Clare L. Deming

On occasion, someone will ask me how long the fencing season runs. This isn’t really a fair question – as fencing has grown in popularity in the last decade, the season has expanded to the extent that you can find somewhere to fence any time through the year. You can look at several different aspects of fencing in this regard – the NCAA season, local events, national events, club practices, or training camps. Even with this variety, a lot of fencers still conclude their season by competing in the US Fencing Association’s largest event – the super-sized tournament known as Summer Nationals.

Summer Nationals has events for everyone – with all three weapons included, men’s and women’s divisions, and age groups stretching from under 10 years to over 70 years of age. The event is held at the end of June/beginning of July, and rotates through different locations across the country. This year, it will be in Columbus, Ohio and runs from June 22 to July 3.

Unfortunately, not every fencer can compete in Summer Nationals. The tournament has grown so large that, for most of the events, an athlete must qualify by competing in local competitions earlier in the year. The main events are divided into four divisions – I, IA, II, and III. Division I is restricted to the most elite athletes and can only be entered by those with a rating of A, B, or C. For more information on the rating system, see my post here. For Divisions IA, II, and III, the fencer must have finished within a certain percentage of the field in a local qualifier or a designated regional event. Divisions II and III also restrict the entrants to only those fencers of lower ratings.

After Summer Nationals concludes, many fencers may take some time off over the summer. Others will head to training camps held in a variety of locations either in the US or abroad. Local competitions typically start up again in September, with the first North American Cup (national event) held in October.

After my ankle injury last spring, I had to withdraw from the 2013 Summer Nationals. This year, I’ll be fencing in Division IA, II, and III, as long as I don’t have any other accidents before then!