MTFC In-House Foil Sharks and Minnows

Join us for our first MTFC In-House (plus national points Y10/Y12 from any club) Sharks and Minnows foil tournament. You must be an active member of MTFC with both an up-to-date club membership as well as a current 2014-2015 membership to the US Fencing Association (non-competitive membership is fine) to participate. Since the Y10 and Y12 fencers in the area have fewer opportunities for tournaments and practice, we invite all youth fencers from any club with an active club membership, active 2014-2015 USFA membership, and current national points for foil in the Y10 and Y12 age groups to join us. ------------------ Important Info ------------------- Tournament: MTFC Sharks and Minnows Date: 9/27/2014 Close of Registration: 12:30 PM Tournament Size Restriction: 24 fencers Location: Metro Tacoma Fencing Club, Tacoma, WA We are physically located at 1106 South 15th Street, Tacoma, WA 98405 in the Sons of Norway building called "Normanna Hall" at the corner of 15th and Martin Luther King. Entrance is on the 15th Street side of the building. Look for the neon crossed swords sign in the window. REGISTRATION CLOSES promptly at 12:30 PM. Fencing will begin shortly thereafter. ENTRY FEE: $5 for the event. ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT RENTAL: $15 if you need to rent equipment. ------------------ Tournament Rules ------------------- At least a non-competitive US Fencing Association (USFA) membership is necessary to participate due to liability requirements. These events are not rated, and you cannot get a classification change from this event. Adults and children with all different levels of experience will be fencing together. A responsible adult is expected to stay as long as a child is still participating in the tournament and is encouraged to help getting the child on and off the strip (we will show you if needed). ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT If you do not have electric equipment you are welcome to rent gear for $15 for the event, but plan to arrive 15 minutes before closing of registration to get fitted. If we are short on electric equipment you will need to share with other fencers who also rent electric equipment. A youth fencer must go through an electric equipment introduction with a responsible adult and one of the coaches prior to competing. TOURNAMENT FORMAT This is a sharks and minnows foil event which is not a standard USFA format but provides better opportunity for practice. We will conduct our tournament with an initial round of pools as is standard for USFA tournaments. There will be a second round of pools to follow with a separate "sharks" group for the top 6 fencers (after the first round of pools) who will be protected to advance to the direct elimination round. All the "minnows" will be sorted based on their first round pool performance for their second round of pools with other minnows. Direct eliminations will follow based on the second round of pools (the sharks have a guaranteed spot) adding some of the the top seeded fencers in the minnows group after the second round of pools. Not everyone will advance to direct eliminations though this format will allow two rounds of pools with the second round more equal in fencing strength which is more and better fencing for everyone. It is expected that the direct elimination round will consist of the top 8 fencers only. Those who are eliminated after the pools are encouraged to watch the higher level fencers, ask questions, and learn some new tricks as well as enjoy the company of other MTFC fencers and families. The rounds will be self-directed. Because this will be a mixed tournament with combined youth and adult fencers, direct elimination will be a standard 15 point, 3 period format unless either of the fencers in a direct elimination bout is 10 years old or younger in which case the format will be 10 points, 2 periods as is standard for all 10 and under events. Additionally, if either fencer is veteran age (40 years old and above) the direct elimination rounds can be 10 points, 2 periods as is standard for veteran events. ------------------ Coach Toby Rules ------------------- This tournament is restricted due to club space availability to the first 24 fencers who preregister on AskFRED. If you register and take a spot but do not show up for the event, Coach Toby will be very disappointed, and you may find that your future in-house registrations may unexpectedly get cancelled. When you register for the event on AskFRED you will receive an e-mail with a link to unregister yourself in case you find that you cannot attend. Please be respectful of other club members. Thank you. Events Scheduled: Mixed Foil Preregistration opens on 07/25/2014. Preregistration closes on 09/26/2014.