Home Media Press Releases U.S. Fencing Announces Team to the 2007 Junior & Cadet World Championships
U.S. Fencing Announces Team to the 2007 Junior & Cadet World Championships
Frequently Asked Questions - Ind
For Immediate Release
April 2, 2007
U.S. Fencing
Announces Team to the 2007 Junior & Cadet World Championships
The United
States Fencing Association (USFA) announces the roster of young
athletes who will represent the United States at the 2007 Junior and
Cadet World Championships in Belek, Turkey, April 10-18, 2007.
The
Championships are held every year by the Federation Internationale
d'Escrime (FIE), the international governing body of the sport of
fencing.
Three athletes
have been selected by the USFA in each weapon (men's epee, foil, and
saber; women's epee, foil and saber) for the two age categories,
Cadet (Under-17) and Junior (Under-20).
The
Championships includes individual competitions in each age group and
weapon, plus Junior Team competitions in each weapon. Four fencers –
three fencers plus one substitute -- compete on each team.
In 2006, the
U.S. contingent earned a record 11 medals -- ten individual and one
team -- and finished third in the Nations Cup count. This year's
challenge is to surpass that count.
The goal is
well within reach. Many members of this year's team are veterans of
one or more Championships teams, including several who reached the
medal podium.
Rebecca Ward
(17, Portland, Ore.), last year's triple World Champion (Cadet,
Junior and Senior World Champion), returns to the competition this
year ranked #1 in the world Junior standings. She will anchor the
Junior women's saber team which will attempt to defend its 2006
title.
Other returning
medalists include Caroline Vloka (silver, 2006 Cadet saber event and
bronze in the Junior individual and gold in the team event); Graham
Wicas, the 2006 Cadet men's epee champion (17, Philadelphia, Pa.);
Raskyrie Davidson (18, Newark, N.J.), Cadet men's saber bronze
medalist; and Courtney Hurley (16, San Antonio), the 2006 Cadet
women's epee world champion and now ranked #15 in the world senior
women's epee standings.
The U.S. is
rapidly gaining international recognition by the international medal
performances of its young fencers; in 1992, Felicia Zimmermann won
the first World Championship medal since 1975. U.S. fencers have
earned multiple medals every single year since 1994.
History of the
Championships
The World
Under-20 Championships was first hosted in 1950 by the Federation
Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) and included men's foil. Men's saber
was added in 1952, followed by men's epee in 1955, women's foil in
1956, women's epee in 1989 and women's saber in 1999. The World
Under-17 Championships began in 1987. The two championships have
been held together since 1993. Last year's championships were held
in Taebek, South Korea. More than 100 countries are members of the
FIE, including the U.S. The USFA is the national governing body for
the sport in the United States.
Roster:
Cadet Men's
Foil
Enzo Castellani
(16, Keller, Texas/Fenc., Inst. Of Texas)
Media 
