Nationals Results

The United States Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs (USACFC) has posted the results from Nationals! Click on the link below to go to their webpage, which contains downloadable results.

http://usacfc.org/2012/04/18/2012-complete-results/

Congrats to everyone who went!

Nationals Location Change

The location for USACFC Nationals has been changed! It is no longer at West Point, but has been moved to a location in Hartford, Connecticut. More news to come.

GW Fencing Club Constitution

I. Preamble
GW Fencing, also referred to as Fencing Club, GW Fencing Club,  and GW Fencing Club Team, has the purpose of facilitating students’ desire to partake in the sport of fencing and educate all members on all aspects of modern fencing.


II. University Policies
1.  Fencing Club will abide by all university regulations. Any violations of university regulations by E-board members shall be their individual responsibility.
2. Fencing Club has a strict non-discrimination policy. Any discrimination against any group(s) or student(s) will result in removal from the Club. There are no exceptions to this policy.
3. The only persons eligible for membership are students at The George Washington University – all students are eligible for membership. All others are considered guests.


III. Membership
1. Any students at GW may become members. All members are eligible for E-board positions and are welcome to participate in club activities. Guests are welcome to vote or attend events, but cannot be members of the E-board or handle money on behalf of GW Fencing Club.


IV. Officers
1. President

The president is responsible for coordinating with the university, as well as being versed in financial matters and club participation in local, regional, and national events.  The president will rely on squad leaders for coordination in supplying full squads and meeting their needs without preference on the part of squad leaders or the president. The president will be responsible for maintaining all public communication including delegating responsibilities for these communications. The president is directly elected by the members of the team and will promote a successor once leaving the office.

2. Squad Leaders

Squad leaders, informally known as Squad Captains,  are responsible for resolving discord within their squad, educating and creating full gender squads.  They will present to the president their needs for the squad as well as any persistent issues and assist the president in fundraising and event and recruitment planning.

3. Secretary/Treasurer

The secretary and treasurer are appointed positions. Both aim to assist the President in matters of communication, financial needs, fundraising, and tournament coordination.  Responsibilities include handling and managing finances, writing for the president, and collecting, documenting, and maintaining all necessary forms and documentation for the upkeep of the club.

V. Elections

Elections are held every April by yea-nay voice vote. Only paid members of the team may vote. In the event of a tie a re-run email election will be held.  Candidates may nominate themselves or be nominated in turn which they may decide to accept. The president will appoint the secretary/treasurer. Squad captains are elected only by members of that squad while the president is elected by the team as a whole. All offices run a term of a single year.

1. Eligibility

All those seeking office must be active regularly attending members of the club. Candidates must be at least sophomores at the time of seeking the office of president.

VI. Operations
1. Dues

Dues are decided by the E-board and ratified by the team in reflection of events for the upcoming year and costs. Dues are paid in lump at the beginning of the year for a reduced amount or by semester for full fare.  Dues are required by the 3rd practice in attendance for each semester unless special consideration given by the president and concurred by the secretary.

2. Organization: E-board meetings, appointment of new other officers, expenditure process

E-board meetings may be called by any of the squad leaders once concur by president. Scheduled E-board meetings are the first Sunday of every month. At these meetings expenditures will be presented and concurred by squad leaders and president and will be executed by secretary/treasurer and president. If a squad leader is seen to be unfit to hold office it will be debated amongst the other squad leader, president, and secretary for re-election by the squad.

VII. Amendments

1. Method for Proposing and Ratifying Amendments  

Amendments must be proposed by squad leaders to the president, after which they will be proposed to the E-board.  Once co concurrence is reached in E-board it will be presented to the team as a whole for ratification.  Any team member that wishes to make an amendment must present it to their respected squad leader.  If the squad leader does not present the proposed amendment to the president for unjust cause the member may present to the president directly, after which the president may choose to present the amendment to the E-board for concurrence.

Upcoming Tournaments

Just as a reminder, the next few tournaments are in April!

