The selectors would like to thank everyone who attended last weekend’s National Cadet and u15 events, as well as the u20 Challenge events. Over the four days, the selectors observed many performances and were impressed by the strong attendance and efforts during the individual and team events. This gave you some more team experience and gave us a chance to view how each of you integrates with teams and handles different pressure situations.
Remember, these events are just one part of the selection process, so if your results didn’t go as planned, keep training, and stay focused. We saw many close fights, intense back-and-forth battles, and some dramatic finishes. We also saw heart aches and frustration with results that didn’t go as desired. We saw how you picked yourselves up from defeat and hunkered down for the next challenge. We've followed up with some meaningful discussions with coaches about ways to improve.
Additionally, some insights from the team events will guide the selection process for the Commonwealth 4-fencer team events. These fencers are drawn from the pool of selected individual Commonwealth fencers.
Q&A
Will the winners of any of the NZ Cadet or u15 National Championships or Junior Challenge be automatically selected for Commonwealth.
No. Please see the FeNZ selection criteria for details of how the fencers will be selected.
Should I sign up for Australia Cadets & u15. (Yes, we know the original closing date is past)
Talk to your coach about where this fits in your training program.
If I enter for Aus Cadets & u15 and get selected for CW, and then choose not to go to Australia, can I get a refund from the nomination fee paid to FeNZ.
Yes if you advise the FENZ Secretary within 5 days of being notified of your CW selection.
What is the Commonwealth extra list? Can I go on the list?
The selectors will select a prioritised extras list from the nominees who do not make the official team selection. This will be announced at the same time as the official team announcement.
When will the extra list of fencers know if they will be fencing in the Commonwealth tournament?
FeNZ are seeking clarification from the CFF on what exactly the process will be. This is the first time this format has been used at a Commonwealth event.
Typically, the process for each event is that pools of seven fencers are created from all the fencers that have registered as being present. The DT then top up any pool of six fencers to a pool of seven from the supply of extra NZ fencers.
The notice period for an extra fencer to know if they are in the event therefore may be as short as the day before, when registration closes.
We will advise any information to make this process clearer as soon as we know more from CFF.
-- Selectors