Bulletin for the Week of March 1, 2010

1. Schedule for March:

This week:
Mon 3/1: Normal schedule
Tues 3/2: Normal Jr Team afternoon practice. No Tuesday evening practice at CCS due to town meeting.
Wed 3/3: Double Level 3 class to make up one of the cancellations from the last 2 Wednesdays. 6:30-8:30 warm-up, footwork, drills. 8:30-9:30 open fencing.
Thurs 3/4: Normal schedule

Next week (3/8-11): All practices as usual. Mon 3/10 will be the 10th (final) Level 1/2 class of the winter...but Level 1 and 2 students are invited to come back on 3/22 for a free bonus Try Epee class.

Week of 3/15-18
Mon 3/15: Level 3 class, to make up the 2nd cancellation
Tues 3/16: Level 1/2 class, to make up this week's cancellation. This will be the final regular Level 1/2 class of the winter, but students are invited to come back on 3/23 for a free bonus Try Epee class. This will also be the last afternoon Jr Team practice of the season.
Wed 3/17 and Thurs 3/18: Last Level 3 classes of the season

Mon 3/22 and Tues 3/23: Free bonus Try Epee class for anyone (especially Level 1 students) with little or no epee experience. Open fencing for everyone.

March 24-April 5: Spring break (I am away on band tour). No fencing.

Spring classes begin April 6 and 7. In the spring, we cut back to one night a week in each location, with only Level 1 and 2 classes offered. I encourage those of you who want to fence more than once a week to visit the other VFA location, or perhaps the Queen City club in Burlington. Visiting another club is a great way to expand your circle of fencing friends and find some new challenges. Spring classes and practices will take place Tuesdays in Charlotte and Wednesdays in Middlebury (at the Bridge School). Now is the time to spread the word to your friends about the VFA. Our club grows mainly through word of mouth. For every friend you recruit to the club, you get $5 off your own class fees (so if you recruit 20 friends, I'll actually owe you money....). If you have friends who might be interested in fencing, definitely invite them to check out the Middlebury Open this weekend. It's the most spectator-friendly tournament of the season. Also encourage your friends to call or e-mail me soon for registration information. If they wait until the last minute, they will have trouble reaching me, as I will be traveling right up until the first spring class (in fact, I'm flying home from North Carolina to teach the first week's classes, then flying back for more gigs before driving home on April 5). Middlebury fencers - I especially need you to actively recruit your friends. We had a great group of new students join us this season, most of whom have stuck with it, but we're not out of the woods yet in terms of rebuilding the Middlebury branch of the VFA to its former glory.

2. Your input is wanted on the design for a new club arm patch. Artist Adam Glazer has drawn up a series of possible designs. He has posted them on his website at www.studioinnersanctum.com/VFAPatch.html. Check them out, let us know which is your favorite or if you have any suggestions for improving one of the designs to make it your favorite. Thank you Adam!

3. All hands on deck for the 17th Annual Middlebury Open, this Saturday and Sunday March 6-7 at Middlebury Union Middle School. This is the VFA's biggest event of the year, so come be a part of it! Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the Middlebury Open and were afraid to ask:

a. I'm new at this. What is the Middlebury Open? The Middlebury Open is the granddaddy of Vermont fencing tournaments, and remains our flagship event. Funds raised at the first Middlebury Open in 1994 helped launch the VFA as a club and the tournament has sustained us ever since. The Middlebury Open has grown from a local fundraiser into a major regional tournament. The Middlebury Open is more than a competition. It's a spectator-friendly not-to-be-missed festival of fencing!

b. I'm interested in competing. Is it too late to register? It's not too late to register, although if you wait until after Monday for foil events or Tuesday for epee and sabre events, you will pay an extra $10. To register, get directions to the venue and see who else is coming, go to www.askfred.net/Events/whoIsComing.php?tournament_id=10288. If you have trouble figuring out how to use the AskFred website, e-mail me and I'll help you. Please register as soon as you decide to compete (and remove your name from the list if you find you can't make it). It is critical to the smooth running of a busy weekend that we know as far in advance as possible who is coming. Club equipment will be available for rookie fencers to use (experienced fencers, please don't rely on club equipment - get your own gear working for this weekend).

c. Which events can I enter?
Y12 Foil: kids born 1997 or later, USFA membership not required, a supportive event for our youngest fencers, including students who just started this winter
Y14 Epee: kids born 1995 or later, USFA membership not required for those under 13, a good event for first-time competitors
Veterans events: fencers born 1969 or earlier, USFA membership IS required, veterans events are always friendly and welcoming to "mature" athletes of all skill levels
Unrated events: unrated fencers born 1996 or earlier, USFA membership IS required, a good event for first-time competitors, including students who just started this winter, since the higher skilled competitors are excluded. Note: USFA membership costs $60 and expires July 31 (will need to be renewed for next season). If you join at the Middlebury Open, you will then be able to enter all remaining tournaments this season (there are 4 VT meets left after the Middlebury Open). However, if you wait until after April 1 to join, your membership will be good through all of next season (the USFA gives the spring months for free to new members), so you have a choice to make. Note: seperate male and female U events will be held if there are 6+ fencers of each gender, or they will be combined if not. At this point, it looks like epee will be seperate, but foil may be combined unless at least 4 more unrated women sign up.
Open events: all fencers born 1996 or earlier, USFA membership IS required

