CFFA update for October 26th

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for October 26th
Harry Shaheen and I went up to the Joseph Cadole Memorial tournament in New Bern yesterday.  Of course, the only two CFFA fencers end up against each other in the first round of DEs.  I was able to slip by Harry and ended up winning the event.  Unfortunately, only 9 fencers so I re-earned my E.  Josh White of Salle New Bern was 2nd (he is getting into a habit of that), Dustin Burnett of ECU and Brett Silverman of Wilmington Fencing Club took the thirds.  Brett had a very nice victory over the number one seed in the DE where he came back from 5 points down to pull it out.

A lot of things going on this week.  First we need to put the overheads back up Tuesday night, so hopefully a few of you with knowledge of such things can come in a little early.  The next Homeschool beginner class starts on Wednesday, the 29th.  Also on Wednesday, there won’t be evening practice this week.  No one has showed up the last two weeks, so I will be going out to UNCW to help with their club.  There will be Wednesday practice next week as the November beginner classes will be starting. 

I will send a note out a little later in the week regarding Friday practice at Camp Lejeune.  If there are at least 3 people who want to fence I will head up, but probably wouldn’t come for just one or two.

No Saturday morning tournaments in the area so I will be in for a Saturday practice on November 1st at about 10 am.  This will let a number of you work off some of the Halloween candy you ate.

November
1st is a tournament at Raleigh.  It is being held in conjunction with a
clinic being dome by Michael Marx.  The clinic lasts all weekend with
the tournament late Saturday afternoon.  Therefore there is no reason for you epeeists to complain about having to get up early.  Foil and epee, both could be B events with one high rated fencer and a few more bodies.

The
next set of evening classes will start on Monday, November 3rd.  I am
also planning to start our next set of afterschool beginner classes that first
week of November.

November 7th will start the next set of classes at Camp Lejeune.

The next youth event will be held on November 8th.  Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, epee at 3:30 pm.  Hopefully we will have a bunch of the fencers who just finished beginner classes showing up, so the events, particularly the foil, should be larger.

For adults, ECU is hosting their Jack Rackham event that Saturday.  Foil and epee, it is on askfred.

The
first homeschool league event of the year will be held on Sunday,
November 9th at Mustang Fitness in Greensboro.  At the moment we only
have 5 people who have said they want to be a part of a team.  We have
to have a roster by November 1st, so we need to get anyone interested
signed up ASAP.  My guess is our team would be a B team as it doesn’t
look like we have enough for people over 13 for an A team.

Sign ups for JO qualifiers are now on askfred.net. 
The qualifying events are on Saturday and Sunday, November 15th and
16th.  All the Junior events (ages 13-19) are on Saturday and the Cadet
(ages 13-16) qualifiers are on Sunday.  The JOs are always held over
the President’s Day weekend in February.  The events are in Richmond,
VA, this year.  It probably will not be much closer for a long time. 
That means A) it is easy to get to, and B) the qualifiers will probably
be large events that might be highly rated.  I believe the last day to sign up before the fees increase is November 9th.  Right now it looks like most of our women are in, but very few of our guys.

That weekend, Fredericksburg has large Vet events on Saturday and Richmond has women only events on Sunday.

The
North Carolina Fencing League’s first event is
November 22nd and we will be hosting it.  It is a foil team event and
takes teams of three fencers and they can have a sub.  It doesn’t cost
anything, but it is appreciated if we have volunteer referees.  Fencers
do need a full outfit including knickers and underarm protector.  Let us
know if you might be interested in fencing and don’t have such things
yet so we can see if the club has your size or can borrow from someone. 
Our teams fence in the B Division since we don’t represent a school. 
In that division fencers can be any age so we will put together as many
teams as we can.  Of course, you will possibly be fencing people all the
way up to high school age, but we can try to split some of it out by
ages.

