Post by LongBlade on Dec 9, 2016 12:44:44 GMT -6
Round Rock Sports Center hosting national fencing tournament
Austin American-Statesman
December 09, 2016
www.mystatesman.com/news/local/round-rock-sports-center-hosting-national-fencing-tournament/myzxVJdRgGWqmispdLgucK/
Fencers compete in last year’s tournament at the Round Rock Sports Center. This year’s tournament is being
held Friday through Sunday with bouts held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Courtesy photo
The Round Rock Sports Center will be hosting hundreds of competing fencers during the Austin Challenge Super Youth Circuit and Cadet Fencing Tournament today through Sunday.
The tournament, which is free and open to the public, will bring in youth fencers from across the United States. Fencing master and Austin Fencers Club Head Coach Eric Mallet said in a media release that the Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and Round Rock Sports Center leadership staff played pivotal roles in bringing the large-scale tournament to Round Rock.
“The event last year was a huge success and allowed us to grow this into a larger tournament that now also allows fencers to earn national points toward the national championship in the summer,” he said.
Individual competitions in all three weapons will be held throughout the weekend from 8 a.m. to around 4 p.m. each day of the competition.
The event has grown by more than 100 participants and upgraded from a regional to a national tournament since last year, according to the release. Approximately 400 fencers ages 8 to 16 will compete in 24 events for the second year in a row at the Round Rock Sports Center.
Fencers in the tournament will be categorized by gender, age and weapon, the release says. They will then by grouped into pools of six or seven that will fight against each other in five-touch bouts.
Fencers use the epee, foil and sabre with varying techniques to score points in one-on-one bouts.
The Austin Challenge serves as a qualification path for USA Fencing’s National Championships, the largest fencing tournament in the world, which will take place July 1-10, 2017, in Salt Lake City.
The Round Rock Sports Center is located at 2400 Chisholm Trail.