How to Host a Sanctioned Tournament:
To be a Division sanctioned USA Fencing tournament, the tournament must meet these minimum requirements:
1. The tournament must be announced at least 21 days before it begins. That announcement must be in a public forum, such as a publicly accessible web page, flyer, or announcement on “AskFred” or its equivalent, and must state the competitions to be contested, all fees that will be charged, and the name and contact information of the person to whom notices of withdrawal must be sent (See Section 10.1, below).
2. The tournament must appear on the official Division calendar as published on the Division web site (see Section 11, below) and such social media and other sites as the Division may utilize.
3. The hosting club or location and organizer must be insured for the full course of the tournament, in compliance with guidelines published by USA Fencing. This insurance must be through the USA Fencing club insurance program, or the equivalent from a third-party vendor. If the insurance is written by a third-party vendor, the Division reserves the right to obtain and approve a copy of the insurance policy (or its declarations) before sanctioning a tournament.
4. The competition must follow the rules of USA Fencing.
5. The competition must use a tournament format approved by USA Fencing (See USA Fencing’s current Athlete Handbook for approved formats).
6. All tournament officials (e.g., bout committee, referees, armorers, medical staff) and such other persons as USA Fencing policy designates must meet USA Fencing’s requirements for U.S. Center for SafeSport certification, background check clearance and other qualifications, and where mandated, one or more referees of the required level must be present for the duration of the competition.
7. If a competition results in classification changes, they must be sent to both the USA Fencing National Office and the Division secretary via email and the competition results shall be posted on AskFred, Fencing Time Live, or the organizing club’s website within 48 hours of the tournament’s completion. Unexcused failure to meet this deadline could result in loss of an organizer’s privileges to host sanctioned tournaments.
1. The tournament must be announced at least 21 days before it begins. That announcement must be in a public forum, such as a publicly accessible web page, flyer, or announcement on “AskFred” or its equivalent, and must state the competitions to be contested, all fees that will be charged, and the name and contact information of the person to whom notices of withdrawal must be sent (See Section 10.1, below).
2. The tournament must appear on the official Division calendar as published on the Division web site (see Section 11, below) and such social media and other sites as the Division may utilize.
3. The hosting club or location and organizer must be insured for the full course of the tournament, in compliance with guidelines published by USA Fencing. This insurance must be through the USA Fencing club insurance program, or the equivalent from a third-party vendor. If the insurance is written by a third-party vendor, the Division reserves the right to obtain and approve a copy of the insurance policy (or its declarations) before sanctioning a tournament.
4. The competition must follow the rules of USA Fencing.
5. The competition must use a tournament format approved by USA Fencing (See USA Fencing’s current Athlete Handbook for approved formats).
6. All tournament officials (e.g., bout committee, referees, armorers, medical staff) and such other persons as USA Fencing policy designates must meet USA Fencing’s requirements for U.S. Center for SafeSport certification, background check clearance and other qualifications, and where mandated, one or more referees of the required level must be present for the duration of the competition.
7. If a competition results in classification changes, they must be sent to both the USA Fencing National Office and the Division secretary via email and the competition results shall be posted on AskFred, Fencing Time Live, or the organizing club’s website within 48 hours of the tournament’s completion. Unexcused failure to meet this deadline could result in loss of an organizer’s privileges to host sanctioned tournaments.
Tournament Referees:
As of October 1st, 2015 the USFA (and, by extension, the Long Island Division) requires that all referees for USFA-sanctioned events meet the following criteria:
Tournament organizers will be required to submit a full listing of all referees used when they submit their results and classification change documents to a Division officer to sign off on, and the Division officer must then include them when forwarding to the USFA. According to the USFA: “If a non-screened official is used, the tournament organizer will receive a warning letter. On the second offense, the tournament organizer will not be allowed to host a sanctioned event for a period of six (6) months. On the third offense, the tournament organizer will be referred to the Board of Directors for investigation and potential disciplinary action.”
You can check the credentials of referees on US Fencing's current member list/membership hub.
- Have passed the referee exam in the weapon(s) they will be refereeing
- Be a member of US Fencing
- Have passed a background screening through USFA (for all referees over 18 years of age)
- Be SafeSport Certified through USFA/TeamUSA
Tournament organizers will be required to submit a full listing of all referees used when they submit their results and classification change documents to a Division officer to sign off on, and the Division officer must then include them when forwarding to the USFA. According to the USFA: “If a non-screened official is used, the tournament organizer will receive a warning letter. On the second offense, the tournament organizer will not be allowed to host a sanctioned event for a period of six (6) months. On the third offense, the tournament organizer will be referred to the Board of Directors for investigation and potential disciplinary action.”
You can check the credentials of referees on US Fencing's current member list/membership hub.
