US Fencing National Championships

Denver, Colorado - host city to the fencing Junior Olympics in February 2019 — Denver, Colorado - host city to the fencing Junior Olympics in February 2023

US Fencing holds 3 national championship tournaments annually:

- Summer Nationals (held concurrently with the July Challenge) in late June/early July

- Junior Olympics in February

- Division 1 and Wheelchair Championship in April in conjunction with the April NAC.

Fencers must qualify to compete in championship tournaments through the qualifying paths available, and they must also meet age eligibility, classification requirements and citizenship requirements.

All national championship tournaments, like the North America Cup (NAC) tournaments are opportunities for fencers to earn national points, and rating classifications.

At national championships and NACs, national points are awarded to the top 40% of finishers, and when there are 160 or more finishers, national points are awarded to the top 64 finishers.

Ratings classifications are awarded based on the event rating.

Summer Nationals/July Challenge

Summer Nationals is the fencing championship tournament for

- Youth fencing (Y10, Y12, Y14),

- Division 1A, Division 2, Division 3 fencing

- Veterans.

It is held concurrently with the July Challenge which requires fencers to qualify to compete through qualifying paths, even though the July Challenge is not a championship tournament.

July Challenge events include:

- Juniors

- Cadets

- Division 1

Summer Nationals/July Challenge stretches over a 10 day period, typically starting in late June and running through the 1st week of July.

Phoenix, AZ - Host city to Summer Nationals and July Challenge 2023

Summer Nationals and July Challenge for the 2022/2023 fencing season will be held in Phoenix, AZ from June 30 to July 9, 2023.

Review the Qualifying Paths for summer nationals/july challenge HERE

Junior Olympics

The Junior Olympics is the fencing championship event for Juniors and Cadets, and is typically held in mid-February every year.

Not only is the Junior Olympics the flagship championship event for teenage fencers, JOs is the last tournament where fencers vying to represent the US at the Junior and Cadet World Championships in April can compete to qualify.