e Age. In the middle Ages swords were heavy to combat the heavy armour worn in battles. As swords evolved over the years they were used for close-quarter fighting and so became lighter and swordsmen needed to become more skilful. Fencing has grown as an art, a dueling weapon and now it is a competitive sport. Fencing has been part of the Modern Olympic Games since the outset on 1896, with the women’s events added in 1924. During the almost two years of activity of the Association, lead by its founding President Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, the numbers of registered fencers in Qatar is above 120. Thanks to this rapid development, the Qatar Fencing Association has participated for the first time in the Fencing World Championships in Portugal this year and in the 14th Asian Games in Busan, 2002.