North American Cup D & E
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Welcome!

Escrime Du Lac welcomes fencers, families, and friends to South Bend for two exciting weekends of top-level competition. We will make every effort for this to be a rewarding experience for all. We will use this web space to inform visitors of local activities before the tournament, and to provide those back home updated (if unofficial) results each day of the events

The Venue:

Both NAC's will be held at the Century Center in South Bend Indiana. This beautiful convention center designed by Phillip Johnson is located in the heart of downtown. It is also directly connected to the downtown Marriott hotel. Food is available at a new cafe which has opened up in the Century Center, and a Burger King is located on the lower level in the tunnel leading to the College Football Hall of Fame. Some useful links are:

• The The Century Center
• The Floor Plan. The event will be held in ballrooms A and B, and the parking lot entrance is off the corridor between ballrooms B and C. Century Center event parking is $2.
• A map of the downtown area, showing the venue with a cross.

The Events

The schedules for the events are determined by the USFA, so you will have to check the USFA web pages for updates. During the competitions we will provide postings of the unofficial results each day. An index of these results is provided here for the cadet/youth tournament and here for the open/junior tournament.

The Hotel:

The primary venue hotel is the downtown South Bend Marriott. This is a pleasant hotel which is across the street from the venue, and is connected to it via a skyway - which may be an advantage in South Bend Januarys!

There are many other hotels in the area, including some nearby historic bed and breakfasts, the downtown Holiday Inn at 213 W. Washington St., a few blocks away, and the Signature Inn, a couple of miles north, close to Notre Dame.

Please note that to get the USFA rate on the venue hotels, registration must go through the South Bend Housing Bureau Coordinator, PO Box 1677, South Bend, IN 46634-1677. FAX 219-289-0358. Housing forms are also available through the USFA.

Local Activities:

According to some people, there is actually more to life than fencing. If you feel the same, you can have alot of fun during your visit outside the venue. There is -alot- to do in South Bend, even in January! We give below a few events and activities which you might want to check out while you are here:

• The Century Center itself contains the Warner Gallery, a pleasant if small art museum and attached museum shop. Also, on Sunday, January 11, the Century Center is hosting the annual Bridal Exposition in the Great Hall on the level below the fencing venue. This is a fairly large area event with about 60 vendors and a couple of fashion shows. Parking at the Century Center is liable to be a bit difficult that afternoon.
  
  
• The College Football Hall of Fame is a relatively recent local landmark. It is across the street from the venue, and is actually connected by an underground tunnel. Admission prices vary from $4 to $9.
  
  
• The Northern Indiana Center for History and Copshaholm House Museum, 808 W. Washington, is fairly close to the venue (about 10 blocks (1/2 mile) due west). Copshaholm is a beautiful stone Romanesque mansion built in the late 19th century by the Oliver family. If you like old houses, this is one you really don't want to miss.
  
  
• If you like to eat in old houses, try lunch at Tippecanoe Place restaurant at 620 W. Washington. This was the mansion that was built by the Studebaker family (they actually made their money in covered wagons, not cars) and is remarkably similar to Copshaholm in design. They serve dinner there too, but lunch is a whole lot cheaper (it is a moderately fancy restaurant).
  
  
• The Studebaker National Museum is located at 525 S. Main, only four blocks south of the venue. The classic Studebaker was made in South Bend, and the museum contains both these and other classic cars.
  
  
• The premier tourist attraction in the South Bend area is Notre Dame. The campus has many attractions, ranging from a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes to the Snite Museum of Art. The University is located just a couple of miles to the northeast of downtown.
  
  
• There are a number of sources of information on local activites. The best that we know of are:
  
  
  Yahoo's local compendium,
  
  The Michiana FreeNet
  
  The South Bend Tribune
  
  and, the best of them all, The List. This last source is a compendium of all of the activities in the greater Michiana area, updated each week (e.g., the list covering Monday - Sunday is updated on Monday afternoon). While this guide is very useful, it is also very slow and more than a little buggy - often transmission will fail before the whole table downloads, leaving you with a blank screen. Just hit reload until it finally comes through.

Acknowledgements:

Conclusion:

(e-mail: Pratt.1@nd.edu)