Y12 and Y14 Fencers - Bottom 20% After Pools Will Be Eliminated at Summer Nationals 2021
US Fencing confirmed with FP today that the rule to eliminate the bottom 20% of the field after pools in all Y12 and Y14 events will be enforced at Summer Nationals 2021 in Philadelphia. This rule was to have taken effect at Summer Nationals 2020, but Covid19 and the cancellation of the 2020 event delayed its implementation.
The rule means that if your fencer ranks in the bottom 20% of the field after pools in any Y12 or Y14 event, your fencer will be eliminated from the competition and cannot fence any Direct Elimination (DE) rounds.
This rule, also known as “the cut” is currently in force for all Cadet, Junior and Division 1 events at the national level, and for all Division 1A, Division 2 and Division 3 National Championship events.
At the time the rule was announced for Y12 and Y14 events, strong opinions emerged for and against the rule, but the rule had been decided and could not be changed.
The possibility of elimination for a youth fencer at a national event is very, very stressful and flies in the face of the American Development Model to reduce stress for young athletes. We hope to see US Fencing figure out how to reconcile its position to implement “the cut” in the light of AMD.