Preparation

[Phincer]

I know this post is preaching to the choir, but this weekend (div qualifiers) I saw a few things that could have been improved on. And me being me-have to comment. I'm not talking about the fumbling of the very new fencers and their families, newb fumbling is allowed-we've all BTDT. I'm talking about people that were never informed then never asked a question, or never cared to be informed or are just plain lazy even when they know the routine.

1. Waivers-every division requires one for every tournament (or should). Most can be found on a link on the FRED registration page if your Division is using FRED for preregistrations.

Active, informed parents: Print one out before the event, fill it out and have your fencer present it at the registration table along with their USFA card. Your registration desk and Bout Committee thanks you for being so considerate.

Coaches:- You know which parents are active and which ones are dropping off their kid and using you as a babysitter. To the latter-Hand them a waiver then email them a waiver. Maybe, just maaaybe, these people won't be emailing the BC at 9 p.m. the night before the event saying "I give my permission for little Suzee Saber to fence, here's my phone number should anything happen". You are being paid a nice chunk of change to make sure your fencers have everything they need when they are checking in. And just think how nice that makes your club look when everyone is prepared and everything is in order.

2. USFA Cards- Required, people. No two ways about it. They are required to be shown at check-in. Have one or be prepared to fill out the paperwork and write a check. If you don't have your card with you, then walk over to your Division Secretary (or whoever just pulled your fat from the fire) and thank them for downloading the membership list and numbers from the USFA and the Section. This person spent their personal time making sure that if anyone forgot their USFA card they would be able to fence. And then thank whatever deity you thank that they were healthy and able to be present that day.

3. Everybody Listen Up! Fencers:
There is an announcement when the registration is closed. Names are called of those that have not registered yet.
There is an announcement when the initial seeding is posted. Go look at the sheet! If your name is misspelled or absent or anything is wrong with your information go to the BC table and tell them!
There is an announcement when revised seeding is posted. Check again.
There is an announcement when pools are posted. Don't see your name? Go to the BC table and tell them.

Becauuuse-if you go to find your pool, and you aren't in a pool, you'd better hope and pray your BC is in a fine mood and is willing to re-seed and re-do the pools that day.

Coaches: It would be REALLY nice if you had a required meeting with all your fencers attending a division qualifier the week before. Explain to them the procedure, the rules, the regulations-especially if you are sending new fencers.

4. Parents-for those of you who are active and take an active interest in your child's athletic activities-thank you from the bottom of my BC heart. You make our lives so much easier when you have A) raised a responsible child that knows what to do and when to do it or B) are working with your child to help them at a tournament and are asking questions when you don't know the answer.

It was nice to see parents with the smalls in tow, checking in with USFA cards in hand, a check written out, waiver filled in and signed, and then ushering little Freddy Foil off to warm up OR seeing Edwina Epee with all that in hand herself, mom and dad standing in the back of the room with their coffee.

Thank you for allowing the vent and I now return you now to your regularly scheduled programming.

[brtech]

A quibble

Originally Posted by Phincer

2. USFA Cards- Required, people. No two ways about it. They are required to be shown at check-in. Have one or be prepared to fill out the paperwork and write a check.

This is effectively no longer true, and I have noticed a substantial change in BC action in this fencing season. So far, I have not been to an event where there was not access to the USFA database. The reason is seeding is not possible without the database, it's not on the card. So, the BC needs the database. As a result, the card only serves as identification for the fencer, and other forms of identification are always accepted.

Also, the majority of events are using askFred or equivalent, and checking of the USFA database is completed before the fencer arrives for pre-registered fencers.

Nice post overall tho. Rep to you!

[Phincer]

Yes I agree-just venting over a few isolated incidents, fortunately our BC person is all over it when it comes to getting the USFA database in sync w/ the div and section membership. Thanks for the rep!

[SJCFU#2]

I would like to add one other item to the list which could be directed at both fencers and parents:

If you have equipment that has previously failed inspection then please don't waste the time of the armorers and everyone in line behind you by bringing it up to equipment inspections thinking that it might somehow pass this time. If it failed last time and you haven't done anything to fix it then it will most likely fail again.

If you want to discuss something with an armorer (such as what to do about a piece of equipment that failed inspection) then simply wait until the line for equipment checks to die down. Most armorers are quite willing to go over things, often pointing out why it failed in excruciating detail, along with providing suggestions as to what might be done about it. However their first priority is the helping to keep the tournament running smoothly and part of that means taking care of that long line of people waiting to get their equipment checked as quickly as possible.

[bruisedfleche]

A couple of things I'd like to add...

Get your applications/registrations in on time! If you don't, you will either pay a late fee, or just not be allowed to compete. Threatening to sue, crying, whining and blaming the coach usually won't work. Nobody cares if you were in France on vaction when the deadline came up.

If you need a birth certificate, make sure it's a state issued copy with the proper seal. The little pink piece of paper with Suzy's footprints given to you at the hospital is not considered proof of age. As parents you should have a certified copy of your childs BC within weeks of their birth. ASK if they will accept a photocopy of the BC before you show up with only a copy. Sometimes only an original will be accepted.

Find out before you show up what forms of payments will be taken. Don't expect to be able to pay with a credit/debit card.

When you sign the waiver, don't freak out about the part about drug testing. I saw a huge brouhaha over this once. They are not going to check little Jonny's pee to see if he's taking his flintstone vitamins and you're feeding him right. If your child taking medication, make sure it's allowed.

Stay out of the refs way!!!! Make sure Nana and Grampa know this, too. I've seen an entire family walk through the middle of a bout, lawnchairs in tow.

Showing up to a tournament registered and ready helps reduce the amount of stress on you and your child. You want the kids to enjoy the experience.