Has anyone ever started a club in college

[Firecube2426]

Hi I'm thinking about starting a fencing club here in college but wanted some tips and strategies. I am required to find at least 11 people and raise enough grant for equipment. I need some suggestions like what is the least minimum requirement for equipment for each person on a budget say only a mask, glove, and foil is all that is needed for everyone? And how would I go about purchasing equipment for everyone? Oh and last but probrably not least, where can I find a fencing floor without painting one at my college?

[mrbiggs]

I haven't started one, but I'm on one.

You don't need too much equipment if you're just starting. What's necessary is largely up to you. I think underarm protectors would be a good idea in addition to mask, jacket, glove, and weapons.

There's no reason to paint the floors. Most established college clubs don't. If you have a meet you should put tape down to denote the strips, and if the school wants you can take it up afterward. Otherwise, just tell people to fence in a straight line.

You almost certainly want to go somewhere cheap. Absolute sometimes makes deals with clubs, and I've heard Blue Gauntlet and The Fencing Post have been known to as well, so see if you can get a discount from them.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

You may find some useful information in the "clubs" section of the forum.

First and foremost, when you're talking to ANYONE hired by the college, refer to foils, epees, and sabres as foils, epees, and sabres if at all possble. Don't say "blades". REALLY don't say "weapons". "Sporting Equipment" is a good one.

When you're starting out, you don't need a weapon, mask, and glove for everyone. People can share gear. Especially since you will probably have more people at the beginning of any session than at the end.


Where are you? You're going to want to reach out to other nearby programs for advice and support eventually, and depending on where you are, you may be able to get a bit of help early on.

You may want a coach as soon as you can afford it. This might end up being a recent grad from a nearby well established program, this may be a recent grad from your school, this might be a coach from a nearby club. While this costs money, it avoids a whole host of problems if you start competing with other schools. Some teams have managed to do well without a non-student coach (see prime example of Clemson), but not everywhere would do as well (Smith might curl up into a ball and die).

If you're making a big-ish order, talk to the person you're ordering from first. Sometimes vendors are able to offer you a deal if you're buying a lot of gear.

You don't need a fencing floor. Well, you need a floor that's not concrete or other bad substances, but a standard gym floor will work for the vast majority of what you do. When you get to the point where helping people learn exactly where the lines are, the easiest method is tape. Usually you won't want to do more than mark hatches where endlines, warning lines, engarde lines, and the center is, but if you have a tournament, you just mark the entire perimeter.

Some floors make chalk an option. I haven't done it or cleaned it, however, so I'm not the best to ask.

[Firecube2426]

Hi I appreciate your replies. First of all, I'm thinking a jacket wouldn't be quite necessary if the club is on an initial budget. That's why I think just buying off masks, gloves, and practice foils is all that is necessary so that no member would sit out bored. I can just ask people to wear hoodies and I'm hopping it offers just the right enough protection till we raise enough funds.

But the questions is, if i'm going to randomly buy a set of masks and jackets, what sizes should I buy so that it would fit the next member when he/she joins the club next semester?

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Originally Posted by Firecube2426

Hi I appreciate your replies. First of all, I'm thinking a jacket wouldn't be quite necessary if the club is on an initial budget. That's why I think just buying off masks, gloves, and practice foils is all that is necessary so that no member would sit out bored. I can just ask people to wear hoodies and I'm hopping it offers just the right enough protection till we raise enough funds.

But the questions is, if i'm going to randomly buy a set of masks and jackets, what sizes should I buy so that it would fit the next member when he/she joins the club next semester?

If you want people hitting walls, or lockers, or mats, not having jackets is fine.

DO NOT HAVE PEOPLE HIT EACH OTHER WITHOUT JACKETS. HOODIES DO NOT EQUAL JACKETS.

Beginners don't have much control, and hit weird ways and often too hard. There are a handful of people I would let hit me with a weapon if I was wearing a hoodie. Most have been on national teams--- and they would only be hitting me if they knew the hit wouldn't do much more than touch.

