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For a fencer that got into the sport in their 20s or 30s, the Div II/III NACs are a unique experience that can hook a fencer for life. When I attended my first NAC 20 years ago as a 30-something, when I walked into a room with 36 strips and hundreds of fencers, I was blown away. It was on a scale that I had never seen before. It felt like I had "found my tribe" being around so many new fencers from around the country. From that moment on, I was hooked, and am still involved to this date. Denying that experience to the 20-39 year old fencers is really a terrible idea. - Dan Berke

As a veteran fencer who is still unrated the only national level event I can compete in is veteran class. While I do enjoy it, I routinely end up at the bottom since I am unrated. I have also found my region has very few if any div3 ROCs . In order to get better I need more chances to fence different people, specifically more woman. - Sara Beck

I’m 35 and I recently started fencing again. My rating dropped to a U over the last 10 years or so. I was really looking forward to fencing in at least one NAC this coming season and I was disappointed to see that there aren’t any div2/3 events. I qualified for nationals because I was the only one to register for the qualifier. This is a serious bummer. - Kristen Hawkes

I am disappointed in the leadership of USA Fencing. Their actions say a lot about what they think of non-DivI fencers. Perhaps members need town hall. - Michele Gerken Schaff

One of the aspects of fencing of which I'm the most proud is its accessibility. De-prioritizing D2/D3 events sends a terrible message that I deplore. Signed! - Marie Lawson

[Div II/III NACs] are also important to fencers not D1 who are non vet adults. I like ,as a vet, to participate in other events(I am not ever going to be a D1 fencer). - Jeffrey Kuhn

[Div II/III NACs are] important development events for referees too - Andy King

I would say at a bare minimum the USFA owes the members an explanation for removing those events. Especially since it seems to have been a surprise to everyone. - Joseph Oliverius

The open letter mentions the age groups up to age 40 needing D2/3, but vets fence these events as well, to leverage their travel time and expense. - Rosa Campa Hearne

It’s frankly dumb not to have a couple per year. You want fencers to continue the journey after high school and you want kids the option of additional tournaments that aren’t LOADED. - Roy Miller

As a female fencer that came from the Midwest, division 2/3 events were the only time I got to fence other women. As someone interested and who did complete at the Division 1 level, these events were CRUCIAL to my development as competitive fencer. Perhaps things have changed with covid, but I would support another delegation that organized and hosted more regional events or at least two separate div 2/3 events per year. If we don’t foster this type of growth in communities that have only one or two clubs for 100s of miles, we will loose not only growth in our sport, but fail to foster growth in our female athletes.

Prior to starting college it was at a division 2/3 event that I finally earned my C. This opened a plethora of doors with the support of a division 1 university that I would not have otherwise had access. - Sara Hanvy

I am a 38 year old woman, physician, and mother of two. I fenced in college and then took time off from the sport in order to complete medical school and residency, raise my children, and work in some pretty demanding jobs. I finally reached a point in my life where I could rejoin the sport and have been training hard over the past year. I am unrated and intended to compete over the next few months in order to hopefully make it to a national event. I was really looking forward to this, but that is not likely to happen, now. I always brag to everyone about how fencing is such an amazing sport because ANYONE can fence at ANY age… and I feel that this decision completely contradicts that and penalizes me for being a mother and having a job.

My more informal response: Also… why am I paying dues, if USA Fencing is not going to support me and/or others who are members? (Obviously… we still have to pay dues in order to train with our clubs which are under the USA Fencing umbrella, if you will… but I ask this as a theoretical question). Tell me if I am misinterpreting the situation, please… but this feels a little like taxation without representation. I pay, I train in a USA Fencing club, I support the sport, and then I get ignored/not supported/stripped of opportunities because of my age group or whatever arbitrary nonsense ‘they’ come up with next. Fencing is (and should remain) a sport for EVERYONE…. Where EVERYONE feels wanted and supported!

