The club will continue to be open on the same days before : Manchester on Mondays and Wednesdays, Rochester on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Membership includes fencing in both clubs if you like, at no extra charge.

August Term Dues

Children and Youth- Not enough fencers signed up for these programs in August. Summer camps & family vacations took their toll. So these will not be held this month. But they will resume in September. Those who paid for both June & August can either join the juniors and adults at 7:00, or get a $150 credit for the Fall term.

Juniors and Adults- For those who paid $365 for both months, you are all set. For those who are did not, the tuition for August is $215. Training times are 7:00 to 9:00, but you can come in early and stay as late as 9:30. For those who won’t make it to the club very often, you can also pay the daily floor fee of $25.

Beginning and Intermediate classes will be held in the basement in Manchester, and on strips one and two in Rochester.

I hope to see you this month, but if not, I will see you in September.

After spending 12 days in hot, humid Philadelphia (the temperatures reached 100 degrees at times), where I had to wear a breath mask while coaching at the National Championships for hours, I can sympathize with those who really don’t want to wear face coverings at the club. But I have lived my life striving to never create a situation where someone could get harmed by something I did, or did not do that I should have.

For that reason, while the Governor has dropped all the Covid-19 restrictions that have been in place from June 2020 to June 2021, private businesses can take thoughtful steps to protect those people with whom we are in contact. The delta variant of Covid-19 is more dangerous and more contagious than the previous virus, and it is triggering a surge of cases that is striking the unvaccinated.  We will maintain all the procedures that have been in place since we reopened Seacoast Fencing Club in June 2020.

Click on the Covid-19 tab at the top right of this page for those procedures.

It has been a struggle to see fencing in the Olympics on network TV, even after one of the USA fencers, Lee Kiefer in women’s foil, won a gold medal. But I did find a way to see the bronze and gold medal bouts, both individual and team, on the internet. We have been able to get the NBC Sports app on our FireTV. So there should be a way for everyone to watch some excellent fencing. They do not show all the touches, but it has a very good selection of the best actions.

By the way, it seems footwork is critical for the winners. Hmmm…. where have I heard that before?

I look forward to seeing many of you in August, and the rest of you in September.

Seacoast Fencers had stellar qualification results last May, and now eight are competing in the National Championships & Junior Olympics in Philadelphia later this week. Competing in the Junior Olympics, Division 2 & 3 Championships, and the Junior Men’s Foil Team are: Charlie and Grace Murdoch Roy, Jay Wendell, Trevor Wohlers, Caleb Wenger, Michael Hoang, Sucheta Tamragouri, and Finn Debecker.

This will be a long trip for our fencers, as six of them will compete on the first four days (July 3-6), and five will be competing on the last two days (July 11 & 12). Seacoast’s men’s foil team (Charlie, Jay, and Michael) will fence on July 8.

USA Fencing may broadcast some of the fencing through links on this link: USA Fencing

So wish our teammates “Good luck, and safe travels”, and we will see you in August!

Hannah McPherson was recently honored by USA Fencing, with the prestigious Fencing Spirit of Sport Award. Below is an excerpt from the letter announcing her award.

“USA Fencing is proud to recognize individuals who have shown exceptional dedication to the sport with the Fencing Spirit of Sport program….

Based on the nomination from Kristen Bannister for this award, you were selected as the Region 3 recipient…Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the sport of fencing.”

On behalf of the entire Seacoast Fencing Club, congratulations, Hannah. You are a truly exceptional member of our club.