MHS Invitational Frosh-Soph Tournament
February 12, 2023
Hosted at MHS in the Main Gym.
MHS Team Report Time: 7:00 a.m. Sunday, February 12, MHS Main gym
Fencers must check in at official check in table before 8:00 am.
Individual participants must pre-register in AskFred!
This is the link to the girls registration https://askfred.net/Events/moreInfo.php?tournament_id=52532
This is the link to the boys registration https://askfred.net/Events/moreInfo.php?tournament_id=52533
2022 Boys Results: https://www.fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/43F71277F3354E4AA9FF6A3E202B8B26
2022 Girls Results: https://www.fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/10D823F50A844F4B939F10BE1EC89B7C
MHS Team gym setup : TBD
What is the Frosh-Soph tournament?
The MHS Fencing team and booster club sponsor this annual event for New Jersey high school freshmen and sophomore fencers. We host, we hire the referees and Bout Committee, and run concession and merchandise stands. The tournament includes more than a dozen schools and attracts 150+ high school fencers, so it is an all-hands-on deck event for the team and the Booster Club.
It's a fun event. Our upperclassmen and the team managers will be strip coaching new fencers, keeping score, directing (refereeing) bouts, and running between gyms to keep the event running smoothly. Veteran parents will be around to help new families understand how it all works.
ALL MHS freshman and sophomore fencers are expected to participate. If they are a new fencer, this is the tournament that they have been working toward! If they are nervous, please reassure your new fencer that most of the kids participating have about the same level of experience that they do. Fencers need to register individually for the tournament on www.askFRED.net using one of the links at the top of this page.
Why do we sponsor it?
Montclair started sponsoring the tournament in order to give underclassmen a chance to have a competitive day of fencing. Unlike sports like soccer, football or basketball, fencing does not have a freshman or JV division. On a large, competitive team-like Montclair or several other teams in our division- most underclassmen are not regularly fencing at Varsity bouts. The Frosh-Soph is also an opportunity for new fencing families to watch their students compete on the fencing strip.
It has also turned into an important fundraiser for the Booster Club. This allows us to offer extra support not covered by MHS Athletics, such as the fall clinic for returning fencers, extra coaching support, snacks/beverages/lunch for the team at meets and major tournaments, and keeping our team banquet costs as low as possible.
How is the tournament set up?
The tournament structure is as follows: Our professional Tournament Organizer and the Bout Committee divide students by weapon, gender and year. Students are then grouped randomly into pools. If there are rated fencers in the tournament, they are spread out across the pools so that no one pool is significantly harder than the other. Fencers first fence everyone in their pool.
There is a short break while all of the pool results are tabulated (wins, losses, touches made/touches received) and then fencers are ranked. Fencers then fence direct elimination bouts (called “DE’s”) with the post-pool ranking determining the first bout order. When you lose, you are done fencing for the day. If you win, fencers continue to fence through the bracket (think of a post season college basketball bracket….if you start with a group of 32, you then go to 16, then 8, then 4, then 2) until we wind up with a final winner.
Medals are awarded to first place, second place, and the two students who finish third (the students who lose at the semi-final round of 4).
We do not expect to know the starting time of each event until Sunday. Even then, event times can and do change. Our tournament director will have a starting plan on the event order, but even then event times can and do change. If you feel like you need to know a more specific time, you can ask your fencer to send you a quick text before the tournament starts (or come have a cup of coffee with other Booster parents right at the start!). But again, times can and do change. This is not because of a lack of planning or organization; it is the nature of fencing tournaments.
What can I do to help?
The booster club sells refreshments as a fundraiser for the team's activities. Please consider donating snacks, and maybe volunteering to help sell concessions for a shift. If you are volunteering, you’ll still be able to watch your fencer—everyone is great about alerting parents when your child’s pool or weapon is “on”. If all of the official volunteer spots are taken, please drop by the concession stand anyway and just help out for a bit. It’s a great way to meet other team parents and to learn more about the team and the sport.
Anything else?
The MHS Fencing Booster club will give each Montclair fencer tickets that can be used for snacks. Please send your child with extra money if they would like to purchase extra snacks during the day. The Booster club will have team merchandise available for sale!
Regardless of how your fencer ranks at the end of the day, please offer lots of hugs, congratulations and support. The kids are usually very excited to have experienced a competition. Please understand that one tournament does not determine how your child is likely to develop as a fencer. They’re just learning! In fact, having a less than stellar debut provides the spark for some kids to really buckle down and work hard in the off season.
When is it over?
If morning check-in closes on time, fencing should wrap up between 3:00 and 4:00pm. Unless released by Coach Donovan, your fencer should expect to stay through the medal ceremony and clean up. Yes, even if they are done fencing much earlier. ☺ It is a long day. Kids have been known to tuck a book into their bag, and find a quiet spot in the cafeteria to do some homework in case they find that their event is over but there are a few hours left in the day (or if it turns out that they aren’t fencing until afternoon). But don’t expect it--most kids want to spend the day cheering on their teammates!
Hope all of this helps! See you at the high school!
More questions? If you still have more questions, you can reach out to fencingmontclair@gmail.com