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 fifth 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. If the event is smallish we have a habit of fencing DE's to all places, which can really give you a workout! 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 10pm. The latest we've finished fencing is around 11:00pm, or a bit after for some truly memorable tournaments...

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 the coaches 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...

Youth Component

In addition to the senior events, we will also be running a Y14 epee event. This is a good chance for some of your younger fencers to both compete, and to see a top-level epee competition. Note that we have ping-pong and pool tables for the younger set once they are through...

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!).

Registration

While preregistration is not required, it is certainly appreciated! You can preregister for the event at AskFred. Results will be posted to AskFred too, which is alot easier for me if you preregister!

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 now on Eastern Time year round (e.g., New York), 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 eleven Fridays:


August 17, 2007
September 28, 2007
October 19, 2007
November 16, 2007
December 14, 2007
January 4, 2008
February 1, 2008
February 29, 2008
April 4, 2008
May 9, 2008
June 20, 2008

Note that these dates are subject to change, usually forced by changes in the national or sectional calendars. Also, be aware that the 10/19 and 11/16 dates are before ND home games, thus spending the night in Mishawaka will be really tricky! The 10/19 date is immediately prior to the Remenyik Open at Northwestern (epee is on Sunday morning, so there's a day to recover), and Rob Chidel is planning to bring in some serious sharks as a warmup.

Directions:

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