tournament ethics

[foildad]

Should a fencer enter a qualifying tournament for an event he/she has no intention of attending? On the one hand, he is helping the division by increasing the population. On the other hand, he may qualify and waste a spot in the tournament.
In my case, my 13 year old son wants to fence in the JO qualifying tournament. He wants to enter for the simple reason that he wants to fence the local cadets; I can't fault him for that. If he qualifies I wouldn't pressure him to fly to Arlington to get his butt kicked at JO's.
Should I just encourage him to do want he wants to do, or should I worry about the ethics?

[MattyCam]

Foildad,

Don't worry about this. This happens in most sections. Not every kid goes to JOs that qualifies. If you child likes fencing and is amped to take it to the next level, that's a good thing. He should be competing against the next level/age group. Besides, the people who are dead set on going to JOs should qualify themsleves. In the larger scheme here I think, and I could be wrong, if your son wants to compete at the next level, let him. Sport is a good thing. What if he does well and qualifies and wants to go to JOs? Will you go with him? Would you encourage him in Arlington?

--Matt

[foildad]

With a little luck he could qualify, and if he wanted to go I'd take him. Would I encourage him to go? That's the tougher question. Last year he did great for a rookie. Points in 2 weapons at nationals. But that was Y12. I think he knows what he's ready for better than I do.

[oiuyt]

Whether or not he has any intention of fencing at JO's shouldn't negatively affect the decision on whether or not to fence in the qualifier. Treat the qualifier as just another local tournament. Certainly don't worry about whether or not he'll take up a qualifying slot, thereby denying it to someone else who really wants to go. If that person deserved to qualify then he would have, if not, then merely wanting to go shouldn't be enough. Either way shouldn't change training and development plans for YOUR son's fencing.

Tons of people fence in all types of qualifiers without any intention of continuing to the next level. Frequently this occurs with people that know that they will qualify and therefore will definitely be taking up qualifying slots. Oh well. Nothing unethical about using a qualifier as just another local tournament.

-B :)

[greenchick]

I think he knows what he's ready for better than I do.

If that's the case, trust his instincts on this one. I don't know where you are, but in my division, JO Quals are a bigger and tougher tournament than the other kids' tournaments in the division, but nowhere near as tough as JOs or Nationals. Given that, it's a logical next step for a lot of kids whether they qualify or not.

(And I echo what everyone else said about the ethics of possibly taking away a slot. Not an issue.)

[fence1848]

In addition to the arguments above - consider this. I've made a lot of last minutes decisions on whether or not to attend a national tournament. If I had not even attmpted to fence in the qualifying event, however, it would have been a major problem and caused major headaches. If he fences in the qualifying event, he will at least have that option open to him if he later changes his mind and wants to go.

[O_O]

your kid isnt very good anyway. you dont have to worry about him taking anyone's spot

[Mo]

Foil Dad,
If your son wants to go to the JO's as a Y-12 fencer, he needs to have points in Y14. If not he cannot qualify.
If he does have the points, then let him at it!!

[SouthPaw]

If your kid qualifies for the JO's, then anyone who didn't qualify because of him must be worse than him... so if you think your kid will get his butt kicked at the JO's, the same is true for whoever he's "denying" a spot to. Either 1, your kid will end up going to the JO's and compete anyway for the experience, or 2, the other kid would have done that and gotten his butt kicked. If anyone really wants to go to the JO's, they'll just hafta beat your son. No reason to not participate.

[mrbiggs]

your kid isnt very good anyway. you dont have to worry about him taking anyone's spot

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Why would you even say that?

To counter that response...

Foildad, your kid is awesome at fencing! There is no doubt in my mind that he'll qualify.

[foildad]

your kid isnt very good anyway. you dont have to worry about him taking anyone's spot

It's a good thing he doesn't have you for a father.

[esskreemr]

Don't feed the troll

[foildad]

Thanks to everyone for the excellent advice. JO qualifiers were this past weekend. To skip this tournament would have been a huge mistake. The competition was definitely tougher than our local youth tournaments, and the level of competition is precisely what my son needs at this point in his development.

.....^
Foildad, your kid is awesome at fencing! There is no doubt in my mind that he'll qualify.

mrbiggs, you are great. And you were right about my son. He qualified in cadet foil. In your honor we listened to Jethro Tull on the drive home.

[SupportCrew]

And now you'll find yourself taking another look at your budget, and saying, hmmm, if I eat macs and cheese, we can afford a ticket to Arlington. Or, hmmm, I know he has a school competition, but if it finishes early, we can still catch that last flight.
Ahh, the world of being a fencing parent. Trying to squeeze 45 days of activities into each month, and taking whatever salary you make, and stretching another 25 percent.
Have fun (she says as she reminds herself that she really should be looking at discount flights to Kansas and Arlington instead of reading the fencing board)

[Epictetus]

Hey, tell your son congrats, that's pretty impressive.

Yep, I'm glad I don't live at home anymore. Wouldn't want to put my folks through any more of my antics :P

[telkanuru]

And now you'll find yourself taking another look at your budget, and saying, hmmm, if I eat macs and cheese, we can afford a ticket to Arlington.

Hmm... if I only take 3 credits and live in a cardboard box eating rats and ducks from the campus pond while working 3 jobs, I can get to Nationals...

[GGK]

Hmm... if I only take 3 credits and live in a cardboard box eating rats and ducks from the campus pond while working 3 jobs, I can get to Nationals...

Sell the roasted duck. You'll rake in the cash

G