Just a reminder that I will be away Thursday evening (Afterschool will still meet) to help our athletes at the NAC (North American Cup) in Richmond.
Although this is not as attractive an opportunity as it was before gas prices shot up, I would still tell everyone to consider a trip up to see the NAC. Hopefully many of you want to compete at National events in the future and the first time you walk into one of these you will almost be certainly hit by the OMG factor. Imagine 90 – 100 strips of fencing, hundreds of fencers milling around, and an overall crowd in the thousands. Better to see that as a spectator then to be dealing with it your first time on the National stage. If you do decide to travel up, let me know when you would be going and if I am not helping one of our fencers at that point, I can try to show you around. This may be the closest one of these events will be to Wilmington for a while.
Another reason to attend is that most, if not all, of the big fencing equipment manufacturers will be there. You can compare prices, maybe see products that a certain manufacturer has that are exclusive to their brand, and save on shipping. If you go and see something you like, talk with Herman or me before buying as we have club deals with more than just Absolute. If you want us to pick up something or look for something, contact Herman or me and we can look for it. (The sooner you contact us, the better.)
On a different front, Marek Stepien, the coach at Hargrave Military Academy, has organized a high-level epee camp at the Academy for this summer. The date is July 31 – August 9 and he is bringing in a number of international level instructors, including the coach of the last Olympic gold medalist. It is a touch pricy, $1650, but I believe that includes the room and board for your time at the camp. (I am assuming it is through the Academy’s housing and food service.) Let me know if you want more information.
Finally, the schedule for the first few NACs of next season is up and it is not horrible for us. Unfortunately, with the exception of JO’s, the events have not been listed yet. The October NAC will be in Orlando, Florida, October 9-12. November’s NAC will be in Columbus, Ohio, from the 10th to the 13th. The JO’s (Cadet and Junior Championships) are listed for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, January 8-11. It is also listed as a NAC so there will be other events, probably a set of Div 1s.
pax vobiscum,
Greg Spahr
Head Coach
Cape Fear Fencing Association