CFFA update for April 10

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for April 10
 
Results from the Richmond NAC.  On Friday Joe McLaughlin fenced the combined Vet’s sabre.  He went 1-5 in his pool, lost his first DE, and finished 43rd.  Samantha Milewski went 2-3 in her pool in Div III epee, won her first DE, then lost the second and finished 26th.  Erica Julien fenced the Vet 70 sabre and took 6th place.  That makes Erica the first person in the club to win a national medal in sabre. Scott Butler, who is fencing as CFFA to be on our team for a team event, fenced the Div III foil.  He was 2-4 in the pool, lost his DE and came in 48th.
On Saturday,  Scott, Herman Smith, and Paul Perkins were our Vet’s epee team.  In team events it is a DE format from the start.  Our guys went up against a team of As and Bs from LA.  They lead early, but ended up losing 27-45.  Joe fenced the Vet 60 sabre, won his first DE and finished 16th.  Erica fenced the Vet 70 epee, went 4-3, won her first DE, lost the second, and tied for the bronze medal.  Combined with her 2nd place in Baltimore, this pretty much guarantees the Erica will make the Veteran’s world championship team that will be fencing in Germany in October.  Bob O’Quinn fenced the Div III epee, went 3-3 in his pool and finished 43rd in his first national event. 
Sunday saw Robert Thomas, Herman, Paul, and Scott all fencing in the combined Vet’s epee.  Robert, Paul, and Herman had similar days.  All went 3-3 in their pools and dropped their first DE.  Robert was 65th, Paul was 68th, and Herman was 73rd.  Scott was 6-0 in his pool, but had some weapon issues in his DE and dropped a close one finishing 34th.  Erica did the combined Vet sabre and got 3 touches against the number 1 seed in her DE, finishing 32nd.
Some of our people have events Monday and I will let you know those results later.  Due to that fencing there will be no afterschool or classes on Monday.  The rest of the week should be normal. 
Our next event is Saturday, April 16th.  Open foil, Open epee, and an E and under foil.  The epee is now an A event.  The foil could be a C.  It has the ranks, but not the numbers.  The E foil was put there as an event that our lower level/beginning foilists could enter and compete against other similar fencers.  The foil fencers need to learn from the epee fencers.  They got signed up and other people from across the state have jumped in and made the event higher rated. Our foilists need to get signed up, at least for the E and under, and a few should try the open.  Now is better than later, otherwise for next season it will make no sense to try and hold such events.  We are at four and need two more Us to make it an event where someone will earn an E.  If a bunch of Us sign up, then we might start pulling in the 4 Es you need to make it a D event.

April 23rd will be the next youth event.  Foil at 10, Sabre at 1:30, epee at 3:30.  $5 per event, Trophies to the top 3 places, medals to the top 3 nine and unders.  Volunteer foil refs extremely welcome.

Charlotte is also holding adult events that day.  It looks like their epee will be a B.

April 30/May 1 is an RJCC at Apex.  This is a regional competition solely for Y-16 and Y-19 events.  Most of the men’s events look like they will be A competitions.  The women’s events will be strong although probably not that strong.  Entry fees go up after April 15.

May 7-8 is the Division Div II/III and Y-14 qualifiers in Burlington.  Preregistration ends April 30th.  All the events look to be small at the moment.  Good to attend even if you won’t be going to Dallas.

Apex is holding a bunch of unsanctioned events on May 14th.  Open women’s foil and epee, open mixed foil and epee, Y-10 mixed foil, and Y-12 mixed foil and epee.  These are unsanctioned, so all you need is the standard non-competitive USA Fencing membership.  A really good event for those looking to move up from our youth events or early career older fencers looking for a less intense competition.

