Today on day 6 of the Cadet/Junior World Championships our last BC athlete of the competition competed. Hunter Moricz, who previously took part in the Junior Men’s Sabre individual event on day 4, would be fencing again in Junior Men’s Sabre team.

Alongside Hunter were Francois Cauchon, Spencer Mcphedran, and Angelo Chiara. Going into the event, the Canadians were seeded 16th out of the 37 countries competing. This middle ranking granted them a BYE into the round of 32, where they faced Iraq, who also had a BYE through 64’s. Canada lead steadily throughout the match, overcoming their opponents with a 45-30 victory. In the round of 16, they were up against the #1 seeded Italian team. The bout didn’t start off well for our Canadian’s  (1-5 first bout for the Italian’s), and despite their efforts to catch the Italian’s, they lost 32-45 to the hometown athletes. However, Italy would go on to win the gold medal, defeating Russia 45-44 in the final. Hunter and the Canadian team placed 11th overall. Well done boys, and good luck in the season to come!

Day 5 continued with the second day of the sabre event series, showcasing both the Men’s and Women’s Cadet Sabre individual events. Alex Sun of Dynamo Fencing Club in Richmond, BC would be competing at his first World Championships in the men’s event.

Alex came into the unseeded amongst the 122 competitors. With 3 victories and 3 losses, of which one of the defeats was 5-4, Alex was ranked 4th in his pool. Going into the round of 128 direct eliminations, he was seeded 67th, which placed him up against 62nd seed Joey Zhuo Yi See (SGP). Despite his slightly lower rank, Alex defeated his Singapore opponent 15-9 to make it into the round of 64. Alex’s next bout would be up against Mohammed Alfadhli (FIE), though he lost this second DE 15-12. This result landed Alex in 55th place overall. Congratulations on your result at your first World Championships, Alex! We see good things coming in the future!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the last day of the sabre competition, where Hunter Moricz will be fencing in the Junior Men’s Sabre team event! Let’s go Canada!

The fourth day of competition kicked off the sabre events with Junior Men’s and Women’s individual sabre.

Representing both Canada and BC in the Junior Men’s Epee event was Hunter Moricz of North Vancouver. He started the event in 58th seed, and went 4-2 in the preliminary pool round. One of the two bouts he lost was 5-4 against Ivan Mandov (BUL), while the other was unfortunately 5-0 for Frederico De Robbio (CRO). After making out through pooles, Hunter was seeded just above his initial rank in 55th place. His bout in the round of 128 was against Mazen Elaraby (EGY), who he lost to 10-15. As a result, Hunter ended up coming 74th in his first event of the competition. However, Hunter will have one more chance at victory on day 6 in the Junior Men’s Epee Team event. Well done Hunter, and good luck in team!

On Day 7 we will see our second men’s sabre fencer up on the piste, as Alex Sun competes in the Cadet Men’s Sabre individual category. Good luck tomorrow, Alex!

On day 3 of the Cadet/Junior World Championships we saw both Men’s and Women’s Junior Epee team events. All three of our BC epeeists – Christina Zozulya, Seraphim Jarov, and Fynn Fafard – would be competing in the events.

First up was Christina Zozulya, who was joined by team Canada teammates Cindy Gao, Shirley Guo, and Ariane Leonard. Among the 34 countries competing in the team event, our Canadian girls were seeded 16th going into the competition. They were awarded a BYE into the round of 32, and would fence 17th seeded Hong Kong in their first direct elimination bout. The girls pulled out a fantastic 45-34 win over their Hong Kong opponents. Moving onto the round of 16 and the girls ran into team Italy, who were ranked first. Unfortunately, though the girls were primarily leading for the bulk of the bout, our Canadian’s lost 38-39 to the Italian’s – a nail-bitingly close bout throughout. This final bout landed team Canada in 13th place overall. Well done, girls!

Next was Seraphim Jarov and Fynn Fafard, alongside teammates Ted Vinnitchouk, and David Gornovsky. The boys were seeded 32nd out of 41 countries, placing them against the Netherlands in their first direct elimination bout. Though the boys put on a good show in the round of 64, they were unable to defeat the team NED, losing a close 39-41 bout. This resulted in a 34th place finish for the epee boys.

