News | Cape Fear Fencing Association

CFFA update for June 3rd

June 3, 2019June 3, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had a number of people participate in the Powerade State Games and brought home a number of medals. Erica Julien started things off in sabre. She avenged a 4-5 pool loss to take the bronze medal in the women’s sabre overall and also earned the gold medal for Vet women’s sabre. Herman Smith followed that up in men’s epee with a 5th place overall that won him the bronze in Vet men’s epee. We had three fencers in the Y-12 foil; Amelia Alexander, James Russell, and Jackson Jones. Amelia finished 5th, James 10th, and Jackson 11th. On Sunday, in women’s epee, Erica again took the bronze overall and Vet gold. Nicole Milewski won the overall gold, the Junior gold, and the Cadet Gold. In the Y-12 epee, Amelia brought it full circle by also avenging a 4-5 pool loss to take the bronze. James finished 7th. Congratulations to all.

Summer is totally here. The school related practices at St. Mary and Topsail, and homeschool practices are finished for this school year. Therefore right now, in Wilmington, we are down to Tuesday and Thursday night practice. The next Camp Lejeune beginner class will start this Friday, June 7th at 7 pm.

June
8th will be a middle school team foil event which will start at 10:30 am. We hope to have teams of 3
versus 3, but teams of 2 can participate. The grades are 4th through
8th. The format is best 5 of 9 bouts and we quit when one team gets to 5
victories. I would hope to have teams from St. Mary, Topsail, San Raphael, and Jacksonville’s homeschool. Please confirm that you will be participating. The event is free and we will need help to referee. A couple of people should be plenty. Otherwise, we have to subject the children to Herman’s foil refereeing.

The
club end of year party will be held on 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 will try to get up a signup list so that we how many people are coming and what you might be bringing. Do people want a shortened Saturday morning practice? Please let me know.

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. I would like to order soon so try to give me
an idea before summer nationals. 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 go after you. Right now, foil camps are larger than epee
camps, which is unusual.

Mid-South
is planning on doing a referee clinic on the 13th of July. More
information is available on askfred and possibly on facebook.

People are starting to ask about CFFA jackets again. So we can see if we have enough to order, please let Herman or I know (or I may put up another sign up sheet).

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 midweek update

May 31, 2019May 31, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Brendan is planning to hold Saturday practice, beginning approximately 10:30 am, tomorrow.

Emma Graf also was selected to receive the first team Academic All-American Award from USA Fencing.

Yesterday, Nicole Milewski and Will Golder were named by USA Fencing as second team All-Americans. This is separate from the Academic awards and also incorporates their fencing results from the this season.

Finally, Megan Loony, Hootie Bowen, Jonathan Jarrett, Locke Schoettelkotte, and Owen Williams received awards for being on the fencing team at St. Mary’s last night.

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 May 26

May 26, 2019May 26, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Congrats to Will Golder and Nicole Milewski for being named first team Academic All Americans by USA Fencing. If anyone else also received this accolade, please let me know.

No
afterschool tomorrow (May 27) because of the holiday. The last homeschool
practice for the school year will on the 30th and the last afterschool
will be the 31st. We will have end of year parties for homeschool and afterschool on the 30th and 31st. Regular classes and practice Tuesday and Thursday evening.

The last Topsail practice for the school year will be this Friday, May 31st. It is also the last class for this session for Camp Lejeune.

June 1-2 is the Powerade State Games. The people I see as entered are Erica, Herman, Nicole, Amelia, James, and Jackson. If anyone else is going, please let me know.

The next Camp Lejeune beginner class will start on Friday, June 7th at 7 pm.

June
8th will be a middle school team foil event. We hope to have teams of 3
versus 3, but teams of 2 can participate. The grades are 4th through
8th. The format is best 5 of 9 bouts and we quit when one team gets to 5
victories. I would hope to have teams from St. Mary, Topsail, San Raphael, homeschool?, and perhaps Epiphany from
New Bern. If I missed any schools and you have a couple of eligible
fencers who want to participate, let me know. The event is free and we will need help to referee.

