Happy Mother's Day, NAC Schedule and Locations for 2021/2022, AP/SAT Date Clashes and More
NAC Schedule and Locations 2021/2022 and beyond
The dates for NACs in the 2021/2022 fencing season have been set by US Fencing. They are now in the process of soliciting bids from venues to host the NACs. We share an excerpt below from US Fencing’s bid package to venues indicating the NAC schedule for 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons.
You can review the detailed specifications for venues in the published Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by US Fencing HERE. So far, only the location of the Deecmber 2021 NAC has been confirmed, the location of the rest of the NACs are yet to be determined.
Can we help US Fencing track down potential bids at reasonable cost from cities with excellent flight connections from around the country?
SJCCs in the 2019/2020 Season
A parent pointed out to FP yesterday that US Fencing added an SJCC in Baltimore on the east coast for March 2020 in response to feedback from east coast parents that the Anaheim SJCC also scheduled for March 2020 was too far and too expensive for east coast parents to travel to.
Given this precedent, we look forward to US Fencing giving west coast parents the same consideration when selecting NAC venues, and make sure that these venues are not too expensive and too far for west coast parents to travel to as well.
Ironically, the Baltimore SJCC went ahead before the Covid lockdowns, whereas the Anaheim SJCC was cancelled.
Date Clashes with SATs and AP exams
The pandemic unfortunately disrupted the regular fencing season, leaving us with a schedule that extends into the crucial AP exam period for high school juniors and seniors. AP exams are ongoing in May, forcing some fencers to skip the May NAC and forgo the opportunity to earn national points. This year, the College Board is offering both in person and online options for taking the AP exams, and the AP exam period stretches from May 3 to May 25.
The pandemic also disrupted SAT and ACT tests, and dates and locations are still hard to come by for many juniors intending to apply Early Decision or Early Action to colleges. Again fencers have had to make hard choices and forgo the opportunity to earn national points in favor of taking their SAT test. While many elite colleges have gone test optional, the reality is that applicants with good SAT/ACT test scores have a better chance of admission than applicants who do not submit standardized test scores.
We believe that this year’s circumstances are unique due to the Covid pandemic. And we feel sorry for the fencers who have been penalized as a result of the date clashes for AP exams and SAT tests. But we also feel that it would have been hard for US Fencing to accommodate the date clashes as the AP exams in particular are stretched out over almost the entire month of May.
