What Every Fencing Parent Should Know About … NAC Direct Elimination Bouts

So you’ve successfully navigated pools, including the ref who somehow managed to stand in between you and your child 86 percent of the time when a point was about to be scored. You somehow sweated through the one part of the day when Fencing Time slows to a crawl, due to a couple of hundred fencers (and parents) participating in a flash-crowd denial of service attack by hitting the refresh button 817 times in a row to see if the DE bracket has posted. And you successfully resisted the urge to text every fencing parent you know to ask, “how did your child do?” even though it seemed (at the time) essential to know this 74 seconds earlier than it would have posted on Fencing Time Live.

So what’s your reward? You now get to move onto the Hunger Games portion of the tournament, the direct elimination bouts (always affectionately known, in a violation of Microsoft’s spellchecker  capitalization rules, as the “DEs”). Another way to characterize them would be as a battle royale death match where half of the fencers are eliminated in each round, right up until only Katniss – sorry, only one fencer – remains.

Although DEs are the high-stakes part of the tournament, the reality is that once you reach the DE phase, NACs are 5 percent fencing, 95 percent waiting. Or, if you prefer more emotionally accurate math: 50% waiting, 50% excitement, and 50% trying not to scream. Because DEs test your child’s fencing at roughly the same pace at which they test your blood pressure.

Navigating the dystopian Hunger Games phase of a NAC tournament can be a rollercoaster of emotions. Unlike pools, where the focus is on consistency across multiple bouts, DEs are about surviving and advancing. (See, I told you it was like the Hunger Games.) As a fencing parent, understanding how to approach this phase can help you better support your fencer. So for those of you who missed both the books and the movies, here’s a quick guide to help you stay focused and calm during the NAC Hunger Games. (Insert your own joke here about how the lack of food options at some NACs makes them literally the “NAC Hunger Games.”)

The first step is to understand how the seeding of fencers occurs after pools. After the pool stage, each fencer receives a seeding based on:

• Victory Percentage: This is the number of victories divided by bouts fenced. Notice that because it is based on the winning percentage, not the number of bouts won, a fencer who wins four bouts in a six-person pool will be seeded over a fencer who wins four bouts in a seven-person pool.
• Indicator (Touches Scored Minus Touches Received): This measure of a fencer’s performance within bouts is calculated by adding up the winning number of touches while subtracting the number of touches scored by opponents in each bout. Because it is a secondary measure, a fencer who wins six bouts by one touch each (with a plus 6 indicator) would be seeded ahead of a fencer who wins five bouts 5-0 but loses the last bout 5-4. While the indicator would be an impressive plus 24, pool results are designed to reward wins, so the 6-win, plus-6 indicator would trump the 5-win, plus-24 indicator.
• Touches Scored: The next tie break (if winning percentage and indicator are tied) is total touches landed across all pool bouts. This comes into play if one of the tied fencers won a bout by scoring fewer than five touches, which would mean the two fencers had the same winning percentage and same indicator, but one scored fewer touches.
• Coin Flip. If ties persist after all three differentiating factors, the tie is resolved by random lot, which is run by the Sadistic Fencing Gods (SFGs), who are involved to ensure your child gets the worst of the two potential paths around 90% of the time (or at least it will so seem). Although uncommon, it is possible to have three or more fencers tied, which gives the SFGs uncommon latitude to play havoc with the bracket.

Fencers are ranked from highest to lowest based on these criteria, forming a post-pool seed list that your own Katniss will need to climb to reach Capitol City – I mean, the promised land of the podium. The post-pools list is one of the categories that you can pull up on Fencing Time Live, which is handy for calculating potential match ups (as covered below).

DEs have all the bad attributes of speed dating – a quick engagement, rapid eliminations, and after a few have occurred, you are likely to find disappointment. (I have no idea what a combination of speed dating and the Hunger Games would look like, although I suspect it wouldn’t be pretty.) The number of fencers advancing to the DE bracket depends on the tournament size and format. Commonly, all fencers proceed unless specified otherwise in the event rules. At NACs, there generally is a cut to keep the size of the first round of the DEs to a manageable number of fencers. The format of the tournament is found in the information section of Fencing Time Live (and the current version of the Athlete’s Handbook found on the USA Fencing website).

