JO's- Qualifying out of division

[clonardo]

My club had a fencer who wasn't able to attend JO foil qualifiers in our division. His record is good, but not so good that he'd have a reasonable shot at petitioning in.

There's a nearby division (in the same section) that has their qualifiers coming up. Would it be possible to qualify outside of his home division?

[noodle]

no, you can't qualify outside of your division.

petitioning has nothing to do with how good you are. if he wants to go badly enough, tell him to petition.

[eac]

The whole people-going-to-JOs-who-wouldn't-go-to-NACs thing, which I've noticed a reasonable amount of, is a phenomenon I've never understood. People who do this generally seem to say "Well, I qualified, so why not go?" when they wouldn't go to say, the Columbus Junior/Div I NAC. The people who qualified are by definition people who don't have points, so they're pretty unlikely to reach the top 32 anyway. Given that, their main utility in the tournament is a) experiencing a national tournament, and b) watching the top 32.

Now consider what happens at Columbus. You lose the same amount that you would at JOs, and it's the same caliber of event that JOs is, but you have nearly double the amount of amazing fencing to watch, because of repechage.

So to people who want to go to JOs but didn't qualify, I say just go to the Junior/Div I NAC in January.

[Phaeton]

Originally Posted by eac

The whole people-going-to-JOs-who-wouldn't-go-to-NACs thing, which I've noticed a reasonable amount of, is a phenomenon I've never understood. People who do this generally seem to say "Well, I qualified, so why not go?" when they wouldn't go to say, the Columbus Junior/Div I NAC. The people who qualified are by definition people who don't have points, so they're pretty unlikely to reach the top 32 anyway. Given that, their main utility in the tournament is a) experiencing a national tournament, and b) watching the top 32.

Now consider what happens at Columbus. You lose the same amount that you would at JOs, and it's the same caliber of event that JOs is, but you have nearly double the amount of amazing fencing to watch, because of repechage.

So to people who want to go to JOs but didn't qualify, I say just go to the Junior/Div I NAC in January.

Going to the JOs is perhaps an easier start than going into a NAC. There is still going to be the dedicated NAC crowd that has gone to every NAC, but there are also a lot of weaker fencers. This makes pools some ways a lot easier, and makes the tournament a bit more bearable until one hits the round where it's just the regulars that are left. You're far more likely to get to DEs and win a few in the JOs than you would in a Junior NAC.

The rules I stated earlier were for being in a given division. My bad...

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by eac

So to people who want to go to JOs but didn't qualify, I say just go to the Junior/Div I NAC in January.

Let's say they go to the Junior NAC and make points. Would they then be auto qualified for JO's?

[rac]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

Let's say they go to the Junior NAC and make points. Would they then be auto qualified for JO's?

Fencers having national points are auto-qualified for the event for which they hold points. (e.g. points in Junior Mens Épée will qualify JO's for Junior Mens Épée event)

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by rac

Fencers having national points are auto-qualified for the event for which they hold points. (e.g. points in Junior Mens Épée will qualify JO's for Junior Mens Épée event)

I guess what I was asking was, is there a deadline by which points must be earned in order to auto qualify?

[rac]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

I guess what I was asking was, is there a deadline by which points must be earned in order to auto qualify?

If you mean can someone qualify for JO's by making top 32 in Columbus (in a Junior event), then yes it is possible.

{EDIT: Before you plan this out call the National Office and make sure that the timing is going to work, the event starts on the 12th and the JO's standard end of registration is on the 12th also, the late deadline is later than this but it might take some phone calls to arrange the paperwork.}

RAC

[JMcC]

Originally Posted by eac

The whole people-going-to-JOs-who-wouldn't-go-to-NACs thing, which I've noticed a reasonable amount of, is a phenomenon I've never understood.

Well there is the morale boost for those dedicated-but-not-yet-ranked fencers that comes from knowing that they actually had to qualify for the JOs, where as the NACs just require that you pay your fees and show up.

[clonardo]

Thank you all for the advice.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Originally Posted by Phaeton

Your student can qualify in another division only if he goes to school there or (I believe) is a club member there. It's one or the other. This was created so that collegiate athletes can qualify at their new location or back home depending on what is possible in terms of schooling schedule.

no no no!!

Your student can qualify in his/her division. End-of-story. Where his/her division is depends on a number of things, and the student can decide the location of their division based on college, where their parents live, and/or where their club is. At the begining of the year, when reg-ing for the USFA, you almost definatly indicated where your division was--- that's the division you can qualify to JOs and Nationals.

This is almost useless for college students--- Since we have no way of determining exactly when JO quals and National qualifiers will be in August, and both are traditionally just at the cusp of being in school, anyone who goes to school a significant distance from home (thankfully not me) won't benefit much from this.


Another point is that there are only certain circumstances under which you can (officially) petition. If you were fencing in another tournaments somewhere, you are very unlikly to succeed. {The one circumstance that seems to have the potential to override that are mandetory collegiate tournaments}.

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by rac

Before you plan this out call the National Office and make sure that the timing is going to work, the event starts on the 12th and the JO's standard end of registration is on the 12th also, the late deadline is later than this but it might take some phone calls to arrange the paperwork.}

RAC

Nah I'm too old for JO's now, I was just curious. Thanks for the info tho.

[4qtrs]

Originally Posted by Phaeton

Going to the JOs is perhaps an easier start than going into a NAC. There is still going to be the dedicated NAC crowd that has gone to every NAC, but there are also a lot of weaker fencers. This makes pools some ways a lot easier, and makes the tournament a bit more bearable until one hits the round where it's just the regulars that are left. You're far more likely to get to DEs and win a few in the JOs than you would in a Junior NAC.

I have to disagree, I think that JOs is the toughest event all year. Mainly because you get kids who are so random in their fencing that they are tough to deal with. Also, the size of the events is tough to deal with if you haven't experienced the convention setting.