Newbie Question

[DBPepeeMom]

I'm very new to signing up my child for tournaments and am somewhat lost! He is an unrated junior epee. I have been looking through askFred for appropriate matches but am not sure what I should be looking at. Does mixed epee mean boys vs. girls or just that epee is available to both? Do Men grades 9-12 mean high school? I realize this all very basic and any guidance is appreciated!

[H Man]

It depends upon the event and it's orginizers. As a "JR" you have placed him in the Y-20 events.

Regardless, some events might have a DIV III open. Age has no requirements, gender does not matter-but must have a D USFA rating or less. A larger event might have a DIV III Male and a DIV III Female.

The permutations from there are exponential. DIV II Open, Male/Female, U-14 Open? gender specific, Cadet and/or Jrs ala JR Olympics-Gender specific or not.

Start attending the events and you will find that it is pretty much the same from year to year depending upon the changing demographics of the club/division/section.

Hope this helps!

[peet]

Mixed means both male and female fencers competing with each other.

An unrated male junior epee fencer can compete in:

Gender: Mixed or Men's
Age: Junior, Senior or Open
Rating: Anything not listed as "X and above".

Note: there are very few local or regional tournaments restricted to fencers above a certain rating, but many restricted to fencers below a certain rating, so being unrated will not prevent participation in many tournaments.

HTH,

-p

[jjefferies]

Just to elaborate a bit on what H-man posted. Redefine how you are looking. If your son is over the age of 13 then he can participate in any event which he is not restricted from. Obviously he can't participate in Veterans' events as he would have to be over the age of 40(I'm guessing this isn't the case). And he can't participate in Division I events unless he has a classification of "C" or higher. Mixed events means he might compete against females (all sorts of social taboos). With the exception of Division I where the restriction is intended to make running the tournament feasible tournament restrictions are intended to encourage development of the fencers. Restrictions are intended to keep older/younger/more experienced fencers from coming in an dominating an event.

I would suggest consultating with his coach to determine what events would be most helpful in his development.

[HDG]

Consult with your fencer's coach.

[Fencing Mom]

Welcome DB.

If your son is a junior then he is between the ages of 17 and 20. So, that means he can't fence in cadet (under-17) or youth events, and of course, he can't fence in veteran events. I would guess that grade 9-12 means high school, since it doesn't refer to any fencing catagories.

Mixed means that men and women fence in the same tournament. So yes, they will fence each other. Tournaments are often mixed because not enough women register to make a good, competitive women's tournament.

If your son is unrated, you and he should look for some unrated or low rated tournaments, like a D-rated, also called a D-and-under. That means everyone at the tournament will either be unrated - like your son, or E-rated - which is the lowest rating, or D-rated - the next rating up. At an unrated or low-rated tournament your son will have some success fencing others at his level. Eventually he will win a low-rated tournament and earn a rating. (For the regulars on this board, please don't tell me a fencer is ranked, not rated. I know. I know. I'm just trying to simplify.)

On the other hand, there's no reason why he shouldn't fence in an open (in my humble opinion.) Many unrated fencers compete in opens. They get to fence lots of levels of fencers, unrated as well as A and B-rated fencers who kick their butts. It's all experience.

Don't be intimidated by fencing jargon. People all this board can be very helpful. Check out the parents corner of the forum and if you private message me I will be happy to help with questions.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

We're more than happy to tell you what your child CAN fence, but talk to your son's coach about what he/she thinks your child SHOULD fence. (Or better yet, have your son ask!) Not all tournaments are equal-- some are better suited for beginners, and some tournaments are fine for beginners as long as they understand they won't win much (if at all). We also don't know your child-- I've always been up for going to tournaments where I don't win a bout all day, but your child might not yet be quite ready for that. Your son's coach is more likely to be able to assess these things than we will, since we haven't met him!

Good luck, to both of you, and welcome!

[oiuyt]

(For the regulars on this board, please don't tell me a fencer is ranked, not rated. I know. I know. I'm just trying to simplify.)

Can we tell you that fencers are classified, rather than ranked (excepting the relatively few fencers on the various NRPS)?

:)

-B

[Fencing Mom]

Can we tell you that fencers are classified, rather than ranked

Come to think of it, I've seen lots of fencers who are pretty rank.

[jjefferies]

Come to think of it, I've seen lots of fencers who are pretty rank.

I want you to know I wash my uniform every other day. Darn thing is practically dissolving as it is.

[Inquartata]

Epeeist sweat.