Seacoast Fencing Club hosted a very successful unrated tournament in Rochester this past Saturday, and our fencers did an outstanding job.  We earned a third of all the E ratings given out, with Nick Demers, from our Manchester club, winning one of the Mixed Foil events, and Mike Houst, from our Rochester club, winning one of the Mixed Epee events.  Congratulations to both of them on a fine day of fencing.

Seacoast fencers also took two silver medals: Maddie Geier (Rochester) was second in Women’s Epee, and Ryan McKenzie (Manchester) was second in Mixed Epee.  We also earned four bronze medals: Ryan McKenzie (Manchester) in the earlier Mixed Epee, Hannah McPherson (Manchester) in Mixed Foil, and Katie Austin (Rochester) and Caroline Hayes (Manchester) tying for third in Women’s Epee.

This was a very well attended event, with fencers coming from three different clubs in New Hampshire, as well as fencers from Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.  We held three unrated foil events and three unrated epee events, and were able to give six fencers their first rating.  And Seacoast fencers won a third of all the medals awarded!   Everyone had a great experience, with highly competitive bouts in every event.

Seacoast Fencers,

USA Fencing certainly had a great Olympics with four medals- and now is the time to have a great season! Whether you strive for competitive success, or simply enjoy the fun and camaraderie of fencing in a great club, Seacoast’s season starts in September!

Remember, you must be a current member of the USFA– last year’s membership will have expired, unless you joined with a competitive membership after April 1, 2016 or have a multi-year membership. I strongly recommend a competitive membership, so you can enter tournaments. The link to join USA Fencing is:

https://www.railstation.org/usfencing/MembershipRegistration.aspx

We start all programs in September: Children, Youth, Junior, and Adult. The program days and times have not changed from last season and can be found under Hours and Directions.

Beginning and intermediate classes in both clubs start Thursday, September 8.

Manchester starts Wednesday, September 7.  We will have a meeting for parents on that day at 7:00 pm, to collect checks, explain how the program runs, what is expected from both you and your child, and the upcoming tournaments appropriate for your child. We will have a team meeting for Youth, Junior, and Adult fencers on Monday, September 12 at 7:30 pm.  I will talk to the fencers and parents of the Children’s Training on 9/7 at 6:00 pm.

Rochester starts Thursday September 8.  We will have a meeting for parents on that day at 7:00 pm, to collect checks, explain how the program runs, what is expected from both you and your child, and the upcoming tournaments appropriate for your child. We will have a team meeting for the Youth, Junior, and Adult fencers on Tuesday, September 13 at 7:30 pm.  I will talk to the fencers and parents of the Children’s Training on 9/7 at 6:00 pm.

See you soon!

Chris Pullo, Head Coach

The prices for Fall term are below (three months: September thru November)

Children (ages 7 to 12) $260

Youth (ages 12-14) $275

Junior/Adult (14 -74) $290

Advanced Class $90    Tuesday in Rochester, Monday in Manchester: 7:45-8:15 pm.  The first nine week class will start at the end of September.  This class is recommended for all new Youth, Junior, and Adult fencers, and is the most economical way to start fencing at a higher level.

Seacoast Fencers, get a jump on the competitive season, and start your training in August!  Manchester will meet Mondays and Wednesdays, August 1 thru August 29.  Rochester will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, August 2 thru August 30.

Manchester will have Children’s Training 6:30 to 7:30 pm, with youths joining the juniors & adults (7:00 to 9:00).  Rochester will have children’s and youth training combined this month (6:30 to 7:45), and the juniors and adults will meet (7:00 to 9:00).

August Tuition (for those who did not pay in June) is $150 for children, $160 for youth, and $170 for Juniors and adults.

Welcome to the Summer Term at Seacoast in Manchester! For June and August, the Children and Youth Training groups will be combined and meet 6:30 to 7:45 pm every Monday and Wednesday those two months (we are closed in July).  Junior and Adult groups will meet 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in June, but only on Mondays and Wednesdays in August.  I am trying to get the air conditioning fixed, hopefully by the second week of June.

Welcome to the Summer Term at Seacoast in Rochester!  For June and August, the Children and Youth Training groups will be combined and meet 6:30 to 7:45 pm every Tuesday and Thursday those two months (we are closed in July).  Junior and Adult groups will meet 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays in June, but only on Tuesday and Thursday in August.  Good news for the Rochester fencers, we will have air conditioning.

The prices for Summer term are below (June and August- closed in July)

Children (ages 7 to 12) $150 for one month, $250 for both

Youth (ages 12-14) $160 for one month, $260 for both

Junior/Adult (14 -74) $170 for one month, $270 for both

If you know you will miss a week during a month participation, I will prorate the tuition.  I don’t prorate the two month tuition, as it already has a $100 discount.

This Saturday, the Concord Fencing Club hosted a qualifying tournament for the United State Fencing Association’s Summer National Championships.  The top three finishers in each event will qualify to go to the National Championships, June 29 to July 8, in Dallas Texas. The Seacoast Fencing Club, which operates out of Manchester and Rochester, NH, had a great day, with their fencers winning all five contested events.  In Division 2 men’s foil, Jacob Scruton, a high school student from Farmington, had an intense battle in the gold medal bout with Cameron Borgal, a fencer with the UNH Fencing Club.  Jacob was down 9-14 in the final period, but scored six straight points to win 15-14.   

Solomon Bixby, from Dover, NH led a medal sweep for Seacoast in Y14 men’s foil, winning gold, with Casey Wohlers, from Rochester, who took second.  Simon Leary, from Hudson, mounted his own comeback, down 10-14 in the bronze medal bout with Concord fencer Ryan Ohrwashel, and fought back to win 15-14, taking third.  Two hours later, Solomon capped a perfect day by winning the Y14 men’s epee, having never lost a bout in either of his two events.  His father, Peter Bixby, won the Division 2 men’s epee earlier that afternoon.  In the only contested women’s event, Samantha Wood, from Wolfeboro, had only nine points scored against her, and went undefeated in Division 2 women’s foil, beating fellow Seacoast fencer Hannah McPherson, from Pelham in the final.