As a reminder, the deadline for "Request to Enter" forms to be submitted to the National Office for the Satellite World Cup in March is tomorrow, January 10th.
The attachment is written for a US Fencing audience. Fencers from other countries should check with their own federation to determine eligibility and entry procedures.
-B
"Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"
The organizers have mentioned receiving commitments from foreign fencers, but I don't know who or how many.
Generally the satellite world cups are significantly weaker than standard world cups. Hence the greatly reduced point scale for results where 3rd place in a satellite is equivalent to L64 in a regular world cup and winning a satellite is equivalent to an L32. If anything the relative level is less than would be indicated by that metric.
There has never been a satellite world cup in the US before, so it's hard to get a reasonable baseline from which to make estimates of what it will be like. As of a week ago very few Americans had indicated an intent to compete, which might lead to a very small overall field (and a very easy path to picking off an FIE point for making the finals). Or it could just be that people are either waiting until the last minute or not paying attention and not aware of the deadline.
-B
"Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"
I mean, are there going to be really high class, international fencers there, like the Olympics?
I'd very much doubt it, olympic standard fencers won't bother with a satellite even if it's very close to them, I can't see them flying across the Atlantic to Ohio to compete. In a european satellite you'll be lucky to get some current world top 100s and some old top 50s.
That said the standard is still considerably higher than a regular domestic tournament. I'm not sure if this will be the case with the Ohio satellite though. In Europe every satellite is just a short hop on a plane away and usually held in beautiful cities you want to travel to like Stockholm, Copenhagen and Istanbul. The result is that you get a good mix strong fencers from all over Europe.
I must admit i was considering competing in the Ohio satellite but to be honest if I'm going to spend a fortune on flights I'm not going to spend it going to Columbus Ohio. If the satellite was held in Washington D.C. or New York it'd be a different story.
I live like 3-4 hours away, is it worth it to go out and watch? (I'm a foilist, but I still think it would be sweet to watch some high class epee).
It'd be worth watching if there are some strong entrants. If the foreign entry list is published before the tournament and there are some italian and french names on it, I'd go and watch it. Going to a tournament and seeing really good fencing really motivates you to improve your own fencing.
Aren't there regulations on how many countries/fencers need to show up for FIE points to be awarded, or is that just an ill-spawned rumor?
Not that I know of. This satellite went ahead with just 9 entrants. FIE points are usually awarded to the top eight but in this case the mandatory cut meant that only 7 made it through to the DEs (: Handy points
I think the rule for satellite tournaments is that top 8 are awarded points but fencers must fence a DE.
Similarly how awarding points for SYC's has encouraged participation, offering US points would be incentive for strong US junior and senior fencers to attend this Satellite event. Unfortunately without domestic points, though it would be wonderful to support this event, due to financial and time restraints for many fencers, attendance is unlikely.
Why does the "Request For ..." document (via link, Adobe format) header specify a 'B' event but the body of the document only references 'A' events?
The cadet events are 'B' events (by nature of there not existing such a thing as a category A cadet tournament). It's a weird legacy bastardization bit of terminology that doesn't fit very well.
Note that the entry fee for the Satellite World Cup (per the tournament website) is $45 + 20 euro, payable at the door. Presumably they'll accept the fee entirely in USD at some exchange rate, but who knows (well, other than the organizers and those who have asked them, I guess).
-B
"Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"
I'd very much doubt it, olympic standard fencers won't bother with a satellite even if it's very close to them, I can't see them flying across the Atlantic to Ohio to compete. In a european satellite you'll be lucky to get some current world top 100s and some old top 50s.
That said the standard is still considerably higher than a regular domestic tournament. I'm not sure if this will be the case with the Ohio satellite though. In Europe every satellite is just a short hop on a plane away and usually held in beautiful cities you want to travel to like Stockholm, Copenhagen and Istanbul. The result is that you get a good mix strong fencers from all over Europe.
I must admit i was considering competing in the Ohio satellite but to be honest if I'm going to spend a fortune on flights I'm not going to spend it going to Columbus Ohio. If the satellite was held in Washington D.C. or New York it'd be a different story.
It'd be worth watching if there are some strong entrants. If the foreign entry list is published before the tournament and there are some italian and french names on it, I'd go and watch it. Going to a tournament and seeing really good fencing really motivates you to improve your own fencing.
This tournament is part of a much larger show (that's not exactly the right word) called the Arnold Classic. The body building competition is the big one. Fencing is fairly incidental. There is a stiff admission fee just to watch, which of course we are not used to.
The fee isn't that stiff, if I recall correctly. Maybe on the order of $20 for a day? And the free schwag / various interesting sights more than make up for the price of admission. There are more hormone-deficient people in one city block of Columbus than the rest of the world combined...or at least, that's what their 'roid-prescribing doctors say. Is somebody really a "booth babe" if they have more vascularity than Conan-era Arnold? Where else could you even get a good enough sample size to find out?
Last time I went, I got to play a game of table tennis with one of the US national coaches. I earned exactly one point (got a few more, but he was goofing off for the crowd), and boy was it sweet.
This tournament is part of a much larger show (that's not exactly the right word) called the Arnold Classic. The body building competition is the big one. Fencing is fairly incidental. There is a stiff admission fee just to watch, which of course we are not used to.
Is there any entry fee that must be given to the USFA beyond the FIE license? On the form, costs are listed for senior A grade, senior grand prix, cadet and junior events, but no satellites. Also, there is no place on the form to fill out payment info.
This is the first international event I'm doing, so I'm a bit unclear, thanks in advance.
"If I were ever to challenge you to a duel, your best bet would be battle axes in a very dark basement." Misquoted from The Prisoner
"Technical excellence is the antecedant of tactical creativity." - Nat Goodhartz
But those things which belong neither to God nor to Caeser, feeleth free to writeth them off, for yea, they are deductable.
Is there any entry fee that must be given to the USFA beyond the FIE license? On the form, costs are listed for senior A grade, senior grand prix, cadet and junior events, but no satellites. Also, there is no place on the form to fill out payment info.
This is the first international event I'm doing, so I'm a bit unclear, thanks in advance.
In the UK, for satellites, there is an extra fee to pay certainly for home fencers. Not sure what overseas fencers pay, if anything. There are certainly some of them where overseas fencers get a discount for bothering to turn up. IIRC (which is a big IF), then it's up to the organisers to decide how much to charge.
And over here, the only thing they look for when you turn up is your FIE licence no.
Is there any entry fee that must be given to the USFA beyond the FIE license?
The organizers are collecting an entry fee of $45 + 20 euro at the door. As mentioned previously (in this thread) I would guess that they'll accept all USD with some conversion rate.
Originally Posted by catwood1
Are only FIE licensed referees allowed to referee this event?
The organizers have said that they plan to have all FIE licensed referees.
I received an invite, which I had to decline due to a schedule conflict with NCAA Regionals.
-B
"Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"
Ditto Oiuyt. I was invited to ref the other events (I believe there are other tournaments/exhibitions) but a strong preference that I have an FIE license for epee was expressed so that I might be used for the actual main event.
I now dangle to the left....my tassle. Get your minds out of the gutter.
"Martin was not an optimist; he was a prisoner of hope." Optimism is about assuming there's evidence that justifies your outlook while hope is about creating the evidence and procuring your own happiness or vision of the world. - Professor West
Originally Posted by Cookeit 
