The United States Fencing Association's premier junior event of the season, the Junior Olympic Fencing Championships, will be held at Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver, February 16-19, 2007.

Almost 1,700 fencers will compete in age groups for Championship titles in 12 events. The competition will also be the final domestic selection competition for athletes trying to qualify for the United States team to the World Junior & Cadet Fencing Championships to be held in Belek, Turkey, April 10-18, 2007.

The Junior Olympic Fencing Championships have attracted fencers from almost all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. Many local competitors are expected, as well. With many of the fencers accompanied by parents, siblings, and coaches, it is expected that the competition will bring Denver at least 4,000 visitors.

Events will be held in the Under-20 and Under-17 age categories in the six fencing weapons: men's and women's foil, epee, and saber. Fencers as young as 13 years of age may qualify.

States with the largest number of fencers at the J.O.s are New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado and Massachusetts. Athletes were required to qualify through either their local qualifying competitions or at National point events that began in October.

Many members of the 2006 Junior World Championships teams are scheduled to compete and attempt to earn berths to this year's Championships. This is an excellent opportunity to see some of the country's finest athletes in action, many of whom hold the promise of becoming future Olympians.

The public is invited to attend all events free of charge. Competition starts Friday, Feb. 16 at 8:30 a.m. and will continue through the early evening with finals each afternoon and evening.

About the Junior Olympics
The Junior Olympics began in 1972 in Niles, Ill. with 100 fencers in four events. The event has grown consistently throughout the years; in 1996 the enormous growth of the tournament required the need to focus on two age groups the Under-17 and the Under-20 (Cadet and Junior). This year's Junior Olympics is one of the largest in recent years.

About the USFA
The U.S. Fencing Association is the National Governing Body for the sport in the U.S., is a member of the the U.S. Olympic Committee and international fencing federation. The USFA selects athletes for the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, World Championships and World University Games and is responsible for developing programs for international success as well as grassroots development of the sport.

Notes
Top Locals: 57 competitors from Colorado are scheduled to compete. Several from Colorado are among the top competitors in various events, including:

Nicholas Chinman, Boulder, Colo: U-20 Men's Foil and U-20 Men's Epee.In 2005, Chinman pulled off a feat no other fencer in recent history has -- he represented the U.S. in six events at the 2005 Junior and Cadet World Championships: Junior and Cadet individual Foil and Epee, plus the Junior Foil and Epee Team events. He earned the silver in the Under-17 foil event.

World Champions: Two fencers scheduled to compete in Denver have earned the title of World Champion! Jackie Jacobson (17, Dunwoody, Ga./Nellya Fencers) and Caroline Vloka (16, Upper Saddle River, N.J./Fencers Club) were members of the 2006 Junior Women's Saber World Championships team which earned the team gold last year.