CFFA update for July 7

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for July 7
Finishing up with the results from Nationals…
On Friday Nicole fenced the Div II Women’s epee.  She had a solid pool round going 4-2 with both losses being 4-5 (one was against the woman who finished 2nd).  She won her first DE handily and lost a second close DE, finishing 47/179.  Robert fenced the Div III Men’s epee in the afternoon.  Also a solid 4-2 performance.  He also won his first DE, and then ran into the fencer who finished 8th.  He ended up 46/197.
On Saturday we had a pair of fencers in their first National competitions.  Amelia Alexander did well for her first (and last) national Y-12 foil event.  She won a bout and didn’t get blanked by anyone.  She got one of the few touches against the 12 year old C in her pool.  She was totally in her DE, but lost, coming in 145/163.  Jackson Jones finished out our Nationals cadre in Y-10 foil.  He also won a bout in his pool (and it was 5-0).  He won his first DE, and then ran into the fencer who ended up 12th.  Jackson ended up 120/154.  Just as an aside there was a 10 year old B in the competition (Jackson didn’t fence him) and yes, he won the event.
Practice will be back to normal this week – Tuesday and Thursday evening, Camp Lejeune on Friday, and Saturday morning practice.  I did a referee clinic while at Nationals, so I will probably go over the current interpretations this week.
The beginner camp starts tomorrow.  With two weeks 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.
Mid-South
is planning a referee clinic on the 13th of July.  Since I did the clinic at at Columbus, I won’t be going.  The clinician is
Rylan Delep, an international level referee.  The clinic will run from  
9 am – 5 pm with a break for lunch.  The cost is $75 for those without a
referee certification and $30 for those previously certified.  Although
this will help you get ready for taking the referee test, the primary
focus will be on current interpretation of Right of Way with actual
hands on practice using video replay.  More information is available on
askfred and possibly on facebook.
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 women’s epee needs bodies to be a C and women’s foil needs bodies to be a D event.  For men the epee needs an A and bodies to be an A.  The foil needs a C and a D to be a B event.
There is a
sign up sheet on the gray board for anyone who would like to order a
CFFA jacket.  This is an interest request and not a commitment.  I don’t
know what they might cost as it has been a few years since we ordered
and cost will probably depend on the number we order.  There is usually a
minimum order and because these cost a bit more, the club needs to have
pre-sold most of them as we cannot afford to have our finances tied up
with hundreds of dollars of jackets sitting around.  Herman has been investigating local companies and Frank Milewski and I spoke with one of the companies at Nationals, so we should have some updated information soon.

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

Nationals update

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
Nationals update
NO Saturday practice.  Things will get back to normal next week.
Everyone has been fencing pretty well.  No breakout performances, but everyone has been solid.
Kim Phillips was up first on Monday as part of a Vet sabre team.  They won their first match pretty easily.  A quick aside, these are called the Summer nationals, but not every event here is a National Championship.  At National Championships, everyone has to be a US citizen or a permanent resident.  At a NAC event (North American Cup), anyone can enter.  At NACs in individual events you often run into very good Canadian, Chinese, and other fencers who are in the US.  If they have fenced internationally there is a formula to convert an international ranking to an American one.  If they haven’t fenced internationally or in the US they get the standard Unrated classification.  There is a joke about having a Canadian U in your pool.  Anyway, the Vet sabre team is not a National Championship and the next team Kim’s team faced had an ex-Olympian from Russia and a former Olympic medalist from Belarus.  Didn’t go quite as well.  Kim’s team then won a fence off for the bronze medal.
Anyway, most of the events here are National Championships.  The National Championships for Cadet and Junior are the JOs in February.  The National Div I Championships are in April.
Up next was Nicole Milewski in the Cadet (13-16) women’s epee NAC event.  She had an excellent first round, going 5-1, and only losing to the number 5 fencer in the country for that age group.  She won her first DE, but lost the second, still ending up at 37th out of 187.
On Tuesday it was Robert Thomas fencing in the Vet 40-49 men’s epee.  Robert was “en fuego,” going 5-1.  He beat an A and a B fencer and only lost to the top seeded person in the event.  Unfortunately, his first DE was a fencer from his pool who changed up his defense and got revenge.  Robert still finished 17th out of 38.
Wednesday was the busy day.  Robert was not quite as on as Tuesday but was still solid in the Div II epee.  His pool was 2-4, but that was three 4-5 and one 3-5 loss.  That got him one of the young whippersnapper types.  Robert kept it close, losing 11-15.  He finished 169/239.
Erica Julien was up in women’s sabre.  It took her a while to get into sabre mode.  She was 1-7 in the pool, but improved as the day went on.  She won her first DE handily and then pushed the woman who ended up finishing second with a 7-10 score.  That got her the 8th place medal.
Nicole finished the day with the Y-14 epee event.  She had another good pool, again 5-1.  Her one loss was to the woman who won the 1-A Championship earlier in the week.  She lost another close 11-15 DE to finish 72/201.
 
