We have two Youth Beginner class starting in April! Session 1 will be Saturdays starting April 2nd from 10-11 am and Session 2 will be Tuesdays starting April 5th fro 5:30-6:30 pm. Both are 8-week sessions. Make friends, get active, and learn a new sport!
Three fencers from RDF fenced in Ames on Saturday; Jim placed 2nd in Open Mixed Epee, Dorothea was 7th, and Carl was 12th. Full results on askFred.
The results of the Iowa Caucus Epee Tournament are in, and we were on news channels 5 (ABC) and 13 (WHO)!
Channel 5’s coverage:
Channel 13 mentioned us in their “Caucus Fever” story:
We fenced two round-robin pools of 5-point matches, with each fencer representing a different, randomly-drawn candidate in each round, and then combined the results for the overall placings:
Each fencer donned whatever gear the campaigns that had offices in town gave us (we printed out labels for the candidates who either didn’t have a campaign office here or we were unable to get anything from). We had a few fencers from other clubs join us, and we had such a good time that we’re thinking of doing another political-themed tournament for the presidential election!
The Iowa Caucuses are on Monday, and everyone has their own way of predicting who is going to win. A disturbingly low number of these methods use epees in their calculations. It is time we changed that.
We just thought of this at practice tonight and, since we won’t have another opportunity quite like this for another 8 years, most likely, we decided to go for it!
Fencing will begin shortly after 10:00 am on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016.
Rules:
All competitors will draw a presidential candidate’s name when they sign in, representing that person in the tournament. Despite how you feel about your candidate, we expect you to try your best.
Like politics, you are encouraged to negotiate with others before the start of the event if you want to change candidates.
Unlike politics, lying and cheating will get you expelled.
Format:
This is currently up for… debate. Depending on the number of participants, we will either do an Ironman format (everyone vs everyone round-robin) or two Party-aligned pools, with the winner of each pool fencing for a final victor.
We will take a vote to see if the candidates want 15-point bouts for pools or the standard 5-point bouts, then ignore their vote and pick what we think is best.
Cost:
Free! Just come and have a fun day stabbing “presidential candidates”!
Location:
Red Door Fencing
220 E 3rd St. (lower level)
Des Moines, IA 50309
**No political party or candidate endorses or is associated with this event**
On Sunday, we had 4 athletes compete at the Icicle Invitational in Lincoln, NE. In Mixed Epee, Jim placed 10th, Julia 18th, Carl 26th, and Sarah 30th. Julia won Women’s Epee, and Sarah came in 2nd. Full results: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=32090
RDF is pleased to present the 2nd annual Equinox Epee Tournament on Sunday, March 20, 2016!
Events:
Venue:
Hillside Elementary
713 8th St, West Des Moines, IA 50265
Entry fee for athletes is $20 + $10 per event. Spectators welcome – admission is free!
Looking for a fun and unique Valentine’s date? Try fencing! RDF’s Couples’ Learn to Fence class is back on Saturday, Feb. 13 from 1-3 pm. Learn the basics of epee fencing and test out your newfound skills on your partner!
For those looking for a less-romantic time, we are also doing a regular Learn to Fence class from 3-5 pm. Open to everyone age 13 and up.
All equipment is provided, but participants should wear athletic clothes, specifically pants and close-toed shoes. Click the “Register Here” button for more information and the registration form.
Couples’ Learn to Fence:
Regular Learn to Fence:
One RDF fencer traveled to St. Louis last weekend to fence Division 1 Women’s Epee at the January North American Cup. Sarah made the cut with 2 wins and 4 losses to advance to the direct elimination round, where she upset 124th seed before losing to 2nd seed Margherita Guzzi and finished 128th. Full results: http://www.usfencing.org/jan2016nac.
Our next Youth Beginner Epee class starts Tuesday, Feb. 2 and meets every Tuesday from 5:30-6:30 pm for 6 weeks (through March 8). The class is open to kids ages 8-12 and all equipment is provided. Kids will learn epee fencing basics through games, drills, and bouting. This is a great way to give fencing a try!
Sarah, Jim, and Seth competed this weekend at the KCFC Holiday tournament in Kansas City. Seth finished 5th in the Unrated event, 9th in Juniors, and 25th in Mixed Epee. Sarah placed 3rd in Women’s and 14th in Mixed, and Jim finished 7th in Mixed. Full results here: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=30556
red door fencing 