National open, piste 7
You're refereeing. You transmit results to the FFE through Belle Poule. Paak has nothing to say that day.
The management software that speaks fencing
Paak already manages your members, dues, teams and compliance. For fencing it goes further: foil, epee and sabre in distinct configurations (each weapon has its own statistics and rules), live Red/Green scoreboard, FIE indicator computed automatically, FFE licence, ranking from NC to International.
Three weapons, three distinct logics
Generic software treats foil, epee and sabre as a single discipline. In reality, the three weapons have structurally different rules: target, priority (right-of-way), how a touch is delivered. Paak encodes each weapon in its own configuration — so the statistic buttons, weapon-specific mechanics and the bout tracker change with the selected weapon.
Foil
Attack with priority, riposte, counter-attack, remise. Off-target hit (non-valid) tracked separately because it stops the action without scoring.
Épée
Double touch (both lights) recorded as a primary statistic. Single-light touch, foot touch, hand touch — body-part breakdown for tactical reading.
Sabre
Flèche (running attack), beat-attack, riposte. Cut (hieb) and thrust (stoss) distinguished — sabre is the only weapon that accepts both modes.
The three weapons share the same FIE piste (14m x 1.5m) visual in the composition module, the same sanctions format (yellow / red / black card per FIE rule t.114), and the same automatically computed indicator. What changes: weapon-specific statistics, tab colour, and the bout-tracker mechanics.
Live Red / Green scoreboard
The bout tracker shows two columns — Red and Green — with the score aggregated in real time. Each touch scored increments the corresponding fencer's column; each touch received counts negatively on their indicator. Weapon-specific statistic buttons (attack with priority, double touch, flèche…) layer on top of the main tally to enrich reading without visual noise.
Red
5
Touches scored
—
Green
3
Touches scored
Goal: statistics, not refereeing. Paak does not replace the jury or the signal apparatus. The scoreboard captures what the maître d'armes wants to review after the bout: who attacks, who scores under priority, who misses target. The official verdict remains the referee's.
Shared base statistics
Before the weapon-specifics, Paak captures five universal statistics any maître d'armes will recognise:
Touch scored +1
Increments the fencer's score on the scoreboard. +1 on the indicator. Primary statistic.
Touch received −1
−1 on the fencer's indicator — and the mirror image: the same action is +1 for the opponent who just scored. The Red/Green scoreboard always stays consistent, no matter which column you tap.
Successful attack +1 / failed 0
A successful attack is a touch: +1 on the indicator. A failed attack does not score but feeds the offensive efficiency rate displayed on the profile.
Parry-riposte +1
A successful parry-riposte is a touch: +1 on the indicator. The maître d'armes taps this button rather than « touch scored » when the context warrants — the statistic enriches analysis without double-counting.
Simple rule: one button per touch. The maître d'armes picks the most descriptive statistic (parry-riposte, attack with priority, flèche…) instead of the generic button. The scoreboard score and indicator stay correct because each button carries its own +1 or −1.
FIE cards — logged live
The three official cards are native tracker buttons, alongside touches: the maître d'armes records them during the bout, not after. Each card is attached to an identified fencer, timestamped, and appears in the session history as well as on the profile.
- Yellow card — warning. One per fencer per bout; the second card automatically becomes red (the tracker blocks the button after the limit).
- Red card — touch awarded to the opponent. −1 on the sanctioned fencer's indicator (and of course +1 for the other, who receives the touch).
- Black card — expulsion. Limited to 1 per fencer, exceptional, applied for serious foul play or unsporting behaviour.
Why live? Because a maître d'armes reviewing the bout at season's end needs to know when sanctions fell, not just how many. Logged later, they lose their position in the tactical timeline of the bout.
FIE indicator and computed efficiencies
On every fencer profile, Paak automatically computes the FIE metrics any maître d'armes checks at season's end:
Indicator
touches scored − touches received — the FIE tie-breaker on a pool.
Touch rate
touches scored / (scored + received) — as a percentage.
Offensive efficiency
successful attacks / total attacks — measures the reliability of the offence.
