1912 Olympic Games Official Report Part 2 - LA84 Foundation

THE PRINCIPLES FOR THE JUDGING.
Another important question to which the rules and regulations endeavoured
to give more definite form, was that of the method of
judging to be employed by the juries of the competitions. It is, unfortunately,
necessary to employ juries; it must be acknowledged that
their task is a most difficult and unthankful one, in fencing especially,
for, in the competitions in question, their duty is not restricted to the
mere stating of a definite fact as, for example, who has passed the
winning post first or who has jumped farthest, but it is necessary
to decide at one and the same moment, whether a hit has been made
and, if so, also to analyze the movement by which this hit has been
brought about, and thereby to come to a fair decision. This is really
a very difficult task, especially in the case of rapid fencers, the swiftness
of whose movements is, so to say, an endeavour to shuffle the
cards. Nothing, either, is more calculated to detract from the pleasure
the correct fencer has in this sport, and from the sympathy felt
by the spectators, than disputes between the members of the jury, and
inconsistencies in their decisions. Considering that an improvement
in these respects could be gained by a clearer definition, and a better
division, of the tasks of the jurymen, the Committee consulted all
available treatises on the matter and finally felt itself most attracted
by the rules proposed by Comte du Cugnon d’Alincourt, of the Société
de l’Escrime à l’épée de Paris. The merits of this paper are its
clear division of the tasks of the members of the jury, and the logical
arrangement in the method of stating the observations they have made,
whereby the phrase d’armes is decided in the quickest and most reliable
way. Wherever this system has been used in all its strictness it has
justified all expectations ; that this could not always be carried out
was quite naturally the result of the difficulty there was in obtaining
fully competent judges, and of the difficulty of bringing about uniformity
in all these international juries, whose members speak different
languages and have different customs.
The rules and regulations finally adopted proved to satisfy all
reasonable demands for clearness and conciseness; the small number
of protests, and the facility with which the matters in dispute were
decided, also speak in favour of their practical nature.
The question of the jury is the most delicate matter regarding
fencing competitions, for, on the simple, clear decisions that are given,
there rests not only the maintenance of the art of fencing, but also the
retention of the sympathetic interest of the spectators. The competition
ought to consist of the spirited bouts of the fencers, and not of
the lengthy deliberations of the jurymen. The attention of future
Olympic Committees should be carefully directed to this end.
THE TECHNICAL ARRANGEMENTS.
It is of the greatest importance to find the right place, and to make
the proper arrangements, for competitions on an extensive scale, if
the events in question are to be carried out in a natural manner, and
so that everyone can feel himself quite at home during the course
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