Fencing in the News

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Kuwaiti fencing champions add gold, silver in Arab Championship
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
8/26/05

www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=763724

AMMAN, Aug 26 (KUNA) -- Arab Epee fencing junior champion Abdullah Najem of Kuwait won Friday the gold medal after beating his Kuwaiti colleague Fahad Malallah 15-14 within the 12th Arab Fencing Championship held here until August 30, 2005.

Fahad Thani of Kuwait also won the Sabre competition's silver medal after losing to his Jordanian rival Yazin Abuhonod 12-15 in the final game. Abdulwahab Al-Zier of Kuwait won the bronze medal of the same style.

With these victories, Kuwaiti junior fencing team has collected five medals: two golden medals, a silver and 2 bronzes.

Head of the Kuwaiti fencing delegation to Jordan Ibrahim Al-Qattan told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) the championship witnessed strong competition since it was launched, adding the title-holding Kuwaiti team achieved good results leading all other teams in the first place.

Men's Foil competition for youths kicks off Saturday with the participation of Kuwaiti players Mohammed Mirza, Ali Khasro and Ahmad Al-Dhafairy. Kuwait won the first and third places of the foil competition in the 11th Arab Fencing Championship, held in Qatar last year. As for the ladies' Epee competition, Tunisian Sarah Bisbas beat her Jordanian rival Razan Abuhnod.

Besides Jordan, the host, six Arab States participates in the competition: Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tunisia, Iraq and Palestine.

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fencing with gloves???
fencing with gloves???
fencing with gloves?!?!?!



Olympic boxers find tough road after turning pro
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
Aug. 26, 2005

cbs.sportsline.com/boxing/story/8774977/rss

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A year ago, Andre Dirrell was on a medal podium in Athens, an American flag wrapped around his shoulders. These days, the super middleweight fights on undercards without a promoter, wearing trunks with his name misspelled down the leg.

Heavyweight Devin Vargas, the U.S. Olympic team captain, has trouble finding competent sparring partners in his native Toledo. In his most recent fight, he struggled to beat an opponent who fell to 3-15-4 with the loss.

Even gold medalist Andre Ward, the most promising boxer from the 2004 Olympics, is facing years of fights in half-empty buildings before getting a shot at the sport's biggest prizes.

Eight of the nine U.S. Olympic boxers have turned pro, but the game is proving exponentially tougher and more impenetrable than the amateur scene they once dominated. As Ward can testify, a red-white-and-blue heritage guarantees nothing in a sport where only green matters.

"You can learn a lot from the Olympics, but you have to learn the sport again when you turn pro," Ward said. "Just being an Olympian or a gold medalist isn't going to get you a break when you take off that headgear and start prizefighting. You've got to prove yourself all over again, every day."

American fighters from Muhammad Ali to Oscar De La Hoya once rode a wave of Olympic glory into the pro ranks, buoyed by the fame and goodwill resulting from fighting for their country. The elite lineage includes Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman and current champions Jermain Taylor, Jeff Lacy and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

But boxing has fallen behind beach volleyball in Olympic popularity these days, and many of the world's best fighters bypass the Games altogether. Last year's Olympic team had America's worst showing since 1948, winning only Ward's gold and Dirrell's bronze.

"As an Olympian, I know I have to prove something extra," Vargas said. "In the Olympics, I was having fun. Before the fights, I was yelling and stuff. Everything just felt like a roller coaster. It was so exciting and fun."

Vargas has tried to maintain that attitude in the pros, but it isn't easy. Boxing is a job with an everyday training grind and a serious risk of injury every time in the ring -- not a lark around the world with a bunch of friends.

"I'm in a job that's supposed to be fun," he said. "When it isn't fun any more, I think that's when you retire and do something else."

Amateur boxing, with its points-based scoring and protective gear, is widely derided as fencing with gloves, and the Olympians are still learning the intricacies of traditional prizefighting.

Dirrell, Ward and Vargas fought on the same card last week, but it wasn't the glamorous late-night scene they might have expected in their pro careers. The fights started in the afternoon, with barely 3,100 people in the stands at a darkened hockey arena in San Jose when Ward stopped Minnesota journeyman Christopher Holt.