Defensive efficiency
parry-ripostes / touches received — measures defensive conversion.
All four metrics update with every saved bout. They feed the Performance tab on the fencer profile and the coach's end-of-season recap.
FFE classement — hierarchical levels
The FFE classement is not a letter grade — it is a numeric position within a level (per weapon, per age category), computed by a federal logarithmic formula from competition results. Paak represents this structure with two fields on the fencer profile:
Classement level
Hierarchical picklist: NC, Club, Departmental, Regional, Zone, National, International. The highest qualification tier reached by the fencer this season.
Classement rank
Free-text field for the exact numeric position (e.g. "Senior Épée National 124th"), copied directly from the FFE extranet.
This separation lets clubs find every fencer at the same level (quick filter on the member list) while keeping precision on the rank when useful (relay team composition, fine communications, season tracking).
On the Paak roadmap — shipping in the coming weeks. Automated import of classement from the FFE extranet (Espace Dirigeant) and licence-number validation are in progress: no public FFE API exists today (verified April 2026), so opening the connector will depend on the federal calendar. In the meantime, classement imports happen via CSV downloaded from the extranet, and the licence number is a free-text field on the fencer record. To follow progress, write to us via the contact form.
FFE / FIE age categories — complete coverage
Eleven standard FIE age categories, integrated into the profile picklist:
M9 U9 M11 U11 M13 U13 M15 U15 M17 U17 M20 U20 Senior V1 40-49 V2 50-59 V3 60-69 V4 70+
Fencer profile — native fields
FFE licence number
Free-text field, 6 to 8 digits. No double entry if your club syncs by CSV.
Weapon preference
Picklist: Foil, Épée, Sabre, Multi-weapon. Drives statistic suggestions during entry.
Weapon hand
Right or left — tactically relevant in fencing (left-handedness is a recognised advantage).
Grip
French, Italian, pistol (orthopaedic). Integrated because it is equipment data rarely changed.
Age category
FIE 11-entry picklist, M9 to V4. Automatically derives compatible registrations.
FFE classement level
Hierarchical picklist (NC, Club, Departmental, Regional, Zone, National, International). Precise numeric rank in a separate text field.
Club equipment
Sophie snaps her blade mid-bout. You have thirty seconds to hand her another. Provided you know which one's free, which one's back from repair, and which one's broken but hasn't been pulled from the rack yet.
Fencing is an equipment-heavy sport. A 50-fencer club easily holds 80 blades, 60 body cords, 40 lamés, 30 certified masks, plus club-embroidered tracksuits and warm-ups. Paak handles this inventory as a natural extension of your member file: each item has a record, an assignee, a status (available / distributed / broken / under repair), and a next-check date.
Blades and weapons
Sabre, foil, épée — tracked by serial number, brand (Allstar, BF Cocagne, Léon Paul), purchase date, status. Linked to the fencer it's lent to for the season or for the bout.
Certified masks
FIE rating (350N, 1000N), homologation date, next check. Filters surface masks that fall out of validity before season's end.
Lamés and plastrons
Size, rating, assignment. Club stock kept distinct from personal kit — Paak separates what belongs to the club from what belongs to the fencer.
Body cords and electrical
Inventory plus continuity-test log. The cord that fails 50 % of the time stops sitting in the bag for six months.
Embroidered apparel
Club tracksuit, warm-up jacket, official polo — managed as assigned items. Sizes, distributions, end-of-season returns tracked.
Distribution and return
A coach hands out kit from their phone at training (« who has blade #17? ») — Paak keeps the trace. End-of-season export lists who owes what back.
And the actual sales?
A custom tracksuit at €100. An embroidered polo at €25. A cadet mask at €80. The club takes the money, the treasurer forgets who paid by check, who still owes €35, who paid by transfer and who in cash.
Distribute
Coach hands the tracksuit to Sophie from the phone. Price: €100 incl. VAT.
Mollie link sent
Paak generates a Mollie payment link. Card or SEPA, two clicks — or cash / check / bank transfer if the member prefers.
Paid, accounted
"Paid" status flips automatically. VAT split recorded for accounting. Auto-reminder if payment drags on.
