Saturday Schedule
Fencing Saturday, if you want it
Several fencers will be away at the tournament this week, but the club will be available if you want to fence. Feel free to coordinate some bouting.
Don’s in the hospital and probably wouldn’t mind a visit
Don Anderson is in the Rehab Clinic in Los Alamos, and will likely not be fencing for a few weeks.
He has a spinal infection that requires rest and therapy. If anyone would like to stop in and say hello, he would appreciate that. The clinic is at 1011 Sombrillo, near the Veterinary Clinic just off the main road into Los Alamos.
2024–2025 Season
Samantha has done a lot of work making notes about the 2024–25 competitive season:
Jorge asked me to continue to communicate plans for the season ahead and which tournaments our youth fencers should focus on. Ultimately, he has two goals for competitive fencers for the year: to send fencers to the Junior Olympics Feb. 14–17, in Charlotte and Summer Nationals June 28–July 7 in Milwaukee. He seems to be recovering well and asks about how the kids are doing and how training is going often.
New age chart is out: https://www.usafencing.org/age-classification-eligibility
Again—it's totally fine to fence in competitions just because they are convenient or for the experience/fun. However, the following offer the path of least financial and time resistance to qualify for the JOs and Summer Nationals:
Fortune fencing ROC Ontario, CA, Labor Day weekend Y8,Y10,Y12,Y14, VET, DIV2, DIV1A https://member.usafencing.org/details/tournaments/8904 Regular registration deadline August 12!
We attended an SYC here in March. You can get a direct flight into Ontario on Southwest. The DoubleTree essentially shares a parking lot with the convention center so no need to rent a car, very easy.
Air Force ROC/RJCC Colorado Springs, CO Sep 28-29. Div1A, DIV2, VET, Cadet and Junior. https://member.usafencing.org/details/tournaments/8919 Regular Registration Deadline September 9th!
I’ve already reached out to the tournament organizer about getting Jorge sponsored on base, assuming he is able to make the trip. If your fencer was born in 2011 or earlier-they could fence 3+ events!
RYC/RJC of the Rockies Denver, CO October 19-20. Y10, Y12, Y14, JNR – no details posted yet.
RJCC of the Rockies Denver, CO November 16-17. CDT, JNR – no details posted yet.
Looking ahead to the Junior Olympics, they are held Feb 14-17th in Charlotte, NC. (FYI-SFPS is off on 2/17). Only Cadets and Juniors can qualify for the JOs. Like Summer Nationals, there are 3 ways to qualify:
Appear on the national points list at the time of regular fee registration.
Earn 110 points in a regional competition (best of 2 only)-all the above listed events in CO would be potential qualification paths.
The NM division holds a qualifier and the top 3 or top 25% qualify.
Here are a few links explaining the JO qualification paths and eligibility:
How to Qualify for Fencing Junior Olympics in 2023 in Denver — fencing parents
Updated on October 12, 2022 to reflect changes in the Athlete Handbook 2022/2023 released on October 4, 2022
What Juniors and Cadets Should Know About Qualifying for the 2024 Junior Olympics
With the 2024 Junior Olympics coming soon, it’s the perfect time to review exactly how cadets and juniors can qualify for the pinnacle domestic tournament for these two classifications of fencers.
Looking ahead to Summer Nationals, held 4th of July week in Milwaukee WI:
To qualify for DIV1, JNR or CDT:
Appear on the national points list
Earn 65 regional points for JNR or CDT (best of 2 events).
To qualify for Y12, Y14, DIV2 and DIV3:
Appear on the national points list (Youth)
150 regional points (Y14), 70 points (Y12), or appear on regional points list for DIV 2 and DIV3
Y14, DIV2 and DIV3 division qualifiers. Top 3 or 25%
My own thought process on this, with a fencer who can do Y14, CDT, JNR and the DIVs; it may not make sense to chase regional points for Y14 or DIV2 and DIV3 since the club can typically qualify those who want to go to nationals through a division qualifier. Junior points roll down to Cadet points. So, if a fencer earns 65 points at 2 Junior events, they would automatically be qualified for two events at summer nationals. Then, they could potentially qualify through the division for Y14, DIV3 and DIV2 for a total of 5 events at nationals.
The club will continue to hold monthly tournaments. Any tournaments, whether points are earned or not, are essential practice for these larger events. Jorge encourages fencers to compete as often as they can, in as many events as they can.
Many thanks to Samantha for this, and to her and the other parents keeping in touch with Jorge and passing along training plans, and to Craig for working on translations of the plans.