May 14th is also the Skirmish at Jack’s Island at New Bern.  This is an epee only outdoor event.  This year it will be held at the church in New Bern regardless of the weather; outdoors if nice, running inside if rainy.  As and Bs get to fence for free, so it should be a strong event.  New Bern always provides a really good free lunch after/during the event.

pax vobiscum,
Greg Spahr
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

CFFA mid-week update

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA mid-week update
I will be heading up to the Richmond NAC Thursday evening.  Brendan will be coming in to the club about 7:15 pm to open up, so plan accordingly.
Herman is sick, so let’s put the ordering deadline off a week until April 14.  If you need something for the NAC, you should be able to get it there.
Let’s try to have an armory night on Thursday, April 14.  We need to prepare swords and cords for those who want to try the E & under on Saturday the 16th but don’t have their own equipment yet.
pax vobiscum,
 
Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for April 4

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for April 4
We had three fencers go to the RYC at Mid-South over the weekend and they all won medals.  Reaghan Juelke didn’t have a great first round in the Y-14 Women’s foil, but then pulled a bit of an upset in her first DE over a person she had never beaten before and took the 8th place medal.  Will Golder went 2-3 in the Y-14 Men’s foil, but then lost his first DE.  In the Y-12 Men’s foil he was 3-3 in his pool, won his first DE and finished 6th.  Nicole Milewski was 3-1 in her pool for the Y-14 Women’s epee and took the bronze, in Y-12 she took the silver.  She probably also set a new club record for the youngest person to defeat a C fencer in competition, she is 11 for a couple more weeks.
The April beginner class will start tonight.  The last afterschool class of the year will also start today.

The
April NAC in Richmond is Friday, April 8th, through Monday, April 11th;
so no afterschool next Monday.  Also no fencing at Camp Lejeune this
Friday.

Our

next event is Saturday, April 16th.  Open foil, Open epee, and an E and
under foil.  Start getting signed up now.  The epee is now an A event. 
The foil could be a C.  It has the ranks, but not the numbers.  The E
foil was put there as an event that our lower level/beginning foilists
could enter and compete against other similar fencers.  The foil fencers need to learn from
the epee fencers.  They got signed up and other people from across the
state have jumped in and made the event higher rated. Our foilists need
to get signed up, at least for the E and under, and a few should try the
open.  Now is better than later, otherwise for next season it will make
no sense to try and hold such events.  We are at four and need two more Us to make it an event where someone will earn an E.  If a bunch of Us sign up, then we might start pulling in the 4 Es you need to make it a D event.


April 23rd will be the next youth event.  Foil at 10, Sabre at 1:30, epee at 3:30.  $5 per event, Trophies to the top 3 places, medals to the top 3 nine and unders.
Charlotte
is also holding adult events that day.  It looks like their epee will be
a B.

April
30/May 1 is an RJCC at Apex.  This is a regional competition solely for
Y-16 and Y-19 events.  Most of the men’s events look like they will be A
competitions.  The women’s events will be strong although probably not
that strong.  Entry fees go up after April 15.

May
7-8 is the Division Div II/III and Y-14 qualifiers in Burlington. 
Preregistration ends April 30th.  All the events look to be small at the
moment.  Good to attend even if you won’t be going to Dallas.

Apex
is holding a bunch of unsanctioned events on May 14th.  Open women’s
foil and epee, open mixed foil and epee, Y-10 mixed foil, and Y-12 mixed
foil and epee.  These are unsanctioned, so all you need is the standard
non-competitive USA Fencing membership.  A really good event for those
looking to move up from our youth events or early career older fencers
looking for a less intense competition.
May 14th is also the Skirmish at Jack’s Island at New Bern.  This is an epee only outdoor event.  This year it will be held at the church in New Bern regardless of the weather; outdoors if nice, running inside if rainy.  As and Bs get to fence for free, so it should be a strong event.  New Bern always provides a really good free lunch after/during the event.

pax vobiscum,
 
Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for March 27

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for March 27
We had a good Saturday morning practice yesterday.  Oliver Galbraith went to the event in Williamsburg, had good first rounds, and finished just out of the top 8 in both events.  The epee was an A and the foil was a B.
Remember, no afterschool tomorrow as St. Mary is still on Spring Break.
April

1-3 is the Ned Light RYC at Mid-South.  We have a few fencers going up.

