CFFA update for March 9

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for March 9
The Divisional qualifiers were held over the weekend at NBS gym in Raleigh.  Because the event is in San Jose, it looks like the numbers were fairly depressed for the event.  We only had 6 people go.  Robert Thomas took the silver medal in men’s epee, qualifying for the Div II and Vet events.  He also qualified for Vet foil.  Herman Smith took 8th in the epee and qualified for the Vet epee event.  Joe McLaughlin qualified for the Vet sabre.  We had three women in the epee event.  Samantha Milewski took the bronze medal and qualified for Division II and Division III.  Erica Julien qualified for the Vet event.  Riley Hart won her first DE and lost the second and just missed qualifying for Div III.
In a bit of Housekeeping/Bookkeeping – We know it gets confusing when writing checks as to whom it goes.  We have to separate who gets what checks for tax purposes, etc.   Not an absolute killer if it gets marked wrong, but the less we have to “fix” things the better.   Here is the quick guide.
Checks to me  (Greg Spahr)                                                                                          Afterschool classes                                                                                              Homeschool classes                                                                                                  Beginner and Intermediate classes                                                                                        All Camp Lejeune classes                                                                                                 Kid’s tournaments                                                                                                        Fencing Camps  
Checks to CFFA                                                                                                               Club Dues for evening practices                                                                                     Nightly floor fees                                                                                                      Equipment orders                                                                                                            Adult tournaments 
Checks to USA Fencing     The once a year renewal of your membership to USA Fencing.  For most people this will be in early August.   
Checks to Herman Smith           Occasionally Herman will order equipment for us to have on hand to sell.  Also around the holidays when there are a large number of orders he may put some on his credit card as we tend to max out the club card.  He will let you know if you owe him directly.                                                                                                                                     March 14-15 is
Mid-South’s Grand Opening event.  The epee is now a solid A2.  The foil might reach being a B with an A or B and a couple more bodies.  They also have a Vet sabre.
Our next youth event is
March 14th.  Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm. 
$5 per event with trophies to 1-3 and ties, medals to the top 3 who are 9 and
under who don’t get a trophy.
 
The Iron Maiden, the
only women’s only event in NC, will be held Saturday, March 21.  Foil,
epee, and D and under sabre. Of course, now this will be a memorial tournament for Lynn.  I
would like to see all of our eligible women competing, maybe even trying
weapons you haven’t fenced competitively to pump up the numbers.   Get
signed up on askfred.  Right now the entry list is pitiful.
Mid-South is hosting the
area’s RYC on the 28th and 29th.  They have changed how you get to
Nationals for Y-12 and Y-10, so just showing up is not enough.  It is now
also based on how well you do, but you can’t get qualified if you don’t
go.  It is also a good first step for those of you considering the jump to
bigger events like the JOs.  They also have Y-14 events, some of which are
looking pretty strong.  Only two CFFA fencers in the mix at the moment.
 
April 4th is Salle New
Bern’s John Martin event.  E and under foil and epee plus Y-12 foil and
epee.  I hand out sword points for the Y-12 events as part of our kids
series.  Plus they are doing the free lunch they always do.  I will be going up in some capacity, so let me know if you need a ride.
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

Sad news

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
Sad news
It is with deep sadness that I inform our club that
Lynn Krupey has passed this life to the next.
She has been a part of the heart of our fencing family.
A disciple of the epee’,  a teacher of it’s art, a never tiring
voice for fencing and Our friend. Her strolling into the club,
always with an impish smile and a love of life, a sight never
to be forgotten. Our little Iron Maiden.
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

Divisionals

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
Divisionals
Just a reminder that you need to sign up by tomorrow night to get the standard price.  It is more expensive at the door on Saturday.
Also a reminder that Daylight Savings Time starts Sunday, so you lose an hours sleep and it is as if the events started an hour earlier than listed.
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 1

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA Update for March 1
Yesterday was the NCFL Individual High School Championships.  For the men we had Will Golder compete.  He didn’t make it into the second round, but as a sixth grader I am pretty certain he was the youngest fencer there.  Coastal Christian sent three fencers.  Mack Smith suffered the same fate as Will.  Jonathan Hartness made into into the second round, but not the semi finals. Oliver Galbraith went undefeated for his first three rounds and ended up in 2nd place overall.  We had three entrants into the women’s events.  Reaghan Juelke and Emma Graf both made it into the semi finals and finished eleventh and twelfth respectively.  Emma Filer was undefeated for the first two rounds and finished in fifth.  Filer is an eight grader and Graf and Juelke are seventh graders so in a couple of years we should be dominating the women’s division.

