A MSFC Senior Women's Team prepares for competition.
Fencing offers lots of opportunities for competition. We categorize three levels where fencing athletes can test their competitive skills: Local, Regional, and National/International. Each has its own intensity, its own travel requirements, and its own training commitment.
Tournaments group fencers together by weapon type, and consist of a seeding round, followed by a direct elimination round of bouts. All tournaments sanctioned by the United States Fencing Association are grouped by experience, age, and gender, offering everyone a chance to fence at an appropriate level.
Competition requires commitment to achieve your goals. We encourage fencers who are interested in competing to discuss their goals with the coaching staff so that together we can establish a plan to achieve those goals.
Local Competition
You don’t have to travel great distances to find competition! Competition at the local level includes tournaments held in Durham, and nightly bouting at the fencing club. MSFC sponsors several local tournaments in each fencing season, and we also encourage competition while bouting amongst your clubmates. All local fencers can participate at this level – even if the local tournaments may be of a Regional or National caliber. The bouting that we do in the club tests the fencers’ skills against their clubmates – it’s a great opportunity to see how your lessons and classes are paying off!
Regional Competition
The Southeast Region offers many competitions throughout the fencing season, from August through July. These tournaments are often in-state, or in states that border North Carolina. The travel at this level is often a few hours drive, and doesn’t always require overnight stays. The level of competition regionally varies, but is typically lower than the National/International level. Many tournaments for Youth-, Cadet-, and Junior-aged fencers are held regionally every year. Fencers who wish to compete at this level need to train with individual and group lessons, and bouting with other fencers within the club.
National and International Competition
The fencer who wishes to compete at the national and international level is encouraged to start setting their goals early. The commitment that it takes to be competitive at this level can be great, with great reward. The high-level fencer prepares by taking part in bouting several nights a week, taking lessons at least weekly, and should be ready to spend the time and money travelling to competitions in other states and other countries. Fencers who wish to represent the United States on World Cup and World Championship teams will need to travel abroad several times a year. Fencers at this level accumulate points toward national and international rankings, which determine their placement on National Teams. These points are also a qualification path to the Junior Olympics, the National Championships and the World Championships.
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