Fencing In the News/media

[hpfencing]

One of the problems with our sport is public opinion and interest. We have a lot of reasons that people should and would love the sport but there are lots of reasons they don't.
1. They don't see it as something they can do (I'm scared attitude )
2. They don't know where to do it (no advertising )
3. They don't hear about it on a regular basis. (news, personal contacts, posters)
4. Today's world is busy, who has time for another sport.

These are things I have noticed... I urgue each of you to spend 20 minutes or so this week and write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.. Let us know if it is published....

For the sprot to continue to grow we each need to promote the sport.......

I have things on my desk that are fencing related.. I suggest you each do what you can to promote the sport in your area......

How often does fencing come up in your daily lives....... Why not more....

[D'Artagnan1673]

this week, I have thought of seeing if local businesses would let me put uf some type of advertisment with the club name, address, fees and the days and times we meet.

You are right, I wanted to learn to fence for years before I stumbled onto the fact that there is a club in the area. One of the things I have been doing is to keep my club's website up-to date with tournament info and other things. That way, if people looking into fencing stumble on my site, they will see that there is an active club in the area.

[Victor]

This is the beginning of a sports column that ran in an Oklahoma newspaper (I don't want to retype the entire thing). It sort of puts things into perspective, I think.

-----

Picture this: two combatants face to face, jabbing, dodging, moving in and out of reach, trying to hit each other with a piece of metal first without getting hit first.

And, yes, the head is valid target.

You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.

If you’re reading this, it’s because you love sports and all it entails – team spirit, the drive to attain physical perfection, breaking records. So here’s the deal: We’ve got some excellent athletic talent in Oklahoma, and a bunch of Texans are coming to Oklahoma City to try to beat those athletes March 6-7. That’s right. Texas.

Uh-huh. NOW you’re interested.

The problem is that the sport in question is fencing.

Some friends and coaches might hate me for putting it that way, but I’m just being a realist. Think about it. What was the last sports fencing story you read that didn’t include several paragraphs explaining the historical origins of sword combat? Or descriptions of courtly rapiers and cavalry sabers? (yawn) Yeah, thought so. You’ve already turned the page for movie reviews.

Fencing doesn’t have the benefit of generations of televised fencing Super Bowls, friends tossing around the ol’ epee in the front yard while the turkeys cooking for Thanksgiving, or city fencing league. We grow up learning how to pass, dribble and pitch. Those sports are engrained by middle school.

Fencing events start off at a disadvantage when it comes to drawing crowds, so this is my attempt to sneak it into the mainstream. After all, most of the elements are the same as any other sport: An athlete trains day after day, misunderstands his coach, takes a lot of losses (and bruises) during practice bouts, develops rivalries, travels a lot to face new opponents, and doubts whether he’ll be able to come out on top.

... ((skip a paragraph)) ...

So what? At the Olympics, we cheer for the United States against the rest of the world. At the next level down the scale, well probably support a team from the Big 12 Conference in a championship bowl game over, say, an east coast team. And better yet, we want those winners to be Oklahomans first.
It’s no different with fencing. Come watch; give your region a boost. Make the out-of-towners jealous.

... ((etc.)) ...

[D'Artagnan1673]

so Victor, are you an Oklahoma boy? I am from Stillwater.

[Victor]

Originally Posted by D'Artagnan1673

so Victor, are you an Oklahoma boy? I am from Stillwater.

I am ... familiar ... with the Sooner State. More than that, I will not say.

If I remember correctly, Stillwater is home of Eskimo Joe's and the most excellent game called Pente? I don't know if there's a fencing club there, though.

[D'Artagnan1673]

Originally Posted by Victor

I am ... familiar ... with the Sooner State. More than that, I will not say.

If I remember correctly, Stillwater is home of Eskimo Joe's and the most excellent game called Pente? I don't know if there's a fencing club there, though.

Almost everytime I go to Stillwater, I eat at Eskimo Joe's. Its a good place to get a burger and fries. Really good atmosphere. Never heard of Pente.

[hpfencing]

Victror, thanks for sharign that article.... Maybe others will do so too...

I've thrown down the gauntlet.... Is anyone writing to there paper yet??

[Army Fencer]

Thanks Victor. Great article.

[ShadowHuntr]

in the past our club has submitted results to the newspaper

[duel mom]

within the past year was a thread describing how a foil fencer got a jolt of electricity when he was lounging on the copper strip and touched something with his sweaty hand or foot while still hooked up, I forget the scenerio. anyway sounded like a myth to me, I thought TLC's Mythbusters might get interested. Although if it is true, and proven it could lead to bad press...

Where is this thread and should I pursue this or not?

[telkanuru]

...the wonders of static electricity. No other explaination. Unless, of couse, he was using a [Triplette] box which somehow managed to short wall current to his skin, which he would have noticed before touching the grounding...

And if it dosn't involve strapping JATO's to cars, MythBusters is not interested

[DanInMI]

[quote=Victor]This is the beginning of a sports column that ran in an Oklahoma newspaper (I don't want to retype the entire thing). It sort of puts things into perspective, I think.



[quote]
Nice article. That is exactly the sort of thing that fencing needs.