"A lot of people have underestimated the class of 2004," promoter Dan Goossen said. "I think they've all put on solid shows, and they're going to be just fine."

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Kuwait wins silver in Arab fencing championship
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
August 29, 2005

www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=763969

AMMAN, Aug 27 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti champion Ali Khasro won the silver in men's floret as part of the Arab tournament for juniors currently held here.

The Kuwaiti team, since three days ago when the championship started, has won two gold medals, three silver and one bronze.

Ibrahim Al-Gattan, the head of the Kuwaiti team, said in remarks to KUNA that in the 32nd round, Khasro beat his Saudi contender. Mohammed Mirza also beat a Saudi fencer, but their fellow citizen, Ahmad Al-Thafiri lost vis-a-vis the Tunisian foe fencer.

In the 16th round, Al-Gattan beat his fellow national, Mirza (15-10). In the four-contender games, he won against the Tunisian (15-13), where he lost the contest for the top medal coming second in the championship.

The Kuwaiti team, tomorrow, will play in the sabre and epee rounds.

The games involve fencers from Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tunisia, Iraq and Palestine.

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News by St Paul's Fencing Club
www.di-ve.com
August 28, 2005

www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=195715&pid=1

With the approach of September, the customary summer break for fencing is gradually coming to a close. The committee and members of the St. Paul Fencing Club are gearing up for the new and eventful season 2005/2006 which promises to be as successful and rewarding as in previous years.

A full training programme has been prepared for all the club members in preparation for the forthcoming competitive events at both Club and National level; the first of which is scheduled for third week in October.

It is also the club's intention to participate in at least one international club event in Europe later in the season to expose our athletes to foreign opponents and to test their skills at a higher level.

For those interested in having an active lifestyle, beginners courses for both children and adults will be organized by SPFC in the month of September. These courses are designed to promote fitness as well as learning the basic skills of this sport. An important feature of these courses is the interaction between the participant's allowing for confidence building and the making of new friends in a sports orientated environment. Another aspect of this sport is appreciating the art, history and technique of swordplay which is useful for all stage and film enthusiasts aspiring to work in this field.

At the moment the SPFC has placings for a limited group of children and adults who wish to try out this activity. For any further information the SPFC may be contacted on 21486841 or 79994622.

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Fencing growing in popularity in area
By David Doerr
The Facts "Covering Brazoria County - Where Texas Began"
Clute, Brazoria County, TX
August 28, 2005

thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=1d350adfee03bacf

Though some might associate fencing more with gentility rather than raw physicality, the sport retains its edge from the days it was known as dueling.

Several members of Brazosport College’s student fencing club say it is that edge that hooked them the second they picked up a sword.

The Brazosport Fencing Extravaganza, a group of area college and high school students, as well as veteran fencers looking to keep their skills sharp, are hoping to pick up a few more members when the club begins its third year this fall.

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Now that I have an account and can get the whole article, here it is:

Fencing growing in popularity in area
By David Doerr
The Facts
Clute, Brazoria County, TX
August 28, 2005

thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=1d350adfee03bacf

Though some might associate fencing more with gentility rather than raw physicality, the sport retains its edge from the days it was known as dueling.

Several members of Brazosport College’s student fencing club say it is that edge that hooked them the second they picked up a sword.

The Brazosport Fencing Extravaganza, a group of area college and high school students, as well as veteran fencers looking to keep their skills sharp, are hoping to pick up a few more members when the club begins its third year this fall.

“It was originally a sport where you could kill someone,” said Chris Williams, a two-year club member. “When you go against somebody who is really good, you’ll get that adrenaline rush and your instincts to attack kick in.”

Many in the club share Williams’ enthusiasm for the chance to pick up a sword and “poke” someone with it.

Kevin O’Neill, the club’s coach, shared a similar sentiment.

“I hope they get to hit people,” O’Neill said, referring to what he hopes club members get out of fencing. “That’s what you’re doing here. It’s not that deep and profound. It is a difficult physical skill and you have to enjoy doing it.”

