what do you think about the french fencing..?

[merlin]

Hi,
I'm a french fencing coach in a great fencing club in Paris but i'd like to move to the United State to practice my job.
I've seen the great results of the Juniors and Cadets in the recent World Championships and I can see that the US will be a Nation very competitive now, as the Europeans nations.
Do you think it can be a good idea to come and try to participate to this evolution?
Thanks to answer in an easy language because my english spoken is not very fluent yet.

[KD5MDK]

French fencing? I'm opposed to it.

[Morion]

He is joking Merlin

I would try to answer your question but I really do not know how easy it is for Fencing Coaches to find jobs in the US.

[KD5MDK]

A number of people seem to be able to make their living as fencing coaches. I think, though am not sure, that to immigrate to the US you will probably have to have a job sponsor lined up already, and more or less be reliant on them for your residency. However, if you can find a good sponsor, you'll probably do all right.

[veeco]

Another possibility is to land a job as a university fencing coach. Universities with fencing coaches full time are rare, but a lot of eastern european countries' coaches made it in the US this way, and it seems relatively easier than starting out in a club, unless it is a very large and well established one.

Having to deal with finding a place to live, immigration, doing your regular job AND marketing your new club at the same time isn't the best thing to do, I would say.

[Beowulfman6]

You could come be our fenincg coach here at Brevard College!

Seriously, our current coach is leaving at the end of the year and we need a new foil/epee coach. We should be able to pay something (still working on that), but it won't be enough to live off of and is hardly worth immigrating for.

I don't know what level you are coaching at, but I would immagine it would be pretty easy to find a coaching job in the US, but hard to make a living off of that alone.

[LUDICROUS]

French fencing is awesome, if what I saw of Athens is anything to go by.

Oh, I'm way off... Still stands

[felixduc]

New York City...

...is where you'll need to go.

[Schiavona]

Contact the United States Fencing Association and try to get a list of fencing clubs. Contact those clubs in areas of the country where you would like to live. See if they're interested in hiring you. Bon chance!

[VELISARIOS]

French fencing is one of the best!!!

[merlin]

thanks a lot for these answers.

I know that it would be difficult to live with only this job, like in France, you know...

The big question for me is to find somewehere to live, in the area of an university for my girlfriend who practice fencing with an high level too. She's teacher in university in France at the moment.
We don't know what could be the conditions to be able to work in the US (immigration...)

For the moment, we're looking for a place in the south west...

If ever you know an university who's looking for a fencing coach and can be interessed in a project of developpement, you can contact me...

[KD5MDK]

Do you have any certifications or professional qualifications? Those would help a lot, I think. (Particularly with Universities, who can't evaluate a fencer's results or schedule a practical interview to determine whether you know what you're doing.)

Baylor has no coach, but I doubt there's a spot for one. You might try University of Houston, but then you'd have to deal with Houston fencing. (The fencing is at a pretty high level. The fencing politics are at an even higher level) Austin is mostly full up, as far as I know.

[veeco]

There are many types of visas available, and which one to use depends on your qualifications, how long you intend to stay in the US, whether you intend to work, go to school, etc. and your finances, unfortunately.

You could start at this page of the US embassy in France:
http://france.usembassy.gov/consul/visas/default.htm

Immigrant visas are basically Green cards (hard and expensive to get, but you can stay forever), and non-immigrant visas allow you to stay in the US for a limited amount of time. Some non-immigrant visas can be converted to immigrant visas, and others cannot. I am not an immigration lawyer by any stretch, but reading this information should help you figure out what you can and cannot do. Read it carefully, but it's not that hard to understand, as long as you make sure to read all of it and that you make sure to lookup any words you don't understand.

PM me if you have any questions, I'd be happy to talk to you more about this.

[merlin]

My professional qualifications are a french certificate 2nd degree of fencing, I've passed it in 2000 in Châtenay-Malabry, my first degree has been passed in 1997.
I work since 1997 in the same club in Paris. I have got a diploma in modern pentathlon first degree too.

I've got a full time work and coach young fencers in epee from 8 to 21 years old.

