Referee Development

Over the last several years fencing in the United States has grown at an increasing pace.  Along with that growth we have seen an explosion in interest in learning how to referee, in the demands for quality referees, and in questions about refereeing.  To guide this growth and ensure the continued success of US Fencing, we should add additional structure to our current system and monitor its growth.

Below is a multi-step proposal to accomplish these goals.

Divisional:            Each division will be encouraged to appoint an individual to act as the point person for referee development.  This individual should be, at least, a Certified Referee Examiner, and should be an active referee at local, divisional, competitions.  These individuals should have their contact information posted on the divisional website, will have their contact information posted on the Fencing Officials Commission website, and should be prepared to:

  • Proctor written exams as requested.
  • Give feedback on these written exams.
  • Evaluate local referees, providing feedback on how to improve.
  • Send updates of current ratings (year updates) and any new ratings to rdc@fencingofficials.org so that ratings may be upgraded and maintained.
  • Should act as a bout committee member at Divisional qualifying competitions (JO Qualifiers, Divisional Championships, and Divisional qualifying competitions for Summer Nationals).  Should also act as a bout committee member at Regional Youth Circuit events given in the division.
  • Should communicate with the Sectional representative about individuals that are appropriate to invite to the larger, regional competitions.

Sectional:            Each section will be encouraged to appoint an individual to act as the point person for referee development.  These individuals should generally be Certified Referee Instructors, but should at least be Certified Examiners and should be active at larger, regional competitions, including any sectional circuit events (should the section have those) and the sectional championships.  These individuals should have their contact information posted on the sectional website and will have their contact information posted on the Fencing Officials Commission website, and should be prepared to:

  • Ensure that at least one Fencing Referee Course is given in the section each fencing season.
  • Proctor written exams as requested.
  • Give feedback on these written exams.
  • Evaluate regional referees, providing feedback on how to improve.
  • Send updates of current ratings (year updates) and any new ratings to rdc@fencingofficials.org so that ratings may be upgraded and maintained.
  • Should act as a bout committee member at Sectional qualifying competitions (Junior and Senior Sectional Championships).  Should also act as a bout committee member at Super Regional Youth Circuit events given in the section.
  • Should communicate with the Referee Development Committee Chair and the Chair of the FOC Domestic Assignment Committee about individuals that are appropriate to invite to NAC’s and Summer Nationals.

National:            Members of the Referee Development Committee (RDC) will work with Head Referees at all NAC’s and Summer Nationals to provide senior referees who will be able to mentor and give feedback to newer developing referees (generally those with ratings of 4 and below).  The RDC will endeavor to ensure (given the needs of the tournament as the primary consideration) that each referee with a rating of 4 or less in any weapon for which they consistently referee is observed and given feedback at least once over the course of a 4 day competition.  (If a referee is unable to attend all the days of a competition the Committee will attempt to arrange for feedback, but it is less likely.)  This feedback will be tracked on appropriate forms as given to the mentors by the RDC.  At the end of the competition, the RDC representative will collect these forms and arrange for relevant information about skill, progress, and areas of development for use the next time the referee attends a NAC.

At the end of the year, any referee who has worked 3 or more National Events will be given a written summary of their progress and areas for improvement.  Generally this feedback will be sent after the annual FOC meeting.

Please note that, given the time and resource constraints off the members of the FOC, the ability to meet these goals will be coupled with the addition of a volunteer coordinator at the USFA national office who will help to ensure that there is sufficient funding to provide dedicated mentors at competitions and to assist with the gathering, tracking, and reporting on feedback.

International:            Those referees living in the United States with a USFA rating of a “2” or better may apply to be sponsored to take the international referees exam the next time it is offered by the FIE.  Upon acceptance for sponsoring the individual should immediately send in their application for an FIE license and the paperwork necessary to apply to take the test.  All individuals who are selected to be sponsored by the USFA, must have been on the previous year’s International Referee Development list or must be accepted (and committed as stated below) to the current one.

