Seacoast Fencing Club hosted the Northeast Division two qualifying events for the USA Fencing National Championships on June 30 to July 9 in in Phoenix Arizona.  Three clubs, Seacoast Fencing with facilities in Rochester and Manchester NH, Portland Fencing Center in Maine, and Downeast School of Fencing in Verona Island, also in Maine, competed on Saturday, March 25, for the right to compete in the Y14 National Championships for fencers ages 11-14, and for the Division 2 and Division 3 National Championships, which are for fencers aged 13 through adult. These are separate events at the National Championships, but are combined for the qualifiers in most divisions.

Seacoast Fencing Club won six of the eight events, and Portland Fencing Center took the other two. Two  New Hampshire families did very well. The O’Brien’s oldest brother, Eoin won gold in Div 2/3 men’s epee, while. His sister, Eilish took home the bronze medal in Div 2/3 women’s foil.  The Sfintescu family also won two medals, with the older brother winning gold in the Y14 men’s foil, and his younger sister earning the bronze in the Y14 women’s foil. 

Grace Murdoch Roy earned two medals, with gold in Div 2/3 women’s foil, and a bronze medal in the Div 2/3 women’s epee.  Jacob Chreky took first place in the Div 2/3 men’s foil gold medal bout with a 15-13 win over his teammate, Trevor Wohlers, who took second.  Tara Kurup earned a silver medal in Div 2/3 women’s epee. Daphne Stewart was first in the Y14 women’s epee, and her teammate, Martin Moskowitz was first in the Y14 men’s epee, and second in the Div 2/3 men’s epee.

The Seacoast Fencing Club, the last club still in operation in New Hampshire (Covid closed two clubs), continues to excel in the local tournaments, and will once again have the opportunity to test their skills at this year’s National Championships.

Spring term has started at Seacoast Fencing Club! So once again, it is time to pay your dues.

Please bring the tuition to the first meeting. Cash is accepted, and checks should be payable to Seacoast Fencing Club. Sorry, but we do not accept credit cards or e-payments.

Spring Tuition (March, April, May)
Children        $365
Youth            $385
Junior            $405
Adult             $405

Manchester Schedule  

Children                          6:00 to 7:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays
Youths                            6:30 to 7:45 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays
Juniors and Adults         7:00 to 9:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays

Foil and epee is fenced every practice.  However, in Manchester, epee fencers big night is Thursdays, and foil fencers big night is Wednesdays.  Monday is usually an even mix of foil and epee.

 Rochester Schedule

Children                         6:00 to 7:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Youths                           6:30 to 7:45 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Juniors and Adults        7:00 to 9:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
                                      2:00 to 4:30 pm on Sundays (National Training)

Foil and epee is fenced every practice.  The best turnout for epee is Tuesday, and foil is strong on both Tuesdays and Thursdays.  

Sunday practices in Rochester will have intensive training and coaching for those who want to prepare for regional and national competitions. We meet every Sunday except on weekends that we host a tournament. Please check the National Training Schedule to see if it is being held- we need six signed up to hold the session.

All Seacoast fencers can come to both the Manchester and Rochester locations if they want to pick up an extra day of fencing (with a new mix of fencers). There is no extra charge. 

As always, we are happy to stay an extra half hour if fencers want more time on the strip!

With Christmas and New Year’s on Sunday this year, we will be closed from Friday December 23 thru January 1. We will reopen on Monday January 2 in Manchester, and Tuesday January 3 in Rochester. The only other holiday we will be closed is Memorial Day (a personally important day for me).  We are open for most of the federal holidays since schools & many employers are closed for those, that makes it a perfect evening to fence!

We will be having our end of season team meet this coming Sunday, May 22. This is limited to only Seacoast Fencers from our Rochester and Manchester location (no other clubs). It is a chance for our two venues to gather and get to know each other. It is also for all of our new fencers from each club to have their first electric competition, so they can both learn how it differs from bouts in practice, and to see our most junior and adult fencers compete and use the skills they developed during training.

I will endeavor to mix the teams with fencers from each club, and to keep the teams as balanced as possible. The format will be the collegiate team format, where every fencer on a team fences all the fencers on the opposing team, but not their own. If there are only enough fencers for two teams, we will hold an individual event after the team event. We will try to keep all the events to 3 hours.

All bouts will be electrically scored, and for those without electric equipment, we will have it available for rent ($10 for a foil, an $10 for a lame). Knickers will be available to those without (no charge). Entry fee is $15 for all events, plus a $5 director fee for the youth and cadet events ($20 total).

I look forward to seeing all of you this Sunday. The link to sign up is below.

SFC Team Meet – Google Sheets

USA Fencing changed their Covid protocols last Wednesday, and since Seacoast has been following their protocols since the beginning of the pandemic, we are changing our protocols as well.

Fencers will no longer have to wear breath masks under their steel masks while fencing on our strips, or during blade drills and lessons! This change will make the activities much more pleasant, of course, but the big effect will be in improved air flow and increased cooling via breathing.

However, breath masks must be worn at all other times while in the building. From the time you enter the building until the time you leave. Except, of course, while drinking, which has been allowed since the beginning.

Our team meet on Sunday, May 22 will follow the above protocols. See the more info page on askFred for our upcoming D Meet on June 11 & 12 for competition protocols.