Coach’s Corner | Cape Fear Fencing Association

CFFA update for April 10

April 10, 2017April 10, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

On
Saturday, Brendan McConville went down to the Charleston Open in South
Carolina. He placed 6th in foil and 3rd in epee, the third re-earns his
C for 2017.

St.
Mary’s spring break is the week of April 10 – 14 and Monday, April 17,
so no afterschool for those days. The UNCW students are off Thursday
and Friday, so no Wednesday night practice. There will be CFFA practice
on Tuesday and Thursday, homeschool practice Wednesday afternoon, and
Camp Lejeune practice Friday night.

April
15/16th is an event in Williamsburg. Epee is an A1 with only 2 As and 2
Bs and is close to an A2, foil is a B2, sabre is a C that could go
higher.

April
21-24 is the NAC in Baltimore, so no local tournaments. I
won’t have class Thursday night as we have fencers in the 8 am events on
Friday. There will be afterschool and night practice. No Camp Lejeune fencing on Friday, 4/21. There are also
fencers on involved in the NAC on Monday, so no afterschool on 4/24.

April
29th is our annual Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. This is an event
for women only. Our women need to start
getting signed up to make it worthwhile for people from other clubs to
show up. For the UNCW women, consider it a study break.
For the CFFA women, a few are signed up. However, a number of you who
told me you were coming out of retirement to fence this are not. Some
of you who are looking for a good first tournament where you don’t need
to fight your way through a bunch of guys, this is it. Right now there
are 10 in the epee, so its rating will depend on getting 5 more bodies
with ranks. 6 in the foil. 5 Us in the sabre, so with one more U we
can give out an E.

The next Tuesday/Thursday beginner class will start on May 2nd at 6:30 pm.

Our next 12 and under event will be held on May 6th. Foil at 10 am, Sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm. $5 per event.

Mid-South has a youth sabre event on May 6th.

Salle New Bern is holding their annual Skirmish at Jack’s Island on Saturday, May 13th. See askfred for more details.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for April 2nd

April 2, 2017April 2, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

This weekend we had fencers competing in Wilmington, in another North Carolina city, in another state, and in another country.

Working inward, Captain Kim Phillips participated in the sabre World Cup in Seoul. My guess is he will be back and working harder than ever, so don’t expect him to take it easy on you.

Oliver Galbraith went down to Columbia, South Carolina, and participated in a pair of B events. He finished 10th in foil, where he almost knocked off Julio Diaz. He finished 8th in epee, where he was eliminated in a close match by the eventual winner.

Will Golder and Nicole Milewski went to the Ned LIght RYC at Mid-South. Will finished 7th in the Y-14 Men’s foil. Nicole was second in the women’s Y-14 epee on Saturday and trekked back on Sunday to win the Y-12 mixed epee event.

Finally, UNCW hosted a threeway meet among Appalachian State, UNC Charlotte, and themselves. They dominated the foil with Will Ross first, Connor Hebert second, and Taylor May and Seth Garrison tied for third. UNCC did best in epee with Shane Mason winning and Jaylon Smallwood and Christopher Smith tied for Bronze. UNCW’s Eli Nathan took the silver to prevent a sweep. In the Sabre, Appalachian State garnered a gold medal via Patrick Arsena. UNCC took the next three plaxce with Shane Mason getting silver and Robert Ross and Andrew Wiggs earning the bronzes.

The next beginner class starts Monday, April 3rd, at 6:30 pm, and runs M/W. The rest of practice should be regular for this week.

Charleston
South Carolina has an event on 4/8. Open epee, foil, and sabre;
unsanctioned Y-12 foil and Y-14 epee. It is about 3 1/2 hours from
Wilmington. A number of their people attend our events, so it would be
nice to return the favor. Epee needs a B to be a B. Foil and sabre need bodies and ranks. The Y-14 epee has 8 people.

St. Mary’s spring break is the week of April 10 – 14 and Monday, April 17, so no afterschool for those days. The UNCW students are off Thursday and Friday, so probably no one will be around Wednesday night.

April 15/16th is an event in Williamsburg. Epee is an A, foil is a B, sabre might make a C.

