World Championship Qualification Changes: Pan Am Team Decided Now, US Nat. effected

[KD5MDK]

The idea of boycotting a very easy, very close Grand Prix (zonals also award double points) is ridiculous. The very fact that it was suggested implies a complete misunderstanding of what a zonal is. I'll toss in that the Zonal is not hampered in any way because just as many Americans will attend as would whenever it was scheduled.

[epeemike81]

That would have been an extraordinarily stupid response on our part ... because our teams would lose tons of points ... leading to worse seeding in future team events ... directly affecting our chances of qualifying in 2012.

The idea of boycotting a very easy, very close Grand Prix (zonals also award double points) is ridiculous. The very fact that it was suggested implies a complete misunderstanding of what a zonal is. I'll toss in that the Zonal is not hampered in any way because just as many Americans will attend as would whenever it was scheduled.

+1.

-m

[Jason]

The question I'd like to have answered is WHY?

Leaving aside the question of a boycott, I would be very surprised to see the USFA try to apply any pressure to anyone regarding scheduling conflicts for the unfortunate reason that, in spite of continued US international results, the USFA is a weak organization.

An organization that lacks the talent and leadership to do much of anything domestically, cannot be expected to be able to exert any kind of influence upon outside organizations.

Until the USFA, as an organization (by which I really mean the USFA governance), learns to be a confident, constructively dominant body, it's a wasted effort to expect them to behave like the Europeans.

[Capt. Slo-mo]

It seems to me that in non-Olympics years, the Zonals have been mostly an afterthought...and not a top priority for the USFA to populate with the best and brightest.

Could that be playing a role in the current events?

[silver2e]

It seems to me that in non-Olympics years, the Zonals have been mostly an afterthought...and not a top priority for the USFA to populate with the best and brightest.

Could that be playing a role in the current events?

If that's true, why make top-4 go to Zonal as the "team"? The Zonal team events are very important for FIE ranking; why not send the 4 fencers for the team events only. If there is conflict betw individual event at Nationals and the Team event at Zonals--as there is with MS, reschedule MS individ. Then there is the option for a fencer to be there for the Nationals and also to fence Team Zonals for international points.

my 2 cents

[Inquartata]

Leaving aside the question of a boycott, I would be very surprised to see the USFA try to apply any pressure to anyone regarding scheduling conflicts for the unfortunate reason that, in spite of continued US international results, the USFA is a weak organization.

Maybe. But having talked to a former FOC member about the...ah...joys of tournaments in South America, I suspect that even if the USFA were run by the equivalent of Julius Caesar or Napoleon Bonaparte there would be little if any salutory effect from "applying pressure"...

[piste off]

The idea of boycotting a very easy, very close Grand Prix (zonals also award double points) is ridiculous. The very fact that it was suggested implies a complete misunderstanding of what a zonal is. I'll toss in that the Zonal is not hampered in any way because just as many Americans will attend as would whenever it was scheduled.

I thought that zonals were even better than a GP because you did not have the strong competitors from other zones (i.e. Europe, Asia). That makes your last point even stronger.

R-