News | Cape Fear Fencing Association

CFFA update for September 2

September 2, 2019September 2, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Things appear to be a little clearer and the most sensible thing is to cancel all of the classes and club for the week. Nothing Tuesday or Thursday nights, and no Saturday morning. We’ll add a week to the Tuesday Thursday class and start the next Tu/Th one a week later. The Surf City classes will start the 13th and no Camp Lejeune class Friday.

Looking
forward, hopefully, we can start the next evening class on Monday the 9th at 6:30 pm. Depending on what the schools do, the afterschool fencing will start
back up on that date at 3:30 pm. Homeschool Fencing will start
Wednesday the 11th, 1:00 pm for returners; 1:30 pm for beginners. The UNCW fencers were hoping to get back downtown on Wednesday the 18th. Of course this all depends on the aftermath of Dorian.

Barring a much heavier hit than is now forecast, our first sanctioned event of the year will be on Saturday the 21st. Open foil and epee, and a D and under epee. The policy that we instituted for last year is still in effect. If you get your name on askfred by the Saturday prior to the event, the cost will be $20 for one event and $10 for subsequent events. If you sign up after Saturday, the fees will be $30 and $20. Get signed up now to attract out of town fencers.

Stay safe.

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

August 30, 2019August 30, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

NO Saturday practice.

Our Fall events are now all up on askfred. September 21, November 9, December 7.

Have a happy and safe end of the summer weekend.

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

Kansas City NAC

August 27, 2019August 27, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Just as an FYI for all of you who are starting your run at the 2020 Olympics, the first NAC in Kansas City has its registration deadline as midnight tomorrow night (Pacific Time). It has Division I, Cadet, and Division II events. It is October 18-21. Just as an aside to our C and below epeeists. The numbers will certainly go up before tomorrow night, but both the men’s and women’s Div II epee are on Monday the 21st. Right now, the women’s has only 55 fencers (20 Cs), and the men’s is 49 fencers (14 Cs). By regulation, Division II NACs have to be considered as B3 events. Thus the top 4 fencers will get Bs, 5-8 will get Cs if they don’t already have them. Looks to be a cheap way to get a B, at the moment.

pax vobiscum,

Greg

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 August 25

August 25, 2019August 25, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

A big thanks to Herman for cleaning the the fencing room and washing jackets. Thanks to Kenyatta and Mike for keeping reels and weapons working. Thanks to Brendan for keeping overheads going. It almost looks like a fencing club is getting ready to get into high gear.

Regular fencing Tuesday and Thursday. No
Camp Lejeune practice on the 30th due to the Labor Day weekend. I am going to try to get out of here for a weekend before it all goes crazy, so I won’t be in for Saturday. I will let you know if it looks like anyone else will be opening up.

I will be gone on Tuesday night, September 3rd. The club will be open, but no class. I should be back for practice on the 5th, but it isn’t guaranteed. I will keep you updated. On Friday, September 6th, fencing will be restarting in Pender County at Surf City middle school from 3-4 pm. Camp Lejeune will meet at the regular times that evening.

Looking
forward, The next evening class will be a Monday/Wednesday one. It will
start on the Monday after Labor Day, (September 9th) 6:30 pm. Afterschool fencing will start
back up on that date at 3:30 pm. Homeschool Fencing will start
Wednesday the 11th, 1:00 pm for returners; 1:30 pm for beginners. I don’t know yet when the
UNCW fencers will be back for Wednesday nights.

No sanctioned fencing any closer than Baltimore over the Labor Day weekend. Check askfred if you are interested.

Maryland
Division schedule is not up yet and Homeschool league has not met to
set their schedule. We asked for our first event to be on September 21
with mixed open foil, mixed open epee, and a Div III (D and under
epee). I will keep you posted.

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 August 18

August 18, 2019August 18, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

A
standard week of fencing this week. I will be in for Saturday
practice at 10 am. Our first class of the fall starts on Tuesday
evening at 6:30 pm. We will also be starting a new class on board Camp
Lejeune on Friday at 7 pm.

No Camp Lejeune practice on the 30th due to the Labor Day weekend. I may try to blow out of here for a weekend before it all goes crazy, so I will keep you informed about Saturday.

I will be gone on Tuesday night, September 3rd. I should be back for practice on the 5th, but it isn’t guaranteed.

Looking forward, The next class will be a Monday/Wednesday one. It should start on the Monday after Labor Day. Afterschool fencing should start back up on that date as well. Homeschool Fencing will start back up on Wednesday the 11th. And fencing will start up at Surf City middle school (if approved) on the Friday the 13th. (I don’t know about you, but it’s always been a good date for me.) I don’t know yet when the UNCW fencers will be back for Wednesday nights.

