Fencing Olympics 2028: LA28 Dates, Venue and Saber Schedule

Here is the short answer for anyone searching fencing Olympics 2028 dates: fencing opens the Los Angeles Games on Saturday, July 15, 2028, and men's saber is on the strip that first morning. Fencing runs nine straight days, July 15 to 23, in LA Convention Center Hall 1 in downtown Los Angeles, with all 12 medal events in one hall. This guide covers the LA28 fencing schedule, the venue, which days are saber days, how to watch from the East Coast, and what to know before you look for tickets. Every date and session time below comes from LA28's official competition schedule.

When is fencing at the 2028 Olympics?

According to LA28's Olympic Competition Schedule (Version 4.1, dated October 26, 2026), fencing runs from Saturday, July 15 to Sunday, July 23, 2028. That is Games Days 1 through 9.

The first three days are individual events, two per day. The last six days are team events, one per day.

LA28 says the schedule is "subject to change until the conclusion of the Los Angeles 2028 Games," so check the official schedule again before you book travel or block off an evening.

When is saber at the 2028 Olympics?

Saber fans get four days. Here they are with LA28's session times. LA28 lists times in Pacific Time; we added Eastern Time for readers here in the DMV.

• Men's saber individual, Saturday, July 15. Daytime session 9:00 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. PT (noon to 7:20 p.m. ET), shared with women's épée, covering the table of 64 through the semifinals. Evening session 6:30 to 10:35 p.m. PT (9:30 p.m. to 1:35 a.m. ET), with the bronze and gold medal bouts.
• Women's saber individual, Monday, July 17. Daytime session 9:00 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. PT (noon to 7:20 p.m. ET), shared with men's foil, covering the table of 64 through the semifinals and the bronze medal bout. Evening session 6:30 to 10:40 p.m. PT (9:30 p.m. to 1:40 a.m. ET), with the gold medal bout.
• Men's saber team, Wednesday, July 19. Daytime session 9:00 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. PT (noon to 4:40 p.m. ET), with the table of 8, semifinals, placement matches and the bronze medal match. Evening session 5:30 to 7:50 p.m. PT (8:30 to 10:50 p.m. ET), with the gold medal match.
• Women's saber team, Sunday, July 23. Daytime session 9:30 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. PT (12:30 to 5:10 p.m. ET), with the same format as the men's team day. Evening session 6:30 to 8:50 p.m. PT (9:30 to 11:50 p.m. ET), with the gold medal match. This is the final fencing day of the Games.

LA28 also notes that events within a session "are not necessarily listed in the order in which they will occur," so the exact time of any one bout is not set yet. For East Coast viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: the individual gold medal bouts are scheduled for late at night Eastern Time.

Where is Olympic fencing in 2028?

All Olympic fencing will be held at LA Convention Center Hall 1, in LA28's DTLA (downtown Los Angeles) zone. LA28 describes it as part of one of the largest convention centers in the United States, and notes that the LA Convention Center served as the Main Press Headquarters at the 1984 Olympic Games.

Hall 1 hosts four sports in 2028: fencing and taekwondo at the Olympics, then wheelchair fencing and para taekwondo at the Paralympics. So the same hall that crowns the Olympic saber champions will also host the Paralympic wheelchair saber events. LA28 describes wheelchair fencing as one of the original sports at the first Paralympic Games in 1960, with athletes using foil, épée and saber and competing in two classifications.

How Olympic fencing works at LA28

If you are new to the sport, here is what you will be watching. Olympic fencing has three weapons, foil, épée and saber, and LA28 lists six events for men and six for women: individual and team in each weapon.

Individual events are straight knockout brackets. On LA28's schedule, each individual event starts at the table of 64 in the daytime session, and the gold medal bouts are held in the evening session. Under the USA Fencing Rules for Competition (October 2026), a direct elimination bout goes to 15 touches or three periods of three minutes. Saber has its own twist: the first period ends when one fencer reaches eight touches. We explain that rhythm in how long a saber fencing bout lasts and how the bracket works in saber direct elimination.

Team events use the relay format. Three fencers on each team face all three opponents, for nine bouts. Each bout adds five touches to the running score (5, 10, 15 and so on), and the first team to 45 touches wins.

Saber is the fastest of the three to watch. Only cuts and thrusts above the waist count, and because both fencers often hit at nearly the same time, the referee decides most touches using right of way. If those calls confuse you, start with our guide to right of way in saber fencing and the saber target area. For a side-by-side look at the three weapons, see saber vs foil vs epee.

How to watch Olympic fencing on TV and streaming

In the United States, NBC Olympics says every event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will stream live on Peacock, and that viewers can also sign in with a cable subscription to stream on NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app or the NBC Sports app. NBC Olympics says it will post more detailed viewing information closer to the Games.

When you do sit down to watch, it helps to know what the lights, the referee's hand signals and the scoreboard mean. Our guide on how to watch saber fencing walks through all of it in a few minutes.

LA28 fencing tickets: what to know

Buy only through LA28's official ticketing. As of October 27, 2026, LA28's ticketing page says the next chances to buy Olympic tickets will come in 2027, when first-come, first-served sales open. LA28 says Drop 2 was the final general public ticket drop of 2026, and that the first Paralympic ticket drop will also come in 2027. LA28 also offers group tickets for groups of 50 or more for the Olympics, which may interest clubs and schools.

We are not listing prices here. Ticket inventory and prices are set and changed by LA28, so check la28.org/en/ticketing for current details.

If a trip to Los Angeles is not in the plans, you can watch elite saber much closer to home. USA Fencing national events run all season, and our USA Fencing tournament schedule lists the current dates and locations.

From watching to fencing

Every Olympic cycle, plenty of kids and adults watch a saber final and want to try it. If that is you, or your child, the best next step is a beginner class. You do not need any experience or gear to start: see our youth fencing program in Bethesda.

FAQ

When is fencing at the 2028 Olympics?

Fencing at the LA28 Olympics runs from Saturday, July 15 to Sunday, July 23, 2028, according to LA28's official competition schedule. Individual events are July 15 to 17, and team events are July 18 to 23.

Where will fencing be held at the LA28 Olympics?

At LA Convention Center Hall 1 in downtown Los Angeles. The same hall will host wheelchair fencing at the LA28 Paralympic Games.

What days is saber fencing at the 2028 Olympics?

Men's saber individual is July 15, women's saber individual is July 17, men's saber team is July 19, and women's saber team is July 23, 2028. Check LA28's schedule for updates, since it can change.

What time are the Olympic fencing finals on the East Coast?

LA28's evening sessions, which include the gold medal bouts, start at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time on most days, which is 9:30 p.m. Eastern. The individual medal sessions run until about 10:35 to 10:55 p.m. Pacific, or roughly 1:35 to 1:55 a.m. Eastern.

How many fencing events are at the 2028 Olympics?

Twelve: individual and team foil, épée and saber, for both men and women.

Sources (checked October 27, 2026): LA28: Fencing (events, venue); LA28 Olympic Competition Schedule by Event, Version 4.1, as of October 26, 2026 (dates, sessions, times); LA28: LA Convention Center Hall 1 (venue, sports in the hall); LA28: Wheelchair Fencing; LA28: Ticketing Information; NBC Olympics: Olympic fencing, Los Angeles 2028 event guide (how to watch); USA Fencing Rules for Competition, October 2026 (t.39, t.41, o.99).