Fencers duel at 2025 Summer Nationals fencing tournament in Milwaukee
A fencer screams with joy after a bout at the 2025 Summer Nationals tournament hosted at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Milwaukee hosts the largest fencing event in the world, Summer Nationals, featuring over 6,000 participants.
- Fencing is accessible to individuals of all ages, body types, and abilities.
Passionate screams – some joyful, some stemming from frustration – echo off the walls of Milwaukee’s Baird Center as the largest fencing event in the world runs rampant.
The Summer Nationals tournament features 6,124 fencers participating this year. A recent expansion of the Baird Center to 1.3 million square feet − the fencers are using about 350,000 square feet − made hosting the event in Milwaukee possible for the first time.
“It’s been amazing to see how much the sport has grown,” 2024 USA Olympian Hadley Husisian said.
For more than a decade, the women’s epee fencer, now 21 years old, has been attending Summer Nationals, and she encouraged locals to come and give the niche sport a chance to impress them.
“It’s interesting to see sword fighting,” Husisian said. “Most people don’t hear about fencing unless they happen to tune in once every four years.”
Despite fencing being one of just five sports contested at every Olympics since 1896, most people lack familiarity with the sport. Here are some takeaways from the tournament, which is free to attend and runs through July 7.
Fencing is for everyone
Marvel comic legend Stan Lee once said that “anyone could be Spiderman,” noting that anybody could wear the mask and make a difference. Although fencers may not be superheroes, anyone can be found under one of the masks.
That means any race, height, gender or body size, whether in or out of a wheelchair, can be found on one of the 99 strips where the athletes fenced against one another.
“There isn’t one body type that is automatically better than others,” Husisian said. “I don’t come from an athletic background, and I don’t think I would find success in any other sport, but this is a mix of athleticism, strategy and your individual style.”
You can fence at any age
Not only are all body types welcome on the piste – also known as the strip – but competitors of all ages are also welcome.
Summer Nationals features competitors younger than 10 and older than 80, showcasing the varying levels of skill sets and athletic abilities against peers in their brackets.
Milwaukee Bucks minority owner Jeff Weber participated in the Veteran-60 men’s saber after 25 years away from the sport.
“I started fencing in New York when I was about 10 years old and ended up fencing until my early 30s,” Weber said. “When I saw that the US Nationals were going to be in Milwaukee, I decided that this was a tournament I really wanted to be in.”
Weber joked that he isn’t as good at fencing as he was back when he was participating in Nationals as a teenager, but said that he enjoyed getting back to competing and enjoyed being trained in recent months by his coach, Eli Dershwitz, a three-time Olympian and one of four Olympians competing in the tournament.
Competitors have different approaches
As fencers dueled in an attempt to score 15 points and win their bouts, shouting could be heard coming from all directions. Coaches shouted instructions to their athletes, athletes shouted in the heat of the moment and fans cheered on the sidelines.
For some competitors, though, tuning out the noise was their key to success.
“Everyone’s style, mentality, and approach to each bout is what leads to their individual success,” Husisian said. “People have different approaches to it. Lots of people are super fiery; they get really riled up and like to scream and have a sort of fighter mentality. I’m a bit calmer on the strip. I try to focus and tune out my environment. I do better when I’m a little bit numb.”
Seeing who is fiery versus who is more reserved made for some interesting matchups, as some fencers were more patient than others.
The action is immediate
With fencers each attempting to score 15 points first, every moment is filled with action or suspense from the second the referee shouts, “On guard!”
Picture the action sequences that take place in Pirates of the Caribbean or Star Wars movies, and you’ve got an idea of what to expect during a fencing match.
The piste is a narrow area roughly two meters wide, making it difficult to avoid contact in this action-filled sport where the fencers compete as they lunge at one another and attempt to connect with their opposition
If you’re interested in seeing some of the action, the tournament opens its doors at the Baird Center every day at 8 a.m. until it wraps up on July 7. For the full schedule of action and live results, go to usafencing.org/summer-nationals-2025.
