Can't make division qualifiers -any way to fence Div II/III at Summer Nationals?

[oiuyt]

Originally Posted by foillion

Relatively few? How bout an epee fencer that switches to saber and wins DivIA?

So I'm one of those few that actually compete in multiple weapons. And I'm classified according to my performance in each weapon without need for courtesy classifications.

And I'd still say that I cross-compete relatively infrequently (2-3 times/year in epee, slightly less frequently than annually in foil, over the past 2-3 years). Even if I'm underseeded in every non-sabre event I enter it will have relatively little overall effect.

-B

[Derobement]

I hate to buck the interesting multiple thread drifts in here but, getting back to the original topic ... does anyone have any statistics on the success rates of petitions or any idea of how many people successfully petition in to any given national event?

I always thought it was a fairly stringent review until I saw a fencer from our division successfully petition into a national. She wasn't feeling well on the day of a qualifier and dropped out before DE's having finished pools in the middle of the pack and out of the running. Granted she had qualified the prior year and is a good fencer but not at all a cinch to make the final 8 of the qualifier even on a good day. I thought you'd have to show more to petition than "I was feeling sick and would have done better if I were 100%." Is this a fluke or are petitions more easily granted than I thought.

[TooLoftheDeviL]

I don't personally know anyone who has had a petition turned down (though I don't doubt that it has happened).

If you have a reasonable excuse for not being able to attend the qualifier or finish the qualifier (medical withdraws seem like an easy in), then you're likely to have a correctly put-together petition approved.

[nahouw]

Originally Posted by Derobement

I always thought it was a fairly stringent review until I saw a fencer from our division successfully petition into a national. She wasn't feeling well on the day of a qualifier and dropped out before DE's having finished pools in the middle of the pack and out of the running. Granted she had qualified the prior year and is a good fencer but not at all a cinch to make the final 8 of the qualifier even on a good day. I thought you'd have to show more to petition than "I was feeling sick and would have done better if I were 100%." Is this a fluke or are petitions more easily granted than I thought.

She must have withdrawn and obtained the on-site trainer's documentation of a withdrawal due to injury and/or saw a medical doctor later that day or the next day, because if I recall correctly, the Athelete's handbook specifically states that competing while you aren't feeling well and then petitioning is automatically denied. If you look in the athlete's handbook, you will see that also as part of the petition package that you send in, that you have to include a letter from the chair of the division and supporting documentation of your results that year, and medical documentation in the event of injury. So, petitions aren't that easily granted, as they have to have all the supporitng documentation.

[HDG]

Originally Posted by TooLoftheDeviL

I don't personally know anyone who has had a petition turned down (though I don't doubt that it has happened).

I do (JO quals), but it probably had something to do with the fact that all relevant division officers and the members of the BC opposed the petition.

[teacup]

On the other hand, if you do have a legitimate excuse, it is better not to fence and petition. If you fence and fail to qualify, you can't later petition.

I knew someone that fenced with a broken foot and failed to qualify because they did badly. Since they didn't say anything to the BC and had completed the event, they couldn't petition.