Post by Parry Nine on Sept 19, 2006 11:05:16 GMT -6
Here is an Ops Manual I've drafted up for this year's SWIFA Tournaments. Please look it over and tell me what you think. Also, if I've left anything out, please let me know and we'll discuss additions and subtractions. (Sorry it's taken me so long!)
Operations Manual of the
Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association
The Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association (SWIFA) is a collective effort of the collegiate and higher education clubs across Texas. Its purpose is to promote the sport of Fencing among all levels of fencers enrolled in higher education institutions including, but not limited to private vocational schools, two-year or four-year colleges or universities, and graduate schools.
Tournaments
Selection of Hosting Organization
A member team will host each tournament. That member team must be active for the date the request to host is given. Each member team may volunteer to host a tournament at the beginning of the year. During the first meeting of the season, the season’s schedule will be determined. A lottery system will be used to determine the order of which team will host which events. In the event a team declines to host a tournament that team will be placed back in the lottery and the lottery will be drawn again for that tournament. Declining any one tournament during a season for a reason other than scheduling conflicts will result in that team forfeiting the opportunity to host another tournament that season.
Upon the selection to host a tournament, that hosting team will provide the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and a Bout Committee (BC) to run the event. It is not the responsibility of the officers of SWIFA to organize the tournament. If the LOC requires assistance, they may request assistance from the SWIFA officers, but the decision to assist is left to that/those officer(s). For members of the Bout Committee, it is suggested that it consist of the Head Tournament Organizer and at least one member of each represented club.
Operation of SWIFA Sanctioned Tournaments
All tournaments will follow a specified format. Each SWIFA tournament must hold the following events: Mixed Team Epee, Mixed Team Foil, and Mixed Team Sabre. Those events will be required. It is left to the decision of the LOC to hold any additional events (any individual events.) If individual events are held, they cannot conflict with the required events and if there is a conflict, the required events must take precedence.
Each tournament must be no longer than two (2) full days. (IE: Saturday and Sunday.)
The LOC must have access to a suitable venue.
Each tournament must be run with electric FIE standard equipment. If a hosting club does not have the required score machines, it is up to the LOC to acquire the necessary equipment. If the LOC requires assistance, they may request assistance from the SWIFA officers, but the decision to assist is left to that/those officer(s).
To assist in pre-registration, the LOC may elect to use www.AskFRED.com, and are encouraged to do so, but that LOC is required to manage the pre-registration of only active teams for that fencing season with the assistance of the SWIFA secretary.
NO LOC MAY IMPOSE ANY REGISTRATION FEES. All membership fees are assessed at the beginning of the SWIFA fencing season. Any teams that wish to join the SWIFA organization must submit a request in writing to the SWIFA membership no less than thirty (30) days before the tournament in which they wish to attend. The SWIFA Executive Committee will make this decision.
It is strongly suggested that a rated referee in each weapon be present during the tournament. If this referee must be brought in, the Executive Committee will decide travel reimbursement, per-deim, and honorarium. These amounts cannot exceed the USFA pay scale. If deemed necessary of exceed these amounts, a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee must approve this expense.
Format of Events:
The required events (Mixed Team Epee, Mixed Team Foil and Mixed Team Sabre) must adhere to a uniform format throughout the season. This format will be voted on at the beginning of each season. Once the season has begun, the format cannot be changed from tournament to tournament to ensure final results are all equal and fair.
Each team of fencers will have 3 fencers. Each team may elect to have an alternate. This alternate must be listed in the team roster and may be substituted in for any team member, but this substitution must be announced to the referee and the opposing team one bout in advance. Once a team member has been substituted, they may not re-enter the match. The only time a substitution may not be announced is in the event of an injury on strip. If this should occur, the substitute will take over the current bout and remain substituted for the entire match. If a fencer is injured on a team that only has 3 members, the team must forfeit all other bouts for that fencer.
Any member team may field more than one team in any event. The only rule to this is that no one fencer may be listed on any other team roster, regardless if they are the alternate or a main fencer.
For all required events, there will be two (2) rounds of fencing. Round One will be used to determine seeding into a Direct Elimination (DE) table. During Round One, all nine bouts must be fenced. This is to determine an accurate indicator in which to seed that team. Teams will be divided into groups three or four. Two teams will engage in a team match. If there are insufficient directors, the team not on strip will referee the match. Once all three teams have fenced each other, the teams will be regrouped for another round of pooling. Once two pooling rounds have been completed the aggregate scores of victories, defeats, touched scored and touches received will be tallied. Placement into the Direct Elimination table will follow the following hierarchy: total victories, total indicator, touches scored and touches received. If there is still a tie, a coin will be flipped by the Bout Committee to determine placement. Round Two fencing will be a simple Direct Elimination with no repechage. These bouts will be fenced as a race to five victories. The first team to five (5) victories will be the winner of the team match. The victor proceeds to the next bracket. THIRD PLACE WILL BE FENCED OFF. There will be no ties for third place.
