All the information is new this week so I am going to go pretty far ahead into the future.
But first the past. Yesterday, the CFFA homeschool fencers who compete as the Southeastern Cardinals had a match against the Oak Ridge Mustangs and Twin City Narwhals. They won both matches by the nail biting score of 45-43. Ethan Kundrat, Zack Maroules, Philip Nazzaro, and Kyler Schoonmaker competed for the Cardinals.
Today is the last day to sign up for the Divisional qualifiers. They are next weekend in Greensboro to qualify you for National Championships in Salt lake City this summer. Events contested are the Div II (C and under), Div III (D and under), and Y-14 (ages 11-14). Many of them will be strong competitions even if you are not looking to go to the Nationals. Men’s foil is already a C event, epee should be one, and sabre might make a D event. For the women, epee might reach a C event, foil has a number of fencers, but sabre is smallish. Check askfred for the days and times and to get preregistered.
Tuesday, a reporter will be in to do an article on Erica for Our State magazine. It would be nice to have a good crowd fencing in the background. Otherwise a regular week of practice.
A number of new classes start the first full week in March. The next afterschool beginner class starts Monday, March 6. The new evening adult class starts Tuesday, March 7. A homeschool beginner class starts Wednesday, March 8. Finally, the next Camp Lejeune class will start Friday evening, March 10.
March 11 is the homeschool league A team Championship at Oak Ridge. The Cardinals are 5-1 on the season, but most of them have been very close. They would probably be the favorites, but not prohibitively so.
March 18 is the John Martin Memorial in New Bern. This is an unsanctioned training tournament with foil at 9 am and epee at 1 pm. That makes it the perfect type of event for people wanting to put their toe in the water of competition. You will need a full uniform (knickers and underarm protector) so make certain we know if you want to go. New Bern is looking to add a y-12 foil which would start a little after the adult foil. I will give sword points for it to New Bern fencers or to our fencers who want to go up there. They also want to make it a training tournament for prospective referees. At sanctioned events referees have to have the professional membership, but they won’t for this one. The idea is to have the newer referees work with more experienced referees and get observed and constructively criticized. Solid referees are in short supply in the state, so if you are interested you can pay off the professional membership with just a couple of days of work. I am going up to referee and should have space for at least a couple of people (fencers or refs). New Bern provides an excellent lunch for the fencers and refs which is pretty much worth the entry fee by itself. Check askfred for further updated details and to get signed up.
March 18 also has a sanctioned Women’s epee and Open epee that may get up to a B at the Charlotte Academy of Fencing. Again, check askfred.
The next CFFA event is the Almost April Fools on March 25. It has Open mixed foil at 9:30 am, Open mixed epee at 12:30 pm, and a D and under mixed sabre at 3:30 pm. The epee is on its way to being at least a B, the foil is small at the moment, and hopefully we can get enough sabre fencers and enough with Ds and Es that we can give away a D. Check on askfred and get signed up now to attract people.
That Saturday is also the homeschool individuals at the moment. Obviously, I will be here in Wilmington. All of our A team fencers are qualified so can go and compete without me.
The weekend of April 1-2 is the Ned Light RYC at Mid-South. This has Y-10, Y-12, and Y-14 events for our fencers who are ready to step up into regional competition. These can help qualify you for National events, but you will be up against the best fencers in the Southeast. Check askfred and talk with me to make certain you have the gear you need.
Finally, our next Y-12 competition will be on April 8. Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm. $5 per event. Training referees welcome. I hope to have two more events after that; one in early May and the final event in late May or the first weekend in June.
pax vobiscum,
Greg Spahr
Head Coach
Cape Fear Fencing Association
Head Coach
Cape Fear Fencing Association
“The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.” Damon Runyon
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