School is out for summer. Well, college that is. The kids have all come home and it is great to see the amount of shear fencing that is going on at the school. We need to set up a fourth and fifth strip. I have been telling people down here for years about the lack of depth we have down here. You don’t have many generations of fencing competing against each other at the club level. People get into fencing and then get out of it down here like they change socks. We now have three generations of fencers working together to develop a nice competitive group over three different schools. The state games should be interesting.
I thought it was very unnerving that with two NCAA programs down here that there were not more ex-ncaa fencers in the Carolinas. Maybe the next set of USFA officers will figure it out. I recently ran into a guy who fenced epee on the Chapel Hill team that graduated in 2004(?) but didn’t fence anymore. How many people have I run into since I moved here that fenced at Chapel Hill, 50, a 100? He recently went up to an alumnus meet up there but said he probably wouldn’t be getting back into the sport. Sad, it is just sad.
The sabre bout work during the national class has been great for me this week and promises to help me drop the 30 lbs that I want to drop before October. Man I have gone rusty, fat and slow. Its ok though, lord knows that I love a challenge (PFL).
Mathers was there last night to start working with the epee kids on the national team, which worked out well. We are probably going to work to get him back in better shape so that he can go with us in October. I am recruiting now for the Vet event. I want to have about 20 for the trip.
We are looking at doing a demo at the GS kick off on July 19th. The goal now will be to expose the 15,000 girls that are part of this regions GS to fencing over the next season. It will be tough, it will be expensive for us to do but if we don’t do it who will? Thought so.
05-16-2008 10:48 AM