New Kit just Purchased

[Sword Mistress]

a few important tips:

TAKE CARE OF YOUR EQUIPMENT.
the more frequently you check and maintain your equipment, the longer lifespan it will have. this is especially true with Leon Paul bodycords/sockets. I'm not trying to bash them, just warn you of the inevitable.

everytime before and after you fence, check your equipment to make sure it works. This will save you TONS of time and money when you start going to tournaments where equipment is checked/passed. i've known a few people who do this, and they RARELY have ever had equipment fail or had their things confiscated.

Leon Paul has some really good stuff. that's alot of stuff you bought! like another poster said before, Barry would shake your hand gladly at the next tournament he's at.

if you ever have any problems at a tournament and LP isn't there to help, i know a few vendors that would gladly service your equipment.

[smohrle]

pigeonmeister and sword mistress:
Thanks so much for the words of advice...
I have already changed to the pistol grip, and we are ordering a couple of dry foils on the advice of our coach...

I have a question:
When I do become accomplished enough to compete, what age group or group and what would be open to me? I am 27.

Thanks again for the advice! We are having a blast...we go M-F for about 1.5 hours!! I would do more, but my legs might not forgive me

Sarah

[Goofy]

Originally Posted by smohrle

I have a question:
When I do become accomplished enough to compete, what age group or group and what would be open to me? I am 27.

Unfortunately, there aren't any likely age-group events for you (unless one is set up at a local tournament); everything you are eligible for will be either open (anyone can compete) or ratings-restricted (only individuals with certain ratings can compete).

A primer on ratings- there is a progressive system in the USFA that awards a letter based on where you finish in a tournament. Everyone starts out as U (unrated), and then can earn an E, D, C, B, or A depending on the strength of the tournament and where you finish. Go to the USFA web site and look up 'classification chart' to see the details.

As for what events you can compete in:

Locally you will be eligible for any open, and most ratings-restricted, events.

At the Divisional level there will be qualifying competitions for Nationals in the Division III (ratings of D, E, and U only) and Division II (ratings of C, D, E, and U only) categories. You will be able to compete in these as long as your rating meets the criteria.

At the Sectional level there is a qualifying competition for Nationals; it normally is open, and based on your results and rating you can can qualify for Nationals in the Division III and Division II categories, as well as the Division IA (no rating restrictions) category.

There are National-level events (NAC's) held throughout the season- Division III, Division II, and (should you earn a C, B, or A rating) Division I.

Finally, if you qualify, the National Championships has events in each of these. For Division I there is no qualifying competition, but you wuld be eligible if you had National points from a NAC for that season.

[wpotere]

Sarah,

As others have said, it may be best to attend a C and below tourney before you hit the bigger events. This will actually do two things for you. One, it will allow you to get the feel of how one of these events works and the other is that you can earn a lower rank a little easier. You will also meet some great people. The UT event in Austin is a great time, but there are a lot of really good fencers there and it could turn into a short day. I fenced in Austin (AFC) and know that Texas in general has a lot of great local events (Dallas and Austin).

Anyway, welcome to a great sport and great job on the choices that you have made. I'm certain that you will love it...

[KD5MDK]

I don't see many C & Under events in the area. Usually D & Under or E & Under. The latter at the Spruill-Masters this spring was quite large. Anyway, it's really up to you when you start. The Southwest Section Circuit Cup will be the best 5 tournament in the region, pretty much. The Crescent City Open in New Orleans is pretty good as well. As wpotere said, the open competitions will be fairly stiff competition there, so you may not get too much fencing in as a beginner. On the other hand, the SSCC is currently gender divided, and so Women's Foil will be a smaller field than Mixed would be. Generally, the smaller the field, the less rigorous the tournament. Just about all local tournaments have women's only events, and some of them are fairly lightly attended; They may make good places to start. Just about everyone uses AskFred.net - Go there regularly and see if any new tournaments have been added (there's a few up now, and many more will be coming).

[wpotere]

Originally Posted by KD5MDK

I don't see many C & Under events in the area. Usually D & Under or E & Under. The latter at the Spruill-Masters this spring was quite large. Anyway, it's really up to you when you start. The Southwest Section Circuit Cup will be the best 5 tournament in the region, pretty much. The Crescent City Open in New Orleans is pretty good as well. As wpotere said, the open competitions will be fairly stiff competition there, so you may not get too much fencing in as a beginner. On the other hand, the SSCC is currently gender divided, and so Women's Foil will be a smaller field than Mixed would be. Generally, the smaller the field, the less rigorous the tournament. Just about all local tournaments have women's only events, and some of them are fairly lightly attended; They may make good places to start. Just about everyone uses AskFred.net - Go there regularly and see if any new tournaments have been added (there's a few up now, and many more will be coming).

There are a few, you just have to look....

I just got tired of being slaughtered by the Kubik family!