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The lovely air of the new decade is all around us! Maybe you can feel it on the February breeze the way that we can.
I didn’t expect it to be quite so significant. It’s not just a change in the way we write numbers on a page either, it’s a change in the way that we live in many ways. A new decade is a fresh start.
I find myself looking back and looking forward at the same time. The last ten years have been a total transformation for our family as we started this business and our kids have grown up. It’s hard not to think about watching my kids grow up - ten years ago I had two in diapers! Now they’re all four up on the strip with their masks and their weapons. It’s just incredible to think about it. I know that this is something that our fencing parents can relate to. When you’re a parent, a decade is a tremendous amount of time. It’s the difference in staying up late rocking a baby to sleep and staying up late to get ready for a school event (or a fencing competition!). Another decade and it’s staying up late to worry about how they’re doing in college.
Looking forward, I can only somewhat imagine what it will look like in 2030 when I’m once again trying to get into the habit of writing a new year. What I do know is that the next ten years will be filled with fencing and family, just like the last ten years have been full of those two things.
We are building something here with our AFM family. It’s exciting because we already know what success feels like when we reset our brains to look forward and do the work that gets us to our goals. Just like we all have to take a little while to adjust to writing the new year, our fencers take some time to adjust to those new skills. Once they do though, the sky is the limit! It’s an inspiring time to be a fencer.
Sometimes it takes that first month of the year to get grounded and oriented to what looking forward is going to be like. It doesn’t happen right on January 1st, no matter the resolutions and the confetti. This new decade is just getting started, and we are so excited to have all of you with us as we continue to build this wonderful thing together. Let’s make the 2020’s awesome!
Sincerely yours,
Irina |
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Talk on College Planning and Fencing in College
- Saturday, Feb 22, 2019
- 10 am
- AFM Sunnyvale
Spring is here! Almost. For high school seniors, spring means college applications. For fencing parents, college applications often mean confusion and worry.
To help our fencing families navigate the sometimes challenging world of the college application process, we’ve got two wonderful fencing moms - Karen Zhang, Audrey Taylor mother, and Vinita Soin, Anika Soin's mother - coming out to give a talk about how fencing coaches are connected to the process, how high school fencers can apply to fencing teams, and to give advice on how to get through the process. They’ll also give lots of other great insight and share some success stories that will keep you inspired!
This FREE talk will be at AFM Sunnyvale. Your child doesn’t have to be applying to college for you to attend. If you’ve got a freshman or a sophomore, even a middle schooler, and you’re interested in how college and fencing go together, you’re welcome to come out!
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SoCal SYC
Great News - the Southern California SYC is back!
Apr 10 - 12, 2020 Location
La Puente, CA
We’ve had some ups and downs with this competition and its scheduling. First, it was scheduled for the end of February, but then it was canceled, much to our dismay. The wonderful news is that it’s back on!
The new SoCal SYC is coming to La Puente, CA. You’ll find all of the details that you need to know to participate here: https://member.usafencing.org/details/tournaments/4276.
As this SYC is right here in California, this is a fantastic opportunity for our youth fencers to experience travel fencing on a good level close by. We know that the big SYC competitions can feel far away and intimidating. This one is nice and near so hopefully not so much! For our more experienced competitors, this is a great opportunity to get moving towards Fencing Summer Nationals if you need an early spring boost towards your goal.
Talk to your coach or one of our staff members if you’re unsure about how this SYC can fit into your training and competition goals.
It’s worth signing up for! And you can make it a doubly good time if you sneak in a trip to Disneyland too
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Summer Nationals Prep Camps
Camp time is coming soon!
We’ve got both Summer Nationals Prep Camp and Beginner Camps on our schedule. Do keep in mind that the Summer National Prep Camps fill up quickly! If you want a spot in this powerful method for getting your fencer ready for Summer Nationals, you’ll want to go ahead and get a spot.
Beginner Camps are one of the best ways for a fencer to get introduced to the sport. That immersive experience makes getting accustomed to the gear and the swordsmanship go so much faster and easier! Many of our fencers have found the sport through this avenue. If you know anyone who you think would be interested in learning fencing, please let them know!