 

USACFC Nationals

Who: Collegiate fencing clubs around the nation

What: USACFC Nationals

Where: West Point, New York

When: April 14, 8 am - April 15, 7:30 pm

 

BWCFC Championships

Who: Collegiate individual fencers in the Baltimore-Washington area

What: BWCFC Championships

Where: Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

When: April 22, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

BWCFC Videos

I was only able to get a few videos from the tournament, but here are two of the best quality ones. (Yes, it's our very own saberist Jim Crudele).

Elections

The message below is from Rebecca, the GW Fencing Club president, about upcoming elections.

As a side note, the Public Relations position is open since I will be studying abroad in the fall. The position includes taking pictures at tournaments, and running this blog (posting news, pictures, updating events, etc.) and the twitter account. If you have any questions, please email me at atran@gwmail.gwu.edu


ELECTIONS
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 12 am until Friday, March 2, 2012 at 3 am


DETAILS
February 28th - squad leaders. Joanna or myself will speak with the squad as to any questions about the leadership of their squad and everyone who wishes to run will give a 3 minute blurb at the BEGINNING of practice.

February 29th - Eboard elections open.

BALLOT CASTING
Email gwfencing@gmail.com with your selection for for office holders and their office (ex. Epee - Johnny; Treasurer - Betty)

If you do not do this your ballot may not be counted.

All ballots will be tallied and reported the week following the closing of polls. Those elected will work alongside their counterparts to learn their position for next year.
BALLOTS WILL ONLY BE SEEN BY ME AND DELETED ONCE I LEAVE OFFICE (so don't feel pressured by anyone and do what you feel is best).

OFFICES OPEN
Foil, Epee, and Saber squad leaders
PR and Treasurer/Secretary
President

For any office, you may not hold more than one at the same time (ex. if you are squad leader, you cannot be treasurer, or more than one squad's leader).
**This does not apply to PR**

If you wish to run for president, you must be nominated and seconded by someone on the Team. They must email me separately BEFORE the 29th. If you wish to run for president, you must give up any offices you hold as this is a full time responsibility.

Want GW fencing attire?

At the GWU Colonials Store, you can get Colonials attire and (for most of the styles) you can customize it to fencing! Click here for the store.

BWCFC Schedule

To everyone going to the Spring Meet on Saturday, here's the schedule! Please keep in mind that though the tournament starts at 9:30 am, we will be leaving Foggy Bottom at 7:15 am.


‎9:30am – Round 1
GMU vs. BMC
GWU vs. MU
SJC vs. TU
SMC vs. UMBC
USNA vs. UMCP

11:00am – Round 2
GMU vs. MU
GWU vs. TU
SJC vs. UMBC
SMC vs. UMCP
USNA vs. BMC

12:30pm – Lunch

1:00pm – Round 3
GMU vs. TU
GWU vs. UMBC
SJC vs. UMCP
SMC vs. BMC
USNA vs. MU

2:30pm – Round 4
GMU vs. UMBC
GWU vs. UMCP
SJC vs. BMC
SMC vs. MU
USNA vs. TU

4:00pm – Round 5
GMU vs. UMCP
GWU vs. BMC
SJC vs. MU
SMC vs. TU
USNA vs. UMBC

5:30pm – Finish

BWCFC Spring Meet

For those who are going to the BWCFC Spring Meet, the info in below. If you want updates, you can also check out the facebook event page.

Who: GW Fencing Club and other collegiate teams in the area
What: Baltimore-Washington Collegiate Fencing Conference
Where: George Mason University Recreational and Athletic Complex (RAC)
When: Saturday, February 25, 2012, 7:30 am - 5:30 pm

Metro: Take the 7:32 am metro. Take the 7:49 am metro at the latest! We'll be meeting in a group outside Foggy Bottom Metro and take the Orange line to Vienna/Fairfax. From there, we'll shuttle using Joanna and Joel's cars.
Note: if there is a complication, please call Jo, Joel, or Hunter. In this event you may need to take the GMU shuttle to campus or CUE bus Gold or Green route 1 to the GMU campus.

Equipment: All whites, masks, and lames must be gotten at practice before the tournament - we are not bringing these bags. Weapons and cords will be brought. If you want your bag taken to the tournament, message Jo.

