Will you be joining the Light Side or the dark side of the Force?
Either way, it’s time to whip out your lightsaber because the French Fencing Federation has recognized lightsaber dueling as an official sport, according to the Associated Press.
The federation has made the move in an attempt to make the sport more appealing to a younger generation, and it has designed its rules to make sporting matches visually appealing as their big-screen counterparts.
“With young people today, it’s a real public health issue. They don’t do any sport and only exercise with their thumbs,” Serge Aubailly, the federation secretary-general, said in a statement. “It’s becoming difficult to (persuade them to) do a sport that has no connection with getting out of the sofa and playing with one’s thumbs. That is why we are trying to create a bond between our discipline and modern technologies, so participating in a sport feels natural.”
Participants will be required to use an illuminated weapon — with a “blade” made of polycarbonate instead of the magnetically contained plasma used in the films. Although the weapons won’t be slicing anyone up, participants will still need to wear masks and armor to protect themselves during matches.
As part of the rules to make the new sport of lightsaber dueling aesthetically appealing, the point of the lightsaber needs to reach behind each fighter before they attempt a hit. The intention is to make fights consist of large sweeping motions rather than the quick stabs of the blade as seen in fencing. Other than that, the sport’s rules are more typical of fencing.
Points are awarded depending on where the blade makes contact — hitting the head or body is five points, arms or legs gets is three, and hands is one — and the first person to get 15 points wins.
If the match is not over after three minutes, then the person with the highest score automatically wins.
By: Maytinee Kramer