Camps information -
Epee SN Camps
AFM Sunnyvale
This year we are going to host members of Russian national team and their coach for our Summer Nationals Preparation camp. We expect several athletes coming to the camp with their coach. Some short bio of few of our guests:
Coach Julia Garaeva - Honored Master of Sport of Russia and Honored Coach of the Russian Federation, a title given to coaches who raised International level medalists. Coach Garaeva is herself Olympic Bronze medalist.
Among the athletes that arrive
Aizanat Murtazaeva (2001) - Two times Cadet World Champion 2017, both individual and team, Silver medalist in Junior World Championships 2019 (team), Junior European Champion2019 (team). Aizanat is currently ranked #1 in Russia among juniors.
Egor Lomaga (2002) - Currently #2 in Russia among juniors. Egor is multiple medalist in cadet, junior and senior competitions in Russia, such as Russian Cup and Championships, and Bronze medalist in Junior World Cup 2019 individually and Silver medalist in Cadet World Cup 2018.
Khabimana Milen Bavuge (2001) - Currently she is ranked #4 in Russia among juniors, with many medals in Russian and International competitions, among them - Gold medal in Cadet World Cup 2016, Silver medal in Cadet World cup in 2018, Russian National Champion among juniors 2019 (team), 1st place in Junior World Cup 2019 (team), Russian National Champion among juniors 2020 (team)
We expect total of 7 athletes, 3 girls and 4 boys who will travel to our epee camp from June 13 till June 27.
If you are willing to host some of the athletes, please let me know - this would greatly help us and also it is a fantastic experience for your fencer to get know professional athletes from Russia.
Epee SN prep camps are full-day camps with two training -
Morning (9-12pm)
Lunch and rest
Afternoon (2-4pm).
Early bird price is $600 per week until February 15th, 2020
- Evening classes during camp will be also available according to the summer schedule (will be published later).
- Private lessons during camp.
We will open a completely new private lesson schedule for fencers who participate in the Summer National Preparation Camps. This will make it easier for private lessons to continue during the intense days of the camp sessions.
The open slots will be changed per following on the camp days:
- Prior to camp session - 8:20am-9am
- Lunch session - 12pm-2pm
After the camp session - 4pm-7pm
These changes will be made ONLY for SN Camps participants.
Links -
AFM Epee 2019 Summer Nationals Preparation Camp #1 Jun 15, 2020 - Jun 19, 2020
https://askfred.net/Clinics/moreInfo.php?clinic_id=46146
AFM Epee 2019 Summer Nationals Preparation Camp #2 Jun 22, 2020 - Jun 26, 2020
https://askfred.net/Clinics/moreInfo.php?clinic_id=46147
Competitive Foil SN Camps
Camp hours: 9am-12pm
AFM Campbell
AFM Foil camp features members of Belarus National Cadet, Junior and Senior Team and includes World Cup Medalists and National Champions. Participants will train together to reach max performance towards the Summer National Championship in Louisville, KY.
Competitive Foil SN Camp Week 1 : Jun 15, 2020 - Jun 19, 2020 https://askfred.net/Clinics/moreInfo.php?clinic_id=46148
Competitive Foil SN Camp Week 2: Jun 22, 2020 - Jun 26, 2020 https://askfred.net/Clinics/moreInfo.php?clinic_id=46151
Early bird price is $400 per week until February 15th, 2020
Private lessons times can be open per following on the camp days:
- Prior to camp session - 8:20am-9am
- Lunch session - 12pm-2pm
Classes schedule during Foil SN Camps will be as following:
Advanced and Competitive Classes will be combined on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Open Fencing will be conducted on Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30pm - 7pm
Advanced Foil SN Camps
Camp hours: 1pm - 4pm
AFM Campbell
Advanced Foil camps also will feature international level guest fencers. Intermediate level fencers who will go to Summer Nationals will be accepted to these camps as well according to coaches' permission.
Participants will train together to reach max performance towards the Summer National Championship in Louisville, KY.
