I wanna start a fencing club at my college but don't know how. HELP

[miss laura]

OK...
I just got accepted to a college without a fencing club. but I do know that there are a few numbers of fencers there at Sam Houston State University in Texas. I would hate to have to lay off the fencing and competitions. I am willing to do anything I can do to continue fencing at the collegiate level. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I know somebody out there can help me!!

[Thomas]

SAM HOUSTON! THATS WHERE I PLAN TO GO! NO FENCING!
...heart attack....

[miss laura]

really, when are you going? i just recieved my letter of acceptance. what do you plan on majoring? I really would like to get some fencing there.

[adidas33k]

Here at UT (university of tenn. knoxville) our club is under rec. sports, well the sports club office to be specific. I know here if someone wants to start a new club they have to meet a list of things that rec. sports requires..ie. certain number of people, writing a club constitution, and some other things. If I was you, I'd get in touch with the head of your Rec. Sports office (or whatever is closest to that at your school), they should be able to help you out and tell you the steps you need to take in order to get a club up and running.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

Another alternative is to not bother starting a team your freshman year f college and just find local club.

[lochinvar]

You'll need severl things:

1. Interested warm bodies. Seems you already have some available.
2. A place to meet large enough to fence in, usually a gym or activities center.
3. Equipment. Can be a big hurdle, unless your school provides money for team sports or everybody provides their own kit.
4. A coach (not strictly necessary, but you won't learn very much without one).

As adidas33 mentions, most colleges have a Student Affairs office (Student Activities, Campus Life, Rec. Department--it goes by different names). Student clubs are usually under their auspices. You need to contact whoever handles student organizations at your college and find out what you can/need to do. Maybe they can help with equipment, maybe not.

You might be able to recruit a faculty member or two to help out--lots of people have fenced at one time or another and just stopped because they didn't have the time or didn't think there would be any opportunity after college, etc. You have to ask around.

I have no idea how you go about finding a coach. Maybe someone else on the boards can fill you in about that.

Good luck!

[kalivor]

Funnily enough, a similar thing just happened to one of my former fencers.

He got to his new University, and found that the fencing lessons there were being taught by a guy who had epee guards on foil blades, among other things.

So, now he's the fencing coach, and the beginner's course thing has changed to a club ... he's working on changing it into a full-fledged team.

[schlager7]

Miss Laura:

You're in our division so I feel I should try to hook you up with some help.

I have a page here: Where & When to Fence in the Gulf Coast Division

The bottom half lists most of the fencing groups and contacts. Note we have fencing clubs at Texas A&M University (just down the road from you), the University of Houston, Rice University, the University of St. Thomas and Brazosport Community College. Also go down to the contact for South Houston High School fencing, Jerry Dunaway. He told me some of his students are going to SHSU.

Most of these contacts have emails and/or telephone numbers. I'm sure they've been through many of the hurdles you will face. I can vouch that all those contacts are very friendly and helpful people.

Since they are so close, I'd really suggest getting in touch with Robyn Schuster at A&M.

[schlager7]

It is odd that, at about the same time, this thread was running on a fencing forum for the fencers in the same division where Sam Houston State is located:

Fencing in Huntsville?

[CaptChris]

Go and see your head of Sports Development, or if you have a Sports Union/Association then go and see them.

At least go and see somebody at your Student's Union, they should be able to direct you to the relevant person.

Here at our University (of Leicester, UK), a club has to be running for at least 2 years before any grant funding can be given.

If you are REALLY serious about starting up a new club, when you go to see the relevant people, make sure you have everything they could possibly ask for...

+ A list of people interested/willing to start up the club
+ A lits of people interested/willing to be on the committee
+ A list of requests (type of hall/gym needed, times you'd like to fence/use the facilities etc)
+ A list of equipment needed for beginners (usually a 10 person starter kit from Leon Paul is £1600.00. This is if they are willing to give you funding straight away)

I can help you in any way you need with paperwork and ideas etc...

You may need to start things up out of your own pockets, i.e. put in $20/£30 each for competition entries, promoting yourselves etc.

You'll also need a code of conduct, grievance procedure, constitution etc, but the university should be able to help you with that.

As I said, if you need any help, drop me a line; cb103@le.ac.uk

Chris

[GGK]

Starting a club is relatively easy, as people have already pointed out, along with their good advice. Most student activities or recreational sports offices are more than happy to help you start. (I have found that the biggest problem is an appropriate space. If you can get over that hurdle you’re in good shape.)
Try to get in the ball rolling in the summer so that as much of the bureaucratic work is done. Than you are also included in the student activities fair (or whatever it is called there) in the Fall. A good place to recruit lots o’ people.
Once you get people to the first meeting…tell them club dues are payable in the first or second week. Most people will pay right up and disappear as the class work builds up. But you can use that money for equipment. Most universities also have student activities funds that you may or may not be able to tap into. Usually the biggest thing is to correctly fill in the paperwork and handed in on time.

Good Luck

[Grey]

Don't buy starter kits. Although they are great on saving money but the quality ain't there. I recommend going to a fencing store to purchase your weapons PIECE BY PIECE. Its mainly to ensure quality through out, have a decent blade, balanced weapon etc.

For Pistol Grip Blades, the CG of the blade should be as close as possible to the tang. Starting from the guard, the CG should NOT be further than 7 - 10 cm when fully assembled. The Blade should have a uniform bend and while its bending, it should go down smoothly, offering consistent resistance. It should not be too stiff nor too whippy. Try to get a blade which balance between stiffness and whippyness. If you're not sure about the weight of the weapon, another method you can check is by flicking. If you find the recovery after your flick is too long and rather difficult, it may probably mean that either your blade is too heavy, or the counter balance used (your grip + guard) is too light.

Theres probably alot other details to note too but this is what I can think of for weapons. Uniforms and mask are fine to be ordered in bulk but for the love of fencing don't ever order weapons like that.

[deflagratio]

I am going to be attending the University of Montevallo. Fortunately when I visited the college another guy visiting was a fencer and is also wanting to start a club. Fortunately I only live 30 minutes from the college but I will be living on campus. One idea I had thoguht of was maybe 1 or 2 saturdays a month, take as many of the fledgling club as you can to a nearby fencing club, some may let you come and fence while most will probably charge a small fee. That way the clubmembers can get exposed to the local competion and see some other fencing styles and maybe get a pointer or two.

[Aestro]

I don't really have anything to add, as it seems it's already been covered, but here's a fun fact:

Dan Rather attended Sam Houston starting in I believe 1950. It's name was formerly Sam Houston Institute of Teaching (or possibly for Teachers), but they changed the name when students started wearing shirts with the school anagram on it.