Why this is a lever specifically for a fencing club, on both sides of the ledger. Outflow: a custom tracksuit costs €80–120, and many clubs lose 10–15 % of theirs every year for lack of tracking — on a €12,000 inventory, that's €1,500 of kit evaporating each season. Inflow: the same fleet of tracksuits typically generates €3,000 of annual revenue — but part of it sits unpaid for six months because the treasurer is chasing checks. Paak doesn't lock the doors: it knows whom to ask, and it takes the card.
Paak, Belle Poule and the FFE extranet — complementary
The French fencing ecosystem rests on three tools that Paak does not seek to replace:
Stays on the FFE extranet
For the federation.
- Annual club affiliation
- FFE licence purchase and renewal
- Official calendar of homologated competitions
- Retrieval of official classement
Stays on Belle Poule
For running a competition.
- Qualification pools
- Direct elimination tableau
- Transmission of results to the FFE
- Open-source software, federation-recognised file format
What Paak adds, between two competitions:
- Membership and dues online, Mollie (card and SEPA), automatic reminders
- Email convocations with RSVP and D-1 reminders
- Child-protection compliance loi du 8 mars 2024 for staff — common to every Paak sport
- Multi-sport, OVHcloud France hosting, native GDPR
Paak is not on the FIE list of homologated software for running a competition (that list contains Belle Poule and a handful of others). That is not the goal: Paak runs the club, not the competition. For an FFE-homologated competition, Belle Poule remains the indicated tool; Paak takes over before and after for the daily life of the club.
The actual club
- A parent asks why their daughter still hasn't received the convocation for the Easter camp
- The treasurer spots three unpaid memberships rereading the September spreadsheet
- The local authority requests the safeguarding attestation for your new maître d'armes again
The club isn't the competition. It's everything else.
Free up to 100 members. No credit card, no commitment.
Frequently asked questions
Does Paak handle the three weapons separately?
Yes. Foil, epee and sabre have distinct configurations because their rules are. Each weapon has its own statistics (attack with priority for foil and sabre, double touch for epee, flèche for sabre, off-target for foil).
Does the live scoreboard do the referee's job?
No — it is a statistic tool for the maître d'armes, not a refereeing tool. The signal apparatus and the jury remain the only judges of the official verdict. The Red/Green scoreboard captures what the maître d'armes reviews after the bout: who attacks, who scores under priority, who misses target.
Does Paak replace the FFE extranet or Belle Poule?
No. The FFE extranet (Espace Dirigeant and Espace Licencié on escrime-ffe.fr) remains the reference for licences, affiliation and the official calendar. Belle Poule remains the tool for running a competition (pools, tableaux, results transmission). Paak handles club life between two competitions: members, dues, training, internal bouts, compliance. Federation data via CSV until a public FFE API arrives.
How does Paak integrate the FFE classement?
Not through letter grades — the FFE classement is a numeric position within a level (NC / Club / Departmental / Regional / Zone / National / International), computed by a federal logarithmic formula. Paak therefore exposes two fields: a level (picklist) and a free-text rank (text field, copyable from the extranet). Manual update or CSV import. No public FFE API today.
Is Paak suitable for FFE-affiliated clubs?
Yes. FFE licence (6-8 digits), three weapons in separate configurations, classement, age categories M9 to V4, child-protection compliance for staff, dues, relays, training and homologated tournaments.
Does Paak track fencing equipment inventory?
Yes. Blades (sabre, foil, épée by serial number), FIE-certified masks (350N, 1000N), body cords, lamés, plastrons and club-embroidered apparel. Each item has a status (available / distributed / broken / under repair), an assignment, a next-check date. Coaches distribute kit from their phone at training; end-of-season export lists who owes what back.
Can clubs sell tracksuits and club kit online through Paak?
Yes. At every distribution with a price, you pick the payment method: Mollie online link (card or SEPA), cash, check, bank transfer, or free. With Mollie, Paak generates the payment link automatically, the paid status flips on its own, and the VAT split is recorded for the club's accounting. If payment drags on, an automatic reminder goes out on its own.