The next evening beginner and intermediate classes start Tuesday,
March 3rd.  6:30 pm for the beginners, and 7:30 pm for the intermediates.  Other than that it should be a pretty standard week of practice.
 
March 7-8 are the Div II/III National Championship
qualifiers.  For Vet fencers all you have to do is show up and survive.
These also have the qualifiers for Y-14 events.   Even if you are not
planning to go to San Jose, this will be a good state wide event.  Get
signed up before the fees go up (March 6th) and so the Division can determine
how many referees they need to hire.  That weekend UNC is also hosting the
NCAA regionals so referees are tight. Right now only men’s foil has enough bodies to be a C event.  Donny is trying to line up an examiner for referees on Sunday, so if you are interested let him (or me, know).
 
March 14-15 is Mid-South’s Grand Opening event.  The epee is
an a weird A event with 2 As, 7Bs, and NO Cs.  The foil might reach being a
B with a an A or B and a few more bodies.  They also have a Vet sabre.



Our next youth event is March 14th.  Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30
pm, and epee at 3:30 pm.  $5 per event with trophies to 1-3 and ties,
medals to the top 3 who are 9 and under who don’t get a trophy.
 
The Iron Maiden, the only women’s only event in NC, will be held
Saturday, March 21.  Foil, epee, and D and under sabre.  This is
being held as a benefit for Lynn Krupey, one of our assistant coaches who is
currently fighting cancer.  I would like to see all of our eligible women
competing, maybe even trying weapons you haven’t fenced competitively to pump up
the numbers.   Get signed up on askfred.  Right now the entry list is pitiful, 4 in epee, 2 in foil, and non in sabre.



Mid-South is hosting the area’s RYC on the 28th and 29th. 
They have changed how you get to Nationals for Y-12 and Y-10, so just showing
up is not enough.  It is now also based on how well you do, but you can’t
get qualified if you don’t go.  It is also a good first step for those of
you considering the jump to bigger events like the JOs.  They also have
Y-14 events, some of which are looking pretty strong.  Only two CFFA
fencers in the mix at the moment.
 
April 4th is Salle New Bern’s John Martin event.  E and under
foil and epee plus Y-12 foil and epee.  I hand out sword points for the
Y-12 events as part of our kids series.  Plus they are doing the free
lunch they always do.
I am getting ready to go through all the lists I have and purge people we haven’t seen for a while, so if you are no longer interested in receiving the updates, please let me know.

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 February 23

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for February 23
Hoggard and Coastal Christian both sent teams to the NCFL team championships Saturday.  Coastal went 2-1 (I think) and ended up in 5th.  Hoggard lost all 3, but a couple were close, and ended up 8th.
On Sunday the Artz twins fenced the homeschool individual championships.  They finished 4th and 5th but were up against much older and bigger girls.
Pretty regular practice this week.  EXCEPT since no one much has been showing up on Wednesday nights, I am going to take those off until the next set of Monday and Wednesday classes start in April.
 
The 28th is the NCFL
individuals.  They will also be held at McDougal.  I believe all of
our fencers fenced enough to qualify, so let’s figure out who is going.
 
For the adults, All
American is hosting an unsanctioned men’s and women’s foil on the 28th. 
Unsanctioned means you cannot earn ratings, but the entry fee will be much
cheaper.  They are also holding a “Beginner” epee for those who
want to try their hand at competing.  See askfred for more details.
 
The next evening
beginner and intermediate classes start Tuesday, March 3rd.  6:30 pm for
the beginners, and 7:30 pm for the intermediates.
 
