News | Cape Fear Fencing Association

CFFA update for March 3rd

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had two teams competing at the homeschool league team championships yesterday. Unfortunately, neither was at full strength due to injuries and illnesses. The Southeastern Cardinals team of Eoin, Eilis, and Eamon O’Brien went 2-2 defeating Oak Ridge and Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Hurricanes had only Noah Snyder and Caleb Forman. They probably would have won one or more if they had a third fencer, but as it was they went winless.

From Facebook, it looks like Erica Julien won something up at Mid-South, but no results are up on askfred for me to tell you exactly what.

Regular practice this week with the March classes getting started. This Tuesday,
March 5th will start our next evening beginner foil class. The next
beginner class at Topsail will start Friday, March 8th. Remember that Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, so parking may be difficult near the church.

Our
next event, Battle of the Ironclads, is on March 9th The preregistration is over and unless we get a number of additional fencers we will cancel the sabre. Foil and epee are still on.

On March 16th we will be hosting the Homeschool Individual Championships at 10 am.

Apex is having an unsanctioned Y10/Y12 Women’s and Men’s foil, and Mixed epee on that date.

Mid-South is having youth sabre on the 17th. See askfred for both of these events.

Nothing
currently shows up on any schedule for March 23rd, so I would like to
consider having a youth event that day. For those who have not yet done
any of our youth events they are under 12. That means if you were still
12 or under on December 31, 2018, you are eligible. We do all three
weapons. We give away trophies to the top 3 (and ties) finishers.
medals to the top 9 and under finishers (unless they earn a trophy) and
swords to those who earn the most points over the course of the season.
We have a ton of new fencers so I am be pleading for refereeing help, especially in foil. Cost is $5 per event.

For adults, there is a ROC up in Baltimore that has Div 1A, Div II, and Vet events. Monday the 4th is the last day for preregistration so get on it if you are interested. You have to sign up at the usafencing.org website under Events.

March
30 and 31 are the NC Divisionals. This is a path to qualify to the
National Championships if you are not already qualified. You can
qualify to the Division II (C and under) or Division III (D and under)
championships. There are also qualifiers for Y-14. To qualify you must
finish in the top 3 if there are 12 or fewer fencers, or the top 25% if
there are more than 12. The Division II and III events are fenced as
one event and they remove all the Cs from the results to figure out who
qualifies from Division III. This year’s Nationals are in Columbus,
Ohio, so they are not that far away. Also, the venue and area around
the Columbus venue are pretty good as they have hosted the event a
couple of
times in the last few years. Times and other info are on askfred. Keep
an eye on the entries; if they are low numbers it may be rescheduled
into a Saturday only event.

April
6th is the Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. Women only events if
foil, epee, and sabre. Our women need to be getting signed up to
attract other fencers. I know it is a way out, but but the women’s epee in Savannah this weekend is at 35 and there is no reason we cannot have that big of an event.

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

March 9 tournament

March 2, 2019March 2, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Remember that you only have until midnight tonight to get registered on askfred at the “early bird” price. After midnight the cost goes up $10 per event. At the moment there are only 10 epee, 11 foil, and 1 sabre fencer.

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 24

February 24, 2019February 24, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

First, a big apology for not mentioning the armory work that Mike Kinney, Kenyatta Sanford, and Herman Smith did at our homeschool event last week.

A big day at the NCFL individual championships in Greensboro yesterday. In high school women’s foil

