COMPETITION FORMATS FOR CADET AND JUNIOR BRCS 2021-2022

BF provides further information on competition formats for British Ranking Events (BRCs) which will take place for the 2021-2022 season.

Update for clarification 08.07.2021

Further to the review of the July 2021 BRCs, this season will see the introduction of a variety of new formats for Cadet and Junior BRCs.

Due to the loss of fencing during the pandemic, and the desire to provide fencers with competitions that are a meaningful (and developmentally appropriate) competitive experience for those attending, the new formats offer different learning experiences and increase time on task for fencers.

Steve Kemp, Head of Pathways explains, “To help all the athletes achieve the potential that they are capable of we must ensure more time on task, and a higher level of development and competitive detail within these adaptations.

“In the competition area, this means the use of different formats for more specific competitive and development purposes and how they help the fencer be more prepared for the competitions with greater significance, the Major Championships, domestically and internationally.

“The review of the data provided by the fencers in the Athlete assessments highlighted that adaptability and decision making is a key area we are looking to improve, coupled with increased attention focus in the competitive fencing situation.

“The use of the Progressive Poules format has been created to have more fencers compete for a longer period, specifically allowing a fencer to repeatedly work on their strategy of poule fights in the moment. The progressive setup means that the fencers should experience their optimum competition level at some point in the competition.”

The Men’s Cadet Foil July BRC (18th July 2021) held at the Leon Paul Centre, London will be a pilot competition where the format of progressive poules is used. The diagram below illustrates how this format takes place. Throughout the season, the plan is to offer all weapons and age groups a variety of formats.

Update: The structure of the progressive poules format has been updated following community feedback. The updated format diagram below shows that no split will be made after round one of poules. With R1 seeded from national rankings and R2 seeded from R1. The R3 split is based on results from R1 & R2 combined.

As a reminder, BRCs for the 2021-2022 season are split into two categories, ‘A’ and ‘B’ BRCS.

The intention is to provide 2-3 high-quality championship (A) level competitions (including U17 & U20 National Championships) alongside an increased number of (B) local area/regionally based competitions where ranking points and greater competitive experience can be gained to support ambitions to move up the performance pathway.

Update: To confirm the July BRCs are ‘B’ BRCs (as indicated in the structured season planner INTRODUCING THE STRUCTURED SEASON COMPETITION PLANNER 2021-24 – BRITISH FENCING)

This new structure is also intended to reduce travel and cost (especially for athletes moving through the lower stages of the performance pathway) whilst also providing greater choice for athletes to select appropriate competitions based on their individual development plans and location (including opportunities for those athletes that may not wish to travel internationally due to COVID risks and restrictions).

Multiple ‘B’ events will take place around the UK throughout the whole season, providing multiple accessible opportunities for fencers to compete. All ‘B’ events format will be a minimum of two rounds of poules. However, the intention is for BRC’s with new formats, such as multiple rounds (3-4) of poules, to take place early in the season.

Following this announcement, if an athlete wishes to withdraw from an event please contact the event organiser using the contact details provided as part of the entry process.

If you have any further questions about this post, please submit them to us via the form here and a member of the ADP team will come back to you.

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