FOC Clinic Referee Reimbursement Policy
As
an incentive for referees to use their officiating skills here in the W. Pa.
Division, the WPD
has instituted a policy to reimburse WPD referees the cost of their FOC clinic
fee.
Western Pa. Division referees who pass their referee's exam(s) within one year
of attending
an FOC Referee's Clinic will be reimbursed the cost of their FOC clinic fee, up
to $50.
To be eligible for reimbursement, the following criteria must be met.
A) The clinic:
> must be an FOC clinic
> must be presided over by an FOC official who has been certified
by the FOC to instruct at clinics and hold referee's exams
> can be held:
-- within the WPD
-- in another USFA Division
-- at any National event where an FOC clinic and exams are held
B) The referee must pass the referee's exam(s) within one calendar year of
taking the clinic.
C) For referees who test for a 2nd or 3rd weapon (at a later date than when
they
tested for their first weapon):
Officials who pass a referee's exam can be reimbursed for a second or
third clinic fee ONLY:
a) if the 2nd or 3rd clinic is held in a later calendar year than when
their first clinic was held AND
b) if the referee is required to do the following, before testing for a
2nd or 3rd weapon:
* attend a second or third FOC clinic, before they can test for
another weapon
* pay additional clinic fees, to test for those additional weapons
Once the referee passes the written and practical exam(s), the referee, or
their parent,
must do the following in order to be reimbursed:
1) Send a written request for reimbursement to the WPD Treasurer (see WPD
website
for name and address of the current Treasurer).
2) Include the following information with the request:
a) the date of the FOC clinic
b) the USFA Division where the clinic was held
c) if the clinic was held outside of the WPD, a clinic fee
receipt with the
date and cost of the clinic, plus
signature of the person who gave the
clinic (can be a simple slip of paper, as long as it has this
info)
d) if the referee is tested at a later date than when they attended
the FOC clinic:
> the date that the referee passed their test
> the USFA division where the referee passed their test
> the name of the person who administered the exam
3) Indicate the name that should be on the reimbursement check.
4) Provide the street or post office address, where the reimbursement check can
be sent.
Once the request has been received, and the referee's new rating has been
confirmed, a check will be sent to the referee or their parent.
Please note: The referee must actually request the clinic fee
reimbursement, in writing, from the WPD Treasurer. The reimbursement will not
be sent to the newly-rated official automatically, even if the rating change is
posted on the FOC's website.
"Mixed" Competition Policy
W. Pa. Division events advertised as being "mixed" must be run as "mixed", and not be split into separate Men's and Women's events on the day of the tournament. Likewise, competitions advertised as being separate men's and women's events must not be combined on tournament day.
Tournament Clothing Policy
We'd like to remind fencers that for ALL competitions, per USFA rules, they must wear fencing knickers -- not white baseball pants or white denim pants -- for all competitions. IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY, FENCERS NOT WEARING "OFFICIAL" FENCING KNICKERS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO FENCE.
WPD Rating Incentive Program
An "incentive program" is in place to encourage WPD fencers
to participate in
strong tournaments outside of the Division.
A WPD member who travels out of the Division for a tournament, and earns a NEW A or B rating, will be reimbursed by the WPD for expenses up to $50 upon presentation of the receipts associated with those expenses.
Please note that the fencer must be a member of the Western Pa. Division at the time that the new rating is awarded.
REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURE
In order to be reimbursed, the fencer or their parent must do the following:
a) Send a written request for reimbursement to the WPD Treasurer. (See the home page for name and e-mail address of current WPD Treasurer, and contact them for the street address where your reimbursement request can be sent.)
b) Be sure to include the following with your request:
> copies of receipts, totaling at least $50, related to the event where the new rating was earned
> the date, event and the name of the host division where the new rating was earned
> the name of the person who will be on the check
> the street or post office address where the reimbursement check can be sent
c) Once the request has been received and the rating change confirmed, a check for $50 will be sent to the fencer or their parent.
d) The fencer, or their parent, must actually *request* the $50 reimbursement, in writing, from the WPD Treasurer. The $50 not be sent to the newly rated fencer automatically, even if the is posted on the division website where the rating was earned.
Competition Registration Policy
Effective Aug. 19, 2007, registration is required for all fencing events held within the W. Pa. Division.