Referees rated 3 and above in a particular weapon may apply to be on the International Referee Development list between Summer Nationals and the first Division 1 competition of the year.  The International Referee Development Committee will inform applying individuals whether or not they have been accepted for the program.  To be considered an individual must be willing to attend at least 3 of the 4 Division 1 competitions (3 Div 1 NAC’s and Summer Nationals).  Applications should include a history of the referee’s development towards higher skill levels with particular emphasis on accomplishments in refereeing and a list of NAC’s worked over the previous two years.  Because of the intensive nature of the feedback that will be provided there are a limited number of candidates accepted each year.  Individuals are invited to reapply in future years if they are not accepted.  Individuals must reapply each year for consideration.

At the first Division 1 competition attended by the individual he or she will be presented with a specific development plan of the areas that the committee feels provide opportunities for improvement and advancement.  The individual will be expected to work on these areas for improvement over the course of the year in the hopes that their ratings will be able to improve from a 3 to a 2, making them eligible to test for an international license.

These individuals will be observed at least twice during each 4-day Div 1 competition by an FOC member or an already licensed international Referee in the weapon(s) for which they have been accepted.  Feedback will be given and progress on the development plan tracked.  Individuals who are not progressing towards success on their development plans may be dropped from the program after 3 competitions.

Candidates should make every effort to attend the NAC at which their specific weapon will be holding an advanced training seminar (see below).

At the annual FOC meeting, these individuals will receive extra attention to determine if they have progressed far enough to have obtained their “2” rating or if further development is necessary.  One of the members of the International Referee Development Committee will give specific feedback on the discussion to each of the previous year’s candidates with congratulations to those who have graduated from the program and continued areas of development for those who have not. Again, execution of this program hinges upon the ability of available mentors to be at domestic tournaments and for the assistance of national office staff to handle the gathering, tracking, and reporting of feedback.

Weapon Specific Advanced Seminars

The Fencing Officials Commission’s referee development course has been a huge success.  Each year, hundreds of people across the country take the course, learning the basics of how to referee.  Often they then pass the written exams and are observed, gaining a lower level USFA rating.  From there, experience and feedback from more experienced referees helps them to advance through the referee ranks to around a 4 or 5 level.

Unfortunately, many referees do not get sufficient exposure to high level bouts or consistent information about current interpretations to continue advancement.  This portion of the proposal is designed to address that deficiency.

Each of the three Division I NACs will be designated as a training ground for a specific weapon.  At this event, a seminar will be held on Saturday afternoon/evening to disseminate the most recent available information about how actions are called at the FIE and about the current thinking and approaches to those calls.  These training sessions should be conducted by those members of the FOC or the refereeing community who are most often assigned to FIE Grand Prix events in the weapon.  Rated referees with a “5” or better in the weapon will be eligible to attend these sessions.  All three seminars should be repeated at Summer Nationals.

Video analysis of actions and an explanation of the appropriate calls should be employed.  Assistance with the preparation of these videos should come from the Manager, Volunteers at the USFA National Office (see separate proposal on www.usfanominees.com for an explanation of this position).  The Manager, Volunteers with the Director, Operations, be able to allocate funds to this item as appropriate from the budget items they control.

The video used (after obtaining appropriate clearance from any and all copyright holders) should be posted to the FOC website with a transcript of the appropriate call and the rationale for why it is appropriate.  If possible, a video of the training session itself should also be posted to the website.

It is our opinion that this comprehensive approach to referee development will improve fencing in the United States.  Fencers, particularly those in conventional weapons, are unable to do better actions if referees don’t see and give them credit for them.  In recent years, with the addition of video replay at the FIE, there have been many changes to the way actions are called.  Mechanisms do not currently exist to disseminate this information beyond a relatively small group of referees and fencers.  The above is designed to address these issues.