Beyond that, if you say that a hoodie is sufficient equipment, no one will believe you that pants are better than shorts, that robust pants are better than yoga pants with rips, and that knickers are better yet.

If you start by saying a hoodie is okay, getting people to take safety seriously later will be very difficult. Getting the school to shell out for jackets later will be very difficult- "But it's a safety concern, we need more money!" "then why are you using hoodies now?"

And beyond THAT, when something happens, (it might not be really serious, but something will eventually happen), YOU might very well be legally liable. And since NO ONE would support you on saying that hoodies were appropriate safety gear, if someone wanted to sue you, they would very likely win.

In addition, women need breast protectors. the little disks can be put in bras if you don't want to buy separate women's jackets with pockets, but they're important.

[catwood1]

First off.

NO HOODIES!!!!!!!!


Second, I started the club at my college. Do lots of advertising. We use sidewalk chalk and draw awesome murals on the sides of walls to draw attention. There are probably people who have fenced at your college, the key is to find them.

I recommend talking to Blue Gauntlet Fencing for equipment. They have been fabulous to work with for us. I'd say the bare minimum for equipment is glove, weapon, mask, jacket. After that, the first thing to get is a plastron (underarm protector). Many people fence without them, but they are required for any competition and they are a huge safety thing. Along with those, just make sure youre fencers wear long pants and not shorts.

If your school has a club sports program, talk to its director. Club sports are a step inbetween NCAA varsity, and intramural. Club sports compete against other colleges, but in a much more relaxed environment than varsity sports do. Your school may have a budget or club sports, and you can get money from them.

Split up the work! Find another person who wants to start this club and divide the work of it evenly between the two of you. At my club, in the 5 years before I got here, 4 separate times, someone tried to start a fencing team, they always failed and ultimately gave up over the course of the year. My freshman year, me and one other person worked together to start it, and we're now going into our third year, with about 27 members. Starting a club sport is ALOT of work, so having more than one person to do it makes it much easier.

Look or professors who have a background in fencing. If someone fenced in college, they may be interested in coaching you guys. Also, talk to local coaches and see if anything seems like a good fit. However, watch out for clubs that want to "absorb" your college club into their USFA club, thats not what you want to get involved in. Trust me

Anything else, feel free to private message me.

[Timberwolf_CY]

I ran the UCM (University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO, outside KC) for about two years. It is a ton of work. I did nearly all of it on my own. We were strictly a recreational sports club: we had no coach, we taught each other what we knew, and beginners what we knew, and went from there. Our school has a budget for sports clubs; when our club first started around 2000, the budget I think was nearly $2000 a semester, but as state funding for the school was cut over the years, it dropped to around $750 a semester. It's still a good chunk of change, and we've been able to keep up a good inventory over the years. I am hoping to return soon to start running it again, indirectly, because the person I left in charge didn't so hot when I let him take over.

The number one thing I can tell you is you need to advertise on-campus...a lot...and hold some kind of special event for new/interested people at least once a semester, and also take part in any 'campus involvement fairs, etc.' whenever you can. For advertising we did traditional fliers, but those are nearly useless. What really got us membership was table tents. Those are basically three-sided folded pieces of paper you put on tables in places like cafeterias for people to look at/read. We usually made about 200 a semester and distributed them at the start of each semester advertising our semesterly event, the Beginner's Night. The result was we normally got between 30 and 50 people each semester at our Beginner's Nights, which considering our on-campus students (about 5,000 or so, I guess) and rate of involvement of students (generally I think pretty low, we are a party school) was pretty good. Generally about 5 or so students would stick around each semester from Beginner's Night/advertising, and if each stayed for between 1 and 4 years, we built up a decent club over time. So yeah, do lots of advertising, in whatever medium you can. I suggest also putting up a website with some kind of simple forums attached (I would link to ours, but it's been down for nearly a year; something I intend to fix when I get back). I wrote a whole book about running a college club, if you want I can send it to you (seriously, it's like 115 pages long, 8 1/2 by 11 inches, actually more now since I included photos). In the book I describe everything related to running the club, from teaching lessons to leadership to how to advertise, with samples for everything, like an agenda for the Beginner's Night. If I do send it to you, I wouldn't pay too much to the technique part of the book, as I am not a very experienced fencer and that particular part of the book is rife with flaws. Everything else though I think is very sound.

