Tournament news · Region 4

Region 4 Tournament Watch: AFM Super Regional Is Almost Gone — and Four New Tournaments Just Opened

Saturday, September 12, 2026 · Bout-Buddy Editorial

Region 4 is still the busiest region in the country, and the story since our last report is two-sided. On one side, AFM Super Regional RYC/RJCC/ROC (Santa Clara) has gone from 24 full events to 28, with the last 11 nearly-full fields down to single-digit spots — Division IA Men's Epee had 10 spots left on Tuesday and has 2 today. On the other side, four USA Fencing tournaments in the region have just opened or been listed, with room in almost every event. If you missed AFM, this is where to look.

On the national side, October NAC Division I Men's Epee is wait-list only, and November NAC now has two events on the board: Division I Men's Epee is full and Junior Men's Epee is at 91% with 29 spots left. November NAC closes September 23.

Register now — deadline is close, or field is nearly full

Newly opened: four fresh tournaments with room

These are the ones to spend your attention on this week. Each one either opened registration in the last three weeks or was only just published by USA Fencing, so most fencers haven't seen them yet. Based on how this region fills, "plenty of room" is a temporary condition.

RYC/RJC of the Rockies — Denver, CO · Nov 13–15 · closes Nov 1

This one went live on USA Fencing's site on September 8 after sitting as a pre-announced placeholder all summer. It is the only regional youth cup in Region 4 between BBFC in early November and Nick Itkin in December, and it is the closest RYC/RJC for anyone in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Fill so far: 174 fencers across 24 events with 385 total spots, so it is under half full overall. The saber fields are tiny — Youth 14 Men's Saber and Youth 14 Women's Saber are capped at 7 and both are already full and wait-listed. If your fencer is a Y14 saberist, get on the wait-list now; if they are Y10 or Y12 saber, do not assume the same small cap will stay open. Youth 12 Men's Epee has 2 spots left, seven weeks before the deadline. Everything else has real room, including all four Junior events, Cadet foil and epee, and the Y10 fields. Foil and epee are where the space is.

Elite Cup RYC/RJCC — San Diego, CA · Jan 16–17, 2027 · closes Dec 28

Registration opened August 24 and the numbers show what happens when a well-known Southern California event opens: 724 fencers signed up in under three weeks, against 2,671 total spots. No event is at 80% yet, so it does not appear in our looming-caps table, but the leaders are moving fast. At the current pace the men's epee fields will cross 80% in October, well before the December 28 deadline. Saber and the Y8 events are wide open. This is the single best "register now, thank yourself later" tournament in the region right now.

Team.K — Pomona, CA · Feb 26–28, 2027 · closes Feb 1

Registration opened September 3 and Bout Buddy saw it flip from "not yet open" to "open" on September 4. It is a 36-event RYC/RJCC-style card covering Y8 through Junior in all three weapons, and it is essentially empty: 22 fencers total, with the busiest event (Youth 12 Men's Foil) at 4. USA Fencing has not published field caps for it yet, so we cannot report fill percentages, but there is no scenario in which any event is close. Why register now anyway: a late-February regional in Southern California is one of the last chances to compete at RYC/RJCC level before the spring qualifier season, and once caps are published this region's pattern is that youth foil and epee close first. Locking it in now costs nothing and saves you a scramble in January.

Mary Rafanelli RYC/RJCC — Pasadena, CA · Mar 12–14, 2027 · registration OPENS Sep 17

This listing appeared on USA Fencing today. It does not accept entries yet: registration opens Thursday, September 17 at 9:00am Pacific. The card is unusually large at 42 events, and it includes parafencing men's and women's events in all three weapons alongside the standard Y8 through Junior lineup. A 42-event RYC/RJCC in Pasadena in March will draw from all of Southern California, so expect it to fill the way AFM did. Put the 17th on the calendar and register the morning it opens.

