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17th July
2006
Dear Participants in Canadian Fencing,
This
rather lengthy communication is to update you on the exciting
changes that are happening to Canadian fencing as a result of
2006 AGM decisions, decisions that were based upon over a year
of discussion to identify the best way to implement strategic
changes.
Fencing is
an Olympic sport and as a national sports organization (NSO),
the CFF Board of Directors and staff are charged with the
responsibility to enable success at the highest levels of
athletic achievement. The CFF Board understands what we are and
what changes we must undergo to reach our Vision. There are
different team roles for the NSO, the provincial members (PSO)
and the clubs. We must all work together as a team, for the
excellence of tomorrow is the novice fencer in your club today.
Working together to succeed with our minimal resources and
limited staff is a challenge for us all. As an NSO, our funding
partners focus their financial support primarily on high
performance results, both from athletes, coaches and the sport
administration system that facilitates these achievements. Yet
we must not forget that as a National sport body, we have to
provide service to all our participants for development in all
aspects of the sport through armourers, referees in addition to
coaches is the key to continued athlete development.
As each
day passes, at the national level, we fall a little more behind
in our duties. To remedy this, we shall be moving forward and
hiring a senior administrator to operate the organization on a
day to day basis. The Board of Directors is currently meeting
around this issue.
Our key
objectives are:
- To
increase participation at all levels
- To
make the CFF inclusive rather exclusive
- To
enhance athletic performance though increasingly challenging
competitions
- To
increase the independent revenue flow into the CFF to
support the new initiatives.
Many of
you will have heard about these changes in one form or another
through the informal discussions that have been going on. I urge
you however, to carefully read the attached documents, as there
are changes to competition ranking; competition format for the
CSC's and Nationals; changes in dates for the senior Nationals
and most important of all, a change in 'CFF competitive
memberships' to CFF licences.
The Board
believes that all the changes are positive for Canadian fencing
at all levels. We have done our homework and our planning to
minimize the impact of these changes to you, however, as in the
best laid plans of mice and men, there will probably be a glitch
or two as we implement, use and evaluate these tools. Please be
tolerant as we move forward.
Each item
requires some explanation, so please follow the links to
supporting documentation, new rules, Bylaws below each topic.
CFF Membership
|
Prior
to June 2006 |
For
the 2006 - 2007 fencing season |
|
Provincial branches (ByLaw article 6) were automatically
members of the CFF and carried votes determined as:
One
vote for 0-99 ranked athletes
Two votes for 100-199 ranked athletes
Three votes for 200 or more ranked athletes. |
Provincial branches will receive the right to vote at
general meetings of the CFF upon payment of a $250 fee
prior to October 1st, $500 after October 1st.
A
Branch in good standing 21 days prior to a CFF general
meeting shall have a minimum of one vote.
Additional votes for each branch are given for each
block of 500 licences registered to that branch (revised
ByLaw article 46) |
Rules
and Regs Chapter 3
Rules and Regs
Chapter 4
ByLaw 46 -
ENGLISH /
FRANCAIS
CFF
Licences
Every
participant active in Canadian fencing requires a CFF licence.
|
Prior
to June 2006 |
For
the 2006 - 2007 fencing season |
Each
provincial Branch was charged a fee of $53 for each
branch athlete that appeared in the domestic rankings.
Fees were based upon the previous years ranking lists,
post nationals.
Athletes often competed without a current membership,
increasing liabilities to all competitors.
CFF
passport was used a proof of membership and record of
results. |
Provincial branches will no longer be charged a fee for
licence holders.
Each participant in will be required to pay a $10
licence fee each season. The fee may be payable either
through the provincial branch or by direct payment to
the CFF. Each Branch will independently determine the
process it prefers.
All participants must hold licences prior to
participating in an event.
The
CFF Passport number will no longer be used to track
activities or results.
Participant's activities and results will be tracked
using the new licence number.
Passports will still be available for those wishing to
have a written personal record of their results or
activities. |
Rules
and Regs Chapter 3
Licences
will be issued for Athletes; Coaches; Referees; Administrators /
Board Members and Supporters of Fencing. Any individual may hold
a licence in more than one category for the single fee.