April
21-24 is the NAC in Baltimore, so no local tournaments. I probably
won’t have class Thursday night as we have fencers in the 8 am events on
Friday. There will be afterschool and night practice. There are also
fencers on involved in the NAC on Monday, so no afterschool and probably no evening class.

April
29th is our annual Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. This is an event
for women only. Our women need to start
getting signed up to make it worthwhile for people from other clubs to show up. For the UNCW women, consider it a study break. For the CFFA women, a few are signed up. However, a number of you who told me you were coming out of retirement to fence this are not. Some of you who are looking for a good first tournament where you don’t need to fight your way through a bunch of guys, this is it.

We have met the minimum order for T-shirts, so get signed up quickly if you have not already.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for March 25

March 25, 2017March 25, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

I
am going to be doing a stage combat workshop tomorrow, March 26th, for
one of the local pirate organizations. If you are interested, it will
last from 1-5 pm, and costs $25. If you have a saber or a dry foil,
bring it.

Regular week of practice this week.

The weekend of April 1-2 is the Ned Light RYC at Mid-South.
This has Y-10, Y-12, and Y-14 events for our fencers who are ready to
step up into regional competition. These can help qualify you for
National events, but you will be up against the best fencers in the
Southeast. Check askfred and talk with me to make certain you have the
gear you need. Entry deadline is 3/26.

The next beginner class starts on April 3rd at 6:30 pm, and runs M/W.

St. Mary’s spring break is the week of April 10 – 14 and Monday, April 17, so no afterschool for those days.

April 15/16th is an event in Williamsburg. Epee might make an A and foil might make a B.

April
21-24 is the NAC in Baltimore, so no local tournaments. I probably
won’t have class Thursday night as we have fencers in the 8 am events on
Friday. There will be afterschool and night practice. There are also fencers on Monday, so no afterschool and probably no evening class.

April
29th is our annual Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. This is an event
for women only. Our women (CFFA and UNCW) need to start
getting signed up to make it worthwhile for people from other clubs to show up.

There
is a sign up sheet for ordering CFFA T-shirts on the board at the
club. Price should be around $15, but Herman thinks he can beat that. We
need a minimum order of 24, but will probably go ahead if we are close
because these do sell. We could look into ordering jackets as well.
However, the minimum order is still 24 and these run $45 apiece with the
extras being harder to move if they are not the correct size. Let us
know if you are interested. We are at about 20 T-shirts, so sign up quickly as the order will be soon.

I
know a number of you have told me you are coming to the summer camps,
but if you could please e-mail me so I can put together an accurate
list.

Beginner camp July 17 -21

Advanced foil July 24-28

Advanced Epee July 31- August 4

Advanced Sabre August 7 – 11

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

Saturday

March 23, 2017March 23, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Looks like I am going to be free on Saturday morning. I will be in at 10 am for anyone who wants to practice.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for March 20

March 20, 2017March 20, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We had a small youth tournament on Saturday. The day opened up unexpectedly and to try to fit 3 youth events in this spring, I went ahead and did the event. In foil, Rayne Schoonmaker defeated Don Evans for first. Joseph Evans and Baden Salinas tied for 3rd. In the 9 and under category, Jackson Jones took gold. In the epee, Abbey Campbell came down from Salle New Bern to win an exciting (for epee fencers) 6-4 match (all the points were scored in priority) over Lydia Huggins of CFFA. Nyc Baynes and Linus Huggins tied for 3rd. Thanks to Kyler Schoonmaker for help refereeing the foil. Here are the top 5 people in the year long sword points race.

Boys Girls

Evans, Don 23 Milewski 27

Scott 17 Williams 13

Schoonmaker 15 Campbell 7

Martin, Luke 12 Huggins, Lydia 5

Evans, Joseph 8 Grooman 2

Right now, I am looking at May 6th and June 3rd to be the final two events.

A regular week of practice this week.

Saturday the 25th is the championships for the homeschool league at Oak Ridge. I know our team cannot make it, but I will let people know the times for the individuals when it is decided.

For adults looking for a challenge, the Cherry Blossom in the DC area is this weekend. Right now the Women’s epee is an A, Women’s foil need an A to be an A, and Women’s sabre is a bit light compared to past years. Open Mixed epee is a top heavy A2, probably on its way to an A3 and maybe an A4. Mixed foil needs an A to be an A. Mixed sabre is a C and needs a B to be a B. Check askfred for more details.

