First off, let us send out a huge thank you to the American fencing community for their continued striving and the inspiration that it brings to all of us! Every year we have the privilege of coming together to push ourselves to get better, and it’s a true honor to be able to bring our fencers to this competition every year. 

To the national champions and all participants, we extend our heartfelt congratulations. Your achievements inspire a new generation of fencers and serve as a reminder of the heights that can be reached through passion and perseverance. May you continue to excel, push boundaries, and serve as beacons of inspiration for aspiring fencers around the world.

The weather might have been hot in Fencing, but the fencing was even hotter! Whether you brought home a medal or not, reached your personal goals, or found challenges that kept them at bay, we hope you got as much out of the experience as we did. 

AFM competitors made us proud

The journey to the national stage is not without its share of challenges, but our athletes at AFM have taken on those challenges with a huge amount of hard work, dedication, and talent. We have watched many of these fencers grow through our club from elementary school age all the way up, and it’s just amazing to see them reach this level.

We’re especially proud of the wide range of fencers who competed under the AFM banner this year. From Y10 to Vet-80, the red jackets were part of the breadth of competition in Phoenix. This sport is truly for everyone. 

Overall, AFM fencers brought home 12 medals, among which are 3 Gold medals, 1 Silver medal, 3 Bronze medals, and 5 top-8 medals. But this is just a small part of the success. It was much more than that!

Let’s start with our Veteran fencers:

• Kira Hansen, Heidi Chang, and Haejung Hofman took home Team Gold in the Vet-40 Women’s Epee, demonstrating amazing fencing.
• In the individual competition, Kira Hansen won the Silver medal, Haejung Hofman won the Bronze medal, and Heidi Chang took 7th place. These women are truly inspiring, working together for an amazing result in the team and challenging each other in individual events. 
• Sergey Schindler took home Bronze in the Veteran 60 Men’s Epee Championship. A huge result, and we’re so proud.
• Suzanne Bloomer won Bronze in Vet-60 Women’s Épée. Tremendous work from Suzanne!
• A special shoutout to Fritz Chang, who serves us all as a great inspiration. Fritz fenced all three weapons in the Vet-80 events alongside two of our fencers – his daughter Heidi Chang and granddaughter Ava Budman – three generations of fencers in the same competition! Fritz lives on the East Coast, and meeting him in this competition was a fantastic opportunity and honor.

Now for our Youth through Senior fencers! We are so proud of all of you.

• Evan Tubaltsev took home Bronze in Y10 Men’s Epee. Congratulations to Evan and to Coach Carmine!
• Max Ding finished 22nd in Y10 Men’s Epee out of 144 fencers, loosing only 1 touch in a priority minute. Way to go, Max!
• In Y10 Women’s Epee Vaishnavi Vijay finished 14th loosing for top 8 to the eventual finalist of the event. Way to go, Vaishnavi!
• Ivanka Ren and Laisha Arulkumar finished in top 32 in the same event, demonstrating very good fencing.
• Sanvi Sharma finished 28th in Y14 Women’s Epee out of 236 fencers, showing her drive and commitment. We’re so proud!
• Ada Buricea finished 29th out of 236 fencers in Y14 Women’s Epee. Ada also earned D rating in this event, a major honor at such a big competition of this level.
• Kai Anderson won his first national medal in Div3 Men’s Epee. Well done and thank you to his coach, Carmine Carpenito!
• Ethan Li finished 10th in Division 3 Men’s Epee out of 159 fencers. Great job, Ethan! Your fencing was fantastic!
• Mika Chirashnya finished 11th and Keira Daley finished 15th among 121 fencers in Div3 Women’s Epee event. Great job, girls!
• Saahira Dayal finished 23rd out of 154 fencers in Division 2 Women’s Epee
• Riley Dowdell won all of his bouts in the Cadet Men’s Epee competition and finished 35th out of 278 fencers. Fantastic work!
• Ben Kim took 8th place in Division 1A and finished 26th out of 409 fencers in Junior Men’s epee, missing the top 16 by only one touch. Great work from Ben and thanks to his coach, Dima Chumak! 
• Natalie Gebala finished 12th out of 278 fencers in Junior Women’s Epee, making it all the way to the top 16. Big congratulations to Natalie and her coach, Dima!
• Audrey Chu finished in the top 16 in the elite Div I Women’s Épée division. Fantastic spirit and tons of hard work right through the competition!
• Leehi Machulsky medaled with 7th place in Junior Women’s Epee. Hard-fought and truly wonderful work from Leehi! Congratulations to Leehi and coach Zhanna!
• Daniel Chirashnya became the USA Champion with a Gold in Y14 Men’s Epee, coming back from 9:14 to a 15:14 finish in an exciting priority finish. He also placed 16th out of 278 fencers in Cadet Men’s Epee and was part of the Senior Men’s Epee Team. Incredible work and a major thanks to his first coach, Natasha Maximovich, and his current coaches, Slava Novoselov and Carmine Carpenito!
• AFM’s Senior Men’s Epee team took home Gold! The team of Sergey Bida, Adam Chirashnya, Daniel Chirashnya, and Benjamin Kim brought heart and focus to this event, an exciting next level for everyone! This team was an underdog in the competition, initially seeded only 28th among 60 teams. But with the huge spirit, led by coach Carmine and inspired and led by Sergey Bida, they rose to the occasion and were unbeatable! On their way to the Gold medal, they took out teams #1, #3, #4, and #5, with national champions, Olympians, World Championships and World Cups medalists. This shows the value of the spirit in fencing,

Competing at Fencing Summer Nationals serves as a testament to fencers’ growth as athletes. It is a culmination of years of hard work, sacrifices, and unwavering dedication. The triumphs achieved by these fencers, being it medals, earned national points or a great fencing, exemplify the rewards that come from their relentless pursuit of excellence. 

Being here to shepherd our fencers through the long months of qualification and the long years of training to get to this place is a wonderful feeling. You never know how the competition will go, especially at this level, and so many things have to fall into place. Even qualifying is a huge accomplishment, but getting to this level is stunning for our fencers. 

Excellence begets excellence. These fencers definitely inspire the others in our club to keep going, but by that same token, the others we saw at this competition inspire us! 

Celebrating the spirit of camaraderie

While fencing is an individual sport, it is undeniable that the spirit of camaraderie runs deep within the fencing community. Behind every fencer’s success story, there is a network of support, including coaches, teammates, family, and friends. Getting to Fencing Summer Nationals would not be possible without the encouragement, guidance, and sacrifices made by those who stood beside these competitors every step of the way.

In national competitions, we witness the power of collective energy as fencers gather from different corners of the country. The camaraderie on display is awe-inspiring, as competitors share experiences, bond over shared struggles, and celebrate each other’s victories. It is through this collective spirit that the fencing community continues to grow and thrive.

As we raise our metaphorical swords in celebration, let us bask in the triumphs achieved by these exceptional national fencing competitors. They have proven themselves as the best in the country, a testament to their talent, hard work, and dedication. Their journey to Fencing Summer Nationals has been arduous, but the rewards are immeasurable.

Now, let’s all take a moment to rest and breathe before we jump back into the new season!