The April beginner class will start on Monday the 4th.  The last afterschool class of the year will also start that day.
The
April NAC in Richmond is Friday, April 8th, through Monday, April 11th;
so no afterschool that Monday.  Also no fencing at Camp Lejeune that
Friday.
Our

next event is Saturday, April 16th.  Open foil, Open epee, and an E and
under foil.  Start getting signed up now.  The epee is now an A event.  The foil could be a C. It has the ranks, but not the numbers.  The E foil was put there as an event that our lower level/beginning foilists could enter and compete against other similar fencers.  At the moment, the only entrant is from New Bern.  The foil fencers need to learn from the epee fencers.  They got signed up and other people from across the state have jumped in and made the event higher rated. Our foilists need to get signed up, at least for the E and under, and a few should try the open.  Now is better than later, otherwise for next season it will make no sense to try and hold such events.

Right now it looks like April 23rd will be the next youth event.  Charlotte is also holding adult events that day.  It looks like their epee will be a B.
April
30/May 1 is an RJCC at Apex.  This is a regional competition solely for
Y-16 and Y-19 events.  Most of the men’s events look like they will be A
competitions.  The women’s events will be strong although probably not
that strong.  Entry fees go up after April 15.
May
7-8 is the Division Div II/III and Y-14 qualifiers in Burlington. 
Preregistration ends April 30th.  All the events look to be small at the
moment.  Good to attend even if you won’t be going to Dallas.
Apex
is holding a bunch of unsanctioned events on May 14th.  Open women’s
foil and epee, open mixed foil and epee, Y-10 mixed foil, and Y-12 mixed
foil and epee.  These are unsanctioned, so all you need is the standard
non-competitive USA Fencing membership.  A really good event for those
looking to move up from our youth events or early career older fencers
looking for a less intense competition.
pax vobiscum,
 
Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for March 20

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for March 20
We had Kyler Schoonmaker and Philip Nazzaro go to the homeschool individual championships yesterday.  They both won pool bouts and fenced very close DEs.  Kyler finished 6th and Philip was 7th.
March
21-28 is St. Mary’s Spring Break, so no afterschool.  Just as a
reminder that is the Monday – Friday this week before Easter and the
Monday after.  There will be homeschool practice on Wednesday and evening practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Camp Lejeune will have practice Friday night.
We
could do a Saturday morning practice on the 26th.  Still need some information from St. Mary and I will let you know once I am certain.
For those looking for a sanctioned tournament over Easter weekend, the closest one is in Williamsburg.  Right now the epee looks to be an A and the foil a B rated event.
April
1-3 is the Ned Light RYC at Mid-South.  This is for fencers from 8-14
in various age groupings and is the next level up for those who want to
advance beyond our local youth tournaments.  You will need a full set of
gear, knickers, underarm protector, etc., and a competitive membership.  We will let you borrow club
gear if we have the correct sizing.  Let me know if you are interested.  Right now we only have a few people going.  Event Fees go up after 3/25 so get signed up early this week.
The April beginner class will start on Monday the 4th.  The last afterschool class of the year will also start that day.
The
April NAC in Richmond is Friday, April 8th, through Monday, April 11th;
so no afterschool that Monday.  Also no fencing at Camp Lejeune that
Friday.
Our

next event is Saturday, April 16th.  Open foil, Open epee, and an E and
under foil.  Start getting signed up now.  Epee needs an A and bodies to be an A event.  Open foil has solid ranks but few bodies.  We have a few open foil and
epee particpants, but need more in the E and under foil.   If we can get
15 fencers of
whom 4 are Es we might be able to give away a D in the E and under.  This is a good event for those just starting out and for those getting back in.  Do the Open foil to see what you are aspiring to and then do the lower level foil to practice competitively.  Bobby, Josh Crafts, Nora, Reaghan, Max, Jasmine, Taylor, Catherine (LH), Catherine (RH), Connor, Alex, Hannah, Kyler, Philip, Nathan; the list goes on and on of people who ought to in one or both of these events.

