A5 Tournament level?

[KD5MDK]

Given the Div I NAC had 220+ entries for Men's Epee, all of whom were Cs or above, perhaps it is time to offer an A5 level of tournament in the USFA, with appropriate rating increases. Perhaps:

128 fencers required.
24 As
24 Bs
24 Cs
1-16 get As
17-32 get Bs
33-48 get Cs
49-64 get Ds
65-72 get Es

or something like that effect. Maybe an A6 level if there are 256 fencers registered?

[RITFencing]

Eh, I think ratings are a bit too easy to come by, but then again, they don't mean very much. NACs give out points, though, which are way more important than As anyway.

[OROD]

I think in general the chart the USFA uses needs to be updated. This is a good suggestion for the really big tournaments, but it would be nice to see some more granularity in the lower levels.


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[JEC]

The initial seeding showed over 105 A's and over 70 B's. I think the entry criteria for A5 should be more like 48 As and 48 Bs with a field of at least 128. The A6 should be 96 As, 96 Bs and a field of 256.

[KD5MDK]

See my thread on the X2.5 level of tournament suggestion:

http://www.fencing.net/forums/fencin...on/t17037.html

[mrbiggs]

Or you could just give everyone with senior national points an A.

[KD5MDK]

Yes, however, I think it is possible that non-national tournaments may very well reach the A5 level I proposed in the not so distant future. For example, if the Longhorn Open this year had been Mixed instead of Mens and Womens, and the same people entered, there would have been 124 fencers and 24 As. I can't wait to see what the Pouj looks like this year, and if the Crescent City Open recovers, it had 143 fencers in mixed foil in 2004. Let alone Duel in the Desert or any of the big Pacific Coast or East Coast tournaments.

[prototoast]

Eh, I think ratings are a bit too easy to come by, but then again, they don't mean very much. NACs give out points, though, which are way more important than As anyway.

Yeah, but where do most ratings overinflations come from? Not from massive tournaments. Most come from the small ones, the A1 or B1--especially mixed ones. I don't see anything wrong with adding more distinctions at the high end. When the results are AAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAACAAABAAAAAA for the top 32, I don't see anything wrong with all those people earning A's.

[KD5MDK]

One of the other things to keep in mind is that some areas do not have sufficient strength of fencing to make substantial ratings adjustments. For example, if there aren't any As or Bs in your region fencing in your weapon, the only way you can earn a rating of A or B is at a national tournament (or you could travel to a local tournament somewhere else in the country, but NACs make most sense). Given that, if the national tournament ratings fail to reflect the quality of fencing going on, a guy who comes from North Dakota or wherever and places 9th at a Div I NAC still won't have an A rating. Sure you get national points, but most tournaments don't take those into account that I know of.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

If someone makes national points, and they're a B, or a C (atleast in mens epee) it was a fluke. Go cream some people at a local open and get your A, if you deserve it.

[Army Fencer]

Hmmm... I earned my second B for taking 13th at National Champs in 2003. Does that make me a fluke, oh wise DFP?

[Black Jeebus]

What was that about some new outbreak of foot and mouth disease?

[Army Fencer]

What was that about some new outbreak of foot and mouth disease?

Oh, flukes are much nastier than foot and mouth...

[counterattack]

If someone makes national points, and they're a B, or a C (atleast in mens epee) it was a fluke. Go cream some people at a local open and get your A, if you deserve it.

God. Having just come from Pittsburgh where every bout in every round was hard, I have to believe that at least in Men's Epee there is no fluke way to make top 16. For the one in a thousand time where someone actually got an "easy" path through something like that, I would be willing to concede them their lottery ticket A. There are certainly much easier ways to get an A than that with the current classification tables.

[KD5MDK]

If someone makes national points, and they're a B, or a C (atleast in mens epee) it was a fluke. Go cream some people at a local open and get your A, if you deserve it.

That assumes your local opens are A rated tournaments. The world does not only consist of Men's Epee, even assuming that it offers A rated tournaments all over the country.

[Inquartata]

Oh ye gods, not the "fluke" imbroglio again! Run away, run away!

[CvilleFencer]

If someone makes national points, and they're a B, or a C (atleast in mens epee) it was a fluke. Go cream some people at a local open and get your A, if you deserve it.

They have a lot of foil/saber A level events down your way do they? In my area it is pretty much unheard off to find an A level foil event and pretty rare for saber. Also, there are several B's on the national points list. With points from multiple tourneys. Think they are flukes also?

[larkmaj]

128 fencers required.
24 As
24 Bs
24 Cs
1-16 get As
17-32 get Bs
33-48 get Cs
49-64 get Ds
65-72 get Es

According to this theoretically one does not need to win a DE in order to get an A. This is why there are no Es given out in an A4 event.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Hmmm... I earned my second B for taking 13th at National Champs in 2003. Does that make me a fluke, oh wise DFP?

Well, you went and earned you A, right?

[CvilleFencer]

According to this theoretically one does not need to win a DE in order to get an A.

Can you explain that math to me please? With a field of at least 128 I am not sure how you could bye into the top 24...