The U.S. Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) is an association of United States

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

coaches, and was established in 1941. It is a national academy of the Academie d'Armes Internationale (AAI), the world organization of

fencing master Masters of Defence or Masters of Fencing is a widespread guild of teachers specializing in close combat military techniques with weapons, civilian fighting skills, and unarmed combat. The title was coined during the medieval period, and referred to ...

s, which has as members more than 20 nations. It is also a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), and cooperates with the

United States Fencing Association The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded in 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of New York fencers seeking indepe ...

(USFA) in supporting the development of fencing in the United States. Since 2014 the association has been headed by Peter Burchard.

Functions

One of its major functions is to increase the competency of fencing teachers by testing, certifying, and accrediting three levels: fencing instructors (qualified to teach beginners), prevosts (qualified to coach teams and to teach intermediate-level fencers), and masters (qualified to work at the highest level of national and international competitive fencing).

Notable coaches

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Head Coach Michel Sebastiani was twice awarded the USFCA Schreff Sword, which the Association gives yearly to the most outstanding college fencing coach of the year as voted on by his peers. He received the award both in 1994 and 2006. The Schreff Sword is an engraved silver Glamdring

broadsword The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages. This varie ...

resting on a red velvet cushion. Muriel Bower was the first woman Fencing Master accredited in the United States, in 1976.

Nikki Franke Nikki Franke (born March 31, 1951) is an American former fencer and fencing coach. She fenced for Brooklyn College, and was an All American. She competed in the women's individual and team foil events at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and fenced at ...

, an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

while fencing for

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

and later a coach at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, was named the USFCA Coach of the Year four times (in 1983, 1987, 1988 and 1991).

Publication

''The Swordmaster'' is the official publication of the USFCA.

References

{{Reflist

External links

USFCA homepage
National Collegiate Athletic Association Sports organizations established in 1941

Fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

College fencing in the United States 1941 establishments in the United States