1/18/12: Announcements
Hooray for Sean Strong, Parker Muir, and Carter Block -- also known as, "The Most Awesome Foil Team on California's Central Coast." Sean Strong was also a member of "The Most Awesome Epee Team," along with Jieh Meinhold and Nick Cleland. Now, who will take the title from them in 2013?
Remember that our first Friday Night Fight will be held this week, on Friday, at 7 pm. This tournament is for competitive-minded fencers who were born in 1998 or earlier. Participants must be members of US Fencing. Pre-registration is on ASKFRED. Also, Saturday Footwork is cancelled on January 21 due to a tournament at UCSB. At 10:00 am, the Gauchos will square off against UCLA, USC, and Claremont Colleges. And for those of you who need to buy some equipment, or just want to try some gear on for size, there will be an equipment vendor at the UCSB tournament. Show up at the Recreation Center and let the front desk know you are there for Fencing. They should let you in. You'll have to pay for parking, though.
1/5/12: New Tournaments in the New Year
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and are ready to get back to fencing. The schedule is back to normal in 2012, with the exception that there will be no Footwork class on January 21 due to a tournament being held at UCSB.
One note of congratulations: Tom Pingel won the "Hangover Open" while visiting his home in Iowa on New Years Day. This victory re-earned him a shiny B rating for 2012. Way to go, Tom!
Now, who wants to be a part of the Most Awesome Team on the Central Coast? As was done last year, the Central Coast Fencing Foundation will be hosting a team tournament at the club. Last year, Presidio had the Most Awesome Foil team. Highlanders had the Most Awesome Epee team. And Cal Poly SLO had the Most Awesome Saber team. But who will take one of the titles this year?
A team can be made up of any three fencers, regardless of age, sex, or ability. This event is not USFA sanctioned. Rather, it is a fundraiser for the Foundation.
Want to make a team, but think you'll get creamed? Don't worry: there will be handicaps to help even the playing field. Pre-registration for the team event can be found here. Talk to Tim for more information.
And finally, as part of the new year, we are trying to hold more USFA-sanctioned tournaments at the club. These will be held on Friday nights. The registration fee will be $10, and the events will be self-reffed. The first such tournament will be an Open Foil on January 20. Check-in will close at 6 pm. If the foil open is a success, then you can plan on seeing more opens on a regular basis. Note that all USFA rules and regulations will be followed at these tournaments. Participants must be members of US Fencing and they must have all of their own gear, including multiple weapons, fencing knickers and long socks. Pre-registration for the event will be on ASKFRED soon. Again, talk to Tim for more information.
12/12/11: Central Coast Youth Circuit #3 Re-cap
The 3rd Central Coast Youth Circuit Event was a hit. The Youth 12 event had 18 participants, which is one of the largest we've seen. I want to extend a special note of thanks to the following high school fencers who helped streamline all of the tournament's operations:
- Christiana Lyman, for assisting with bout committee and for all of her work with emergency armoring.
- Sophia Russo, for running the bout committee
- Parker Muir, Nick Cleland, Sean Strong, and Jieh Meinhold for all of their assistance and expertise as referees.
- Spencer Mullanix, for managing the bout orders when we were double stripping
- and to Anna Koprack, of San Luis Obispo, for stepping in as a guest referee to help speed things along.
I also want to thank all of the parents who helped, or who offered to help with operations. One parent suggested some sort of pot-luck for snacks. Perhaps we can do this at Circuit Event #4?
Now, the medalists:
Youth 10
Gold: Li Meinhold
Silver: Trevor English
Bronze: Luna Kuttner and Sebastien Ricard
Youth 12
Gold: Shaina Morris
Silver: Noah Caso
Bronze: Kevin Sheehan and Will Geare
Youth 14 and Cadet (Combined)
Gold: Steven Henderson
Silver: Daniel Finnegan
Bronze: Spencer Mullanix and Jeremiah McElwee
12/5/11: Dos Pueblos Wins Double Gold at the High School Scholastic Tournament
Dos Pueblos High School fielded three Varsity Teams at the Southern California Scholastic Team Tournament, hosted at Chaminade High School last weekend. The DPHS team of Parker Muir (sophomore), Jieh Meinhold (sophomore), and Sean Strong (freshman) defeated Victor Valley High School in 5 matches to win the Varsity A Division. DP freshmen Nick Cleland and Matt Schmidt, along with sophomore Timothy Stanton, then went on to win the Varsity B Division later in the day. Sophia Russo and Isabella Franco, along with clubmate Christiana Lyman, composed a Womens Varsity B team after certain eligibility rules kept them from Varsity A. They finished 2nd place in their division. Of note, Stanton and Lyman, although homeschooled, were allowed to fence on the DPHS team.
Remember that the third Central Coast Youth Event will take place at Presidio Fencing Club on Sunday, December 11. We will be hosting fencers from the San Luis Obispo Highlanders, Points West Fencing in Ventura, and possibly from other clubs on the Central Coast. If you are interested in competing, then please talk to Tim. The Youth 12 event will start at 9:30 am.
10/23/2011: Congratulations to new E-Club members
Parker Muir placed 11th out of 50 at the Orange Cost Division Open yesterday, down in Long Beach. This result earned him his E-rating. And we forgot to congratulate Matt Schmidt for winning the Central Coast Foil Tournament earlier in the month, also earning his E-rating. Welcome to the E-Club, boys.
Also of note, Keric Moore won the Orange Coast Foil Open to re-earn his B rating, and Paul Wintz had a strong showing in the epee, finishing 10 out of 42, and re-earning his D rating. Well done!
10/16/2011: "Fencing is Fun" -- an article about the club in the Independent
Cole Connely, an undergraduate from Stanford who fenced with us over the summer, left his mark by writing an article about the club for the Independent. Click the link below to read the story.
http://www.independent.com/news/2011/oct/16/fencing-fun/
Also, the Fencing World Championships concluded last week in Catania. Here are some links to footage for your enjoyment.
Womens epee and Mens Foil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8SoahOB8PQ&feature=relmfu . This is footage from the entire day. The whole video is 12 hours long. Let it cache on your computer and then skip around to events you find interesting.
Mens Gold medal Foil Match: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLVRbf6c73M&feature=player_embedded#! . This is a pretty exciting match -- even up until the final touch.
Run a google search for more information. Many of the finals are on youtube, and they include commentary to help understand what is happening.