Post date: Sep 27, 2018 1:8:34 PM
The USFA has made two substantial rules changes for the 2018-2019 season. 1) Reducing injury and medical time outs from 10 minutes to 5. The NEIFC will adopt this rule, effective immediately and 2) requiring soft covered chest protectors for foil fencers. the NEIFC will not adopt this rule until the 2019-2020 season, effective October 1, 2019. These decisions were made by the NEIFC executive committee for NEIFC events: The Big One and NEIFC spring championships.
1) For an injury or cramp or other acute medical incident which occurs in the course of a bout and which is properly attested by the designated sports medicine professional on duty, the Referee will allow a break in the bout lasting no longer than 5 minutes. This break should be timed from the point when the designated sports medicine professional gave his opinion and be strictly reserved for the requisite treatment.
2) At all weapons, the use of a breast/chest protector (made of metal or some rigid material) is compulsory for women and optional for men. At foil, this breast/chest protector must be worn below the protective plastron. In the NEIFC, beginning October 2019, at foil, the protector will have the following characteristics: The entire outside of the chest protector (the side facing the opponent) must be covered with a soft material such as E.V.A. (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) of four mm thickness and density of 22kg/m3. (The material can be attached to the current plastic models or incorporated into the manufacture of new chest protectors). The material must have the SEMI technical mark at the center of the upper edge.