O’Neill, a competitive fencer for 20 years, helped found the Brazosport Fencing Extravaganza in the summer of 2003, soon after taking a job at the college as a math professor.

He said students in a beginning fencing class at the college came to him wanting to start a club so they could practice and compete outside of school.

After signing up 10 members, the club began gathering equipment, including padding O’Neill made from material he bought at a discount store, he said.

The college helped the club purchase six swords, and one of O’Neill’s friends donated electronic scoring equipment, he said.

The club fences a style called épée, named after the long, slender dueling sword it uses. In épée fencing, there are virtually no rules, O’Neill said.

“The whole body is a target area,” he said. “You can hit the foot or the hand or anywhere, and whoever hits first gets the touch. And that’s it. That is the entirety of the game.”

Although the rules are simple, the game is not, O’Neill said.

“It’s also a very technical game because it’s just as simple for your opponent as it is for you,” he said.

That is where strategy comes into play, said Corey Crawford, who now attends Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, but plans to stay involved in the club.

“It’s more personal,” Crawford said. “It’s not all about speed and size. It’s more tactically based. If someone is taller than you, you have to stay far away from them because they have a longer reach. You have to wait for them to lunge and get strung out before you attack.”

Although the club is based out of the college, it is open to anyone, including high school students, O’Neill said.

“It’s been very gratifying,” he said. “We’ve had very enthusiastic kids and we’ve had a lot of high school kids who have been very devoted to it. They’re a very funny, kind of a quirky group.”

Although fencing is primarily an individual sport, belonging to a club provides fencers with a community and a cheer section, Williams said.

“I like that when you beat someone, it is all you, but you get praise from your team and your coach when you belong to a club,” he said.

Team members practice twice a week at the college’s gymnasium and often attend tournaments in the Houston area, where there are several clubs and renowned fencers, O’Neill said.

“It’s a nice crowd of people,” he said. “They’re not bullies. They’ll beat you, but they won’t beat you up.”

Kat James, a senior at Brazoswood High School, said she likes the rivalry some club members have had with members of the Westchester Fencing Club in Katy.

“A couple of the girls got really into it,” she said.

James said she is working to set up an affiliated fencing club at Brazoswood High School to recruit new members.

Williams said anyone with an interest in fencing can come to the group’s orientation sessions and “just try it.”

Orientation sessions for beginners will be at 5 p.m. Thursday and Sept. 8 at the Brazosport College gymnasium, O’Neill said.

The club will provide prospective fencers with equipment until they feel the need to buy their own, he said.

O’Neill said people know right away if they like fencing once they try it.

“If it makes you smile, you should be doing it,” he said.

For information, call O’Neill at [phone].

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Not one to be foiled, fencing has returned
For the second time in four years the Veterans Fencing World Championships visits Tampa, with more than 300 athletes 55 and older.[/b][/color]
By RICK GERSHMAN
St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg, FL
August 30, 2005

www.sptimes.com/2005/08/30/Seniority/Not_one_to_be_foiled_.shtml

TAMPA - It's a town known for pirate invasions, Buccaneers and the Cheerleaders Formerly Known as Swash-Buc-lers. Swordplay is in Tampa's blood.

So where else would you want to hold a world fencing championship?

That makes sense to Odessa's Jim Campoli, 79, a certified master fencer and a leading organizer of the sport around the world.

Campoli is chairman of the 2005 Veterans Fencing World Championships, an event for competitors 55 and older. The event will be held Friday through Sunday at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Tampa and includes all three weapons used in competitive fencing - foil, saber and epee. There is no cost for spectators.

It's the second time Tampa has played host to the event and Campoli expects more than 300 competitors in the two divisions, ages 55 to 59; and 60 and older. In 2002, the Tampa event drew 212 entrants from 17 countries.

"The sport has been growing by leaps and bounds," said Campoli, who can expect another surge when The Legend of Zorro, the sequel to 1998's hit film The Mask of Zorro, is released this fall.

"It's surprising how many students I get after the movies come out, the Zorros and so forth," he said. "When I started, of course, it was (pirate films starring) Errol Flynn."