Non-required events (any individual events, or other event) are allowed to be determined at the LOC’s discretion. It is strongly encouraged that if a LOC wishes to hold a non-required event, they adhere to USFA requirements for events. If an LOC wishes to use a non-standard format, that LOC must notify the SWIFA membership 30 (30) days before the beginning of the first day of the tournament. If no notification is given, the LOC must adhere to USFA requirements for that type of event. If it is a non-standard event, format must be announced thirty-days (30) in advance. If advance is not give of the non-standard event, the LOC cannot hold that event.
Venue Site
Each hosting club will be responsible for acquiring a suitable venue to host their respective SWIFA Tournament. Suggestions are gyms, recreation centers, and fencing salles.
Fencing strips will be required to have sufficient room for the fencers to maneuver. This includes strips laid out to USFA and FIE regulations. These strips may be laid out in tape, but conductive metal pistes are greatly encouraged. If the hosting club does decide to tape out the strip, sufficient run-off room must be given (at least 2 meters.) IE: the strip doesn’t run directly into the wall. The space between strips is also important. A good amount of space between strips is 10-20 feet. This room allows directors enough space to maneuver to accurately see the fencing actions. There is no requirement of minimum space between the strips, but more space between the strips will result in happier directors and in turn will result in happier fencers.
Each strip must have a good working electrical scoring apparatus (hereafter referred to a box.) These boxes must be in good working order and MUST HAVE CURRENT LOCK-OUT TIMING CHIPS. If the hosting club does not have sufficient boxes, they may request other clubs to bring equipment but the strip must be laid out and all electrical wiring must be in place.
Bout Committee/ Tournament Organizers
The duty of the Bout Committee and the Tournament Organizers is to produce a smoothly running event. Most of this will come from the Tournament organizers and Local Organizing Committee (LOC). The LOC is in-charge of running the Bout Committee table. This table will check-in fencers and run the tournament. TO RUN THE TOURNAMENT, THE LOC TABLE MUST ALWAYS BE MANNED. IE: fencers of the hosting club will not be allowed to both run the tournament and fence simultaneously.
Along with a LOC table, there will also be an armory table. This table will be in-charge of inspecting fencers’ equipment. At a minimum, this must include masks. The LOC may elect to inspect lames, bodycords, mask leashes, and sabre over-gloves. Also, the armory table must have sufficient equipment to fix or replace damaged equipment. Repair tools, tape, metal tape, spare boxes, floor cords, and spare reels are required.
Operations Manual of the
Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association
The Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association (SWIFA) is a collective effort of the collegiate and higher education clubs across Texas. Its purpose is to promote the sport of Fencing among all levels of fencers enrolled in higher education institutions including, but not limited to private vocational schools, two-year or four-year colleges or universities, and graduate schools.
Tournaments
Selection of Hosting Organization
A member team will host each tournament. That member team must be active for the date the request to host is given. Each member team may volunteer to host a tournament at the beginning of the year. During the first meeting of the season, the season’s schedule will be determined. A lottery system will be used to determine the order of which team will host which events. In the event a team declines to host a tournament that team will be placed back in the lottery and the lottery will be drawn again for that tournament. Declining any one tournament during a season for a reason other than scheduling conflicts will result in that team forfeiting the opportunity to host another tournament that season.
Upon the selection to host a tournament, that hosting team will provide the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and a Bout Committee (BC) to run the event. It is not the responsibility of the officers of SWIFA to organize the tournament. If the LOC requires assistance, they may request assistance from the SWIFA officers, but the decision to assist is left to that/those officer(s). For members of the Bout Committee, it is suggested that it consist of the Head Tournament Organizer and at least one member of each represented club.
Operation of SWIFA Sanctioned Tournaments
All tournaments will follow a specified format. Each SWIFA tournament must hold the following events: Mixed Team Epee, Mixed Team Foil, and Mixed Team Sabre. Those events will be required. It is left to the decision of the LOC to hold any additional events (any individual events.) If individual events are held, they cannot conflict with the required events and if there is a conflict, the required events must take precedence.
Each tournament must be no longer than two (2) full days. (IE: Saturday and Sunday.)
The LOC must have access to a suitable venue.
Each tournament must be run with electric FIE standard equipment. If a hosting club does not have the required score machines, it is up to the LOC to acquire the necessary equipment. If the LOC requires assistance, they may request assistance from the SWIFA officers, but the decision to assist is left to that/those officer(s).
To assist in pre-registration, the LOC may elect to use www.AskFRED.com, and are encouraged to do so, but that LOC is required to manage the pre-registration of only active teams for that fencing season with the assistance of the SWIFA secretary.