Requirements: Contact your squad leader.

Parking: Free in the Patriot Village (PV) lot behind the facility (do not park in any other lot, or you will be ticketed and will have to pay for it yourself). The campus map can be found here.

Food: A Freshens smoothy/snack bar will be open in the RAC during the tournament. For a full selection of food on campus, go here.

Good luck!

What Fencing Is

Something that any fencer can relate to:

New Friday Practices!

It's official, we now have practice times on Fridays! This is especially good for anyone who can't make the Tuesday or Wednesday practices (these practices are open to everyone). The schedule is below:


March 09 - Foil (Marvin 404)
March 30 - Sabre (Marvin 310)
April 06 - Epee (Marvin 310)
April 13 - Foil (Marvin 310)
April 27 - Sabre (Marvin 302)
May 04 - Epee (Marvin 310)

All of these practice times are 5PM-6PM.


Thanks to Landon for putting this together!

Interested in becoming a referee? Want to earn some money?

Below is an email from BJ Swayne from the Salle Palasz TriWeapon Fencing Club:


If you are interested in becoming a referee Salle Palasz Triweapon Fencing Club will be hosting a referee clinic taught by Charles Greene on April 28th. 


Gaining your referee rating will open up opportunities for you to serve your division, your club, and possibly the BWCFC as a referee, while also potentially opening up opportunities to earn some extra pocket money. Additionally, as a fencer the class will help you better understand the rules which referees are applying while judging your fencing and therefore make it easier for you to "fence the ref." 


So, if you're free that day, please join us for our referee clinic. 


Thanks,
BJ Swayne
Assist. Coach
Salle Palasz TriWeapon Fencing Club
(UMBC Foil Coach)

Squad Strip Rotation

For those who would like it, here is the schedule for which squads get the strips during practice:

Jan 24 - Sabre and Foil

Feb 7 - Epee and Foil

Feb 14 - Sabre and Foil

Feb 21 - Sabre and Epee

March 6 - Sabre and Foil

March - 13 - Spring Break

March 20 - Sabre and Epee

March 27 - Epee and Foil

April 3 - Sabre and Foil

April 10 - Sabre and Epee

April 17 - Epee and Foil

April 24 - Sabre and Foil

May 1 - Sabre and Epee

May 8 - Epee and Foil

May 15 - Free Fence

Or, if you'd like to see the schedule by squad:

Epee - Feb 7, Feb 21, March 20, March 27, April 10, April 17, May 1, May 8

Foil - Jan 24, Feb 7, Feb 14, March 6, March 27, April 3, April 17, April 24, May 8

Sabre - Jan 24, Feb 14, Feb 21, March 6, March 20, April 3, April 10, April 24, May 1

Scrimmage with Georgetown

It's official! The George Washington Fencing Club will be fencing Georgetown on February 19th from 1 pm to 5 pm at the Smith Center. Mark your calendars!

Spring Meet at GMU

The Spring Meet at GMU is officially confirmed to be Saturday, February 25th!

BWCFC Results

Congrats to everyone who participated in BWCFC! The GWU fencing team finished 7th (out of 10) overall, 9th in foil, 7th in epee, and 5th in sabre. Individual results for our fencers is below, though if you would like more detailed results, let me know!

Foil (of 46)
Kyle Panzer - 19th
Joel Klein - 29th
Taylor Eldridge - 36th
Sofiya Elukin - 44th

Epee (of 48)
Claire Wilhelm - 12th
Landon Elkind - 15th
Adam Sulier - 25th
Colleen Teubner - 32nd

Sabre (of 46)
Augustus Urschel - 5th
Jim Crudele - 17th
Kat Tsiatas - 18th
Krista Harbold - 36th

2011 Temple Open Results

Congrats to all our fencers who went to the 2011 Temple Open tournament on Saturday and Sunday! GW paid for the zipcars and hotel rooms, which was awesome. The results of our team's fencers are below, but to find the complete list, click on the links for the women's results and the men's results.

