You may have noticed some new rules published in the most recent USFA newsletter. The following summarizes some of the more pertinent new rules:

1. The time limit for a pool bout, a direct elimination period, or a team match encounter is now 3 minutes.
2. When a fencer indicates that s/he is ready to fence and his/her blade is too bent (Épée: 1cm, Foil: 2cm, Saber: 4cm), a yellow or red card will be given.
3. Falling is no longer penalized, but an offensive action that is launched in such a way that the fencer is not in control, and thereby falls, is still considered disorderly fencing.
4. In a saber direct elimination bout, the first period will end either when three minutes have elapsed or when one of the fencers scores 8 touches. Again, this is only for saber.
5. If a fencer leaves the side of the strip with one or both feet before passing the opponent, the referee will call a halt and the opponent will advance one meter.

All of the changes are listed here. There are also changes to the Classification Award Chart that add new conditions under which an event can be rated. With the new chart, age-restricted events can now be rated. The new chart is shown here.