The Northern California Division of USA Fencing is one of the oldest divisions among the many divisions of USA Fencing. It has a venerable history with many top fencers, home grown and immigrated, who competed and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Division is comprised of the the following California counties:
- San Francisco
- Marin
- Alameda
- Napa
- Sonoma
- Contra Costa
- San Mateo
Thus, it is bounded on the north by Sonoma, Menlo Park in the South, and Antioch/Livermore in the east. The largest concentration of fencers are in the San Francisco/Oakland area, although there is new growth in Sonoma and Contra Costa counties.
Currently, the Northern California Division is strong in foil and epee. Sabre is gaining in popularity and there are grassroots attempts by several clubs to provide higher level sabre instruction and competition. Most local competitions in the Northern California Division are held under the auspices of the Bay Cup, which helps coordinate the schedules from among the neighboring divisions, the Mountain Valley and Central California Divisions. By coordinating the schedules, the Bay Cup helps ensure good, consistently strong turn-outs at the Bay Cup competitions.