News | Cape Fear Fencing Association

Mid week update for CFFA

August 13, 2014August 13, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Three quick things:

1) I will be headed out to Charlotte to fence/coach at their C and under epee event The Cs are Ryan Miller, Ricky Richards, and Sandy Tapia so I consider it pretty wide open. (Sorry Ryan) I am taking Erica and might have room in the car for another person if anyone is interested. Leaving from Sam’s club about 8:45 am. Let me know if you want to go.

Of course, that means I won’t be at practice Saturday morning. If anyone with keys wants to come in, let me know so I can get the word out.

2) I haven’t been mentioning it, but we can also have an intermediate class start this Tuesday at 7:30 pm for those who are beyond beginners but don’t feel quite ready to jump into the big pond with both feet. It works like this, we meet for about 1/2 an hour to work on moves and then you get
turned loose to go fence the more experienced people. Then the next time, we go over what worked and what didn’t. Repeat the process. Cost is $50 for 6 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday, plus the $10 USA Fencing membership if you don’t already have it.

3) The schedule is already packed for events, so it looks like about the only date available for a 12 and under kids event early in the semester is September 27. I will get flyers out with times for when everyone returns from summer break.

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 10

August 10, 2014August 10, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

First an apology to Erica Julien. Because Veteran’s age groups work in accordance with the Veteran’s World Championships and not the usual USA Fencing age regulations, Erica is currently the 7th highest rated fencer in the 70+ age group.

Yesterday the club picked up another C rated foilist as Josh Harvey took 3rd at Mid-South. John Crumpler, an A from Notre Dame was 1st,
Charles Chow of Mid-South was second, and Alicia Chen took the other 3rd. Emma Graf took a bronze in the Y14 event.

Sabre camp finished Friday, so we will be back to a Tuesday and Thursday evening schedule with Saturdays a possibility depending on what events are occurring. I will try to be in approximately 5ish if anyone wants to come in early
and work.

The season is starting early this year and all of these events are up on askfred.

Charlotte
is hosting a C and under epee event on the 16th. It should be at least a C1. I may go over depending on how many fencers we have participating, I will keep everyone posted about that and whether there will be a Saturday practice.

The
first evening beginner class will start Tuesday, August 19 at 6:30 pm.
The experiment I tried with the beginner class at the first of the year
didn’t work as well as I had hoped, so I am going back to the 6 week,
two night a week model. If there is interest we can do an intermediate class starting at 7:30 pm.

Mid-South has youth sabre events on the 23rd.

NCFDP
is hosting open foil and epee events on August 31. These will be
strong events because many of the UNC fencers will be there.
Immediately following the close of fencing will be the Divisional
meeting which will plan the operation of the Division for the upcoming
season. I will have proxies that can be signed if you are not going to
be there (or stay for the meeting). To sign a proxy you need to be 18
years old and a
competitive member of USA Fencing.

Afterschool will start for returning fencers
the Tuesday after Labor Day and for new beginners on the Monday after Labor
Day. Homeschool classes will start on the Wednesday after Labor Day.

Saturday, September 6 is the Lafayette Open/Harry Rulnick foil and epee at All-American in Fayetteville. I will be there in some capacity so can offer rides. Gerhard always does interesting awards for these two events.

That Sunday is an open foil and sabre tournament at NCFDP.

The September evening beginner class will start on Monday, the 8th,at 6:30 pm and will run for 6 weeks on Monday and Wednesday. We will start an intermediate class, if necessary on Wednesday. That will also be the date that we start Wednesday practices back up. The UNCW fencers tend to show up in force on Wednesday so there will be some people to fence.

For
those wanting to participate in a more regional event, Fredericksburg
is again hosting the Kick-Off Open on September 13-14. They have
Division 1A and Division II events. The first means anyone up to and
including As can participate, the second means C and below. These can
be used to qualify for the National Championships next summer. For the
Div1A, you must accumulate enough points over the course of the season –
meaning you would probably need to participate in a number of these.
However, finishing in the top 10% of the Division II event automatically
qualifies you for that event at Nationals. If you are a D and under I
believe that also qualifies you for Div. III. Veterans just need to
compete to be qualified for their events at Nationals.

Sunday is epee and sabre at NCFDP.

Our first event of the season will be held on Saturday, September 20. We will be having Open foil, Open epee, and an E and under epee. Please start getting signed up on askfred so we can attract fencers from other clubs and make these higher rated events.

Since
it is the new season, remember we need to get USA Fencing memberships
up to date so you are covered by our insurance. Plus you want to do
this soon so that you are listed as eligible for the upcoming
tournaments. It also means that we need to start getting club dues in,
especially for those who are paying in 6 month or yearly installments.