CFF 2006
AGM Membership Document -
ENGLISH
/ FRENCH
CFF rule
3.3 requires that a participant registers with the Branch
governing the geographical area of the applicants club and 3.4
requires that applications for members (licences) be made to the
branch, ergo, no participant can obtain a licence from the CFF
without a concurrent Branch membership and the Branch is
determined by the geographic location of their club.
Domestic Tournament Ranking
|
Prior
to June 2006 |
For
the 2006 - 2007 fencing season |
One
National Domestic Ranking for Open events.
Linear ranking formula, giving substantial weight to
competition size and less to quality. |
National Domestic Rankings for:
Cadet
Junior
Senior (Open)
Masters
Logarithmic ranking formula giving a substantial weight
to both quality and the number of the classified
athletes, but less to overall competition size. |
Rules and Regulations Chapter 13.
Rules and Regulations Chapter 14.
2006 AGM Competition Changes 2006 -
ENGLISH
/
FRENCH
Domestic Tournament Sanction Fees
The CFF will implement a sanction fee of $25 per event, payable
in advance for a competition to be ranked. Each branch will
determine who pays this fee depending upon the competition
structure with its jurisdiction.
|
Prior
to June 2006 |
For
the 2006 - 2007 fencing season |
|
Currently no fees for competition sanction or ranking.
Previously a CFF ranking fee was imposed of $2 per
ranked athlete per event. This was labour intensive for
the CFF and competition organizers to track and
administer. |
Flat
$25 sanction fee per event that will be submitted to the
CFF for ranking.
Fee payable through the CFF website |
Rules
and Regulations Chapter 10
Rules and
Regulations Chapter 11
2006 AGM Competition Changes 2006 -
ENGLISH
/
FRENCH
Canadian National Championships
It is
recognized by most participants that having the national team
members participate in the Canadian National Championships is
desirable. These championships have traditionally been held on
or close to the long weekend in May. Participation in the
National Championships has historically often been challenging
to our senior HP programme members as this is a busy time for
the World Cup / Grand Prix circuit. For 2007, the Olympic
qualification year, this problem was impossible to solve given
that world cups occur in different continents only a week or two
apart, making the travel as well as the competition challenging.
Many solutions were discussed. The following has been adopted
effective immediately.
|
Prior
to June 2006 |
For
the 2006 - 2007 fencing season |
|
Cadet, Junior and Senior Canadian National Championships
were held at the May CFF Competition date. |
The
Senior CSC / Nationals circuit has been reversed by one
competition date:
Senior CSC #1 - May date
Senior CSC #2 - September date
Senior Canadian National Championships - December date
December 2006 - Senior Championships will be held
No
change to the Cadet / Junior circuit. |
2006 AGM
Competition Changes 2006 -
ENGLISH
/
FRENCH
Rules and Regulations Chapter 12
Canadian Selection Circuit and Nationals Format Change
|
Prior
to June 2006 |
For
the 2006 - 2007 fencing season |
Senior and Junior Format:
Round of pools,
DE to 16;
2 super pools
best six from each pool seeded into a progressive table
of 12
DE to the gold medal match.. |
Senior and Junior format:
Round of pools - 20 to 30% eliminated - top 4 seeds
promoted directly to super-pools.
DE table to round of 16
DE table of 16 with repechage to 12 athletes
2 super-pools of 8 (4 + 12)
Super-pool results ranked 1 to 16 and top 8 seeded into
a final table of 8.
|
The
following link takes you to the document prepared for the AGM.
The document states that CSC events will not be counted in the
National Domestic Ranking. This has been reconsidered after
discussion and the two CSC events will continue to be counted in
both the National Domestic and the HP programme rankings.
2006 AGM
Competition Changes 2006 -
ENGLISH
/
FRENCH
The second
step for the CSC and Nationals events will be implemented for
the 2007 - 2008 season. All events will become closed based upon
a set of criteria described in the attached Competition Changes
Document and the amended Rules and Regulations.
|
Prior
to June 2006 |
For
the 2007- 2008 fencing season |
|
CSC's
and Nationals are open events. |
CSC's
and Nationals will be closed events.
Selection will be primarily, but not entirely, based
upon the National Domestic Ranking for each category.
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If you
find any discrepancies between my document and the new Rules and
Regulations, the latter take precedence.
Stephen
Symons
CFF President
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