Increasing your intake of bacon from eight to 12 strips at one meal probably would not be a good move.

Or if you have to add four more adhesive bandage strips to cover an injury, it most likely means the wound is not healing as well as expected.

However, pushing the number of competition strips from eight to 12 at a fencing venue should make for a better event.

That's what the NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Committee hopes to accomplish as it prepares to conduct the 2002 championships on 12 strips in the William E. and Carol G. Simon Forum and Athletic Center at Drew University.

The championships include competition in three weapons -- foil, sabre and épeé -- with 24 athletes qualifying in each one. Unlike the bracket format used in individual championships such as tennis and wrestling, the semifinalists in each weapon are those four competitors with the best records after round-robin play.

At the championships, four strips are allotted per weapon. Consequently, this year's round-robin action in the foil, sabre and épeé can begin at the same time, rather than the past practice of having one weapon's round-robin competition begin several hours after the other two.

There will be no change, however, in the two-year-old format of having all women's competition contested during the first two days of the championships, followed by the men's events on the third and fourth days.

Smooth transitions

"One of the motivating factors in making the change was scheduling," said Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes, compliance coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the fencing committee. "Since there is an equipment check each morning, all of the athletes are at the site anyway. All of the officials needed to run all three weapons also are there at the start of the day, so this change does not inconvenience anyone and enables the day to go more smoothly."

An added benefit from the adjustment is expected to occur on the second day of the event. "With eight strips, it always seemed things were running behind schedule and there was undue stress on everyone getting to the championships banquet on time that evening," said Cochran-Fikes. "Now there should be no such problems so coaches and athletes can enjoy that event to the fullest degree."

One potential drawback from the addition is that coaches may have athletes competing on several strips at the same time. "There is clearly that impact and concern for the handful of institutions that qualify athletes in two or all three of the weapons," said Cochran-Fikes. "The committee, however, had to view the benefits this move would have on the championships as a whole.

"In addition, many coaches are accustomed to working with a handful of fencers at the same time since they do so at the larger invitationals during the regular season."

Not a factor to participants

One of the defending weapon champions is unsure whether the 12-strip format will make a difference to the athletes. "Adding four strips really will not have much of an impact on the competitors," said Ivan Lee of St.< John's University (New York). "The key factors that affect how the competition flows is how quickly meet management is able to compile results and make strip assignments."

Lee, who won the men's sabre in the 2001 NCAA championships, also has extensive international competition experience. He captured the silver medal in the weapon in the under-20 category at the 2001 world championships, is the reigning U.S. national champion and was named the U.S. Fencing Association's 2001 Male Athlete of the Year.

"I've competed in national and international events that have had more than 30 strips and more than a thousand people cheering at one time," Lee said. "Most of the qualifiers for the NCAA championships have been fencing for several years and have competed in some national events, so this should not be a major concern."

Lee acknowledged that the more strips there are, the more possibility there is for distraction to the athletes. "Of course, there will be more people on the floor, but it really is a matter of focusing on yourself and your opponent," he said. "Once again, with the experience most of the fencers at the championships have, the difference between eight and 12 strips is small."

One message the change is not meant to send, said Cochran-Fikes, is that potential championships hosts have to accommodate the 12-strip format. "The fencing committee has identified the 12-strip format as the preferred one," he said. "If the facility can handle that, that is what we'll do."

The total area needed for a group of four fencing strips, including space for scoring tables and a safety perimeter, must be at least 37 meters by 13 meters, with preferred dimensions of 39 meters by 15 meters.

"We are not telling the membership that we will not allow an institution to host if it can only have eight strips," Cochran-Fikes emphasized.

The 2002 championships at Drew will be March 21-24.