[i'mnottelling]

Originally Posted by merlin

My professional qualifications are a french certificate 2nd degree of fencing, I've passed it in 2000 in Châtenay-Malabry, my first degree has been passed in 1997.
I work since 1997 in the same club in Paris. I have got a diploma in modern pentathlon first degree too.

I've got a full time work and coach young fencers in epee from 8 to 21 years old.

The Southwest Section has a strong presence in epee. You should direct your search in that area.

i'mnt

[mlr2fence]

My suggestion is to focus on a location that works for your girlfriend. Is she also a student or just teaches at a university? It might be harder for her to find a satisfactory position than it would be for you to find fencing. Many universities have fencing at a club level or are in a city where there is a fencing club.

As a fencing coach you can try to join the staff at an established program (club or university) or you can try to join a smaller club and try to build it up into a powerhouse. If you work in a small club in a 'fencing poor' area they might really appreciate you more--the big fish in a small pond concept. I frequently hear fencers in from these cities talk of how they would just love to be able to obtain coaching from a higher level coach! The other option would be to start your own club. Do you want to 'be your own boss' or follow someone else's directions in there club? There are so many opportunities here I would just explore all options until you know what you really want.

[glowstix]

Originally Posted by merlin

My professional qualifications are a french certificate 2nd degree of fencing, I've passed it in 2000 in Châtenay-Malabry, my first degree has been passed in 1997.
I work since 1997 in the same club in Paris. I have got a diploma in modern pentathlon first degree too.

I've got a full time work and coach young fencers in epee from 8 to 21 years old.

you seem to be doing fine..why go to the US?? well, it would be hypocritical of me of all people to judge why a person would want to immigrate anywhere..lol!!

anyway, i think you get a B1 visa to visit the US first and see what's available in terms of the clubs in the area you'd like to live. for you to work, i'm thinking that someone would have to hire you; i'm not sure what type of visa you'd get though. i'm not sure about the H1B since "Fencing coach" doesn't exactly require a bachelor's degree or is a regulated occupation. i'm pretty sure you can't get a green card petition since there are tons of american coaches already. i guess this MIGHT only work if you were sanzo or kolobkov since they are currently competing and are exceptional world class talents. having said this, a lot of coaches do make it over here so there is a way. good luck, .

[Larrison]

Originally Posted by merlin

[ ... edited ...] The big question for me is to find somewehere to live, in the area of an university for my girlfriend who practice fencing with an high level too. She's teacher in university in France at the moment. [ ... ] For the moment, we're looking for a place in the south west...

If ever you know an university who's looking for a fencing coach and can be interessed in a project of developpement, you can contact me...

Hmm.. You might check out the California (San Francisco Bay area) and California (Southern California/ San Diego) areas. Significant fencing activity, and multiple universities there. Las Vegas has good fencing and a couple of good universitites, as does Arizona -- but smaller fencing groups compared to the big metropolitan areas in California. Texas might be an option too..

The California sections of the US Fencing Association can be found at http://pcsfencing.com/divisions/

One of the local clubs from me just added Nick Dinu from Romania to teach youth Sabre http://www.southcoastfencing.com/lessons.html

The Nevada section clubs are at http://web0.greatbasin.net/~nevdiv/clubs.html (Las Vegas is in the Southern Nevada section),

And the Arizona clubs are at http://www.azfencingdivision.net/clubs.php

[jdoiv]

the United States Fencing Coaches Association has job listings on their web site. http://www.usfca.org/usfca/index.asp?section=6

I'm sure this isn't all inclusive of the positions out there, but it is a good place to start. I would also suggest going to the NCAA website (http://www.ncaa.org/sports/fencing/) and researching the various schools listed there.

Best of luck...

[Fencergrl]

Another place to consider is Eastern Canada (Montreal/ Toronto). Both English and French are spoken and there are several good Universities.

Here's a link on immigration to Canada in both French and English
http://www.cic.gc.ca/

and the Canadian Fencing Federation website (again French & English). http://www.fencing.ca/