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The following North Texas
Division Competition Policy was adopted 17 October 1997,
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The following information is copied from the USFA Operations Manual:
C. Competition Requirements NORTH TEXAS DIVISION POLICY as established by Executive Committee decision on 30 January 2008: I. I. Definition of Sanction from the United States Fencing Association (USFA) Operations Manual: a. Webster’s Concise English Dictionary defines sanction as: “official permission or approval.” A USFA sanctioned competition refers to competitions that have been authorized by USFA designated representatives who are responsible for the operation and conduct of official competitions (e.g. the USFA or one of its Divisions or Sections), in accordance with the Rules of Competition and related modifications as specified in the current USFA Operations Manual. b. Competitive members of the USFA can earn classifications at competitions that have been sanctioned by recognized entities under the jurisdiction of the USFA Board of Directors: e.g., Officers of Divisions or Sections, Regional Youth Coordinators or the Tournament Committee. For a competition to be considered sanctioned it must be included in the Division or Section official schedule mailed to the members and/or posted on the corresponding web site or, in the case of Regional Youth Circuit tournaments or National tournaments, published in the annual Athlete Handbook and/or posted on the Youth Committee web site, www.usfaryc.org, and the USFA web site, www.usfencing.org, respectively. – USFA Operations Manual c. The following paragraphs outline the conditions for application of the term sanctioned competition. Succeeding paragraphs of this document expand on specific areas with regards to the conduct of sanctioned competitions in North Texas Division. Nothing in the USFA Operations Manual, Division Operations Manual, or this document shall be understood to contradict the specifications of the USFA Rules of Competition, Part 5, Disciplinary Rules for Competition. USFA safety requirements must be followed at all USFA sanctioned competitions. II. II. Requesting sanction. For all USFA sanctioned competitions that take place in North Texas Division, the following rules, regulations and operating procedures shall be agreed upon in advance by the Local Division Organizer (LDO) and a signed copy of this agreement shall be submitted to the North Texas Division Secretary a minimum of 30 days prior to the tournament. [click here for agreement in pdf form] a. Failure to comply with any of these rules, regulations or procedures shall result in removal of sanction and the tournament shall be uninsured by the USFA. b. In addition, no ratings may be earned by fencers who compete in non-sanctioned events. III. III. The Division Calendar. This is the only OFFICIAL listing for Division-sanctioned tournaments. a. The Division shall include all sanctioned competitions on the Division Calendar on the Division web site: www.northtexasfencing.org b. Posting on www.askFRED.net does not mean that a tournament has been sanctioned. i. Annual Calendar meeting. The Division shall hold at least one annual calendar meeting each year. Clubs shall select dates for tournaments at this meeting, including tentative dates for tournaments whose venues have not been secured. c. Calendar additions. Additions to the calendar may be made throughout the year. i. LDO’s shall submit this signed agreement requesting sanctioning to the Division Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary as soon as possible. ii. The request shall be sent via email to the Executive Committee requesting approval. iii. Approval shall be granted by a simple majority vote. No proxy voting is allowed. Failure to respond by the requested date shall be accepted as a vote to abstain and not be counted against the requestor. d. The Division Secretary shall include tournament information on the calendar within 5 days of notification by the Executive Committee that sanction has been given. IV. IV. Selecting tournament dates. a. There shall not be two North Texas Division sanctioned tournaments on the same date without express approval by two-thirds of the Executive Committee. b. LDO’s shall, as much as possible, schedule tournaments so as not to conflict with: i. USFA North American Cup, Junior Olympics, or Summer National tournament dates. ii. North Texas Division Qualifiers for Junior Olympics or Summer Nationals iii. Southwest Section Qualifier for Summer Nationals. iv. Southwest Section Circuit Cup, Regional Youth Circuit, or other regional circuit events as they develop. c. Consideration shall be given to referee resources when scheduling tournaments on concurrent dates with other tournaments in the Southwest Section. i. Ratings restricted tournaments (Unrated, “E” and Under, “D” and Under, etc.) generally do not conflict with larger, well established tournaments. ii. Age restricted tournaments (Youth 10, Youth 12, Veteran, etc.) generally do not conflict with Senior or Open events. d. When scheduling dates on concurrent dates with another tournament in the Southwest Section, consideration shall be given to putting similar events on opposite days. V. V. Local Division Organizer (LDO) requirements: a. Sanctioned competitions must be organized and conducted by persons appointed by the appropriate USFA governing group, e.g., Divisions, Sections, Tournament Committee, Youth Committee, etc. b. Sanctioned tournaments must follow current USFA rules and shall be run in accordance with the current policies as set forth in the USFA Operations Manual, USFA Division Operations Manual, USFA Athlete's Handbook, Southwest Section operations manuals (including the Southwest Section Circuit Cup), and Division Bylaws. The Southwest Section operations manuals (including the Southwest Section Circuit Cup) and Division Bylaws shall not conflict with USFA rules, policies or procedures. If such a conflict shall arise, the USFA