… last comment… in my first comment, by “ANYONE can fence at ANY age,” I mean mentally and physically … there are still societal, financial, and other barriers for many (too many) folks (including among our Para and Disabled fencers) which STILL need to be addressed in this sport... and, once again, this decision made by USA Fencing brings us farther away from that and makes our sport (the true “beautiful sport”) less accessible. - Dorothy Contiguglia-Akcan

Per usual, USA Fencing makes big changes without explanation. I don’t understand why it doesn’t occur to them to try to head off stuff like this by posting an explanation, so we are left to imagine the rationale, which will always result in an uncharitable view of USA Fencing.

My uncharitable view is that they only listened to the coaches of certain big clubs about what they want/need, because they’ve decided that that is their pipeline to producing world-class athletes: invest in the groups that are already strong and leave everyone else to fend for themselves.

I wouldn’t be opposed to this move if they were simultaneously strengthening regional events, but I haven’t see any evidence of that. I suspect they are just hoping that will be the outcome.

Also, how is this going to affect referee training? I feel like this is going to decrease national-level training opportunities and create regional silos. - Sarah Timmons Powell

I am disappointed in the leadership of USA Fencing. Their actions say a lot about what they think of non-DivI fencers. Perhaps members need town hall. - Michele Gerkin Schaff

As a [EXPLETIVE] fencer who falls into the big 20-40 age range blindspot, this has pushed me to decide that I will not be renewing my membership this year. This was a choice borne of much consternation as I readily acknowledge the fact that I am making this vicious cycle worse; as more adult fencers are driven out, the adult membership dwindles, causing fewer resources to be devoted to adult fencers, etc. Yet reducing opportunities for Div II/III (and Vet) events signals to me that leadership has no intention of ever supporting fencers like me in this country, so I will take the hint and move on. - u/momoneymoprobs

The current problem with getting rid of Div2/Div3 NACs means that there will be no opportunity for many fencers to fence in a large, competitive event at their skill level. Coupled with the lack of opportunities at the local (and even regional) level, sub-elite fencers have a really hard time finding events in which to fence, and their best opportunity is now going away. - u/Aerdirnaithon

One of the reasons Div 2/3 at the National level are so popular is due to the consistency of the events. Fencers know they are going to be in a air-conditioned venue with plenty of room, with a staff that is well trained, including the referees. At local and regional levels, this is not always the case. Venues are often cramped and poorly lit. There is rarely enough room in the venues. Refereeing is wildly inconsistent. - u/Allen_Evans

Div2/Div3 events at NACs are goal events for many fencers, especially if they fence in events where earning a C rating isn't so simple because the size, frequency, and quality of events near them makes those opportunities rare. In my division and those around it - an area which includes 7 major metropolitan areas - there have only been 5 local events at which fencers could earn their C in saber (and only three people earned one, with all the other potential C ratings going to fencers who already had one).

Many fencers who are fencing in age-restricted categories (Vet, Junior, Cadet) use Div2/Div3 events as additional reason for them to go. Having two events to fence in makes the trip much more worthwhile. Or - for those who started at university or as young adults - Div2/Div3 events are a way to get involved outside their local area much sooner, making their retention in the sport much more likely. The skill-restricted events serve as a gateway to further involvement in fencing. - u/Aerdirnaithon

I am extremely disappointed that USA Fencing has chosen to remove all div2/3 or even most team events. Not only is this unfortunate to clubs and coaches who rely on those events to introduce fencers to competition on the national scale, it show sa [SIC] clear lack of interest on USA Fencing's part to promote a strong national contention for all fencers. - u/Neither_Sample_7643

I’m a women’s saber fencer whose C just expired due to being away from fencing for the pandemic/grad school. I just checked all of the ROCs from the past season in region 6. There was exactly one Div1A tournament in the region that was a C1. All of the others were were E1s. That means that even if you travel to all of the events in your region, exactly ONE fencer would be able to get to Div 1 from the ROC system in the whole season (also in this case, the event was won by someone who already had a B). I know I might be sensitive about this because my C just expired, but I’m very sad that there won’t be any Div II/III NACs in 22/23. Luckily, I’m far north enough in region 6 that I can travel to region 3 for some higher-rated WS events, but I definitely feel bad for people in more isolated areas! - u/mace_of_blades