three women from
Ashley competed. Emma Graf went 5-0 in her pool, received a bye for the
first round, won her first DE (against her teammate, Katelyn Guthrie),
but then lost in the round of 8 to the eventual winner. Claire Hommes
had a solid pool round and received a bye for the first DE round, but
lost in the second round. Katelyn Guthrie had a good pool round, won
her first DE, but then lost to Emma. Final results – Emma 7th, Claire
10th, Katelyn 10th. In high school men’s foil two
students from Hoggard competed. Will Golder went 5-0 in the pool round
with a +25 indicator. (Think about it.) He won
through in the DEs to the semifinals, where he lost to the eventual
winner. He then won the 3rd place match. Andrew Whitehead won his
first DE, but lost his second to finish 29th. For middle school women’s foil, all
three women fence under CFFA auspices. Megan Looney lost her first DE
and finished 12th. Chloe Craig came out of the pool round seeded
third. She received a first round bye, then won her first DE, but then
ran into teammate, Amelia Alexander, and lost. She then won her last
match for the bronze medal. Amelia went 5-0 in her pool and was seeded
second in the DEs. She received a first round bye, won her fist match,
then defeated Chloe, and won her next match to earn the gold medal. Finally in high school epee two fencers fought under the CFFA banner. Joey Smith came out of the first round seeded fourth. In
his first DE, he found himself down 1-7 at the end of the first period.
He then staged an epic comeback to tie the match at 13 and then won in
priority. He then fenced teammate,
Nicole Milewski, and lost, but won his final bout to garner the third
place trophy. Nicole came out
of the pool round seeded first. She won her DE bout, then defeated
Joey, and won her last bout to win the first place trophy. Congratulations to all.

Also fencing, but up at Apex, was Jackson Jones. He finished 8th out of 27 after winning his first two DEs.

A standard week of practice this week.

March
2nd is the Homeschool A team Championship at Winston Salem (the Star
of Bethlehem Church). B team fencers will not be fencing.

For
everyone else, Mid-South has their Grand Opening anniversary
tournament. Sabre Men’s and Women’s on Saturday. The men’s should be a B1. The formerly women’s
events in foil and epee have been folded into mixed events in those
weapons on Sunday. Right now foil is a B1 and epee is an A1. Check askfred.

Tuesday, March 4th will start our next evening beginner foil class. The next beginner class at Topsail will start Friday, March 8th.

Our
next event, Battle of the Ironclads, is on March 9th The policy of you
need to be entered
on askfred by a week prior for the regular registration fee will
continue, so you need to be entered by midnight, March 2nd. This tournament will have open foil, epee, and sabre. Most
of our women will be away to a large epee women’s and mixed event in
Georgia, so guys, you need to get signed up soon. Right now the numbers
are so low ( 8 epee, 7 foil, 0 sabre) we may need to consider cancelling it. See askfred for
further details.

On March 16th we will be hosting the Homeschool Individual Championships at 10 am.

Apex is having an unsanctioned Y10/Y12 Women’s and Men’s foil, and Mixed epee on that date.

Nothing
currently shows up on any schedule for March 23rd, so I would like to
consider having a youth event that day. For those who have not yet done
any of our youth events they are under 12. That means if you were still
12 or under on December 31, 2018, you are eligible. We do all three
weapons. We give away trophies to the top 3 (and ties) finishers.
medals to the top 9 and under finishers (unless they earn a trophy) and
swords to those who earn the most points over the course of the season.
If the date stays open, I will get you more info in a couple of weeks.
We have a ton of new fencers so I may be pleading for refereeing help, especially in foil. Cost is $5 per event.

April
6th is the Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. Women only events if
foil, epee, and sabre. Our women need to be getting signed up to
attract other fencers,

The
schedule for summer camps looks like it will Be July 8-12, Beginner
Camp; July 15-19, Advanced Foil Camp, July 22-26, Advanced Sabre Camp,
and finally July 29 – August 2, Advanced Epee Camp.

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 17th

February 17, 2019February 17, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Yesterday
we held the last of the homeschool regular season meets. The regular A
team of Kyler Schoonmaker, Eoin and Eilis O’Brien started for the
Southeastern Cardinals. Kyler had to withdraw due to a hip injury after
a couple of meets and was replaced by Eamon O’Brien. They went 2-2,
defeating Jacksonville and Oak Ridge. The Jacksonville Hurricanes
(Matthew Burns, Noah Snyder, and Matthan Droke) went 1-3 defeating Oak
Ridge. In the B level, which was fenced as an individual tournament,
Caleb Forman of the Hurricanes came in 1st. Noah Droke, also a
Hurricane,in his first tournament came in 3rd, and Ellery O’Brien of the
Cardinals was 5th.

