Cadet (under 17) Women's Foil action at the 2023 Junior Olympics in Denver. (Photo credit: Serge Timacheff)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The 2022-23 USA Fencing season is heating up. And with high temperatures in Fort Worth expected to climb toward 80 degrees by the tournament's end, we mean that in more ways than one.
From March 3–6, 2023, more than 2,300 fencers ages 7 to 16 will unite inside the climate-controlled Fort Worth Convention Center for the largest March North American Cup in USA Fencing history.
In addition to serving as an important tournament for youth fencers under age 17, the tournament also will crown five national champions in the growing sport of parafencing (known internationally as wheelchair fencing). Parafencing competitors at this tournament range in age from 25 to 51 — another reminder that fencing is a lifelong sport.
The field of parafencers competing for 2023 national titles includes Scott Rodgers PLY, a three-time Paralympian and 2004 Paralympic bronze medalist.
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 2,308 of the nation’s best young fencers from 33 different states and several foreign countries.
The Parafencing National Championships and March 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 Fort Worth will feature 29 individual events and six team events, including competition for women and men in all three fencing weapons (epee, foil and saber) and these fencing divisions:
Masks are optional within the venue.
As a refresher, here are the parafencers who won national titles in April 2022 in Charlotte, N.C.
With none of these fencers returning to reclaim their crowns, we're guaranteed to see new national champions — ensuring an unpredictable, exciting parafencing tournament.
Live results: Fencing Time
Live video: USA Fencing YouTube (semifinals and finals bouts only)
Live updates, interviews and more: USA Fencing Instagram
Tag(s): Latest News March 2023 NAC