Anyway, that's most of what I think I can tell you. Advertise the hell out of your club.

[Hobbes]

Started a college club

that is the link to a similar thread to this one. On the second page I mentioned a bunch of ways to raise money.

Depending on your location there might be a club who would be willing to help you start out.

I wonder if you were joking about the hoodies... That is one of the worst ideas I have read on this board. And that says something.

For your starting gear, just make sure everyone you can possibly talk to knows what you want to do. You never know who is going to be that guy who helped you get off the ground. It could be a guy you are standing next to in line at the pharmacy. Talk to everyone.

[Firecube2426]

No it's not a joke, I'm just trying to come up with ways we can still fence if in case my club starts off low on dough. That's why I was thinking substituting a jacket for a thick hoodie with several layers of shirts underneath was suffice enough for enough protection as much as a jacket till we raise enough money. But it's not the case then I will buy jackets but then there will be fewer helmets, practicing foils, and gloves.

But since the safety rules in fencing is to have a minimum of at least a jacket, glove, and mask for protection... sigh oh well I'll have to work harder..

thanks for your replies, I will take your ideas and try my best hopefully.

[KD5MDK]

Not having jackets would make me unwilling to consider what you're doing as fencing. I'd call it Italian Roulette or some such.

[Wafath]

Consider the possibility of getting your seed money from the founders. A 4 item beginners kit costs around $110-$120, which may be reasonable dues until you get funds from the school.

Another thing you should do is talk to all the local USFA clubs. One of them might be willing to loan you some gear long enough to collect dues & sell the concept of people buying their own gear. Until you have at least a decade of modest school funds constantly adding gear, you will not have enough, and you must convince fencers to buy their own.

A coach would be nice, and is something you must constantly be on the lookout for, but frankly unless you get very lucky, you will have to grow your own. Your school's rules & budget will dictate how much you can spend on a coach, and if that amount is more than zero, it will probably be a year or two before you can get that money.

W

[Timberwolf_CY]

Yeah, I wouldn't concern yourself with a coach a great deal yet. As long as someone among you knows fencing well enough to teach the basics, you can go from there. Buying/renting a decent book on fencing (Elaine Cheris's Book, Fencing: Steps to Success gives excellent point-by-point and in-depth description of basic foil fencing, with a little epee thrown in) will help refine knowledge and give more of a base to experiment from and learn a few things. A lot of what I know regarding fencing comes from books; not necessarily single techniques (how to disengage, parry, etc) but rather when to apply said techniques in bouts, etc; tactics. I basically taught myself the one-two from a book and when I first pulled it out on someone in free fencing, they had no clue what to do with it, and neither did anyone else for a while. The point is, use every avenue possible to expand your knowledge of fencing and everything that goes along with it. If no one knows how to fence in your group, it may be worthwhile to wait a semester and have a select few in your group who can afford it go take a beginner's, than intermediate classes at a city nearby, and then you can bring that knowledge back and start the club and have a basis for teaching beginners, and so growing the club. But anywho, unless you get some serious funding from the school, I sincerely doubt you'll have the money to get a coach. NOW, a PE teacher in your school who teaches/knows fencing may be able to help you; alternatively to the above, you could take the class at your school, and again go from there. I myself have been fencing for four years and earned an E in my first year with no professional coaching at all; zip, nada, none. I'm not bragging, because an E is worthless to most everyone on the boards, but it shows how far you can go even when based with limited resources and experience, and an E is the first step to bigger and better things.