We will have a new
afterschool class starting on the 18th. I am trying to keep Tu/Th open
for St. Mary students, so M/W will be more for new students. Otherwise
it will be a standard week of practice, including back at Camp Lejeune
Friday night.

February
23rd is the NCFL individual finals at the Simpkins Center in
Greensboro.

Also next Saturday are unsanctioned events in Apex. They are having Y-10/12
Women’s and Men’s foil, Senior Women’s and Men’s foil, and a mixed
Senior epee. Check askfred for more details.

Thirdly on that date is a saber RYC at Mid-South. Details are on askfred, but the actual registration is through usafencing.

March
2nd is the Homeschool A team Championship at Winston Salem (the Star
of Bethlehem Church). B team fencers will not be fencing.

For
everyone else, Mid-South has their Grand Opening anniversary
tournament. Sabre Men’s and Women’s on Saturday. The formerly women’s
events in foil and epee have been folded into mixed events in those
weapons on Sunday. Right now both are B1s. Check askfred.

Our
next event, Battle of the Ironclads, is on March 9th The policy of you
need to be entered
on askfred by a week prior for the regular registration fee will
continue. This tournament will have open foil, epee, and sabre. Most
of our women will be away to a large epee women’s and mixed event in
Georgia, so guys, you need to get signed up soon. Right now the numbers
are so low we may need to consider cancelling it. See askfred for
further details.

On March 16th we will be hosting the Homeschool Individual Championships at 10 am.

Apex is having an unsanctioned Y10/Y12 Women’s and Men’s foil, and Mixed epee on that date.

Nothing
currently shows up on any schedule for March 23rd, so I would like to
consider having a youth event that day. For those who have not yet done
any of our youth events they are under 12. That means if you were still
12 or under on December 31, 2018, you are eligible. We do all three
weapons. We give away trophies to the top 3 (and ties) finishers.
medals to the top 9 and under finishers (unless they earn a trophy) and
swords to those who earn the most points over the course of the season.
If the date stays open, I will get you more info in a couple of weeks.
We have a ton of new fencers so I may be pleading for refereeing help, especially in foil. Cost is $5 per event.

April
6th is the Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. Women only events if
foil, epee, and sabre. Our women need to be getting signed up to
attract other fencers,

The
schedule for summer camps looks like it will Be July 8-12, Beginner
Camp; July 15-19, Advanced Foil Camp, July 22-26, Advanced Sabre Camp,
and finally July 29 – August 2, Advanced Epee Camp.

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 10th

February 10, 2019February 10, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

It is February, so those of you who do six month dues, it is time to catch the last half of the year. If you want to save a little money, avoid the hassle of having to remember dues every month, and can do it; CFFA offers a six month membership plan at the price of five months ($175) for the evening classes.

Yesterday we had two teams participate in the NCFL State Team Championships yesterday at Orange High School. Emma Graf and Claire Hommes fenced for Ashley High School. Although a person short they only lost their first match 4-5 and won their second match to finish up 5th in the state. A CFFA epee team of Joey Smith and Nicole Milewski. also a person short, defeated Bishop McGuinness 5-4 to win the state epee championship.

No practice at Camp Lejeune due to the early closure for the holiday. All of the classes/practices should be meeting.

February 16th is the last homeschool regular meet, which will be held here starting at 10 am.

We may have a new afterschool class starting on the 18th, but I have to get some okays from St. Mary. I will keep you posted.

February 23rd is the NCFL individual finals at the Simpkins Center in Greensboro. I received the information last night and have passed it on the those eligible.

Also
on that date are unsanctioned events in Apex. They are having Y-10/12
Women’s and Men’s foil, Senior Women’s and Men’s foil, and a mixed
Senior epee. Check askfred for more details.

Thirdly on that date is a saber RYC at Mid-South. Details are on askfred, but the actual registration is through usafencing.

March 2nd is the Homeschool A team Championship at Winston Salem (the Star of Bethlehem Church). B team fencers will not be fencing.

