Fencing News & Schedule Updates

We will have NO CLASSES ON SAT 2/17 DUE TO JUNIOR OLYMPICS!!!

We have numerous Cadet and Junior fencers competing and the coaches will be in attendance all days.

For those who don’t know, Junior Olympics is the Cadet and Junior National Championship and is at the Charlotte Convention Center this year, Fri 2/16-Mon 2/19.  ALL ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO CHECK IT OUT (link below).  You can go and see what a top national tournament is all about, hang out with and cheer on your teammates as they fence the best in the country, buy gear, check out some of the college clinics, pick up some swag, eat, etc.  This is a great opportunity to see real fencing in action.

Check with coaches if you have questions about private lessons 2/16-2/19.  Thurs and Mon classes will take place as normal.

RENEW YOUR USA FENCING MEMBERSHIP FOR THE
2024-25 SEASON:

Link: Membership (usafencing.org)

All memberships expire in July. Renew online starting at $29. All T3 Fencers must belong to USA Fencing.

TOURNAMENTS: All Results will be updated on Fencing Time Live so log on and root for your team!  LINK: Fencing Time Live

More tournament updates on Facebook!



The Fairfax Challenge was a great weekend for our hardworking team! Lots of camaraderie and fun! It was a good opportunity to apply skills we’ve been working on in practice to see what works and what may need refining. We had some personal bests and some rough patches, which is not unusual at the first big event of the season. We couldn’t be prouder of this resilient crew and are excited to see what the next one brings. The numbers don’t tell the whole story, but here’s a quick summary:
 
Y14 Men’s Saber
Noah 9th
Derek 16th
 
Y12 Women’s Saber
Sabina 17th
 
Y10 Men’s Saber
Luca 6th-MEDALIST
 
Cadet Women’s Saber
Kate 18th
 
Junior Men’s Epee
Boden 46th
 
Cadet Women’s Epee
Claire 22nd
 
Y14 Men’s Epee
Ian 47th
Henry 48th
 
Y12 Men’s Epee
Henry 16th—1st DE win in Y12!
 
Cadet Men’s Saber
Noah 10th
 
Junior Women’s Epee
Grace R. 25th
Claire 26th
 
Y14 Women’s Epee
Grace L. 28th
 
Y14 Women’s Saber
Kate 8th—MEDALIST
 
Y12 Men’s Saber
Austin 18th—1st tournament!
 
Junior Women’s Saber
Anjali 19th
 
Cadet Men’s Epee
Ian 32nd—1st DE win in Cadet!
Boden 42nd

We are very pleased to announce that Coach Oleksii Ivanov will be helping out for the next few weeks with our epee classes, lessons, and camp.  Coach Oleksii is a true 3-weapon coach, so he may be helping Coach Boris out with saber as well.  For anyone that has gone to a tournament recently, you will probably recognize Coach Oleksii as one of your (very nice and good) referees!  This is a great opportunity to get a little different perspective on your fencing from a very talented and experienced coach!

Coach Oleksii Ivanov

Coach Oleksii has 50+ years of coaching experience at all levels in epee, foil, and saber and is a decorated Coach of Ukraine and Master of Sport USSR.  He is the coach of numerous world and national champions and medalists in all weapons.  He has had students recruited to a number of Ivy League and Division I, II, and III schools and was Assistant Coach at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is an active USA Fencing Referee at Regional and National events.

05/18/2022: Another Fairfax Challenge in the books, and our fencers have much to be proud of! We had 18 fencers in 16 events, ranging from Y8 to Junior. This was a Super Youth Circuit event, drawing a large number of skilled opponents seeking National Points and our fencers held their own. Let’s have a round of applause for our newest Nationally Ranked fencers: Henry (Y10ME), Kate (Y12WS) and Noah (Y12MS & Y14MS)!

Congratulations also to Luca on his 3rd place finish in Y8 Men’s Saber!

