You’ve been competing hard all season. This summer, you’ll put that work to the test at the USA Fencing National Championships & July Challenge, also known as Summer Nationals.
This year’s event, held in Minneapolis, Minn., will conclude the 2021-22 national season in dramatic fashion as we crown national champions in the Division IA, Division II, Division III, Y14, Y12, Y10 and Veteran (V40, V50, V60, V70, V80+) classifications.
The tournament will feature non-championship competition in Division I, Junior, Cadet, Senior Team and Veteran Team classifications.
So who can compete in Minneapolis? That starts with knowing where you rank in the current point standings and then reviewing the qualification tables. It also helps to be familiar with Chapter 3 of the Athlete Handbook.
When reviewing the tables, please note that meeting any criteria across your classification’s row will count as qualifying. For example, take a look at the path to the 2022 National Championships for Y14 fencers.
A Y14 fencer could qualifying by meeting any one of the following criteria:
So what’s different about 2022? We know the pandemic has caused many adjustments to qualification pathways and windows across all age categories, so we wanted to provide an update on the points roll-off schedules and qualification pathways for Summer Nationals.