DCFC Fencers to Compete in Veteran World Fencing Championships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bethesda and Potomac Fencers to Compete in Veteran World Fencing Championships
October 31, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Fencers from Bethesda and Potomac, Md. will represent Team USA at the 24th Veteran Fencing World Championships, held November 12-20 in Manama, Bahrain. The world’s best veteran fencers – age 40 and above – will compete in epee, sabre, and foil in both individual and team events, representing the spirit of lifelong competition and camaraderie that defines fencing at every age. Asher and Foellmer are among the Team USA athletes who earned spots at “Vet Worlds” based on best two out of three results from the 2024-2025 USA Fencing national season. Both are members of DC Fencers Club in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Valerie Asher, 64, of Bethesda, Md. is the 2025 Vet 60 Women’s Epee U.S. National Champion, a 12-time member of the Vet World Team, and chair of USA Fencing’s Veteran’s committee. Asher brought home silver in the Veteran Team Women’s Epee event at the 2024 Vet Worlds in Dubai and gold in the same event at the 2022 Veteran World Championships in Zadar, Croatia. Asher is a physician specializing in Otolaryngology at the National Institutes of Health. Learn more about Asher’s fencing journey and her vision for expanding the sport in the USA Fencing podcast First to 15.
“I walked through the door of DC Fencers Club 25 years ago looking for a new workout. If you had told me that first night that I would one day represent the U.S. internationally, I would not have believed you. I am so grateful to the skilled and committed coaches at DCFC and to my training partners for making the unbelievable a reality,” said Asher.
Kristin Foellmer, 50 of Potomac, Md., wasted no time in making the Vet World Team. As a new Vet 50 fencer, she took gold and silver at national Vet 50 Women’s Epee events this season, punching her ticket to Worlds in Bahrain. Before her Vet career, she was a member of the U.S. Team, representing the United States at World Championships and on the World Cup circuit. Born in Germany and raised in Guilford, Conn., she is a four-time high school state champion, three-time NCAA All-American, and inducted in the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame.
“Vet fencing is such fun and I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to compete internationally again,” said Foellmer.
Over a 27-year period, DC Fencers Club has sent fencers to each and every Vet Worlds since they were first competed in 1998. DCFC’s own Kaz Campe took the World Champion title in Vet 60 Men’s Epee that year.
Veteran fencing (for ages 40+ to 70+) is a growing category that offers mature athletes an opportunity for serious competition in a sport that rewards mental acuity as much as physical agility. Since 2017, the US Fencing Association has also hosted Vet 80 exhibition events.
Stateside fans can cheer on Asher and Foellmer and all of Team USA with live results on the official Vet Worlds website.
About fencing competitions
Fencing competitions in all three weapons (sabre, epee, and foil) usually consist of two rounds of bouting. In the first round of “pools,” six to eight fencers compete in a round-robin of 5-touch/3 minute bouts. Pool results inform the seeding of the next round, Direct Elimination (aka “DEs”). These elimination bouts are 15 touch/9 minute bouts (10 touch/6 minute bouts in the veteran category. Winners of DE rounds advance to the table of 64, 32, 16, semifinals, and finals.
About DC Fencers Club
For more than 30 years, DC Fencers Club (DCFC) in Silver Spring, Md. has consistently produced national and international champions. We polish the skills of fencers who strive to compete at the highest level, and we encourage fencers of all ages and ability levels. For more information on classes, camps, and lessons, visit us at www.dcfencing.com or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
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