Right now it looks like April 23rd will be the next youth event.  Charlotte is also holding adult events that day.
April
30/May 1 is an RJCC at Apex.  This is a regional competition solely for
Y-16 and Y-19 events.  Most of the men’s events look like they will be A
competitions.  The women’s events will be strong although probably not
that strong.  Entry fees go up after April 15.
May 7-8 is the Division Div II/III and Y-14 qualifiers in Burlington.  Preregistration ends April 30th.  All the events look to be small at the moment.  Good to attend even if you won’t be going to Dallas.
Apex is holding a bunch of unsanctioned events on May 14th.  Open women’s foil and epee, open mixed foil and epee, Y-10 mixed foil, and Y-12 mixed foil and epee.  These are unsanctioned, so all you need is the standard non-competitive USA Fencing membership.  A really good event for those looking to move up from our youth events or early career older fencers looking for a less intense competition.
pax vobiscum,
 
Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update
We had a good youth event yesterday with a number of first time fencers.  Thanks to Donny Zelinski and Josh White from New Bern and Samantha Milewski for helping with the event.  Results:
Foil
1st – Will Golder   CFFA
2nd – Nicole Milewski   CFFA Jacksonville
3rd (tie) Luke Jessup   Salle New Bern
            Walker Rottman  Wilmington Fencing Club
9 and under
Gold  –  Amelia Alexander  CFFA
Silver – Evelyn Gunnell   CFFA
Bronze – Jaeden Scott   CFFA
Sabre
1st – Avery Walston   CFFA
2nd – Jonathan Plapp  CFFA
3rd – Elina Grooman  CFFA
Epee
1st – Nicole Milewski  CFFA Jacksonville
2nd – Abbey Campbell  Salle New Bern
3rd (tie) – Lydia Huggins  CFFA
              Jonathan Plapp   CFFA
Here are the sword points for the top 5 boys and girls.  It looks like it will be hard for anyone to catch Will or Nicole.

Boys

 

Golder                          40

Donnely                        28

Evans, Don                   24

Jessup                         
23

Santiago                      
16


Girls 

 

Milewski                         42

Artz, Isabelle                  22

Artz, Caroline                 15

Childs                             13

Juelke                             11

The UNCW students will be back, so there will be practice Wednesday.  All the other practices should be normal.

The next set of Camp Lejeune classes will start on Friday the 18th.
March 19th is the Homeschool individual championships, in Oak Ridge at 11:30 am.
March
21-28 is St. Mary’s Spring Break, so no afterschool.  Just as a
reminder that is the Monday – Friday the week before Easter and the
Monday after.
We could do a Saturday morning practice on the 26th if there is interest.  Let me know.  I haven’t heard anything from anyone but Kenyatta.
April
1-3 is the Ned Light RYC at Mid-South.  This is for fencers from 8-14
in various age groupings and is the next level up for those who want to
advance beyond our local youth tournaments.  You will need a full set of
gear, knickers, underarm protector, etc.  We will let you borrow club
gear if we have the correct sizing.  Let me know if you are interested.  Right now we only have a couple of people going.
The April beginner class will start on Monday the 4th.  The last afterschool class of the year will also start that day.
The
April NAC in Richmond is Friday, April 8th, through Monday, April 11th;
so no afterschool that Monday.  Also no fencing at Camp Lejeune that
Friday.
Our
next event is Saturday, April 16th.  Open foil, Open epee, and an E and
under foil.  Start getting signed up now.  We have a few open foil and epee particpants, but need more in the E and under foil.   If we can get 15 fencers of
whom 4 are Es we might be able to give away a D in the E and under.
Right now it looks like April 23rd will be the next youth event.  Charlotte is also holding adult events that day.
April 30 May 1 is an RJCC at Apex.  This is a regional competition solely for Y-16 and Y-19 events.  Most of the men’s events look like they will be A competitions.  The women’s events will be strong although probably not that strong.  Entry fees go up after April 15.
May 7-8 is the Division Div II/II and Y-14 qualifiers in Burlington.  Preregistration ends April 30th.
pax vobiscum,
 
