Fencers from 13 states across the Midwest are taking over Liberty Township this weekend. Some 200 athletes ages 6-16 are competing in the Queen City Cup at Liberty Center.
"We are a regional circuit event, so fencers will come to our tournament [and] earn regional points, which will qualify them for national competitions, and move on from there," explains Alex Burte, owner and head coach of Queen City Fencers Club, which is co-hosting the tournament.
In fact, competitors can earn USA Fencing National Qualifying Points and the chance to advance to the 2025 National Championship. They'll be competing in all three fencing disciplines: foil, epee, and saber.
"If you want to come and see a unique sport that is incredibly fast-paced and has been around for hundreds of years — and every single Olympic Games — this is the best chance to do it. It's our only tournament in Cincinnati," he says.
Burte says the cup will be extra exciting because it's not taking place in a bland convention hall. Instead, competitions will take place inside The Foundry and Sabin Hall at Liberty Center. That means athletes will be competing right there in a food court area where lots of people can view the sport in person, perhaps for the first time.
"I think this is a very unique competition in the fencing world. Most fencing tournaments happen in convention centers or these big, empty, lifeless halls, and Liberty Center has tons of life in it," says Burte. "There's so many stores and there's so many activities that people can go and participate in, or restaurants they can eat at in between their events that I think, we're bringing fencing to the people, and we're making it more of a spectator sport."
While fencing is among the lesser-known sports amongst the masses, Burte notes its very popular, and growing in the Cincinnati region. The NCAA offers collegiate competition across three divisions. Burte fenced collegiately at the University of North Carolina, and he points out Queen City Fencers Club alumni have fenced for major programs at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Notre Dame, Ohio State and more.
Don't sleep on this region, either. Three-time Olympic champion Lee Kiefer was born in Cleveland and grew up in Lexington, Ky. According to ND Insider (she competed at the University of Notre Dame). Kiefer is the first American foil fencer in history to win an individual Olympic gold medal and is the most decorated women's foil fencer in American history.
"What hooked me into fencing is the progress that you feel from it, the fact that it's an individual sport, that everything that happens, you have some sort of impact," Burte explains. "You can feel yourself progressing day to day. If I work on something, I get better at it, I can feel the difference much more than that team sport where I'm only one of five, one of 10 people on the field at a time."
Travel Butler County estimates the two-day event will generate around $550,000 as fencers, their families, and spectators travel to the region, staying at local hotels, shopping, and dining out.
How it works
Don't know much about fencing other than what you've seen in the Olympics? Here's a quick primer.
There are three types of fencing: foil, epee (pronounced EPP-pay), and saber. Athletes can compete in all three disciplines, but it's not unusual to focus on perfecting one particular weapon as athletes get better.
Each fencer attempts to score points. The first to 15 points — or 5 in preliminary pool play — before time expires wins. A bout starts when the referee says "En garde! Prêts? Allez!" — or "On guard! Ready? Fence!"
According to USA Fencing:
The fencer being attacked defends by use of a "parry" — a motion used to deflect the opponent’s blade, after which the defender can make a "riposte," or an answering attack. Whenever a hit is made, the referee will stop the bout, describe the action, and decide whether to award a touch.
When a fencer lands a hit, the referee stops the bout and — in foil and saber — determines who was the attacker, whether their opponent successfully defended themselves, and which fencer should be awarded a touch, if any. The referee always clearly raises their hand on the side of the fencer for whom they have awarded a point.
The foil is descended from a light court sword used by the nobility to train for duels. it's about 35 inches long and has a flexible rectangular blade.
You score points by hitting your opponent with the tip of the blade, but the hit must land within their torso; strikes to the arms, neck, head and legs do not count in foil.
In modern fencing, there's a button at the end of the blade. It must compress for a certain length of time for the strike to count.
The epee comes from a dueling sword and is similar in length to the foil, but weighs more and has a bigger hand guard. Its blade is much stiffer than the foil, too.
As in foil, you score points by striking your opponent with the tip of the blade, but you can strike any part of the body. The epee also has a compression button to alert when a strike has landed.
Saber is a fast and aggressive game, using the modern version of a slashing cavalry sword. It's about the same size and weight as the foil.
In this discipline, points are scored by striking your opponent with the edge of the blade as well as the point. The target area extends from the bend of the hips (front and back) to the top of the head.
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