Bulletin for the Week of Oct. 26, 2009

1. The Referama Clinic is coming up soon and there are a whole lot of you who would benefit from it who have not yet signed up. This is a unique opportunity to get some practical, hands-on ref training in a non-competitive, supportive environment. This clinic is for everyone (except possibly Level 1 students under age 13) who wants both to be a better fencer and to become a confident fencing official (those two things go hand in hand, by the way. You will not meet a high-rated fencer who can not also ref.) Enjoy a fun day of informal fencing (bring your gear) and practice reffing under the supervision of the GMD's experienced refs, for only $5 if you sign up by Nov. 2 ($10 after that - but free if you already have a ref's rating). Clinic details: Sunday, Nov 8, noon-5 p.m., UVM indoor tennis courts (Patrick Gym building).
- There is no age limit for this. Youth fencers are welcome, although fencers under age 13 should be in Level 2 classes at least.
- Adult and teen Level 1 students are welcome. It is never too early in your fencing career to develop the vocabulary and observational skills for reffing.
-USFA membership is not required.
- Participating in this clinic does not obligate you to take the official USFA ref course in December, but if you are planning to do that, this will be excellent preparation for it and will not duplicate what Jon Moss does.

To sign up:
www.askfred.net/Clinics/whoIsComing.php?clinic_id=9934
If you are new to AskFRED and can't figure out how to use it, e-mail me and I'll help you.

2. Teen fencers (born 1990-96): don't forget to sign up for the Jr Olympic Qualifier tournament in Middlebury on Nov. 14. The registration deadline is Mon. Nov 9. If you procrastinate until after that, you will miss the opportunity to participate. My goal is to get every teen in the VFA (not just rated fencers or Jr Team members) to take part in this. Why?
-Big tournaments are a lot more fun and interesting. Because this one is a qualifier, USFA rules say we must hold seperate boys and girls events rather than our usual mixed format. That means we need twice as many fencers so that both the boys and the girls can enjoy reasonable sized events. Events with 3 or fewer people signed up by Nov. 9 will be cancelled. Events with 4-5 fencers must be held (since only 3 qualify for JOs) but the fencers won't be able to earn Champlain Cup bonus points. So I'd like to see 6+ fencers in all of the events (except maybe sabre because Vt just doesn't have many sabre fencers).
-The more who fence, the more who qualify to represent the Green Mt Division at the national Junior Olympics in February. Going to JOs is a great adventure and a great opportunity... and it's not unheard of for an unrated or first-time competitor to qualify. But even if you have no interest in going to Memphis for JOs, and you just want to fence locally, please come along and participate in this tournament. Don't worry about possibly taking a place away from someone else - in fact, just by being there, you may allow someone else who really wants to go to qualify. It works like this: for an event of up to 12 competitors, the top 3 qualify. For more than that, 25% of the field qualifies (so 4 qualify if there are 13-16 fencers, 5 qualify if there are 17-20, etc.).
-The GMD must hold these qualifiers (it's one of our few requirements in order to be a division of the USFA). Whether a handful of people or a boatload of them show up, we must rent the gym for the day. If it's a handful, we lose money. If it's a boatload, we make a profit, 70% of which goes to the host club, which in this case, is us. So it benefits the VFA financially if turn out is good.

A few more things for newer competitors to know:
-Once you reach age 13, USFA membership is required for most of our local GMD tournaments. If this is your first tournament (or first outside of the youth series), you will need to pay the $60 annual dues and join the USFA. You can do this on-line in advance of the tournament (and print out a receipt as proof of membership) or fill in a form and do it in person at the tournament. Your dues buys you the right to enter any tournament for which you are eligible all season, anywhere in the world (usually there are 2 a month right here in VT). You get a subscription to American Fencing magazine. Your dues helps support the US Olympic and world championship fencing teams. And by requiring everyone who competes to be a member, our local Green Mt Division gets insurance (and hence access to venues), as well as the right to award ratings to tournament winners.
-Our tournaments are friendly and fun. Good sportsmanship is the norm. There is no snobbery toward inexperienced competitors - even the top dogs remember being beginners once. The better fencers will be glad you are there to help increase turn-out for JO Qualifiers. Don't let the Qualifier name scare you. This is a fine tournament for inexperienced competitors to enter.
-Loaner equipment will be available, free of charge to VFA students. You do not need to own your own equipment to participate.

To sign up, go to:
www.askfred.net/Events/whoIsComing.php?tournament_id=9524
If you are new to the AskFRED website, you will need to enter some information about yourself (name, club-list as VT Fencing Alliance, division-list as Green Mt, birthdate (don't forget year), rating (list as U or unrated in all weapons unless you know you have earned a rating), e-mail address. Once that information is saved in the database, FRED remembers you and signing up for events is very easy. Let me know if you have trouble negotiating the AskFRED website and I'll help you.

3. Good luck to all the VFA fencers competing in the Granite State Open in Concord, NH this coming weekend. There are E, womens, and open events in every weapon, so something for everyone. The Northeast Division does not give a a discount for preregistration like the GMD does, so many fencers just walk in (hence, you can expect more competitors than are on the AskFRED list). However, if you know you are going (even if you decide on Friday night), do the organizers a favor and go ahead and sign up on AskFRED. Link: www.askfred.net/Events/whoIsComing.php?tournament_id=9513

4. Ethan, Abby, Zoe and Gwynn all went to the Super Regional Youth Circuit on Long Island this past weekend. There were fencers from all over the northeast and beyond, especially a lot from the big east coast cities and their suburbs. Only some of the results were posted when I looked this morning, but I also got a report from Zoe and Gwynn's mom. Abby came in 12th of 39 in Y12 girls foil - a comparitively better result in a tougher field than she had in any of the Y10 RYC events she entered last season. She went 4-2 in her pool and won her first DE before being knocked out by the eventual bronze medalist. Ethan's results were not yet posted, but Amanda said he did very well, fencing a strong pool and finishing in the top 16 (12th she thought) of over 70 competitors in the weekend's largest and strongest event. He was also very helpful coaching the younger kids. Zoe and Gwynn both started out a bit overwhelmed by the fencing level in their pools, but rose to the occasion in their DEs. Zoe won her first Y14 girls epee DE against a girl she had lost to in her pool, finishing 16th of 27. Gwynn's first DE opponent was a familiar face (a Canadian who often visits GMD youth tournaments), and Gwynn suprised himself by how tough a fight he put up, losing 5-4 in the best-of-3 tiebreaker match.