Fencing, he said, attracts competitors who enjoy mano a mano competition.

"It's not a team sport - you're on your own," Campoli said. "What's key is the mental part of the game: You have to see what your opponent is doing, and take advantage of what he is not doing. It takes a lot of knowledge."

It's hardly all mental, however.

"From a senior standpoint, the sport is partially social and partially athletic," Campoli said. "Fencing is an extremely aerobic sport. Ninety-nine percent of people don't realize it; they don't realize how much moving around you need to do.

"You're going up and down a fencing strip 6 feet wide and 60 feet long. The bout is a three-minute session, and when you get to the finals, that's 15 touches over nine minutes."

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Battle of the sexes
Islington Gazette
London, England, UK
31 August 2005

www.islingtongazette.co.uk/content/islington/gazette/news/story.aspx?brand=ISLGOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsislg&itemid=WeED31%20Aug%202005%2010%3A46%3A18%3A977

FENCING is one of those sports everyone says they've always wanted to try but have never quite got round to, says Jed Beardmore, owner of Fighting Fit Fencing club.

In fact, it was Jed's son who introduced him to the sport when he began fencing at the age of just eight.

"I caught the bug immediately," he says. "When the club I was going to closed down I decided to set my own up."

Fighting Fit at the Boston Arms' Dome Club in Junction Road, Tufnell Park, has been running since March. Every seven weeks, people who always wanted to have a go are invited along for a free taster session.

Fencing leapt into the public consciousness in recent years, thanks to films like the 007 movie Die Another Day, where Madonna plays a fencing coach alongside Pierce Brosnan's James Bond.

Zorro, featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones' sexy duel with Antonio Banderas, and the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean, with its countless sword-fighting scenes, have also increased fencing's popularity among both men and women.

Jed says: "Madonna has done a lot for fencing. We get our equipment from the same people who supplied the kit for the film.

"We also get a few actors coming through because apparently fencing is quite good to have on your CV."

For me, I am ashamed to admit, it was the 1980s hit cartoon series Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, based on the Alexandre Dumas' novel The Three Musketeers, that instilled in me as a five-year-old the desire to try fencing.

But like so many people, it was a case of something I'd never got around to doing until now, which is why the taster sessions are such a good idea.

Jed says: "We usually get an 80 to 90 per cent take-up rate for new members at the free events. They sign up straight away.

"By giving people the chance to try fencing out for free, it's giving them the opportunity to try something that they wouldn't have necessarily done before.

"So far a good percentage of my members have really fallen for fencing, and have gone out and even bought their own kit."

The kit is not cheap, at around £250 for a complete set, but it is all provided at Fighting Fit without any extra hire charges.

And I am relieved to see there is plenty of protective clothing when I go there for my trial session!

Jed told me all I needed to bring was a T-shirt, tracksuit, trainers and plenty of enthusiasm, which was simple enough.

The first bit of equipment you get is a "plastron" which looks like half a jacket, with just one sleeve. This is for extra protection and you only need half of it because you stand sideways-on to fence.

Next you get laced into a long-sleeved top which resembles a strait-jacket - and it is a great ice-breaker for any new members because you always need someone to do it up for you.

Finally a thick glove, which covers your cuff, is worn on the fencing hand. Then you are given a head mask and a sword.

The sword most beginners start with is a long thin one called a foil, which looks rather like a musketeer's sword and has a tip on the end to prevent injuries.

"It's the only contact sport you can't get hurt in," says Jed. "Sometimes you may get a small bruise, but that is about the worst it gets."

As the name suggests, Fighting Fit certainly does give you a workout, but in my experience it is a much more pleasant way of exercising than a gruelling "Abs, Buns and Thighs" Jane Fonda routine.

Most of the exercise stems from the position fencers hold while fighting, which involves squatting slightly with one foot facing forward and one to the side, rather like a surfer or skateboarder.

Jed's wife Sandra, who is also a member, agrees.

She says: "It's great for your thighs, bottom and stomach. It's been great for mine. I've been to the gym before and it's just a bit boring.