The events at these type of tournaments often get weird and crazy.  Nicole lost to a fencer rated about 40 places below her.  However, the woman in Nicole’s pool who won the second highest rated type of tournament a few days earlier and came out of the pools rated 13th, plus the 2nd and 7th seeds, all lost their first DEs to people seeded in the 130s and 140s.  A woman who came in 2nd in the Div 1 (highest level) Championship, didn’t make the top 16 in this one.  In this type of event, it can be all about the match up of who you get in the DEs.  Plus it shows how strong these tournaments are.  It used to be that most pools would have a “bunny.”  That was someone who qualified from Outer Podunk and had never done anything like this ever before.  Everyone in the pool would then destroy that person.  I haven’t seen any bunnies.  Everyone here knows how to fence although they may not be as experienced or gifted as the other fencers.

No one fencing today,  Tomorrow Robert and Nicole have their last events.  On Saturday Jackson Jones and Amelia Alexander fence to finish out our participation.

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 1

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for July 1
Starting with the news from Nationals, on Friday Nicole Milewski fenced the Junior women’s epee.  This is for women 13-19.  She had an okay first round going 2-4.  She lost her first DE and ended up 189/240.  Sunday, Kim Phillips fenced the Vet 40 men’s sabre.  He went 4-1 out of his pool.  In his first DFE he was against a person he beat in his pool.  Unfortunately, he had a different referee and didn’t get the same calls he was getting in the pool.  He dropped the bout and finished 9th.  Erica Julien then was up for Women’s epee.  She went 2-2 in her pool.  She won her first DE fairly handily, and then beat a woman with 50+ years of fencing experience.  She dropped a 9-10 bout in priority for her third DE, but comes away with a bronze medal in the National Championships.  I may toss out occasional updates throughout the week depending on how well people do and how busy I am.
Practice back in Wilmington this week will be on Tuesday night.  No practice on July 4th in Wilmington, or July 5th on board Camp Lejeune.  I will let you know about Saturday.
I will be back for the start of beginner camp on the 8th and back to normal practice for the evnings of that week.
Mid-South is planning a referee clinic on the 13th of July.  The clinician is Rylan Delep, an international level referee.  The clinic will run from 9am – 5 pm with a break for lunch.  The cost is $75 for those without a referee certification and $30 for those previously certified.  Although this will help you get ready for taking the referee test, the primary focus will be on current interpretation of Right of Way with actual hands on practice using video replay.  More information is available on askfred and possibly on facebook.  I am considering going, so I may be able to take some people.  However, I have signed up for a referee clinic being held at Nationals, which lowers the probability I will go.  If I do go, it will obviously have an impact on a Saturday 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.
There is a sign up sheet on the gray board for anyone who would like to order a CFFA jacket.  This is an interest request and not a commitment.  I don’t know what they might cost as it has been a few years since we ordered and cost will probably depend on the number we order.  There is usually a minimum order and because these cost a bit more, the club needs to have pre-sold most of them as we cannot afford to have our finances tied up with hundreds of dollars of jackets sitting around.

