ARMY vs. NAVY Fencing Meet with the British Royal Marines!
(pictures at bottom of page)
Liberty Fencing Club was honored to host the first stand-alone Army-Navy dual meet in decades! The cadets from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point, NY) fenced the midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD) on April 21, 2012 at our Warrington, Pennsylvania location! In addition, Army and Navy each fenced the British Royal Marines in foil.
Army and Navy each fielded full men’s and women’s fencing teams who competed separately in an NCAA dual meet format. In that format, there are 9 bouts per gender per weapon (total 27 bouts per gender). Each weapon squad (epee, sabre, foil) in each gender must win 5 of 9 bouts to win. Each gender team must win 14 of 27 bouts to win. The team with 28 or more total victories takes the overall combined men’s/women’s 6-weapon team crown.
The British Royal Marines were a special guest, and fielded a foil squad to compete against the foil squads from Army and Navy. Those matches were in Olympic format, scored on a 45-touch relay.
It was a great opportunity for people to see a collegiate fencing meet close to home and, most importantly, support the future leaders and officers of our armed forces!
Some U.S. Olympians served as referees, including Ivan Lee (2004) and David Micahnik (1960, 1964, 1968; and US Fencing Hall of Fame).
Bob Campbell, a member of the Philly Pops and co-owner of IQnection (a local web design, marketing, and hosting company) performed the National Anthems of the United States and United Kingdom.