Policy for Regular Competitions (non-qualifying):
 | Pre-registration must be made with the tournament host at least 3 days before the event. |
| Pre-registration may be made via askFRED.net, e-mail, and/or telephone. |
| If a fencer doesn’t pre-register at least 3 days before the event, they will be charged an additional $10 at the door, when they check-in at the meet. |
Policy for Qualifying Competions (Div. II / III, Veteran's and Y-14 Summer National Qualifiers, and Junior Olympic qualifiers)
| Pre-registration must be made with the tournament host at least 7 DAYS before the event. |
| Pre-registration may be made via askFRED.net, e-mail, and/or telephone. |
| If a fencer doesn't register at least 7 DAYS before the event, they WILL NOT be permitted to fence. There will be no exceptions. |
Please note that there is no penalty for pre-registering for an event and then choosing not to compete, however, as a courtesy, if you have registered and can not attend, please remove your name from the askfred listing OR e-mail the host.
Competition Sanctioning Policy
In accordance with USFA policy, all sanctioned competitions in the Western PA Division are under the authority of the WPA Division Executive Committee, which, along with the Mid-Atlantic Section and the USFA national organization, is responsible for granting changes in classifications.
For a competition to be sanctioned, the WPD Executive Committee must approve the competition before it's held. Competitions cannot be sanctioned after they are underway or after they have been held. No competition can be sanctioned without the approval of the Executive Committee, and only sanctioned WPD competitions can be listed on the official WPD schedule.
All non-sanctioned events (which would include high school league events) are not covered by Western Pennsylvania Division / USFA insurance.
GETTING MEETS SANCTIONED: HOW-TO INFORMATION
To get a meet sanctioned, follow steps 1 through 3:
Step. 1: Send an e-mail to the WPD Chair or Secretary to request that your meet be “sanctioned”.
- Include information about the meet date, location, type of event(s) (i.e., Open Foil, D-Under epee, etc.)
- Send the request with enough “lead time”. Current WPD policy requires clubs to request meet sanctioning at least two weeks in advance of the event, but keep in mind that the Executive Committee has to vote to sanction your event so the more lead-time you allow, the better.
To assure a good turnout, you will also need time to post your meet on askfred.net and the WPD website, and to advertise. More advance notice will also enable you to secure enough referees and other meet personnel.
Once you’ve been notified that your meet has been sanctioned by the Exec. Committee, you can start working on steps 2 and 3, below.
(PLEASE NOTE: the Executive Committee approves events with the understanding that clubs will follow through with steps 2 and 3, below. If your club doesn’t follow through with these two steps, the sanctioning process won’t be complete.)
Step. 2: Secure qualified meet personnel
To secure qualified meet personnel, work with people in the following areas of responsibility, whom the WPD has assigned to supervise meet-related activities and functions (check the WPD website to get current names and contact info):
Area of responsibility Contact
a. Referees Head Referee
b. Armorer & Scoring equipment Head Armorer
c. Bout committee & meet operations WPD Chair
personnel
d. Scorekeepers and timekeepers Host club members
a. Referees:
1. Start looking for referees at least 2 months ahead of your meet date (assuming that you have enough lead time).
2. Look on FOC.askfred.net for a listing of referees. Identify potential referees (in the WPD, or any other USFA division), based upon the competitive level of the meet
3. Once you identify potential referees, contact the referees directly via phone or e-mail (note: if necessary, contact the WPD Chair or Secretary for referees’ e-mail addresses and phone numbers.)
4. If you do not get sufficient response from the referees that you have contacted, then send an e-mail to the Head Referee to ask for help in obtaining referees.
In addition to recommending referees, the Head Referee can also contact the referees for you.
However, if you need the Head Referee’s help in contacting referees, be sure to make your request clear,
by asking the Head Referee if he or she can do this.
====> Do not wait until the last minute to ask for assistance from the Head Referee. Give the Head
Referee sufficient time to help you out.
5. For any referees that agree to officiate:
* Follow-up with referees directly (via e-mail) to confirm their commitment and the time that
they must be at the venue to officiate
* Put the Head Referee and WPD Chair on copy for all referee-related correspondence.
b. Armorer(s):
1. If you decide to have an armorer at your event, contact the Head Armorer (via e-mail) to request that someone be assigned to your meet.
2. If an armorer is assigned to your meet, follow-up with them directly (via e-mail) to confirm their commitment, PLUS the time that they must be at the venue.
c. Administration, Operations and Bout Committee personnel:
Contact the WPD Chair (via e-mail) if you need help with securing admin, ops or BC personnel.
d. Scorekeepers and timekeepers:
The host club must arrange for scorekeepers and timekeepers for each strip that will be set up. Many clubs simply enlist club members, parents of fencers, or others who are at the meet for one reason or another. Other than knowing how to keep score and time, there are no special requirements for scorekeepers and timekeepers. They don’t even have to be fencers or familiar with fencing.
