Something For everyone
We run several state competition series aimed at providing appropriate levels of competition for fencers of all ages and experience levels. Read more to learn more about the standard competition format and the requirements for participation at different levels.
Competitions All Year
We distribute the competitions for each series as evenly as possible throughout the year. See our competition calendar to learn when upcoming competitions are scheduled.
Competition Format
Round 1: Poules
Competitors are grouped into poules of between 5-8 fencers and fence each member of their poule to 5 points. The size of each poule is determined by the size of the competition and the placement of fencers into groups is based on their state ranking for that category of competition. The results of this round are used to create a ranking of the competitors for the direct elimination round.
Round 2: Direct Elimination
The second round is a direct elimination tableau. Matches are longer, running to 10 or 15 points over 1-3 periods of fencing. The winner of each direct elimination match continues to the next round of competition.
The exact number of points and periods of fencing per DE match varies depending on weapon and age-category of the event. Veteran competitions, for example, run DE matches to 10 points.
Please see our competition procedures policy for more details.
Competition Categories
Category 1
Category 1 competitions are our elite pathway.
These events are intended to prepare athletes for national level competition and have the highest level of equipment requirements.
There are no experience or performance requirements to enter a category 1 competition (age restrictions for age level events still apply) but you can expect the very best of Fencing Victoria’s athletes battling it out at Category 1 competitions.
Category 1 competitions require a fencer to be affiliated as a Full Member in order to enter.
Category 2
Category 2 competitions include our youth competitions, veteran competitions and our novice and B-grade competitions.
The goal at these competitions is to encourage participation, and build community. The equipment requirements are more relaxed and only the base level Club/Schools membership is required to enter.
Some events are also capped for different levels of experience so that adult beginners have an opportunity to compete with other beginners.
For a full breakdown of competitions per category, and the requirements for each category, please see our competition eligibility policy and our equipment requirements policy.
Age Groups
Every year, we run series of state competitions that culminate in a championship for several age groups. The age categories that are grouped bellow have their competitions run on the same day.
U9/11/13 Age Groups
- These youngest age categories have different requirements for blade sizes – please see our competition equipment policy for details.
U15/17/20 Age Groups
- The U17 age group is also referred to as “Cadet”
- The U20 age group is also referred to as “Junior”
Open Age Group – State Competition Series
- This series is scheduled so that every competition, including the State Championship, is run within a fortnight preceding a national (AFC) competition.
- Each event is either named Pre-AFC# for the national competition it is paired with or Open State Championships.
Veteran Age Group
- This series is scheduled so that every competition, including the State Championship, is run within a fortnight preceding a corresponding national (AFC) competition.
- The Veteran Series Competitions are named ‘Veterans Round #’
Please see our Age Verification, Competition Equipment Requirements, and Competition Eligibility Requirements policies for more details on our age group competitions.
Novice and B-Grade Competitions
Our Novice and B-Grade competitions offer two introductory levels of competition for new members of our community.
Novice competitions are for brand new fencers with less than 3 years of competition experience. B-Grade competitions are for fencers who have competed for at least 2 years but have not had a top 8 finish at a national competition.
Both levels have a Junior (U15) and Senior (15+) category. We aim to run at least 3 events per year for each sub-group so that everyone has the opportunity to compete with a field of competitors appropriate to their experience level.
Please see our Competition Equipment Requirements, and Competition Eligibility Requirements policies for more details on our Novice and B-Grade competitions.
Gender Separated Events
All competitions are split into two events, one for boys/men and one for girls/women.
In the cases where there are not enough competitors of one gender to create a complete poule, we run mixed poules for round 1 and separate DEs for round 2.
Transgender Competitors
Fencing Victoria believes that everyone should be allowed to participate in sport regardless of gender identity. As a member of the Australian Fencing Federation our category 1 competitions must comply with the IOC guidelines for transgender athlete inclusion. For our category 2 events, all athletes are free to enter the events that most align with their gender identity.
Please see our Transgender and Gender Diverse Athlete policy for details.
Community Competitions
We also run a collection of annual events that foster community spirit and celebrate some of FV’s legendary coaches and contributors. Some of these events include:
- Pride Cup
- Joseph D’Onofrio Challenge
- Rise Cup
- Club Challenge
- John Fethers Golden Foil
- Neil Hick Epee Shield
Keep an eye on our news feeds and our newsletter for announcements regarding these competitions.