And with that, the epee competition came to a close. Well done to all of our BC and Canadian epeeists on their results, and safe travels home to you all. Day 4 will kick off the first day of the sabre competition, with Junior Men’s and Women’s Sabre individual events. Stay tuned!

Happy Easter weekend, and welcome to our coverage of day 1 of the 2018 Cadet/Junior World Championships in Verona, Italy!

Day 1 kicked off with the two individual epee events, and featured three of our five BC athletes. Christina Zozulya was first up in Junior Women’s Epee at a bright and early 8:30 am start. Before the event she was seeded 119th out of 152 competitors from all over the world. In her pool, she finished with 3 victories and 2 losses (both 5-3 defeats), which placed her in the middle of the ranks at 76th seed. Her first bout in the tableau of 128 was against Lola Lucani (FRA), who Christina defeated 15-7 to move onto the round of 64’s. Unfortunately, she then lost her second DE 6-15 to Alessandra Bozza (ITA), who was seeded 12th after pools. Christina will be fencing again tomorrow, April 2nd, in the Cadet Women’s Epee individual category! Good luck Christina!

Scheduled at 10:20 am was the Junior Men’s Epee individual event, where Fynn Fafard and Seraphim Jarov would be fencing for their chance at a world title. Fynn started his event seeded 69th going into his pool, and came out with 5 victories and only 1 loss to Neisser Loyola (BEL), which ended 5-3 for Loyola. After pools, he was nicely situated in 27th position which gained him a BYE into the round of 128. Fynn’s first opponent was Yegor Fateyev (KAZ), who he defeated 15-13. Into the 64’s and Fynn would be facing Alan Temiryaev (USA), though he would end up falling to the team USA member 111-15. He would then conclude the event in 39th place.

Seraphim was seeded 150th before the start of the event, and despite only having 7 athletes in his pool, he came out with 3 victories and only 2 defeats – losing to Jonathan Svensson (SWE) and Shiu Chung Law (HKG). Much like his club mate, Seraphim was also handed a BYE into the round of 128 with his 79th place seed after pools. However, he lost his first DE to Khasan Boudunov (KGZ) 4-6. This round of 128 loss would turned into a 95th place finish for Seraphim. Seraphim will be fencing tomorrow morning as well in the Cadet Men’s Epee individual category for another chance at victory!

Good job today, and good luck tomorrow to our two BC epee fencers!

For full results, please visit the competition website: http://www.fencingworldwide.com/en/competition/1722-17/global/

The 2018 March youth North American Cup took place from the 9th-12th in Baltimore, Maryland, and BC brought home some fantastic results.

On day 2 of the competition, Adam Wong (DYN) competed in Y-12 Men’s Foil, where he came out with a 5th place result. The day started bright and early at 8am, and Adam was already seeded in 3rd place going into his poule. He continued to strive by winning all of his poule bouts and going into the direct eliminations with a 4th place seeding. Wong’s high ranking provided him a BYE into the round of 128, where he faced James Garr (Freehold). He won this first bout handily 15-5, moving him up to the next round. His next bout was against Samuel Du (Olympia F.C.), who he defeated with another 15-5 final score. In the round of 32, Wong won his bout against Henry Liang ( 15-7. Another 15-7 bout was won by Wong in the round of 16 against Neel Dankar (Touche), and onto the top 8 it was! Unfortunately this is where Wong’s competition ended, as he lost his top 8 bout against Tei Kim (FAW) 12-15.

On the same day, another foil medal was won by Sabrina Fang (TFC). The Y-12 Women’s Foil event started at 1:30pm, and Fang was already seeded 7th. In her poule, Fang had 5 victories and only 1 loss agaisnt Mya Jassey (H3). Looking toward the first round of DE’s, Fang was seeded just below her initial ranking in 13th place. She was unable to secure a BYE through the first round, but still knocked out a 15-4 win against Elizabeth Welte (Rafa). In the round of 64, she faced Grace Gabrielle Gebala (AFM), where she defeated her opponent 15-9. Her top 32 bout was a close one against Phoebe Li (Silicon Valley FCTR). Fang won this bout by a mere 1 point, with an end result of 11-10 for our BC girl. In the round of 16, Fang was up against 4th seeded Ellen Wang (Gold F.C.), and she brought the fire back again with a 15-12 victory. Brainna Lee (Silicon Valley FCTR) was Fang’s last opponent in the Top 8, as she lost a nail-biting 15-14 bout to the American fencer. Sabrina concluded her event with a 6th place result. Congratulations to Sabrina and the whole TFC club!