Continuing with the trend of this post to throw in as many analogies as possible, tournament brackets are like seating charts at a wedding – they are intricate, carefully planned out, and most people still don’t like where they end up. But as much as it may seem like the bracket is chosen by the SFGs solely to torment you, its creation is based on mathematical rules. NACs use a single-elimination bracket, created using the following principles:

• The top-seeded fencer faces the lowest-seeded fencer, moving down the seeding. Thus, the second-highest seed faces the second-lowest seed within the first bracket, and so on.
• Bracket size is adjusted to the nearest power of 2 (e.g., 8, 16, 32, 64). Thus, if there are 240 fencers who make the cut, the DE would start in the table of 256.
• Byes are given to top-seeded fencers if the number of competitors isn’t a power of 2. Thus, to keep with the same example, the top sixteen fencers are lined up as if they were fencing numbers 241-256. But because no fencers occupy those spots, they fence nobody (i.e., have a bye).

So that’s how the DE is calculated. No, if your child gets six killer DE opponents in a row, it is not because the SFGs hate you. (Well, probably not; as any fencing parent will tell you, conclusive studies on this still need to be performed.) Rather, the calculation is entirely mathematical, with only minimal input from the vengeful SFGs.

Eventually, the DE bracket will be available to you on Fencing Time Live. So in theory, all you have to do is wait. But where’s the fun in that? It turns out, you actually can calculate the likely path ahead of time, again due to those pesky math rules. In fact, once you become conversant with how DE brackets work, looking at the pool results can be a quicker way to determine potential match-ups than the DE bracket itself. But before flexing your fourth-grade math skills, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Rule of Plus 1. First, if you assume no upsets in prior rounds – a big “if,” especially as you get farther along in the bracket – the mathematical nature of the seeding allows a ready calculation of DE matchups by adding 1 to the number of fencers in the round you are examining. In other words, the seedings of any two opponents in any round will always add up to 1 more than the bracket. Thus, in the Table of 64, the number 1 seed will always fence the number 64 seed (assuming both make it that far). Similarly, the number 10 seed will always fence the number 55 seed, and the number 32 seed will fence the number 33 seed. In all cases, the total of their seedings add up to 65 – one more than the table you are in. The same principle applies in every round (e.g., in the table of eight the number 2 seed will fence the number 7 seed, if both make it that far).
• Don’t Count Your Path Before the Fencers Match. Or something like that. The tournament bracket – the “path” your fencer must navigate – may seem set after 100% of pools have posted, but don’t jump to conclusions. After pools posting, there will be an announcement that fencers have ten or fifteen minutes to correct any errors. Even one change can up-end an entire bracket, because it can move everyone below the changed fencer up or down one spot. So if you can’t resist looking at potential matchups, be aware that until those agonizing minutes expire that the path can completely change.
• Believe General Skill Level, Not Pool Results. While pool results determine DE seeding, they aren’t always a reliable indicator of how fencers will perform in DEs. Some fencers shine in DE bouts even after a mediocre pool, while others struggle despite strong pool results. But as a general rule, there is more randomness in pool results than in DEs, because pools are shorter matches and thus more influenced by luck or the SFGs (take your pick). Once the luck factor of short pool bouts is diminished in fifteen-touch bouts, fencers tend to perform more in line with their overall rankings than their pool results. In other words, if a very good fencer has bad pools, it is more likely that the fencer will right the ship in the DEs than it is that the fencer will continue to have a bad day (although that certainly can happen). So don’t be lulled if your child gets a good fencer who had a sub-par pools result, particularly if it occurred based on a couple of 5-4 losses.
• Don’t Fear the Path. That being said, a seemingly tough bracket isn’t the end of the world. Upsets happen frequently in fencing. If they didn’t, the NAC could end after the pools. Just because a top seed appears on your fencer’s bracket doesn’t mean he or she will necessarily make it that far. Be prepared for surprises. And who knows – maybe your child will be the one delivering the upset and the surprise!
• Don’t Discuss the Path. Avoid discussing potential matchups or speculating about the bracket with your child. It can add unnecessary pressure and also be a distraction – you don’t want your fencer so stressed about having to fence a strong fencer three bouts later that the current bout is impacted. Focus on the upcoming fencer, not potential opponents hours away.
• Don’t Think Good Pool Results Guarantee a “Fair” Tableau. Even if your fencer dominates in pools, the bracket might still present challenges. Conversely, a mediocre pool result can lead to a surprisingly favorable path. Probably the best way to think about pools is that a good pools result increases, but does not guarantee, a good path (with the converse being true for a bad pool result). Railing about back luck of the draw is not helpful – the good and the bad luck will even out over time (even if it seems like it never will). Plus, since we are still awaiting completion of those studies about how much influence the SFGs have over tournaments, it probably is best not to annoy them, just in case.
• Don’t Think Pool Results are Destiny. At Hadley’s first Junior World Championships, she won all six pool bouts and was seeded third after pools – but lost her first DE in priority to a top-ten junior fencer who happened to line up with her because she had mediocre pool results. At her third Junior Worlds, she lost two pool bouts and was seeded about 30 percent down the seedings after pools but left with a gold medal. Once pools are over and the bracket is set, the pools become irrelevant. As long as the fencer makes the cut, there is a chance to move forward. Don’t get too high after a great pool result or let a bad pool result color the DEs. Either way, the goal for your child is the same: to beat whichever fencer happens to be next in the bracket.