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 3

August 3, 2014August 3, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

A lot has happened this week, so this will be a long one. Please read through it all carefully.

We held the advanced foil camp last week. Thanks to the Shaheens for the drinks and
snacks. Advanced sabre camp is this upcoming week. Other
than that, it should be a pretty standard week of practice. Tuesday,
Thursday, Saturday at Wilmington and Friday night at Camp Lejeune.

Saturday practices will continue until there are Saturday events pulling enough of our folks that I will be coaching, reffing, etc. Considering that the season seems to be starting earlier, that won’t be long. I
will keep you updated.

Mid-South is hosting
foil and sabre events on August 9. The Open foil that was an incredibly difficult B1 on Thursday is now an insanely difficult C1 as two of the Bs had their ratings drop on Friday. They are also having a Y-14 foil. Check askfred for the most current information.

Charlotte is hosting a C and under event on the 16th. Currently needs one more D or C and a few bodies to become a C event. See askfred for more details.

NCFDP is hosting open foil and epee events on August 31. These will be strong events because many of the UNC fencers will be there. Immediately following the close of fencing will be the Divisional meeting which will plan the operation of the Division for the upcoming season. I will have proxies that can be signed if you are not going to be there (or stay for the meeting). To sign a proxy you need to be 18 years old and a
competitive member of USA Fencing.

The
first evening beginner class will start Tuesday, August 19.
The experiment I tried with the beginner class at the first of the year
didn’t work as well as I had hoped, so I am going back to the 6 week,
two night a week model. Afterschool will start for returning fencers
the Tuesday after Labor Day and for new beginners on the Monday after Labor
Day. Homeschool classes will start on the Wednesday after Labor Day.

For those wanting to participate in a more regional event, Fredericksburg is again hosting the Kick-Off Open on September 13-14. They have Division 1A and Division II events. The first means anyone up to and including As can participate, the second means C and below. These can be used to qualify for the National Championships next summer. For the Div1A, you must accumulate enough points over the course of the season – meaning you would probably need to participate in a number of these. However, finishing in the top 10% of the Division II event automatically qualifies you for that event at Nationals. If you are a D and under I believe that also qualifies you for Div. III. Veterans just need to compete to be qualified for their events at Nationals.

The Division schedule for the fall
is out and events should be showing up on askfred very soon. I put our events there, so start getting signed up so we can attract people down here. Our events are:

September 20 Open Foil, Open epee, E and under epee
October 11 Open Foil, Open epee, D and under foil
December 13 Open foil, Open epee, Vet’s epee

Don’t forget the Division qualifiers for the Junior Olympics will be held the weekend of November 15-16.

Since it is the new season, remember we need to get USA Fencing memberships up to date so you are covered by our insurance. Plus you want to do this soon so that you are listed as eligible for the upcoming tournaments. It also means that we need to start getting club dues in, especially for those who are paying in 6 month or yearly installments.

Herman is putting together the first of the season order, so if you
need something please get to him ASAP.

And saving the best for last, we now have two people currently on the Nationals points lists for their weapons. Erica Julien is tied for 13th on the Veteran Women’s 60-69 epee, and Nicole Milewski is 16th on the Youth 10 women’s epee.

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 7/27

July 28, 2014July 28, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had a good epee camp this past week. Afterward, the Milewski girls traveled up north, Samantha to do Princeton’s epee camp and Nicole to do a tournament in New
Jersey. Unfortunately Nicole’s results are not yet up on askfred.

This week is the advanced foil camp with advanced sabre next week. Other
than that, it should be a pretty standard week of practice. Tuesday,
Thursday, Saturday at Wilmington and Friday night at Camp Lejeune.

The non-competitive membership is going up to $10. Still not
bad for a year’s worth of fencing.

Remember

that July 31st is the last day of the season for USA Fencing purposes.
You need to have the $10 non-competitive membership to practice or
compete at any level and the
more expensive competitive membership to participate in official USA
Fencing events. The local kids events we do here are not official USA
Fencing events. If you do it electronically at the USA Fencing website,
please bring me a copy. Technically, that means that for August 1st,
the Friday of the advanced foil camp and that night at Camp Lejeune, you
should have a membership to fence. I have the forms which you can
fill out then as a backup.

Also remember that August 1 means
that it will be time for those of you who pay dues in longer
installments to renew your memberships.

Starting
to slowly work back into the competitive season. Mid-South is hosting
foil and sabre events on August 9. The Open foil is one fencer away from being a B1. They are also having a Y-14 foil.

Charlotte is hosting a C and under event on the 16th. See askfred for more details.

