Thermoregulatory demands of épée fencing during competition

The International Olympic Committee recently introduced a consensus statement on recommendations for outdoor sports in the heat. However, indoor sports such as fencing whereby athletes are required to wear full body protective clothing when competing have received no recommendations. Such scenarios could cause high thermoregulatory demands particularly as competition progresses into latter rounds (direct elimination; DE). Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the thermoregulatory responses of épée fencing across different phases of competition (Poule and DE). Seven well-trained fencers competed in a simulated competition comprising of seven Poule and seven DE fights. Gastrointestinal temperature (T_gast), skin temperature (T_skin), mask temperature (T_mask), heart rate (HR), thermal sensation, differentiated ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and movement characteristics were collected for all fights. There was a moderate thermoregulatory demand during Poule rounds shown by post-fight T_gast (38.1 ± 0.4°C), T_skin (34.4 ± 0.7°C), and thermal sensation ratings (6 ± 1). A greater thermoregulatory and perceptual demand observed during DE rounds evidenced by T_gast (38.7 ± 0.3°C post fight), T_skin (35.1 ± 0.7°C), thermal sensation (7 ± 1), increases in T_mask across DE rounds (~1.1°C), and RPE (~15). Furthermore, a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in distance covered from DE 1 to DE 7 suggests a thermoregulatory based impact on performance. This is the first study demonstrating the thermoregulatory demands of épée fencing, highlighting the need to develop heat exertion guidelines within fencing.