Appeal form?

[KShan5[PrFC]]

I was wondering if anyone had the appeal form for nationals saved somewhere. I went to the usfa site http://www.usfencing.org/do/formsDownloads but it won't open.

Thanks

[myhero]

You probably should have seen that coming and not gotten hurt in the first place.

Oh yeah and when you do find the form, try not to mention any details about the injury.

[bigdawg2121]

Dude, forget the form and write the petition. Your letter, one from a division officer, your entry form. The end.

[oiuyt]

From the athlete's handbook:

2.8. Appeal/Petition Process

In exceptional cases, subject to approval by the USFA Executive Committee, a member of the USFA in good standing may be permitted to qualify to the Junior Olympic Championships or Summer National Championships by appeal. No petition may contravene the results of a qualifying competition. There is no appeal for Division I Nationals, the fencer either meets the qualification standards or does not.

Here are some examples of appeals and their dispositions:

a) If you are injured or become ill while competing in a qualifying competition and do not withdraw on a medical basis, your result stands and there is NO appeal. It is better not to fence and get medical documentation or to withdraw and ask the bout committee for a written statement verifying the medical withdrawal. That statement or medical documentation must be submitted with your appeal.

b) Appeals will not be considered for the case in which fencer is attending school in another division. Division membership is determined by where you live, where you go to school, or the location of the club that you represent in competition. When you renew your membership in the USFA, you must state the Division to which you wish to be assigned based on these criteria. That is your Division for the year and the one from which you must qualify to Championship tournaments.

c) The Division scheduled the qualifying competition on the same weekend as an NAC. (Divisions and Sections try to avoid such conflicts but it may not always be possible.)
The athlete must decide in which competition (s)he wishes to compete. An appeal will not be approved if the athlete decides to fence in the NAC rather than the qualifying competition.

The following criteria and procedures are applicable to filing an appeal.
An appeal may be filed by a fencer who qualified to that same competition in the prior season or whose competitive record during the current fencing season indicates a strong possibility that (s)he would have qualified had (s)he been able to compete in the qualifying competition but:

a) was unable to compete in the qualifying competitions this season (Mere attendance at an out of town school during the qualifying competition shall not constitute inability to compete), OR

b) did compete and had to withdraw because of a disabling injury or illness.
All appeals must be made in writing to the Director of National Events, USFA National Office, 1 Olympic Plaza, Colorado Springs, CO 80909-5774. Such appeals should be filed within five business days following the competition at which the petitioner could have qualified. Petitions must be received at the National Office no later than two weeks prior to the entry deadline for the Junior Olympic or Summer National Championships to which the petitioner seeks entry. Relief from this deadline will be granted only when the specific qualifying competition is held less than two weeks prior to the entry deadline. Under no circumstances will petitions be accepted if received after the entry deadline for the Championships.

The appeal must be accompanied by:

a) A non refundable-filing fee of $40.00, payable to the USFA.

b) A written statement that gives the specific details of the dates, reason for absence or withdrawal, and other pertinent facts. Written notice from the attending physician and/or statement from the Bout Committee must substantiate any medical reasons if the medical reason required withdrawal from the qualifying competition.

c) A summary of the fencer's significant competitive results during the past year. In particular, results in previous National Championships and recent North American Cup competitions should be noted.

d) Evidence that a copy of the petition has been submitted to the Chair or Secretary of the Division or Section that hosted the qualifying competition. If the basis for the petition does not correspond with information available to the Division or Section officer, then the USFA expects that officer to so notify the national office in writing.
The Officer can then file a statement recommending denial of appeal and reasons thereto. Otherwise, it will be assumed the Officer has no objection to approval of appeal.

e) A completed entry form for the competition with the correct registration and entry fees. If the petition is not approved, these fees associated with the entry will be refunded.

f) A self addressed, stamped envelope for reply to the appeal if athlete does not have a current e-mail address; otherwise responses to the appeal will be made by e-mail.

Petitions that do not meet these requirements will not be considered.
Decisions on petitions will be based upon the validity of reasons given for absence or withdrawal and the probability that the fencer would have qualified had (s)he competed in the qualifying competition to its conclusion, based on results achieved in other competitions.

If a fencer is permitted to enter a National Championship competition by this appeal procedure, the fencer’s entry will in no way affect the number of qualifiers from the Division or Section involved.