Advanced Foil SN Camp Week 1: Jun 15, 2020 - Jun 19, 2020 https://askfred.net/Clinics/moreInfo.php?clinic_id=46149
Advanced Foil SN Camp Week 1: Jun 22, 2020 - Jun 26, 2020 https://askfred.net/Clinics/moreInfo.php?clinic_id=46150
Early bird price is $400 per week until February 15th, 2020
Classes schedule during Foil SN Camps will be as following:
Advanced and Competitive Classes will be combined on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Open Fencing will be conducted on Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30pm - 7pm
We are looking forward to having great camps that will help AFM fencers to sharpen their skills right before the biggest event of the season!
Thank you to our competitive fencers who put so much into your training - we offer these Summer Nationals Prep Camps to support you!
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New Parent Orientation
February 29th
@ 2:30pm
AFM Campbell
Are you new to fencing? Do you know someone who is? We have developed a new parent orientation to educate new parents who don’t know which way is up and which way is down. Over the years, we’ve noticed that parents tend to start out with the same questions over and over again. This is a niche sport, so oftentimes new parents don’t have much if any understanding of the sport before they are thrown into the deep end. This orientation answers all of those questions and helps new fencing parents to get their feet under them.
Why is it important for new parents to get an orientation? Here are some reasons.
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Fencing rules are very complicated and totally different from other sports.
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There’s nowhere that all of this information is kept in one spot (except our fencing orientation session!)
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The best places to find information are often overwhelming for new parents, for instance, the USFA Athlete Handbook.
Parents walk out of these orientation sessions heaving a sigh of relief! They suddenly feel less overwhelmed and more supported. So much of this is about community, and this is a perfect way for new parents to not only learn a lot but also to plug into our fantastic and supportive AFM fencing community.
New parents - come on out to the new parent fencing orientation! February 29th at 2:30pm in AFM Campbell
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Start making your Summer Nationals plans
If your child has qualified for Summer Nationals, then now is the time to start making plans!
The 2020 Summer Nationals will be held in Louisville at the Kentucky International Convention Center.
Link to info and schedule is here: https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/1015539
Hotels in Louisville will fill up fast, so be sure to go ahead and make those reservations as soon as possible. Plane tickets will go quickly too, so if you know that you’re headed out to Kentucky, lock in your tickets now! It’s never too early to start getting gear ready and preparing with exactly what you need to bring. July will be here before you know it, and it’s much better to be prepared well in advance than to scramble at the last minute.
If your child hasn’t qualified for Fencing Summer Nationals yet, then talk to your coach as soon as possible about how to get there! We at AFM are always very happy to help you figure out what events are good for you to participate in to fill in those gaps in the process. Many fencers don’t realize just how close they are to the prize! Plan effectively and practice with gusto, and you’ll find that you can do so much more than you even knew you could! As always, JUST ASK! We are here to help.
Some things to keep in mind as you prepare for Fencing Summer Nationals:
We cannot emphasize enough what a wonderful experience it is for fencers to compete in Fencing Summer Nationals. If you can in any way make this wonderful event happen, do you best to get there!
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2020 FENCING GRAND PRIX FOIL
Dates of Event: March 13-15, 2020
Location: Anaheim, CA
Venue: Anaheim Convention Center - ACC Level 2
We want to encourage you to attend the Foil Grand Prix in Anaheim
You get to watch and meet all the top men and women foil fencers! The latest world and Olympic champions will be in attendance. How many people get the chance to actually meet their sports heroes? Here in fencing we get that chance, and it’s pretty fantastic. You’ll get to see the highest possible level of fencing and enjoy it right there in person. What a fantastic opportunity! Needless to say - all of our fencers are encouraged to go and watch, especially foil fencers. It’s well worth it just to watch and get to meet these amazing athletes, no matter your weapon.
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Strip Coaching - What Parents Should Know
What happens on the strip in competition isn’t the only thing that matters in fencing, but at the same time it is an incredibly important part of what we do. After putting all of this time and effort into training, fencers want to perform at their best.
This is where strip coaching comes in during the non-combat parts of the bout. These are those moments when the referee has halted the bout for whatever reason. At these times, the coach gives fencers important information and insight about how to proceed. What they’re doing well and need to keep doing, what’s not working and the need to change, what they aren’t seeing about their opponent, etc.
This little bit of time might seem small, but it’s huge in its impact. This kind of coaching can help fencers to push over from a close bout to a win. It’s not just about winning though - strip coaching helps fencers to grow during the most stressful point of the competition arc.
