Florida Fencers

[EFish83]

How many Fencers here are from Florida?

[Rolls]

I'm from Mobile, Al which is about an hour from Pensacola, FL. Sure, I'm not in Fl, but I'm pretty close. Unfortunately, I've found that there isn't much fencing in that part of Florida.

[glowstix]

FL here...its not cool to fence in FL, trust me; scattered patches of fencing and not too much in these patches. every fencing practice in a road trip for me.

[EFish83]

There are quite a few in the Orlando and Tampa areas, I know of a few in west palm beach as well, what part of FL are you in? I'm in Orlando

[HDG]

Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton & Palm Beach all have clubs, some fairly strong, others with just a few really strong fencers.

[noodle]

FL here...its not cool to fence in FL, trust me; scattered patches of fencing and not too much in these patches. every fencing practice in a road trip for me.

no matter how bad off you think you are, there's someone else in a worse situation. trust. me.

[glowstix]

There are quite a few in the Orlando and Tampa areas, I know of a few in west palm beach as well, what part of FL are you in? I'm in Orlando

north FL. only a handful of clubs in the division and all are pretty small.

[glowstix]

no matter how bad off you think you are, there's someone else in a worse situation. trust. me.

i know..some fencing is better than no fencing at all, right??

[hello?]

I think Gainesville has pretty strong fencing because of U.F....Where is the club in Miami?

[fluidfencer]

I understand that one of the problems with fencing in Florida has been the inconsistency, especially in south Florida. That seems to have changed in the last few years. All the bigger cities in Florida have fencing, but you have to need that magic formula that includes terrific coaching and good marketing to make it work. That is SO hard to find. If you want a great program, you just can't dabble in coaching on a part-time basis. What you get are a bunch of OK programs all over the place, started by capable people who coach part-time after their "real" job a few days a week. Nothing wrong with that at all, but that's a different model.

It seems like you first have to have a group of people committed to establishing a top-level club, and THEN find a good coach. Doing it the other way is mostly just the luck of a good coach settling in a city.

Sorry... getting off topic

[mlr2fence]

I think Orlando has an up and coming epee club with some strong youth fencers.

[glowstix]

I understand that one of the problems with fencing in Florida has been the inconsistency, especially in south Florida. That seems to have changed in the last few years. All the bigger cities in Florida have fencing, but you have to need that magic formula that includes terrific coaching and good marketing to make it work. That is SO hard to find. If you want a great program, you just can't dabble in coaching on a part-time basis. What you get are a bunch of OK programs all over the place, started by capable people who coach part-time after their "real" job a few days a week. Nothing wrong with that at all, but that's a different model.

It seems like you first have to have a group of people committed to establishing a top-level club, and THEN find a good coach. Doing it the other way is mostly just the luck of a good coach settling in a city.

Sorry... getting off topic

that is exactly the situation here in FL. bunch of scattered small clubs with good coaches, not quite the quality as BFCAL or course but good. finding a dedicated bunch IS very hard to find. i make do with what i have (i.e. 15min lesson 2xmonth). the good coaching is in central FL mainly. i really want to leave FL because of this; its the only way i will keep fencing. i don't see 2 hour trips just for fencing as a long term solution.

by the way, gainesville is really strong, especially in epee; there are a few clubs there and i frequent one of them on a regular basis just to avoid fencing foil.

[EFish83]

There is a web site that I made for my club (we fence at the University of Central Florida) and we try to get people to join our club or come out to the Orlando Fencing Club. Check out www.thefencingconnection.com. It's still new and not too many people are on it except for my coach and a few of the people in the club, but I'm trying to get a bunh of Florida fencers on there. So if you know anyone else who is a FL fencer, refer them to the site as well. Hopefully it will help FL fencers find and possibly form more clubs. Let me know what you think.

[fluidfencer]

Tell me/us a little more about Gainesville. I know the UF club has a strong coach don't know about the others.

that is exactly the situation here in FL. bunch of scattered small clubs with good coaches, not quite the quality as BFCAL or course but good. finding a dedicated bunch IS very hard to find. i make do with what i have (i.e. 15min lesson 2xmonth). the good coaching is in central FL mainly. i really want to leave FL because of this; its the only way i will keep fencing. i don't see 2 hour trips just for fencing as a long term solution.

by the way, gainesville is really strong, especially in epee; there are a few clubs there and i frequent one of them on a regular basis just to avoid fencing foil.

[mlr2fence]

It look like there are 3 clubs in Gainesville, mostly recreational. UF appears to be the most competitve but the Orlando based Fl Musketeers also offer lessons in Gainesville, according to the Gateway webpage.

[mike morgan]

Perhaps this information may be helpful.

