Before you go to your First Tournament, you’ll need to make sure you have everything you need. For most tournaments assume you need the following, unless specified otherwise:
See our Equipment page for information on what and how to order equipment.
Equipment:
- Proof of current USFA competitive membership.
- 2 electric Weapons. Must be #2, or #0 for Y10 or younger.
- 2 Body Cords.
- 2 Mask Cords (not required for epee).
- Mask with bib Lame for foil.
- Lame (for foil and saber).
- Knickers, long socks, Glove, Jacket, and Underarm protector (Plasteron)
- Plastic Chest protector with FIE padding required for females, optional for males.
- Name on Uniform usually only required for National or international events - Name can be on back leg of Knickers or back of lame or Jacket for Epee.
All equipment should be free of defects and functional.
You should bring food, and water. Expect the tournament to last 3 hours or more.
Age Restrictions:
The fencer must meet the age, and any other restrictions. Rain City has a good explanation of this at:
http://www.raincityfencing.com/content/view/124/62/
In general the year runs from August 1 to July 31. The fencers age is by year of birth. You must be 13 before Jan 1st to compete in open / non youth events. For youth the span is usually 4 years younger than specified, so Y14 allows anyone who is 10-14 before Jan 1st of that fencing year.
The Official info is in the USFA Athletes Handbook.
Preregister:
It is helpful to everyone if you can preregister, most tournaments are posted on www.askfred.net and you should create an account and register for tournaments there. Be sure to keep your email notification so that you can unregister if you need to.
Other Resources:
http://gafencing.org/parents/what_to_expect.pdf
http://www.fencing.net.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/BeginnerGuide-Tournament.pdf