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. I would like to order in early June so try to give me
an idea before summer nationals. 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 go after you. Right now, foil camps are larger than epee
camps, which is unusual. Final dates are (It won’t change any more!):

Beginning Fencing July 8 – 12

Advanced Foil July 15 -19

Advanced Foil July 22 -26

Advanced Epee July 29 – August 2

Advanced Epee August 5 – 9

Mid-South is planning on doing a referee clinic on the 13th of July. More information is available on askfred and possibly on facebook.

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

State Games

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Just a reminder that entry for the State Games ends tonight at 11:59 pm. You cannot enter after that or on site this year. Entries must be made at ncsports.org. Let me know if you enter today, especially if it is for a minor. The site doesn’t list entries by minors, just adults and I want to be certain I know who is going.

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 May 19

May 19, 2019May 19, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We finished our under 12 youth events season yesterday.
Amelia Alexander continued her dominance winning both the foil and epee
and winning the sword for girls. James Russell put together a 3rd in
foil, a 2nd in epee, and a 1st in sabre to win the sword for the boys.
John Alexander was voted the sword for sportsmanship. Foil results were
Amelia 1st, Noah Snyder 2nd, James sharing 3rd with Matthew Burns.
Noah and Matthew both came down from Camp Lejeune. For 9 and under,
John Alexander took the gold; Ander Renelt, from Topsail, won silver;
and Ellery O’Brien earned the bronze. In epee, Amelia 1st, James 2nd,
John, and Linus Huggins 3rd, with Ellery winning the gold medal for 9
and under. Sabre was James 1st, Eamon O’Brien 2nd, and John and Ellery
tied for 3rd. Thanks to Eoin and Eilis O’Brien for refereeing, Mike
Kinney and Herman Smith for armoring, and all the parents and fencers
who helped with set up, clean up, and supporting their fencer.(s) If
anyone has pictures of fencers with their awards, please email me and I
will try to get them into the paper.

We had a
few adult fencers go up to Apex’s Div 1A events yesterday. In Women’s
epee, Nicole Milewski was 2nd, with Erica Julien 6th. Robert Thomas was
18th in men’s epee.

Things are still
winding down with the end of the school year approaching. Regular
afterschool, homeschool, and Tu/Th practice this week. Topsail on
Friday, but no practice at Camp Lejeune due to their holiday schedule
for Wallace Creek. We will have a Saturday morning practice, I will be in about 10 am.

May
25th the Charlotte Fencing Academy is having a number of unsanctioned
youth epee events from Y8 to Y14. Entry fee doubles after today. They
are requiring knickers, plastrons, etc. so if you want to go and need
those things, let me know.

No
afterschool on May 27 because of the holiday. The last homeschool
practice for the school year will on the 30th and the last afterschool
will be the 31st. We will have end of year parties for homeschool and afterschool on the 30th and 31st.

June 1-2 is the Powerade State Games. Remember that you need to enter on the ncsports.org
website. However, this year they are working to make the askfred list
more accurate as far as the entries. Right now it looks pretty sparse
for all the events. You must be registered by 11:59 pm on May 24th.
(Friday night) There is no late registration or walk in registration.

June
8th will be a middle school team foil event. We hope to have teams of 3
versus 3, but teams of 2 can participate. The grades are 4th through
8th. The format is best 5 of 9 bouts and we quit when one team gets to 5
victories. I would hope to have teams from St. Mary, Topsail, North
Topsail, Surf City, San Raphael, homeschool?, and perhaps Epiphany from
New Bern. If I missed any schools and you have a couple of eligible
fencers who want to participate, let me know. The event is free and I will need help to referee.

