Manchester will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of Memorial Day, a federal holiday for remembering the people who died while serving in our country’s armed forces.  We owe a great debt to them.  Please take some time on this day to reflect and honor their sacrifice.

We had a very good day of fencing this past weekend at our Rochester facility.  We had 52 entries, and for the first time ever, our saber event was the largest of the entire day, and earned a C2017 for the winner!

Two Seacoast fencers from Rochester did well, with Gabe Tarbuck earning his C2017 by finishing third in the Mixed Epee.  Ida Choy also did very well, finishing third in Mixed Foil.  Congratulations to both our fencers!

The next event we will host in Rochester will be the Five Weapon E meet on Saturday, June 3.  Be sure to sign up if you are an E fencer or unrated (and born 2003 or earlier).  You can sign up on this link:

https://askfred.net/Events/moreInfo.php?tournament_id=34761We

We will need directors for that day, so if you are a D or higher rated fencer, please consider offering to direct that day. 

Seacoast had another excellent weekend for our fencers.  Our Rochester club hosted a D tournament this Saturday with 67 competitors, which included the largest women’s foil event that our division has had in over a year.  We drew fencers from as far away as New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, as well as the neighboring states of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine.  Seventeen Seacoast fencers competed, and three of our junior’s went home with medals. 

Our best result was a silver medal by Hannah McPherson in the Women’s Foil D.  She fought a hard battle in the final, scoring three touches in a row to tie the bout at 14-14.  Unfortunately, her run ended, and she finished in second place.

In the Mixed Epee D, our fencers tied for third.  Brian Austin and Solomon Bixby fenced well, but ultimately lost in the semi-finals.  However, Brian earned his first rating with this finish, and is now an E-17, while Solomon re-earned his rating.  Congratulations to these three, and to all the Seacoast members who entered, and through competition, became better fencers.

This past weekend, eight Seacoast fencers competed in events in three states: a National tournament in Richmond, VA, an NCAA team meet at Brandeis in Massachusetts, and a local event in Concord, NH.

Two Seacoast fencers competed in the veteran events at the Richmond Virginia NAC this past weekend.  Ida Choy fenced each of the four days, in two women’s foil and two women’s epee events.  On Friday, her first day of fencing, Ida just missed a medal in the 40+Veteran Women’s Epee, finishing 9th. But on Sunday, Ida started her foil events, and earned a 6th place medal in the 40+Veteran Women’s Foil.  And on Monday, Ida received her second medal, with another 6th place finish in Veteran Women’s Foil.

On Sunday, Gerry just missed the medal rounds,  with a 9th place finish in the 70+Veteran Men’s Epee.

http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/w-fenc/2016-17/releases/20161204qyvj3o

In local tournaments, Seacoast fencers had five top eight finishes, and earned two medals  in the E meet at the Concord Fencing Club.  Gabe Tarbuck was undefeated in the pools, and  finished 3rd in the Mixed Epee E, and Mike Houst finished seventh.  In the Mixed Foil E, Casey Wohlers (also undefeated in the pools) finished sixth.  And in the Women’s Foil E, Hannah McPherson finished third, and Maddie Geier finished fifth.

The Winter term is upon us, and starts this Thursday, December 1.  Please bring a check payable to Seacoast Fencing Club (or cash) the first meeting you attend.  Fencers returning from school activities, remember that you must be a member of USA Fencing.  You can join online at https://www.railstation.org/usfencing/MembershipRegistration.aspx  I recommend a competitive membership, so you can fence in the many tournaments in New Hampshire and neighboring states.

It is winter, and eventually we will have snow and ice storms.  We will always close during these events, as I don’t believe anyone should risk their lives coming to fencing.  I will send emails and post on this website whenever we close due to weather conditions.