Great Lakes High School Fencing Conference Rules
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| Conference Season | Dual Meets | Invitationals | Championship | Equipment |
I. Conference Membership
A. Current Great Lakes High School Fencing Conference Member Schools are:
New Trier
Maine West
Stevenson
Culver Academies
Catholic Memorial High School
Marian Central Catholic
Marian Catholic
Deerfield-Highland Park
Homewood Flossmoor
University High School, Chicago
(updated March, 2008)
B. Schools that wish to be considered for conference membership need to request membership. Conference member teams will collaborate on decisions concerning new teams.
C. Conference member schools must participate in as many GLHSFC meets as possible, bring scoring equipment whenever possible, and need to be willing to host tournaments if open dates become available.
The GLHSFC season aligns with other high school winter sports. While there are no set dates regarding beginning or ending team practices, conference competition begins with the first Invitational (currently the Stevenson Invitational) on the second Saturday of November and ends with the Conference Championship on the last Saturday of January or first Saturday of February.
A. It is the responsibility of each member school to schedule dual meets with other teams.
B. Conference dual meets are fenced with teams of 4 boys and girls in each weapon. Schools may choose to fence to completion (48 boys bouts, 48 girls bouts) or to victory (first team to win 9 bouts in each weapon or to win 25 in the three-weapon combo) based on an agreement between coachers.
C. Schools may fence with fewer fencers (3-on-3 etc.) or without fielding a team in some weapons. These bouts may or may not be counted as forfeits, based on coaches' agreement.
D. Junior Varsity or Novice dual meets may be arranged according to coaches' preferences.
IV. Individual Meets (Invitationals)
A. Invitationals may be hosted by conference schools. The schedule for the next season is set at the end of each season. If more than one school wishes to host a meet on a given date, preference will be given to those schools that have seniority in terms of hosting on the given date.
B. The format for Invitationals will be up to the host school, but every attempt should be made to give fencers, at the least, a 6-person pool and to promote 100% of fencers from pools to Direct Elimination.
C. The seeding method for Conference Invitationals is to seed students by their finishes in Invitationals during the season. In early season meets, results from the previous season's Championships or Individual Tournaments may be utilized. USFA ratings do not supercede Conference finishes, but may be used to seed fencers who have not participated in earlier tournaments. With the exception of the Conference Championship, final decisions regarding seeding are left to tournament hosts.
D. Standard Entry Fees
Invitational with Hired Adult Directors: $20
Invitational with Volunteer HS Directors: $10
Conference Championships: $25
E. Results from Conference Invitationals count towards a fencer's seed for the Conference Championships see Conference Championships, below).
F. High School (grade 9-12) fencers are eligible to fence at Conference meets, as long as they are accompanied by a coach. If a fencer attends a school with a Conference fencing team, they may only represent their school team. Host schools may need to impose additional eligibility restrictions.
G. Fencers may only fence in one event per tournament.
A. In order to fence in the GLHSFC Championships, a fencer needs to have competed in at least two Conference Invitationals during the season. If a fencer attends a school with a Conference fencing team, they may only represent their school team.
B. The initial seeding of fencers at GLHSFC Championships is figured by averaging an individual fencer's two best finishes from the season. Fencers without two finishes from the season may not compete in the Championships. In all cases, fencers will be seeded by this formula. USFA ratings only apply as tie-breakers for students with the same GLHSFC seeding.
C. Each high school team or club may enter up to four fencers in each weapon category (Mens’ Foil, Womens’ Foil, Mens’ Epee, Womens’ Epee, Mens’ Sabre, Womens’ Sabre).
D. Conference Championships will be awarded in each weapon category (see above), and in Overall Mens’ Team and Overall Womens’ Team and Overall Club Champion. Individuals finishing in the top eight of each competition will be recognized with trophies or medals, and will be considered All-Conference athletes.
E. Team championships are calculated by adding the final placements of all fencers. The team with the lowest score wins. When teams enter less than four fencers in an event, they receive a score equivalent to the lowest finisher plus one for each missing fencer.
A. GLHSFC matches and tournaments will follow all USFA rules regarding individual equipment, with the exception of:
-Foil and Epee weights and shims need not be tested; event hosts may choose to use weights and shims for the entirety of the tournament
-Fencers will not receive yellow or red card warnings for faulty equipment. Coaches are encouraged to provide extra weapons and body cords for their fencers to bring to the strip.
B. Host schools may request that visiting schools bring scoring equipment (scoring machines and reels) appropriate to the number of athletes they bring to the meet.
VII. Conduct
A. USFA rules of conduct apply at all GLHSFC meets.
B. Fencers may be removed from GLHSFC tournaments for poor sportsmanship or dangerous behavior at the discretion of the event host and the bout committee.
C. GLHSFC coaches must display the highest standards of sportsmanship and integrity at all conference events. Coaches are to treat all officials and fencers with respect.
VIII. Bout Committee
GLHSFC bout committees are made up of a representative of the host school and at least two additional conference coaches. These bout committees may also include, at the discretion of the tournament host, highly-experienced officials.
IX. Officiating
A. It is the responsibility of the hosting team to provide officials for foil and sabre, and optionally for epee.
B. In the case of a serious shortage of available officials, hosts may use coaches to officiate, so long as they do not officiate for their own athletes.