The
first evening beginner class will start Tuesday, August 19.
The experiment I tried with beginner class at the first of the year
didn’t work as well as I had hoped, so I am going back to the 6 week,
two night a week model. Afterschool will start for returning fencers
the day after Labor Day and for new beginners on the Monday after Labor
Day. Homeschool classes will start on the Wednesday after Labor Day.

I
have had a request for people to do a “demo” during the Riverfest
weekend of October 4th. A company is renting the battleship and would
like a 10-20 minute demo. However, it sounds more like what they would
like is really a stage combat skit with pirates. I don’t have all the
details yet, but let me know if you might be interested in working
something up.

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 20

July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

There is a lot of filming going on in the area and the church is doing some work in the parking lot, so parking will probably be tight for a while.

A bit of bad news. We just received the prices for memberships for next year and the non-competitive membership is going up to $10. Still not bad for a year’s worth of fencing.

Remember

Also remember that August 1 means that it will be time for those of you who pay dues in longer installments to renew your memberships.

Just finished the beginner camp Friday, and this next week is the advanced epee camp. Advanced foil and sabre camps to follow.

Other than that, it should be a pretty standard week of practice. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday at Wilmington and Friday night at Camp Lejeune.

Starting to slowly work back into the competitive season. Mid-South is hosting foil and sabre events the weekend of August 8-9. The foil only has 9 people at the moment, but it is 3 Bs and 6 Cs. 6 more bodies of any rank and it is probably a B1.

I have had a request for people to do a “demo” during the Riverfest weekend of October 4th. A company is renting the battleship and would like a 10-20 minute demo. However, it sounds more like what they would like is really a stage combat skit with pirates. I don’t have all the details yet, but let me know if you might be interested in working something up.

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

Tonight

July 15, 2014July 15, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Just FYI, there is some filming going on around St. Mary so parking may be tight tonight.

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 13

July 13, 2014July 13, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Had the meeting for the NCFL yesterday. The big change is that home school students will no longer be able to fence on the B teams of the NCFL since they have their own league. It looks like there will be 12 or 13 teams this year. I have still not heard from Hoggard regarding where they sit with a team. A small Christian school in Western NC is looking at entering the Western Conference. The other change is that besides the regular events we are looking at having some “auxiliary” meets which would be dates set aside for strictly women’s teams and epee. The qualification path to the individual championships is still the same. You must fence in two of the four regular season events, if you fence as an A fencer, you are automatically
in (even if you only fence in one event as an A fencer), as a B fencer you have to win at least 25% of your bouts. The maximum number of men in the individuals is capped at 60, the women’s is capped at 36. If we have more than the cap, the A fencers are automatically in. The B fencers competing will be based on the number of wins, not %. We have dates for the meets so you can start planning now.

November 15 or 22 We are waiting to see if the JO qualifiers are either of those two dates. If they are, we will take the other. If neither we will take the 22nd.

December 6

January 10

January 31

February 21 Team Championship (A teams only)

February 28 Individual Championships

Locations have not yet been decided. However with the current conference set up, we will probably host one of the first four and the other 3 will be in the Chapel Hill/Durham area. The team event could be anywhere in the state. The individuals have been held at East Chapel Hill the last few years.

Locally, although I realize it is the summer doldrums; it would be a good week to get into the club. Connor Costa, a “B” foil fencer who will be attending UNCW, will be down Tuesday and was hoping to stop by the club and fence. Mike Courchesne,a “C” foil and epee fencer formerly of CFFA and UNCW, will be doing a residency rotation at New Hanover the next couple of weeks. He spent last week fixing weapons and says to take it easy on him because he is out of practice. The last time he showed up and said that he re-earned his C in a tournament. Finally, Donny and the Salle New Bern posse will be down on Saturday morning for practice (about 10 am.)

For Camp Lejeune, no new fencers this session, so that should give us some time to actually work on fencing. I will work with the epeeists from about 5:30 – 6:30 and foilists from about 6:30 – 7:30.

The beginning fencing camp starts tomorrow. Still space available if you know anyone interested. Mon – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm. I am still looking for anyone who might be able to come in and help with the 3-5 pm hours on the next four Fridays. If you have keys that is the best, but some one mature enough to lock it all up after the youngsters have been picked up is fine.

Remember that July 31st is the last day of the season for USA Fencing purposes.
You need to have the $5 non-competitive membership to practice or compete at any level and the
more expensive competitive membership to participate in official USA
Fencing events. The local kids events we do here are not official USA
Fencing events. If you do it electronically at the USA Fencing website, please bring me a copy. Technically, that means that for August 1st, the Friday of the advanced foil camp and that night at Camp Lejeune, you should have a membership to fence. I will have the forms which you can fill out then as a backup.