Our next home adult event is December 13.  Open foil, open epee, and Vet epee.  Start getting signed up now.  For the Vet event, if our fencers all get signed up and we can get Scott Butler and a couple of outside Ds to enter, that event can be a B tournament by itself.
 
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 10/19

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for 10/19
Practice will be a bit truncated this week.  St. Mary wants to set up for the haunted house part of
their Fall Festival on Thursday, October 23rd.  No practice that
afternoon or evening.  Right now all the Wednesday classes are still on.  We will
need to pull the overheads down on Tuesday the 21st and put them back up
the next Tuesday.

October
25th is The Joseph Cadole in New
Bern.  It is an E and under foil event, perfect for those of you looking
for a lower stress first tournament or a real shot at your foil
ranking.  I am going so let me know if you are interested in a ride.

There is also an epee event in Charlotte that day which is shaping up to be a B rated event.  See askfred for details.

Our
next set of Homeschool classes will start on Wednesday, October 29th. 
That should let us finish that set of classes just before the holidays.

We
will have practice at Camp Lejeune on Halloween night.  I would ask
everyone who will definitely be there to let me know that week, so I
only have to pack the equipment we will need.

November 1st is a tournament at Raleigh.  It is being held in conjunction with a clinic being dome by Michael Marx.  The clinic lasts all weekend with the tournament late Saturday afternoon.  Therefore there is no reason for you epeeists to complain about having to get up early.

The
next set of evening classes will start on Monday, November 3rd.  I am
also planning to start our next set of afterschool classes that first
week of November.
November 7th will start the next set of classes at Camp Lejeune.

The next youth event will be held on November 8th.  Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, epee at 3:30 pm.
For adults, ECU is hosting their Jack Rackham event that Saturday.
The first homeschool league event of the year will be held on Sunday, November 9th at a location yet to be determined.  At the moment we only have 4 people who have said they want to be a part of a team.  We have to have a roster by November 1st, so we need to get anyone interested signed up ASAP.  My guess is our team would be a B team as it doesn’t look like we have enough for people over 13 for an A team.

Sign ups for JO qualifiers are now on askfred.net. 
The qualifying events are on Saturday and Sunday, November 15th and
16th.  All the Junior events (ages 13-19) are on Saturday and the Cadet
(ages 13-16) qualifiers are on Sunday.  The JOs are always held over
the President’s Day weekend in February.  The events are in Richmond,
VA, this year.  It probably will not be much closer for a long time. 
That means A) it is easy to get to, and B) the qualifiers will probably
be large events that might be highly rated.  I believe the last day to sign up before the fees increase is November 9th.
That weekend, Fredericksburg has large Vet events on Saturday and Richmond has women only events on Sunday.

The
North Carolina Fencing League’s first event is
November 22nd and we will be hosting it.  It is a foil team event and
takes teams of three fencers and they can have a sub.  It doesn’t cost
anything, but it is appreciated if we have volunteer referees.  Fencers
do need a full outfit including knickers and underarm protector.  Let us
know if you might be interested in fencing and don’t have such things
yet so we can see if the club has your size or can borrow from someone. 
Our teams fence in the B Division since we don’t represent a school. 
In that division fencers can be any age so we will put together as many
teams as we can.  Of course, you will possibly be fencing people all the
way up to high school age, but we can try to split some of it out by
ages.
Our next home adult event is December 13.  Open foil, open epee, and Vet epee.  Start getting signed up now.
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 October 12

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for October 12
We held a small, but hot and sweaty tournament yesterday.  The epee had a number of “That didn’t just happen, did it?” moments.  However, in the end CFFA fencers took all the prizes.  Josh Harvey won over Herman Smith in the finals.  Paul Perkins took one 3rd and Oliver Galbraith took the other 3rd, re-earning his D.  Brett Silverman  of the Wilmington Fencing Club re-earned his E by finishing 8th.  In the foil Oliver won, Josh White of Salle New Bern was 2nd, Jack Bess of Apex and Stephen Kmiec of ECU tied for 3rd.  In the E and under Jack won with Josh again finishing 2nd.  Brett and Logan Geisler of ECU tied for 3rd.  Thanks to everyone who helped with all the different aspects of making the tournament run.
I think St. Mary still has school tomorrow, so there will be afterschool.  The rest of the week will be on the regular schedule. 