If you can’t find people to perform these functions, referees will need to keep score and time on their strips, in addition to presiding over their bouts.
Step. 3: Secure scoring equipment
a. Decide the number of strips that you’ll need to run.
b. Determine the scoring equipment that you’ll need, including machines, reels, ground wires, and
extension cords, as well as smaller items like stop watches, weights and shims, etc.
c. Contact the Head Armorer (via e-mail) with your equipment requirements.
Once you have performed Steps 1 through 3, above, the sanctioning process is complete, and classification changes can be awarded at your meet (assuming all other criteria are met).
MEET HOSTING POLICY: WPD and Host Responsibilities
1. Venue, Personnel, Equipment and Awards:
The host club is responsible for securing:
* a suitable venue
* qualified personnel (officiating, meet administration, operations, armorer,
scorekeepers and timekeepers)
* scoring equipment necessary to run their event
* awards
2. Setting Meet fees
The host club will determine the meet fee to charge for their event.
The WPD Executive Committee recommends a meet fee of $20.00 per weapon, for all types of events
(whether for qualifiers, opens, D-under, E-under, etc.).
Please note that the host club can charge
* a lower or higher fee ($20 per weapon is only recommended)
* a discounted fee, if a second weapon is fenced
3. Equipment “Rental”
The WPD will lend electrical scoring equipment to the host club at NO CHARGE, however, in lieu of
a rental fee, the host club is responsible for:
* picking up the borrowed scoring equipment from where it is stored and transporting it to the
meet site.
* setting up and “tearing down” the equipment at the meet site (e.g., setting up strips,
reels, etc.)
* returning that equipment from the meet site back to where it is stored
4. Revenues and Expenses - Host Club and WPD
Meet Revenues
Until further notice, as of the 2010 – 2011 fencing season, host clubs will keep 100% of ,
the total gross meet fees received.
Depending upon the Division’s financial situation, this policy could be revisited in the future, and a
gross revenue split reestablished between the host club and the WPD.
====> The host club will use their gross meet fees to cover all competition-related costs.
The WPD will not be responsible for any competition-related costs for events hosted by a club.
5. Paying meet personnel: requirements and recommendations
(Consistent with USFA policy and WPD recommendations)
A. Required of Host Club:
1. For “OPEN” COMPETITIONS AND QUALIFYING ROUNDS to national-level competitions,
the WPD REQUIRES that the host club do a, b & c, below:
a. Hire the following paid personnel:
* Referees
* Armorer
* Administration and/or operations personnel
b. Consider paying the above personnel the recommended $50.00 per day, per person.
Please note that:
* $50.00 per day, per person, is only a recommended fee
* The host club can pay referees, armorers, or administrators at a higher OR lower rate
(depending upon the amount of work that’s done, or amount of time that’s worked)
c. Provide food for the officials and other meet personnel
2. For ALL COMPETITONS (Opens, E-Under, D-Under, Junior events, qualifying rounds, etc.)
the host club is ALSO required:
a. To inform potential meet personnel and referees ahead of time whether or not they will get paid
b. If meet personnel are to be paid, to:
* compensate meet personnel for their services for each day that they work at an event, unless
they choose to volunteer their services for that specific day.
* ask each official or meet administrator individually if they want to waive being compensated
for the day, or days, worked.
* pay meet administrators and/or organizers even if they are members of the W. Pa. Division
Executive Committee. The WPD Exec. Committee is not obligated to work uncompensated
at a host’s event unless they agree in advance to do so.
B. Recommended (but not required) for Host Club:
1. For NON-OPEN EVENTS (i.e., C-Under, D-Under, E-Under meets, Junior events, etc.), the WPD
RECOMMENDS that the host club do a, b & c, below:
a. Hire the following paid personnel:
* Referees
* Armorer
* Administrator and/or operations personnel
b. Consider paying the above personnel the recommended $50.00 per day, per person
Please note that:
* $50.00 per day, per person is only a recommended fee
* The host club can pay referees, armorers, or administrators at a higher OR lower rate
(depending upon the amount of work that’s done, or amount of time that’s worked)
c. Provide food for the officials and other meet personnel
PLEASE NOTE: Any of the above policies are subject to change at any time by vote of the W. Pa. Division Executive Committee.
Return to WPD Home Page