USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – The following are national events updates for the 2017-18 USA Fencing season:

Day Schedules
The day schedules for all North American Cups as well as the Junior Olympic and Division I / Wheelchair National Championships are available here.

Division III NAC
A second Division III North American Cup will be held this year at the April NAC, April 20-23 in Richmond, Va. This follows the Division III event which will be held at the March NAC, March 9-12 in Baltimore, Md.

Domestic Strength Factor for Division I NACs and Championships
Beginning with the October North American Cup, all Division I national events in 2017-18 will utilize a strength factor similar to the one used for senior international events. 

The strength factor will be used for all Div I NACs and the July Challenge with a minimum Strength Factor of .8 and a maximum Strength Factor of 1.1.  

Beginning with the October NAC, weight values will not be used for senior rankings and team selection. This will allow points to be based on the strength of a tournament on competition day rather than a preset weight value which may or may not reflect the number and caliber of competitors who fence in the event. 

The use of the domestic Strength Factor is a pilot program for the 2017-18 season which will be evaluated by the USA Fencing Sports Performance staff for future seasons.

The Division I National Championships will have a minimum Strength Factor of 1.0 and a maximum of 1.1. 

The formula used to calculate the Strength Factor is as follows: 

SF = [n/10 + 6(SrFIE32) + 5(Sr4) + 4(Sr8) + 3 (Sr16) + 2(Sr32) + 1(SR64)]/100

N=Number of competitors

SrFIE32=Number of athletes ranked in the top 32 of the FIE World Rankings

Sr4=Number of athletes ranked 1-4 in the National Rolling Point Standings

Sr8=Number of athletes ranked 5-8 in the National Rolling Point Standings

Sr16=Number of athletes ranked 9-16 in the National Rolling Point Standings

Sr32=Number of athletes ranked 17-32 in the National Rolling Point Standings

Sr64=Number of athletes ranked 33-64 in the National Rolling Point Standings

*All rankings used as of the start of competition. Competitors who withdraw prior to the start of competition or who are excluded from the event will not be counted in the Strength Factor.

For further details regarding the point values of events for team selection, please visit http://www.usfencing.org/selection-criteria to view the 2017-18 selection criteria. 

Division I Men’s and Women’s Epee Format at North American Cups
Following the conclusion of the trials of two different formats used by Division I epee fencers at the three NACs held during the 2016-17 season, the two-day format was selected to be used for the entirety of the 2017-18 season.

The format listed below, which gives the top 62 fencers in the field a bye into the second day of competition, places emphasize on the importance of strong pool fencing which is key for success at the international level as well as domestically, both in USA Fencing events as well as in collegiate fencing.

The format that will be used at the October, December and January NACs will be for Division I epee only and will be as follows:

A preliminary pool on day 1 with the top 62 initially seeded persons receiving a bye to day 2. 75% of the preliminary pool promoted to a preliminary direct elimination table until 64 persons remain. A final pool round on day 2 with the top 62 initially seeded persons joining the 64 remaining persons from the preliminary direct elimination table. 112 persons advance from the final pool round to a final simple direct elimination table. The top 62 initially seeded persons receiving a bye will be determined immediately following the close the regular fee entry period.

All persons eliminated from the competition in Day 1 will be automatically entered into the Division I Epee Classification Tournament on Day 2. While athletes in this event will not be eligible for Division I national points, they will be eligible to renew and upgrade their classifications based on the USA Fencing Classification Chart in the Athlete Handbook.

The July Challenge and Division I National Championships will still utilize the single elimination format which will be used by all non-Division I epee fencers as well.

Updates to Championship Qualification
Several changes were made to the qualification paths for Championship events in order to allow more participation and streamline the regional process.

Division I National Championships
The qualification paths for the USA Fencing Division I National Championships have expanded to include athletes who hold points on the Junior National Rolling Point Standings in addition to individuals on the Senior National Point Standings as of the regular entry deadline. The top four athletes on the Cadet National Point Standings also will qualify for Div I Nationals.

Junior Olympic Championships
The regional qualifying paths for the Junior Olympic Championships changed to allow athletes to qualify via only a set minimum point total rather either a point total or a percentage of the rankings list. This allows athletes to know their qualification status earlier in the season rather than having to wait until the close of the final regional qualification tournament. For both junior and cadets, the minimum Regional Point Standings totals has been set at 110.

July Challenge
The regional qualifying paths for the July Challenge changed to allow athletes to qualify via only a set minimum point total rather either a point total or a percentage of the rankings list. This allows athletes to know their qualification status earlier in the season rather than having to wait until the close of the final regional qualification tournament. For both junior and cadets, the minimum Regional Point Standings totals has been set at 65.

USA Fencing National Championships
Y10, Y12, Y14
The regional qualifying paths for the Y12 and Y14 events at the USA Fencing National Championships changed to allow athletes to qualify via only a set minimum point total rather either a point total or a percentage of the rankings list. This allows athletes to know their qualification status earlier in the season rather than having to wait until the close of the final regional qualification tournament.

Y14 fencers will need a minimum of 150 points.

Y12 fencers will need 150 points in the Y14 rankings or 60 points in the Y12 rankings.

Y10 fencers can qualify with 60 points in the Y12 rankings or holding any number of points in the Y10 rankings.

Junior and Cadet Age Out Policy
As a reminder, fencers age out after the Junior Olympic Championships every year. For the 2018 July Challenge, the junior age range is 1999-2005 and cadet is 2002-2005.

Veteran Update
The 2017-18 July Challenge will include a veteran team event. The competition, which was previously held during the April NAC, will allow entrants from any club to fence on a team together.

For the first time, an exhibition event will be held for Veteran +80 at the December and April North American Cups. Competition will be held for men's epee, foil and saber. Following the conclusion of the April NAC, participation will be assessed for potential inclusion in future seasons on the national events schedule. As this is an exhibition event, there will not be an additional entry fee for this event for athletes who are already registered for Veteran +70. Athletes who are registering for +80 only will pay the registration fee for the tournament.