We discussed the possibility of traveling to the Midwest High School Open 2013 in Culver, Indiana. Here are the details:
The tournament is open to high school fencers in the Midwest, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan. I have even seen fencers from Minnesota and Pennsylvania at this event, though few and far between since it is a long distance to travel. This year’s tournament will be in Culver, Indiana on Saturday, January 26.
This will be a good opportunity for all of you to get a sneak peek of what a regional fencing tournament is like. Some of the fencers that will be there have USFA ratings. Though the event itself is not rated, it’s always a good opportunity for unrated fencers to see how they would do against rated fencers. To get a look at who is registered and will be competing at the event, go to the tournament event page at askFRED.net. There are several fencers from WLHS attending, so it would be nice to cheer them on and offer some support. 😀
You’ll also get to see how bouts are directed (or refereed) and how scoring and electrical equipment is used. I suspect there may be some questions that you will have while at the tournament, and I will be happy to address them.
The venue is the Steinbrenner Athletic Center at 1300 Academy Road, Culver, Indiana (see map below). There is no fee to view the event, but you should bring pocket money for buying your lunch or pack your own. One of the equipment vendors, Physical Chess, will be there, so if you are hoping to buy another weapon or other gear, bring some extra spending money.
This is not a school-sponsored field trip, so we would just be traveling as a group. You can work out rides amongst yourselves, or we can get an idea of how many want to go and recruit other parents/responsible individuals to drive. I don’t expect to stay for the whole tournament, so let me know if you are more interested in seeing the early rounds (in the morning) or the final rounds (could be early afternoon). I don’t know exactly how late the tournament will go.
Share this information with your parents (or print it out for them) and let me know if you will be coming on this trip. I have included a poll (see below) so that we can get an idea of which of the day the majority wants.
Harrison High School Fencing Club 