Coming later, mark the date

Three more USA Fencing listings in the region are published but not open. None accepts entries yet; these are calendar reminders only.

Also open with room (AskFRED, next six weeks)

For fencers who want competition sooner than November, these local events are open and nowhere near full.

AFM Super Regional proved again that Region 4 fields close weeks before the deadline: four more events sold out in four days, and six of the remaining eleven dropped to four spots or fewer. The good news is that the next wave is already open. Denver in November is under half full, San Diego's Elite Cup in January is filling fast but has room in every event, Pomona in February is empty, and Pasadena in March opens Thursday morning. Register for the ones you want now, while "open" still means open.

National Tournaments

October NAC

Oct 9, 2026 – Oct 12, 2026 · Orlando, FL · USAF
Deadline: Sep 16, 2026
1 (0 nearly full · 1 full / wait-list)

November NAC

Nov 20, 2026 – Nov 23, 2026 · Columbus, OH · USAF
Deadline: Sep 23, 2026
2 (1 nearly full · 1 full / wait-list)

Region 4 Tournaments

Air Force ROC (D1A, DV2, VET), RJCC

Sep 12, 2026 – Sep 13, 2026 · Air Force Academy, CO · USAF
Deadline: Sep 11, 2026
10 (0 nearly full · 10 full / wait-list)

September Capital Foil & Epee Circuit: Unrated, Senior, Youth

Sep 12, 2026 · Sacramento, CA · ASKFRED
Deadline: Sep 10, 2026
1 (0 nearly full · 1 full / wait-list)

OC Division Y12/Y14/Sr/Vet Mixed Foil & Senior Epee

Sep 13, 2026 · Santa Ana, CA · ASKFRED
Deadline: Sep 9, 2026
1 (0 nearly full · 1 full / wait-list)

Saratoga September Open Youth Foil Tournament

Sep 13, 2026 · Saratoga, CA · ASKFRED
Deadline: Sep 12, 2026
1 (1 nearly full · 0 full / wait-list)

BladeRunner ROC/RJC

Sep 19, 2026 – Sep 20, 2026 · La Jolla, CA · USAF
Deadline: Sep 14, 2026
9 (0 nearly full · 9 full / wait-list)

PFA September Y8, Y10, Y12 & SANCTIONED Senior - All foil mixed events

Sep 19, 2026 – Sep 20, 2026 · Dublin, CA · ASKFRED
Deadline: Sep 17, 2026
1 (0 nearly full · 1 full / wait-list)

Fall Series: Unrated Senior Mixed Epee, Open Senior Mixed Epee. Unrated Senior Mixed Foil, Open Senior Mixed Foil

Sep 27, 2026 · Davis, CA · ASKFRED
Deadline: Sep 26, 2026
1 (0 nearly full · 1 full / wait-list)

SoCal Scholastic Fencing League Individual Foil #1

Oct 18, 2026 · Studio City, CA · ASKFRED
Deadline: Oct 14, 2026
1 (1 nearly full · 0 full / wait-list)

AFM Super Regional RYC/RJCC/ROC Div1A/Div2/Vet

Oct 23, 2026 – Oct 25, 2026 · Santa Clara, CA · USAF
Deadline: Sep 30, 2026
39 (11 nearly full · 28 full / wait-list)

3rd Annual BBFC RYC and Y8

Nov 7, 2026 – Nov 8, 2026 · Las Vegas, NV · USAF
Deadline: Oct 15, 2026
3 (3 nearly full · 0 full / wait-list)

RYC/RJC of the Rockies

Nov 13, 2026 – Nov 15, 2026 · Denver, CO · USAF
Deadline: Nov 1, 2026
3 (1 nearly full · 2 full / wait-list)

Nick Itkin Cup SYC & Vet ROC

Dec 11, 2026 – Dec 13, 2026 · Palm Springs, CA · USAF
Deadline: Nov 16, 2026
9 (3 nearly full · 6 full / wait-list)

Previous tournament news