This past weekend, our team had the incredible opportunity to attend the Budapest Épée Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious events on the international fencing calendar. Surrounded by some of the world’s top athletes, coaches, and fencing enthusiasts, we showcased the Calibur wireless scoring system and connected with the community we’re proud to serve.
Photo by Eva Pavía #BizziTeam - FIE
Bringing Calibur to the Strip
We set up a test piste right next to the action, giving fencers, coaches, and referees the chance to experience Calibur firsthand. Throughout the weekend, we ran live demonstrations, walking visitors through the features of our system and answering tons of great questions.
National team athletes, club fencers, and referees all stepped in to test Calibur—and the reactions were overwhelmingly positive. Many were impressed by the system’s wireless flexibility, easy setup, and low-latency hit detection. The integration with our mobile app also caught attention, especially among coaches looking for smart tools to enhance training.
Connecting with Fencing Professionals
Beyond the test piste, the event was a great networking opportunity. We met fencing club owners, national federation representatives, and potential distributors—all curious to learn more about what Calibur can offer. These new connections open exciting possibilities for future collaborations and pilot programs.
Walking away from the Grand Prix, we’re more motivated than ever. Events like this remind us why we started building Calibur in the first place: to create a modern, flexible, and accessible scoring system that grows with the sport.
We’ll be working closely with some of the clubs and athletes we met, continuing to test, refine, and expand Calibur’s capabilities. Stay tuned—this is just the beginning.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by, tried the system, and shared their thoughts. We’ll see you at the next competition!
Do you already have your own set of Calibur pocket boxes?
Want to see Calibur in a professional environment? We are going to have a strip and a table set up to answer all your questions and showcase our new product that allows pocket boxes to connect with traditional scoring machines.
We will at the Westend GP from Thursday 13/03 (weapon check) until Sunday 16/03.
Our warm-up strip last year at the GP
Send a mail to roland@caliburfencing.com if you want to
Make and order and pick it up at the competition instead of having it shipped
Come and test the devices
Record social media content together
Meet us personally, because fencing is also about making friends 😉
Make your order before arriving and pick it up at the GP!
One of our close partners, UFC, is a real museum for fencers. It's the oldest fencing club in Hungary and it is located in the heart of Budapest. With the lead of dr. Jenő Pap, former world champion, they were among the first clubs to adapt our system.
"I immediately thought of it as a huge opportunity... but honestly, I couldn't imagine it would come to a success." - Jenő told us.
"The kids love it...
...sometimes they even evolve their game, fencing all around the hall instead of just the piste, you know, very playfully."
Younger fencers, who are already immersed in a digital world, have shown a strong preference for wireless systems. This wireless transition not only modernizes the sport but also creates a more engaging and intuitive experience for the next generation of fencers.
Cost and time efficiency of the system
Upgrading to our new devices brought a host of benefits, not least of which is the significant reduction in maintenance costs in the club. Here’s how:
Time Savings: The traditional systems used to be taken down, repaired and reinstalled in every summer break, because one of the branches in the cable always broke during the year. Not having to do this means at least 1 week less maintenance work each year.
Cost Efficiency: Since a standard reel is usually sold for about $200, and the cheapest scoreboards usually cost around $300. It's easy to see that getting a whole scoring system for less than $700 is a bargain. And then again, the costs of repairing the reels and wires can amount to $500 yearly, which is saved by not having to do it at all.
By lowering both time and monetary investments, the club can reallocate funds towards further development and training opportunities for its members.
Training camps and competitions
"...they are also very useful for warming up at large competitions when there are not enough pistes. Basically you have to take a little matchbox and a phone and there you are, you can fence in the hallway or wherever you find some space."
The portability of the system makes fencing training sessions a LOT easier. Remember when you had to "reserve" a piste upon arriving to a competition by leaving your mask there? No more of that.
With Target Practice mode, it is possible to differentiate between target surfaces, even for épéistes! Let's dive deeper.
Watch this post summed up in 30 seconds!
1. Set up the app
Make sure that the app is in the right discipline (that is, épée or foil). To change discipline, tap the weapon icon in the middle. After this, go to "Mode selector" and tap on "Target practicing". Then, connect your Calibur pocket boxes to your smart device.
1. Open mode selector by tapping on the selected mode (1v1 bouting by default)
2. Choose target practicing as mode
2. Set up your targets
Connect a piece of conductive material to the C-branch of the pocket box. You can do this with your body wire, or any other wire with a banana plug at the end. See an earlier DIY tutorial here! This mode allows a lot of creativity, but we collected some ideas for you:
Practice flicks & wrist hits with electric cuffs
Upgrade your target cushions
Train for precision during lessons
Preorder discounts extended until 25/09!
One more week to get the next generation pocket boxes at a discount. Don't miss your chance!
Open the Calibur app, then the Calibur Remote Controller app on a second smart device.
Connect both devices to the same wireless network. This network can be an online or an offline hotspot as well (we recommend using less frequented networks).
Turn on remote control mode in the Calibur app: - Tap "1v1 bouting" at the top of your screen to open the Mode selector - Tap the switch to allow "Remote control mode"
Copy the appearing IP address to the Remote Controller app and tap "Connect".
Some sidenotes
Reworking the user interface of Calibur Remote Controller is on our bucket list. We're planning to make the app easier to use by adding the sound control button (which is normally on the side of the smart devices) to the list of controls. We're also going to redesign the sizes and spacing of the buttons on the remote controller.
Armband sets are needed to enhance the accuracy of the devices. They need to be in direct contact with your skin while fencing, and connected to the pocket boxes 4th (standalone) socket. We recommend putting on your armband to your unarmed upper arm (but will work anywhere else as well).
We recommend fencers to have their own armband sets trainings because of hygienic reasons and for convenience. The armbands can be washed.