d. I'd like to come and watch, and/or invite my friends to come watch. Is there a fee for spectators? What is the best time of day to watch? There is no admission fee for spectators and they are very welcome. We provide a free souvenir program that gives spectators information on the sport of fencing and on the VFA, so they will understand what they are watching. Spectators may come any time of day, but the highest level bouts will take place in the late afternoon (4-6 p.m. approximately) each day (foil on Saturday, epee on Sunday). Young spectators may enjoy watching the childrens events which take place at the beginning of the day (9-11:30 a.m.. approximately). And of course, your friends want to watch when you are fencing.

e. How can I help make this Middlebury Open a success? I'm glad you asked! It takes a huge team of volunteers to pull off an event like this. Some of the jobs require skill or experience, but most of them can be done by anyone. Here is a list:
-Set up 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. I expect all Junior Team foilists to help, and can use the help of anyone else who is available. No special skills required.
-Referees for youth and U events, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. I am looking for a large team of refs so nobody gets burned out. You will finish your referee duties before the open events start. Veteran fencers can help ref U events once finished fencing.
-Armorers: Technicians who repair electric fencing equipment are called armorers. Quaint, isn't it? Chris Hogan will be the chief armorer, except Sunday afternoon when he is fencing. If you are interested in learning some armory skills, please volunteer to work alongside Chris when you are not fencing.
-Club equipment managers: For youth and U events each morning. Someone who is not fencing to hand out loaner equipment, keep track of club equipment (so it doesn't end up in lost and found) and put it away at the end of the morning. No special skills required, other than you should know how to use electric equipment. I will provide you with an inventory and guide to doing the job.
-Meet managers: Meet managers run the registration table, collecting entry fees and using the Fencing Time software to run the meet. Melly Flynn will be the chief meet manager. She could use plenty of help so that she is not chained to the computer all day. The more people we train in how to use Fencing Time, the better. If you are not fencing (great job for parents and other noncombattants), please volunteer to help. No special skills required for trainees, just comfort with basic PC use. If you can help, please contact Melly at jmflynn@myfairpoint.net. Let her know when you are available and whether you have used Fencing Time before.
-Cafe VFA: our concession stand where we sell refreshments, t-shirts and raffle tickets. Ruth Parker and Yong Yu are this year's Cafe Queens. They need help with two things: food donations and shifts manning the table. If you can donate food (baked goodies, crockpots of soup, sandwiches and wraps are always popular) please contact Ruth at trparker4@comcast.net and let her know what you are bringing and for which day (or ask her what is needed if you want suggestions). If you can take a shift (an hour or so) manning the table during a time you are not fencing (great job for youth fencers to do in the afternoon, between fencing their events and watching the open finals), please let Ruth know.
-Clean up: at the end of fencing on Sunday. I expect all Junior Team epeeists to help, and can use the help of whoever else is available.

f. Is it true that if I raise $50+ before the Middlebury Open, I can fence in as many events as I want to for free? You bet! In fact the following people are already on the fence for free list: Ray Schuppe, Sharon Schuppe, Caroline Jones, Joe Flynn, Joanna Flynn. Josh Gamble, Ben Brisson, Jack Brisson, Ethan Yu, Abby Yu, David Parker, Tom Parker, Charlotte Treadwell, Jake Nop, Jack Nop, Julie Lamoreaux, Zach Lamoreaux, Isaac Lamoreaux, Viveka Fox, Zac Young, Jordan Young, Maddy Pomicter, Nick Pomicter, Ben Hogan, Chris Hogan, Deb Hogan, Olivia Hern. Kudos to all these people for doing a great job fundraising! If you want to join this list, it's not too late. Raffle tickets are still being sold. The Raffle King is Don Selby. If you want tickets to sell,have me e-mail you a sheet to print out. Turn in $50+ in raffle money by Saturday morning and pay no entry fees. The drawing is on Sunday and there will be lots of prizes, including gift certificates to local restaurants, sporting goods stores, and bookstores, some DVDs and CDs, a birdhouse, and a mystery grand prize (which no doubt be something fun and highly desirable) chosen by Don.

4. Congratulations to the UVM fencing team (aka Salle Catamount) on their success at the New England Collegiate Club Championships this weekend. In competition against 7 other teams, the UVM women, anchored by several VFA alums, took 2nd in foil and epee, and the men took 3rd in epee. Coach Dan Crocket sent this report: "If you have an "alumus Performance of the Week", I nominate Joanna....she did not lose a single bout yesterday at the New England Championships, leading the UVM Women's Foil team to a solid 2nd place, behind UNH, last years national champions. And Sarah Kay, as the runner-up...she only lost a 4 bouts in leading the UVM Womens Epee team to a second place finish. She went undefeated in pools in the "B" position, earning a slot in the individuals, where she went 3-3, along with two other fencers. In the barrage, she went 1-1 to take second. "