USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) -- USA Fencing is pleased to announce that the window to submit petitions for qualification to the 2021 National Championships and Junior Olympics is open starting today, June 8.

Petitions will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. PDT on Monday, June 21. Please see below for more information on the petition process and requirements.

Submit Petition

Per the USA Fencing Athlete Handbook, a fencer who has fenced in the qualifying competition without withdrawing due to a disabling injury or illness cannot then petition to disregard or override those results. In addition, petitions will be denied for fencers who chose to fence in a regional qualifier (RYC, SYC, RJCC, and ROC) over their division qualifier.

A petition may be filed by a fencer who qualified (by means of competition or petition) to that same competition in the prior season or whose recent competitive record indicates a strong possibility that the athlete would have qualified had they been able to compete in the qualifying competition but:

• Was unable to compete in the various qualifying competitions this season due to COVID-19 restrictions, injury, illness, military deployment, study abroad, compulsory school requirements OR
• Did compete and had to withdraw because of a disabling injury or illness OR
• The number of qualifying athletes at a division qualifying tournament changed due to the inclusion of ineligible fencer(s) in the tournament (Note: Athletes who attend a school or university in the United States, outside of their division, shall not constitute inability to compete.)

For the 2021 USA Fencing National Championships, there will be no petition fee required to apply.

Petitions must include:

• A written statement that gives specific details of the dates, reason for absence or withdrawal, and other pertinent facts. Written notice from the independent attending physician and/or statement from the Bout Committee must substantiate any medical reasons if the medical reason required withdrawal from the qualifying competition.
• A summary of the fencer’s significant recent competitive results. In particular, results in previous National Championships and recent North American Cup (NAC) competitions should be noted. (Example: top 64 international, top 8 in a USA Fencing NAC/Championship, top 16 at a ROC, top 24 at an SYC).

Responses to the petition will be made via email. Petitions that do not meet these requirements will not be considered. Decisions on petitions will be based upon the validity of reasons given for absence or withdrawal and the probability that the fencer would have qualified had they competed in the qualifying competition to its conclusion, based on results achieved in other recent competitions.

If you have any questions regarding petitions, please contact nationalevents@usafencing.org.