Rochester fencers, there will be no fencing in Rochester on March 3, as it is Easter Sunday and neither coach is available.   Plus I checked with the fencers on Tuesday, and very few would be attending that day, being busy with religious and family activites.  See you Tuesday!

We had a great couple days of fencing this past weekend! On Saturday, March 9, 12 year old Connor McLaughlin went to Boston and fenced in the Y14 Mixed Foil, and came in 6th out of 24 entries. His only two losses (one in the pool, and one in direct elimination) came from opponents who tied third place in the tourmanment.

Then on Sunday, March 10, several Seacoast fencers went to the Youth & Veteran tournament in Concord, and in the three youth events, our fencers took four medals: Casey Wohlers, from our Rochester Club, was undefeated in both pool and direct elimination bouts, and finished winning the Y10 Mixed Foil. Nick Demers, who trains in Manchester, matched that performance in the Y12 Mixed Foil, and took the gold medal. He had earlier tied for third place in the Y14 Mixed Foil. The other third place finisher, was another Seacoast fencer, Sam Woods, out of our Rochester club, the only girl to finish in the top four.

Congratulations to all our Seacoast fencers who have been competing over the past three weekends, both locally, and in New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Massachusetts!

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 Spring Term (March, April, and May) starts this week, Monday 3/4 in Manchester, and Tuesday 3/5 in Rochester. The tuition for the three month term is:
$235 for Children
$250 for Youths
$265 for Juniors and Adults
and for those taking the Monday Advanced Class in Manchester, an additional $80.
Please make checks payable to Seacoast Fencing Club. And lets hope for an early Spring, with no more snow!!!

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.