October
18th is the Tiger Open in Clemson.  This has started being a very large
event recently.  All of the open events are A2s.  They also have D and under events.  The
foil and epee are C2 events.

A little
closer is an event in Raleigh that has a number of unsanctioned Y-12
and Y14 events, plus sanctioned open foil and epee and Div II sabre
events on the 18th and 19th.  Apex is also doing a number of unsanctioned Y-12 foil and epee events, plus junior mixed foil and epee, plus a junior women’s foil.

It looks like St. Mary will want to set up for the haunted house part of
their Fall Festival on Thursday, October 23rd.  No practice that afternoon or evening, and Wednesday is still up in the air.  We will need to pull the overheads down on Tuesday the 21st and put them back up the next Tuesday.

October
25th is The Joseph Cadole in New
Bern.  It is an E and under foil event, perfect for those of you looking
for a lower stress first tournament or a real shot at your foil
ranking.  I am going so let me know if you are interested in a ride.

There is also an epee event in Charlotte that day which is shaping up to be a B rated event.  See askfred for details.

Our next set of Homeschool classes will start on Wednesday, October 29th.  That should let us finish that set of classes just before the holidays.

We will have practice at Camp Lejeune on Halloween night.  I would ask everyone who will definitely be there to let me know that week, so I only have to pack the equipment we will need.

November 1st is a tournament at Raleigh.

The next set of evening classes will start on Monday, November 3rd.  I am also planning to start our next set of afterschool classes that first week of November.

I
want to try and have another youth event before the end of the year. 
Right now, it looks like it would be between November 8th and December
20th.  I prefer the 8th, because I think the 20th is getting too close
to the holidays.  Parents and young fencers, let me know what you think.  So far it looks like the 8th is the preferred date among parents as well.  I will let everyone know next week.

Sign ups for JO qualifiers are now on askfred.net.  The qualifying events are on Saturday and Sunday, November 15th and 16th.  All the Junior events (ages 13-19) are on Saturday and the Cadet (ages 13-16) qualifiers are on Sunday.  I know that is a bit of issue which might require younger fencers to have an overnight to try to qualify in both, but there is a good reason for it.  Cadet age fencers who qualify for the Junior events become automatic qualifiers for the corresponding Cadet events.  That means there can be more qualifiers for the Cadet events because the automatic qualifier does not count against those who get to qualify, but does up the entry numbers.  Or if they choose not to fence, at least they don’t take a qualifying spot.  The USA Fencing rules are very specific that the Junior qualifying event has to be held first for that to happen.  Last year when the events were all held in one day, some were not allowed the automatic qualifiers because the Cadet event was fenced first.  The JOs are always held over the President’s Day weekend in February.  The events are in Richmond, VA, this year.  It probably will not be much closer for a long time.  That means A) it is easy to get to, and B) the qualifiers will probably be large events that might be highly rated.

The
North Carolina Fencing League’s first event is
November 22nd and we will be hosting it.  It is a foil team event and
takes teams of three fencers and they can have a sub.  It doesn’t cost
anything, but it is appreciated if we have volunteer referees.  Fencers
do need a full outfit including knickers and underarm protector.  Let us
know if you might be interested in fencing and don’t have such things
yet so we can see if the club has your size or can borrow from someone. 
Our teams fence in the B Division since we don’t represent a school. 
In that division fencers can be any age so we will put together as many
teams as we can.  Of course, you will possibly be fencing people all the
way up to high school age, but we can try to split some of it out by
ages.

