Which competitions should Cadets enter?

Deciding which competitions to enter depends on the age, experience level, physical attributes and ambition of the individual fencer.

Up to about 13, there are four main types of competition.

1) BYC Qualifiers and BYC finals
2) LPJS series
3) Regional Series like the Premier Foil, or the Yorkshire League
4) County and other stand-alone competitions.

To use a footballing analogy, the BYC can be compared to the FA cup, and the LPJS to the Premiership. They are the most sought after and hard-fought titles in fencing at U13/14.

As fencers get older, many of the them join the Cadet circuit. This is a group of competitions which contribute towards the national Cadet ranking scheme, which is used for the selection of fencers to represent Great Britain. Because it is almost impossible to compete in the LPJS circuit and the Cadet circuit fully, (due to time and travel pressures) the standard of the LPJS can be relatively lower at U15 and U17 than it is at U11 and U13. However, since some of the LPJS competitions are also part of the cadet system in some weapons, individual LPJS events can remain very strong indeed.

Many strong fencers continue to attend the BYC, as it is a single competition and many of them are excused from qualifying for it if they did well in the competition the previous year. However, the BYC sometimes clashes with GB foreign trips, which precludes fencers on the GB Cadet Squad from entering. The BYC does not contribute towards the Cadet ranking scheme, so for fencers who have, or are trying to gain, a place on the GB Cadet Squad the attraction of the U16 and U18 age-group is less than that of the British Cadet Champs (U17). This is a different event, which does carry ranking points and is held in October each year.

This is not intended to detract from the older LPJS or BYC age group competitions - some of the most successful fencers still attend, and not every child aspires to fence for Great Britain or can make the commitment of time and money to work through the Cadet system.

If you decide to follow the Cadet ranking route, the essential competitions are those nominated by the weapons committees for inclusion in the Cadet system. They vary from year to year, and weapon to weapon. A list of current links for each weapon can be found by clicking here The published schemes can be hard to follow the first time that you see them, and should be read in conjunction with this page. Advice should also be sought from coaches, and it may be worth talking to the parents of slightly older children to benefit from their experiences.

If you decide not to follow the Cadet ranking route, the main competitions that can be attended remain the LPJS, county and regional events, maybe including one or two of the more local adult opens.

Several factors apart from ranking points should be considered when deciding which competitions to enter, some of which are listed below:-

Fun!

While many fencers have determined ambitions within the sport, it is worth remembering that they also need to have fun. For many of them competitions are not only about the serious business of fencing but also part of their social lives. Many friends are made via fencing and young fencers often enjoy competitions because they are a chance to see their friends. It may be that they want to enter competitions for this reason, rather than just to pick up Cadet ranking points or trophies.

Physical Development

Young women tend to develop physically earlier than their male peers. Additionally, women's fencing is usually not as forceful as men's fencing, so a 13 or 14yr old girl is less likely to be intimidated on the piste. However, 13 yr old boys entering their first open (adult) competition may be confronted with a hard hitting 6 ft 5" 20 stone opponent in their first pool fight and this can be extremely intimidating (and painful). It may be counter-intuitive, but it should be borne in mind that the harder the competition, the LESS likely this is to be a problem. Better fencers are more likely to make their hits with just enough pressure to register. It’s the inexperienced adult fencers at minor competitions who rely on power instead of precision.

Experience

For many Cadets, entering their first open (adult) competitions can be a daunting experience. Often they are moving from entering competitions where they know their opponents well, in both fencing and social terms, to competitions where they don’t know who they are fencing. The transition from fencing in competitions where they can reasonably hope to do well, to fencing in competitions where they may not win a single fight can be very difficult psychologically. It may be a good idea to look at the results of last year’s competition, to see how many entries there were and the strength of the fencers who entered and to discuss realistic goals before going to the comp.

Ambition

Lots of Cadet age fencers aspire to be on the GB Cadet Squads. Lots don’t. With so much going on in their lives, many teenagers want fencing just to be a fun sport that they enjoy and that they want to fit round schooling, socialising and other out-of-school activities. It’s a good idea to review the fencer’s ambitions from time to time. Fencing on the Cadet circuit takes up a lot of time: competitions at weekends mean that school sports teams, musical commitments and socialising may have to be given up and school work may have to be “squeezed in” on training nights.