I am going to be doing a stage combat workshop on Sunday, March 26th, for one of the local pirate organizations. If you are interested, it will last from 1-5 pm, and costs $25. If you have a saber or a dry foil, bring it.

The next beginner class starts on April 3rd, and runs M/W.

April 15/16th is an event in Williamsburg. Epee might make an A and foil might make a B.

April 29th is our annual Lynn Krupey Memorial Iron Maiden. This is an event for women only. The epee is shaping up nicely, but women need to start getting signed up for the foil and sabre.

I know a number of you have told me you are coming to the summer camps, but if you could please e-mail me so I can put together an accurate list.

Beginner camp July 17 -21

Advanced foil July 24-28

Advanced Epee July 31- August 4

Advanced Sabre August 7 – 11

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

Saturday, John Martin, Y-12 event

March 10, 2017March 10, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

A final thank you for all your condolences.

I will be in Saturday at 10 am if anyone wants to come in for practice.

The John Martin has had to be cancelled by New Bern as they lost their venue.

However that leaves the 18th as an open date. I would like to use it to have a youth event. I realize that this is really short notice, which will affect attendance, but there are so few open dates and I wanted to get 3 events in before the end of the school year. This is about the only way to make that happen.

Standard times and prices: Foil 10 am, sabre 1:30 pm, epee 3:30 pm. $5 per fencer per event. If anyone is free, refereeing help is appreciated, especially in foil. Let me know if you have questions. As a note to all the girls and epeeists, Nicole will be at a big tournament in Maryland. This is your chance to catch up some to her and to have a wide open epee event.

Don’t forget to put your clocks back one hour Saturday night or early Sunday.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for March 5

March 5, 2017March 5, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers.

At Divisionals, we sent two epeeists and brought home two gold medals. Robert Thomas won the Men’s qualifier which makes him eligible for Div II, Div III, and Vets. Unfortunately the group was too small to let him re earn his C. He also qualified for Vets foil. Nicole Milewski won the Y-14 women’s epee to qualify for that.

Nothing I am associated with will meet this week, meaning no afterschool, homeschool, or evening classes at Wilmington. The regular Tuesday and Thursday practices will happen. I am hoping to be back in time to have practice at Camp Lejeune Friday.

March
11 is the homeschool league A team Championship at Oak Ridge. Still waiting to see if we will have a team to go out there.

Beginners classes should get started up next week. Afterschool on the 13th, Tu/Th evening on the 14th, and homeschool on the 15th.

March
18 is the John Martin Memorial in New Bern. They have lost their original venue so if it occurs it will be in a different location and foil only. I will keep you posted.

March
18 also has an unsanctioned Women’s epee and a sanctioned Open epee that may get up to a
B at the Charlotte Academy of Fencing. Again, check askfred.

Our March 25th event has been cancelled due to the conflict with the Cherry Blossom in Maryland. If you are looking for a large event, all their opens are usually As,and this would be one to go to.

That
Saturday is also the homeschool individuals at the moment. All of our A team fencers are qualified.

Herman reminded me that April 8th is the Azalea Festival, so there is no way we can have a youth event on that date. I will keep looking for other possible dates.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

Next week

March 4, 2017March 4, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

My mother passed away this morning, so I will be away next week. Therefore, no afterschool, homeschool, or evening classes. The classes that would have started next week will get pushed back a week: Afterschool to start week of the 13th, Tu/Th class to start the 14th, new homeschool class to start the 15th. M/W beginner class will just resume on the 13th.

UNCW is on spring break, so no Wednesday night practice. Herman and Brendan (or others) will make certain the club is open TU/Th.

I hope to be back so that Camp Lejeune can start the new beginner class on the 10th. If that changes, I will let people know.

A number of changes regarding the upcoming schedule so I hope to be able to update everything after Divisionals Sunday night.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

Cancelling Almost April Fools

March 3, 2017March 3, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

We are cancelling the Almost April Fools event. Unfortunately that weekend is also the weekend for the Cherry Blossom, a huge annual event in the DC area. That is giving us a problem finding referees for the event. When you try to choose dates, you don’t know what other major events will be in the area. Sorry we have had to move so many things this year.

