Feb 18, 2010 1:00:03 PM

The NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Committee has banned the use of transparent visor masks for NCAA competitions in epee and foil, effective immediately. The ban does not apply to sabre.

The visor masks, whose protective capabilities have been called into question, also have been banned by the United States Fencing Association and the Federation Internationale D'Escrime, two of the sport's governing bodies.

"The safety and well-being of our student-athletes are always paramount," said Wendell Jack, chair of the NCAA fencing committee and director of athletics at the California Institute of Technology. "As soon as both FIE and USFA banned the visor masks, our committee promptly communicated and decided to follow suit."

The USFA announced its decision February 9 to ban the transparent visor masks at all USFA competitions for epee and foil. That was shortly after the FIE decided "to suspend and forbid the use of the transparent visor mask in both foil and epee at all FIE official competitions until further notice."

Examination of a damaged transparent mask from a November competition concluded that the visor in question lacked a coating to protect against deterioration and scratches, and that it was improperly molded (not in accordance with FIE recommendations).

The visor masks became popular in the mid-1990s and leading into the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games due to requests from television networks to see the faces of the fencers as they compete. A few of the visors were broken during World Cup competition and were discontinued shortly thereafter. The visors began to surface again in the past few years, especially in the sabre competition.

The visor masks are still allowed for sabre, since the movements in that discipline are more of a cutting motion than pointing or thrusting. The current ban is for foil and epee only, since both are point-thrusting weapons and therefore risk damage to the visor mask.

For foil and epee competitions, schools will use standard masks that have no visor attached and are a single piece of molded wire mesh. The standard masks also do not have openings or brackets and are usually less expensive to purchase. All masks must pass a puncture-resistance test.

The NCAA uses USFA playing rules that are in effect as of October 1 of each year for all intercollegiate competition. Forty-two NCAA schools currently sponsor the sport (34 men's teams and 41 women's teams).