As far as initial funds go, the school should be able to give you some kind of significant funding to get equipment. It will take time to build a decent base, but as long as you buy smart and don't waste money, you'll be okay. I sent you my book: it has a whole chapter just on finances and buying equipment; I highly recommend you read it.

[edew]

A reasonable practice jacket can be had for $45. A hoodie with the NY Giants logo on it or the Sixers logo on it probably goes for $80. Why not get something that's cheaper than a hoodie and specifically designed for safety.

[fencerchica]

This may sound odd, but if you're in a bind for cash, what I would do is cut back on the number of masks purchased. The reason for this is that swapping sweaty jackets around is cumbersome, time consuming, and really gross whereas handing sweaty masks back and forth is easy, quick, and at least marginally less gross.

[WTFLindsIsSoCool]

I would be extremely apprehensive about fencing sans a jacket. There are way too many things that could go wrong. There are safety standards for a reason...

[Firecube2426]

Hi guys very thankful for all your replies and thanks for the book!!

I'm trying to figure out though, is how to buy jacket sizes and how many I should do if say I we began with 10- 12 intersted members? How many should I buy, what sizes should I buy so that future members can use them?
What about mask sizes (though I wouldn't see it much of a big deal, just M and L)?

(Yes Timberwolf I have read some of your book with the "buying equipment" section but would like to listen to other's opinion Thx so much!).

What about gloves, what if a few were left handed and had different size hands. I dont' ahve the money for all that..

How do I register with the USFA? Does like the president have to be experienced enough to run it?

alittle help please?

[Firecube2426]

"blank post, sorry"

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Originally Posted by Firecube2426

Hi guys very thankful for all your replies and thanks for the book!!

I'm trying to figure out though, is how to buy jacket sizes and how many I should do if say I we began with 10- 12 intersted members? How many should I buy, what sizes should I buy so that future members can use them?
What about mask sizes (though I wouldn't see it much of a big deal, just M and L)?

(Yes Timberwolf I have read some of your book with the "buying equipment" section but would like to listen to other's opinion Thx so much!).

What about gloves, what if a few were left handed and had different size hands. I dont' ahve the money for all that..

How do I register with the USFA? Does like the president have to be experienced enough to run it?

alittle help please?

There isn't a magical formula for equipment. When it comes to jackets, a little big is okay..... But falling off isn't great. Have a first general interest meeting, and then look at the people. If there are any obvious outliers (the girl who looks 13, the guy who looks like a football player), see how interested they are before you equip them.

Again, you might want to throw in a Small mask if you've got some girls on the smaller end. But look at the people that show up first if you can.

A right handed glove can be turned inside out, and it becomes a less comfortable left handed glove. Gloves are comparitively cheap--- a lefty can pay the $15 bucks if they object to the inside-out glove trick.

You can register with the USFA yourself without issue-- there's also a coach's membership you might want to consider-- I don't know the details, but I think there's some sort of liability insurance deal thing. Someone else might be able to actually say something about that.

When it comes to having a USFA club, you're supposed to have 10 USFA members. I'm not entirely sure how well enforced that is. It's probably a bit premature, anyway.

[KD5MDK]

I understand the club application form has a place where you are supposed to list the 10 USFA members.

Strongly agree on the "Check the people who show up" before ordering equipment.

[Firecube2426]

Thanks Myriddins, but I need jackets in reserve for future members (who will be in different sizes) so buying jackets for that particular current member isn't really going to help (or maybe). Maybe like Timberwolf noted in his book: 2 50s, 2 54s, 2 58s, and 2 60s.

So in general, I'd like to know more about YOU guys...

If you are running a fencing club at a college, what size jackets do you own and how many? Are there any members complaining because of lack of sizes or quantity?

I guess it gives me a way to compare other schools as to how I should buy jackets.