Kyle Liu also had a notable top 16 finish in Y-12 Men’s Epee, where he snatched a 10th place finish. He started the day off ranked 14th among the rest of the Americans, and proved himself well by winning all of his poule bouts. Kyle came out of poules seeded 4th, which granted him a BYE through into the round of 128. He proceeded to annihilate his competition by winning his first DE 15-0 against Eliott Loiseau (E.D.L.). His second DE WAS AGAINST Armaan Chawla (Maryland F.C.) who he beat 15-8. In the round of 32, Kyle continued to make BC proud by winning a close 15-13 bout against Ankith Prasad (Alamo F.A.). Kyle’s journey ended in a very close top 16 bout against Simon Lioznyansky (Alliance F.A.), where he was defeated 15-14.

On March 11th, we had a few BC girls fencing in the Y-12 Women’s Epee event. Heidi Ding (DYN) fought well throughout the afternoon, and came out with another top 8 finish for BC. She started the event  ranked 14th, and won all of her poule bouts. Ding went into DE’s with a 7th place seeding and a BYE into the round of 64. She won her first bout 15-9 against Olivia Daniel (Fortune), moving her steadily into the round of 32. Her next bout was another 15-9 victory against fellow Canadian Emma Ning. Lauren Burn (Peoria) was Ding’s next bout, and for a third time in the competition, she pulled out another 15-9 win against the American. Ding’s final bout in the Top 8 round was against Alexandra Drovetsky (Medeo F.C.), where she was defeated 15-13. She finished the event in 7th place.

The medal of the weekend by far was GOLD in Y-10 Men’s Epee , which was won by Adrian Wong (DYN). He started the competition ranked 5th, which was the second highest seeding out of all of the Canadians. He demonstrated BC skill by winning all of his poule bouts, and advancing into the first round of DE’s seeded 7th. His hard work in poules paid off with a BYE into the round of 64. His first opponent was Jackson Marx (Fencers), who he defeated 10-8. In his top 32 bout against Joshua Oh (Precision AFC), Wong continued to shine with a 10-4 victory. Another brilliant bout was fenced between Wong and Sebastian Elwood (ACN), who Wong beat 10-3. At this point Wong had climbed the direct elimination ladder all the way into the top 8, fueled by his Dynamo Fencing family cheering him on. His top 8 bout was against Nickolas Rusadze (FAW), who our BC fencer knocked out with a 10-5 win. Into the semi-finals, and the adrenaline was building. A bronze medal was already secured for Wong, but that wouldn’t be enough for the BC fencer, so he showed no mercy as he faced Jayden Hooshi (5TFC), looking toward the gold medal match. Wong pulled through the semi with a fabulous 10-6 victory, and onto the final he went. His final opponent of the competition was Jeidus Deseranno (Renfenc), who had been ranked 4th after completing his poule, but this didn’t shake Wong. With his both his family, and his fencing family behind him for support, and his coaches at his side, Adrian Wong defeated the last fencer that stood in his way of the NAC title. The final score was 10-4 for our homegrown talent, and the gold medal would come home to BC. Congratulations to Adrian Wong on his fantastic display of BC fencing, and equal congratulations to the rest of the Dynamo Fencing Club on the result.

