International Weapon Checks

[dcmdale]

We don't have a club armorer and my daughter and I do all of the work on her epees and gear. We have never had any major issues.

My daughter is headed for her first real international competition in 2 weeks: the Cadet B in Budapest. Last week, her coach mentioned to me that the bell guard on her favorite weapon wouldn't pass weapons check because it wasn't completely round. I also remember a thread some time ago about painted epee grips not being legal (again, on her favorite weapon).

Are there other common "gotcha's" with equipment that we don't run into at USFA events?

I know the weapons check routine for NAC's, etc. What do the weapons checks at Cadet B/Junior A level events commonly look for?

I won't be travelling with her (work), so I really want to make sure that I am sending her in good shape equipment-wise.

[fencinman89]

Painted grips are LEGAL just not recommended, cus if the grip gets hit, then ur opponent gets the touch. I bell must not have ANY bumos or dings in it. I would suggest buying a new one or properly hammering out the old one. Gotta be flat tho. Make sure no wires are uninsulated. The wires are behind the epee socket. The spaghetti runs all the way up to the connector. The wires at the connector are not sticking out. That there is not such a huge cant that it will fail the Gab. Im sure there are more, those are the ones off the top of my head.
-Tre'

[MHS Fencer]

I've never had any problems with my epees, and they've had an insulated grip and relaly dinged-up bells. This is in a smattering of North American Senior World Cups, though but I don't know how the standards compare. The weapons checks that I faced were really pretty lax - just the standard run down - tip, inside the bell, and sometimes they checked for the FIE stamp on the blade.

I believe the Cadet B events are actually just events hosted by the national federation that the USFA designates (at least I'm pretty sure that's what they were in my day, although I never went - *@(& end of year birthday). In other words, I wouldn't expect them to be uberstrict - two screws, tight barrel, FIE blades, shouldn't have any prongs extending beyond the diameter of the bellguard (but I've never seen them check)... really just the standard. Chances are if she's gotten away with using the bell at national events recently (where apparently they've gotten more strict - I've only been to about 2 USFA tournaments in the past 2 years) that she'll be fine.

It's probably a good idea to listen to her coach (if he's gotten her to the level where international competition is a possibility he's probably doing something right) in terms of the bell, but I'm sure that could be adjusted to be round-looking.

It's intimidating to compete in an international event the first time, but it's also fun, and now she can always say she's represented her country - good luck to her! (and good luck to you as a parent, I know that sending a child off to another country alone can be scary)

[DHCJr]

As there has been implied above, there are international competitions and then there are International competitions. At many of the World Cups, there is no check of weapons, that is done on the strip. At World Championships there are many gotcha's, but at most other competitions Gabarits are rare.

Epee's are made to the maximum in every dimension, so there are a lot of failures. The guard is made to the maximum diameter and depth. If the guard is angled or dented, it probably will not pass IF there is a Gabarit. At most World Championship the US Armorers expect to shorten 1/4 to 1/3 of the blades, since they are too long. Have your daughter hold her weapon with the tip pointed straight towards your eyes, but 2 or 3 feet away. If you can see any part of the handle, it is angled to far. Flexibility can also be a problem. Some fencers have a tendency to have I beams for blades and some like to be able to have a spagetti blade. Both will probably fail, IF there is a Gabarit. One thing that does not need a Gabarit is resistance. Make sure there is no more than 2 Ohms resistance in a complete circuit between the A line, tip, B line and the Guard/blade and the C line is less than 1 Ohm. Each line of the body cord should be less than 1 Ohm. None of this last is difficult to achieve.

[ReverseLunge]

It is also possible to slip a 20 behind the felt pad when you bring your sword up to get checked.

[ThatReallyHurt]

It is also possible to slip a 20 behind the felt pad when you bring your sword up to get checked.

To keep the wire insulated, or to make the inside of the bellguard softer on the knuckles? Wouldn't a fiver be a cheaper fix?

[LUDICROUS]

It is also possible to slip a 20 behind the felt pad when you bring your sword up to get checked.

Someone has to try that.

[Larrison]

It is also possible to slip a 20 behind the felt pad when you bring your sword up to get checked.

Hah! reminds me of the old story about the student in college who stapled $100 to his test between the pages, when he turned it in. Professor graded the test, gave him a 37, and returned the test with $63 in change stapled between the pages.