depending on the strength and mobility. Class A athletes have the greatest range of mobility and strength in the hand and torso, while Class C athletes have the least.
grants and equipment
Adaptive sports grants
Trusted Vendors
Crossroads Alliance - Competition Grant
Learn More
These pages provide additional information about wheelchair fencing in America and internationally.