DEs are the part of the tournament where you realize Einstein was thinking about fencing when he came up with his Theory of Special Relativity: the rate at which time passes really does depend on your frame of reference, as shown by the fact that time never goes slower than in the last minute of a bout your child is winning by one point. He should have called it the Theory of Fencing Relativity.

• Watching your child fence can seem like a long, drawn-out, and painful exercise, especially in a close match. So before your cardiologist forbids you from attending the next NAC, take a deep breath, relax, and recognize that at this point you are just a spectator. Once DEs start, the format is actually a lot like a local or regional tournament:
• In the DE rounds, fencers compete in 15-touch bouts (or 10-touch bouts for Y-10 fencers) within a 3-period format. Each period lasts 3 minutes, with 1-minute breaks between periods.
• The Hunger Games analogy holds at the end of the bout. The winner advances; the loser is eliminated from contention and is placed within a ranking based on their pools finish (except ties for third, which remain ties and are awarded dual bronze medals).
• At NACs, medals in individual events are given to the top eight finishers. Placement of fencers within the table of eight occurs based on their relative seedings after pools.

• Grab a Pod Seat Early. Surprise! The seat you grabbed at pools is gone. So is any seat you occupied during warmups, grabbed by other parents or maybe – who knows – sold off on eBay or magically taken by the SFGs. But certainly not available any more. Once DE bouts begin, seating near the DE strips fills up quickly. Arrive early to secure a seat as you engage in the parental Hunger Games portion of the tournament, which is winning the game of NAC Musical Chairs by grabbing a chair and a good spot before they are gone.
• Be Alert for Strip Assignments. Although Fencing Time Live will list a specific strip, such as “F1,” the strip assignment is meaningless. All this means is that your fencer is assigned to Pod F. The specific strip assignment will be done by referees, right before bouts. So find a good seat anywhere at the pod, without paying attention to which strip you are near.
• Take a Seat at the End of the Strip. If you plan to record the bout, sit at the end of the strip rather than the middle. This angle provides a clear view of the entire bout and makes video more useful. Of course, since you only have a 1 in 4 chance of being at the correct pod, you are most likely going to have to travel to another strip to actually watch the bout. But the principle of standing at the end of the strip to watch still remains.