On March 12th, Derek Rong (DYN) competed in the Division 3 Men’s Epee event, where he brought home yet another top 8 result for BC. He was initially seeded 17th going into his poule bouts. The day started off a bit shaky for Rong, as he only won 1 of his poule bouts agaisnt Erik Marran (Manchen). Going into DE’s Rong was seeded 72nd, which didn’t set him up as well as he would have liked going forward in the competition. However, Rong seemed to regain his confidence after his first DE against Jacob Lei (NWFC), where he won 15-9. His next bout was equally as well-fought, as he finished the match with a 15-6 victory against Marc Hess (Alliance F.A.). Rong’s top 32bout was against 25th seed Ken Gauvey, who he defeated 15-11, standing him in good stead going into the round of 16. Adam Kirsch was Rong’s top 16 bout opponent, and he for a fourth time showed that it’s possible to rise to the top even when you start at the bottom. He won the bout against Kirsch 15-10, and moved into the top 8. Rong final bout of the day was fenced with Levente Szego (Capitol), and it was a close one. He fought his way from a 72nd place position, all the way to the top 8, but this final match would go to the American, who defeated out BC fencer 15-14. Rong completed the event in 8th place.

The competition was a great success for all of our BC fencers, with multiple medals, top 8 and 16 finishes, and prime sportsmanship. Congratulations again to all the medalists and their corresponding clubs, and we can’t wait to see what the future has yet to offer for our BC youth fencing programs. Go BC!

On March 3rd, four of our cadet and junior BC athletes traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica to represent Canada at the 2018 Pan American Championships. Alex Sun and Hunter Moricz competed in separate sabre events, while we had Fynn Fafard and Sadler McIntosh both fencing for a Junior Men’s Epee title.

Alex Sun fenced on the first day of the competition in Cadet men’s sabre, and started off the BC results well by finishing 7th overall.  Sun had an initial seed of 21st going into the event, and moved up to 12th after achieving 4 victories and only 2 losses in his poule. His first direct elimination was against Manuel Arce (MEX) who was seeded 21st, where Sun fought for a 15-14 victory. In the round of 16, he faced Roberto Mosalva (CHI), winning 15-11 and securing him a spot in the top 8. The next bout, however, Sun ran into fellow team Canada teammate Nicholas Dinu (CAN), where he was unfortunately defeated 15-8.

Our next BC fencer to compete was Hunter Moricz in Junior Men’s Sabre on March 6th. Moricz started out the event seeded 4th, and came out of his poule with 5 victories and only 1 loss to Brandon Romo (MEX). Going into DE’s, Moricz was seeded 6th, and his first bout was against Emiliano Eli Aalazar Aguilar (MEX). Despite his opponent’s 27th seeding, Moricz lost the top 32 bout 9-15 to the Mexican. He finished the event with a 17th place result, but he still had another chance at a medal in the Junior Men’s Sabre Team competition.

On March 8th, it was Fynn Fafard and Sadler McIntosh’s turns to fence for Canada and BC. Fynn was seeded 11th before poules, and pulled out a 5-1 result, losing only one bout to Gabriel Tabasta (VEN). In the direct elimination , Fafard’s 5th place seeding handed him a BYE straight into the round of 32. In his first DE he had to fence his Canadian teammate Steven Grams, where he came out victorious 15-8. His top 16 bout was against 12th place seeded Aldo Sanchez (MEX), where he lost 15-12. This top 16 finish gave Fafard a 10 place finish overall in the event.

Sadler McIntosh started the day in 28th place position, finishing poules with 4 wins and 2 losses. In 64’s, McIntosh’s 17th place seeding was enough to give him a BYE through the round, and directly into 32’s. His first bout was against Jorge Valderrama (CHI), where the Chilean defeated out BC fencer 15-12. McIntosh concluded the competition with a 20th place result.

March 9th was the last day of competition for our BC fencers, with Moricz competing one last time in Junior Men’s Sabre Team. Alongside him was Angelo Chiara, Pierre-Frederic Kaluza, and Spencer McPhedran. The team was seeded 2nd going into the event, only one below the top ranked USA team. Their first bout was against 7th seeded Puerto Rico, where our Canadians won 45-33. In the semi-finals Canada face Mexico, who had defeated Argentina in the round of 8. Canada won a close 45-43 bout against Mexico to put them through to the final against USA. Despite Canada’s strong wins throughout the event, they fell 27-45 against the United States in the gold medal bout. So, the Moricz and the team finished their Pan American competition with silver medals to bring home. Congratulations boys!

We would like to congratulate the boys on their results and all of their hard work, and wish them the best of luck with their qualifications for the 2018 Cadet and Junior World Championships in April! Well done to all of our Canadian fencers!