Olympic sport of fencing in Des Moines, Iowa
Learn to Fence
Three RDF fencers traveled to Libertyville, IL for the Remenyik ROC on Sunday. Jim finished 26th in Senior Men’s Epee, and Julia was the highest-placing D-rated fencer at 21st in Senior Women’s Epee. Sarah also fenced Senior Women’s and ended 31st. Full results: http://livefencingresults.com/2017-2018/RemenyikRJCC-ROC/
On Sunday, two RDF fencers competed in Minneapolis at the Youth Athos tournament. Lily had a tough Y14 pool with a lot of the more experienced kids, but she won her first 15-point bout. She went down in the next match, but had started to figure out her opponent by the end, finishing 8th. Next, Evan fenced in the Y12 event, tying for 3rd at his first tournament.
For our first competition of the weekend, Kaden and Nick fenced at the Des Moines Dog Days tournament. After taking out several more-experienced fencers, Nick ended with the silver medal, and Kaden met his goal for his 15-point match, finishing 14th (or thereabouts – final results aren’t available yet) in his first senior (ages 13+) event!
Last Sunday, Sarah and Lily traveled to Iowa City for a small epee event. Sarah finished 1st and got some tournament practice before the next ROC, and Lily placed 5th in her first “open” event (for fencers ages 13 and up). Full results available here: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=38119
Registration is open for our next Beginner Youth Fencing class! The 6-week class meets Tuesday evenings Sept. 5-Oct. 10 from 5:30-6:30 pm. Have fun, make friends, learn a new sport!
Cost is $60. All equipment is provided. Students should wear comfortable athletic clothes, specifically pants that allow full range of motion (no shorts!) and close-toed shoes.
(9-5-17 – registration closed)
We had a great time hosting our first summer day camp for fencers ages 8-14 (who have some fencing experience), led by Guest Coach Gary Copeland from Northern Colorado Fencers. It was great to see everyone working so hard and improving their skills!
Following the kids’ camp, Gary led a small 2-day coaching workshop focused on individual lessons. In addition to RDF coaches Kevin and Sarah, we had two coaches join us from the Lincoln Fencing Club. We really appreciate Gary’s instruction and feedback and we’re looking forward to helping our students be more successful!
Last Saturday, three RDF fencers braved the heat and humidity to fence at Iowa Games in Ames. Nick finished 9th, Carl was 12th, and Daniel was 19th.
Three RDF athletes traveled to Salt Lake City for Summer National Championships. On Thursday, Julia and Sarah fenced Division 2 Women’s Epee. After a bit of a rough start in pools, Julia fenced very well in direct eliminations and finished 31st – her best national finish so far – and Sarah went out in her first DE (15-point bout) and was 88th. Julia fenced again the next day in Div 3, ending 68th. On Saturday, Lily competed in her first national event (and 3rd tournament ever): Y14 Women’s Epee. She worked hard and got touches on everyone in her pool and came in 148th. In Y12 on Monday, Lily won two pool (5-point) bouts, but lost her first DE, placing 70th.
Full results available here: http://www.usfencing.org/2017champ-julychal
RDF sent four fencers to Minneapolis for the Almost Sauna Summer Open (it was very hot and humid!) for one last tournament before Summer Nationals. Sarah and Julia finished 7th and 8th in the Open epee event. Lily and Kaden finished 5th and 6th in Y12. Full results available here: https://askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=34030#134197
RDF fencer Jim took home the Titanium Man trophy after a long day of fencing at the Iowa City Fencing Center last Sunday. Julia came in 6th, Austin (who usually fences at U of I but is in Des Moines this summer) ended 7th, and Charlie finished 10th. The Titanium Man tournament uses a slightly different format than most tournaments we go to; it’s round-robin 15-point bouts. Seventeen people makes it an endurance test, but it’s also great practice for direct elimination bouts. Congratulations to all the survivors!
red door fencing 