World Cup B Tournaments

I have read the athlete's handbook, but I can't seem to find the
answers to the questions I have regarding the so-called World Cup "B"
events.

How do I find out when they are held? The schedules only seem to
mention the "A" tournaments.

Also, what are the entry requirements for the "B"?

And finally, how does one enter?

Thanks for any light you can shed on this,
Chris

aycock@yahoo.com (Christopher C. Aycock) wrote in message news:<ae04199f.0304281842.2ab60d6a@posting.google. com>...
> I have read the athlete's handbook, but I can't seem to find the
> answers to the questions I have regarding the so-called World Cup "B"
> events.
>
> How do I find out when they are held? The schedules only seem to
> mention the "A" tournaments.
>
> Also, what are the entry requirements for the "B"?
>
> And finally, how does one enter?


Hi Chris

When you say World Cup "B" event, do you mean your national
federation's world cup qualifiers? Or do you mean an FIE event?

If the latter, there's actually no such thing, unless you count the
satellite events in men's and women's épée and men's sabre. Also known
as the Coupe du Nord, these events are held in Scandinavia and other
locations in Northern Europe. The top eight fencers at these
tournaments are awarded 1-4 FIE ranking points. The events are listed
on the FIE calendar (www.fie.ch).

I think, really, that "B grade" is just colloquial shorthand for a
(major?) international tournament that doesn't have an FIE mandate,
like the Weisser Baer (ME German Open). No FIE mandate means that the
event is open, so there are no requirements and you wouldn't need to
be selected by your national federation.

Siobhán

But does that mean that no FIE point are given? Also I've heard
rumours that some weaker FIE tournaments are going to be down
graded in terms of the number of FIE point awarded the winners.
Could this be the cause of "B grade" comments?
J.


Siobhs wrote:
>
>
> I think, really, that "B grade" is just colloquial shorthand for a
> (major?) international tournament that doesn't have an FIE mandate,
> like the Weisser Baer (ME German Open). No FIE mandate means that the
> event is open, so there are no requirements and you wouldn't need to
> be selected by your national federation.
>
> Siobhán

I believe that some FIE points (although VERY small amounts) are
awarded for certain satellite competitions - i.e. Coup de Nord.

B-grades as such - in my understanding - are just major competitions
which don't get FIE points (i.e. French National circuit events).

In the UK - I am sure other nations differ - our weapons committees
"nominate" events as B-grades, so we can get national ranking points
from them.

Hope this is helpful.

Honey

The USFA considers "B" competitions to be any non-FIE sanctioned
competition -- hence, they are not a World Cup competition, but rather,
they are FIE affiliated federation sanctioned open competition in
Europe. Even though the Satellite competitions are sanctioned by the
FIE and receive FIE points, the USFA considers them a "B".

You can consult any of the European federation's schedules from their
websites. You can find the URLs and contact information on the list of
FIE affiliated federations at http://www.fie.ch/Federation/carnet.htm.

The only requirement to enter a "B" competition is a FIE license. You
have to get your FIE license through the USFA -- the form is on the
website in the forms section. You enter the "B" competition by directly
contacting the organizer of that competition.

The USFA awards points for "B" competitions by using the Strength Factor
formula for "A" competitions, so points awarded can vary widely
depending upon the composition of the competition. The Strength Factor
formula has 2 components: 1) the number of fencers in the competition
ranked in the top 100 of the FIE standings, and 2) the number of
competitors in the competition. Be aware that many of the fencers in
the Top 100 of the FIE ranking only fence in World Cups, so you have to
look at previous year's results of a competition to see its anticipated
Strength Factor for this year. Some federations require their top
fencers to attend their circuit events, some federations do not, and
some federations do not even allow foreign competitors. Some foreign
federations attend other federation's circuit events if it is deemed
that it would be a good event to attend during the training plan, so you
can find some competitions with a high Strength Factor.

Depending upon weapon, here are some examples of anticipated points that
the USFA will award for a top 8 finish:

MF - German circuit - 800; British Circuit 100
ME - Coupe du Nord - 100; German Circuit 500; French Circuit 500
MS - Coupe du Nord - 30; French Circuit 900
WE - French Circuit - 400; German Circuit 150; Hungary 300
WF - French Circuit - 300
WS - French Circuit - 300; British Circuit 50; German Circuit 500


"Christopher C. Aycock" wrote:

> I have read the athlete's handbook, but I can't seem to find the
> answers to the questions I have regarding the so-called World Cup "B"
> events.
>
> How do I find out when they are held? The schedules only seem to
> mention the "A" tournaments.
>
> Also, what are the entry requirements for the "B"?
>
> And finally, how does one enter?
>
> Thanks for any light you can shed on this,
> Chris