No, FIE equipment is not required for any USFA tournaments. However it supposedly is safer so if you have the cash, might as well splurge! I don't have the cash so I don't have any FIE stuff except for blades.
I agree with TheOne:
If you can afford it, get the best.
Which do you prefer to have:
money in your bank account [or your parents'] or
a hole in your young bod. You can never tell where that hole's gonna be...
Think about that.
As a result of this philosophy, I always wear my full 1600N FIE gear when I fence - I have the stuff...
to put it crudely, the 1600N stuff is like a condom... if the stuff fails, i can sue someone...
JOs are the same as any other NAC. actuly i think the only difference is they drug test top 8, and a random out of the top 16 (im not sure if they only do it for JO's they might also do it for other NACs) oh! and they word things different "under 20" = 19 and under "under 17" = 16 and under stuff like that. JO's are nothing super special...just another NAC really.
Chris Triplett
Life isnt about finding yourself. Its about creating yourself!