Women
Foil (out of 85)
57. Eldridge, Taylor

Epee (out of 92)
16. Wilhelm, Claire
64. Teubner, Colleen

Saber (out of 87)
27. Tsiatas, Katherine
73. Harbold, Krista

Men
Foil (out of 89)
54. Klein, Joel

Epee (out of 100)
56. Elkind, Landon

Saber (out of 100)
45. Urschel, Augie
46. Crudele, Jim

SAC Results

First of all, congrats to everyone who went to SAC! The results are just in, so here's a summarized version:

Men
Wins/Losses: 2 - 3
Win %: 40%
Rank: 4 out of 7

Women
Wins/Losses: 3 - 2
Win %: 60%
Rank: 3 out of 7

Combined Team

Wins/Losses: 2 - 3
Win %: 40%
Rank: 4 out of 7


If you'd like to see the full data for GWU (including the results for each squad, gender, and school), click on the link below to see the google spreadsheet.

SAC Results

Congrats, everyone!

Obama + Lightsaber + Fencing

Need more encouragement to love fencing? Just look at these pictures! In an effort to get support for the 2016 Summer Olympics bid for Chicago, USA, Obama had Olympic silver medalist Tim Morehouse do a fencing demonstration on the White House lawn in 2009. Check out the awesome pictures - Obama directing a bout, then fencing with a lightsaber!

New to fencing tournaments? Want to brush up on what to bring to a tournament?

Taylor from the foil squad was nice enough to write a list of tournament suggestions!

1. Knee length socks (You MUST wear knee high socks whenever you are fencing in a competitive setting, the socks will go under your knickers, and must cover all of your skin - some directors are VERY particular about this)
   
   
2. Good sneakers - you’ll be fencing a lot more than you do in a typical practice and your feet and knees will get sore if you don’t have good supportive shoes. And something with good traction is important, seeing as gym floors get covered with grime very quickly, you’ll want as much traction as possible.
   
   
3. shorts and t-shirt to wear under your knickers - they are white. And whatever floats your boat, but I’m not partial to hundreds of people seeing my undergarments through my knickers... Girls, I recommend either spandex, just because it doesn’t get all bunchy under your knicker, and is more comfortable at least for me. But soffee shorts work just perfectly too. Guys.... ask another guy. Sorry, but seeing as I’m not one, I’m not much help :)
   
   
4. deodorant (...seriously, please, that should be self explanatory [for life in general], but just in case... )
   
   
5. food or money for food (you will get hungry, really hungry. and you will want food, lots and lots of food. My suggestions are fruit snacks, pretzels, granola bars and trail mix, or anything like that. Stuff that you can eat in small bites, has some protein and carbs and is NOT TO HEAVY, which you will really regret as soon as you get back on the strip, I promise.
   
   
6. WATER/Gatorade - SOOOOO important! I love you all and don’t want anyone fainting from dehydration. It happened once on my high school team and its scary stuff, and makes Taylor sad. Staying hydrated is THE most important thing. Yes, you can buy water at the tournament most of time, but I don’t know about ya’ll, but I don’t like paying $5 for a bottle of water when I have a brita filter in my fridge... Soooo, I HIGHLY recommend bringing a large re-fillable water bottle with you.
   
   
7. A book/cards etc.. - there is often a lot of down time at tournaments, and I HIGHLY suggest not bringing anything TOO VALUABLE, as things have a tendency to “grow legs” at fencing tournaments... I’ve had spandex stolen before. 1. gross. 2. if people steal SPANDEX imagine how nice iPad’s and stuff like that looks...
   
   
8. Bring an ipod and...
   
   
9. Make a pump up mix! seriously, I have a “fencing music” playlist, which I listen to on repeat for hours before I fence, and it really helps me get in the zone!
   
   
10. SLEEP! Seriously, sleep the night before. Sleep a lot more than you usually would. I know tournaments are often on sundays. I know we’re in college and no one actually goes to bed early on saturdays, but do your best, Don’t get crazy. You can do that on friday ;) bottom line, the better rested you are the better your body can function, and the better you’ll fence.

YAY FENCING TOURNAMENTS!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!

SO MUCH FENCING LOVE <3 <3 <3

- Taylor :D