It has been brought to my attention that many of you do not know how to find upcoming events in our area that you or your child may want to enter, with enough lead time to fit it into your busy schedules (as a parent of two, I know how that can be difficult.

Our division hosts a lot of tournaments for its size, and under eight categories. I just mention events of interest the club meeting before the registration deadline, just as a reminder to those already aware of the meets, but may have forgotten to pre-register on AskFred. But the website most of the country uses to sign up for tournaments has an easy way to look up events of interest.

To check out upcoming meets of interest, go to http://www.askfred.net homepage, and on the top bar, click on upcoming tournaments. That will pull up an internal search engine for meets. Under divisions, select Northeast (our division), and that will pull up all the tournaments that are scheduled in our area (Maine and New Hampshire). Click on the ones you are interested in, and preregister for the ones you decide to enter.

You can also limit the selection to a specific age group, or ratings level. Or you can widen your search to New England (MA & RI), Green Mountain (VT), or to any other division in the US.

The new season is starting up soon- Wednesday Sept 5th in Manchester, and Thursday September 6th in Rochester.  The days and times have not changed, still Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday in Manchester, and Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday in Rochester.  The tuition for Fall Term is $235 for Children, $250 for Youth, and 265 for Junior/Adult.   Advanced class will be an additional $80.  These are three month terms (September thru November), and you can come to either or both clubs, whenever they are open.

We will have a Parents Meeting for Youths and Juniors at 7:00 pm on the first day (see above), and with the parents of the Children’s Group at 6:00.

Please Note:  USFA membership is now required by the national office for everyone participating at any level at all clubs.  You will need to join US Fencing to be able to fence at Seacoast (or any other club).  However, if you do not intend to compete, they do offer a $5 membership (good until July 31, and upgradeable to full membership).  However, since competing is fun, and rewarding, and very helpful to your development as a fencer, I hope all of you will join as a competive member.  I will have the application forms available at both clubs.

Also note:  The bib is now target in foil.  You will need either a new mask, or an attachable lame piece for your current bib.  See Bugsy.  Sorry about that, but it means the club masks will no longer be available for foil tournaments.

Get ready for the new season by fencing this month!  It is summer, and the numbers will likely be small, so all training groups (Children, Youth, Junior/Adult) are combined, and will meet from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.  I will be coordinating the mix of fencers so that everyone keeps busy, and more importantly, have a good time.  Beginning and intermediate classes will be going on in both clubs.

Manchester is open on Mondays and Wednesdays, August 1 to August 29. Rochester is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, August 2 to August 30.  We have our new web site, but my contact email (c_pullo@conknet.com) and phone number (603/428-7040) have not changed.  See you soon!

It was tough to not fencing for a month. For some of us uber-enthusiasts, we are definitely excited to see many familiar faces back at Rochester in August and we are ready for a new season. Check out our schedule for Manchester and Rochester. Hope to see you soon.