A familiar refrain that I hear from parents at fencing competition goes something like this: “The ref was completely wrong. He called so many touches incorrectly, and he gave way too many red cards.” The might go on about some other issue with the fencing referees,...
High school is a seminal time in the life of just about everyone. Young people are starting to form their own identities during this critical point in life. They’re figuring out who they are and getting ready to step out into the world beyond their home and family....
Though we don’t get much snow here in California, we still find that winter offers different challenges and opportunities than other times of the year. In fact winter is a perfect time to get started with fencing! Why? Here are seven reasons to start your child in...
Some fencers and their parents feel that they may be able to make it at tournaments without the help of a coach, even at major and important ones. Other fencers and their parents mistakenly think that coaches are there to attend competitions with only one purpose - to...
Being a tween can be hard stuff. The "inbetween" years, when you’re not old enough to be a teenager whose running around with tons of freedom and lots of excitement but you’re too old to be a little kid, well they’re just hard years. Those ten-eleven-twelves when your...
Good fencing and good coaching go hand in hand - great fencers always have amazing coaches to support and guide them on their path. We often hear people talk about the attributes of a great fencing coach. They should be experienced and dedicated, firm when necessary...
Getting the fencing blade size right is an important, if sometimes mystifying, process. It’s one of those things that so many new fencers just aren’t sure about! Where it starts The regulated weapon size for youth 10 events is #2, while older category fencers use #5....
To the novice fencer, competition can be overwhelming. Besides there being three different weapons, each with their own unique rules and conventions, there are also two different formats to the competition – team and individual. I bet that the first image when many...
When it comes to the qualifying path for Junior Olympics and July Challenge for Cadet and Juniors the whole subject becomes to be very confusing. The reason is that unlike all other categories the qualifying path works slightly differently. The major difference is...
When your child starts competing on the regional or national level, school absences are almost inevitable. National level tournaments (NAC’s and Championships) run Friday thru Monday, and regional level tournaments, such as RYC’s, SYC’s, RJCC’s and ROC’s also often...
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