We’re proud of our fencers for their great results, but those alone don’t tell the whole story. We’re also proud of our team’s tenacity and perseverance, their willingness to keep pushing even when victories don’t come easily or at all, and their tremendous hearts in cheering each other on and supporting each other with advice and words of encouragement. What a great group we have! We are thankful for our fencing families, and can’t wait for the next event.

03/14/2022: A successful weekend at the Magic City RYC/RJCC! We had 9 fencers in 16 events, 7 medals, lots of personal bests and lots of fun! We’re proud of our hardworking team. We also want to thank our fencing families; it’s a LONG drive to Birmingham and we appreciate your dedication. We’re looking forward to the next one already–if you’d like to join us, reach out and we’ll be happy to help you start competing!

03/07/2023: Our fencers have been busy this month! The March NAC was the first North American Cup event for Kate, Noah, Henry and Grace. It was a great opportunity to fence with some of the best in the country and gain experience competing at a national level. We are so proud of them all!

Due to the Fairfax SYC Tournament this weekend, we have some schedule changes for saber (as Coach Boris will be at the tournament) and foil.  This will be the last major tournament of the season for many, so there should be relatively few schedule changes for most of the summer.  All fencers are invited to find an open alternate saber/foil class for a makeup.

RYDER CUP RJCC/ROC

Our fencers had a great weekend at the Ryder Cup RJCC/ROC! Anjali went undefeated in Div II Women’s Saber, earning 1st place and her E22 rating! She also placed 3rd in Junior Women’s Saber. Kwasi placed 1st in Cadet Men’s Saber and 3rd in Junior Men’s Saber. Claire placed 10th in Junior Women’s Epee and 11th in Cadet Women’s Epee. Boden placed 15th in Junior Men’s Epee after a hard-fought DE against the #1 seed and 14th in Cadet Men’s Epee. Ian placed 16th in Div II Men’s Epee and 18th in Cadet Men’s Epee. Grace and Hailee finished 22nd and 23rd respectively in Junior Women’s Epee and Hailee placed 26th in Div II Women’s Epee. They faced tough opponents and we are so proud of their hard work and determination! It was wonderful being back in Durham seeing friends from other clubs and feeling a great sense of community. Many thanks to Forge Fencing Academy and Club for a fun and well run event. Can’t wait to return to your beautiful facility for the Bull City RYC!

Richmond Winter RYC/RJCC 2022 by the numbers: 14 fencers in 16 events, 7 medals and tons of fun! We’re so proud of our hard-working crew. If you’d like to join us at the next event, reach out and we’ll be happy to help you get started!

We had a record 24 fencers competing in 19 events at The Southern RYC/RJCC this weekend! Lots of medals, lots of personal bests and a great sense of community! Congratulations to our hard-working team:

Kate Bernard: Y12 & Y14 Women’s Saber
Boden Bernard: Cadet & Junior Men’s Epee
Colin Corey: Junior Men’s Epee
Dylan Corpuz: Y10 Men’s Saber
Henry Fong: Y10 & Y12 Men’s Epee
Emily Fortin: Y12 & Y14 Women’s Saber
Luca Giovannoli: Y10 Men’s Saber
Hailee Gosart: Junior Women’s Epee
Isabelle Hall: Y12 Women’s Epee
Noah Hall: Y12 & Y14 Men’s Saber
Victoria Kleffman: Y12 Women’s Saber
Grace Lozier: Y14 Women’s Epee
Anjolie Nieman: Cadet & Junior Women’s Epee
Aubrey Nieman: Cadet & Junior Women’s Epee
Alli Ozboz: Junior Women’s Epee
Anjali Pal: Cadet & Junior Women’s Saber
Ian Pal: Y14 & Cadet Men’s Epee
Derek Pinkney: Y12 Men’s Saber
Claire Rheinecker: Cadet Women’s Epee
Grace Rheinecker: Cadet Women’s Epee
Jayden Ruiz: Y14 & Cadet Men’s Epee
Oliver Theunisse: Y12 Men’s Saber
Kwasi Thornhill: Cadet & Junior Men’s Saber
Neil Vedre: Y14 Men’s Saber