Under the new system, there is a minimum number of points a fencer must have to register for a national tournament in the Cadet, Junior and Division I categories. If you're below the threshold, you earn more points at local or regional events until you reach it. All other eligibility rules based on rating and birth year still apply.
- National tournaments: 100 points for Cadet, 100 points for Junior, 150 points for Division I and Senior
- Regional tournaments: open, no minimum
- Local tournaments: open, no minimum
Eligibility is determined as of the tournament start date. No minimum has been set for regional or local tournaments this season, so those stay open to anyone who meets the age and rating rules.
Your point total, like your national ranking, is the sum of your six best results. As the season goes on, that total changes as you earn new points and older results roll off, which means your eligibility can change from one event to the next.
- You must meet the threshold before you can register.
- There is no petition process for standard NACs. The threshold is a baseline for eligibility, like age or rating restrictions. Petitions remain available for Championship events: the Division I Championships, Junior Olympics, the July Challenge and Summer Nationals.
An Eligibility Criteria Exemption Request for athletes who were out for an extended leave of absence from the sport will be made available soon.
To ease the transition, every fencer with a rating was assigned a points floor based on that rating as of Aug. 1, 2026. The floor is a starting minimum. It applies to every rated fencer, not only those without recent results.
The floor is not added to your total. It's a baseline. Your list shows either your floor or your actual six-best total, whichever is higher. Once your results pass the floor, the floor drops away and only your results remain.
An example. A fencer with a B26 rating as of Aug. 1 starts with a floor of 200 points. Say that fencer has five results carried over totaling 175 points. The rankings show 200, because the floor is higher. The fencer then wins a local event worth 50 points. Their six best results now total 225, which is above the floor, so the rankings show 225 and the floor is gone.
The floor does two things:
- It reflects a fencer's actual ability, even without recent results to show for it.
- It lowers the initial barrier to national tournaments, so fencers can get in the door and start earning points.
Not old enough for the next age category but want to fence up? Here's how it works.
To fence up at a local or regional tournament, you must first be eligible to fence at the national level in the age category immediately below. To fence up at a national tournament, you must meet the minimum point threshold for the category you want to fence in.
An example. A Cadet-age fencer who isn't yet age eligible for Junior:
- Earns enough points to be nationally eligible in Cadet. That unlocks Junior events at the local and regional level.
- Earns Junior points at those local and regional events.
- Once those Junior points reach the Junior national minimum, the fencer is eligible for Junior national tournaments.