UW-SP Fencing Club

<= | May | =>

May 29th, 2008

Practices this summer start on Monday! I look forward to seeing many of you again! Also tournament DVD's are shipping this week! If you've already ordered yours, expect to receive it sometime next week. They look great and include digital scoreboards on the screen just like the international competitions!

If anyone is feeling artistic, I'm always looking for new designs for the Club's online store. We've had a lot of great ones so far, but it's nice to change them up too. Please me an e-mail with any designs you draw.

May 21st, 2008

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their summers and no one is working too hard! I wanted to show you some online fencing resources that you may want to take a look at.

Fencing.net Forums: One of the largest online forums for fencing can be found at Fencing.net. A link is below. You'll find me around there. Sometimes there's interesting posts, sometimes it's garbage. But a lot of top fencers, coaches, and equipment vendors are active members. You can gain a lot of insight from this forum (Just be prepared for a decent amount of sass if you decide to post. Everyone there has an opinion, and generally it's a strong one).
Fencing Channel: The Fencing Channel and Fencing Pictures video tape all the major international fencing events. You can order DVDs from a number of them. More importantly, you can watch online for free a selection of bouts from most of the major events! I highly recommend you check it out and watch some top notch fencing!
Dave Littell: One of the top coaches is Dave Littell. I lot of other coaches look up to him. He has his own website that includes great article and videos on fencing. If you're looking for more ways to improve your fencing, definitely check out his website.
Allen Evans: Another top coach is Allen Evans. He too has a great website. It's geared more towards how to coach fencing. However, most of the articles (if not all) would be extremely useful for any fencer to read.

Don't forget about the Club's online store! If you need a new shirt or want an easy father's day gift, there's lots of great items.

May 13th, 2008

As a reminder, summer fencing practices start on June 2nd and go through August 7th. They will be Mondays and Thursday 6-8pm in HEC 110. From talking to various people, there should be a good turn-out. If you're in the area you should definitely stop by and fence!

Also, there will be an equipment order this summer. It will be July 7 - 10th. It's one week only. You must be present to pay and you must be present to pick up your equipment when it arrives! If this is not possible for you and you want to order equipment this summer, please send me an e-mail. Be sure to include what pieces of equipment you're interested in getting! I will send you suggestions about where the best deals are and help you in any way I can. Intermediate fencers should (although NOT required) look into getting an underarm protector and knickers sometime during the next year. Fencing after college requires more gear, and it's nice to build things up slowly. You may also want to consider getting some electric gear (more on that below).

We have the usual events tentatively planned for next Fall. These include practices, the Involvement Fair, fundraising, an equipment order, an armoury clinic, and a tournament. I'm also contemplating doing a refereeing clinic as well. We'll see how the semester pans out. No dates for these events have been set yet. I will start doing that in August.

Tentative practice schedule for next Fall is below. But first I'd like to mention a few notes.

I encourage you to come and either join in as a student in the beginning foil class to improve your basics (take Christopher as an example) and/or to help out in teaching it (again, take Christopher as an example).
Also note that Sabre overlaps with Intermediate Foil and Épée. You're all past the beginning level of foil. It's time for some specialization. Is it possible to do Sabre and Int. Foil or Épée. In general, no it will not be possible. What about Sabre one day and Int. Foil or Épée the other? All of these classes will be moving at a faster pace and push you harder. Neither Henry nor I recommend that you try and do both. Does this mean you need to give up one of the weapons? No, of course not. But do not expect to continue to learn it in a class setting. You'll have to be bouting and working on it in your own time to keep it up.
Electric foil, sabre, and épée is NOT limited to those who are competing in the USFA. We do have electric foil gear for those of smaller frame (ie - at least as small as me). We also have a lefty épée. In addition, you may choose to purchase electric equipment and fence in any of the weapons. Does this mean you need to get knickers, fencing shoes, etc? Nope. To do electric fencing within the club, you'll just need the electric basics. Cost estimates (and I do mean ESTIMATES) are as follows: Foil - $100, Sabre - $200, Épée - $60. Also keep in mind that electric foils and épées require a lot more maintenance (not the case for sabre).

Monday

	Danielle Reed	Henry Rose	Aaron McTavish
6:00	Beginning Foil	Beginning Foil	Beginning Foil
6:30	Beginning Foil	Beginning Foil	Beginning Foil
7:00	---	Sabre	Intermediate Foil
7:30	---	Sabre	Épée

Thursday

	Danielle Reed	Henry Rose	Aaron McTavish
6:00	Beginning Foil	Beginning Foil	Electric Foil/Sabre/Épée
6:30	Beginning Foil	Beginning Foil	Electric Foil/Sabre/Épée
7:00	---	Sabre	Intermediate Foil
7:30	---	Sabre	Épée

A big thank you to The Pointer for printing the article about the tournament. For those of you who did not check it out in the paper, you can find it online here.

Tournament DVD's can still be ordered! DVD prices for the tournament will be $15 per event with $6 shipping and handling on the total order. A copy of the order form can be found at the link here. Feel free to send in the order form along with the payment any time this summer. There is no real deadline for this.

May 7th, 2008

Thank you everyone for a great year! I look forward to fencing with many of you this summer and all of you next fall! Keep an eye out for e-mails this summer about events and fall practice times. Summer practices are June 2nd - August 7th, Mondays and Thursdays from 6-8pm in HEC 110. Also, be sure to pick up a copy of The Pointer on Thursday. We'll be featured in the PointLife section!

We had our Spring Tournament this weekend! What a blast!!! It was a huge success. Our fencers did especially well. Special congratulations goes to Nick Gengler with a 2nd in Sabre and 1st in Foil, Mark Juetten 3rd in Sabre, Mike Blair 2nd in Foil, and Christopher Robbins 3rd in Foil. Amazing job all of you!!! Full tournament results can be found in our Tournaments Section.

DVD prices for the tournament will be $15 per event with $6 shipping and handling on the total order. A copy of the order form can be found here. Feel free to send in the order form along with the payment any time this summer. There is no real deadline for this.

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! There will also be a summer equipment order July 7th through the 10th. This is one week only because the summer is short.

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. On the website there 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. You can find this list here.

Lastly, you can find a copy of the "Fencing at Home" packet I have written online. 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! You can find it here.