Olympic sport of fencing in Des Moines, Iowa
Learn to FenceWe know summer schedules can be irregular, so we’re introducing a new option for the summer: punch cards! Valid June 1-Aug. 31, cards are now available for purchase at the club. One 10-punch card is $100. It’s one punch per practice session, and cards may be shared between family members. Punch cards are not valid for beginner classes.
Regular monthly membership is, of course, still available and is a better option for those who plan to come regularly throughout the summer.
Today was our May Youth Tournament! We had 7 fencers in Junior/Y14 and 8 in Y12/Y10 Mixed Epee, from RDF and the Des Moines Fencing Club. It was the first epee tournament for several kids, and good practice for everyone. There some excellent fencing and we were especially happy to see a fencer cheer on a new teammate who was having a bit of a rough day. Thanks to all who attended!
Full results: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=43569
Last Saturday, Ben traveled to Lincoln, NE to compete at the May the 4th Be With You Youth Tournament. He made some new friends and brought home the silver medal in Y10 Epee!
Last weekend, 3 RDF athletes traveled to Minneapolis for the Minnesota Open. In Mixed Epee, Sarah placed 13th, Evan was 19th, and Cheryl was 26th. In Women’s Epee, Sarah took the silver medal, and Cheryl was 6th.
Thanks to the Minnesota Division for hosting a great event!
Full results: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=41231
If you ordered a warm-up jacket, they’re here! Stop by the club during practice to pick yours up!
We’re holding a youth tournament Saturday, May 11, 2019 at the club! Click here to sign up: https://askfred.net/Events/moreInfo.php?tournament_id=43569
Schedule:
9 AM – Junior (U19) Mixed Epee
11 AM – Y10 & Y12 Mixed Epee
Times listed are close of registration; fencing will begin shortly thereafter, so come earlier to make sure you have enough time to get dressed and warm up!
Events are unsanctioned, which means you DO NOT need USA Fencing membership to compete.
Thirteen- and 14-year-olds may fence Juniors. We may split Y10/Y12 into separate events if there are enough fencers.
On Sunday, four of our fencers competed at the Bengal Invitational, run by the high school kids of the Valley Fencing Club.
In Weston’s first 15-point bout, his opponent was Sarah, and he fenced better than he expected to, getting a lot of nice hand touches. Alex did a good job making an initial action to short target, followed by a deeper attack in his first 15-point bout and kept the score close for much of the bout. Sarah and Evan both defeated their opponents from the Iowa State University Fencing Club to make it to the final bout, which was a close 15-14. Sarah earned the gold medal, Evan took home the silver medal, Alex was 6th, and Weston was 8th. Sarah also won Women’s Epee.
Full results: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=42961
Have you seen our snazzy warm-up jackets around at tournaments? Do you want one, too? Email us your name/size/fit at rdf@reddoorfencing.com by April 15, 2019 to place your order!
The cost is $65, which includes your name embroidered on the sleeve (about half of us have done our first names, half have done last names). Some of our taller fencers have said the sleeves run a little short, so if that is a concern for you, you may want to size up.
Check out the size chart below:
The jackets are unlined, fairly lightweight, full-zip, and have two zippered pockets.
Last Saturday, we hosted a training event for higher-level Midwest fencers. Compared to fencers in more densely-populated areas of the country, Division 1 fencers here can have a more difficult time getting in a lot of practice against a variety of fencers in that skill universe because we’re so spread out geographically.
This year we had 11 fencers from 7 clubs participate. We fenced a pool of 11 to determine a “top” and “bottom” pool, and then did pools of 15-point bouts so people could get more fencing near their skill level. We recorded video of many of the bouts and reviewed it afterwards as a group.
We’re so glad everyone made the trip!
Last weekend we hosted our annual Equinox Epee tournament, attended by athletes from around the Midwest (and at least one from further away!), including 13 of our own. On Saturday, Jim tied for 3rd, Evan was 10th, and Carl finished 16th in Open Mixed Epee; Weston was 6th in Y14; Sarah took the silver medal and Cheryl came in 5th (in her first tournament as a lefty!) in Women’s. The next day, Carl placed 11th, Daniel A. was 13th, Evan was 14th, Alex came in 16th, Daniel M. finished 17th, and Weston was 23rd in D & Under Mixed Epee. Y12 was entirely populated by RDF fencers: Graham won, Henry was 2nd, Ben and Caleb (both in their first tournament!) tied for 3rd. Graham also took home the gold in Y10; Ben earned another bronze, and Harper finished 6th.
Full results: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=40849
We really appreciate everyone who helped make this happen – fencers, families, set-up/tear-down volunteers, referees, coaches – thank you! We love seeing so much great fencing, teamwork, and sportsmanship!
