I get so hot in my fencing gear. How do I stay cool, and when is overheating dangerous?
Getting very hot and sweaty in fencing gear is normal, but it is manageable, and real heat illness is a serious warning you should never fence through. The jacket, underarm protector (plastron) and mask trap heat, and sabre and foil fencers add a scoring jacket (lamé) on top. Bouts are short, which helps, but long practices, back-to-back pool bouts and venues with weak air conditioning add up. Summer training in an uncooled gym is hard on everyone, and people who run hot, are new to exercise, or take medication that affects heat regulation should talk to their doctor and tell their coach before starting.
The biggest easy win is letting heat out between bouts: take your mask off, unzip your jacket partway, and step somewhere cooler. Always zip fully and keep the plastron on while fencing. Swap cotton T-shirts for a thin, sweat-wicking base layer. When replacing gear, modern stretch jackets and knickers are often much lighter and more breathable than older heavy cotton ones, and higher-rated gear is not automatically hotter. A removable, washable mask pad helps too. Drink cold water throughout, and heavy sweaters may benefit from a sports drink or electrolytes. Your body also adapts to heat over a week or two of regular training.
For tournaments, pack a small cooler with frozen water bottles, a towel you can soak in ice water for your neck, and a spare dry shirt. Cooling your face, neck and forearms with cold water between bouts works quickly. Find the coolest spot in the venue to wait between rounds instead of sitting fully kitted up in a stuffy corner. On a hot day, save energy in warm-ups and treat cooling off as part of your preparation.
Know the warning signs, which follow CDC guidance. Heat exhaustion looks like heavy sweating, cold, pale and clammy skin, a fast weak pulse, nausea or vomiting, muscle cramps, weakness, dizziness, headache or fainting: stop, move somewhere cool, loosen or remove your gear, use cool wet cloths and sip water, and get medical help right away if you vomit, symptoms worsen, or they last over an hour. Heat stroke means a very high body temperature, hot red dry or damp skin, a fast strong pulse, confusion or passing out: call 911, move them somewhere cooler, cool them with wet cloths, and do not give them anything to drink. Tell the referee and medical staff; no bout is worth it.