What annoys me about this trend is that Fencers such as [u/mace_of_blades] are describing can help glue clubs together. I'd argue that clubs that only have adult coaches and Junior and Younger fencers are more likely to have worse overall team cultures/possibilities for abusive situations. At my club we have a good core of what would be considered Div2 and Div3 college and adult age fencers, and they are a great resource. The kids can see multiple paths for their fencing. There are those elite Div1 fencers that they see working super hard and making fencing their priority, and that's great. But the adult fencers introduce them to the idea that you can continue to fence competitively to a degree while also having a more normal career/life. Anything that makes it harder for these type of fencers to keep getting better and having a good time will be of long term harm to US fencing overall. - u/bernieohls

This could make the difference between a young adult dropping out of the sport and that person staying with it for another 15-20 years (with all the according revenue to USFA, clubs, and equipment vendors).

Plus there's a decent number of vet-age fencers who compete in and enjoy these events. It's a chance to compete at a higher level without the cutthroat environment created by the vets chasing a spot on the national team. - u/ZebraFencer

This is partially my reason as well for not coming back to compete in the sport. I had taken a few years off of fencing, am in my 20's, and lost my C rating due to not competing during school and the pandemic. Now that I thought about seriously getting back into the sport the events I could partake in nationally are gone. There are also no ROC's within 4 hours of me to fence DIV 2 either, so even regionally it would be a struggle to get my rating back up to compete at NACs - u/biig-oooof

I honestly do wonder what this will do to sub-elite fencing in the US. And I wonder if US Fencing cares much. - u/K_S_ON

And there are fencers able to fence juniors, cadets, or Y14 that may want to fence Div2/3 also. Having two events to fence is a lot more attractive than traveling for a single event. - u/grendelone

Kind of wild that USA Fencing has just decided to cut more than 2000 athletes out of competing on the national circuit. - u/Casperthefencer

And there are certainly many others who would buy a competitive membership if there were nacs to try to qualify for. I'm going to stick with the cheaper "access" membership for local tournaments this year so I might not be counted in your analysis. It sucks because I was hoping to try and up my competitive game this season and I'm rethinking that now. - u/looseparameter

investing in the lower levels of the sport to give those fencers an entry point to national scales tournaments is a literal investment into the growth of the sport. - u/Thancrus828

As a C fencer, I'd go to a div 2 NAC and fence the div 1 event. No way I'm spending the time and money to just go to a div 1 and have my [EXPLETIVE] beat. - u/vwstig

I was someone that was hoping to get back into fencing and enjoy the national circuit again now that my rating has been bumped down from a few years of not competing but was also severely disappointed in the NAC schedule being released without DIV 2/3 events. I brought it up to a friend who has events they can fence in at NACs and they essentially said to just go to ROCs for DIV 2/3. I looked at the ROC schedule and DIV 3 wasn't even on there anymore either. It's all DIV 1A and 2. It's looking more and more like I won't be getting back into the sport anytime soon now because I'm just not seeing the support in the sport from the NO at this time and know I'm not at the level to compete there after taking nearly 8 years off from the national circuit. Additionally, being a women's fencer there are even more limited opportunities for me to fence at a ROC where I'm able to renew my rating or increase it since women's events outside of the national level are notoriously difficult to get enough turnout to. - u/biig-oooof

I have only ever earned ratings in mixed events as all of the areas I have lived rarely have women's tournaments and the turnout is horrible. I was so excited that this year I finally had the work flexibility and money to start traveling to the bigger events (as that was not an option for me when I was younger or in school).

I will definitely still be fencing as much as possible, but disappointed with the tournament prospects. - u/Sad_Elderberry_4691

As a D19 in his mid-20s who went to my first Div2 NAC right before Covid closed everything, I guess I'll just never go to national events again :( - u/HandOfYawgmoth

This vet is finally aging out of my B and I’m quite disappointed I can’t do Div II again now that I’m eligible. - u/Frummage

Following some moderate success locally, I had hoped to do some Div 2/3 events this year. Bummer for me. - u/LavenderCactusPlant

Like my number one concern is that USA Fencing hasn't really done the research, and isn't prepared to carefully watch the results of the decision for unintended consequences. - u/toolofthedevil

How many C's even want to do Div 1 anyways? Imagine all the non-youth fencers who are decent fencers in their own right (C, B) but can only go participate in ONE event in which they're just fodder. - u/jmmjb