Odd DE Table--WS Gand World Cup

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Strange brackets observed in the WS World Cup in Belgium this weekend. Two American Olympians, Mariel Zagunis and Dagmara Wozniak, are listed in the round of 64 DE table on Saturday, following pools, but neither fencer is believed to actually be in Belgium...at least Mariel was in Portland at practice Friday night.

At #2 seed, Mariel gets a bye into the 32, where her purported opponent, Gavrilova of Russia, gets a freebie (by exclusion) into the top 16. 16th seed Wozniak lets France's Baptiste go by into the 32, also by exclusion, according to the event website.

Strange. If I recall, the top 16 fencers who normally get a bye on pool day, have to confirm their participation before pools, so the seeding is accurate for who has to fence and who slides into the top 16 and receives that first day bye.

So was it a monumental paperwork error on the organizer's part, yet no one from the US team looking at the DE table after pools noticed that two absent Americans were still on the board? Or did the US team, represented by the Sabre Squad manager, not properly notify the officials of the withdrawn fencers?

Either way, a potential debit in the US fencing karma account, at least from the FIE's point of view.

The competition results:
1 TOUYA Anne-Lise FRA
2 DIATCHENKO Ekaterina RUS
3 NAGY Orsolya HUN
3 VERGNE Carole FRA
5 NETCHAEVA Elena RUS
6 KHARLAN Olga UKR
7 ARGIOLAS Cecile FRA
8 GAVRILOVA Julia RUS

16 BARATTA Emma USA
26 SCHNEIDER Daria USA

35 WHEELER Diamond USA
44 OSIER Lian USA

[KD5MDK]

Extremely curious. Are top 16 fencers presumed to be attending unless withdrawn? Were our fencers initially entered?

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Our fencers were intially entered. Several withdrew, but as of the last updated list on the USFencing website, both Mariel and Daga were still listed.

I have heard the PA announcer at most of the World Cup meets announcing that the top 16 fencers needed to confirm their participation to the DT table by a certain deadline...but as far as I know, that confirmation is usually done by the coach or the squad manager.

[bjacobs]

Aren't there some fairly hefty fines levied against American athletes who don't withdraw in time and do not compete?

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Yes, it's $1500 and you can't submit it for re-imbursement through the PEA or other USFA funding mechanisms. That may not be the case, here though.

Word on the street in Stumptown is that both fencers had "medical" withdrawals. Mariel reportedly turned her withdrawal paperwork in a week ago, so it's being said that if she wasn't removed from the list it's the "USFA's fault or the FIE's fault." No idea when Dagmara might have turned her paperwork in.

Now, without passing judgement on when or where the withdrawals were submitted...a document of participants was posted on the Gand website, 2 hours after the "closure of the lists," and was presumably in the DT's hands before pools on May 10th. Dagmara and Mariel were not listed as participants for the event, yet, following pools and direct eliminations to reduce the field to the top 48, they were still on the DE table for day 2 (May 11)...so the "it was an FIE problem" concept may have some validity. However; this may have either kept two competitors locked in the pools that should have gotten a pass to the second day, or kept two fencers from qualifying into the top 64...depending on when the two Americans were inserted into the list.

Either way, one still wonders if anyone from the US contingent pointed out the error before the start of the 64...given that the final 64 DE assignments are generated that first evening right after the pools and initial DEs.

[bbower]

From the handbook of specifications for GP tournaments

The entries being closed according to the deadlines provided for by article o.54.2, the organiser of Grand Prix competitions must establish the pools on Tuesday preceding the competition (cf. FIE information letter 11-2006, page 2, article o.12) and send them to the FIE and to the participating federations, on Wednesday preceding the competition.

See also FIE information letter 2-2007, page 3, article o.12.
The day preceding the competition, at 18 hours, the timetable of each round of pool, with the composition of each pool of fencers present, will be posted in the official Grand Prix hotels. No modification concerning the 16 exempted fencers previously communicated, can be done.