On May 12th, Apex Fencing Academy hosted the 1st annual Apex Open. This was our 1st sanctioned foil & epee open tournament. It was held in conjunction with unsanctioned youth events for our younger fencers. For those unfamiliar with sanctioned vs. unsanctioned events, sanctioned events must meet additional rules set forth by USA Fencing and the sanctioning body, in our case the North Carolina Fencing Division. The advantages of a sanctioned event for the fencers are that results are reviewed by the Division and passed on to USA Fencing in order to earn or renew a rating.
What are ratings? Ratings are the way in which fencers are categorized as they gain competitive experience. A brand new fencer has a “U” rating — they are “unrated”. As they compete in tournaments, they have the opportunity to earn an “E”, “D”, “C”, “B” and ultimately an “A” rating. There are many factors determining the level of the event; basically, the larger the event and the higher rated the competitors in the event, the higher level the event will be. The lowest rated event, an E1, requires just 6 unrated fencers. If you enter an E1 event and win, you earn your “E” rating. AskFRED provides a handy chart to help you figure things out.
At Apex Fencing Academy, our youth events are unsanctioned and open to anyone with at least a USA Fencing non-competitive membership. This keeps the overhead low and allows access to the greatest number of fencers. In conjunction with the Apex Open, we held two youth events: Y10 mixed foil & Y12 mixed foil. Y10 mixed foil drew 8 competitors and was won decisively 10-3 by Jacob Wechsler out of Charlotte. In Y12 mixed foil, 18 competitors faced off. It was an all Apex finish! Four Apex fencers made the podium with Alex Sichitiu beating out Connor Long for gold.
For the senior sanctioned events, turnout was strong enough that the men and women fenced in their own events. Women’s foil drew 9 competitors and was won by Apex’s Maddie Long. Epee was slightly larger, and much higher quality. Over half the contestants were rated, and the event was won by Lauren Dunseath of Mid-South.
Both men’s events turned out to be A2 events. This was fantastic! It emphasized not only the quantity of fencers, 24 in foil and 28 in epee, but the quality too. Epee drew 3 “A” rated fencers including a few from UNC’s varsity team. The finals did not disappoint with Andrew Fulmer edging out Jason Xu 15-14! Foil had it’s share of quality fencers too. Gabe Lima and Paul DiVenti faced off in the final. In a very hard fought bout, Paul outlasted Gabe to win gold.
Photos by Daniel Freeman
Finally, we couldn’t do this without referees, bout committee, volunteers, and of course the parents. Everyone came together to keep things on track and running smoothly. Each tournament we host teaches us something new that we use to improve the next one.
I’m extremely proud of the fencers that came to compete. Fencing is a challenging sport, and it takes a lot to put yourself out there and compete. We rely on our teammates in practice and for support, but when we step onto the piste it’s you vs. your opponent. That’s exciting, and a little scary too. Competing challenges us, competing against quality opponents challenges us further. Embrace that challenge and continue the climb.
Full results are on askFRED.