• Expect a Bit of Chaos at First. NACs are larger than all but the largest local and regional tournaments. This means that the first two rounds are especially chaotic, because there are still so many fencers still in the tournament. So be alert and listen to ref announcements, so that you know when your child’s bout is coming up. After the first two rounds, around 75 percent of all fencers will be eliminated, which makes things easier to follow.
• Be Alert to Pod Changes. DE pods sometimes change as the tournament progresses. Sometimes if an extra ref is available some of the bouts might take place on a strip outside of the pod. Be alert to announcements so that you are not scrambling over to a new strip after your child has been called three times.
• Be Alert for T16 Changes. If your fencer is doing well and makes the top 16, be aware that this usually means changing to the A and B pods. This is because the tournament is getting close to awarding medals, which means moving to the strips set up to allow for video review. If this is your fencer’s first time in the top 16, let them know that they can request video review by making a square box with their hands right after the call (tracing the outline of a video screen in the air). If only it were that easy to request video review in all aspects of our lives.
• Don’t Hyperventilate-Focus on Fencers Ahead in the Bracket. Especially as the fencer gets farther into the DE bracket, it is easy to get caught up in the potential matchups a round or two ahead, as they may seem to be the main obstacle standing between the fencer and a medal. Resist the urge to worry about those bouts until they’re a reality. Remind yourself – and your fencer – to stay in the moment and to focus on the next DE.
• Be Prepared for Tense Matches. While every fencing parents wants his or her child to march through the bracket like Thanos conquering an unarmed world of space bunnies, the usual reality is more like trench warfare: tense, messy, and with a conclusion often not known until the very end. So be prepared to ride out some close bouts. The SFGs would not have it any other way.
• Don’t Get Obsessed If Your Child Has a Bad Draw. There will be times when your fencer is going up against a killer opponent, and it will seem like he or she has the fencing life expectancy of a toddler with a Nerf sword sent into the Hunger Games arena (or we can stick with space bunnies, if the pinballing between different pop culture themes is making you dizzy). But don’t assume the worst; if there weren’t upsets, we wouldn’t need to have the DEs at all. At the very worst, it will be a good learning experience to help your child do better at the next NAC.

The DE phase of a NAC tournament is intense, but it’s also where fencers grow the most. Most importantly, while it may seem that the penalty for losing a bout is a disaster, the reality is that there is always another NAC around the corner. (Trust me, even if you haven’t figured this out, your credit card has.) NACs are not just medal opportunities – they are learning experiences and a chance to build a body of work. In general, even World Team and Olympic-level fencers make the top four half the time or less, which is why the team points used to select Cadet, Junior, and Senior World teams, and the Olympic squad, count only half or fewer NAC results instead of just adding up all the NAC points for the year. By staying calm, focused, and supportive, you can help your fencer perform his or her best. Remember, every bout is a new opportunity – celebrate the victories, learn from the losses, and just be glad that, unlike the Hunger Games, every fencer – and their parents – get to leave the venue alive.

Despite the Hunger Games comparisons above, Katniss never actually uses a sword in any of the Hunger Games books (or the movies), instead specializing in archery. Jennifer Lawrence underwent extensive training for her role as Katniss, including archery lessons from Olympic archer Khatuna Lorig, a five-time Olympian. Lorig helped Lawrence master proper form, precision, and technique to make her portrayal of Katniss both believable and visually appealing. The main character to use a sword was Cato, the male tribute from District 2 in the 74^th Hunger Games. As one of the deadliest competitors in the Hunger Games, it is safe to say that Cato definitely would always be able to secure a chair at any NAC.

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For questions about your membership or tournament registrations – or to request that USA Fencing start a petition to have the Hunger Games movies redone with Katniss using a sword rather than a bow and arrows – then visit the USA Fencing Contact Us page. If you want to confuse the USA Fencing leadership, send them some emails asking about space bunnies.