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USA Fencing Rings in the New Year With the January 2023 North American Cup in Louisville

01/01/2023, 10:15am CST
By Bryan Wendell

From Jan. 6-9, 2023, more than 2,200 fencers from across the country — the youngest just 11 and the oldest 85 — will unite inside the Kentucky International Convention Center for the first national fencing tournament of 2023.


Y-14 Women's Foil action at the October 2022 North American Cup. (Photo by Serge Timacheff)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A new year means new opportunities to fence against some of the nation’s best. So why wait any longer?

More than 2,200 fencers from across the country will gather inside the Kentucky International Convention Center from Jan. 6–9 for the January 2023 North American Cup, the first national fencing tournament of 2023.

Fencing, one of just five sports contested at every Summer Olympics since the first modern Games in 1896, offers the ultimate blend of speed, skill and mental acuity.

There is no cost to attend as a spectator, and visitors will be treated to four days of competition including 2,255 of the nation’s best fencers from 41 different states and several foreign countries. The list of athletes scheduled to compete in Louisville includes 13 Olympians and dozens of NCAA, national and international medalists.

The January NAC is one of seven national fencing tournaments hosted in the 2022-23 season by USA Fencing, the national governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of fencing in the United States.

The tournament in Louisville will feature 46 events, including competition for women and men in all three fencing weapons (epee, foil and saber) and these three fencing divisions: 

  • Division I, which includes many of the top-ranked fencers age 13 and older

  • Junior, for fencers 19 and under

  • Veteran, for fencers 40 and older (with separate competitions for fencers 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79 and 80 and up)

The stakes are high for all classifications of fencers. Fencers who perform well in Louisville will earn valuable points toward qualifying for major international competitions, including the 2023 Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships in Bulgaria, the 2023 Fencing World Championships in Italy and the 2023 Veteran Fencing World Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. 

One group of fencers scheduled to compete in Louisville knows quite well what it takes to make it to the sport’s biggest stage. The field of competitors at the January NAC includes these 13 Olympians scheduled to compete:

  • Miles Chamley-Watson OLY

  • Jacqueline Dubrovich OLY

  • Timothy Glass OLY

  • Katharine Holmes OLY

  • Ivan Lee OLY

  • Andrew Mackiewicz OLY

  • Alexander Massialas OLY

  • Sabrina Massialas OLY

  • Curtis McDowald OLY

  • Gerek Meinhardt OLY

  • John Moreau OLY

  • Chris O'Loughlin OLY

  • Yeisser Ramirez OLY

The average age across all 2,239 fencers is 29.1 — with the competitors ranging in age from an 11-year-old competing in the Junior Women’s Foil event to an 85-year-old competing in Veteran Men’s Epee. 

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