The Fencing Academy of Southwest Florida (formerly The Fort Myers Fencing Club) has been promoting modern fencing in the tri-county area for the last thirty years. We have grown considerably in this time, and are now experiencing explosive growth. With over 89 fencers (of all ages) we are one the largest fencing clubs in Florida.

We offer lessons and training to both beginners and experienced fencers at our primary location in Ft. Myers, and at our Naples branch which is experiencing unprecedented growth. Also, we have just established a formal working arrangement with Florida Gulf Coast University to assist them in the formation of a club fencing program. FGCU has 7,200 students and is the newest member of the State University System of Florida.

Our competitive fencers have been exceptionally successful in Florida, and have enjoyed national success in the Junior Olympics, the Veteran's North American Cup, and the US National Fencing Championships. We currently have three fencers ranked among the USA’s best in their respective age categories: Dr. Ray Blair of Naples who is ranked 14th in the Veterans 40+ in Men’s Sabre; Danielle Kamis of Sarasota who is ranked 26th in Cadet Women’s Sabre (and just finished 20th in the USA's Junior Olympic Championships); and Dr. Michelle Prettyman of Estero who is ranked 19th in the Vet 40+ women’s epee, and who won the National Bronze Medal in the Vet 40+ women’s epee at last year’s National Fencing Championships. Corey Purcell from our club fences both foil and epee for the University of Pennsylvania fencing team.

Our Ft. Myers location is:
Fort Myers Fencing Club
4210 Fowler Street, Unit 9
Fort Myers, FL 33901

In Naples we are located at:
Crystal Ballroom
2082 Trade Center Way
Naples, FL

[fluidfencer]

Mike,

Very interesting. From what age groups and demographics is the growth coming? I keep hearing stories about growth in almost every area of the country and I am trying to understand why. It seems mostly youth driven, and certainly has been here in Birmingham. Can you provide a rough breakdown of your club's composition?

What have you done to promote growth?

Who is your coach, and how did he/she get established in the area? Are they full-time.

What type of facilities do you have? We are about to triple our space and are discussing the best way to do that.

Perhaps this information may be helpful.

The Fencing Academy of Southwest Florida (formerly The Fort Myers Fencing Club) has been promoting modern fencing in the tri-county area for the last thirty years. We have grown considerably in this time, and are now experiencing explosive growth. With over 89 fencers (of all ages) we are one the largest fencing clubs in Florida.

We offer lessons and training to both beginners and experienced fencers at our primary location in Ft. Myers, and at our Naples branch which is experiencing unprecedented growth. Also, we have just established a formal working arrangement with Florida Gulf Coast University to assist them in the formation of a club fencing program. FGCU has 7,200 students and is the newest member of the State University System of Florida.

Our competitive fencers have been exceptionally successful in Florida, and have enjoyed national success in the Junior Olympics, the Veteran's North American Cup, and the US National Fencing Championships. We currently have three fencers ranked among the USA’s best in their respective age categories: Dr. Ray Blair of Naples who is ranked 14th in the Veterans 40+ in Men’s Sabre; Danielle Kamis of Sarasota who is ranked 26th in Cadet Women’s Sabre (and just finished 20th in the USA's Junior Olympic Championships); and Dr. Michelle Prettyman of Estero who is ranked 19th in the Vet 40+ women’s epee, and who won the National Bronze Medal in the Vet 40+ women’s epee at last year’s National Fencing Championships. Corey Purcell from our club fences both foil and epee for the University of Pennsylvania fencing team.

Our Ft. Myers location is:
Fort Myers Fencing Club
4210 Fowler Street, Unit 9
Fort Myers, FL 33901

In Naples we are located at:
Crystal Ballroom
2082 Trade Center Way
Naples, FL

[HDG]

I think Gainesville has pretty strong fencing because of U.F....Where is the club in Miami?

You can get all of the details at miamifencingclub.com
There are clubs all over Dade and Broward.

[mike morgan]

Mike,

Very interesting. From what age groups and demographics is the growth coming? I keep hearing stories about growth in almost every area of the country and I am trying to understand why. It seems mostly youth driven, and certainly has been here in Birmingham. Can you provide a rough breakdown of your club's composition?

What have you done to promote growth?

Who is your coach, and how did he/she get established in the area? Are they full-time.

What type of facilities do you have? We are about to triple our space and are discussing the best way to do that.

Fluidfencer:

Of our 89 members about 45% are between the ages of 7-14; 35% between the ages of 15-30; and 20% between the ages of 30-66.

Our club has been in operation for over 35 years with branches in Ft. Myers, and Naples. We have maintained and promoted excellent relations with the main media in Southwest Florida, our two public school systems, the three local colleges, and our county leaders.

