Before You Go

• Entry deadlines for national events are usually a month before the first day of the event, and they are firm deadlines.
• You don't need to bring your USFA card to the event (the national office verifies your membership when you enter), but you should bring your confirmation mailing with you.
• Make sure that all of your equipment is in good shape: no holes, patches tightly sewn on, all wires insulated, no wires popping out, no tape in the bell guards. You may also want to wash your lame. If it's in really questionable shape, bring Windex to rub on it just before the armorers test it. Remove dents from your mask. Armorers will also look at the insulation on your mask, so you may want to fix it with spray paint. You must bring at least two working weapons (bare minimum!) and two body cords. Some armorers insist that body and mask cords have the wire soldered directly to the clip, but they will probably do this for you if yours are not soldered and if you don't show up at the very last minute when they're incredibly busy.
• Make sure your name is on your uniform (back of the jacket or lame or on the back leg). You may be able to have this done at the competition by Marx Enterprises (for a cost of approximately $20), but they don't always come to national events. Send your uniform to them before the competition if you want to be sure. I believe Triplette also puts names on uniforms. You can put the name on yourself using almost any technique you want (except printing on tape). The low-tech solution is to use a blue permanent ink marker.
• Pack long socks, and wear them during the competition, even if you start out with them pushed down around your ankles. Few national referees tolerate bare legs (and none of them should).
• If you are flying, be aware that airline regulations prohibit you from taking your fencing weapons as carry-on luggage. If someone asks you what is in your fencing bag, tell them "metal sports equipment." Referring to "weapons" makes airline people nervous. Some airlines classify fencing equipment as "fragile" and make you sign a disclaimer or pack your weapons in a special box or some such nonsense (United has done this to me several times). When packing, make sure you pad your bag with the soft stuff (towels, uniform) and protect the tips of your weapons. You can do this by placing your mask at one end and putting the tips inside it. Also, make sure your mask is not too tightly packed in the bag, or it may get bent.

When You Get There

• Get to the venue early, at least one hour before registration closes. You will want to allow even more time if you're relying on group transportation, if you have complicated directions to follow, or if you have to buy or fix equipment before the event starts.
• The event may start very soon after the close of registration (the names of the competitors have already been entered into the computer program that seeds the pools). You must register in person for each event in which you are entered. If you receive a 3x5 card with your name on it, keep it in case the referee asks for it (the card has no real function, but the referee can still give you a card for not having it).
• After you register, proceed to weapons check. If you made sure your equipment was in good shape before you left, this should be relatively painless. Generally the armorers want to check your mask, lame, and two body cords. For sabre they will also check your mask cord and overglove. After weapons check, double check that you can see all the inspection marks. The referee will give you a red card if the marks are missing.
• Equipment vendors are present at national events. This is a good chance to see new equipment before you buy it, and to try on shoes and uniforms. Prices are comparable to mail order, but you don't have to pay for shipping. And vendors may be willing to make deals, especially if they have a lot of stock left near the end of the event.
• If something goes wrong with your equipment during the competition, you can ask the armorers to look at it and/or fix it for you. It is better to send a parent or teammate over with the offending equipment because this may take some time. If the armorers do fix something for you, it is conventional to tip them a couple of bucks, more if they use their own parts (ask them where to put your contribution to the "beer fund").

When the Fencing Starts

• The format used for most open national competitions is FIE: one round of seeding pools with 80 percent of the competitors taken up into a direct elimination. In FIE format there is repechage from 32 to 8. In other tournaments, such as Division II national events, there is no repechage. Be sure to find out what the format is!
• Whatever you do, try to stay on your referee's good side and make sure you don't hold up the running of the pool. Your referee has the power to make you wish you had stayed home and saved your money.
• At the beginning of the seeding pool, the referee will ask to see your inspection marks and will make sure that you are wearing a chest protector (if you're female) and a plastron (even if you have an FIE jacket). Before bouts, the referee will not only test weight and shims (if applicable) but will also look inside your bell guard (for foil and epee) to make sure the wires are insulated and that there is no tape inside the bell guard. The referee may also check to see if your barrel is tight.
• Try not to leave your strip during the pool. At national events, the rules about being present when called to fence are strictly applied. You will find that it is very helpful to have someone who is not competing stay with you to run to the armorer, get water or food, find out what strip you're supposed to be on, etc. This may not be possible during the seeding pools, but if you provide this kind of support to your teammates (loosely defined) during the elimination rounds or on a day when you're not fencing, they may do the same for you.
• Be aware that in foil, the definition of an attack, as it is widely applied by national level referees, can be confusing if you're used to fencing in Virginia Division. You may think that you are attacking into your opponent's preparation, but the referee gives your opponent the attack. I have seen this happen to several Virginia fencers in different situations. You can't reeducate the referee on your own, so instead of getting frustrated, try a different strategy (like establishing the attack first or parry riposting). If you're desperate, you can even try to imitate what your opponent is doing that the referee thinks is an attack (this has worked for me a few times, but not always).
• Many of your opponents will have coaches with them or teammates who are coaching them. If you think your opponent is being coached during a bout (verbally or with hand signals), complain to the referee.
• If you are sure that your referee has misapplied a rule, you can protest and ask for the bout committee to be called. This is pretty rare at national events. If you are convinced that your referee is completely incompetent (somewhat less rare), the correct procedure is to request that the referee be observed. The person to whom you should address your request is the Fencing Officials Commission representative in charge of assigning officials. At the Division II/III circuit event, many of the referees will be testing for their ratings and will have observers already with them.
• Make sure the pool sheet has your bout scores and final results written down correctly.
• Thank your referee after the pool and after each elimination bout.

Fence your best and enjoy yourself!

Last Updated December 29, 1998.

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