Even if you have told me you will
be participating in a summer camp, can
you reconfirm that? I also would like to know your T-shirt size so I
can order those. I would like to order in early June so try to give me
an idea before summer nationals. 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 go after you. Right now, foil camps are larger than epee
camps, which is unusual. Final dates are (It won’t change any more!):

Beginning Fencing July 8 – 12

Advanced Foil July 15 -19

Advanced Foil July 22 -26

Advanced Epee July 29 – August 2

Advanced Epee August 5 – 9

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

May 12 CFFA update

May 12, 2019May 12, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had a number of fencers go up to Apex for
their Novice Cup Event. In the Y10/12 boys foil, Jackson Jones finished
9th, James Russell was 15th and John Alexander was 17th. In the girls
Y10/12 foil Amelia Alexander took the gold medal. In the Mixed Y10/12
epee John was 7th, James was 5th, and Amelia took the silver medal. We
had a pair of Walstons earning medals in the mixed adult epee.
Jonathan took bronze and Kent took silver. Congrats to all.

We
are pretty much into our full summer schedule (for Wilmington) at this
point. No Monday or Wednesday evening classes or practices. Almost
everything is on Tuesday/Thursday at the moment. Saturday morning
practice will start when there are no Saturday events. Practice at
Topsail and Camp Lejeune this Friday.

Saturday
will be our last individual youth event of the season. Foil at 10 am,
epee at 1:30 pm, and sabre at 3:30 pm. Entry fee $5 per event. We will
hand out the swords at the end of the event or as soon as winners are
decided.

For adults, May
18th is a sanctioned set of 1A foil and epee events at Apex. Right
now, the women’s 1A epee looks more like a C and under while the women’s
1A foil is more of a D and under. The men’s 1A epee has become
a B event, the foil 1A is already a strong A2, 37 fencers with 3 As. The Div II (C and
under) mixed epee looks more like a D and under and foil should be a
C2. Check askfred for more details.

On May 25th the Charlotte Fencing Academy is having a number of unsanctioned youth epee events from Y8 to Y14.

We will probably have a Saturday morning practice on that date if there is interest. Let me know.

No
afterschool on May 27 because of the holiday. The last homeschool
practice for the school year will on the 30th and the last afterschool
will be the 31st.

June 1-2 is the Powerade State Games. Remember that you need to enter on the ncsports.org
website. However, this year they are working to make the askfred list
more accurate as far as the entries. Right now it looks pretty sparse
for all the events. Our only fencers currently registered are all in the Y12 events.

June
8th will be a middle school team foil event. We hope to have teams of 3
versus 3, but teams of 2 can participate. The grades are 4th through
8th. The format is best 5 of 9 bouts and we quit when one team gets to 5
victories. I would hope to have teams from St. Mary, Topsail, North
Topsail, Surf City, San Raphael, homeschool?, and perhaps Epiphany from
New Bern. If I missed any schools and you have a couple of eligible
fencers who want to participate, let me know. The event is free and I
may need help to referee.

We are talking about having a club end of year party, probably on the 15th of June. I’ll keep you updated.

Looking
ahead to summer planning, I would like to get a confirmation from
everyone who is going to Summer Nationals and which events you are doing
so I can plan my time in Columbus.

Similarly,
even if you have told me you will be participating in a summer camp, can
you reconfirm that? 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 it use them as a vacation. Just, no crying
when the kids go after you. Final dates are (It won’t change any more!)

Beginning Fencing July 8 – 12

Advanced Foil July 15 -19

Advanced Foil July 22 -26

Advanced Epee July 29 – August 2

Advanced Epee August 5 – 9

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

youth events, camp dates

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

First, is it possible to hold the last 12 and under youth event of the season on May 18th (a little over a week away)? Not many people have gotten to me about either date. That would mean we would hold a middle school team event on the 8th of June. The middle school league is grades 4-8. How does that work for possible middle school teams?

I think I have a reasonable solution for the camp date problem. If I leave the beginner camp date at July 8-12, I could then do two weeks of advanced foil, one July 15-19, and one July 22-26. That covers both of the weeks I had mentioned, so no one would need to change plans. Similarly, no one has expressed an interest in the sabre camp, and it didn’t happen last year. Therefore, if we turn the sabre camp into a second week of advanced epee, it gives that both weeks I had previously mentioned and no one should need to alter any plans. Thus advanced epee camps on July 29- August 2, and August 5-9. Both sets of the advanced camps would be based on the same schedule, so they should be almost identical. That also gives us a couple of advantages. The advanced camps should be a smaller so I will have more time to work with individuals. It makes our armorers happy because we don’t have to have so many electrical weapons for one huge week of either camp,

If that helps you make a decision as to which week, please let me know, what camp you will be attending. PLEASE let me know your T-shirt size as I will be putting an order together in early June.