For
everyone else, Mid-South has their Grand Opening tournament. Men’s and
Women’s events in all three weapons. Women’s sabre had a number of
fencers, but the other two are pretty low at the moment. All the men’s events should be at least B events Check askfred.

Our next event, Battle of the Ironclads, is on March 9th The policy of you need to be entered
on askfred by a week prior for the regular registration fee will continue. This tournament will have open foil, epee, and sabre. Most of our women will be away to a large epee women’s and mixed event in Georgia, so guys, you need to get signed up soon. See askfred for further details.

On March 16th we will be hosting the Homeschool Individual Championships at 10 am.

Apex is having an unsanctioned Y10/Y12 Women’s and Men’s foil, and Mixed epee on that date.

Nothing currently shows up on any schedule for March 23rd, so I would like to consider have a youth event that day. For those who have not yet done any of our youth events they are under 12. That means if you were still 12 or under on December 31, 2018, you are eligible. We do all three weapons. We give away trophies to the top 3 (and ties) finishers. medals to the top 9 and under finishers (unless they earn a trophy) and swords to those who earn the most points over the course of the season. If the date stays open, I will get you more info in a couple of weeks. We have a ton of new fencers so I may be pleading for refereeing help.

March 30 and 31 are the NC Divisionals. This is a path to qualify to the National Championships if you are not already qualified. You can qualify to the Division II (C and under) or Division III (D and under) championships. There are also qualifiers for Y-14. To qualify you must finish in the top 3 if there are 12 or fewer fencers, or the top 25% if there are more than 12. The Division II and III events are fenced as one event and they remove all the Cs from the results to figure out who qualifies from Division III. This years’s Nationals are in Columbus, Ohio, so they are not that far away. Also, the venue and area around the venue are pretty good as they have hosted the event a couple of times in the last few years. Times and other info are on askfred.

April 6th is the Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. Women only events if foil, epee, and sabre. Our women need to be getting signed up to attract other fencers,

The
schedule for summer camps looks like it will Be July 8-12, Beginner
Camp; July 15-19, Advanced Foil Camp, July 22-26, Advanced Sabre Camp,
and finally July 29 – August 2, Advanced Epee Camp.

There
was a request for a camp in mid-late June for those who cannot attend
one of the other camps. It would probably be an advanced three weapon
camp for one week. Any other people interested? So far no one has said so.

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 4

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had a number of fencers compete in the Capitol Clash in Maryland over the weekend. First off on Saturday were Erica Julien and Christi Golder in Veteran Women’s epee. Erica won one bout in her pool, lost her first DE and finished 14th. Christi went 2-3 in her pool. In her first DE that arrived at priority. Christi lost the priority call, but must have frightened her opponent so much as she came down the strip that her opponent stepped off the back end. She lost her second DE, but still took the 7th place medal and earned her E. Erica then fenced the Veterans women’s sabre, had a rough pool, lost her first DE, and finished 16th. Jackson Jones also had a hard pool, lost his first DE, and finished 49th. Kim Phillis had the best outing of anyone. He competed in the Veterans Men’s sabre, went undefeated in his pool and eventually took the 2nd place medal, re-earning his B19. Amelia Alexander fenced in the Y-14 and Y-12 Women’s foil. She did better in the Y-12 where she went 2-4 before losing her DE. Will Golder fenced both Cadet Men’s foil and epee. He went 3-3 in the epee, won his first DE, then lost the second to end up 53rd. On Sunday he was 4-2 in the foil, but drew a hard to hit left hander and lost this first DE, finishing 67th.

The February beginner class starts tonight and goes on Mondays and Wednesdays. This put us back to full operation as all our classes and practices are back up and running..

February 9th is the NCFL A Team and epee team Championships at Orange County High School.

February 16th is the next homeschool meet, which will also be held here.

February 23rd is the NCFL individual finals at the Simpkins Center in Greensboro. More info will be forthcoming.

Also
on that date are unsanctioned events in Apex. They are having Y-10/12
Women’s and Men’s foil, Senior Women’s and Men’s foil, and a mixed
Senior epee. Check askfred for more details.

March 2nd is the Homeschool A team Championshiop at Winston Salem.

For everyone else, Mid-South has their Grand Opening tournament. Men’s and Women’s events in all three weapons. Women’s sabre had a number of fencers, but the other two are pretty low at the moment. Men’s epee and sabre might turn into As. Foil will probably be a B. Check askfred.

Our
other events are now on askfred. The policy of you need to be entered
by a week prior for the regular registration fee will continue. We have
events on March 9th, the Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden on April 6th,
and the Stab-a-thon on May 4th. See askfred for further details.

I
got very little response (2 people) to the question: Anyone
interested in doing a demo at a Shark’s Baseball game this summer? If we don’t have some more, I will tell them we aren’t interested.

The schedule for summer camps looks like it will Be July 8-12, Beginner Camp; July 15-19, Advanced Foil Camp, July 22-26, Advanced Sabre Camp, and finally July 29 – August 2, Advanced Epee Camp.

There was a request for a camp in mid-late June for those who cannot attend one of the other camps. It would probably be an advanced three weapon camp for one week. Any other people interested?

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 January 27

January 27, 2019January 27, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had a solid turnout for the Old Man Winter event yesterday. We had our first rated foil event in a while and CFFA’s Oliver Galbraith took advantage of the opportunity to win and re-earn his C19. Patrick Lausi of Edge of America Fencing was second. Patrick’s teammate, Luke Kinney, and Gerhard Guevarra, the coach of the All-American Fencing Academy in Fayetteville tied for third. Josh White of Salle New Bern re-earned his E and Gabe Guevarra earned his E19. The epee was won by Markus Lang of Mid-South who defeated Oliver to re-earn his B19. Will Golder of Cape Fear and Nicholas Beach of Foothills Fencing Academy tied for the bronzes and each re-earned their C19. In the final event, Vet epee, Markus earned his 2nd gold medal. Robert Thomas of CFFA took the silver. John Rea of Wilmington Fencer’s Club and Markus’s Mid-South teammate, Scott Anderson, tied for the bronzes. Thanks go to Zemi Lawrence for observing and running everything. Brendan McConville, Josh White, Paul Perkins, and Jesse Harvey refereed. Thanks to the Whiteheads, Golders, O’Briens, and Kenyatta Sanford for helping with set up, clean up, and handing out medals.

We also had people competing at the NCFL qualifying meet in Durham. In the Women’s foil competition, we had two Ashley fencers. Emma Graf went 2-1 in her pool, then won her first 2 DEs, before bowing out. Clair Hommes also went 2-1, but then lost her first DE in a close 14-15 bout. We had three CFFA fencers in the middle school division. Chloe Craig had a hard first round, but won her first DE before losing the second. Megan Looney went 3-2 in her pool, but lost her first DE. Amelia Alexander went 5-0 in her pool, won her first DE, but lost her second. All of them are now qualified for the finals.

This week things keep edging back to normal. The
next homschool class will begin on January 30th. The 30th is also the
first Wednesday that UNCW will start showing up in the evening for
practice.

The
Capitol Clash is up by DC on the February 2-3 weekend. Here is whom I see as
entered. Nicole, Herman, Amelia, Jackson, Erica, Christi, Will, and Kim.

The February beginner class starts on February 4th and goes on Mondays and Wednesdays.

February 9th is the NCFL A Team and epee team Championships at Orange County High School.

February 16th is the next homeschool meet, which will also be held here.

February 23rd is the NCFL individual finals at the Simpkins Center in Greensboro. More info will be forthcoming.

Also on that date are unsanctioned events in Apex. They are having Y-10/12 Women’s and Men’s foil, Senior Women’s and Men’s foil, and a mixed Senior epee. Check askfred for more details.

Our other events are now on askfred. The policy of you need to be entered by a week prior for the regular registration fee will continue. We have events on March 9th, the Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden on April 6th, and the Stab-a-thon on May 4th. See askfred for further details.

I got very little response to my two questions from last week. Anyone interested in doing a demo at a Shark’s Baseball game this summer?

Anyone have a preference for a certain week for advanced summer camps? They would run July 22-26,
July 29-August 2, and August 5-9. The advanced camps are for anyone
from those who have just passed their beginner class to those competing
at higher levels. Camps run 9-5 Monday – Thursday and 9-3 on Friday.
Cost is $195 for the week. We provide Gatorade and snacks, students
need to bring a lunch. I haven’t chosen any particular week for any
weapon yet, so if something works better for someone, let me know ASAP
so I can nail down a schedule.

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 January 19

January 19, 2019January 19, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Final reminder that there are just a few hours to sign up for the Old Man Winter before the entry fee increases. The Old Man Winter will be on January 26th. Open
foil, open epee, and Vet

epee. IMPORTANT!! We are going to start
requiring that people are registered a week before the event to get the
regular pricing. We have been unable to gauge the size of events in a
manner that lets us hire the correct number of referees. If we expect a
large crowd that doesn’t materialize the club loses money. If we wait
and things pop a day or two before the event, it can be hard to find any
local referees. Then some of our fencers have to drop out to help
referee. Anyone registering after the deadline will be charged $10
extra per event, so that will hopefully be the incentive for people to
get signed up earlier. Read the More Information section on askfred to
get the full information. Right now the Mixed epee should become at
least a B, the Mixed foil is inching toward the 15 it needs it give it a
rating, and the Vet epee
is at 10 people, also smaller than it should be. Remember that Vet
events can be rated if we get enough people. With the ratings available
plus a few more bodies, it could end up a C event. YOU MUST BE SIGNED
UP BY MIDNIGHT, SATURDAY THE 19TH TO AVOID THE EXTRA FEES.

Today our homeschool fencers competed in their third meet of the year. The Southeastern Cardinals A team (Kyler Schoonmaker, Eoin and Eilis O’Brien) went 2-1 beating New Bern and Jacksonville, and losing to Twin City 43-45. The Jacksonville Hurricanes (Matthew Burns, Noah Snyder, and Matthan Droke) lost all their meets, but they are the youngest team and are learning some good things. The B fencers fenced as individuals. We were represented by Rayne Schoonmaker, Eamon, and Ellery O’Brien for the Cardinals, and Caleb Forman for the Hurricanes. Rayne did the best, going 5-1.

It looks like St. Mary is having class on MLK day, so I will be in for afterschool, Monday, the 21st. Regular practice the rest of the week including Topsail and Camp Lejeune on Friday.

In addition to the Old Man Winter, there is the NCFL seeding meet on the 26th. You only need to compete if you want to continue to the post season and have only fenced once so far.

The next homschool class will begin on January 30th. The 30th is also the first Wednesday that UNCW will start showing up in the evening for practice.

The
Capitol Clash is up by DC on the February 2-3 weekend. Here is whom I see as
entered. Nicole, Herman, Amelia, Jackson, Erica, Christi, Will, and Kim.

The February beginner class starts on February 4th and goes on Mondays and Wednesdays.

February 9th is the NCFL A Team and epee team Championships

February 16th is the next homeschool meet, which will also be held here.

Two things have come up which require some thinking ahead. I received a call from the Wilmington Sharks baseball team. They would be interested in having a fencing demo before a game sometime during their season. Fencers helping with the demo get into the game free, parents are at a “reduced rate”, not certain what that amounts to. Let me know if you might be willing to participate so I can gauge if we have enough interest to do a good demo.

I am looking ahead to Summer camp timing. I have to wedge things in between the end of Summer Nationals and the beginning of the UNCW school year. I like to do the beginner camp first and am looking at the week of July 15-19 at this time. The next three weeks would be advanced camps, hopefully one for foil, epee, and sabre. However, no one has been interested in the sabre camp the last couple of years. Anyway, they would run July 22-26, July 29-August 2, and August 5-9. The advanced camps are for anyone from those who have just passed their beginner class to those competing at higher levels. Camps run 9-5 Monday – Thursday and 9-3 on Friday. Cost is $195 for the week. We provide Gatorade and snacks, students need to bring a lunch. I haven’t chosen any particular week for any weapon yet, so if something works better for someone, let me know ASAP so I can nail down a schedule.

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

Askfred entry for Old Man Winter

January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Just a reminder that we have changed our entry fee policy for the events the last half of this season. You need to be entered by the Saturday the week before or it is $10 more per event. Thus you need to get entered in approximately the next 24 hours or face the financial consequences.

Right now the epee needs an A to become an A1 and a few bodies more to be a B2 or A2. The foil and Vet epee need bodies to become rated 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 update for January 14

January 14, 2019January 14, 2019 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had people participating in a couple of events over the weekend. On Saturday, at the NCFL meet in Chapel Hill, the Hoggard men’s team (Will Golder, Andrew Whitehead) went 3-3 although fencing a person down. Two of the matches were 4-5 losses. Ashley women (Katelyn Guthrie, Claire Hommes) were also fencing a person down and went 0-3.

Also on the weekend was the Apex RYC (Regional Youth Circuit). Jackson Jones fenced in the Y-10 and Y-12 boys foil. He took the 8th place medal in the Y-10. Amelia Alexander fenced the Y-12 and Y-14 women’s foil. She was having some ankle problems and finished out of the medals in each.

Getting back to normal, but not totally there for this week. Afterschool per usual, Tuesday and Thursday night practice as normal. I will be in Wednesday, but I don’t know if UNCW is coming down. Fencing at Topsail Friday, but no Camp Lejeune due to the early shutdown for MLK day.

January 19th is a homeschool meet at our club. Looking at a 10 am start time. Everyone is welcome to come watch.

It looks like St. Mary is having class on MLK day, so I will be in for afterschool, Monday, the 21st.

Our
first event of 2019 will be the Old Man Winter on January 26th. Open
foil, open epee, and Vet epee. IMPORTANT!! We are going to start
requiring that people are registered a week before the event to get the
regular pricing. We have been unable to gauge the size of events in a
manner that lets us hire the correct number of referees. If we expect a
large crowd that doesn’t materialize the club loses money. If we wait
and things pop a day or two before the event, it can be hard to find any
local referees. Then some of our fencers have to drop out to help
referee. Anyone registering after the deadline will be charged $10
extra per event, so that will hopefully be the incentive for people to
get signed up earlier. Read the More Information section on askfred to
get the full information. Right now the Mixed epee should become at
least a B, the Mixed foil is inching toward the 15 it needs ti give it a rating, and the Vet epee
is at 9 people, also smaller than it should be. Remember that Vet
events can be rated if we get enough people. With the ratings available
plus a few more bodies, it could end up a C event. YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP BY MIDNIGHT, SATURDAY THE 19TH TO AVOID THE EXTRA FEES.

The February 2nd homeschool meet has been moved to the 16th, so I will be up to the Capitol Clash.

The
Capitol Clash is up by DC on that weekend. Here is whom I see as
entered. If you are entered and I missed, let me know. Friday –
nobody If you are entered on Friday, definitely let me know as it will
have an impact upon Topsail and Lejeune on that date. Saturday: 8 am
Nicole Y-14 WE should be an A-2; 9 am Herman VME looks to be an A; 9 am
Christi and Erica VWE, needs bodies to be a B; 12:30 pm Jackson Y-10 MF;
Amelia, 1:30 pm Y14 WF, could be a B2; 1:30 pm Kim VMS, an A2; 1:30 pm
Erica VWS; and Will 2 pm CME an A2. There will also be Vet foil with
the women being a B1 and the men needing bodies to get past an E
rating. Sunday: 8 am Will Cadet MF, an A2; 8 am Amelia Y12 WF, a C2;
and 12:30 pm Nicole Cadet WE, a C2.

The February beginner class starts on February 4th and goes on Mondays and Wenesdays

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