In accordance with the Australian Fencing Federation’s new policy requiring verification of age for entry into National Events, Fencing Victoria has elected to develop its own policy. A copy of this policy is available to read attached to this email, or on the Fencing Victoria website.
The key element of this policy is that it will require all fencers who intend to compete in Age Group Competitions, up to Under 20, to have their date of birth verified by a member of the Fencing Victoria board or other designated person. This will occur by the fencer or their guardian bringing a copy of this document, such as a passport or birth certificate, to certain competitions, where someone will be present to certify the date of birth. This verification will only need to occur once. Verification cannot occur via email, the document must be shown in person.
The new policy will come into effect as of the start of 2024, however, Fencing Victoria will be providing multiple opportunities between now and the end of the year for fencers to have their date of birth verified. A certifier will be present at the following competitions:
- U9/11/20 State Championships – 24 September
- Novice Junior/Senior – 1 October
- FV Club Challenge Part 1 – 15 October
- FV Club Challenge Part 2 – 22 October
- U13/15/17 State Championships – 10 December
From 2024, if fencers intend to compete in any Age Group Competitions, they must have their date of birth verified. Fencing Victoria will ensure a certifier is present for at least 6 competitions per year, and at least once every 3 months in order to facilitate this. Basically, someone will look at the document and confirm the date of birth of the fencer. There will be plenty of opportunities for this to occur, and we simply wish to ensure that we record dates of birth for all our fencers.
As stated above, once this verification occurs once, it will never again be needed, so we encourage as many fencers as possible to have this process complete prior to the end of the year.
Failure to comply with this policy, or deliberate breach of the policy, comes with very serious consequences, which are outlined in the policy document.
Thank you in advance for your assistance with this, and we hope that as many of you as possible will complete this prior to the end of the year.
Should you have any questions about this policy, please direct them to myself, at vicepresident@fencingvictoria.org
On behalf of Fencing Victoria,
Jasper MacCuspie
Vice President
Fencing Victoria
