Discussion on Cutting National Youth Events and “No Show” fees at NACs
There are 2 agenda items tabled for the US Fencing Board meeting to be held on May 26 that we should pay attention to.
Whether US Fencing should eliminate youth events at the national level
Appendix E of the May 26 meeting agenda articulates the issue as follows:
“Based on USA Fencing adoption of the American Development Model, should youth events be held on the national level?
With a robust regional system in place, including the SYCs where national points can be earned, there is no reason to push young athletes (ADM does have a pathway for exceptional athletes as well as fencing up if you are on the next younger National Points list) to the national tournament level with extensive travel. There are mixed emotions on this question as clubs and athletes look forward to these tournaments. If we look at the ADM model, the data shows that young athletes leave sport because of stress and it not being fun any longer. This would be a culture change for clubs. The question remains regarding the timing for this adjustment on the national level.”
The issue was framed by the US Fencing Youth Development Resource Team at a meeting on May 14, 2021.
You can read more about the American Development Model HERE
While we don’t want to impose undue stress on our youngest fencers, national tournament experience is critical for a young fencer’s development. Ultimately, whether or not a national tournament is appropriate for a young fencer is really the parent’s choice. The parent knows their child best.
The SYCs are no substitute for national tournaments even if they award national points on a reduced scale. SYCs are much smaller tournaments and typically attract fencers from within the region only. They do not provide the same level of competitive experience as national level tournaments.
The current schedule of youth tournaments at the national level is light with March NAC (Y10, Y12 and Y14) and Summer Nationals (Y10, Y12 and Y14) and November NAC (Y14s only) and they do not impose excessive travel for those who choose to participate.
Should US Fencing decide to eliminate youth events at the national level, SYCs could, unintentionally, become proxy national tournaments where young fencers fly around the country to SYCs to gain more tournament experience defeating the objective of stress reduction for young athletes.
While there is always the ability to fence up into a national Cadet event with Y14 national points, the cadet event would be far more stressful for a young fencer fencing up, than if he or she were to fence within their own age group category at the national level. Many parents already exercise good judgment in selecting national events for their youth fencers. Eliminating youth events at the national level eliminates parent choice.
We believe that the youth events at the national level should be retained.
NOTE from Editor
This item was removed from the final agenda on May 26, 2021 and no discussion was held by the Board on the subject
“no show” fees at NACs
The following is reproduced from the May 26 meeting agenda:
Motion (Mr. Burchard): To implement a no show fee of $500 for athletes who fail to show up on the day of the tournament and had not previously withdrawn from the tournament beginning at the 2020-2021 USA Fencing Board of Directors May 26, 2021 Special Meeting Agenda Summer National Championships in July 2021.
Rationale To couple with the new standby process and posting the pools the night before, the Tournament Committee along with the National Office has determined that it is necessary to implement a penalty for those who no show to an event and fail to notify that they will not be attending by 5pm locally the day prior to a competition. Day of no shows are unfair to the overall field as they create unbalanced strength in various pools and deny entry to willing standby competitors. The committee feels this penalty amount of $500 per no show event, roughly aligns with a similar penalty for not showing up to an FIE competition, with exceptions for medical emergencies or force majeure duly justified. Any appeals or force majeure situations will be decided by a tournament committee member, athlete and national office staff member. It is important to note that it is a simple process to avoid this fee for a no show. A competitor need only notify the national office via email by 5pm locally the day before that they will not be attending.
The amount of $500 seems rather drastic given that NACs are domestic events involving many minor aged fencers, and not world class athletes at the FIE level. While we agree with the spirit and intent of the penalty, we urge US Fencing to lower the “no show” fee amount to something that will incentivize early notification without being an unreasonably large sum.
