The New Year marks the 1/2 way point in the fencing season. Apex fencers stepped up their competitive fencing across the board this season. Fencers new to competition have traveled down to Fayetteville to compete in the All-American Fencing Academy tournaments. More seasoned competitors traveled throughout the region to compete in local tournaments, regional events, and open competitions. Along the way, some picked up their “E” ratings, while others climbed the rating ladder to the “C”. Finally, a few of the most committed traveled to the Detroit, Milwaukee and Richmond NACs to compete. NAC stands for North American Cup and are national level events held throughout the season.
The Road to Summer National & Junior Olympics
- Junior Olympic fencing will be held in Kansas City in February.
- Summer Nationals/July Challenge will be in Salt Lake City in July.
- NC divisional Summer Nationals qualifier will be held in Greensboro March 4-5.
- Conner & Mitchell have qualified for Summer Nationals in Y10
- Doug has qualified for Summer Nationals in Vet50
- Several fencers are on their way to qualifying for Summer Nationals in Y12 & Y14 through the RYC route
- Junior Olympic qualifiers were held for the North Carolina division, and Kenan, Colson, Sam, Sophie, Andrew, Abel, Daniel, Nayeli, Hadjer, Aidan and Xan qualified for Kansas City.
What’s Next?
The 2nd half of the season offers many opportunities to test ourselves against others. All-American continues their monthly tournaments providing a great environment for fencers beginning their competitive journey. Wilmington & Charlotte also offer regular tournaments within the state.
Next of importance for our youth fencers are the SYCs (Super Youth Circuit) and RYCs (Regional Youth Circuit). This year we have 2 SYCs in our region, Capital Clash in January and Fairfax Challenge in April; both to be held in National Harbor, Maryland. There are several RYCs in the region too. The closest is Ned Light held at Mid-South Fencers Club in Durham. Three other RYCs will be held in Virginia.
On the national stage, there’s the January NAC in Columbus, the March NAC in Cleveland, and the April NAC in Baltimore. And of course, the Junior Olympics in Kansas City and Summer Nationals/July Challenge in Salt Lake City.
I Encourage You to Compete
Ask any of our competitive fencers “what makes you a better fencer?” and most will say competition. Through competition we test ourselves: mentally, physically and skill wise. We learn from others and make new friends.
If you’ve never competed before, make a point to sign-up for one of the Fayetteville tournaments. If you’ve fenced a few of those, make the trip to Richmond for an RYC. Or, if you’ve aged out of Y14, sign-up for an open event in Charlotte, Wilmington or Richmond. Finally, if you want to try a NAC, Baltimore in April is the closest with Div 1, Div 2, Div 3 & Vets.
The best way to keep up-to-date? Join our Apex only Google Group where we post upcoming tournaments and travel plans.
Happy New Year! Now let’s fence!