Club News

What are National Points and What are They Used For?

Note that this information is explained in detail in the USFA Athlete Handbook.

National points are a ranking system used by the USFA called “National Points Rolling Standing” (or NPRS), and applied to fencers performing at national or international level tournaments, based on their final placement.
As a fencer participates in many points-awarding tournaments during the course of a fencing season, they earn points in some of them. The total amount of points earned during a season is calculated based on a formula that varies for different age groups.
National points are maintained for each weapon/age/gender category separately and fencers are compared only within their own bracket, no matter how they stand in any other bracket.

 

Rolling Points Cycle and Age Categories

National points are rolling with a sliding window of one year.
The 1-year cycle is different for different age categories.

• Youth (Y10/Y12/Y14) coincides with the fencing season where a year starts on August 1 and ends on July 31.
• Cadets, juniors, and seniors: the cycle is different as these age cycles are aligned with international fencing.
  These fencers can participate in Cadet, Juniors, or Senior World Cups and Championships, and must meet the age requirement of the international fencing governing body (FIE – Federation Internationale D’Escrime).

National points are awarded for the following categories:

Youth 10: Y10 and Y12, domestic performances.
Youth 12: Y12 and Y14, domestic performances.
Youth 14: Y14 and Cadet, domestic performances.
Cadet: Cadet, Junior, and Senior performances, both domestically and internationally.
Junior: Junior and Senior performances, both domestically and internationally.
Senior: domestic and international performances in Seniors.

How to earn rolling points 

Y10: SYC awards 100 points for the first place
Y12:SYC awards 120 points to the winner
Y14: SYC awards 200 points to the winner

Y10 and Y12 NACs award a maximum of 100 points
Y14 NAC gives a maximum of 200 points
Cadet NAC will max at 400 points
Junior NAC will max at 600 points
Senior NAC awards its winner 1000 points (and even that can change based on how strong the tournament)

How are the Rolling Points used?

Ranking

Fencers in the same gender/weapon/age group are ranked against each other on the national level. It allows fencers to see where they are.

Age Group

Fencers who don’t qualify age-wise to participate in a competition in the next age group can do that if they have national points in their age group.
For example, a Y10 fencer can typically participate only in Y10 and Y12 competition, but if this fencer is on NRPS in Y12 category then they can fence in Y14 competition.

Seeding

At national, regional, and sometimes even local tournaments, national points are used to seed participants in the initial seeding prior to the pools starting.
Note: only national points in that event will be taken into consideration. For example, if a fencer is ranked in both Y10 and Y12, and the competition event is Y10, only the ranking in Y10 will be considered for seeding purposes.

National Competition Qualification

Fencers with national points automatically qualify for national-level tournaments, such as championships or the July Challenge.

International Competition Qualification

National ranking is also used to fill the quota of US fencers who can fence internationally.
In international cadet tournaments (that are not championships), the first 20 highest-ranked fencers are automatically allowed to compete, with lower-ranked fencers being on the standby list (in the order per national ranking) should a fencer in the ranking not be able to attend.

National Team

The national team in every age category is composed of top-ranked fencers in that category.
For example: in seniors and juniors championships -> the top 4 ranked fencers compose a national team, while in cadets, the top 3 will make the team.

---

 

Regional Points Standing (Youth, Cadet, Junior)

What Are Regional Points?

Regional Points Standing are points earned by fencers in the Youth, Cadet, and Junior categories within their respective regions.
The United States is divided into six fencing regions, and fencers accumulate regional points by competing in their region.
While Youth and Cadet/Junior regional points share some similarities, there are significant differences between the two.

Youth Regional Points:

Youth regional points are earned through participation in the Regional Youth Circuit (RYC) events. Each RYC awards up to 100 points, with fencers earning points based on their final placements. The total number of regional points a fencer can earn is the sum of their top three RYC results. It’s important to note that RYC results are only valid for a single season (August 1 – July 31), and they do not correlate across different age categories.

How Are Youth Regional Points Used?

The primary purpose of Youth Regional points is to qualify for the National Championship in the respective age category. These championships are an integral part of the annual Summer Nationals event, which typically takes place in early July. Additionally, as fencers age out of their respective categories, their previous age regional points are no longer tracked.

Cadet and Junior Regional Points:

Cadet and Junior Regional Points are earned through participation in the Regional Junior and Cadet Circuit (RJCC) events. Similar to RYC events, each RJCC awards up to 100 points, and fencers accumulate points based on their final rankings. For Cadet and Junior categories, the total number of regional points is determined by the sum of the top two RJCC results.

How Are Cadet and Junior Regional Points Used?

These points serve as qualifications for events such as Junior Olympics (JO’s), which takes place in February each year during Presidents’ Day weekend, and the July Challenge, part of the Summer Nationals.
Cadet and Junior age categories align with JO’s, with their seasons running from February to February to facilitate the qualification process for Junior and Cadet World Championships.

 

 

As a novice fencer starting your competitive journey, remember that fencing is so much more than points.
Use the points as a challenge and gratification of becoming a stronger person, on and off the strip!