On the other hand this is why we need more of our fencers to become referees. You do have to upgrade to the professional from the competitive membership. That involves a background check and going through Safe Sport Training. However, you will make the upgrade back the first time you get hired as a referee. It does mean that you have to learn the rules and practice refereeing, especially in the right of way weapons.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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

CFFA update for February 26

February 26, 2017February 26, 2017 Gregory Spahr Coaches Communication

All the information is new this week so I am going to go pretty far ahead into the future.

But first the past. Yesterday, the CFFA homeschool fencers who compete as the Southeastern Cardinals had a match against the Oak Ridge Mustangs and Twin City Narwhals. They won both matches by the nail biting score of 45-43. Ethan Kundrat, Zack Maroules, Philip Nazzaro, and Kyler Schoonmaker competed for the Cardinals.

Today is the last day to sign up for the Divisional qualifiers. They are next weekend in Greensboro to qualify you for National Championships in Salt lake City this summer. Events contested are the Div II (C and under), Div III (D and under), and Y-14 (ages 11-14). Many of them will be strong competitions even if you are not looking to go to the Nationals. Men’s foil is already a C event, epee should be one, and sabre might make a D event. For the women, epee might reach a C event, foil has a number of fencers, but sabre is smallish. Check askfred for the days and times and to get preregistered.

Tuesday, a reporter will be in to do an article on Erica for Our State magazine. It would be nice to have a good crowd fencing in the background. Otherwise a regular week of practice.

A number of new classes start the first full week in March. The next afterschool beginner class starts Monday, March 6. The new evening adult class starts Tuesday, March 7. A homeschool beginner class starts Wednesday, March 8. Finally, the next Camp Lejeune class will start Friday evening, March 10.

March 11 is the homeschool league A team Championship at Oak Ridge. The Cardinals are 5-1 on the season, but most of them have been very close. They would probably be the favorites, but not prohibitively so.

March 18 is the John Martin Memorial in New Bern. This is an unsanctioned training tournament with foil at 9 am and epee at 1 pm. That makes it the perfect type of event for people wanting to put their toe in the water of competition. You will need a full uniform (knickers and underarm protector) so make certain we know if you want to go. New Bern is looking to add a y-12 foil which would start a little after the adult foil. I will give sword points for it to New Bern fencers or to our fencers who want to go up there. They also want to make it a training tournament for prospective referees. At sanctioned events referees have to have the professional membership, but they won’t for this one. The idea is to have the newer referees work with more experienced referees and get observed and constructively criticized. Solid referees are in short supply in the state, so if you are interested you can pay off the professional membership with just a couple of days of work. I am going up to referee and should have space for at least a couple of people (fencers or refs). New Bern provides an excellent lunch for the fencers and refs which is pretty much worth the entry fee by itself. Check askfred for further updated details and to get signed up.

March 18 also has a sanctioned Women’s epee and Open epee that may get up to a B at the Charlotte Academy of Fencing. Again, check askfred.

The next CFFA event is the Almost April Fools on March 25. It has Open mixed foil at 9:30 am, Open mixed epee at 12:30 pm, and a D and under mixed sabre at 3:30 pm. The epee is on its way to being at least a B, the foil is small at the moment, and hopefully we can get enough sabre fencers and enough with Ds and Es that we can give away a D. Check on askfred and get signed up now to attract people.

That Saturday is also the homeschool individuals at the moment. Obviously, I will be here in Wilmington. All of our A team fencers are qualified so can go and compete without me.

The weekend of April 1-2 is the Ned Light RYC at Mid-South. This has Y-10, Y-12, and Y-14 events for our fencers who are ready to step up into regional competition. These can help qualify you for National events, but you will be up against the best fencers in the Southeast. Check askfred and talk with me to make certain you have the gear you need.

Finally, our next Y-12 competition will be on April 8. Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm. $5 per event. Training referees welcome. I hope to have two more events after that; one in early May and the final event in late May or the first weekend in June.

pax vobiscum,

Greg Spahr
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