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

upcoming schedule for CFFA

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
upcoming schedule for CFFA
Here is the schedule due to Nationals:
Thursday, June 27   Evening practice only.  Brendan says he will be in about 7 pm.
Friday, June 28       NO Camp Lejeune practice
Saturday, June 29   NO Saturday practice
Tuesday, July 2    Evening practice only.  Brendan says he will be in about 7 pm.

Thursday, July 4    NO evening practice.  Enjoy the holiday.

Friday, July 5        NO Camp Lejeune practice.

Saturday, July 6    Up in the air at the moment.  I will keep you in the loop.

Just a reminder that we need any orders that you would like me to pick up at Nationals need to be in ASAP (read today) so Herman can phone them in to Absolute.  Also get in items you want from vendors other than Absolute.  Just remember that we may not have discounts from other people.

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 June 23

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for June 23
Had a good Saturday practice.  My apologies for the late notice on whether I would be back or not.
Thanks
to Brendan, probably Herman, and whoever else helped getting the air
conditioner in for the office.  This will help keep the lames from
turning green as the drier air will help remove your sweat from them
more quickly and keep less of our lovely coastal salt infused air from
getting to them.  It will help dry out masks, gloves, and jackets more
quickly so they don’t start to smell.  This doesn’t mean you don’t have
to still hang them up or put them away.  The dry air can’t get to them
if they are on the bottom of a pile on the floor.
Swordmasters is going out of business and selling everything out at Nationals  If you are interested in ordering
something, please get to Herman or me in the next couple of days.  A
number of vendors always show up at National events, so it becomes easy
and cost effective for me to load up the car with purchases and save
everyone shipping.  Additionally, although not as much as used to be,
the vendors may put certain items on sale and we can save you even
more. 
This week we will have a 6:30 pm –
7:30 pm practice on Tuesday for those
too young to stay up through the evening older youngster and adult
practice.  Cost is $5 per per child.  Once I am back after Nationals,
this should occur on Tuesday and Thursday until mid-August, when
beginner classes will start back up.
Otherwise, it should be a regular week.  I will be
away for nationals Thursday (June 27th) and the following week July
2nd and 4th.  Again, I imagine other members will take care of
practice, although I doubt it will happen on the 4th.  I will keep
you posted about Saturday practice on June 29th and July 6th, those
will be up to Herman and Brendan.
I will
also be away for the two corresponding Fridays, so no Camp Lejeune
practice June 28th and July 5th.  We should be good to go
for July 12th.
Mid-South
is planning a referee clinic on the 13th of July.  The clinician is
Rylan Delep, an international level referee.  The clinic will run from
9am – 5 pm with a break for lunch.  The cost is $75 for those without a
referee certification and $30 for those previously certified.  Although
this will help you get ready for taking the referee test, the primary
focus will be on current interpretation of Right of Way with actual
hands on practice using video replay.  More
information is available on askfred and possibly on facebook.  I am
considering going, so I may be able to take some people.  However, I
have signed up for a referee clinic being held at Nationals, which
lowers the probability I will go.  If I do go, it
will obviously have an impact on a Saturday practice.
If

you want to do summer camp and have not yet told me, please do so ASAP.
(If you have confirmed it with me, we are good.)  As of a couple of year’s ago, the
camps have become
open to adults who want to use them as a vacation.  But no crying
when the kids beat you.   Right now, foil camps are larger than epee
camps, which is unusual.  Although I have ordered the camp T-shirts, you can always just show up and participate
in the camp.  I just won’t be able to promise a T-shirt in your size.

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.
There
is a sign up sheet on the gray board for anyone who would like to order
a CFFA jacket.  This is an interest request and not a commitment.  I
don’t know what they might cost as it has been a few years since we
ordered and cost will probably depend on the number we order.  There is
usually a minimum order and because these cost a bit more, the club
needs to have pre-sold most of them as we cannot afford to have our
finances tied up with hundreds of dollars of jackets sitting around.
Someone
tossed a jacket in one of the trash cans.  I fished it out and it just
looks like it needs a new zipper.  Herman always tells me this is an
easy fix.  It is on the table if you want to claim it and show it to
Herman.  In any event, if you have a piece of gear go down, please run
it by one of the officers or a good armorer before chucking it.  Some of
it may be salvageable, saving you money.  If a blade breaks, save the
bell guard, tip, etc.  Even if it is not something you want to save, the
club may be able to use it for spare parts.  On jackets, the zipper may
be reusable and even those little plastic D rings some times come in
handy.  Zippers and rings on lames, plus if most of the lame is still
good, we can use that for patches on other lames.  If items are in the
trash because you have decided to give up and quit fencing, just give us
all of your gear at once and don’t make us dumpster dive for it.  LOL

