Jack Firneno, the Wire
This weekend, more than a thousand collegiate competitors will come to Bensalem for a university sporting event that, ironically, has become so big that most colleges can’t accommodate it — making a local high school the ideal location for this year’s bouts.
The 2015 USA CFC College Fencing National Championships Hosted by Liberty Fencing Club and Swarthmore College Fencing Team is being held at the new gymnasium at Bensalem High School.
Free and open to the public, it’s the first time at this location. And, if things go as planned, it will be far from the last.
As fencing grows in popularity, the championships have moved from smaller college gyms to convention centers that, while large enough to accommodate the growing crowds, aren’t always ideal for athletic events.
The new Bensalem High gym, however, combines the expanse of larger spaces with state-of-the-art facilities especially for trainers and sporting officials. And, unlike convention centers, it features sprung wood floors, which greatly reduce the chance of injury and fatigue compared to concrete floors.
“People who haven’t been here yet will be impressed. I was blown away when I saw it,” said Marshal Davis, co-owner of Liberty Fencing Club in Warrington and head fencing coach at Swarthmore College. “There are athletes coming in from around the country, and we have the best conditions possible for them here.”
Bensalem’s location — close to 95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, along with the Trenton and Philadelphia airports — make it a convenient hub for the many athletes and officials coming in from around the country.
But while the athletes are all college-age, over the last decade or so fencing itself has become attractive to people of all ages.
“People see it as a lifelong sport. It’s something they can do as a kid, even get recruited into college for, and still do it after they graduate,” said Davis. “There are all different levels, from recreational to competitive, and there are people in the 70-plus age group competing nationally and internationally.”
One of the keys to fencing’s longevity, or at least the way Liberty Fencing teaches it, is its reliance on the mind just as much — if not even more so — than the body.
For Davis, a lot of thought goes into how the body moves and what strategies any given opponent may use. He teaches repetition and muscle memory to become fluid in an ever-growing “toolkit” of moves and actions, and uses specific decision-making processes to determine in an instant which one to use.
“It’s a very cerebral sport,” said Davis. “People who can outthink other people can trump someone with years of experience or who are faster or better than them.”
And, Davis hopes that fencing’s all-ages appeal gets a bigger spotlight as well this weekend. This year’s tournament is the first to have corporate sponsorships, which gave Davis and his group the budget to make the event more family-friendly with activity booths, refreshments, giveaways and other attractions along with the actual competition.
And, along with the sport, the tournament is an opportunity to show Bensalem and Bucks County to new visitors from around the country — something that the Visit Bucks County tourism board, which worked with Davis to bring the competition here, is excited about.
The idea to bring the tournament to Bucks came about nearly four years ago, when Davis, a member of the Jamison Business Association, met Visit Bucks County president Jerry Lepping at one of his association’s meetings.
When Lepping mentioned the tourism board’s then-new sports commission bringing large events to the county, Davis approached him about the fencing championship.
“He’s a real go-getter and very active at Swarthmore and with his own club,” said Lepping of Davis. “He said we could bring this national tournament here with our help, and we’ve been working on it ever since.”
For their part, Visit Bucks County helped with promoting the event, organizing hotel blocks and entertainment options for visitors, and even identifying local restaurants willing and able to accommodate large parties on weekends.
As of last week, more than 500 hotels rooms had been booked for the event, a number Lepping said could easily double by the time the tournament rolls around.
“We’re looking at quite the busy weekend,” he noted.
And, if all goes well, it’ll be a weekend that keeps on coming. The tournament, also hosted regularly at places like University of Tennessee and the U.S. Military Academy in New York, is held in rotation, which means it could be back in Bucks on a regular basis.
“That’s our goal,” said Davis: “To have it here every four years.”
For information, visit www.libertyfencingclub.com or www.usacfc.org.
