May 5, 2008

This will be the Youth Edition.

People are starting to sign up for our summer camps.  If you are getting this through e-mail, (and are between 10 and 18) you are advanced enough to sign up for the advanced camp, July 14-18.  Of course, if you feel you would benefit more from retaking a beginner level, you can.  The beginner camps are July 21-25 for campers 13-17 and July 28- August 1 for campers 10-13.  Let your friends know!  Information, including registration and payment, can be done online through capefearfencing.com.  You can also mail the registration in to PO Box 961, Wilmington, NC 28402.  If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me or ask them in the forum.

One reason to attend the summer camps is to get ready for the fencing season.  I have put out the information before, but never really got much response.  We have the opportunity to get into a fencing league next fall.  The rules for how to make up teams gets a bit complicated, but basically they are 3 person foil teams (sorry, no epee or sabre yet).  You can compete for your school (with their permission), or for those who are homeschooled, or cannot get three fencers from you school, you can compete as a CFFA team.  Please, please, let me know if you are interested.  There should be at least one team from WAAS, at least one from CFFA, one from St. Mary\'s, maybe teams from Hoggard and Ashley, and possibly some I don\'t know about. 

Zach fenced at Junior sectionals yesterday, but I haven\'t heard how it went.

Tuesday, May 6th  People might want to show up a little early to put the overheads back up.  New beginner and intermediate classes start - 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm respectively.  Get the word out.  An epee handicap McDougal at about 7:30 pm.  Through the generous donation of Mike Kinney, we now have a second place trophy for the McDougal.  Not to comment on the aesthetics of the trophies, but it is sort of like the old joke, \"The winner gets a week in beautiful downtown Podunk.  Second place is two weeks in beautiful downtown Podunk.\"

Friday, May 9th  The first night of CFFA fencing in Jacksonville at the New River Baptist Church on Harget Street.  If you are already a CFFA member, fencing there is free.  $5 floor fee for non-members.   Fencers will be in from Jacksonville and New Bern, so this will be an opportunity to fence some new people.  If you are interested, keep in touch with me so we can carpool.  Fencing will be from approximately 7-10 pm.  We hope to attract people from the base and build up a growing satellite affiliate.

Lynn has not heard anything more from the \\\"Amazing Race\\\" takeoff.  If it occurs, she will need about half a dozen people to help her pull it off.  It would start at 7 pm and end by 7:45 pm.  More info as I get it.

Saturday, May 10th  No morning practice as we have a demo at the Celebrate Hampstead Festival.  We will need to be there about 1:15 pm and check in at the Gazebo.  We have a half hour stage demo from 1:45 -2:15.  We then have an hour of fencing off stage where we can talk to people.  Here are directions:                                                                     Take 17North to Hampstead                                                                             Go 2 miles past the Food Lion (on the right)                                  Hampstead Village Park is on the right.                                                  There should be signs for the festival.

Sunday, May 11th   Touche has epee and sabre events on this date.

Saturday, May 17th  Tournament at Raleigh for all three weapons.  I have noticed that a number of you do better when you are not involved in running the tournament, so this might be a good one to go to.  Again, we can work out the carpool thing.

Saturday, May 24th  Our Stab-a-thon tournament  Foil and Epee with repechage from 16-8.  That means if you make it to the top 16 it becomes a double elimination tournament to get to the top 8.  It then reverts to single elimination.  The format will give some of you a better shot at making the top 8.  However, it is a more labor intensive format, so we can use all the help we can get.

Pax vobiscum,

Greg