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!)