Homeschool fencers cannot fence in the NCFL this year.  I missed that the actual first event is Sunday, November 9th.  I’ll be sending out a note later today with all the dates, registration information, etc.

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 October 5th

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for October 5th
Emma Graf went down to Atlanta for the women’s foil events over the
weekend.  The Y-14 was a C event and looked incredibly tough.  In the Y-12, Emma pulled a small upset in her first DE (at least according to seeding), and finished in the top 16.

The next
beginner class will start on Tuesday, October 7th, at 6:30 pm.  Intermediate class at 7:30 pm if interest.
Not a lot of UNCW fencers are coming in on Wednesday at this point, so if someone
wants to come in I should have some time to work.

The
October 10th, practice at Camp Lejeune will be on the short schedule due
to it being a holiday weekend.  That means we have to be out by 2000.

Our
second adult event is October 11th.  Open epee, Open foil, and a D and
under foil.  At this point none of the events has enough bodies to be rated over an E, so get signed up ASAP if you are coming.

October
18th is the Tiger Open in Clemson.  This has started being a very large
event recently.  The open epee is already an A and the foil and epee are an A away from being As.  They also have D and under events.  The foil and epee just need bodies to be able to give a way a C.

A little
closer is an event in Raleigh that has a number of unsanctioned Y-12
and Y14 events, plus sanctioned open foil and epee and Div II sabre
events on the 18th and 19th.  Apex is also doing a number of unsanctioned youth foil and epee events.

I haven’t been approached, but I am
guessing that St. Mary will want to set up for the haunted house part of
their Fall Festival on Thursday, October 23rd, so I would guess there
will be no practice that evening, maybe as early as afterschool on the
22nd.

October
25th is The Joseph Cadole in New
Bern.  It is an E and under foil event, perfect for those of you looking
for a lower stress first tournament or a real shot at your foil
ranking.  I am going so let me know if you are interested in a ride.

I want to try and have another youth event before the end of the year.  Right now, it looks like it would be between November 8th and December 20th.  I prefer the 8th, because I think the 20th is getting too close to the holidays.  Parents and young fencers, let me know what you think.

The
North Carolina Fencing League’s first event is
November 22nd and we will be hosting it.  It is a foil team event and
takes teams of three fencers and they can have a sub.  It doesn’t cost
anything, but it is appreciated if we have volunteer referees.  Fencers
do need a full outfit including knickers and underarm protector.  Let us
know if you might be interested in fencing and don’t have such things
yet so we can see if the club has your size or can borrow from someone. 
Our teams fence in the B Division since we don’t represent a school. 
In that division fencers can be any age so we will put together as many
teams as we can.  Of course, you will possibly be fencing people all the
way up to high school age, but we can try to split some of it out by
ages.

Homeschool fencers cannot fence in the NCFL this year. 
Your first meet is November 29th, but the location has not been
decided.  It is also a foil team type meet under the same rules.

If

anyone is available, Heather and I can use some help with the
homeschool class on Wednesdays at 1 pm, or the afterschool classes on
Tuesday and Thursday at 3 pm.  I will pick up your upgrade to a
professional membership if need be.  It is hard to teach the beginner
class and give any instruction to the more advanced fencers at the same
time.

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 September 28

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for September 28
We had our first youth event for the season yesterday.  Not a huge field, especially for sabre, but a lot of exciting fencing.  The foil was won by Will Golder, coming in 2nd was Reaghan Juelke. 
Gerrit Swart and Orion Brown tied for third.  For those 9 and under Jacob Brown won the gold and Zane Jaghman of Salle New Bern won silver.  Sabre was Reaghan, followed by Amir Shaheen with Avery Walston
3rd.  In the epee, Nicole Milewski beat all the boys, Will took second; Keegan Million and Kent Walston tied for third.  Here are the sword points so far:

                Boys                                                               Girls
Will Golder                     
14                                   Reaghan Juelke        11
Gerrit Swart                       7                                  Nicole Milewski           6
Orion Brown                     
7                                   Abbi Gray                  5
Jacob Brown                     4                                   Caroline Artz              3
Keegan Million                 
4                                   Isabelle Artz               2
Kent Walston                   4
Amir Shaheen                   2
Hayden Amdahl                2
Liam Bruno                       1
Avery Walston                   1
Zane
Jaghman                   1

Thanks to Donny Zelinski, Heather Hofstetter, and Samantha Milewski with the refereeing help.  Thanks to all the parents for bringing your children.