For those looking for opportunities to fence next weekend, the closest is an unusual unsanctioned Team event at the Charlotte Academy of Fencing. It is for epee teams, but their coach will decide who goes on what team. Cost is only $10.

If you are looking for a sanctioned event, the best two options seem to be in the DC area. On Saturday and Sunday, in Herndon, VA, near Dulles Airport, they have a number of youth events plus currently rated B1 events in epee and foil. Both need a couple of A or B fencers and a few bodies to become A2s. If you really want a challenge, the first of the DCFC Champagne Challenges for the year is on Sunday in Silver Springs, MD. Currently it is a twenty three person A1 with 7 As and 5 Bs. Silver Spring is just across the border from Herndon, and the Herndon epee is on Saturday, so the really serious epeeists could make a weekend of it.

Maryland Division schedule is not up yet and Homeschool league has not met to set their schedule. We asked for our first event to be on September 21 with mixed open foil, mixed open epee, and a Div III (D and under epee). I will keep you posted.

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 August 12

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Our women (and a couple of guys) had a good showing at the Big Blue to get this season started. We had Amelia Alexander and Eilis O’Brien in the women’s foil to get the day going. Eilis, in her first event not at our club, was not on. But she battled through and gave a good accounting of herself while losing her first DE. She finished 12. Amelia started slowly and then got it together, winning her last two bouts in the pool. One of those was beating the current woman’s high school state champion (Amelia’s in 7th grade). She then won her first DE although giving away five points on red cards for covering target. That means our foil referees need to be more strict during practice. She then lost her second DE to the number one seed and finished 8th.

The men’s epee (A1 with 3 As and 4 Bs) had Eoin O’Brien and Miller Dumas. It was only Miller’s second tournament. He got a touch on everyone he fenced and went 3-5 with a B and a C. Eoin was 2-4 with a 0 indicator. He beat a B, and had 3 one touch losses; one of which was against eventual winner Lars Hansen, who re-earned his A. Eoin’s other loss was to an A 3-5. As sometimes happens at these events, the only two CFFA fencers drew each other in their first DE. Eoin won, but lost his next DE to the B who tied for 3rd. Eoin ended up 13th and Miller was 19th.

We had seven of the sixteen women in the epee, which had the potential to be a C event. Erin Alexander was in her first event and got the hardest pool. She didn’t win any, but things improved as the day went on. Erin had lost her pool bout to Meredith Powers (who won every event at the Iron Maiden a couple of years ago) 0-5, but when she drew top seed Meredith in the DEs the score was 7-15. She finished 16th. Daughter Amelia (in her first adult epee event) looked a bit tired after the foil, but got points against everyone in her pool, and unfortunately drew Lauren Dunseath as her DE opponent, finishing 15th. Alice Bromberg, in her first tournament, got at least 3 points against everyone in her pool except Lauren. She got 9 points against the number 3 seed in her DE and finished 14th. Lydia Huggins was in her first event not at our club. She won one match and got at least 2 points in every other match. In the see above category, she drew Nicole Milewski for her first DE and finished 13th. Erica Julien had an excellent first pool, going 3-1. She lost her first DE and finished 9th. Kenyatta Sanford started 3-2 in that very nasty pool. She won her first DE, then avenged her pool loss to number one seed Meredith Powers in her second DE, before a 12-15 loss to Nicole in the her third DE. She won a bronze medal. Nicole went 3-1 in her opening pool. She then defeated Lydia for her first DE, avenged her pool loss in her second DE, eked by Kenyatta in the third one, and lost a tight 13-15 very back and forth bout to Lauren in the finals. She earned the silver medal. A good day for everyone and I think most, if not, all have the bug for more fencing.

A standard week of fencing this week. I will be in for Saturday practice. Next week our first class of the fall starts on Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm. We will also be starting a new class on board Camp Lejeune on Friday at 7 pm.

The Division schedule is not yet finalized, but I will let everyone know once it is settled. For those who feel they must have a competitive fix, the closest big thing is a currently 32 person mixed epee in Jacksonville, Florida, next Saturday. It also has a D and under mixed epee the same day.

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 August 4

August 4, 2019August 4, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Final reminder that you needed to renew your USA Fencing memberships by August 1
for this season. We get our insurance from them and EVERYONE needs to have at least the $10 non-competitive membership for our insurance to be valid. Let me know if you are having problems with the website, and remember it is probably currently getting swamped. Also yearly, six month, or just plain August club dues are payable at this time. Thanks to those of you who have taken care of them.