We have aggressively promoted fencing via: regular visits and demonstrations at community and corporate events; participation in year-long Chamber of Commerce programs; ongoing outreach to both public and private schools in our tri-county region.

Our Ft. Myers facility can accommodate six-seven fencing strips, while our Naples branch can accommodate about five. One of our primary long range goals is to secure state of the art fencing facilities in both Ft. Myers and Naples. As noted below we are actively planning how to accomplish this.

After a comprehensive feasibility study this past year, we: redefined our club’s mission and short and long term goals; reorganized our board of directors, and this past January successfully achieved our 501-C-3, non-profit status. We are now systematically and aggressively raising private and corporate funds, and are developing marketing and related relationships with a wide range of local and regional businesses.

We have hard-working board committees which include:
• Public Outreach and Marketing
• Fund-Raising
• Finance
• Youth Development
• Long Range Planning
• Governmental & Community Relations

We have five coaches. Of these, I and Charles Johnson coach five days a week, while the others coach between two-three days a week. Our coaches meet once a month to review all aspects of coaching issues such as: reviewing each student’s progress; staying current with the latest teaching trends and techniques; and coordinating individual and group lessons. Beginning June 1, we will institute a comprehensive ‘block teaching’ format.

A major reason for our burgeoning growth is the unprecedented population explosion in Southwest Florida. Our region has now passed Las Vegas as the fastest growing in America. We are the only fencing club in Southwest Florida and now service a population of about 1.6 million. Median home values in our two counties are averaging a 24% annual appreciation. In Lee County which is our corporate home, the Lee County School System will build 33 new schools in the next 10 years.

Our recent reorganization and ongoing planning is designed to enable us to fully capitalize upon on our region’s burgeoning economic and population growth while hopefully ensuring that fencing in Southwest Florida will be an ongoing, increasingly important component of this growth.

[mike morgan]

Fluidfencer:

Of our 89 members about 45% are between the ages of 7-14; 35% between the ages of 15-30; and 20% between the ages of 30-66.

Our club has been in operation for over 35 years with branches in Ft. Myers, and Naples. We have maintained and promoted excellent relations with the main media in Southwest Florida, our two public school systems, the three local colleges, and our county leaders.

We have aggressively promoted fencing via: regular visits and demonstrations at community and corporate events; participation in year-long Chamber of Commerce programs; ongoing outreach to both public and private schools in our tri-county region.

Our Ft. Myers facility can accommodate six-seven fencing strips, while our Naples branch can accommodate about five. One of our primary long range goals is to secure state of the art fencing facilities in both Ft. Myers and Naples. As noted below we are actively planning how to accomplish this.

After a comprehensive feasibility study this past year, we: redefined our club’s mission and short and long term goals; reorganized our board of directors, and this past January successfully achieved our 501-C-3, non-profit status. We are now systematically and aggressively raising private and corporate funds, and are developing marketing and related relationships with a wide range of local and regional businesses.

We have hard-working board committees which include:
• Public Outreach and Marketing
• Fund-Raising
• Finance
• Youth Development
• Long Range Planning
• Governmental & Community Relations

We have five coaches. Of these, I and Charles Johnson coach five days a week, while the others coach between two-three days a week. Our coaches meet once a month to review all aspects of coaching issues such as: reviewing each student’s progress; staying current with the latest teaching trends and techniques; and coordinating individual and group lessons. Beginning June 1, we will institute a comprehensive ‘block teaching’ format.

A major reason for our burgeoning growth is the unprecedented population explosion in Southwest Florida. Our region has now passed Las Vegas as the fastest growing in America. We are the only fencing club in Southwest Florida and now service a population of about 1.6 million. Median home values in our two counties are averaging a 24% annual appreciation. In Lee County which is our corporate home, the Lee County School System will build 33 new schools in the next 10 years.

Our recent reorganization and ongoing planning is designed to enable us to fully capitalize upon on our region’s burgeoning economic and population growth while hopefully ensuring that fencing in Southwest Florida will be an ongoing, increasingly important component of this growth.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

I had meant to add that as part of the Fencing Academy of Southwest Florida’s annual fund-raising activities we have the following key goals:
• To provide financial assistance to our youth and junior fencers so they may compete in our Sectional Championships and the US National Fencing Championships.
• To underwrite the complete cost of sending a minimum of two coaches to the US National Championships.
• To provide funds so our coaches can pursue ‘continuing fencing educational’ opportunities.

We will have 9-10 youth/junior fencers competing in the 2005 US National Championships in Sacramento, and will be able to fully underwrite the cost of sending two coaches.