USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – USA Fencing is pleased to announce the release of the day schedule for the 2022 USA Fencing National Championships and July Challenge which will be held from July 2-11 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, MN.

The tournament will include National Championships in the following categories:

• Division IA
• Division II
• Division III
• Y14
• Y12
• Y10
• Veteran Age (V40, V50, V60, V70, V80+)

All competitors in championship events must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Athletes that have represented another country in the last three years at FIE level competitions (Senior/Junior and those athletes that represented another country in the Cadet World Championships) are not eligible to compete in National Championships, unless the athlete has been officially approved by the FIE to represent the USA.

In addition, the tournament will include non-Championship events as a part of the July Challenge for the following categories:

• Division I
• Junior
• Cadet
• Senior Team
• Veteran Team

As a reminder, athletes competing in the Senior and Veteran Team events do not have to represent the same club, as the events are not championships.

 

Key Dates

Registration Opens: April 6

Petition Applications Open: April 6

Qualification Deadline: May 25

Petition Applications Close: May 25

Regular Entry Deadline: May 25

Withdrawal Deadline: June 8

Late Entry Deadline: 5 p.m. EDT on the day prior the start of each event

 

Petition Process

In exceptional cases, subject to approval by the USA Fencing Board of Directors or National Office, a member of USA Fencing in good standing may be permitted to qualify to the Division I Championships, Junior Olympic Fencing Championships, the July Challenge or the USA Fencing National Championships by petition. No petition may contravene the results of a qualifying competition – 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. Petitions will be denied for fencers who chose to fence in a regional qualifier (RYC, SYC, RJCC, and ROC) over their division qualifier. U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents are eligible to petition.

The following criteria and procedures are applicable to filling a petition:

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 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)

All petitions must be made through an online system to USA Fencing National Events; the petition link is available through the specific tournament page on www.usafencing.org. Under no circumstances will petitions be accepted if received after the late fee entry deadline for the Championships.

The petition must be accompanied by:

1. A non-refundable petition fee of $100.00 will be charged at the conclusion of the online petition process.
2. 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.
3. A summary of the fencer’s significant recent competitive results. In particular, results in previous
   1. 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).
4. If the petition is not approved and the athlete is already registered for the Championship, only the event fee will be refunded.
5. Responses to the petition will be made via email. Petitions that do not meet these requirements will not be considered.
6. 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.
7. If a fencer is permitted to enter the Junior Olympic Fencing Championships, Division I National Championships, July Challenge or USA Fencing National Championship competition by this petition procedure, the fencers’ entry will in no way affect the number of qualifiers from the division involved.

 

Hotel

Room reservations are available for a discounted rate through USA Fencing partner GroupHousing. Click HERE to book.

 

Qualification Pathways

See the Qualification and Eligibility Charts at the links below for information on how fencers may qualify for the various events for the National Championships and July Challenge. For the Y14, Division II and Division III categories, fencers may qualify by placing in the top 25% of Division Qualifier tournaments if not already qualified by points. Please note these criteria are in addition to any of the eligibility criteria necessary to compete in an event.

• 2021-22 Age/Classification Eligibility Chart
• 2021-22 Qualifications Chart

For more details on qualifying for events, Chapter 2 of the Athlete Handbook may also be consulted.