We
had a good practice yesterday with almost all the fencers being female. Thank goodness a couple of them drug their kids in or there wouldn’t have been any guys. This week the last advanced epee camp starts Monday (walk ins welcome),
regular practice Tuesday and Thursday, Camp Lejeune Friday, and Saturday morning practice. I have a conference call about the NCFL season at 1 pm on Saturday, so if practice is going to last after about 12:30 pm, some one else will need to lock up.

Erica Julien was again the subject of a short video. This time it was from actTwo, a series that profiles people who have started something new after age fifty. The woman who runs it said Erica’s video is already the most popular one and it has only been up since Friday. Here is the link:

LOOKING FOR A SPORT? HOW ABOUT FENCING? | actTWO Stories | Reinventing the Second Act of Life

Just a note for those of you ordering gear, Herman and I have found that the guidelines that companies give you (particularly Absolute’s) often DO NOT give you the best fit. Please talk with us about sizing before placing orders on jackets, knickers, masks, etc. The for sale cases are bulging with gear that didn’t fit when it came in. Then we either have to pay shipping to send it back or hold it until someone that it fits wants gear. Both put a strain on our small club budget or force you to pay a second, and maybe third, shipping charge.

The
only individual event for next season currently up on askfred is
Mid-South’s Big Blue. It is next weekend with Open foil, epee, and
sabre events divided by gender. The foil and epee are all on Sunday so
it doesn’t interfere with our Saturday practice. The women’s epee is now a C1 because we are sending a cadre of (at least) 7 women, including our three Cs. We have a couple of women in the foil, which needs bodies and another E to become a D1. For men the epee is now a 19 person A, but just about the most evenly distributed A you can imagine (2 As, 3 Bs, 3 Cs, etc.). We have a couple of our younger fencers in that. Foil is a 24 person
B, needing only a body to be a B2, and if that person is an A it will be an A2. (No CFFA foilists involved… yet) However, it is extremely top heavy, (9 Bs all hoping for that second A to sign up). Strangely enough for
Mid-South, the sabre events have the fewest people, but are picking up.

It is getting close to that time of year. Our first new beginner class for the season will start on Tuesday, August 20th.

Herman and Brendan are hoping to get cadres of our fencers to go to some regional events. Herman is looking specifically at the Crescent City Open in New Orleans, on October 26 -27. That has a Div 1A, Div II, Vets, Cadet, and Junior events. Other tournaments in our region include the Richard Oles Memorial (my old coach) Charm City event, held in Baltimore on December 14-15, which is a Div 1-A. I have already mentioned the Capitol Clash, which is primarily for youth but does have Vets events on January 17-20, 2020, at National Harbor, Maryland. There is the Fairfax Challenge, held in Owings Mills, Maryland (a suburb of Baltimore) which is Div 1A, Div II, and Vets on Match 14-15, 2020. If you are willing to travel a bit farther, there is the Arnold (yes, that Arnold) Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, on March 6-8. It has every category; including Emers if you are reading this, Y-8.

pax vobiscum,

LOOKING FOR A SPORT? HOW ABOUT FENCING? | actTWO Stories | Reinventing t…

Do you want to stay active but can’t do the things you used to? How about fencing? Erica Julien didn’t even star…

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 July 27

July 27, 2019July 27, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Remember that you need to renew your USA Fencing memberships by August 1
for the next season. That will be particularly important for those
doing the camp starting on the 29th. For those on the board or doing
things like armoring, coaching (if you are over 18), etc. you need to
have the professional membership. You should have the new membership to fence Thursday night.

We had a good practice today with about half of the 13 fencers from camp showing up. This week the first advanced epee camp starts Monday, regular practice Tuesday and Thursday, Camp Lejeune Friday (remember to get your memberships renewed), and Saturday morning practice.

The
only individual event for next season currently up on askfred is
Mid-South’s Big Blue. It is August 10-11 with Open foil, epee, and
sabre events divided by gender. The foil and epee are all on Sunday so
it doesn’t interfere with our Saturday practice. The women’s epee needs
bodies to be
a C. Kenyatta, Nicole, and Alice are in. Amelia, Eilis, for foil and Eoin for men’s epee are there. Women’s foil needs bodies to be a D event. For men the epee is now a 19 person A and foil is a 19 person B. Strangely enough for
Mid-South, the sabres events have the fewest people, but are picking up.

It
is that time of year when people should start thinking about paying
their 6 month or yearly dues by August 1. For 6 month dues it is $175
(you save one month) and yearly is $350 (you save two months worth of
monthly fees). We just made large equipment purchases at Nationals and
have to pay our yearly membership and insurance fees to USA Fencing, so
cash on hand is a good thing.

