North Carolina Fencing

We are pleased to announce the NC Division’s Mid-Winter Referee Seminar and Clinic, February 25th and 26th. This is the Official FOC Referee Seminar, a hands-on practical focus on current sabre and foil priority. The seminar instructor is Matthew Cox, an FIE-licensed referee, and USFA Certified Referee Instructor.

Please register on askFRED if you are planning to attend. The clinic will be held at  Middle Creek Community Center in Apex, NC (Middle Creek Park Ave, Apex NC 27539-7983). Please contact Stephen Pashby with any questions.

Feels like Winter just got here, but Spring is right around the corner!  Start planning which events you’ll be going to.  The Spring 2012 fencing schedule has been posted! Check it out on the “Events” page.  As more information is made available, I’ll be updating the website.

See you on the strip!

As we continue to work on and improve the website, we want to highlight some of the features and ideas being implemented in the new design.  One of the most noticeable changes so far is the addition of an events calendar, with all the current listings from AskFred and the list of USFA National Events.  These events can be sorted by date, name, location, and even by weapons.  Future improvements will include a club database, mobile support and many other improvements as we go through and clean up the old format.  Our goal is to create a website that is both easy to navigate, but also useful for fencer, parents, coaches and division officers.  If there are any changes, improvements or ideas you have to help better the website experience or helpfulness, please feel free to let us know!

A reminder that the next meeting of the NC Division will be this Saturday (October 8th) at 5pm, or after the end of the last event of NC Junior Olympic Qualifiers, whichever comes later. The event and meeting will be held at Middle Creek Community Center in Apex, NC (Middle Creek Park Ave, Apex NC 27539-7983).

A reminder for clubs that want to host Division sanctioned events for the second half of the 2011–12 season, the deadline for submission is October 1st. Any event requests received after the deadline will be processed by the scheduling committee after all initial events. Instructions for submitting events are provided on the Division website.

As part of my internship at DesignHammer, I have been put in charge of updating and transferring content from the old Division website to this one.  Some of the changes include an overhaul of the basic layout and design, a streamlined and user friendly look and increased accessibility of resources for observers and tournament hosters alike.  This new website is still in the introduction phase, but all the content from the old website will be up and running very soon, with some additional content such as a list of referees and observers, dates to keep in mind when scheduling a tournament and an updated club directory.  The improvements to this website is just one of many ways the NC Division is working to improve your experience as a NC Fencer.

Jordan Benge

Congratulations to Cape Fear Fencing Association! According to Greg Spahr, Head Coach of CFFA, the club was just awarded a $750 grant from North Carolina Amateur Sports to go toward purchasing equipment for their program at Camp Lejeune.  The program meets under the auspices of MCCS (Marine Corps Community Services) on board Camp Lejeune on Friday nights.

The 2011 North Carolina Junior Olympic Qualifiers will be held on October 8th at Middle Creek Community Center in Apex, NC. Online registration is open through askfred.net, with an early registration fee of $30 per event. Preregistration closes on 9/24, registration fee will be $60 per event at the door. Continue reading →

The August 2011 Division Membership Meeting will be held August 20th, 1PM, at Mid-South Fencers’ Club in Durham. During this first meeting of the 2011-12 season, the new officers will be empanelled, as well as distribution of the schedule for the first half of the season and discussion of the dates and locations of the Junior Olympic Qualifiers and the qualifiers for USFA Summer Nationals. Other Division business will be conducted as needed.

To achieve a quorum, the meeting must (a) consist of twenty-five (25) voting members present in person or by proxy, and (b) include representation in person or by proxy of at least 3 NCUSFA member clubs, so I hope you will join us next month in Durham. Mid-South Fencers’ Club is located at 1104C Broad Street,
Durham, NC, 27705.

We will attempt to provide an online method to participate via a GotoMeeting session and  Polycom SoundStation2W, provided by DesignHammer. The online meeting account will only allow fourteen to connect, and an attempt will be made to provide priority to club leaders. The current Division bylaws require members to be present to vote (or by proxy by a member in attendance), so you are encouraged to attend in person, if possible. If you would like to participate, please email David Minton  chair@ncfencing.org by 11am Saturday. Continue reading →

The season kicked off last Friday with a Mixed Open Sabre tournament at Mid-South Fencers’ Club in Durham. Congratulations to Jordan Benge, who earned an A11 by winning the event.

As the new Board prepares for the first general membership meetings of the new season, the first order of business is the Division’s tournament schedule. The 2011-12 season schedule has been approved by the Scheduling Committee, and distributed to the host clubs. As the Division’s clubs post their events, they will appear on askFRED.net.

During the August membership meeting, we will discuss procedures for requesting dates for Spring 2012. Also worth noting, USA Fencing has posted the 2011-12 North American Cups (NAC) and Regional Open Circuit (ROC) schedules. There will be DIV1A ROC in Virginia in September, and the October NAC (U17, DV2, DV3) October 21-24, in Richmond, Virginia.