Understanding strip coaching is very important for new parents of competitive fencers especially. It is, of course, an added expense at the competition, but it’s a necessary one. This is why we make a major effort to have our coaches available at every competition that we can, and it’s why we insist on strip coaching in many situations.
Here are a few blog posts we dedicated to this important topic with explanations of how AFM coaches take some of their strip coaching decisions and what to expect from the coaching during competitions:
Fencing Strip Coaching: Maximizing your coach’s time and input
Fencing Strip Coaching: Insight into the coach’s philosophy
Trust Your Fencing Coach or Choose Another Fencing Coach, but Leave Coaching to the Experts
If you have any questions about strip coaching - why it’s important, when AFM offers it, etc., please speak to a staff member or your child’s coach!
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AFM RYC - Mar 27 - 29, 2020 - Sunnyvale
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Camp Fair at Westgate
Volunteers are needed!
We’ll soon be taking part in one of the biggest summer camp fairs in the area! The great thing about this is that it allows us to spread the word about the sport that we are so passionate about to potential new fencers. We’re always ready to bring more people into the AFM fold and to share the wonderful things that we love about fencing!
When - Saturday, February 22nd from 10am to 3pm
Where - Westgate Mall, San Jose
We need parents and fencers to help us out by manning the booth and talking about fencing to the attendees at the fair. We only need an hour or two of your time, and it’s a whole lot of fun to participate. Potential campers always have lots of questions about fencing as a sport, about our club, and about what they can do to get involved. Please volunteer!
This is a super popular event that always draws a big crowd. We can still use your help if you haven’t signed up yet!
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Competition Results in January
A huge congratulations to all of our fencers who kicked off their year working hard and getting out there! We had some great results to get us excited about 2020.
We would like to start our congratulatory news from one great achievement that we accidentally missed in January newsletter - Congratulations to Kevin Cai for winning 8th place at the RJCC! Way to go Kevin!
Portland SYC in February
Y10MF
Congratulations to Alber Wu for bringing home Bronze in Y10 Men’s Foil event at Portland SYC this weekend! Congratulations to the coaches and the parents!
Y12WE
Congratulations to Evangeline Pacheco for winning Bronze and to Ariia Blanco for winning 8th place in Y12WE in Portland Super Youth Circuit last weekend! Way to go girls! Thank you, coach Dima, for the coaching and help on the strip during the event!
Y10WE
Congratulations to Ariia Blanco for winning a Silver medal at the SYC - Portland Super Youth Circuit in Youth 10 Women’s Epee category! Way to go!
Y14WF
Congratulations to Cheryl Sun for bronze medal and new rating C in Y14 Wonen’s Foil event in Portland SYC. Congratulations to the coaches and parents!
Y14WE
Congratulations to Grace Yin for medalling with 8th place in Y14 Women’s Epee event in Portland SYC! Great job!
Battle of the Bay ROC
AFM final and 4 in top 8! Congratulations to Leehi Machulsky for winning Gold and renewing her A, Audrey Taylor for winning Silver, Natalie Gebala for 5th place and Lefu (Katherine) Chen for 6th place! Congratulations also to Alina Popovici for earning her E rating! Congratulations to the fencers, their parents and coaches! Great job girls!
Great result at the Battle of the Bay Division 1A ROC Men’s Epee event, which was very strong A4 tournament! Congratulations to Bartosz Kuligowski for Bronze medal and A rating, Hansel Desouza for 5th place and A rating, Paul Kim for 9th place and renewing his B rating!! Also Yakov Shur renewed his C rating and Thijmen De Jong renewed his D rating. Congratulations to the fencers, coaches and their parents!
Utah Challenge RYC and RJCC
Congratulations to Christopher Wright for winning Gold in Junior and Y14 Men’s Epee and Silver in Cadet Men’s Epee and to Neil Weaver for winning Gold in Cadets and Bronze inJuniors in Utah Challenge RYC and RJCC! Great job boys!
Battle in Seattle Division 1A ROC
Congratulations to Anusha Vohra for medalling in the Battle in Seattle Division 1A ROC! Great job Anusha - very proud of you!