Since I went over national events last week, I will do regional events this week. Not much listed so far, so more will probably be added.

9/20 -22 is the Fairfax Challenge in Fredericksburg. It will have Y10, Y12, Y14, and Cadet.

1/18 -20 is the Capitol Clash in National Harbor, Virginia. It has Y10, Y12, Y14, Cadet, and Vets.

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 July 21

July 20, 2019July 20, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had a solid advanced foil camp last week and I saw a lot of improvement. Practice
is normal this week – Tuesday and Thursday evening I will be in if any
younger fencers want to show up at 6:30 pm, then the usual evening
fencing, Camp
Lejeune on Friday, and Saturday morning practice at 10 am.

The second advanced foil camp starts Monday. Two weeks of advanced epee after that. Let me know if you are
coming and haven’t said anything yet.

The
only individual event for next season currently up on askfred is
Mid-South’s Big Blue. It is August 10-11 with Open foil, epee, and
sabre events divided by gender. The foil and epee are all on Sunday so
it doesn’t interfere with our Saturday practice. The women’s epee needs bodies to be
a C. Kenyatta and Nicole are in. Amelia, Eilis, and Eoin are there so Erin and Mandy should be entered. Christi should be there and drag up her little one. Erica would add another C, Lydia would add another E (and you might as well use that new gear), and it would be a good first event for Alice. Women’s foil needs bodies (we have a
couple of people signed up) to be a D event. For men the epee and foil are both Bs and both need
an A to be an A event. Strangely enough for
Mid-South, the sabres events have the fewest people.

Also remember that you need to renew your USA Fencing memberships by August 1 for the next season. That will be particularly important for those doing the camp starting on the 29th. For those on the board or doing things like armoring, coaching (if you are over 18), etc. you need to have the professional membership.

A number of people have been asking about National events, so here is that schedule. Other than Charlotte, nothing is real close this year. However, other than Salt Lake and Kansas City (maybe Milwaukee) everything is within a one day drive (if you are used to long one day drives.)

October 18-21 Kansas City, Missouri Div I, Div II, Cadet (For those of you making your run at the 2020 Olympic team, you need to start with the Div I event here.)

November 8-11 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Junior, Cadet, Y-14

December 6-9 Salt Lake City, Utah Div I, Div II, Vet

January 3-6 Charlotte, North Carolina Div I, Junior, Senior Team

February 14-17 Columbus, Ohio Junior Olympics – Junior, Cadet, Junior Team (Remember for this one there will be a qualifier, probably in November. I would like to see a good turn out for our club at this one as a number of eligible fencers already know the venue.)

March 20-23 Detroit, Michigan Y-14, Y-12, Y-10

April 17-20 St. Louis, Missouri Div I, Div II, Div III, Vet

June 28-July 7 Louisville, Kentucky Summer Nationals (Just about everything)

You have to enter prior to the event (usually like a month ahead), so if you have questions, ask.

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 July 14

July 14, 2019July 14, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Fun practice Saturday. It was basically Cadet women’s foil and Vets women’s epee, with a couple of miscellaneous men. (And I am counting John Alexander as a man to get to men.)

Practice is normal this week – Tuesday and Thursday evening I will be in if any younger fencers want to show up at 6:30 pm, then the usual evening fencing, Camp
Lejeune on Friday, and Saturday morning practice.

The first advanced foil camp starts tomorrow. Another week of advanced foil and
then two weeks of advanced epee after that. Let me know if you are
coming and haven’t said anything yet.

If anyone attended the referee clinic at Mid-South, let me know so we can compare notes and figure out how things will be called this season.

The
only individual event for next season currently up on askfred is
Mid-South’s Big Blue. It is August 10-11 with Open foil, epee, and
sabre events divided by gender. The foil and epee are all on Sunday so it doesn’t interfere with practice. The women’s epee needs bodies to be a C
(Kenyatta is the top seed) and women’s foil needs bodies (we have a couple of people signed up)to be a D event. For men the epee needs
an A (Oliver?) and one other fencer to be an A. The foil needs a C, a D, and one other fencer to be a B event. Strangely enough for Mid-South, the sabres events have the fewest people.

It is that time of year when people should start thinking about paying their 6 month or yearly dues by August 1. For 6 month dues it is $175 (you save one month) and yearly is $350 (you save two months worth of monthly fees). We just made large equipment purchases at Nationals and have to pay our yearly membership and insurance fees to USA Fencing, so cash on hand is a good thing.

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