Deeply rooted in traditions of sportsmanship, fencing has a claim on the core value of fair play that few other sports can boast.

So strong is fencing’s code of honor that acknowledging a touch from an opponent is seen as the moral obligation of any fencer, which until the advent of electronic systems in 1936 was a reliable way of keeping score.

Understanding the importance of this tradition, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) set up a Fair Play Council at its 2015 Congress in China, and is actively promoting the ideals of sportsmanship at all competitions, starting with the 2016 Juniors and Cadets World Championships in Bourges, France, in April.

In this way, the FIE helps to underpin the Olympic values that the IOC-recognised International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) has been promoting since its inception in 1963. The CIFP hosts traditional award events that recognize outstanding instances of fair play and organizes seminars and other educational initiatives aimed at educating the youth worldwide, including with a major presence at the Youth Olympic Games since their inception in Singapore 2010.