March 7-8 are the Div
II/III National Championship qualifiers.  For Vet fencers all you have to
do is show up and survive. These also have the qualifiers for Y-14 events.   Even if you are not planning to go to San
Jose, this will be a good state wide event.  Get signed up before the fees
go up (March 6th) and so the Division can determine how many referees they need to hire.  That weekend UNC is also hosting the NCAA regionals so referees are tight.
 
March 14-15 is
Mid-South’s Grand Opening event.  The epee is an a A
event.  The foil needs a bunch of bodies, but might reach being a B.  They also have a Vet sabre.
 
Our next youth event is
March 14th.  Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm. 
$5 per event with trophies to 1-3 and ties, medals to the top 3 who are 9 and
under who don’t get a trophy.
 
The Iron Maiden, the
only women’s only event in NC, will be held Saturday, March 21.  Foil,
epee, and D and under sabre.  This is being held as a benefit for Lynn
Krupey, one of our assistant coaches who is currently fighting cancer.  I
would like to see all of our eligible women competing, maybe even trying
weapons you haven’t fenced competitively to pump up the numbers.   Get
signed up on askfred.  Right now hardly anyone is signed up.
 
Mid-South is hosting the
area’s RYC on the 28th and 29th.  They have changed how you get to
Nationals for Y-12 and Y-10, so just showing up is not enough.  It is now
also based on how well you do, but you can’t get qualified if you don’t
go.  It is also a good first step for those of you considering the jump to
bigger events like the JOs.  They also have Y-14 events, some of which are looking pretty strong.  Only one CFFA fencer in the mix at the moment.
April 4th is Salle New Bern’s John Martin event.  E and under foil and epee plus Y-12 foil and epee.  I hand out sword points for the Y-12 events as part of our kids series.  Plus they are doing the free lunch they always do.
 
Finally, I am going to
take some time away from starting beginner classes for the younger fencers so I
can devote more time to the continuing youngsters.  So I won’t start the
next afterschool beginner class until April.  The same thinking for the
homeschool class.  This is the last week of their beginner class, but
then the next one won’t start until April.
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

practice

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
practice
It looks like we will be able to use the gym tonight for practice.  Go ahead and enter through basement so we don’t have to open the gym doors and let cold air in.
pax tibi,
 
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

Fencing next couple of days

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
Fencing next couple of days
Looking at the weather, it will probably be pretty chilly in the fencing room the next couple of nights.  It was chilly last night and it is supposed to be colder than that today and tomorrow. 
Generally it isn’t too bad while the sun is up so the homeschool and afterschool classes should be fine, but it certainly drops in the evening.  Make plans accordingly.  If no one is using the gym, we might want to move upstairs, but I don’t know if the gym is booked.
Of course if we had a ton of people coming down and actually fencing hard, no one would notice.
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 JOs edition

