Every now and then there are some interesting and very positive news to be found in the
USFA web site... This article
http://usfencing.org/news/article/28615 is well written and tells a story about something we really don't talk much about here,
wheelchair fencing.
Congratulations to
Cat Bouwkamp, a 13 year old eighth-grader who competed against older and more experienced athletes in the
Warsaw Wheelchair World Cup and brought home the
bronze medal in saber. And thank you USFA for telling this compelling story about success in fencing!
In Europe in general and Italy in particular--there I go again--there is a very strong push to
encourage and promote wheelchair fencing not only for people bound to these implements, but also for everybody else. An idea worth considering here also...
Club Scherma Roma (
http://www.clubschermaroma.it/ ) likely the largest and most successful fencing club in that country, has an active wheelchair section in the club. It also promotes and supports a very noble and interesting initiative called
"integrated fencing" a competition format for everyone whether in need of a wheelchair or not. This is the second of such "integrated fencing" tournaments organized thus far in Italy.
The format for the competition is as follows:
A team event open to teams composed in 3 different ways:
- a team made with fencers who do not require a wheelchair
- a team made with fencers who compete only in wheelchair
- a mixed team of fencer who are wheelchair bound and not.
Each team is free to field the best fencers they have and each bout will start with a 0 to 0 score
Registration fee EU 45 per team
Special rules:
- Each fencer must have the equipment required by the FIS, however the organizing club will set up the strips and make wheelchairs available to normal bodied athletes.
- Fencers who always fence wheelchair must bring their own wheelchair.
- Each match or bout must be fenced on wheelchairs by all partecipants.
- There will be a round to 45 points and a DE at 45 points.
- There will be a bout for third place.
During the event a strip with wheelchair set up and an instructor will be available to anyone wishing to try this specialty.
This is the link to the press release (Italian) by the Club Scherma Roma for this event
http://www.club-scherma-roma.it/arti...catostampa.pdf
And this one to the general information (Italian) which I summarized above:
http://www.club-scherma-roma.it/arti...ostampasoc.pdf
If anyone is interested to find out more about this event, contact
Chiara Bifano: Tel: +39-06-808-3282 – cell: +39-328 905-3928
c.bifano@clubschermaroma.it 
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