Usfa

[handartista]

Hey Guys,

I have a question;

Right now I am fencing in Budapest, Hungary, but will soon be moving to the United States (MN). I will be living in a small town, and the nearest fencing club is 90 miles away...

Can I enter official tournaments (USFA) if I am not a member of an official USFA club? and please fill me in as to how the rankings etc work...

Thank You,
Michael

[RebelFencer]

I believe you will have to fill out a USFA membership form. From what I've seen, all ratings you have earned in Hungary will not transfer here and you will start as a U. But I believe you will have to join the USFA to fence in the official tournaments.

[D'Artagnan1673]

I believe you will have to fill out a USFA membership form. From what I've seen, all ratings you have earned in Hungary will not transfer here and you will start as a U. But I believe you will have to join the USFA to fence in the official tournaments.

Correct, as to your other question, to the best of my knowledge, you do not have to be a member of a club to be a USFA member. On that part of the card, you do not have to choose a club. Or, you can "affiliate" yourself with the nearest club for registration purposes if it is required.

My apologies for moving to a part of our country where fencing is so dead. I have a 90 mile drive for a tournament, but even my area has one club.

[handartista]

1. What are the american rankings (all of them) and what is their order, and what do they mean?
2. How do I become a member?

Thank You so much for your help!
-Michael

[DHCJr]

You can be part of the largest club, especially during the collegiate season, Unattached. You do not need to be a member for individual.

There are 6 USFA ratings, which are used for seeding purposes. U is unrated and then going from the lowest to the highest E, D, C, B, A. They are further divided up by the year you earned the rating. This is used to seed a tournament.

Ratings are earned based on how you did at a tournament and how strong the tournament was. The actual numbers can be found on the USFA web site in the Atheletes Handbook.

[handartista]

Good to know. Explain to me... Say I got 1st place in a state tournament and that was my first tournament (Im not expecting to get first :P Im just trying to understand), with that ONE tournament would your ranking go up to an A?

and, Where can I find info on joining USFA?

[D'Artagnan1673]

Here is a more colorful rendition of the ratings

U - Rank beginner to competent fencer who never places high enough in the right tournaments.

E/D - A competent fencer who has placed in the top 8 of a fairly high event. Or a mediocre or good fencer who enters into a small rating restricted tournament and makes the top four. --- we have events that only low rated fencers may enter.

C - Darn good, typically places high even tough events.

B - near elite, has won or made the finals in very tough tournaments.

A - kiss the rest of your day goodbye if you draw one of them in the direct elimination.

[D'Artagnan1673]

Good to know. Explain to me... Say I got 1st place in a state tournament and that was my first tournament (Im not expecting to get first :P Im just trying to understand), with that ONE tournament would your ranking go up to an A?

and, Where can I find info on joining USFA?

There are stories of high ranking European fencers in the states entering a high level regional tournament and going from a U to an A in one tournament.
As long as you've got 2 A's & 2 B's in the top 8, the winner of such an event will get an A.

As to joining, I believe you can download a form on the USFA website. Also, many tournaments allow you register with the USFA at the door of a tournament.

[RebelFencer]

In order to win your ratings a tournament has to be of a certain strength. For example: If 2 Cs and 2 Ds showed up to a tournament where there were at least 15 fencers the tournament would be strong enough to make it a C level tournament. If all goes as it should first place gets a C, 2nd-4th get Ds and a certain number below get Es. It all depends on a)who comes to the tournament, b)how many people come to the tournament, and c)the people who make the tournament rated whatever it is finish at a certain place in the brackets so that the tournament doesn't lose strength.

[handartista]

Wow... thank you for the info... How can I find out about Minnesota/Midwest Region tournaments? Large and Small? I looked around on the web and cant find anything...

and its possible to go down in rating correct?

[D'Artagnan1673]

Wow... thank you for the info... How can I find out about Minnesota/Midwest Region tournaments? Large and Small? I looked around on the web and cant find anything...

and its possible to go down in rating correct?

I would start right here.

http://www.visi.com/~hue/fencing/index.html

[RebelFencer]

You go down a rating after 4 years of rating stagnation.

[handartista]

Thank you everyone,

-Michael

[Mergs]

To answer the original question, no you don't have to list a particular club. You can fence "Unattached" and be a member of the particular Division you live in.

[epeemike81]

a lot of incomplete or just wrong statements about earning ratings in this thread... rather than try to explain them all, let me just refer you to the current ratings chart. it will tell you exactly how ratings are rewarded:

http://www.usfencing.org/Documents/R...sMan/Class.asp

-m

[handartista]

Thank you Epeemike... Sounds like if I want to make it in the bigtime Im going to be doing a lot of travelling Minnesota doesnt have many high ranking comps from what it seems.

[handartista]

Mike, I noticed you were from MA... Are you familiar with Scott Bozek?

[epeemike81]

doesn't sound familiar. what does he fence?

-m

[sabreman]

Scott Bozek was US Epee National Champ and member of the 1976 US Olympic team. Lived in DC area at that time have no idea where he is now.

[whtouche]

To more specifically answer one of your questions - yes, if you were to win or finish high enogh in a strong enough tournament, you could conceivably go from a U to an A in your first tournament.
Segey Isayenko, from the ukraine currently attending st. johns university in new york(and also a really nice guy if I remember correctly) entered a tournament in connecticut last year as his first USFA tournament. Went from a U to a B (I think there weren't enough As in the top 8 to make it an A tournament)

So, yup - it's possible.

Out of curiousity, handartista, what is your fencing background? Weapon, experience etc?