Sabre fencers and competition organizers are reminded that an 800N sabre glove will be mandatory for all USA Fencing sanctioned events beginning on October 1, 2015; the news release is here.
2015-16 Season Schedules
Member clubs are reminded that their proposed 2015-16 competition schedules are due Saturday 8/1. Events held July 1-Oct 31 will be first-come / first-approved, so send those in asap. For more information on what to submit, when, and how, visit the Competition Sanctioning FAQs page.
2015-16 Executive Committee Slate
The following board has been nominated for the 2015-2016 season:
Chair: Rachel Fedde
Vice Chair: Jonathan Bartlett
Secretary: Patrick Durkan
Treasurer: Ellen Heasley
As always, any current member is welcome to attend a division meeting or share their input by e-mailing any of the board members. Anyone wishing to contest the Nominating Committee’s slate by running for one of the positions should submit a petition by email in the required format to patrick@nyacsabre.com. Petitions must be received by July 31st, 2015.
Fencing Documentary Crowdfunding Now
This week, Metro NYC Division member Holly Buechel has launched an IndieGoGo campaign for her fencing documentary, Fencing For The Edge. This fundraising campaign is offering perks involving other NYC fencers, tax-deductible receipts, and digital downloads of the completed film. Fencing For The Edge is a feature competition documentary that follows one fencing season in New Jersey and the stress of high school life. Freshmen with no experience join the team and learn the basics of the sport of fencing. With the juniors and seniors, college is on the horizon and the students are trying to stand out on their college applications. Winning isn’t everything but after following four teams throughout the season, Bernards and Columbia remain and fence off in the finals! We see the students grow and learn not just a new sport, but they learn how to support each other, communicate, and bond as a family. Learn more about the film and support the campaign >
New York Sabre Grand Prix Dec 13-14
More than 300 of the worldâs best sabre fencers will compete in one of the most prestigious events on the international circuit when the Absolute Fencing GearÂŽ New York Sabre Grand Prix is held from Dec. 13-14.
The first sabre Grand Prix of the season will feature the worldâs best fencers from more than 30 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Italy, France and Korea. Preliminary and direct elimination rounds will be held at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge. Semifinal and final rounds will take place at the historic Grand Prospect Hall.
Saturday, 13 December 2014 â New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
- 07h30 â Weapons Control & Registration Opens
- 09h00Â â Womenâs Sabre start of the pools to qualification table
- 14h00Â â Menâs Sabre start of the pools to qualification table
Sunday, 14 December 2014 – New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge and the Grand Prospect Hall
- 08h00Â â Weapons Control Opens
- 09h00Â â Direct Elimination table of 64 Women’s Sabre
- 13h20Â â Direct Elimination table of 64 Men Sabre
- 19h00Â â Start of the semifinals Womenâs and Menâs Sabre
- 20h30 â Start of the finals for Womenâs and Menâs Sabre
Tickets are required for semifinals and finals at the Grand Prospect Hall, $25 available at the door (we hope). Preliminary rounds at the Marriott are free.
Olympian Kamara James Passes Away at Age 29
The Metropolitan Division is deeply saddened at the loss of one of our own this week.
USA Fencing lost a member of its Olympic family recently when Kamara James (Queens, N.Y.) passed away in Modesto, Calif.
At just 19-years-old, James represented Team USA as one of the youngest fencers at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens as the only U.S. womenâs epee fencer to qualify for the Games.
âKamara James was one of the brightest, precocious, self-assured young people I ever met. From her time as a very young fencer at the Peter Westbrook Foundation to her years at Princeton as an accomplished Olympian she remained warm, caring and confident,â said USA Fencing President Donald K. Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio) âKamaraâs untimely passing leaves our fencing community very saddened and her spirit, charm and wit will be dearly missed.â
Volunteers needed for NYC Saber World Cup
The Sabre Grand Prix will be held in Brooklyn, NY on December 13-14, 2014. The National Office is looking for local volunteers to help out. If you’re available for any time — a few hours or full day(s) — please contact Christine Simmons for more information. We will post more information as it becomes available.
Junior Olympics Qualifiers
Metropolitan Division JO Qualifiers are scheduled for Sunday, November 16.
Epee – NY Athletic Club – info & registration >
Foil – Brooklyn Fencing – info & registration >
Saber – Manhattan Fencing – info & registration >
Junior Olympics information page on USA Fencing >
Going to JO Qualifiers? READ THIS!
- You absolutely, positively, must be a Metropolitan division member in order to compete in these qualifying events. You should bring your USA Fencing card to the event with you (we will be verifying, on-site, against the latest national membership listing). If you are listed on USA Fencing’s national membership list as belonging to another division, we absolutely, positively, will not let you compete. Who you contacted, what they said, and/or what mistakes were made by you or USA Fencing do not matter. Your having missed your own division’s qualifying event, or failed to qualify through it, does not entitle you to attend the Metropolitan division’s qualifiers. If there is a legitimate issue, make sure the National Office fixes it beforehand or notifies the Metropolitan officers DIRECTLY.
- Foreign fencers are not allowed to fence as they may not compete at Nationals! Any fencer who is a citizen or permanent resident who has represented another country in the last three years is NOT eligible for any USA FENCING National Championship competition, individual or team, including corresponding Division qualifying competitions. A foreign fencer who is in the US on a visa is NOT eligible to fence in any National Championships or the Division qualifying competition. Otherwise, permanent residents are eligible; please bring your proof of residency along with your USA Fencing membership card. Your Membership card should say Metropolitan Division, not Egypt, Ukraine, France, or anywhere else!
- Every event requires registration by a specific date via AskFRED. To register, click “Register” next to the event you want to register for and you will be taken to the AskFRED registration system. After you register, confirm that your name appears under the correct events in the “Whose Pre-registered” list in AskFRED.
- You must show up for any events you register for, even if the number of registered competitors is less than the number of available qualifying spots. Fencers, even those that have registered, who do not appear in time for their events will be scratched and will not be submitted as a qualified competitor to the national office. The number of entered competitors, their placements in the event and/or the number of available qualifying spots will not be taken into consideration.
- BE THERE and BE ON TIME. If you have any problems registering, please immediately contact the club which is hosting that event. As outlined by the National Office, attendance at an out of town school is not a valid excuse. We will be highly unsympathetic towards any excuses short of natural disaster, war and/or death (and for those at war, you technically belong to the National Division, so even that won’t work!).
- Ok, ok, but how do I know if I qualified? Visit the USA Fencing JOs event page for the guidelines of qualification paths. Generally speaking the host of your qualifier should let you know, and we’ll post the qualifying fencers here within a week or so after the qualifiers are held, or feel free to email the division to check your qualification status.
Crowdfunding Children’s Book about Fencing
Italian illustrator Massimiliano Longo is working on bringing his children’s book About Fencing to an English-speaking audience. Check out his Indie-a-gogo campaign to snag your advance copy.
2014 Hall of Fame Inductees
The Metropolitan Division salutes this year’s new members of the Fencing Hall of Fame, and particularly those who hail from our area! Congratulations to:
- Keeth Smart (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 2008 Olympic silver medalist
- Erinn Smart (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 2008 Olympic silver medalist
- Ivan Lee (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 2004 Olympian
- James Melcher (New York City, N.Y.), 1972 Olympian
- Alec Hern (New York City, N.Y.), coach of 1960 Olympic medalist Albie Axelrod
- Hippolyte Nicholas (New York City, N.Y.), coach of the Fencers Club