Awards and Recognition Committee
The Awards and Recognition Committee shall perform all functions necessary for the creation and presentation of awards from the Association to members or other persons who are chosen for honors.
Buzz Hurst (West) , Chair
Bill Shipman (Northeast)
Jerzy Radz (Great Lakes)
Raymond Finkleman (South)
Andy Shaw (Southwest)
Roberto Sobalvarro (Midwest Region)
Award Criteria
The criteria for the three categories of Association-wide awards are as follows:
(1) Award of Merit for Outstanding Achievement in the Coaching & Teaching of Fencing
The recipient’s students have achieved notable competitive successes over the years, or the coach has performed some service that has been of especial value to the USFCA. In any case, the coach should demonstrate the personal character and the kind of professional demeanor and deportment that can serve as a positive example to coaches and that casts a favorable light on our profession to fencers and/or parents.
(2) Award of Merit for Career Contributions in the Coaching & Teaching of Fencing
The recipient has coached and taught successfully over many years. While this coach’s fencers may not have earned outstanding competitive successes, they are always well-trained and represent our sport in a favorable light. The coach has contributed significantly to the over-all level of fencing in his or her community, is generally well thought-of in it, and through personal character and positive deportment has cast a favorable light on our profession.
(3) The Coach of the Year (the Deladrier Sword)
In one competitive season the recipient’s students have achieved particularly noteworthy success, taking into account the training conditions (either favorable or unfavorable) under which the coach worked. The successful students must be primarily, if not entirely, developed by the awardee, and their achievements determine the coach’s eligibility for the trophy.