A24! It’s been a long time coming and feels pretty sweet.
Last weekend I earned my A rating at the Blade Runner tournament at UC San Diego by securing a third place spot on the podium.
Fencers in the US have ratings, the highest being an A. We all start with a U, or Unrated. Officially these are called “classifications” but fencers usually just call them ratings. The letter is followed by the year you earned the rating. And fencers must renew their ratings or they drop down.
Basically a rating is earned based on the strength of the competition. So a minimum number of fencers with certain ratings must finish in the top 8. The tournament I just competed in was an A3. This meant the event meet a lot of criteria:
it is a designated tournament by USA Fencing
there are at least 64 fencers (there were 83)
at least four B rated fencers (or higher) finish in the top 8 (all of the top 8 were B’s or A’s), and
at least four C rated fencers (or higher) finish in the top 12 (all top 12 were B’s or A’s).
Because Blade Runner met all of these criteria the top 4 finishers all earned their A24’s. The first and second place finishers already had their A’s. My buddy Alexander Pi and I both finished 3rd and earned our A’s.
Why do ratings matter?
To be able to fence in Division 1, the highest level of fencing in the US, a fencer must be a C or higher. Ratings can also be used for seeding in an event, but your place on the national rolling points list is used first, then ratings. And ratings are impressive to college coaches - so my chances of getting picked up by a really good team just improved. And there’s bragging rights.
Congrats!