FAQ

The Bay Cup is an organization that coordinates a group of fencing tournaments within the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. The organization is directed by representatives from the Northern California, Central California, and Mountain Valley Divisions of USA Fencing. Bay Cup tournaments are hosted by fencing clubs in these divisions at venues from Santa Cruz to Sacramento and everywhere in between.

The Bay Cup coordinates the scheduling of tournaments, creation of event categories and assignment of hosts for the tournaments. The tournaments are run by the host clubs and sanctioned by the divisions. The Bay Cup promotes tournament guidelines and standards intended to help provide fencers with a positive and rewarding tournament experience. The Bay Cup also helps provide information about these events, tracks results and standings in event series, and coordinates medals for placement in each series.

The Bay Cup is not an entity of USA Fencing or of the local divisions. Any questions regarding ROCs, RJCCs, SYCs, JOs, or NACs should be directed to the National Office, and any questions regarding Divisional Qualifiers should be directed to the appropriate Division. Contact information can be found here.

Bay Cup operations are managed by:

Sándor Mándoki – Director of Operations
Mark Wheeler – President
Kate – Ops/Admin

You can find more information about our Board of Directors on our About Page.

The Bay Cup codes are a combination of letters and numbers.

The letters represent an age category, rating group, gender, and weapon. The last number is a count of how many of these series events have taken place over the course of the season.

For Example:

Y10XE2 = Youth 10 Mixed Epee 2

DV2WF1 = Division 2 Women’s Foil 1

You can find a full list of these codes on our Series and Events Page.

As a participant in a Bay Cup event, you should know what to expect from the host club. Please refer to the Summary of Standard Procedures and Protocols for Bay Cup events. If you feel that a host club is not following Bay Cup or USA Fencing guidelines, you are encouraged to approach those in charge to review and resolve your questions about the event.

The overall expectations of the host club are that tournaments be run according to Bay Cup and USA Fencing guidelines and that the clubs do their best to provide a good tournament experience for the fencers. The events should be run efficiently, with adequate staffing and resources, with courtesy and respect for the fencers, and with minimal delays or dead time.

Of course, it should be understood that even with the best intentions on the part of the host club, there may be hiccups or circumstances beyond anyone’s control that can cause delays or disruptions to the event.

And, while one goal is to provide the best competitive fencing experience possible for the fencer, another goal for Bay Cup events is to provide training opportunities and experience for host club personnel and referees. We hope that the clubs, coaches, referees, and fencers recognize these goals and work together to provide a positive experience at all Bay Cup events.

If you feel that a host club’s management or operation of a tournament did not follow Bay Cup guidelines, you are encouraged to provide feedback to The Bay Cup, by email to thebaycup@gmail.com.

Feedback concerning possible USA Fencing rules infractions should be directed to the USA Fencing Division for the host club.

You are also encouraged to provide general feedback to clubs, to The Bay Cup, and to the Divisions with any comments about your positive experiences or any other constructive criticism or recommendations.

Any current competitive member of  USA Fencing (or FIE) may participate.

All fencers must have a USA Fencing or FIE membership and proper equipment to fence at a Bay Cup event.

Equipment must include:

2 working electric weapons
2 working body cords (3 or more working weapons and body cords are recommended)
mask (conductive mask for saber, mask with conductive bib for foil, or a mask with no conductive material for epee); lame (for foil and saber)
underarm protector
fencing jacket
fencing pants (no sweat pants accepted)
long socks (must completely cover the leg)
fencing glove
chest protector for women
COVID face mask (where applicable)
Proof of COVID vaccination

In addition to having the proper equipment, each event has an entry fee of approximately $20-25. You may sign up as a USA Fencing member at the event, if you haven’t already, but it is preferable that you sign up ahead of time. You must have proof of your USA Fencing membership to show to tournament coordinators, as your membership may not show up via USA Fencing’s website right away. Since tournaments can run all day (plan for at least 4-8 hours), it is also recommended that you bring food and drinks (water is usually available, but availability of other services such as restaurants and snacks vary by location).

You are encouraged to preregister for events online via AskFred. For most of our tournaments, preregistration closes the Thursday before the event. You may also register late at the door, but you will likely be subject to a late registration fee.

There are three ways to un-register from a tournament posted on askFRED:

1.  Login to askFRED using your personal login information

a.  Hover over MyFRED and then click on the MyFRED dropdown option

b.  Under the box My Preregistrations is a list of every tournament that you are currently pre-registered for

c.  Click the red X next to the preregistration you would like to cancel

2.  Every time you are preregistered for a tournament on askFRED, askFRED sends you a confirmation email.  At the bottom of that email is a link to un-register.  Find the confirmation email and click that link to cancel your preregistration.

3.  If registration has already closed for the event, the first two options will not be available.  Use the Email The Organizer button at the top of the askFRED posting to let the tournament organizer know you will not be participating in the event.  They can manually delete your preregistration when they download the information into Fencing Time.

Bay Cup fees are used to help pay for maintenance, administrative services, and programs over the course of the season.  The majority of the fees go back to the local fencers in the form of medals. We also offer subsidies to clubs for hosting Bay Cup tournaments. We try to create resources to make your fencing season the best it can be!

Bay Cup tournament hosting is open to any club in the NorCal, CenCal, or MtVal regions of USA Fencing. Some clubs are not interested in hosting Bay Cup tournaments or events. Please contact the owner or head coach if you would like to see them host Bay Cup tournaments. Please contact us if you would like to host Bay Cup tournaments.

Results for recent Bay Cup events are hosted at The Bay Cup’s AskFRED companion site.

Point Standings for Bay Cup events can be found on our website. You can also find results all the way back to 2010-2011!

USA Fencing is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The mission of USA Fencing is to grow and promote the sport of fencing in the United States, honor its rich traditions, and achieve sustained competitive international excellence. USA Fencing membership is required to fence in any Bay Cup tournament. Visit USA Fencing’s Membership Page for more info.

You can find qualification information for most events through USA Fencing’s Member Portal. If you look hard enough, you can find Regional and National Points there too.

You can find information on how to qualify for international events through USA Fencing’s Selection Criteria page.

From the 2019-2020 version of the USA Fencing Athlete Handbook:

2.1.4 How long is a classification valid?
Classifications are valid for four seasons after they are earned. If, after four seasons, the classification
has not been re-earned, it then reverts to the next lowest letter and the then current year. Such
change will be effective at the beginning of the new fencing season – August 1. For example, if you
earned a B in 2010 (B10) and did not re-earn your B for four more years, your B became a C14 on
August 1, 2014. If you then did not re-earn your C14 for four more years, it becomes a D18 on August
1, 2019.

Check out Section 2.1 of the USA Fencing Athlete Handbook more information about classifications.