What Every Fencing Parent Should Know About … NAC Pools

Random Fencing Thought of the Day: Fencing tournaments are like soap operas. There are surprises, unexpected plot twists, and someone always ends up crying.

So, I was stuck on a catchy intro to an article about NAC pools, so I had the (seemingly) bright idea to ask Chat-GPT for a humorous way to start the article. Here is what it came up with:

Question: Why did the fencer bring a pencil to her pool bout?

Answer: Because she wanted to draw first blood!

Ouch. Okay … I guess this means that our future AI Overlords still have a few kinks to work out.

As a fencing parent, navigating the complexities of NAC pools can be both exhilarating and overwhelming, particularly if you haven’t been to many. So here are a few tips to successfully navigating the white water rapids start of the tournament known as the NAC pools.

But before diving into the technicalities, take a moment to embrace the unique atmosphere of a NAC. National tournaments are like family reunions – you see the same people every year, and there aways is some drama. But still: the buzz of fencers warming up, the thrill of competition, and the camaraderie among families are all part of the journey. There are national-level fencers at every NAC – and often Cadet, Junior, and Senior Team members, world champions, and a sprinkling of Olympians. (Question: If you wanted to sprinkle Olympians, how would you go about doing so?) And not only are you allowed to watch these world-class athletes compete right in front of you, but all while your child is competing in the same event, or maybe even fencing them. It would be like a young tennis player being able to show up at a tournament and having a chance to compete against Novak Djokovic or a budding high school basketball player getting to compete in a national championship with LeBron James. And you get a front-row seat (okay, a very hard, uncomfortable, and wobbly front-row seat), just a few feet away. I mean, really – how cool is that?

But the gating part of the tournament to make this magic happen is the pools – basically, a tournament within a tournament. Unlike many national sports, where direct-elimination seeding is determined by national ranking, fencing grows out of a tradition of five-point bouts, which survives today in pools (and NCAA tournaments). So while the seeding for the pools is set by national points (and then by letter ranking), all the seedings will be thrown into a giant blender run by the Sadistic Fencing Gods (SFGs) and recast in about two hours of five-point bouts.

It is just as true for pools as it is in the even-higher-stakes DEs: Watching your child fence in a tournament is like watching a horror movie. You are watching in the edge of your seat, have no idea what horror will next jump out, and just hope that the star of the movie (AKA, your child) doesn’t get hurt. You may have come to watch your kid fence, but in fact you will soon see that you are the one who is really sweating.

If you don’t understand the rules, watching a fencing bout can be like watching a foreign film with no subtitles. So here are a few quick tips to understanding how these mini-bouts work and how they set up the course of the tournament:

Understanding Pool Results

• How Pool Results Work. Pool results hinge on several factors: (1) win percentage (the number of bouts your fencer wins); (2) indicator (the difference between touches scored and touches received); and (3) points scored (the total number of touches your fencer scores during the pool). While all these metrics are important, wins are by the most critical factor in determining seeding for direct eliminations (DEs), because these ranking criteria are applied in the order listed. At a large NAC, it is common for a few ties to arise (which are resolved using a random number generator coin flip).
• Different Size Pools Sort Differently. Because it is the winning percentage, rather than the number of wins, that is counted, the same number of wins in a different-sized pool will be counted differently. In other words, four wins in a six-person pool ranks higher than four wins in a seven-person pool.
• When Indicator Matters Most: As a general rule, indicator becomes critical in specific situations: (1) securing a spot in the top few fencers; (2) determining seeding in the great middle, where a LOT of fencers have 3-4 wins; and (3) in larger tournaments, where small differences in touches can significantly impact seeding.
• Indicator Levels Vary by Age Group. The expected indicator levels can vary depending on the category, which can be seen by the rule of thumb I used for determining what was needed to make the top four after epee pools: (1) Y-14: around +23; (2) Cadet: around +21; (3) Junior: around +18; and (4) Division 1: around +16. Basically, because the range of skill levels tend to be closer as fencers get to more senior levels, the scores in pool bouts tend to become closer. These levels also fluctuate based on the size of the tournament, with larger pools introducing more variability in indicators.
• “Winning” Your Pool Isn’t Everything – Or Often, Much of Anything. While it’s exciting to “win” a pool by coming out on top, it does not impact seedings beyond the raw numbers. A pool where the top fencer “wins” by going 4-2 does not count any differently than the exact same scores where the 4-2 score puts the fencer third in the pool. What matters is achieving enough wins and a solid indicator to secure a favorable seed for the DEs.
• Pools Require Different Skills Than DEs. Pools test consistency and adaptability across multiple bouts, while DEs demand intense focus and strategy against a single opponent. While good fencers tend to be good at both pools and DEs, there are certainly plenty of fencers who tend to better in one or the other.

