Fencing.net reached out to USA Fencing after their recent announcement on Regional events being required to use their new Tournament Registration platform starting early 2018. We pulled together a short, focused set of questions from across the online fencing community. Below are the questions and the official responses from USA Fencing.
Fencing.net: Regional events will essentially be registered for in the same way as National-level events now, correct?
USA Fencing: Yes, the regional event registration system will be similar to the registration used for national tournaments.
Fencing.net: What’s the cost structure going to be for registering for Regional events through the new system?
USA Fencing: The cost structure for registering for regional events through the new system will be comparable to that used on other registration platforms. This structure is currently being finalized and will be announced to regional tournament organizers with additional details regarding the regional event registration launch.
Fencing.net: Will this system integrate well with FencingTime / Engarde / AskFRED / 14meters / PointControl / National Fencing Club Rankings / etc.? Are integration plans with any of these or other similar systems in the marketplace currently underway?
USA Fencing: USA Fencing values the community of business owners and volunteers who dedicate their time to the creation of websites and database systems that help grow and promote our sport. As such, we have begun conversations with the owners of several of these sites and companies with future outreach planned in the coming months.
Fencing.net: Will US Fencing be accepting payments on behalf of Tournament Organizers and then cashing out to Organizers via a check or bank transfer? If so, what will the timeline look like on making payments to Organizers and will Organizers be getting 1099s?
USA Fencing: Payment will be accepted on behalf of the tournament organizers. USA Fencing will provide tournament organizers with payments both prior to and following the tournament host date via direct deposit. In accordance with federal law, organizers will receive a 1099 form annually.
Fencing.net: How will the registration cost structure integrate with the current Program Support Fee?
USA Fencing: The registration cost structure will be separate from the program support fee and will be comparable to that of other registration sites. Additional information regarding this structure will be provided to regional event organizers in the coming weeks.
Fencing.net: US Fencing is moving into third party tournament management with this move into Regional events. Given the stated goals of this move, can we expect US Fencing to continue to move downstream into local events? Will all events have to be eventually run through this system?
USA Fencing: Regional tournament organizers will use the new registration system for events beginning on Jan. 1, 2018 or later. There is potential for the new registration system to be made available to local event organizers who are interested in using the platform as well. Additional details on the option will follow in the upcoming months.
Fencing.net: Given the move to centralize results, are there any medium to long term plans to change the primary alphanumeric rating system (U through A plus year) to something more numerical (i.e., Elo, TrueSkill, something participation-based, etc)?
USA Fencing: USA Fencing is continually evaluating the rating, seeding and point standing systems in order to assess what modifications should be made in the future to ensure that these systems are beneficial to the athletes.