Common Terms


Regions – we have divided the country into 12 regions.  Regions, for the purposes of the Youth Development Committee (YDC), are defined as the geographic area for which a designated Regional Youth Circuit Coordinator will have responsibility.  While fencers are encouraged to fence within their region they are not limited to competitions in their region.  Defining the regions does a few things.


  1. • Clearly defines who is responsible for coordinating the Regional Youth Circuit (RYC) events in given area.

  2. • Establishes a chain of communication.

  3. • Pools resources for a given area.


RYC Coordinators – The RYC Coordinator is the one person in each region responsible for establishing the RYC schedule for the region and facilitating communication between the region and the YDC.  There will be in place a reporting structure, of which, the regional coordinator is an important part.  This reporting structure will provide a logical path for any concerns or questions that may arise in any region as well as a means of streamlining information to and from all regions.


Regional Youth Circuit – The Regional Youth Circuit is the group of youth tournaments within a given region. The rationale is to provide educationally valuable tournament experiences without the stress of extensive travel.  The first youth competition is an important part of development in the sport of fencing, for athletes and their parents.  Each region should have a minimum of three RYC events per season.   Some regions may have a need for more, but none should have less than three.  There are no points awarded for RYC events, but they do serve as a qualifying path for Youth-10 and Youth-12 fencers to get to a NAC and the Summer National Championships.  (Fencers must attend AND fence their event to qualify for the NAC and Summer Nationals.)


Super Youth Circuit – The Super Youth Circuit is a group of larger tournaments that draw participants from the regions together for larger competitions.  SYC events are the next step for young fencers ready to test their skills in a more competitive environment.  These events are more structured and more closely resemble NAC competitions. There will be a specified number of SYC events every season. They must be geographically diverse, encompassing the East coast, the central U.S., and the West coast to provide equal opportunity to fencers throughout the United States.  In these events, national points are awarded for placement in the top 40% of the field to a maximum of 32nd place.


NAC/Summer National Championships - The spring NAC event and the Summer National Championships complete the competitive season for our young athletes, challenging them a bit more than a SYC and considerably more than a RYC.  Fencers must qualify to the NAC (Youth-12 and Youth-10) as well as to the Summer National Championships (Youth-14, Youth-12 and Youth-10) through the RYC/SYC system.



RYC Regions


Regions are defined as the geographic area for which a designated Regional Youth Circuit Coordinator will have responsibility.


The following regions are divided to account for numbers of youth members and travel distances.  Some regions cover a rather large geographic area, but would not include a significant number of fencers if they did not. 


While fencers are encouraged to fence within their region they are not limited to competitions in their region.


Below is a table that lists the 12 Regions, along with the number of youth fencers and the number of USFA member clubs in the region


NOTE: Data correct as of the 2004-2005 season.


Pacific North West

  1. • Alaska

  2. • Inland Empire

  3. • Oregon

  4. • Utah-South Idaho

  5. • Western Washington


Northern California

  1. • North Coast

  2. • Mountain Valley

  3. • Northern California

  4. • Central California


Southern California

  1. • Orange Coast

  2. • San Bernardino

  3. • San Diego

  4. • Southern California

  5. • Nevada

  6. • Hawaii


Midwest

  1. • Illinois

  2. • Iowa

  3. • Minnesota

  4. • St. Louis

  5. • Wisconsin

  6. • Nebraska-S. Dakota

  7. • Kansas


Southwest

  1. • Ark-La-Miss

  2. • Gulf Coast Texas

  3. • Louisiana

  4. • North Texas

  5. • South Texas

  6. • Border Texas

  7. • Oklahoma


Mid Atlantic

  1. • South Jersey

  2. • Maryland

  3. • Capitol

  4. • Virginia

  5. • North Carolina


Metropolitan

  1. • Metropolitan

  2. • Westchester-Rockland

  3. • Long Island


North Atlantic

  1. • Northeast

  2. • Green Mountain

  3. • New England

  4. • Connecticut


Southeast

  1. • Alabama

  2. • Georgia

  3. • South Carolina

  4. • Gateway Florida

  5. • Gold Coast Florida

  6. • Central Florida


Rocky Mountain

  1. • Arizona

  2. • Colorado

  3. • New Mexico

  4. • Plains Texas

  5. • Wyoming


Great Lakes

  1. • Columbus

  2. • Indiana

  3. • Kentucky

  4. • Michigan

  5. • Northern Ohio

  6. • South West Ohio

  7. • Tennessee

  8. • Western Pennsylvania


Pennsylvania

  1. • Philadelphia

  2. • Central Pennsylvania

  3. • Harrisburg

  4. • New Jersey

  5. • Western NY

  6. • Hudson-Berkshire