Referee provision administration for all 24-25 FIE Satellites will undertaken by the GBR Support team, and a standard charge will be levied. Where FIE Satellites are also Junior/Senior nominated, there will be an additional charge to put GBR in-event support for the whole GBR squad.
Referee Provision
In the past, for Satellites, the fifth and tenth athlete requesting entry was tasked with sourcing an FIE referee and administering the costs around that. There have been challenges with that process, both for the athlete(s) responsible for sourcing a referee and collecting money and for referees who have been left out of pocket when athletes have not paid their contribution. Athletes also left it late to commit to entering due to concerns about referee costs and availability. On other occasions, BF/athletes have been fined significantly. Fines are 1000 euros per referee/event – so where a referee has travel issues and is due to referee both Saturday and Sunday, the fine is 2000 euros.
For 24-25, we are piloting a system where referee sourcing and administration for all FIE Satellites will be undertaken by GBR Support, which will remove the burden from the athletes to arrange referees and support early season competition planning and budgeting. Every fencer entering an FIE Satellite (even if no referee is required) will pay a standard referee contribution, which will be used to cover the costs of referee provision and any associated referee fines. Any end-of-season surplus will subsidise Senior Major Championships’ coaching costs. (added 5.9.2024 Any end of season deficit will be covered by British Fencing.)
FIE Satellite Referee Charge – £80 per athlete
Additional GBR In Event Support – Junior & Senior Nominated Satellites
Following changes to the FIE Calendar with World Cup/Grand Prix competitions moving to less accessible and more costly locations, there was a review of alternative competitions that could be used as part of the qualification process for major events. As a result, one FIE satellite per weapon is a nominated event for U20s and Seniors, where results can be counted as qualifying standards – read more here.
This means that each of these FIE Satellites is likely to have a significant number of GBR fencers and supporters present with different levels of international experience. Following a risk assessment, the decision is that one GBR representative will be present to support all GBR fencers at these specific nominated FIE Satellites. This will allow a single point of contact to deal with any in-event issues (e.g., entries, referee provision, liaising with DT and organisers).
FIE Junior/Senior Nominated Satellite In Event Support Charge – £32.50 per athlete.
Any end-of-season surplus will subsidise Chef de Mission costs for Senior Major Championships.
International Entries Administration Fee
The above costs are in addition to the standard £15.50 admin fee, which applies to all EFC and FIE entries (from U14 to Veterans) and contributes to the pre and post-event administration work—noting that Sport England and UK Sport also contribute funding to the GBR team that does this work.
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