Should be a fairly regular week of practice.  No Tuesday/Thursday class, as it finished last week, so people can start early.  I believe the UNCW fencers should be down on Wednesday, but I cannot promise.

I think everyone has seen how slippery the strips have become, even with a lot of sweeping, so I would like to propose the following:  Let stop a bit early Thursday night and sweep and mop the entire floor.  Then on Saturday, if people would come in for a bit about 10 we could put a couple of coats of lacquer on just the strips.  They can dry and by Monday the strips should have good grip again.  If a number of people come in on
Saturday, it won’t take long and then you can go to Riverfest.
  
The next beginner class will start on Tuesday, October 7th, at 6:30 pm.  Intermediate class at 7:30 pm if interest.

The October 10th, practice at Camp Lejeune may be on the short schedule due to it being a holiday weekend, I am trying to find out.

Our second adult event is October 11th.  Open epee, Open foil, and a D and under foil.  Start signing up now.  Having our fencers in is a big part of the draw, so unless we have a good enough field to be “bait,” don’t expect other people to come down here.

October
18th is the Tiger Open in Clemson.  This has started being a very large
event recently.  The open epee is already an A and the foil is a
B.  They also have D and under events in foil and epee.

A little closer is an event in Raleigh that has a number of unsanctioned Y-12 and Y14 events, plus sanctioned open foil and epee and Div II sabre events on the 18th and 19th.

I haven’t been approached, but I am guessing that St. Mary will want to set up for the haunted house part of their Fall Festival on Thursday, October 23rd, so I would guess there will be no practice that evening, maybe as early as afterschool on the 22nd.

October 25th is The Joseph Cadole in New
Bern.  It is an E and under foil event, perfect for those of you looking
for a lower stress first tournament or a real shot at your foil ranking.  I am going so let me know if you are interested in a ride.

The North Carolina Fencing League’s first event is
November 22nd and we will be hosting it.  It is a foil team event and takes teams of three fencers and they can have a sub.  It doesn’t cost anything, but it is appreciated if we have volunteer referees.  Fencers do need a full outfit including knickers and underarm protector.  Let us know if you might be interested in fencing and don’t have such things yet so we can see if the club has your size or can borrow from someone.  Our teams fence in the B Division since we don’t represent a school.  In that division fencers can be any age so we will put together as many teams as we can.  Of course, you will possibly be fencing people all the way up to high school age, but we can try to split some of it out by ages.

Homeschool fencers cannot fence in the NCFL this year.  Your first meet is November 29th, but the location has not been decided.  It is also a foil team type meet under the same rules.

If
anyone is available, Heather and I can use some help with the homeschool class on Wednesdays at 1 pm, or the afterschool classes on Tuesday and Thursday at 3 pm.  I will pick up your upgrade to a professional membership if need be.  It is hard to teach the beginner class and give any instruction to the more advanced fencers at the same time.

