NEWS
Equipment checks, coaching between bouts and families on the sidelines framed a youth-heavy morning of foil, épée and sabre at the Hilton Riverside.
By Kim M. Braud | October 17, 2026
NEW ORLEANS - Before the action began, there were equipment checks. Between bouts, there was feedback from coaches. Alongside the competition, there was a family atmosphere as young fencers took their places at the Louisiana Division Three-Weapon Open on Saturday, October 17.
Hosted by New Orleans Fencers Club at the Hilton Riverside fitness center, the tournament offered a closer look at a local sporting community built around foil, épée and sabre, the three disciplines of Olympic fencing.
Jonathan Cohen, the Louisiana Division's local organizing committee event manager, said ahead of the tournament that approximately 25 fencers, ranging from 8 to 68 years old, were expected at the two-strip event. A strip is the narrow competition area where a fencing bout takes place.
During the morning's youth competition, coaches offered young athletes feedback as they navigated a sport that demands attention to distance, timing and an opponent's movements. Family members were part of the setting, giving the competition the feel of a community gathering.
The preparation behind each bout
The preparation was also part of the story. Referees checked weapons before bouts, a deliberate step before the quick exchanges that followed. Fencers connected to cords running to retractable reels, part of the electronic system used to register touches.
For a newcomer watching from the sidelines, those details help explain a sport whose action can unfold in seconds.
Each weapon presents a different challenge. In foil, fencers score with the tip of the blade on the torso. In épée, the entire body is a valid target, with touches also scored using the tip. Sabre permits scoring with the edge or tip of the blade on the upper-body target area, excluding the hands.
Saturday's published program included youth events in all three weapons, mixed competitive events and a foil division for E-rated and unrated competitors.
A club and a calendar that are growing
The tournament also offered an introduction to the work of New Orleans Fencers Club, which provides instruction in all three weapons and makes equipment available to beginners at its Metairie training location.
Larger competitions are on the horizon, according to Cohen. He said a 15-strip regional event was planned for November 14–15 at the same Hilton location. He also described plans for a four-day event at the New Orleans convention center in October 2027, with 56 strips and approximately 3,000 fencers expected, including parafencers.
On Saturday morning, the focus was closer to home: young athletes learning through competition, coaches offering guidance and families sharing in the experience.
Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South, and the author of Financial Power for Life™, a financial literacy framework that helps people earn, protect, grow, leverage, and transfer wealth. Her reporting focuses on government, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities, with a commitment to highlighting progress and the people doing meaningful work in a news landscape often dominated by conflict and crisis.
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