Weapons Management

• Don’t Wait for the Last Minute To Do Weapons Check. The line to check weapons at big tournaments is like the DMV – slow, frustrating, and full of people questioning their life choices. This is especially true if you do weapons check on the day of the tournament. Avoid this by getting weapons checked ahead of time.
• Set Up Tools at the Start of the Bout. Having the right tools at hand, such as a tip screwdriver, a wrench to straighten swords, spare tip screws, a testing kit, a testing weight, and a shim, can save precious time in between bouts, particularly if double stripping. I set them up on the floor in front of the chair for quick checks and minor fixes (generally straightening a sword and checking if the weapon has become intermittent) between bouts.
• Check and Tighten Tip Screws. What is the most common yellow card? Fencers turning their back to avoid a point? Refs calling out over-caffeinated parents who get too excited? No, it is for a missing tip screw. They can loosen during fencing, even in a short pool bout. Check them regularly.

Bout Management

• Keep Track of Bouts. Keep track of when your child is on deck to ensure they are ready to fence without rushing. Let them know ahead of time which fencer is coming next, so they know which opponent to watch to prepare for the next bout. I use Fencing Ref, which sadly is not maintained any more (it was written years ago by a college fencer) and only works on an older iPad that I have used for years. Fencing Time Live includes bout orders in the “details” page of the pool site, but doesn’t allow you to keep track of scores like FencerRef does.
• Be Alert for Double Stripping. Double stripping (when fencers are called to two strips simultaneously) can happen during large tournaments. When this happens, the bouts come quickly. Be alert for an announcement that your pool was selected for double stripping.
• Keep Track of Pool Results. At the end of the bout, fencers need to sign off on the ref pool sheet for their individual bouts. Keep track of the bout results as they occur to ensure accuracy. If you use Fencing Ref, you can show the scores in an exact replica of the pool sheet at the end of the bout (assuming you entered them correctly). At the end of the bout, I hand my iPad to Hadley to compare to the ref sheet to make it easy to check the results.
• Don’t Call the Bout Committee for Judgment Calls or To Dispute What the Ref Saw. As a final note, understand the role of the Bout Committee. They exist to handle disputes and potential mistakes in the application of the rules. They do not exist as a way to correct what the ref saw or judgment calls. Don’t bother calling them for things like whether a fencer was off strip when a point was scored or whether there was a floor touch, no matter how clever you think your ref-to-Hellen Keller comparison is. (From the table of 16 onwards, there is video review for things like this.)

Pools at NACs are more than just the prelude to DEs – they are a unique challenge that tests skill, preparation, and resilience. By understanding how pools work, keeping equipment in top shape, and managing bouts effectively, you can help your child stay focused on the fencing.

Automobile racing was featured as a demonstration event in the 1900 Paris Olympics, with one race being won by Louis Renault, founder of the international car company that bears his name. In addition to race cars, there also was a category for fire trucks and for seven-seater cars. Oddly enough, for reasons lost to history, the seven-seater car race awarded a silver medal but no gold. There also were two Olympic races for delivery vans, one for vans with gasoline engines and one for electric. Perhaps one of the delivery vans was supposed to deliver the seven-seater gold medal but left it on the wrong porch.

Want to suggest a new blog topic? Just want to tell me that I have (or do not have) a NAC for bad fencing puns? Shoot me an email at usfafencingblog@gmail.com.   

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