Fencing is growing by leaps and bounds across the country.  USFA Membership is up which usually indicates more and bigger competitions.  It is an exciting time, tournaments abound and scheduling is more difficult this year than ever!  These are good 'problems' for fencing.

  I feel the beginning of the season is a good time to call attention to a few housekeeping items regarding membership, operations, and classifications that need some clarification.

  First, on July 31, all 2003 memberships expired.  At the beginning of the season, August 1, one needs to renew membership.  This is accomplished by fax (using credit card) to the USFA, by US Postal Service mail, or by turning in your completed application at any of the USFA sanctioned tournaments ("Completed" includes parent signature for minors and check or credit card # - NO CASH please.)  If you are not given a receipt ASK FOR ONE.  Please keep your receipt until your name appears on one of the membership lists or until you have your card with the correct information on it.

  Second, classifications that have not been renewed for four years will drop at the beginning of the season. Here is the way it reads in the ops manual found on the USFA forms/documents area:

  "(3) A fencer drops one level of major classification if that fencer fails, during a period of four years, to re-achieve the results necessary to earn that major classification. All such reclassifications will take effect at the beginning of the fencing season.

  For example, a fencer classified as “B85” was reclassified as “C89” at the start of the 1989-1990 fencing season. The minor classification changes at the same time to indicate that the new classification was achieved in the calendar year 1989 . A fencer who loses an “E” classification as a result of the application of this rule becomes Unclassified."

  For our example, we'll use poor Fencer X who has not renewed his B since that great day he had in 1999.  On August 1, 2003, Fencer X's B99 drops to a C and assumes the year in which this happened, which in our example would be 03.  So, Fencer X begins this season with a C03.

  For those of you who run tournaments, please, PLEASE have the registration staff pay attention to the cards that members present.  If you see classifications earlier than 2000, it must be changed for any tournament for the rest of the season.  Those fencers who pre-register can be verified online through the section webpage prior to the tournament day.

  A checklist could look like this.. 
Ask the fencer's name...repeat it back to the fencer, then check the card.
Fencer's name is it what I just heard/said?
Date of birth - this year for open events they must have been born in 1990 or a lesser number year (i.e. 89, 88, 87, etc.)
EXPIRATION DATE OF MEMBERSHIP!!!   If it says 2003 - it is no longer current.
Classification   verbally verify what is on the card - do not use old cards to verify ratings
Club/Division   club is not listed, but it helps if you verify that anyway.

  After all this is verified, the card is returned.  This protocol helps reduce mistakes that would cause a re-seed which is very costly in tournament time, or worse yet, a protest of results due to tournament mismanagement.

  For the benefit of our Section, I have compiled the membership, and it is posted on the section web site here.  It will be updated as the information comes to me.  I maintain information for the Ark-La-Miss division on that website at almdiv.org .  It is a good practice for all divisions who have websites to maintain a membership page to help local organizers verify memberships quickly.

  On the membership page, if you are current, you will have an X by your name.  If you are blue, you are a competitive fencer.  If you are not blue - you must change your membership type to participate in competition.  Fence for Fun cannot compete in USFA sanctioned tournaments, they must upgrade to a competitive type.

  If you are without membership verification at a tournament, and there is no one there with a current membership list from the USFA, you must fill out a new application and pay for the membership.  YOU SHOULD RECEIVE A RECEIPT.  The LOC will hold that payment and application for 2 weeks.  If you submit verification of your membership in that time frame, the application will be destroyed along with payment. If within two weeks the information is not verified, the new application will be submitted to the USFA.

  I have also compiled a list of ratings for each weapon which appears on the section web.  Soon I will have the referee information completed and that will appear on the website also.

  If you have any questions regarding membership, classifications, or other information, please feel free to contact me.  If I don't know the answer, I will ask the appropriate individuals and we will FIND the answer!

  Keep fencing!
:))
Terry Harkey
Secretary, Southwest Section
Secretary, Ark-La-Miss Division