Let me know if you have other questions.

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

dates for camps, events

May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Totally my fault, and I have confused people. After asking people about times early in the year I had said the camp schedule would be:

July 8-12 beginner camp

July 15-19 advanced foil

July 22-26 advanced sabre

July 29- August 2 advanced epee

Some time later I looked at things, totally blanked that I had set some dates, and put everything a week later on the website.

July 15-19 beginner camp

July 22-26 advanced foil

July 29- August 2 advanced sabre

August 5-9 advanced epee

Let me know which dates work best for people. No one has mentioned sabre and not much response to the beginner camp, so there should be some flexibility on my end. But I do want to get us all on the same page as quickly as possible and realize that many of you are juggling camps around.

It does mean that people, especially those in the Y10/Y12 range need to let me know about whether they are going to Nationals, as that will affect how much time I have to drive home from Columbus.

Also, the Memorial Day weekend seems pretty booked. If we want to do youth events it looks like it will have to be May 18th or June 8th. We would like to do the final individual under 12 events, as well as trying to get a middle school team event. Which works best for everyone – May 18th as the individual with June 8th as the team or vice versa? The middle school teams are for 4th – 8th graders. 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 May 5

May 5, 2019May 5, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had an excellent tournament yesterday. It should be the baseline for what should be happening all of next season. Yes, there were a couple of hiccups, but one of the things that saved it was all the CFFA people who showed up in plenty of time to help with set up, stayed late to help with clean up, etc. Specific thanks to Mike Nicholson, Steve Pashby, Josh White, and Brendan for a long day of refereeing. Thanks to Zemi Lawrence for observing. Thanks to Herman and Kenyatta for armoring. And thanks to all the fencers, because of whom, a large number of people earned new rankings. The open foil turned into a C event, (which will undoubtedly upset a couple of people who signed up but didn’t show up because they figured they wouldn’t get/up a rating.) It was won by Gerhard Guevarra of All-American Fencing who updated his C. CFFA’s Jesse Harvey took 2nd and updated his D. CFFA’s Oliver Galbraith took one third, and Salle New Bern’s Josh White took the other, finally earning his D19 in the process. Also congratulations to Frank Newson and Kalei Woodford, two Charlotte Fencers who won their Es. Also thanks to Josh Harvey, who rolled out of bed and got here so we would have the ranks necessary to make it a C event. In the open epee, Jesse won and updated his rank to a B19 by defeating Oliver in the final. Colson Combs of Apex took one third and Robert Mones of Edge of America Fencing took the other, updating his C along the way. CFFA’s Mike Kinney earned his D19 with a 6th place finish, and Apex’s Ethan Hortelano earned an E19 by coming in 8th. With 4 more people, it would have been a B2 instead of a B1, and Ethan would have earned a D, and the 9-12 finishers (all Us) would have earned Es. That didn’t turn out to be that important as three of the four won a rating in the next event. If we had the four bodies and an A so it was an A2, Jesse would be an A, Robert would be a B, Mike and Ethan would be Cs, Kent and Owen would both be Ds, and Robert and William Joseph would be Es. The final event, an E & under epee worked exactly as it was hoped as we got 4 new ranked fencers. Kent Walston, who started here but now claims Salle New Bern as his primary club, won and earned his D. CFFA created 3 new Es with Eoin O’Brien’s 2nd and Robert Smith and Lydia Huggins’s 3rds. The influx of new Ds and Es certainly will make it easier to hold an E & under next season which will give away a D, and might even be able to do D & under which would give away a C. Just as a comparison, 8 ranks from the club were earned or re-earned through the season before yesterday. Yesterday, by itself, saw 6 ranks earned or re-earned. Thanks again to everyone who helped and participated.