rules, policies, or procedures shall be considered as the ultimate authority. c. The LDO shall implement additional operating requirements for Sectional or Regional competitions operating under USFA jurisdiction (i.e., Regional Youth Circuit, Southwest Section Circuit Cup, etc..) if they are more stringent than the requirements in this document. d. Sanctioned competitions shall be open to current USFA competitive members who meet the stated restrictions of the competitions, such as age category or the type of competition, e.g., Class “C” or Division II or similar restrictions, or as an Open with only minimum age restriction. e. If a tournament does not follow these rules, policies or procedures, the tournament shall lose the Division sanction and all ratings earned shall be null and void. VI. VI. The Tournament. a. Each competition shall be self-sufficient; that is, entry fees shall cover all projected expenses. The local organizer may request assistance from the Division to run their tournaments by selecting one of the following options: i. OPTION A - $2/entry/event - The Host shall provide the space, and either the personnel or equipment to properly run the competition. The Division shall provide equipment or registration, armorer, and bout committee personnel, whichever is not provided by the Host. ii. OPTION B - $4/entry/event - The Host shall provide the space. The Division shall provide registration, armorer, and bout committee personnel and equipment. . b. Events shall be run in a timely and orderly manner. The manner in which tournaments are run reflects directly on the Division and any future Division competitions that may be sponsored by the Host. c. All USFA rules shall be followed, particularly those regarding age groups, attire and membership. d. There shall be an equipment check for all Division sanctioned tournaments to include at minimum mask, body cord and weapons. Referees shall check for proper attire on strip and not allow fencers to compete without required equipment or clothing. e. Notification shall be given to each Division member through one of the following: i. Fliers mailed to each Division member 1. Organizer shall provide the Division Secretary with required number of fliers 2. Organizer shall pay for labels and postage ii. Bulk fliers mailed to all clubs on Division Directory (minimum of 25 per club) iii. Flier emailed to Division Secretary in electronic format (Word, MS Publisher, or Adobe PDF format) to be posted on Division web site f. Any deviation from published information about the sanctioned competitions – either in manner of operation or splitting or combining to increase the number of classifications to be earned is basis for withdrawal of the sanction and shall thus nullify award of classifications. g. Referees shall be unbiased and knowledgeable of the Rules of Fencing. The Division recognizes that there are many fencers who are excellent referees, but are not rated by the US FOC; however, whenever possible, US FOC rated referees shall be hired. At a minimum, semi-final and final bouts shall be officiated by rated referees. h. The organizers are encouraged to use one of the many computer-based programs available to run their tournament; however, this is not required. At a minimum, seeding prior to pools and seeding after pools shall be posted and sufficient time allotted for fencers to review such postings prior to the start of fencing. i. The Bout Committee shall consist of the LDO and one representative from each club with fencers represented in the event. The Bout Committee names shall be posted prior to the event. j. The facility at which USFA sanctioned competitions/tournaments are held shall have proper insurance coverage for the duration of the tournament. Consult with USFA Membership Services for third party insurance details. k. A sanctioned tournament or competition shall meet the USFA Rules of Competition, including the layout of strips in the facility. Minimum requirements for such strip configuration are divided by the level at which the competitions are held. See Appendix N of the USFA Operations Manual for strip specifications. i. Local: Fencing strips need to be at least 1 meter wide and 12 meters long, with adequate run-off. They need not be grounded. Scoring apparatus can be located at a reasonable position along the strip, ensuring clear visibility for the referee’s line of sight to the fencing; with placement at the center of the strip optimal. The final two meters of the strip must be clearly marked. In regards to the run off, if the facility does not have the means for exact compliance, accommodations must be made in how the strip usage is handled. For example, if there is insufficient room for the proper length of the strip, then the fencer must be given opportunity in use of the strip to have an equivalent amount of strip during the bouts. ii. Regional/Qualifier: Fencing strips need to be at least 1.2 meters wide and 14 meters long, with adequate run-off. When possible, finals strips shall be grounded. Scoring apparatus must be clearly visible from either end of the strip with placement at the center of the strip optimal for the referee. The final two meters of the strip must be clearly marked. VII. VII. Completion of the Tournament. a. After the tournament, the LDO shall submit a list of new memberships collected at the tournament to the Division Secretary to include for each member: i. Name ii. Club affiliation iii. Membership type iv. Birth year v. Male or female b. The LDO may choose to mail the new member forms and payments to the Division Treasurer for submission to the USFA. Only checks or credit cards may be submitted; no cash. c. The LDO shall submit a complete list of results showing fencers’ names, fencer classification before the event, and any earned classifications to the Division Secretary. The complete list is not required if the LDO uses askFRED; however, a list of fencers who earned new classification shall be sent to the Division Secretary.
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