Video courtesy of the United States Fencing Association
Fencing is one of the original sports of the modern Olympic games. It is a sport that is often described as “physical chess”, combining elements of boxing, chess, and martial arts.
At the most recent Olympic games held in Beijing, China in 2008, US fencers brought home gold, silver and bronze medals in both team and individual Sabre events. Currently, the US ranks 8th worldwide in all time medals for Women's fencing from 1924 – 2008.
Fencing master and Director of Athlete Development Alexander Ryjik is a US National Team coach, and has developed a curriculum and trained coaches at the High Level Technical Courses at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. VAF provides Olympic level training at our state-of-the art 13,000 sq ft facility, which offers not only electronic scoring equipment, an automatic replay system but an on- staff Armorer as well.
VAF fencers have competed nationally and internationally with great success.
Anyone can become a competitive fencer …. the path to the Olympics begins here!
There are a number of competitions held on local, national and international levels. Local competitions are divided into two categories: 12 years old and under, and 13 years old and over (open competition). To participate in these events you need to be a member of the United States Fencing Association (USFA) and must have safety and electric equipment.
A national level competition is the next step. There are a number of North American Cup (NAC) competitions. The granddad of all is U.S. National Championships. Competition categories are divided by gender, age [10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, Cadet (16 and under), Junior (19 and under), Senior (13 and older), Veterans 40-49, Veterans 50-59, and Veterans 60-69, and skill level (Division I, Division II, and Division III).] Some of the events require one to qualify to compete. Talk to your coach or visit the USFA website: usfencing.org.
The best time to think about taking the step to becoming a competitive fencer is now. The competitive season lasts from September – July with the Summer Nationals Championships in July as the final competition. Interested students should arrange an interview with their coach to discuss enrollment in electric and competitive classes and attendance at the Competitive Fencing Summer Camps.