What Is It?

Have you ever been at loose ends on a Friday night, wanting to go out but not wanting to fight the crowds at the local restaurants? Well, we've got the answer for you! It's the fourth year of Friday Night Fencing, a series of once-a-month informal tournaments held at the Indiana Fencing Academy.

How Does It Work?

Close of registration will be at 7:00pm, and fencing will begin *immediately* thereafter. The entry fee is your choice of either $5 at the door, or you can bring a dish of your favorite recipe to pass around (yes, you CAN fence for food...). After close of registration, we'll add up the numbers (and the money collected) and order out for pizza (preferences collected at registration - no guarantees made). The expected format will be one round of pools, followed by DE's. Pizza will be ordered to arrive some time after the pools finish, so you can eat between rounds, after you're DE'd, or whenever you feel like a nibble... We've got 7 strips, so we -try- to be finished by 9pm. The latest we've finished fencing is around 10:30pm.

What Weapons Will Be Fenced?

Well, based on last year's experience we'll always fence epee. This is often an A1 or A2 event - on one memorable occasion we had 9 A's and 6 B's in epee! We also fence a decent sabre event pretty regularly too. Foil is a bit more iffy - just remember that all weapons are self directing (unless Zoli or Janusz are lured out for some pizza). Basically, we'll do whatever the fencers present want to do - it's just that you can count on the epee...

Do I Have To Fence?

Nope, if you just want to eat (and watch), bring along a dish or contribute to the pizza. You'll probably also get drafted to help man the registration table (we like to fence!).

Details, Details

Current USFA membership is required to fence, but not to watch (or eat). We'll have membership forms available at the registration table. All pools will be self- directing, although volunteer directors are always appreciated. These will be USFA sanctioned tournaments, with USFA rules applying (they will appear on the IN Division, USFA calendar), so USFA ratings can be earned at the tournaments. The Indiana Fencing Academy is on Eastern Standard Time year round, so adjust your clocks accordingly. If you're traveling from further off and will be a little late, we'll make every effort to fold you in, although advance notice helps!

What Are The Dates?

We've picked out ten Fridays:

August 20, 2004
September 3, 2004
October 15, 2004
November 12, 2004
December 17, 2004
January 28, 2005
February 25, 2005
March 18, 2005
April 8, 2005
May 20, 2005

Note that these dates are subject to change, usually forced by changes in the national or sectional calendars.

Directions:

Directions to the Indiana Fencing Academy in Mishawaka, IN are located here.