Finally!! Foil Mask news...

[LTranter]

You can do something about that pesky rivet. A piece of cardboard or closed cell foam can be taped down over it. Probably best not to use duct tape, the edges will roll and get in his hair. Medical tape might work well. Or a large bandaid dressing with a piece of cardboard under it.

Thanks for the reply. As for patching the rivet, if Tim's head hadn't grown so much, that would be an option, but I think part of the problem is that this mask is just an ill-fit at this time, maybe even what cause the rivet problem in the first place.

Thanks again.

L

[Purple Fencer]

if Tim's head hadn't grown so much...

Stop feeding him...problem solved...

[telkanuru]

Well, if he's a teen, the head-growing thing is part of a natural process. A lot of young men have big heads.

[finnfence]

Sorry, I messed up and grab my younger siblings lame by mistake. If you destroy the lame by marking it you are hurting the supposed sibling not the fencer.

I don't think that would be a real issue at the FIE event level, but even supposing that it is, I think the additional pressure from an outraged sibling would help reinforce the message that cheating (or being very disorganized) has consequences. Maybe it would be too harsh to do that at national level tournaments, but at WCs, wouldn't it be reasonable to expect more responsible behavior from fencers, just as we expect more from the refs?

[LTranter]

Stop feeding him...problem solved...

I knew sending him to college was a bad idea.

L

[Empty Wallet]

I don't think that would be a real issue at the FIE event level, but even supposing that it is, I think the additional pressure from an outraged sibling would help reinforce the message that cheating (or being very disorganized) has consequences. Maybe it would be too harsh to do that at national level tournaments, but at WCs, wouldn't it be reasonable to expect more responsible behavior from fencers, just as we expect more from the refs?

I guess by this logic if a blade fails on the strip we should snap it in half, that will teach someone something.

It is not an illegal or dangerous lame, it is one that does not fit properly Borrow one at an even because we have failed conductivity, but get it destroyed because it does not fit properly, puhlease!

As my name indicates, it costs far too much already without going to punitive extremes.

EW

[telkanuru]

Not as extreme, but if you show up with non-conforming equipment which cannot be fixed between bouts (like a lame), wouldn't it make sense to confiscate it for the duration of the tournament, just as weapons are confiscated for the duration of the bout to prevent reuse?

[finnfence]

I guess by this logic if a blade fails on the strip we should snap it in half, that will teach someone something.

It is not an illegal or dangerous lame, it is one that does not fit properly Borrow one at an even because we have failed conductivity, but get it destroyed because it does not fit properly, puhlease!

As my name indicates, it costs far too much already without going to punitive extremes.

EW

I guess for me, the difference is that conductivity is not something that a fencer can really see for himself, easily and obviously, and it's also very easy for a blade or a lame to fail suddenly, without the fencer being able to know it. But the illegal fit of a lame? That's something that is obvious to anyone with a mirror, and it's not something that can happen suddenly, without the fencer's knowledge. It's a case where, unlike conductivity failures or electrical weapon failures, the fencer can only claim in his defense 1) I was trying to cheat or 2) I didn't bother to read the rules about lame fit or 3) I'm completely disorganized and grabbed a lame that wasn't my regulation one, by mistake. None of those things seem to me to justify the cheating that will occur if the lame is worn in a competition. And to me, the higher the stakes, the bigger the penalty for cheating should be, because the incentive to cheat is higher, and so the incentive not to cheat has to be raised, too. But I'm not a psychologist, and maybe you're right - maybe even at the FIE level, it's still too harsh to mark something so it can only be used for training afterwards.