How do I get, and what do each letter ratings mean?

[lfortier]

Hello, I'll be in my first compeition soon, but what really baffles me is the letter ratings- Like is "C" good or bad, 'cause in order to fence in another upcoming NAC tournament, you need that or better to fence in a Division 1 event; How do I get that rating, and how is the alphabet ranking done?(i.e, is "A" bad, and the farther down you go, like "C" better?) Really confused and enlightenment would be very appreciated.

[oiuyt]

USFA classification chart:
http://nadi.calpoly.edu/~fencing/Doc...sfa/class.html

A is top, down to E and then U (unclassified).

-B :)

[Scott Allen Abf]

Here is a layman's guide:

U - Unrated. The Great Unwashed Masses.
E - Did reasonable is some small tournament once.
D - Did pretty good is some small tournament once.
C - Did OK in a tournament with some halfway decent fencers
B - Serious fencer
A - Serious fencer, who's really good at it.

(For the record, I'm a lowly scumbag 'E'. Always a few points from D, never got there. I have lots of 2nd place local medals, never took 1st!)

[lfortier]

That really helps, Scott, but I'm going to one or two tournaments in a month's time; how well (or how many victory bouts) do I have win to get a C rating-Another ternament, a NAC is coming to my town, and I need that rating or better to be in Division 1 to attend. Do you know?

[Peach]

Check out
http://www.usfencing.org/Documents/R...sMan/Class.asp

You have to at least win a 15-person tournament which has 2 C's, 2 D's, and 2 E's in it and in which at least the 2 C's and 2 D's make the top eight.

[jeff]

Another wrinkle in this: you'll see the letter followed by a 2-digit number representing the year in which the classification was earned or last renewed. For example, somebody making a C this year would earn a "C03".

Seeding in competitions' first rounds (what this is all about anyway) ranks stronger letters above weaker (eg: B over C, D, E; A above all others), and more recent over less recent within the same letter (a C03 is deemed to be stronger than a C00 since he/she has been able to re-earn the rating).

Finally, after 4 years without renewing a classification, a fencer gets dropped to the next lower letter, on the same principle as above. If you retire and unretire, then your classification may be much lower and you have to work your way back up.

Jeff (once a B, now nowhere near it...)

[edew]

Like for expensive champagne and fancy cars and high class call-girls, if you have to ask, you're probably not in the position to attain it.

[oiuyt]

The rating system looks at each tournament individually. Posting decent results in 25 events is not worth as much as a good result in 1 event and crappy results in 24 events. Or as a good result in 1 event and NO result in 24 events.

How well you need to do depends on the size of the tournaments and who else is in them. If you look at the classification chart that I posted a link to earlier it will give you that information. Given that the entry deadline is Tuesday, if you don't earn it this weekend it doesn't matter how well you do for the next month, you can't fence in the Div I NAC.

You've been fencing 4 months. It would be very surprising if you're good enough to earn a C. As mentioned by Scott, a C means you did ok in a tournament with some halfway decent fencers. If anything he's understating how hard it is to earn a C. C fencers are good. This is not a rating you just pick up to make your life simpler and allow you to fence in div I events....

Look at the chart. If there are parts of it that you don't understand, ask and we'll clarify. Until you've done that don't keep asking how you can get a C.

-B :)