The May beginner class will start on Tuesday, May 7th. This will probably be the last beginner class until fall.

On the 11th Apex will have another one of their unsanctioned youth events. Check askfred, we already have a number of people competing.

Also
on the 11th, All-American in Fayetteville. is having low level
sanctioned events. Both the men’s and women’s foils should be giving
away Es.
They are also having an open epee, which will probably also have an E on
the line. See askfred for more info.

May
18th is a sanctioned set of 1A foil and epee events at Apex. Right
now, the women’s 1A epee looks more like a C and under while the women’s
1A foil is more of a D and under. The men’s 1A epee needs bodies to be
a B event, the foil 1A is already a strong A2, 35 fencers with 4 As. The Div II (C and
under) mixed epee looks more like a D and under and foil should be a
C2. Check askfred for more details.

We are looking for a date to have a middle school team event. It will probably be May 18th or 25th. May
25th is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, there are no events close by, so we could have a Saturday practice if it does not turn into a team event.

June 1-2 is the Powerade State Games. Remember that you need to enter on the ncsports.org
website. However, this year they are working to make the askfred list
more accurate as far as the entries. Right now it looks pretty sparse
for all the events. Our only fencers currently registered are all in the Y12 events.

June
8 is another unsanctioned event at Apex. We will probably use this
date for one of our youth events.

We are talking about having a club end of year party, probably on the 15th of June. I’ll keep you updated.

Looking ahead to summer planning, I would like to get a confirmation from everyone who is going to Summer Nationals and which events you are doing so I can plan my time in Columbus.

Similarly, even if you have told me you will be participating in a summer camp, can you reconfirm that? 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 it use them as a vacation. Just, no crying when the kids go after you. Dates are:

Beginning Fencing July 15-19

Advanced Foil July 22-26

Advanced Sabre July 29 – August 2

Advanced Epee August 5-9

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 April 29

April 29, 2019April 29, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

To the best of my knowledge, we only had one person competing this weekend. Amelia Alexander was at the Virginia Grand Prix RYC in Fairfax. In the Y-14 women’s foil she took 13th. In the Y-12 women’s foil she tied for the bronze. In both DEs she lost to the eventual winner and the second event’s DE was closer than the first.

Things are starting to wind down toward the end of the season. UNCW is about to head into finals, so there will not be any Wednesday evening practices until they start back up in the fall. The Monday/Wednesday beginner class will still meet. Tuesday/Thursday practice and the Friday classes will continue to meet.

May 4th is our
Stab-a-thon. The Open epee is currently a B2, and needs just one more A to be an A event. The
Open foil is a D, and needs one more C to make a C event. The E and under
epee should be a D1.

The May beginner class will start on Tuesday, May 7th. This will probably be the last beginner class until fall.

On the 11th Apex will have another one of their unsanctioned youth events.

May
18th is a sanctioned set of 1A foil and epee events at Apex. Right
now, the women’s 1A epee looks more like a C and under while the women’s
1A foil is more of a D and under. The men’s 1A epee needs bodies to be
a B event, the foil 1A is already a strong A2. The Div II (C and
under) mixed epee looks more like a D and under and foil should be a
C2. Check askfred for more details.

May
25th is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. No big events close by,
so that may become the last youth event or a middle school team event
like the one last year. Let me know what works better for people.

June
8 is another unsanctioned event at Apex. We will probably use this
date for whichever of the youth events we don’t use the Memorial Day weekend for.

Next year’s NAC schedule is out and it isn’t tremendous, but isn’t bad for our area. Remember, all of you trying out for the Olympic team next year will need to make all the Div I events (plus some international events wouldn’t hurt).

October Kansas City Div1, Div II, Cadet

November Milwaukee Junior, Cadet, Y-14

December Salt Lake City Div I, Div II, Vets

January Charlotte Div I, Junior, Senior Team

February Columbus JOs

March Detroit Div II, Y-10, Y-12, Y-14 (NCAAs held right before)

April St. Louis Div I, Div II, Vets

Summer nationals Louisville

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