Okay, admittedly I haven't been to a Sectionals in 7 years or so, but...

[rmyounis]

...it really seemed like a much higher level tournament than I remember it being! Almost all of the fencers (out of the 30-40 I think were there) were C rated or higher - in fact, no one in my pool was lower than a C. Has anyone else noticed Sectionals becoming a bigger deal over the years, and does this mean fencing is expanding in the US? I hope so

[telkanuru]

Not around here, but then again, you don't have to travel very far (max 8 ish hours by car, I think). It's possible that where you are had a very strong turnout due to travel expenses keeping the scrubs away. I'll take it you made it ok, then ?

[Inquartata]

The sabre event in my Section was about 3 times larger than last year and twice the size of the year before. Naturally, this is the year I didn't go
( because I can't do Div I-A, thanks to it being scheduled on the same day as the Vet MS---thanks again, USFA ).

So yes, it seems to have been bigger this year. No idea why.

[mrbiggs]

Originally Posted by Inquartata

The sabre event in my Section was about 3 times larger than last year and twice the size of the year before. Naturally, this is the year I didn't go
( because I can't do Div I-A, thanks to it being scheduled on the same day as the Vet MS---thanks again, USFA ).

So yes, it seems to have been bigger this year. No idea why.

I think they figured that old people aren't good enough for the 1A tournament anyway.

[Peach]

They've done that to other weapons as well--I can't do the I-A this year, and it's my only other event because I can't do the Div II or III. However, I heard from the chair of the Veterans Committee that I was the only one who wrote to the USFA, at least right after the schedule was announced, so they couldn't change the schedule when it was still a possibility. I assume others have written since then.

[noodle]

southeast sectionals was the largest in a very long time this year with somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 fencers total.