At the NAC in Baltimore, Nicole Milewski had a good weekend. On Friday, in the Y-14, she went 6-0 in her pool and was the number 8 seed in the DE. She won her first three DEs. Unfortunately the 8 vs 9 match up in the 16 was with an A who also was undefeated in the pools and went on to finish 3rd. Nicole finished 10th out of 149. That should earn her a slew of National points. The next day was the Div III event, meaning that no one higher than a D (at the time you enter) is allowed in. In some ways this can be the toughest event in fencing, harder than higher level events where everyone is a solid fencer with reasonably good basics. You get the up and comers (like Nicole) who are on their way to bigger and better things, you get wily old veterans who may have lost a step but are still dangerous, you get brand new fencers still figuring out which end you hold; you get people who are A fencers in a different weapon, and you can get “hackers,” people who have one good or weird move that can be very hard to figure out in one bout. Nicole went 4-2 in her pool but had one of the other unusual Div. III issues. International, generally Canadian, fencers can enter these events. If they have not fenced in the US enough to get a rating, they are listed as U rated fencers. The woman she fenced, from Canada, would not have been allowed to fence based on her Canadian rating, but was still a U in the United States. In her DEs, Nicole first got a woman who fenced in the “knife fighter” position a lot, but she won that one in priority. Unfortunately, the next woman she faced was sort of a combination of Herman and Oliver, who then went on to defeat the Canadian from Nicole’s pool and ended up in 8th. Nicole finished 39 out of 119, which is good enough to qualify her for the Div III National Championships. I would say we have a number of people who should start looking to try the NAC events next year, either as the age group events or at the Div. II (C and under) or Div III level. A lot does depend on the location, but in recent years Baltimore or Richmond have seemed to always get at least one of these events.
I’ll be back, UNCW is back, and so this week will be a standard week of fencing at the club, Topsail, and Camp Lejeune.
March
17-18 is the Y-14, Div II, and Div III qualifiers in Greensboro. These
will qualify you (if you do well enough) for the National Championships
in St. Louis. Otherwise they may be good events just for the
practice. Right now, with the possible exception of adult Women’s epee, all the women’s events look wide open. Y-14 men’s epee is wide open, foil and sabre will be tougher. Adult men’s epee needs bodies to be rated higher than an E. The foil should end up as a C event and the sabre a D or C event. Check askfred for more details. Not many of our fencers are
signed up yet. We should have a bigger contingent. Preregistration ends on 3/15.
17-18 is the Y-14, Div II, and Div III qualifiers in Greensboro. These
will qualify you (if you do well enough) for the National Championships
in St. Louis. Otherwise they may be good events just for the
practice. Right now, with the possible exception of adult Women’s epee, all the women’s events look wide open. Y-14 men’s epee is wide open, foil and sabre will be tougher. Adult men’s epee needs bodies to be rated higher than an E. The foil should end up as a C event and the sabre a D or C event. Check askfred for more details. Not many of our fencers are
signed up yet. We should have a bigger contingent. Preregistration ends on 3/15.
The
Lynn Krupey
Memorial Iron Maiden is March 24. This is still the only 3 weapon
event
Lynn Krupey
Memorial Iron Maiden is March 24. This is still the only 3 weapon
event
exclusively for women in the state. Entries are inching up and I still
hope that epee will become a C or higher rated event. It would be nice
to get foil up to where it would at least require two pools and sabre up
to where we will certainly have an E event. Please get signed up ASAP. Also
that day, we will be hosting the State Homeschool Individual
Championships. It would be nice if those who are in the homeschool
class would turn out to support our fencers. That starts at 1:30 pm, so
you also should be able to see some high level epee in the Iron Maiden
as well. Our homeschool fencers who will be competing, please let me know.
Also on that date is Mid-South’s RYC for Y10, Y12, and Y14 sabre.
On March 31 there is a U foil event and mixed epee in Charlotte. The foil is obviously good for a first adult tournament and the epee looks like it should be at least a B, maybe an A event.
The next evening beginner class will start on Monday, April 2nd, at 6:30 pm.
April
7th is our next mixed event. It is up on askfred and will have epee,
foil, and an E and under foil. If we can find fifteen foilists, of whom
at least 4 are Es, there is the possibility of someone earning a D
without having to defeat the heavy hitters. That also makes this a
really good event for someone looking for a first foil tournament. At the moment the epee looks like it will become rated, but hardly any foil fencers are entered.
7th is our next mixed event. It is up on askfred and will have epee,
foil, and an E and under foil. If we can find fifteen foilists, of whom
at least 4 are Es, there is the possibility of someone earning a D
without having to defeat the heavy hitters. That also makes this a
really good event for someone looking for a first foil tournament. At the moment the epee looks like it will become rated, but hardly any foil fencers are entered.
I
hope to be able to make up for the lack of youth events in the next few
months with one each in April, May, and the season ending one in June.
The first of these would be on April 14th. Standard timing: foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, epee at 3:30 pm.
hope to be able to make up for the lack of youth events in the next few
months with one each in April, May, and the season ending one in June.
The first of these would be on April 14th. Standard timing: foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, epee at 3:30 pm.
April
20-23 is a NAC in Richmond. The only people I saw who were signed up
were Brendan, KIm, Erica, Herman, and Nicole. If I missed you, or you
sign up now (the extra fees would apply) please let me know.
20-23 is a NAC in Richmond. The only people I saw who were signed up
were Brendan, KIm, Erica, Herman, and Nicole. If I missed you, or you
sign up now (the extra fees would apply) please let me know.
pax vobiscum,
Greg Spahr
Head Coach
Cape Fear Fencing Association
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
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