Congratulations to Sean Sung for medalling and earning C rating at the Battle in Seattle Division 1A ROC! Great job Sean! Way to go! Congratulations to his parents and coaches too!
SoCal Mary Rafanelli RYC/ RJC - Anusha Vohra medalled in Junior Women’s Foil and renewed her D rating! Great job Anusha!
good news from SoCal-
Natalie took Gold in Y14 Women’s Epee and Bronze in Juniors and renewed her C rating @ Mary Rafanelli RYC/ RJC
Treasure Chest RYC
A podium sweep in Y10 Men’s Epee event in the Treasure Chest RYC - all 4 first places went to AFM fencers! Congratulations to Sawyer Sisco for Gold, Nathan Escalera for Silver, and to Steven Wu and Michael Lau for Bronze, and James Castelly for 7th place medal! Way to go, boys!
AFM final in Y10 Women’s Epee event in the Treasure Chest RYC! Congratulations to Ariia Blanco for taking Gold, Anais Mollinier for Silver, Tessa Camama for 5th place medal and Ella Cohen for 6th place medal! Good job girls!
Another podium sweep, this time in Y12 Women’s Foil at the Treasure Chest RYC! Congratulations to Gabrielle Gebala for Gold, Emma Fung for Silver, Eunice Zhang for Bronze, Celine Wang for 6th place medal and Serena Peng for 8th place medal! Great job girls! Congratulations are due to your coaches and parents too!
Great result in Y10 Women’s Foil event at the Treasure Chest RYC! Prisha Maniktala - Silver, Emma Liu - Bronze, Ann Tao - 8th place. Congratulations to the girls, their parents and coaches! Way to go!
Congratulations to Jacob Levy for taking 7th place medal in Y12 Men’s Foil event at the Treasure Chest RYC!
What a great Y12 Women’s Epee event at the Trrasure Chest RYC, with AFM podium sweep! Congratulations to Veronica Zherebchevska for Gold, Sanvi Sharma for Silver, Gabriela Yin for Bronze and Vaishali Vagle for 8th place medal! Congratulations to the coaches and parents too! Great job girls!
Congratulations to Travis Knudsen and Luke Castelly for winning Bronze medal and to Riley Dowdell for medalling with 6th place in the Y12 Men’s Epee event at the Treasure Chest RYC! Congratulations to the athletes, their parents and coaches!
Congratulations to Sean Sun for medalling with 6th place in Y14 Men’s Foil event at the Treasure Chest RYC!
What a fantastic Y14 Women’s Epee event at the Treasure Chest RYC - 7 girls in top 8 and a complete podium sweep! Congratulations go to Charlotte Li for Gold, Alina Popovici for Silver, Sarah Louie and Noya Chirashnya for Bronze, Donya Derakshandeh for 5th place, Grace Yun did 7th and Hailey Haberman for 8th place! Great job girls - so proud of you!
Congratulations to Alber Wu for Bronze medal and Blake Derrick for 6th place medal at Y10 Men’s Foil Ever at the Treasure Chest RYC! Congratulations to the fencers, their coaches and parents!
Congratulations to Alec Zhang for Bronze, Elliot Park for 5th place medal and David Zaydman for 6th place medal in Y14 Men’s Epee event at Treasure Chest RYC! Congratulations to the fencers, their coaches and parents!
Congratulations to Neta Korol for winning a bronze medal, and she also renewed her C rating, our warm congratulations to Gabrielle Gebala who medaled with 6th place in the same event, and big hugs are going to Cheryl Sun who earned her E rating in Y14Women's Foil event @ Treasure Chest RYC. Way to go!!!
South Coast Mary Rafanelli RYC/ RJC
We have great news from Y14WE event at the South Coast Mary Rafanelli RYC/ RJC - Congratulations to Natalie Gebala for winning the competition and taking home GOLD!! Hooray! Way to go Natalie!
RYC of the Rockies in Denver, Colorado
Congratulations to Travis Knudsen for medaling in both Y14 and Y12 men’s Epee events in RYC of the Rockies in Denver, Colorado!
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AFM Olympic Hope 2032 :)
The cutest fencers ever from Beginner Foil Class!
Big thanks to Therence Chin, father of Rayan and Ryley, for the great photo session!
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