On February 4th, Apex Fencing Academy hosted a foil development tournament for Y10, Y12 and Cadet fencers at the Town of Cary’s Middle Creek Community Center. Billed as a tournament for fencers getting a start in competitive fencing, the event drew over 50 fencers from all around the state — and from Virginia too! To say we were surprised by the turnout is an understatement! Thanks to our parent volunteers for scrambling to keep things moving smoothly in the limited space.
Turnout was such that we were able to run separate boys and girls Y10 events. We had young competitors from Apex, All-American Fencing Academy of Fayetteville, Salle New Bern, Crusader and a recent NY to NC transplant. On the boy’s side, Jacob Wechsler, formerly from Fencer’s Club and now residing in Charlotte, took 1st place out of 11. Ania Zhang from Apex won the girls event in a field of 8.
Y12 ran as a mixed event with 20 competitors squaring off in 3 pools. Andy Zhang, Ania’s brother, persevered in a tough DE against Conner Long to take gold.
Finally, in the Cadet category, 11 fencers took the strip with Oliver Morris of Apex winning a tough battle against John Colton for the victory.
Of course the victories are wonderful and a testament to the hard work put in by these fencers. But the true emphasis of this event was on learning, encouragement, and fostering a love of fencing. From what the participants and parents told us, the tournament was a resounding success. A follow-up survey revealed a desire for more tournaments of this type, so we’ll see what we can do next season.
We want to thank all the fencers, parents, clubs and coaches from around the state for coming out and supporting our event. It was so good to see so many young fencers in action in North Carolina. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
One more things. Our annual end-of-the-season tournament is scheduled for May 13th. This will be an unsanctioned event, and a non-competitive USA fencing membership is all that’s needed. In addition to youth foil, we will also run events for youth epee, women’s foil & epee, and senior open foil & epee. In the past, this has been a well received event. Everyone is invited, and we hope to see you there. Information and signup is on askFRED.