The Premier Junior Foil Series

Information

The Premier Junior Foil Series is an exciting series of competitions evolved and conceived from the comments and requirements received from fencers and their supporters.

Competitions

2010 EVENT DATES

1. Sunday 24th January Southampton Grand Prix

2. Saturday 20th March Bristol

3 Saturday 22 May Bristol

4. This event if it happens is likely to be in May or June in London (Redbridge?)

5. Sunday 19th September Southampton

6. Saturday 4th December Southampton Grand Prix

Rule Changes for 2010

1. Due to popular request there will be a small change in the age categories

Over the past few years it has been felt that the jump for some children from the U11 to U14 category has been especially hard for those who have a birthday in September, October, November or December.

To this end the age groups for 2010 will use the following datum lines:

Under 9's Born 1st September 2000 and later

Under 11's Born 1st September 1998 and later

Under 14's Born 1996 and later

2. Changes in the number of medals presented in the individual competitions.

3. Following comments from parents and coaches the criteria for points allocation have been modified for the 2010 competition.

Fencers will be able to count 4 events. This can consist of 3 normal events and one Grand Prix.

Where a fencer enters both Grand Prix competitions the fencer will score Grand Prix points for their best Grand Prix event (1.5 times normal) and normal points for the other Grand Prix, which will then count towards the best of three normal events.

4 £20 Late Entry Fee remains for 2010. Late entries (if arriving 48 hours after closing date) will now have to pay £20 per entry. This includes people who pay on the day of the event. (It has become very difficult to organise events in advance when the bulk of entries are arriving only 3-4 days before the event.)

5. Normal entry fee remains at £15.00 per entry per event for 2010

6. We hope to have 6 events in 2010 but the date and venue for Round 4 still has to be confirmed. Please watch this website for updates and confirmations.

7. Under 9 fencers MUST use size 0 blades.

Aims and Objectives

This series will endeavour to offer the young fencer and supporters:

Congenial venues
A high standard of fencing
Clear definition of current rules; covering target, slashing, etc.
Ranking system based on points accumulated throughout the series

It is the intention that the successful young fencers will, from being introduced into a competitive, though friendly, environment, be able to raise their own performance levels. In turn, it is hoped that a stronger group of British fencers will emerge at the end of the Premier Junior Foil Series ready to take on the realities of qualifying for National teams and thereon to the International circuit.

Due to the fact that the series will only be having one round of pools followed by Direct Elimination it is envisaged that the competition will not be a long drawn out affair. With the additional help of computers to do the seeding, it should be possible to have an enjoyable day out without the customary gaps in between fights which young fencers and their supporters have had to endure for too long. No events are expected to finish later than 6.00 p.m. and probably earlier.

This series does not aim to rival or replace any other events.

Age categories and competition format

There will be 6 competitions at each event falling into 3 age categories:

Under 9 Boys and Girls Born 1st September 2000 and later
Under 11 Boys and Girls Born 1st September 1998 and later
Under 14 Boys and Girls Born 1st Jan 1996 and later

Dependant on the number of entries the format will be 1 round of pools with no child eliminated. All children will then enter a Direct Elimination Tableau. Children will be eliminated on losing their first Direct Elimination fight. Pools, in principle, will always consist of 5 or 6 fencers.

All events will be fully electric throughout. Blade sizes as follows

Under 9's Size 0 Blades

Under 11's and 14's Size 3 blades

Number of hits and time limits

The number of hits required to win a fight and the maximum times for fights are as follows:

	Pools		Direct Elimination
	Number of hits	Time (mins)	Number of hits	Time (mins)
Under 9	4	3	8	6 (2 + 2 +2)
Under 11	5	3	10	6 (2 + 2 +2)
Under 14	5	3	15	6 (2 + 2 +2)

Equipment and entry fees

All events will be fully electric throughout. Children should have full fencing kit.

The entry fee for each competition will be £ 15.00. The entry fees will go towards the costs of running the competition, prizes, end of series awards and referees' refreshments.

