CFA Policy Changes for 2026-2027

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the discussion of potential policy changes related to reimbursement of coaches’ expenses at away tournaments and make-up lessons. We would also like to thank Coach José for the open and professional manner in which he facilitated those discussions. We have carefully considered everything you have said and have made the following decisions regarding these issues for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.

Coaches’ Travel Reimbursement at Away Tournaments

Almost all of the away tournaments during the season are either Regional Tournaments or NACs that last no more than two or three days and there doesn't seem to be considerable concern about the existing policy, which is that all of the fencers requesting coaching services for a specific tournament will share equally in the coaches' travel expenses. Fencers will then pay for the actual time a coach spends with that fencer at the tournament at the rate of $120/hr. In five minute increments.

In addition, and this is new, there will be a fixed, non-refundable fee of $20 per event. This small fee partially covers the administrative costs associated with arranging for the coach or coaches to attend the tournament (i.e. booking travel and hotels, arranging to cover lessons or classes at CFA, etc.) It also covers the coaches’ time in between bouts that is used to observe the competition and be available for miscellaneous help. Some of the days with multiple events are over 10 hours long and it’s not unheard of for the coaches to be in the room for over 12 hours.

However, we are willing to reconsider and adjust this policy for the Summer Nationals, which runs for 10+ days, should the fencers who qualify for that tournament and their families collectively request that we do so.

Make-up Lessons

We have given this matter considerable consideration. It is complicated and there is no single solution that will meet everyone's needs, but we believe what we have decided is fair and far more predictable and manageable than what we have done in previous seasons.

First of all, only those fencers (and their families) who are on an annual contract (whether they pay monthly or for the entire year) and have committed to specific lesson days and times for the entire season will be eligible for make-up lessons. If you just sign up and pay for one month of lessons at a time to see if you like the sport and miss a lesson for any reason, that lesson will be forfeited.

If you are eligible for make-up lessons, you must give us at least 24 hours' notice to claim a make-up lesson. For example, let's say you have lessons scheduled Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 5pm. If you tell us at 4pm on Tuesday that you are sick or your car broke down and you will miss your lesson, you will lose that lesson. However, if you are still sick or your car is still in the shop on Wednesday and Thursday and you will miss those lessons as well, you will be entitled to make-up lessons for those two lessons.

In other words, as long as you give us 24 hours' notice you can miss as many lessons as you want for whatever reasons and still be entitled to make-up lessons. However, make-up lessons will no longer be negotiated on a case-by-case basis with your coach. There will be specific times and ways in which make-up lessons can be collected, as follows:

You can take any class for which you are not already scheduled in lieu of one private lesson. That's an 1 1⁄2-hour or 2-hour class in place of one missed 20 minute private lesson.

We will be scheduling 4 half-day clinics throughout the season that will be very intensive and focus on transitioning what you learn in lessons and classes to sparring and competition, which happens to be the hardest thing for any fencer to do. And, you can pay for any of those 4 hour clinics with 3 make-up lessons.

At the beginning of each month, we will post a schedule showing specific days and times when at least one of our five coaches will be available to give make-up lessons. These will probably be mostly on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings, but not necessarily limited to those days and times. The coaches and slots will be posted on our schedule grid “Hephaestus” and you can request an available make-up lesson slot using the comment function the same way you can currently request a regular lesson.

You will have up until the Friday before the 2027 Olympic Camp first week of August to make up any missed lessons to which you are entitled.

Based on everything we have heard from our fencers, their families and our coaches, we believe this new approach represents a significant improvement over what we have done in previous seasons. We also recognize that this is a totally new approach to a complicated problem. We expect to have to make some adjustments as we roll this new policy out and we will continue to welcome your questions, feedback and ideas, which we hope you will share with us through our Ombudsman, Coach José.

Considering we had this discussion online and in person for the most part and the busy schedule of everyone, the meeting we planned for Saturday August 8 is cancelled, but we are hosting a potluck (sign up to bring a dish here) and social after the Olympic Champion camp. Everyone is invited Friday, August 14 4:30pm. Come meet Tibor Andrásfi, snap a photo with his Paris gold, it has a piece of the Eiffel Tower in it!

Head Coach and Founder

Ilya V. Lobanenkov