United States Fencing Association

United States Fencing Association USFA
Official logo
Sport	Fencing
Jurisdiction	America
Affiliation	FIE
Regional affiliation	PAFC
Official website
www.usfencing.org

The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded in 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of New York fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. The AFLA changed its name to the United States Fencing Association in 1981.

The USFA was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in Pennsylvania in 1964 and in Colorado in 1993 in compliance with the Amateur Sports Act. It opened its national office at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in August 1982. The national office moved from the Olympic Training Center to downtown Colorado Springs in 2002. The USFA's first full-time Executive Director was hired in 1983.

The USFA is affiliated with the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the international federation for fencing founded in Paris in 1913.

Ratings

The USFA tracks ratings for its members. Ratings are a system of classification for USFA fencers; they are primarily used to seed tournaments, but are also considered to be (very) broad indicators of skill. When a fencer first joins the USFA, he or she will have a classification of "U", or "Unrated." There are six different ratings in the USFA those being U (the lowest rating), E, D, C, B, A (the highest rating) Fencers may increase their classification—from U to E, and then up to A—by placing in USFA-sanctioned tournaments. A tournament must have a certain amount of competitors, and those competitors must maintain a certain ratio of classifications, for the top fencers to be eligible for ratings.

Championship

Main article: List of USFA Division I National Champions

Hall of fame

The United States Fencing Hall of Fame (or "U.S. Fencing Association Hall of Fame") is a hall of fame for fencers. It is located in the Museum of American Fencing in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was founded as the National Fencing Coaches Association Hall of Fame on February 15, 1963, and was previously located at Helms Sports Hall of Fame, founded in 1936 in Los Angeles, California.

No one was inducted into the Fencing Hall of Fame during the years 1975-1994, due to physical moves and organizational changes, including its takeover by the Amateur Athletic Foundation.

Inductees

Main article: List of USFA Hall of Fame members

See also

• Collegiate fencing
• U.S. Fencing Coaches Association

External links

• Official website