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA Update JOs edition
I had intended to get this out last night, but didn’t get away until the storm in Richmond had started.  So the 4 hour drive was more like 6 +.  Anyway…..
This JOs was like most big National events, some good days and some not so good days for our fencers.  Emma Filer started off really strong.  In the Junior (ages 13-19) foil she was ranked 6th out of 7 in her pool – 2 As, 1 B, 2 Cs, a D (Emma) and a U.  Emma beat the U 5-0, and also beat one of the Cs to make it to the elimination round.  In her first DE she manhandled another C, who was seeded about 15 places higher than she was.  Emma was up 13-6 before finally winning 15-10.  Then she had the good fortune  (Spoiler alert) to run into the woman who won the entire event.  It was 3-15, but considering that woman beat an A 15-8 in the finals, that was a fine showing.
Oliver started the next day well in the Cadet (ages 13-16) foil.  Won the necessary 2 bouts to get to the DE round just to find out his opponent was – Charles Chow.  Yes, two fencers go to Nationals just to fence someone they see all the time in North Carolina.  Really fine ask no quarter, give no quarter bout.  Tied 13 – 13 at the end of regulation.  Oliver got the priority and scored on a riposte about half way into priority to win.  In the next DE  he was solidly ahead, but started having problems with developing some blisters on his hands and couldn’t hold on for the victory. He would have been top 64 (at least) if he had won that one. 
Samantha Milewski was up next for the Cadet Woman’s epee.  She wasn’t really “on.”  She won two matches to get to the DEs, but then dropped her first DE.
On Sunday, Oliver started out in the cadet epee and drew the Number one pool.  That means he had the overall favorite in his group.  Oliver didn’t beat him, but did win two to make it to the DE.  There he pulled out another priority victory over a B epeeist to advance to the next round.  There he ran into an A.  He put up a good fight, but couldn’t win.
Then Emma was back with the Cadet Women’s foil.  Supposedly your pool should be easier in the younger age group, but as sometimes happens, Emma’s pool was actually stronger.  Plus, as also sometimes happens, the woman Emma beat in the DE Friday was in her pool Sunday.  She made certain she got her revenge against Emma.  Emma won 1 bout, but it wasn’t enough to get to the DEs.
The last day started with Oliver fencing the Junior foil.  It was a really really tough pool and Oliver wasn’t quite on and he didn’t make it out of the pool.  We did have Elijah Pena in the pool.  For those who remember, Elijah fenced for a few years out of Salle New Bern.  He is now living up by Cleveland.  If you stay if fencing long enough you will develop friendships with people that you will only see when you both show up to these big National events.
Finally, Samantha was in the Junior Women’s epee.  In her case the older event pool actually was stronger than her Cadet pool.  She was fencing better than she did Saturday, but in this group it wasn’t quite good enough to get to the DE.  She won one bout.  She did get 2 touches against an A who beat her 5-0 at last summers Nationals, so that was a sign of her improvement.
All in all I was quite happy.  Some ups and downs, but if they can all fence at the level of their better performances they will start to move up the rankings at big events.
Practice should be back to normal for the rest of this week, weather permitting.
The NCFL”A” team championship will be held at 10 AM Saturday at McDougal Middle school, 900 Old Fayetteville Road, Chapel Hill this Saturday. 
The Homeschool Individual is this Sunday at 1:30 pm at Oak Ridge.  There may be some bad weather in the forecast as they are saying to watch the weather.
The 28th is the NCFL individuals.  They will also be held at McDougal.  I believe all of our fencers fenced enough to qualify, so let’s figure out who is going.
For the adults, All American is hosting an unsanctioned men’s and women’s foil on the 28th.  Unsanctioned means you cannot earn ratings, but the entry fee will be much cheaper.  They are also holding a “Beginner” epee for those who want to try their hand at competing.  See askfred for more details.
The next evening beginner and intermediate classes start Tuesday, March 3rd.  6:30 pm for the beginners, and 7:30 pm for the intermediates.
March 7-8 are the Div II/III National Championship qualifiers.  For Vet fencers all you have to do is show up and survive.  Even if you are not planning to go to San Jose, this will be a good state wide event.  Get signed up before the fees go up and so the Division can determine how many referees they need to hire.  These also have the qualifiers for Y-14 events.
March 14-15 is Mid-South’s Grand Opening event.  The epee just needs bodies to be a A event.  The foil needs a bunch of bodies, but might reach being a B.
Our next youth event is March 14th.  Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm.  $5 per event with trophies to 1-3 and ties, medals to the top 3 who are 9 and under who don’t get a trophy.
The Iron Maiden, the only women’s only event in NC, will be held Saturday, March 21.  Foil, epee, and D and under sabre.  This is being held as a benefit for Lynn Krupey, one of our assistant coaches who is currently fighting cancer.  I would like to see all of our eligible women competing, maybe even trying weapons you haven’t fenced competitively to pump up the numbers.   Get signed up on askfred.
Mid-South is hosting the area’s RYC on the 28th and 29th.  They have changed how you get to Nationals for Y-12 and Y-10, so just showing up is not enough.  It is now also based on how well you do, but you can’t get qualified if you don’t go.  It is also a good first step for those of you considering the jump to bigger events like the JOs.
Finally, I am going to take some time away from starting beginner classes for the younger fencers so I can devote more time to the continuing youngsters.  So I won’t start the next afterschool beginner class until April.  The same thinking for the homeschool class.  There are two more weeks in their beginner class, but then the next one won’t start until April.
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