"Maybe I enjoy fencing because I like bashing people! But it's brilliant, and men and women both enjoy it."

Jed adds: "It's a bit like getting fit by going to the cinema - the main thing you get out of it is fun. But you also get fit as a by-product. You have to put the effort in, but you do it because it's fun."

Many of the members are couples - and men and women are frequently paired up against each other for matches.

Jed explains: "A lot of couples join because it's a sport they can both enjoy together.

"It's very much a thinking-person's sport. There are lots of tactics going into it, and the winner isn't necessarily going to be the fastest, the fittest or the biggest.

"Fencing is very gender-equal. The sword really is a great equaliser - the sword really makes everybody equal, no matter how big or strong they are."

Nanny Aneta Mlynarska, 25, of Archway, says: "I always used to think it was a beautiful sport and I came here and thought it was great.

"It's a really, really good workout. I like the way they move, it's so smooth and so elegant.

"It's really different [to other sports] because you work really hard on your leg muscles because you stay bent on your knees all the time. After a few sessions you get to know well the steps and moves and it gets easier. You also get to know lots of people and they are all really nice."

The classes are taught by Cuban fencing champion Leo Saurez, who helps run the club. Mr Saurez began fencing at 13 and went on to win the Central American and Caribbean Games aged 22.

"Fencing is a special sport," he says. "It was hard for me because in Cuba we have quite high-level fencing, so I had to work very hard to get into national competitions.

"I have been in England for three and a half years and have been teaching now for two and a half years.

"It's a combat sport but you have to think about how to combat your partner. You have to combine fighting, tactics, co-ordination and speed at the same time."

There are currently 25 permanent members of Fighting Fit, who learn under Mr Saurez's supervision.

The organisers hope to eventually launch a kids' club and move to their own premises.

The next taster session is on September 8, at 6pm. A six-week beginners' course costs £60, and club membership is £35 a month after the introduction.

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Fencing Beginners Encouraged to Test Their Steel
By Brian Chase
SPORTS EDITOR
The MIT Tech
Volume 125, Number 34
September 1, 2005

www-tech.mit.edu/V125/N34/34fencing.html

Many sights and sounds can be heard in evenings in the Du Pont Gymnasium. One of these is the sound of metal on metal as the Fencing team trains. The Fencing team has been around for decades, as established a sport at MIT as Crew or Baseball. Despite this long history, however, the fencing squad is a varsity team that recruits half its members from the ranks of students who have never fenced before.

Eleven of 17 women’s team members last year and 8 out of 16 men’s fencing team members joined the sqaud with no experience, said Lele Yu ’06, women’s Fencing team captain. It makes sense when you consider that fencing is not a widespread sport across the country. The fencing team encourages beginner fencers to try out for the team, Yu said; in fact, the current Men’s Fencing team captain came in with no experience. In some ways, beginners to fencing have an advantage, as they have not acquired bad habits that must be untaught, as Yu learned from personal experience.

Fencing includes three different sports, which use three different swords and styles of swordplay. In Epee, any part of the opponent’s body is a target, so matches are slow, and it’s important to try to outmaneuver your opponent to isolate a weakness.

In Sabre, the target is above the waist, and if both fencers hit each other, the person who began to strike first is given the point. So matches are quick affairs of two people running and striking each other, each trying to be faster than the other.

In Foil, the target is the torso, and as in Sabre, the first strike is favored, so it plays a faster than Epee, though not as fast as Sabre. In a match at a meet, two teams of three people fence nine times, where each member fences against each opposing member, and the team winning the most pairings wins the match.

Unlike some other sports, Fencing has active tryouts at the beginning of the year to fill its roster. However, people who have never fenced before don’t need to worry.

“What we look for during tryouts is more the commitment, the dedication than anything else. We don’t actually fence during tryouts … what we see there is whether or not you come everyday, whether or not you display the effort,” Yu said.

The team has hard member cutoffs, however. There are only 20 spots for women and men, and Yu reports that about 30 people try out every year, including returning members. If a student thinks he might be interested in trying fencing, the squad recommends showing up to tryouts rather than trying to join after taking the PE class.

