USA Fencing

National Events Director Christy Strong-Simmons talks about the changes to tournaments over the last year in her first USA Fencing blog. 

A New Look for National Events

If you haven’t attended a National Tournament lately, the new technology and enhancements are truly innovative. When you check in for your event, you merely scan your membership card or a picture of your membership bar code saved to your phone and you’re checked in!  You can even check in early for your event (though you can only check in the day of your event).  There are two Auto Check In lanes for scanning and one Manual Check In if you have a passport or other form of ID. Either myself or Kate Drummey from USA Fencing National Events will be available at check in for any questions.

Do you remember when you had to go through piles of results paper at the event just to find out where you finished?  Now, you can immediately look at the results on your smart phone during a North American Cup or National Championships  using a USA Fencing QR Code available to you at the check in area or by visiting www.usfencing.org.

Don’t look for bulletin boards packed with paper and push pins as USA Fencing has moved on to TV monitors that scroll through the information you need. Gone are the days when you had to shove your way through a crowd just to find out what strip you need to get to.  The monitors are placed in the widest aisles in the exhibit hall and there are three monitors in each viewing area.

Not too long ago, if an athlete, coach or parent wanted to find a particular strip, they would race through the exhibit hall trying to make sense of the numbering system for each fencing area. Now, there are tall teardrop signs in each fencing area with a corresponding letter that you can see from the furthest corner of the hall. It certainly makes it much easier to find the strip as a fencer as well as locate your child to watch them fence.

Going forward, we are working on laying out the competition areas so that when you walk into a venue, you are not running into the end or side of a strip but have an open space to easily determine where you want to go in the halls. Creating a vendor area so that it is a better shopping experience is also in the plan. We are updating the awards and finals areas with small improvements each month so that you have a memorable and consistent experience at National Tournaments. The instant replay systems are now on each semi-final strip and at the finals area. We are working this season to upgrade these systems to provide a substantially improved experience for athletes, coaches and referees. 

Please email your ideas on other ways that we can improve National Tournaments to c.simmons@usfencing.org.  I look forward to seeing you soon at a National Event!