About the AFL
From AFLwiki, promoting the art and sport of standard fencing in America
The American Fencing League was formed after several years of discussion by a group of fencers and fencing masters in the Pacific Northwest that included Maestri Charles Selberg, John McDougall, and James Ciaramitaro, as well as fencing teachers Rafael Villarreal, Michael Heggen, Mitch Kief, and others. We wanted opportunities for competitive fencing that:
- Were visually judged (as opposed to being judged by a machine);
- Recognized the distinct differences between the three weapons of modern fencing; and,
- Allowed for longer fencing phrases.
The discussions eventually concluded that today’s post-modern electrical fencing resulted from an evolutionary branching that began in the 1950s and solidified in the early 1980s. We realized that it was time to stop fighting with the post-modernists within the American fencing community and concede that there were now, in fact, two different forms of fencing: post-modern (electrical) fencing as practiced by the USFA and modern (standard) fencing as practiced by fencers who had chosen the other evolutionary fork in the road.
The two games are different enough now that we believe that there are a goodly number of current fencers and many, many potential fencers who will be interested in one game, but not the other. Those who were interested in USFA fencing had no shortage of ways to explore their interest. We wanted those who were interested in pre-electric modern fencing to opportunities for competition, too!
Beginning in 2000, local fencing tournaments were run in Salem, Oregon using modified FIE rules to allow for visual judging. In January of 2004, the first regional tournament was held in Salem. More tournaments followed, drawing fencers from clubs all over the Pacific Northwest. Serious talk began about forming a new national fencing organization.
In Salem in November 2004, AFL draft rules were used in competition for the first time. They were based heavily on the (pre-electric) 1940 rules of the old Amateur Fencers League of America. Rules revisions and tournaments continued, with each tournament bigger than the last.
On March 25, 2005, the AFL was incorporated in Salem, Oregon. After an initial organizational period to revise the rules and write bylaws, the AFL began accepting members on January 1, 2006. No national championships were held in the 2005-6 season due to the small size of the organization, but the AFL did hold its first National Division divisional championships on May 20-21, 2006 in Salem, Oregon. The event also marked the revival of three-weapon fencing in America, with the first individual and team three-weapon events held in more than 30 years.
The first AFL National Championships were held August 25-26, 2007 in Salem, Oregon. The second Nationals were held in Ashland, Virginia on July 19-20, 2008 and marked the first first time that the East Coast met the West Coast. We all had a really good time, with several "old-timers" who had fenced in the 1950s and 1960s saying it was "just like the old days."
We look forward to many more seasons of great competition in the years to come!
Does standard fencing sound like it's your cup of tea? Then join us!