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

a couple of things

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
a couple of things
It looks like St. Mary is getting ready to pour some cement/concrete in the parking lot, so everyone should probably plan on using the 5th street entrance for a while.
We have picked up an anole in the basement.  I just didn’t want anyone to freak out if they see a lizard looking back at them.  It is thin, green, and about 4 inches long.  I am told it is not a
gecko, so don’t buy any car insurance from it.
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 9/21

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for 9/21
We had a good event yesterday, both turnout and results wise.  In the open foil, Patrick Lausi of Palmetto Fencers was first, Oliver Galbraith of CFFA was second, and Jesse Harvey of CFFA and Gabriel Lima of Apex tied for third.  We then dominated the open epee, led by the winner Josh Harvey.  Robert Thomas disposed of both Bs on his way to
second place.  Paul Perkins third place gave us three of the top four and the other third place went to Patrick Lausi.  Jacob Hester-Heard re-earned his E in the open epee and just to prove it wasn’t a fluke won the E and under epee to do it again.  Jacob still thinks he is fencing for Delta H
(harrumph, harrumph).  Gannon Hart of CFFA’s Camp Lejeune branch took 2nd.  Gabe Davis of CFFA and Tom Mason of Salle New Bern tied for the 3rds.  Thanks to everyone who helped with set up, clean up, tournament management, etc.
Today Reaghan Juelke went up to Mid-South for a Y12 sabre
event.  She won her first DE and finished in the middle of the pack.

NO afterschool practice tomorrow as St. Mary doesn’t have school.  We will hold the evening classes however.  The rest of the practice week should be pretty normal.

The

27th will be our first 12 and under event.  This one will pretty much
be just for returning fencers as most of  the new beginners won’t be
that
advanced yet.  Foil at 10 am, Sabre at 1:30 pm,  epee at 3:30 pm. 
Trophies to the top three and ties.  Medals to the top three 9 and under
who do not
win a trophy.  Swords to the top male and female fencer over the course
of the year.  In addition a sword will be given to the fencer voted as
showing the best sportsmanship.  Anyone wanting to work on their
refereeing or tournament management is welcome.

It

is a busy weekend because there are adult events at Mid-South.  On the
27th they have foil, which needs 6 people to be a B event, and sabre, which is already an A.  The 28th has epee, which needs1 person to become a B event, and a youth sabre. 
The 27-28th is the first RYC of the season in Richmond.  It is foil on
Saturday and epee and sabre on Sunday.  Also on Sunday are team events
at NCFDP.  They will run them in the NCFL format, first to 5 wins.  But
they plan to have enough teams to do it as a pool and then a DE
elimination.  That Sunday are the foil and sabre events; with All-American already putting in a foil team.  Sunday the 5th has the epee event with two teams already in.

The next beginner class will start on Tuesday, October 7th, at 6:30 pm.

Our second adult event is October 11th.  Open epee, Open foil, and a D and under foil.  Start signing up now.

October
18th is the Tiger Open in Clemson.  This has started being a very large
event recently.  The open epee is already an A and the foil is almost a
B over a month out.

October 25th is The Joseph Cadole in New
Bern.  It is an E and under foil event, perfect for those of you looking
for a lower stress first tournament or a real shot at your foil ranking.

A couple of other housekeeping things, Kelli
Strickland of Southeastern Homeschool Sports will probably be in to the
homeschool class within the next couple of weeks to explain that process
to interested fencers.  Homeschool meets are foil only at the moment
and I can help answer the more fencing related questions if you are
interested.

The North Carolina Fencing League’s first event is
November 22nd and I have asked that we host that one.  I haven’t heard
back from St. Mary, but hope that date will be okay.  Circle the date
because we need fencers, referees, and other assistance. 

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

DC Virgo

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
DC Virgo
Robert won’t be able to teach at DC Virgo this semester.  They are looking for someone who can volunteer to teach on Fridays except Halloween and and the day after Thanksgiving.  The options are a one hour class from 1 pm – 2 pm, a one hour class from 2 pm – 3 pm, both one hour classes, or a two hour class from 1 -3 pm.  It would be pushing me to be able to make it and then get to Camp Lejeune on time.  The program starts October 10th and finishes December 12th, with a showcase performance on
December 18th. Classes were about 10-12 students.  If you might be available and are interested let me know ASAP, as they would like a commitment by Wednesday.

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