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 June 16th

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for June 16th
A lovely end of the (fencing) year gathering was enjoyed by everyone in attendance yesterday.  Thanks to everyone who came and shared food.  Massive thanks to the the Chabas who opened their home, pool, and badminton court to everyone.  Plus there was great background music, for which you had to “be of a certain age,” or have really cool parents.
If you are interested in ordering something, please get to Herman or me in the next couple of weeks.  A number of vendors always show up at National events, so it becomes easy and cost effective for me to load up the car with purchases and save everyone shipping.  Additionally, although not as much as used to be, the vendors may put certain items on sale and we can save you even more. 
The weeks of June 17th
and 24th. we will have a 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm practice on Tuesday for those
too young to stay up through the evening older youngster and adult
practice.  Cost is $5 per per child.
Otherwise, it should be a regular week.  I will be
away to deal with some family business Thursday, so Herman and
Brendan will be taking care of that practice,  I will be back,
hopefully, for Saturday morning practice June 22nd, as I know a number
of you want every minute of practice time before Nationals. 
For those of you looking for a competitive last minute prep for
Nationals, there is a tune up event in Richmond June 22-23 with Y-12
foil, Senior Open foil, epee, and sabre, and a D and under foil.  See
askfred for more details.
I will be away for nationals next Thursday (June 27th) and the following week July 2nd and 4th.  Again, I imagine other members will take care of practice, although I doubt it will happen on the 4th.  I will keep
you posted about Saturday practice on June 29th and July 6th, those
will be up to Herman and Brendan.
I will
also be away for the three corresponding Fridays, so no Camp Lejeune
practice June 21st, June 28th, and July 5th.  We should be good to go
for July 12th.
Mid-South
is planning a referee clinic on the 13th of July.  The clinician is
Rylan Delep, an international level referee.  The clinic will run from
9am – 5 pm with a break for lunch.  The cost is $75 for those without a
referee certification and $30 for those previously certified.  Although
this will help you get ready for taking the referee test, the primary
focus will be on current interpretation of Right of Way with actual
hands on practice using video replay.  More
information is available on askfred and possibly on facebook.  I am
considering going, so I may be able to take some people.  If I do go, it
will obviously have an impact on a Saturday practice.
If

you want to do summer camp and have not yet told me, please do so ASAP.
(If you have confirmed it with me, we are good.)  As of a couple of year’s ago, the
camps have become
open to adults who want to use them as a vacation.  But no crying
when the kids beat you.   Right now, foil camps are larger than epee
camps, which is unusual.  Although I have ordered the camp T-shirts, you can always just show up and participate
in the camp.  I just won’t be able to promise a T-shirt in your size.

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.
There
is a sign up sheet on the gray board for anyone who would like to order
a CFFA jacket.  This is an interest request and not a commitment.  I
don’t know what they might cost as it has been a few years since we
ordered and cost will probably depend on the number we order.  There is
usually a minimum order and because these cost a bit more, the club
needs to have pre-sold most of them as we cannot afford to have our
finances tied up with hundreds of dollars of jackets sitting around.
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

Saturday practice/party

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
Saturday practice/party
Just FYI, I will be in for Saturday practice at 10 am tomorrow.  It does need to be an abbreviated practice so we can all get ready for the club party that starts at 2 pm at Piotr’s, 5122 Partha Lane.  Let us know if you are going to the party and haven’t told us 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

addition to the update

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
addition to the update
Right after I sent out the first batch of updates I realized I forgot to mention. this.  Apologies to John.