Greg Spahr
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

Youth tournament tomorrow

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
Youth tournament tomorrow
Just a reminder regarding the youth tournament tomorrow.    Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, epee at 3:30 pm.  It looks big so any help from older siblings, fencing experienced parents, and other interested parties is appreciated.
pax vobiscum,
 
Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for March 6

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for March 6
Yesterday we held the Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden.  In the Foil, Samantha Wolstenholme-Britt of the Apex Fencing Academy won and reearned her E, defeating Colleen Gallant from Charlotte Fencing Academy.  The thirds were shared by CFFA’s Nora Reber and Jasmine Valadez.  We gained three new fencers from UNCW, Taylor May, Catherine Parks, and Catherine Shin.  All three women won at least one bout and finished 7th, 8th, and 9th.  In the epee, Samantha won again and again renewed her E.  Nora was 2nd this time, and the 3rd place tie was between Samantha Milewski of CFFA and Patricia Wilkens of Edge of America Fencing.  For sabre, first was Kaitlyn Hall of CFFA,  2ns was another new fencer, Callie Pray of Hoggard, who fenced all three weapons.  Tied for third were Jasmine and Erica Julien of CFFA.  Thanks to Mike Glapion with helping with set up and refereeing, Herman Smith for armoring and refereeing, Donny Zelinski for refereeing, and Zemi Lawrence for observing and managing the event.
We also held the state homeschool team championship.  Our fencers, Isabelle and Carolyn Artz, Philip Nazzaro, and Kyler Schoonmaker, represented the Southeastern Cardinals.  They lost to the eventual winner, Oak Ridge 28-25; and then lost a heartbreaker 44-45 to Forsyth County.
This week the last homeschool beginner class of the academic year will start at 1 pm on Wednesday.  The UNCW students are away on Spring Break, so no Wednesday night practice.  Afterschool and Camp Lejeune beginner classes both finish this week.   Herman fixed a lot of things yesterday, so we may not need an armory night Thursday.  However, if fencers think they need one we can keep it.  Let me know.
Our
first youth event of this semester will be on Saturday March 12th. 
Apologies for not getting the date set earlier, but a number of other
tournaments have been moving dates due to weather, etc.  These events are for fencers 12 and under and cost $5
per event.  We give trophies to the top 3 places, fencing usually has a
tie for 3rd.  We also give medals to the top 3 fencers who are 9 and
under who don’t win a trophy.  There are swords to the top girl and boy
in our season long point competition, plus a sword awarded to the person
voted the best sport by the other fencers.  Foil
is at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm.  As always,
volunteer refereeing help is very welcome, as foil could be pretty large.  The last foil event had 20 fencers and I expect this one to be larger.  The other two youth events
this semester should be on April 23rd, and May 21st.
For adults on that Saturday, there is a mixed epee in Charlotte that looks to be a B event.  They are also holding a U epee event the same day.
The next set of Camp Lejeune classes will start on Friday the 18th.
March 19th is the Homeschool individual championships, in Oak Ridge at 11:30 am..
March 21-28 is St. Mary’s Spring Break, so no afterschool.  Just as a reminder that is the Monday – Friday the week before Easter and the Monday after.
We could do a Saturday morning practice on the 26th if there is interest.  Let me know.
April
1-3 is the Ned Light RYC at Mid-South.  This is for fencers from 8-14
in various age groupings and is the next level up for those who want to
advance beyond our local youth tournaments.  You will need a full set of
gear, knickers, underarm protector, etc.  We will let you borrow club
gear if we have the correct sizing.  Let me know if you are interested.
The April beginner class will start on Monday the 4th.  The last afterschool class of the year will also start that day.
The April NAC in Richmond is Friday, April 8th, through Monday, April 11th; so no afterschool that Monday.  Also no fencing at Camp Lejeune that Friday.
Our next event is Saturday, April 16th.  Open foil, Open epee, and an E and under foil.  Start getting signed up now.  If we can get 15 fencers of whom 4 are Es we might be able to give away a D in the E and under.
pax vobiscum,
 
Greg Spahr
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