Can a Cadet Fencer attend a foreign event if not selected?

Some of the foreign events nominated for cadet competition will only accept entries from the countries national federation.

Others are open to all, but three issues should be considered before entering an individual fencer, who has not been selected, for a nominated foreign :

1) These events are very strong. Even our highest ranked fencers often struggle to make the L32 or even the last 64. If an individual fencer has not achieved good enough results to be selected, then the chances of them achieving a good result is very small indeed.

2) These competitions require the presence of officials and referees from the home country. The selected fencers are accompanied by properly appointed people to fulfil these roles, which cannot be easily achieved by individual entrants.

3) There is a fair and proper system for choosing the representative teams. Undermining this system does not serve the sport well.

However, apart from the nominated foreign events, there are a wealth of European events where a fencer can obtain international experience without upsetting any apple carts. Check out this linkfor a world-wide directory of fencing competitions.