New Policies for How NAC Locations are Selected Starting in 2020/2021
US Fencing is expected to implement new policies around NAC selections starting in fencing year 2020/2021.
We can expect that the new selection policies will be a start to correcting the imbalance in NAC locations, that have been especially costly and inconvenient for fencing families in the West and those who live in smaller, remote cities around the country.
Donald Alperstein, US Fencing Board member, confirmed in an email exchange with FP that going forward, US Fencing’s National Office has agreed to the following new policies:
Better geographical distribution of NACs
“In coming seasons, the USA Fencing events department will ensure that at least one West Coast and one East Coast city are first contracted for national events. This will help avoid situations like last year, where we ended up in Ohio three times and will assure at least one in-time zone venue for both coasts. We do anticipate this will add to event expenses, but my hope is it will add to revenues as well, and even if it does result in a net cost, I place membership services above profit as goals.”
Emphasis on use of hub cities and cities with airport hubs
“Emphasis is being given to cities with airport hubs and to more hub cities than we've used in the past. Again, there will likely be an added cost as major city hotels and facilities are less negotiable than smaller ones, but, as noted above, there will be significant benefits to the membership that justify some anticipated cost increase.”
Rotation of Summer Nationals around the country
“Starting in 2021, USA Fencing will rotate the site of Summer Nationals among the East, West and central parts of the country, in that order. My understanding is that due to contractual commitments already made, the rotation will start in the East.”
2 year Advance planning in NAC location selection
“The National Events department has almost fully reached the goal of working two seasons in advance. The 2020-21 season contracts should be finalized by the end of this month, and the 2021-22 season should be done by next July.”
With improved metrics in place for the selection of NAC locations, FP looks forward to a fairer distribution of NAC locations for everyone. The 2020/2021 NAC location announcement will be an indicator of how much progress is being made in the right direction.
Town Hall Meetings
Donald Alperstein is working on possible town hall meeting dates for parents to meet the US Fencing Board and senior staff.
FP will keep you informed once these dates are finalized, possibly at JOs or the November NAC.
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