24 July 2010

August IWFC classes, upcoming camps - 24 July 2010

IWFC beginner and intermediate classes will start the first week of August!

The beginner class starts Monday, August 2, and runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 for ten sessions.  The cost is $60 plus equipment, which can be rented for $30 (plus $10 to purchase your own glove) or you can purchase a complete starter set (mask, glove, jacket, and foil) for $110.  (Female fencers must also have chest protection, available for $20.)  Equipment sizing is done as part of the first class.

The intermediate class starts Tuesday, August 3, and runs Tuesday and Friday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 for eight sessions.  The cost is $60 and if you don't have your own equipment, the monthly $30 rental fee applies.  The class fee also includes club dues for the month.

Have a young potential fencer but aren't sure a class is the way to go just yet?  How about a five-day fencing camp instead?  Camps are two hours a day, all equipment is provided, and on Friday, the campers show off their new fencing skills for family and friends!  Campers are divided into two age groups, 8-10 years old and 11-14 years old.  Both camps are air-conditioned, too!
Get your friends to take the camp with you -- the more, the merrier!

Coming in hot! - 24 July 2010

Awright, I'm going to quit trying to get my ducks in a row long enough for a big entry to cover all the little stuff.  Instead, keep an eye on the websites to catch the handful of smaller entries that will (ideally!) hit over the next several days.

Not that you need the reminder but it's HOT out there, folks!  We have air conditioning at Poquoson so it's nice and cool -- but it's still pretty muggy in there so make sure you keep drinking plenty of water.  And IWFC fencers, you've done a great job of managing the lack of A/C at the salle, pacing yourselves and drinking plenty of water.  Please be sure to start drinking some extra water the morning before you come out to fence, that way your body's nicely primed to deal with the heat and exertion.  Short bouts, unzipping (even removing) your jacket between bouts, etc. will also help you keep having fun. Hang in there, this heat has to break eventually!

They're much later than I'd intended but here are the Summer Nationals results!  Scott did the Division and the club proud, fencing in both Division II (C and under) and Division III (D and under) foil, breaking into the top 50 in the latter.  Well done, Scott!

Coming soon, US Fencing's rebranding, membership (new and renewals), and other stuff...

11 July 2010

Schedule update (new changes!) - 11 Jul 10

Yeah, that IWFC schedule tweak mentioned in the last update? Never mind!  All classes and practices at IWFC will be on the regular schedule for the week of July 12-16.

02 July 2010

July! - 2 July 10

Gotta love a July that starts with the coolest weather we've seen in weeks. It was downright pleasant at the salle Wednesday and Thursday night!

Holiday schedule: There is no fencing (class or club) from Friday, July 2, through Monday, July 5. The regular schedule resumes Tuesday, July 6. Have a safe and happy Fourth!

Fencing camps: Registration is open for the fencing camps in Poquoson and Isle of Wight. Poquoson Parks and Rec is hosting two camps (July 12-16 and August 16-20) and Isle of Wight Parks and Rec is hosting one (August 9-13). Camps are broken out by age group: 8-10 years old and 11-14 years old. Meeting two hours a day for five days, campers will be introduced to the basics Monday through Thursday. Then on Friday, they'll show off their new skills by fencing against each other while family and friends cheer them on! If you or your youngster aren't quite sure about this whole fencing thing, the camps are the perfect opportunity to try it out. And bring a friend or three - the more the merrier!

IWFC schedule tweak: Due to an inadvertent schedule overlap with camp the week of the 12th through the 16th, the IWFC beginner class will meet Tuesday and Friday from 7:00 to 8:00 and Level A will meet from 8:00 to 9:00 those same days. The regular open sessions will meet as usual.

PFC classes: There's still time to sign up for the next Poquoson beginner and intermediate classes! The beginner class meets from 5:00 to 6:00 Sunday evenings. (The first class is from 4:00 to 6:00 so we can do paperwork and measurements for equipment.) The intermediate class is from 6:00 to 7:00, also on Sundays. And don't let the 'youth' listing fool you, the class is open to adults as well kids aged 10 and up. Contact Poquoson Parks and Rec to sign up.

PFC practices will continue to be two hours long while the classes are in session. It worked well the last time around so we'll keep it up. The intermediate class will be held in one half of the gym and the club fencers will practice in the other half, moving to the entire floor once the class is finished.

Summer Nationals are next week! This is the Big One with 6,500 fencers competing in Atlanta from July 4-13 -- including our own Scott Young as well as several other Virginia fencers. You can follow the results at usfencing.org and catch updates at twitter.com/usfencing. And bonus, the finals are going to be shown live via webcast. Best of luck to you, Scott!

Still entertaining wistful thoughts about owning a pair of Ballestras, the fencing shoes specifically designed for the US Olympic fencers in Beijing? Guess what! You can preorder your very own Nike Air Ballestras now. Yep, Nike's finally doing a production run for 'the rest of us' and having briefly owned a pair of Ballestras myself, I can attest to how wonderfully light they are. (Alas for being half a size too small!)