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 Updates and NCFL questions

July 8, 2014July 8, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

It looks like this Saturday the 12th may turn out to be the NCFL annual meeting. I need to get an idea on who is interested before then. For those who don’t know or don’t remember, the NCFL is the North Carolina Fencing League. It has an A and a B Division. The A division is high school “varsity” teams. The B division is the high school 2nd, 3rd, etc. teams, and teams put together from clubs like CFFA or clubs plus homeschool fencers. (the homeschool league will have its own meeting later) That is where those of you not yet in high school can fence, but it will be primarily against high school fencers. Last year there were 12 High Schools that fielded A teams, so we split into two conferences of 6
teams. I don’t know how many teams this year, which will be one of my questions. Generally there are 6 meets. Four of the meets are team meets, of which we generally host one. The fifth meet is the State team championship, which only has the the A teams. The last meet is an individual championship, which usually anyone who has participated in two meets and won at least 20 % of their bouts can go to. The A teams usually do a round robin of 6. The B team system has varied according to numbers. Sometimes it has been a round robin of B teams, C teams, D & E teams, etc. Sometimes it has been a double elimination. Usually it has been foil only, but when we have enough epeeists there has been epee. You would need to have a full uniform, but we can help with that, particularly knickers and plastrons.

So I need answers to these questions from everybody.

Which high school might have teams? Coastal Christian is in. Hoggard? Ashley? Laney? New Hanover? Jacksonville? Lejeune? New Bern?

If you are interested and don’t know if you have any other foil fencers at your school, let me know that. We might have enough to put something together.

If you don’t go to a high school with a team (not enough fencers, you are homeschooled, or you are too young) are you interested in the B division? It has been suggested that we try to put together a couple of “teams” of interested B fencers who would commit to fencing as a B team all season. Are you interested in that?

Can your parents, or you help with driving?

If there is an epee division, would you be interested? It would probably be all B teams, no official high school teams.

Feel free to ask questions.

On other fronts, Connor Costa, the B foilist from New Jersey, will be down next Tuesday for UNCW Orientation and may stop by the club. Having some foil fencers for him to go up against would be good. Also on the 19th, remember that the New Bern club will be sending some fencers down.

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 6

July 6, 2014July 6, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Things will be getting back to summer normal this week. Practice Tuesday and Thursday, I will show up around 5 pm if anyone wants some extra time. A new class starts at Camp Lejeune this Friday night.

No practice next Saturday morning as someone is using the basement. That means we will need to take down the overheads Thursday night and put
them back up the following Tuesday.

Camps are coming up. The beginning fencing camp will be July 14-18, let any non fencers who you think might be interested know. That will be followed by epee camp, July 21-25, foil camp July 28 – August 1, and saber camp August 4 -8. I am revamping the camps to reflect some things from the Duke clinic, the Michael Marx clinic, and Nationals.

I will need some help on the Fridays of the camps. I need to get up to Lejeune for classes there and so need to leave a little after three. Anyone who can take over the camp for the couple of hours until the campers get picked up and then lock up will be appreciated. The dates are July 18, 25, August 1, and 8.

Looking to next season, most of the National events are a good distance away. The closest one is the Junior Olympics, in Richmond in February. That one will require qualification in November, but is probably what fencers 13-19 should be aiming toward. Next year’s Nationals are in San Jose, California.

Speaking of next season, remember that July 31st is the last day of the season for USA Fencing purposes. You need to have the $5
non-competitive membership to practice and the more expensive competitive membership to participate in official USA Fencing events. The local kids events we do here are not official USA Fencing events.

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 – No practice tonight – Nationals wrap up

July 3, 2014July 3, 2014 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Just in case you were wondering, we won’t have practice tonight. We were already not going to have practice at Lejeune due to the July 4th holiday. Still hoping for a Saturday morning at 10 am practice, but obviously use your judgement based on the local conditions.

Will Golder had a realistic first Nationals experience. He got better as his pool went
on and defeated his last opponent 5-0. That left him at 1-5. In his DE he happened to draw someone from his pool and did better against him. He finished 103rd.

Sadly, the Milewskis have had a death in the family; so Samantha withdrew from her last couple of events.

All in all I think we had a solid Nationals. Almost everyone fenced right about as well as they are currently capable. We had 4 fencers attend their first Nationals, so I have even more people who can explain to everyone else the level of some of the best fencers. I think at least a couple of them want to up the level of their work and practice so they can do better next year. Of the four none has fenced more than two years and a couple are closer to about one year of fencing. It is unfair to ask them to successfully compete against fencers who might have 5-6 (or even 10-12) years of fencing and many competitions at this level. The good news is that their learning curve can still be pretty steep while the more experienced fencers learning curve levels
off.

Herman ordered some new equipment, but that doesn’t mean go crazy and not take care of things!!!

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