Settings
Currently, the default setting is "on" for autoscoring while using the app. Tap the "Menu" icon at the bottom of the screen, go to "Settings" (left hand side) and turn off "automatic touch count".
For épée and foil, there is nothing extraordinary to pay attention to while dressing up in fencing uniform. For sabre, armband sets are needed. The armbands need to be in direct contact with the fencers' skin - don't forget to put them up before the fencing jacket and lamé. We will release a separate guide for sabre in a week at this link.
We recommend using body wires and lamés that are in a good condition for the best fencing experience.
Downloading & using the app
Find the free "Calibur" app in App Store, Google Play Store or Amazon Store. After downloading it, launch it and go through the tutorial steps.
Calibur
Turn on the pocket boxes by pushing the button on the side, then tap the (right or left) fencer icon:
(left side)
at the bottom of your screen. The pocket box will automatically connect the closest pocket box to the respective side. After connecting, the LED on the pocket box will turn green.
After connecting both devices, you are ready to go.
Settings
To switch between disciplines, tap the weapon icon in the middle. Choosing discipline is only possible when the pocket boxes are disconnected. To disconnect the pocket boxes, tap the same button as for connecting them and then tap "disconnect", or simply turn off the pocket box by the button on the side.
Tap the icon at the bottom and in the middle of your screen to go to open the Menu, and then go to Settings to tailor the app to best fit your needs.
We’d like to thank you for all the feedback we received from you during the past years. We spend most of our time incorporating changes and new features based on users’ experiences. Explore the novel features of Calibur 2.0 below!
Summary
To put it short and simple, here's a list of the new features:
Redesigned buttons
USB-C charger port
Easily replaceable battery
More accurate scoring on all 3 disciplines
Simpler sabre mode
Let's dive deeper into it! See the description below and our product showcase on YouTube.
1. New button
We've received many feedback about issues regarding old button - sometimes it was hard to push and turn off the pocket box. As a solution, we replaced the button to the side of the device.
The pocket boxes will now turn on and off with a single push instead of double, and it will be possible to turn off even if it's connected. Don't worry - it won't turn off accidentally while fencing.
2. USB-C charger port
Especially if you're dealing with children, Micro-USB ports are easier to break and a lot of users reported they don't even have them around anymore. We'll still include a double-headed charging cable in the packages.
As you might have noticed, we love to improve. However, we believe it is extremely important that our devices are reliable and durable for as long as possible.
So we decided to put a lot of work into making battery replacement possible with a simple screwdriver.
Exchange batteries can be used to prolong the products' lifespan and as a quick solution in case a pocket box would run out of power while fencing.
4. More accurate scoring on all devices
The best part of the Calibur system is that we can keep on working on adding new features and modifying old ones without having to collect all the devices, replace chips, etc. We do this by releasing software updates to the free Calibur app and firmware updates for the pocket boxes. The next generation pocket boxes make it easier for us to design leaner firmware and keep up with the occasional changes of regulations (e.g. timeframe of double touches).
For example, our latest firmware update made it possible to check the remaining battery life of the pocket boxes when connecting them to the app. However, with these updates we can also work on getting rid ofuser reported inaccuracies in unique circumstances.
Why can there be any inaccuracies?
There are some environmental factors which do not affect traditional scoring systems, but pose engineering challenges for wireless systems (e.g. electrical noise near radio stations, moisture in tropical areas). In regular cases, Calibur system is accurate and reliable.
Simpler sabre mode
Sabre fencing with the older hardware version (1.4.1) needed an extension set with an adapter, a magnetic cable head, an armband an extra cable.
In the next generation models, we managed to "build in" everything. From now on, sabre fencing is possible with only an armband set and a pocket box (and regular fencing equipment) with the help of a 4th socket.
We will soon publish a guide to setting up your wireless sabre system at this link. Until then, you can check it out in our showcase video.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact roland@caliburfencing.com
Connect a bigger display via cable
Having a larger display for the Calibur scoreboard is possible through cables and wirelessly. Depending on what device you own, the opportunities are various. Here’s a quick summary about the possible ways to extend your scoreboard to a second screen by cables!
Connecting Apple devices
Mac
First things first, you have to identify the ports on your device. This guide can help you to do so.
HDMI - if you have such a port, you'll only have to see if your desired screen has a matching input. If not, it is most likely that it has a VGA input, so what you will need to do so is an HDMI-VGA adapter.
If you are using devices powered by Android, you are likely to have either a micro-USB or a USB-C type of output. It's very important to check whether your device supports MHL, which is a technology needed to connect to an external TV or monitor via HDMI.
If it does so, all you need is the correct adapter (micro-USB to HDMI, USB-C to HDMI) - after plugging them in, you should be ready to go.
Keeping track of your results during trainings and competitions is essential to discover patterns in your performance and be aware of the things you have to pay attention to in order to become better at fencing and competing. Calibur offers a detailed log of your bouts to help analyze your performance against other Calibur users, so you can make the best decisions when planning your training. Here’s how!
Sign in to your account (or create one). You can do this by pushing the menu bottom on the screen, between the fencer icons and choosing “My Profile”.
After successfully signing in, you can save the results of your bout by tapping the upload icon.
1. Menu
2. My Profile
3. Upload
You have to type in your opponent’s username to record the bout. After saving, your opponent will receive a “request to save the bout”. If they accept, the bout will be saved for them automatically in their log. In the other case, it will only appear for you in your log.
Track your bouts by choosing “My bouts” from the drop down menu.
You can select any bouts from your log to be deleted or exported to a .csv file, in case you want to have a chance to edit or analyze your results.
+1 Fun fact: Did you know that Calibur system comes with a free remote control for the scoreboard? Check our tutorial on Calibur Remote Control Mode!
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