Maddie Burks trains at NCF Boulder and represented the United States at the 2025 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru. She earned a silver medal in Youth Women’s Epee, an international result that places her among the top young epee fencers in the Western Hemisphere.
Training at NCF
Maddie is one of 5 A-rated epee fencers currently training at NCF. Her development has been guided by the same coaching methodology that has produced 46 individual national champions over 47 years.
Her trajectory illustrates what is possible when a young fencer trains in an environment that prioritizes long-term development over short-term results. The technical foundation, tactical sophistication, and competitive resilience required to medal at the Pan American level don’t emerge from casual training. They are built systematically, over years, by coaches who have done it before.
What Her Results Mean
For prospective families, Maddie’s 2025 Pan American medal answers a critical question: is this program producing results right now?
Gary Copeland’s USOC Coach of the Year award validates his career. Jasmine McGlade’s Harvard All-American career validates the developmental pathway. Maddie Burks’s 2025 medal validates the current training environment. NCF is not coasting on historical achievements. The program is producing international medalists today.
The Pathway
Maddie’s development followed NCF’s structured approach: foundational technique, progressive competitive exposure, national-level competition, and international selection. The coaching staff’s experience with 64 World and Pan American team selections means they understand exactly what it takes to develop fencers who compete at this level.
For families considering fencing as a college pathway, Maddie’s international results represent the kind of competitive profile that earns attention from NCAA coaches at the nation’s most elite programs.