The target advances while the total carries on
FIE’s August 2026 technical rules describe cumulative team-relay targets of five, ten, fifteen and so on. If a bout times out short of its target, the next pair continues from the actual score. Missing points are not automatically filled in.
Suppose the first bout ends 3–2 at time. The second pair begins with those totals and fences towards the next target of ten. A new fencer can therefore add more than five hits while bringing a trailing team up to the scheduled cumulative target.
Do not score each relay as a separate mini-match
A viewer counting only the second fencer’s new touches could misread a strong recovery as an impossible score. The graphic is showing the team’s inherited total plus that fencer’s contribution.
Keep the handover score beside the end score. In the invented case, moving from three to ten means seven new hits, not a seven-hit opening target. This subtraction explains the contribution without changing the official cumulative structure. The example does not cover every exceptional relay arrangement; it illustrates the ordinary carry-over principle that a time-limited handover makes easy to miss.
Questions answered
Does a timed-out 3–2 automatically become 5–2?
No.
Can a fencer contribute more than five hits in a relay?
Yes, because the next cumulative target can be above the inherited score.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.