I don't believe that there exists a set form. You need to write a letter and fulfill the criteria above.

-B

[oiuyt]

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

Dude, forget the form and write the petition. Your letter, one from a division officer, your entry form. The end.

Note that bigdawg's response does NOT fit the criteria to be considered a valid appeal. Specifically it omits the petitioning fee, which is likely to be required even if other requirements are waived.

-B

[fencergal33]

Here is the appeal procedures that were sent to me by Christine Simmons for my appeal.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

Thanks for that, that's what I was looking for.

[DJ Apostrophe]

Originally Posted by KShan5[PrFC]

I was wondering if anyone had the appeal form for nationals saved somewhere. I went to the usfa site http://www.usfencing.org/do/formsDownloads but it won't open.

Thanks

Just another case of
"Shanahan vs. X ...

X wins..."

to join the likes of:
18 wheeler truck
Head Gasket
Pole
and by your own admission ... Me

-w

[fencergal33]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how long it takes to get an answer on an appeal?

[Poulet]

2-3 months, depending on how busy everyone is.

[fencergal33]

That would be incorrect, since that would put me way past the entry deadline, etc.

[bigdawg2121]

Depends on a variety of things, how busy they are, how much they loke you, how long the mail takes to arrive...generally less than a week, maybe two.

[fencergal33]

I submitted my appeal on 4/19 by e-mail. I know the Sacramento NAC was last weekend, so I figured I wouldn't hear anything during that. I haven't even received a confirmation of receipt though....

I don't want to bug Christine Simmons if it's too early.

[oiuyt]

Originally Posted by fencergal33

I submitted my appeal on 4/19 by e-mail. I know the Sacramento NAC was last weekend, so I figured I wouldn't hear anything during that. I haven't even received a confirmation of receipt though....

I don't want to bug Christine Simmons if it's too early.

You submitted the petition fee via email? And the entry form and fee? Not sure I know a way of doing that that I would consider safe. Without those components it's an incomplete appeal and presumably doesn't even get to the consideration stage.

The EC rules on petitions. Obvious thing to do is wait until the registration deadline (also the petition deadline) and then go through them all at once. Anyone denied then gets their entry fees refunded, everyone else is told they're in.

Note that this isn't necessarily the method that makes it easiest for those petitioning into events to make travel plans well in advance. With a sufficiently early deadline that's a minor but potentially noticeable issue depending on how long the EC takes to make their determinations/announcements.

-B

[fencergal33]

Yes. Christine told me she would prefer it by e-mail. I scanned all the necessary forms and attached them to the e-mail. She told me if I did it that way, they would charge the appeal fee to the credit card I charged my entry fees to. That's the way of doing that.

I don't want to wait for a confirmation of receipt until the entry deadline. If I'm missing something that I can get to them, then I have to pay triple. If I follow up before hand, I can probably avoid that if something else is needed.

[Ordway]

Originally Posted by fencergal33

Yes. Christine told me she would prefer it by e-mail. I scanned all the necessary forms and attached them to the e-mail. She told me if I did it that way, they would charge the appeal fee to the credit card I charged my entry fees to. That's the way of doing that.

You sent your CREDIT CARD NUMBER by EMAIL?!?!

Egads, that's a bad idea.

(OTOH, if they already had your cc number on file, and it was understood that your appeal fee would be charged to that, then it would be OK.)

I'd send a polite email asking about it. You do have a very valid reason for needing to know soon (the deadline) so it's not like you're being excessively nagging.

[oiuyt]

Originally Posted by fencergal33

Yes. Christine told me she would prefer it by e-mail. I scanned all the necessary forms and attached them to the e-mail. She told me if I did it that way, they would charge the appeal fee to the credit card I charged my entry fees to. That's the way of doing that.

I don't want to wait for a confirmation of receipt until the entry deadline. If I'm missing something that I can get to them, then I have to pay triple. If I follow up before hand, I can probably avoid that if something else is needed.

CC info for the entries was sent separately (faxed?)? CC number in an image is at least much safer than in text, but still not something I'd love to send via email.

I say drop another email for receipt confirmation. Might even speed your answer that way.

edit: looks like Holly and I are saying basically the same thing and she beat me to it.

-B

[fencergal33]

Thanks.

[bigdawg2121]

Were not the entry form and fees associated with entry due with your appeal?