The biggest thing preventing growth in our sport is that people don't know we exist.

When was the last time that you saw the results of a fencing tournament in your local paper? Never? Did anyone send the results to the local paper? Those local sports results don't get in the paper by themselves, you know.


What about press releases about upcoming events? If you write it they will print it.

How about local television news? Those guys are usually starving for video footage. If you invite them they will show up, shoot some video, and put you on the news that night.

I think that for every event the local USFA division should send a press releases to all local media announcing events, results of the events, and another release to them after the events to the local media and to the media in cities that the top fencers in the event come from. Provide them with photos from the events and write the articles for them, they love that. Newspaper articles and tv news stories are the best advertising you can get, and they are free!

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by DanInMI

The biggest thing preventing growth in our sport is that people don't know we exist.

When was the last time that you saw the results of a fencing tournament in your local paper? Never? Did anyone send the results to the local paper? Those local sports results don't get in the paper by themselves, you know.


What about press releases about upcoming events? If you write it they will print it.

How about local television news? Those guys are usually starving for video footage. If you invite them they will show up, shoot some video, and put you on the news that night.

I've just been through this process for a tournament we are hosting tomorrow. We'll see who prints it/shows up, but I'll let you know how effective it was.

I also plan to send the results to the local paper(s) and we'll see if they get printed.

[DanInMI]

Originally Posted by DangerMouse

I've just been through this process for a tournament we are hosting tomorrow. We'll see who prints it/shows up, but I'll let you know how effective it was.

I also plan to send the results to the local paper(s) and we'll see if they get printed.

Great, let us know how it works out.

[Victor]

re photos and video footage: I've been told by two newspaper editors (in competing products) that they don't like to cover fencing because -- {ahem} you're going to hate this -- because they can't see athletes' faces and the white uniforms are boring. The average newspaper photographer doesn't have the time, or isn't creative enough, to actively seek out an alternative action shot or portrait on a daily deadline. Not when valuable page space can be used for more popular football, basketball, etc. ... We'll leave this for discussion elsewhere.

re results: This area, at least, we can easily address. The sports departments at most major newspapers only actively pursue game results from the biggie mainstream sports ... and even then, the reporters typing "agate" on the page have squads of volunteers calling in the numbers or sending faxes. If you really want to see more fencing results, you've got to make the effort yourself, because they're not going to reach out to you. A few guidelines/suggestions:

* Calling ahead to see if the sports department is interested in your results is iffy -- on one hand, it opens the door to a better relationship; on the other, it allows them to think about it, "Ehhhh, do we really have the space to give up? No thanks."

* Study the format a newspaper uses for game results ahead of time. Follow it as closely as possible. For example, if each sport heads its column in capital letters, then you should also type "FENCING" in all caps. If the paper includes event names, then you should also include a full event name (a simply worded as possible). If the paper only lists top eights, then only send the top eight finishers yourself. If the paper identifies the athletes by name and hometown, then by all means include the bleepin' hometown!

* Send two media versions if at all possible -- fax and e-mail. Newspaper editors like both because a hardcopy can be stored for comparison later if there are any mistakes published and e-mail is perfect for cut-and-paste editing.

* After you send the stuff, or at the same time, THEN it's good to call and confirm receipt. Be pleasant and polite. Say something like, "We'd really appreciate it if you could blah blah blah..." and "This was a really big tournament and a lot of people showed up ..." Let the editor know you are part of the public who loves his newspaper, and that the rest of the public wants to know what happened at the event, too. ((A related thought: Newspapers don't want to waste space on piddly little events. Make sure the size of the competition is worthy of your local newspaper's attention.))

* DO IT. Don't putter around talking about how *someone* ought to get around to sending stuff to the paper. Sheesh!

[DanInMI]

Originally Posted by Victor

[ ((A related thought: Newspapers don't want to waste space on piddly little events. Make sure the size of the competition is worthy of your local newspaper's attention.))

hey...I'm not talking about "the washington post" or "the chicago tribune," most smaller market (under 100,000 pop.) newspapers will cover the piddliest little event....if you write the article for them.

[Army Fencer]

Originally Posted by DanInMI

hey...I'm not talking about "the washington post" or "the chicago tribune," most smaller market (under 100,000 pop.) newspapers will cover the piddliest little event....if you write the article for them.

Hmmm... it seems like the better fencers are in the larger cities with the bigger newpapers (New, San Francisco, DC). It makes it difficult.

[DHCJr]

The Orange Coast Division holds their tournaments in Long Beach, but the Local (relatively) small town newpaper, will not run the results. But every Tuesday after the tournament, the (large metropolitan paper) The Los Angeles Times has the results.

Since I am not involved with getting the results out, I don't know how they did it, but I was told the local paper wasn't interested, but the large one was.

Each editor is unique.

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by DangerMouse

I've just been through this process for a tournament we are hosting tomorrow. We'll see who prints it/shows up, but I'll let you know how effective it was.

I also plan to send the results to the local paper(s) and we'll see if they get printed.

Well, no coverage this time. There was a large track meet on campus the same day.

No results either.

Oh well, I didn't get the new release out until 3 days before the event.