John Alexander participated in an Apex event yesterday.  He went 3-3 in
his foil pool, with all the losses being 4-5.  He won his first DE
handily, and then had a close match with the number 5 seed.  He finished
11th out of 25.

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 June 9th

Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication
CFFA update for June 9th
We had a very fun and interesting middle school team foil tournament yesterday at the club.  We had four teams with really good competition.  There were no blowouts and four of the six matches went to 5-4.  In fact, at various points in the last round we thought we were going to have either a three way tie for first, or a three way tie for second.  In the end a trio of fencers; Amelia Alexander, Jams Russell, and Andrea Gervase; from Surf City came in first.  A composite team of Jackson Jones from Surf City, Noah Snyder from Jacksonville’s homeschool team, and Raul from Saint Raphael took second.  The Saint Raphael team of Cole and Keely Carter, and Jack took third.  The Saint Mary team of Megan Looney, Jonathan Jarrett, and Owen Williams was fourth.  Thanks to Will Golder for refereeing, and Herman Smith and Mike Kinney for armoring.  Thanks to all the parents for bringing and supporting your fencers.
Things will be pretty standard this week.  Tuesday and Thursday evening practice with the May beginner class finishing up.  Friday night practice on board Camp Lejeune.
The
club end of year party will be held this Saturday, June 15th.  It is being hosted
by Piotr Chaba, at 5122 Parth Lane, in Wilmington, but fencers from all
locations are welcome.  Time is 2 pm until?  Bring your own
desserts, drinks, things to throw on the grill, and chairs.  Things to
share are welcome.  There is a
pool available.  Alcohol is acceptable.  We have a signup
list on the gray board at the club so that we will know how many people are coming and what you might be
bringing.  Do people want a shortened Saturday morning practice?  No one said anything last week, so I will ask again and let people know toward the end of this week.
The weeks of June 17th and 24th. we will have a 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm practice on Tuesday for those too young to stay up through the evening older youngster and adult practice.  Cost is $5 per per child.
I will be away to deal with some family business and to coach our fencers at the Summer Nationals over the next few weeks, so I will not be at practice Thursday, June 20th, June 27th, and the week of July 1st.  Herman and Brendan will be taking care of the practices while I am away, although I doubt there will be practice Thursday, July 4th.  I will be back, hopefully, for Saturday morning practice June 22nd, as I know a number of you want every minute of practice time before Nationals.  I will keep you posted about Saturday practice on June 29th and July 6th, those will be up to Herman and Brendan.
I will also be away for the three corresponding Fridays, so no Camp Lejeune practice June 21st, June 28th, and July 5th.  We should be good to go for July 12th.
Mid-South
is planning a referee clinic on the 13th of July.  The clinician is Rylan Delep, an international level referee.  The clinic will run from 9am – 5 pm with a break for lunch.  The cost is $75 for those without a referee certification and $30 for those previously certified.  Although this will help you get ready for taking the referee test, the primary focus will be on current interpretation of Right of Way with actual hands on practice using video replay.  More
information is available on askfred and possibly on facebook.  I am considering going, so I may be able to take some people.  If I do go, it will obviously have an impact on a Saturday practice.
If
you want to do summer camp and have not yet told me, please do so ASAP.
(If you have confirmed it with me, we are good.)  I also would like to
know your T-shirt size so I
can order those.  As of a couple of year’s ago, the
camps have become
open to adults who want to use them as a vacation.  But no crying
when the kids beat you.   Right now, foil camps are larger than epee
camps, which is unusual.  Although I will make this the last call for T-shirt sizes for the camp, you can always just show up and participate in the camp.  I just won’t be able to promise a T-shirt in your size.
There is a sign up sheet on the gray board for anyone who would like to order a CFFA jacket.  This is an interest request and not a commitment.  I don’t know what they might cost as it has been a few years since we ordered and cost will probably depend on the number we order.  There is usually a minimum order and because these cost a bit more, the club needs to have pre-sold most of them as we cannot afford to have our finances tied up with hundreds of dollars of jackets sitting around.
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