What are the Junior Olympics in Fencing?
The Junior Olympics in fencing have nothing to do with the Olympic Games, but they can lead you there.
The road to the Olympic Games is long; see here how to become an Olympian!
The Junior Olympics Championship is an event for Cadets and Juniors (over 13 years old) and is held yearly in January (formerly in February, on Presidents’ Day weekend).
Essentially, the JOs are the National Championships for Under-20 fencers, and were the brainchild of Rev. Lawrence Calhoun, a priest at Notre Dame High School in Niles, Illinois.
Interesting fact: reverend Calhoun eventually became chairman of the Illinois Division of the Amateur Fencers League of America, now USA Fencing.
Read here about the origins of the Junior Olympics, courtesy of the Southern California Division of USA Fencing, including the lists of winners cca. 200 to today.
Why is it important?
The Junior Olympics is the last chance for cadets and juniors to qualify for the Junior and Cadet World Championship, held every April.
Even though the qualification changes a bit from year to year, generally there are three ways to qualify:
Qualification paths are published beforehand on the USA Fencing website
These are the updated qualification requirements for the 2024-25 season:
CADET
- Fencers must meet eligibility AND
- Be on the Cadet National Rolling Point Standings (NRPS) at the regular fee entry deadline OR
- Earn at least 110 regional points on either the Cadet or Junior Regional Point Standings (Total points = an athlete’s top two point results) OR
- Be in the top 25 percent (round up) of their division’s Cadet JO qualifying competition OR
- Be in the top 25 percent (round up) of their division’s Junior JO qualifying competition (Junior event must occur first) OR
- For EPEE ONLY: the top 3 (on Modern Pentathlon Point Standings) USA Fencing Modern Pentathlon fencers will be eligible to compete in the JO epee events without qualifying by any other means. USA Modern Pentathlon fencers MUST be USA Fencing members
JUNIOR
- Fencers must meet age eligibility AND
- Be on the Junior national rolling point standings (NRPS) at the regular fee entry deadline OR
- Earn at least 110 regional points on the Junior Regional Point Standing (Total points = an athlete’s top two point results) OR
- Be in the top 25 percent (round up) of their division’s Junior JO qualifying competition OR
- For EPEE ONLY: the top 3 (on Modern Pentathlon Point Standings) USA Fencing Modern Pentathlon fencers will be eligible to compete in the JOI epee events without qualifying by any other means. USA Modern Pentathlon fencers MUST be USA Fencing members
The Junior Olympics are held almost half a year before other major competitions (which happen in the summer) because the age cut-off aligns with the international championships and the world championships.
If it didn’t work this way, aged-out cadets and juniors starting right after the competition wouldn’t be able to participate fully the next year to qualify for the World Championships.
See here why your real birthday and your fencing birthday are different.
Did you know?
Olympia Fencing Center students have won three Junior Olympic medals:
2017: Robert Hondor wins the Cadets Men’s Épée
2018: Emily Vermeule wins Cadet Women’s Épée, and Hunter Candreva wins Cadet Men’s Épée.
As a direct result of their Junior Olympics placements, all these fencers made the US Cadet Team and later traveled to Cadet and World Cups to win multiple individual and team titles.
During their college years, they became NCAA medalists and had amazing team and individual results.
Other important links: