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We discussed various fencing styles and how to counter them. Then we spent the rest of the time doing refereed bouts. Next week we will have open practices. There will be individual lessons for those who want them.
The t-shirt order was delivered. They t-shirts look fantastic and everyone seems to be enjoying them!
Elections for officers were held this week! The officer's slate is as follows:
Also this week the Youth Amendment passed unanimously.
Lastly, I have added a copy of the "Fencing at Home" packet I have written. This discusses various ways to practice fencing at home over the summer. It includes one-person activities, two-person activities, and book recommendations. I highly recommend you check it out and spend some time fencing this summer!
We discussed point-in-line and how it affects right-of-way. Then we spent the rest of the time doing refereed bouts. Next week will be pretty similar. We'll talk about some basic styles of fencing and how to counter them. Then we will spend the rest of our time doing more refereed bouts.
Elections for officers is on Monday April 28th! The RAC-Representative and Secretary positions are currently open. Please only run for Secretary if you think you can beat the curse! If there is another position you'd like to do, please talk to the current officer about being co-officers. If they're not interested, feel free to challenge them. Voting will happen around 5pm.
Also on Monday April 28th will be a vote on a constitutional amendment. It deals with youth fencers. Insert into "Article II - Membership". It is as follows:
As a reminder, our Spring tournament is on Saturday, May 3rd. Sabre registration is 9:30am-10:00am and Foil around 12:30pm-1:00pm. We will also be having prizes for the winners of each event. They will receive a gold pin in the shape of their weapon. First through third places will also receive personalized certificates again. You can find the hand-out for the tournament (including registration times, what to bring, how it's run, etc.) here.
You can also find a copy of the work schedule for the tournament here! Please remember to show up for the time you've signed up for!!
Summer is coming, and there are many opportunities to continue fencing. We will have summer practices for those of you who are in the area. Summer practices will begin Monday June 2nd and go through Thursday August 7th. Practices will be Mondays and Thursday from 6-7pm. We have the room until 8pm, so if you're there and still want to fence, I will continue until 8pm. It will still be in HEC 110. I know about 3-4 people who will be there most practices, and another 3-6 people who plan on coming every once in a while. If you're in the area, I highly recommend joining us!
If you will be elsewhere, contact me about finding a fencing club near you. For those of you who enjoy summer camps, fencing has its share. Here is a listing of a handful of camps that are open to college age fencers and provide housing. Electric gear is not required, although having your own non-electric gear is.
In addition to summer practices, we will be getting a scorebox this summer. I will also put together a summer equipment order if there are enough people interested. You may want to think about getting some electric gear. If you're not competiting but do want to fence electric within the Club, it's not overly expensive. A set of electric foil gear runs about $100, sabre about $200, and épée about $50 (this all assumes you are either using Club gear or already have a starter set). Plus, we ought to get a little bit better deal than that with our club discount.
The Club will have limited electric equipment initially. We have electric foil equipment for people with VERY small jacket sizes (they barely fit me!). We only have a left-handed electric épée. We have no full sets of electric sabre gear. If we have enough money, we will invest in getting some larger sizes for foil, but I can't guarantee it will happen by the Fall. So if you really want to do it, I do encourage you to invest in your own equipment.
We reviewed the redoublement this week and learned the remise. All of you now have two different ways to renew the attack. We also spent a little time talking about what really is an attack, and looked at the actual definition in the rule book as well as the modern interpretation. Lastly, we got an introduction to foot tempo and two different distance-stealing techniques. Next week we will get an introduction to in-fighting, talk about the various types of defenses/parries, and do some practice refereeing/bouting.
I recommend all fencers read the US fencing rule book.
I also recommend everyone read the FOC Referee Handbook. This spends a lot of time explaining the rules and talking about modern interpretations/conventions.
For those of you interested in learning more about the hand-signals used in fencing refereeing, I recommend checking out rule t.43 in the English translation of the FIE rule book. This has the best pictures I've seen for the hand signals.
The last thing I recommend is that all foil and sabre fencers read this summary of right-of-way. This is a great article from Fencing.net.
The t-shirt order has ended! I will be turning in our order later this week. Thank you to all of you who bought a t-shirt. We should have the order in around the end of the month.
Our third and final movie night will be on Thursday April 24th at 7pm in the IMC Room 308 again. We will be showing The Princess Bride (1987) starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Penn.
Our Spring tournament is on Saturday, May 3rd. Sabre registration is 9:30am-10:00am and Foil around 12:30pm-1:00pm. We will also be having prizes for the winners of each event. They will receive a gold pin in the shape of their weapon. First through third places will also receive personalized certificates again. Sign-up sheets to help work the tournament (setup or cleanup for the various events) will start next week. Please be prepared to help out with one of these. Henry and I can't do it alone again.
DVD prices for the tournament will be $15 per event with $6 shipping and handling on the total order. You can find the order form here. Copies of the order form will be available at the tournament. We will also be able to accept orders and payments then, if you don't not want to have it mailed or turned in during a practice. Order forms and payment can be sent in even during the summer. There is no real deadline for this.
Our post-tournament reception has been approved. It will be hosted in the Legacy Room in the Dreyfus University Center immediately following the tournament. Snacks and drinks will be provided. All fencers, referees, coaches, family, and friends are invited to this social!
This week we played 360 fencing and began testing for beginning foil. This month, we'll be focusing on tactics and tempo. I recommend you bring a notebook and pen to practices to take notes with!
The t-shirt order is currently going on! It will run through next Tuesday April 8th. T-shirts will be $10/shirt. Please bring cash or your checkbook to practice to order one!
If any one was not able to attend the competitive fencing meeting last week but is interested in competing in the USFA next Fall, please send me an e-mail at amcta579@uwsp.edu.
The reservation office can't put in our room requests for next Fall and Spring until August 1st. However, they made note of our request and will enter it as soon as they can. So, tentatively plan for practices to be: Mondays and Thursday 6-8pm in HEC 110 for both Fall and Spring next school year. As soon as we get official confirmation of our reservations in the summer, I will pass it on to you. Also tentatively, Summer practices will be Mondays and Thursdays from 6-7pm in HEC 110.