All events are supported by PBT-UK and Allstar- Uhlmann UK equipment companies

Rankings, Prizes and Awards

Regardless of the number of entries in a competition points will be awarded as follows: (at the 2 Grand Prix events the figure in the GP Points column will be awarded)

Position	Points	GP Points	Position	Points	GP Points	Position	Points	GP Points
1	45	68	13	23	35	24	9	14
2	42	63	14	22	33	25	8	12
3	39	59	15	21	32	26	7	11
5	35	53	16	20	30	27	6	9
6	34	51	17	16	24	28	5	8
7	33	50	18	15	23	29	4	6
8	32	48	19	14	21	30	3	5
9	27	41	20	13	20	31	2	3
10	26	39	21	12	18	32	1	2
11	25	38	22	11	17
12	24	36	23	10	15

In the event of 2 or more fencers being placed equal in any one event they shall both be awarded the points for the highest place they hold, e.g. if 2 fencers are placed 12th= they will both score 24 points.(36 in a Grand Prix event)

The placings (and final placings for the year) will be decided on points scored in four out of six events and ONLY ONE Grand Prix event may count towards the final rankings.

The criteria for points allocation have been modified for the 2010 competition.

Fencers will be able to count 4 events. This can consist of 3 normal events and one Grand Prix.

Where a fencer enters both Grand Prix competitions the fencer will score Grand Prix points for their best Grand Prix event (1.5 times normal) and normal points for the other Grand Prix, which will then count towards the best of three normal events.

In the case of equality fencers will be separated by their highest placing in any one event with Grand Prix events counting more e.g. 1st in a Grand Prix will be considered better than a 1st in a non-Grand Prix event. In further cases of equality places will be decided by 2nd. best results and so on down to the 4th. event. If 2 or more fencers are still equal they shall be deemed equal.

Rankings for each age group will be published openly and after each event. The rankings on this site will usually be updated within 5 days of the event.

Medals will be given at each event to all finalists dependant on the number of entries for each competition

Greater than 10 top 8

Between 6 and 10 top 4

Up to 5 top 2

The top 3 fencers in each category at the end of each year will receive engraved trophies to keep along with other prizes.

Parents, coaches and fencers

All parents and coaches are welcome at events and the organisers of each event will welcome comments to improve or further this series.

The views of fencers are also important and the organisers will welcome comments from fencers too.

One definite intention is that the Premier Series does not become too big or unmanageable.

A small group of interested parents may be set up to look at varying aspects of the series e.g. format, prizes, sponsorship, timing of events, looking at peoples comments, etc. (See below)

Referees

This is an area that has always been a bone of contention!

It is realised that British Fencing relies on volunteers and we hope that many will be involved in this series of events.

Requests about the quality of a referee may be put to event organisers.

Referees have good days and bad days. Some referees are occasionally out of their depth. This series will try to ensure that referees who are poor or out of sorts on a particular day are not used where possible.

It must be remembered that sometimes there is a shortage of referees and a certain number are needed to ensure that a competition will finish on time. To this end clubs entering fencers should bring as many referees as possible. Try and get some older fencers from your club to come. Club coaches should be willing to referee.

We will positively encourage young fencers to take on refereeing responsibilities.

Competitions will generally offer refreshments to referees.

In the first instance a referee of quality and repute would be used.

It should be remembered that the individual organiser of an event will have the ultimate choice over a referee.

Equipment stands

PBT-UK and/or Allstar-Uhlmann UK equipment company will have a stand at most events for equipment purchases. Orders for equipment to be purchased can be done at any time from

PBT-UK. Contact Ian Briggs on 01276 855526

Web site www.pbt-uk.com

Allstar-Uhlmann UK. Contact Graham Forster on 0789 9893890.

Queries and information

Queries about individual competitions should be made direct to the organiser of that event. The names of the organisers can be found by following the links from the events page.

Queries and comments about the rankings should be made to Sid Burton via e-mail using webmaster@fencing.org.uk

Entry Forms

Entry forms and travel directions can be downloaded from the website.