Some very good results from the NAC going on in Richmond over the weekend. Herman Smith started things off in Vet 60 – 69 men’s epee. Unfortunately, he had a flare up of various issues, so he started slowly. Once he got settled, he fenced better, ending up 2-4 in his pool. He won his first DE and then lost a close one to the number 2 seed, finishing 30th. Also up on Friday was Erica Julien, fencing in the Vet 70+ women’s sabre. She went 1-3 in her pool, then won her first DE. She lost to the number one seed and finished 8th, getting a medal.
On Saturday, it was just Erica in Vet 70+ women’s epee. She was perfect in her pool, going 5-0. She won her way to the final, but lost, thus earning the silver medal. She should hang on to her #1 in the country rating with that performance.
Sunday was the busy day. Brendan McConville fenced the Div II men’s epee. Brendan went 3-3 in his pool and was then done in by a weird set of circumstances. When you enter a Div. II competition, you must be a C or lower fencer. Brendan’s first DE opponent had just jumped from a C to an A by his results in an event the day before. But as he was a C when he entered, and his A isn’t registered yet, he could still compete. Brendan kept it close, but lost, coming in 75th. Kim Phillips was next up in the men’s Vet 40-49 sabre. He was 5-0 in his pool. He had a close call in one of his DEs, coming back from 4-9 to win 10-9. He made the finals, but lost to Sean Bates, so he also took a silver medal. Nicole Milewski finished the day in the Div III women’s epee. She had a solid 4-2 round and kept getting better as the day went on before losing to the eventual 2nd place woman. She finished 7th, also winning a medal.
So, six events, 4 national medals, none of which were gimmes. Kim and Nicole still have events today so the total may go up.
No afterschool fencing today as I am still in Richmond. Afterschool will start back up tomorrow. UNCW is getting ready for finals, so no more Wednesday night practice until the fall.
April 27 is the next beginner class on board Camp Lejeune.
April 28 is Salle New Bern’s Skirmish at Jack’s Island. Always a fun time, so far 16 fencers are entered, but no one over a C is entered yet. This is totally weird as they let A and B fencers enter for free. It is on askfred. I will be going in some capacity, so can take people if needed. Get signed up soon so they can plan for the number of people at the after party.
On that weekend, Mid-South is having sabre events, split by gender, for those so inclined.
The next evening beginner class will begin on Tuesday, May 1st.
May 5th will be our next under 12 youth event. I want to change up the times a bit since we never seem to have sabre fencers. Foil at 10 am, epee at 1:30 pm, sabre at 3:30 pm.
May 12th at Apex are sanctioned foil and epee events, split by gender. They are also having unsanctioned Y-10 and Y-12 foil.
We will hold a junior high team event on May 12th. Fencers would need to be between the fourth and eighth grades. Looks like at least a couple of teams from Topsail. Hopefully we can get a St. Mary’s team together. Possibly teams from Raleigh and New Bern. The format will be different than the usual individual format. It will probably start late morning. More details as we get closer.
May 19th is open epee and unrated foil at Charlotte. A bit too early to predict the field.
May 20th is a U foil at All-American. I will be going up to observe, but at the moment the field is maxed out. If they have anyone drop out I will let you know.
Our next event will be the Stab-a-thon on May 26th. The epee is shaping up nicely, already a dozen fencers. STILL, only Brendan in the foil and a couple of sabre fencers.
June 2nd will be the last Youth event for the season. We will give the swords away after the events.
Also on June 2nd, Apex is hosting a referee clinic that will set you up to take the written referee test. It is written to be difficult so attending a clinic like this is not only necessary, but very helpful. It is listed on askfred (look under clinics, click on more) for more details. If you have questions, ask me.
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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