NO LOC MAY IMPOSE ANY REGISTRATION FEES. All membership fees are assessed at the beginning of the SWIFA fencing season. Any teams that wish to join the SWIFA organization must submit a request in writing to the SWIFA membership no less than thirty (30) days before the tournament in which they wish to attend. The SWIFA Executive Committee will make this decision.
It is strongly suggested that a rated referee in each weapon be present during the tournament. If this referee must be brought in, the Executive Committee will decide travel reimbursement, per-deim, and honorarium. These amounts cannot exceed the USFA pay scale. If deemed necessary of exceed these amounts, a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee must approve this expense.
Format of Events:
The required events (Mixed Team Epee, Mixed Team Foil and Mixed Team Sabre) must adhere to a uniform format throughout the season. This format will be voted on at the beginning of each season. Once the season has begun, the format cannot be changed from tournament to tournament to ensure final results are all equal and fair.
Each team of fencers will have 3 fencers. Each team may elect to have an alternate. This alternate must be listed in the team roster and may be substituted in for any team member, but this substitution must be announced to the referee and the opposing team one bout in advance. Once a team member has been substituted, they may not re-enter the match. The only time a substitution may not be announced is in the event of an injury on strip. If this should occur, the substitute will take over the current bout and remain substituted for the entire match. If a fencer is injured on a team that only has 3 members, the team must forfeit all other bouts for that fencer.
Any member team may field more than one team in any event. The only rule to this is that no one fencer may be listed on any other team roster, regardless if they are the alternate or a main fencer.
For all required events, there will be two (2) rounds of fencing. Round One will be used to determine seeding into a Direct Elimination (DE) table. During Round One, all nine bouts must be fenced. This is to determine an accurate indicator in which to seed that team. Teams will be divided into groups three or four. Two teams will engage in a team match. If there are insufficient directors, the team not on strip will referee the match. Once all three teams have fenced each other, the teams will be regrouped for another round of pooling. Once two pooling rounds have been completed the aggregate scores of victories, defeats, touched scored and touches received will be tallied. Placement into the Direct Elimination table will follow the following hierarchy: total victories, total indicator, touches scored and touches received. If there is still a tie, a coin will be flipped by the Bout Committee to determine placement. Round Two fencing will be a simple Direct Elimination with no repechage. These bouts will be fenced as a race to five victories. The first team to five (5) victories will be the winner of the team match. The victor proceeds to the next bracket. THIRD PLACE WILL BE FENCED OFF. There will be no ties for third place.
Non-required events (any individual events, or other event) are allowed to be determined at the LOC’s discretion. It is strongly encouraged that if a LOC wishes to hold a non-required event, they adhere to USFA requirements for events. If an LOC wishes to use a non-standard format, that LOC must notify the SWIFA membership 30 (30) days before the beginning of the first day of the tournament. If no notification is given, the LOC must adhere to USFA requirements for that type of event. If it is a non-standard event, format must be announced thirty-days (30) in advance. If advance is not give of the non-standard event, the LOC cannot hold that event.
Venue Site
Each hosting club will be responsible for acquiring a suitable venue to host their respective SWIFA Tournament. Suggestions are gyms, recreation centers, and fencing salles.
Fencing strips will be required to have sufficient room for the fencers to maneuver. This includes strips laid out to USFA and FIE regulations. These strips may be laid out in tape, but conductive metal pistes are greatly encouraged. If the hosting club does decide to tape out the strip, sufficient run-off room must be given (at least 2 meters.) IE: the strip doesn’t run directly into the wall. The space between strips is also important. A good amount of space between strips is 10-20 feet. This room allows directors enough space to maneuver to accurately see the fencing actions. There is no requirement of minimum space between the strips, but more space between the strips will result in happier directors and in turn will result in happier fencers.
Each strip must have a good working electrical scoring apparatus (hereafter referred to a box.) These boxes must be in good working order and MUST HAVE CURRENT LOCK-OUT TIMING CHIPS. If the hosting club does not have sufficient boxes, they may request other clubs to bring equipment but the strip must be laid out and all electrical wiring must be in place.
Bout Committee/ Tournament Organizers
The duty of the Bout Committee and the Tournament Organizers is to produce a smoothly running event. Most of this will come from the Tournament organizers and Local Organizing Committee (LOC). The LOC is in-charge of running the Bout Committee table. This table will check-in fencers and run the tournament. TO RUN THE TOURNAMENT, THE LOC TABLE MUST ALWAYS BE MANNED. IE: fencers of the hosting club will not be allowed to both run the tournament and fence simultaneously.
Along with a LOC table, there will also be an armory table. This table will be in-charge of inspecting fencers’ equipment. At a minimum, this must include masks. The LOC may elect to inspect lames, bodycords, mask leashes, and sabre over-gloves. Also, the armory table must have sufficient equipment to fix or replace damaged equipment. Repair tools, tape, metal tape, spare boxes, floor cords, and spare reels are required.