Alright, once you feel like you've reached a comfortable point during practice, it may be time for you to look into competitive fencing. This is purely optional as we know that some members are only there to have fun but for those of you who want to challenge themselves and step out of their comfort zone, you should look into getting your USFA competitive membership. Below I will be going through the step that you would want to take to get yourself registered as a USFA member.
What is USFA? It is a national regeneration for fencers to keep track of their progress in fencing to to get ranked nationally, it is needed for most of the tournaments held in the states. To start the progress you will need to visit their website, which will be linked below. Then you will want to hit the membership tab, from there you will go to join or renew. You will need to renew your membership every year if you want to compete in tournament for that year. Hit register if you are new, then enter in the required information. Once you have made your profile, there are many membership types. If you want to participate in tournaments you will need a competitive membership. A normal membership will cost $75/year but as long as you are register on DoSportsEasy then you can do the collegiate competitive membership which is $45/year. Our NCAA/ Collegiate Club name is The Ohio State University Fencing Club, and if we are the primary club then you will also put us down for your primary club. Please don't mistake us for the Fencing Team. After that you can fill out all the remaining information and print off your membership card! (you will need to bring it with you to tournaments)
Next is to register for the tournaments themselves! To easily find tournaments that the club will want to participate as a group please visit the upcoming tournaments page and from there there will be links to register towards the bottom. We find most of our tournament on AskFred which is a registration for tournaments, you can find all types of events to participate in on the website. If you are interested in attending an event, you will need to pre-register on the site itself. It will go through the steps with you and should be pretty self explanatory. AskFred events are typically cheaper than USFA events so I would recommend looking into those first but USFA also holds tournaments but are usually more costly.
Hopefully this has been a good guide/ crash course on what you need to compete in tournaments. If there are any lingering questions please reach out to the E-Board or email us through our club's website which can be found in the About Us page. Thanks!
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