While the fencing team willingly takes people on the team with no experience, it expects commitment from them as well. Fencing practices weekdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and as Yu reported, attendance is expected.

There are good reasons for this required practice time. First among them is the development of the specialized group of muscles on which fencing relies. Yu said, “Fencing has a lot of really weird muscles … you don’t really have a symmetric body if you fence.” Practices include footwork and individual lessons to get fencers into shape, she added. They also help ensure that every team member receives personalized coaching tips from either Head Coach Jarek Koniusz or one of the assistant coaches.

The MIT Fencing Club is typically quite competitive, both within their conference, and on a national level, where for the last several years the squad has placed about 20th out of 33 squads competing, Yu said. Additionally, the Women’s Sabre has deep roots at MIT, as one of its first national champions, Caroline Purcell, started fencing here. And as long as the there are eager beginners ready to join, the team can likely keep that trend going.

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Courierarea Sports Shorts
Courier Sports Staff
Madison Courrier
Madison, IN
August 31, 2005

www.madisoncourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=18&SubSectionID=289&ArticleID=25732&TM=58296.82

Karate and Fencing classes are now being offered at the Lide White Boys & Girls Club.

There are three different classes offered for karate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Beginners will be from 4-5 p.m., Intermediate classes are from 5-6:30 p.m. and Advanced are from 6:30-8 p.m. For cost, see sensei Sam Buhlig. For more information, contact the Club at [phone].

Fencing classes begin Tuesday, Sept. 6 and will be on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday’s from 8-10 a.m.

For cost on fencing or for more information, contact the Club at [phone] or instructor Steve Thomas at [phone].

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Students see the point of fencing
Christina Elwell
Staff Writer
Venice Gondolier
Venice, FL
9/2/05

www.venicegondolier.com/NewsArchive3/090205/vn6.htm

Students at the Student Leadership Academy in Venice peered anxiously out their classroom windows, trying to get a glimpse of what one teacher called "the big kids." When the bell rang, students rushed into the cafeteria and eagerly awaited their lunch-time show.

Members of the Sarasota Fencing Academy were suiting up to give the kids a 20-minute fencing demonstration.

"You aren't going to hurt anybody, are you?" Doug O'Connell, dean of students, joked while the four fencers got their gear together.

Simon Dion and John Bork, from Riverview High School, Samantha Weber, from the Sarasota Military Academy, and coach John Luper, who is a recent graduate of Sarasota Military Academy, came to the charter middle school on Wednesday to try to get kids interested in fencing.

Luper, who is ranked 11th in the United States, started out by giving them a quick overview of the weapons and rules of the sport.

"The key to fencing is being creative," Luper explained. "Otherwise your opponent will learn your techniques, anticipate your moves and beat you."

Swashbuckling

Luper made references to Pirates of the Caribbean and other sword-fighting films to give the students something to relate to.

When the demonstration began, kids slid to the edges of their seats, and with every swish of the weapons cheers of "whoa" and "cool" could be heard from the audience.

The four demonstrators wasted no time getting into the meat of their show. Kids laughed and cheered while the fencers hopped around the lunchroom and scored point after point by striking and poking their opponents.

At the end of the demonstration, Luper took questions from the audience while the others passed around the weapons to allow the students to feel their weight. Many of the students were surprised at how light they were.

The students had a bundle of questions for the fencers. Do you have protection under your suit? Weber answered this question by lifting her suit and showing the students her protective gear. Is height an advantage? No, said Bork, who is very tall. Sometimes it pays to be shorter so that you can maneuver faster.

Can you get hurt?

"It's just like any sport," Luper told them. "You're taking a risk."

Looking for more

Shortly after the question-and-answer portion of the demonstration ended, the end-of-lunch bell rang and a rumble of "awws" came from the audience as students unhappily headed back to class.

As they left, Chris Yoden, who tagged along with the fencing bunch to help out, passed out Sarasota Fencing Academy information to any student who was interested.

Still in awe of the demonstration they'd just seen, many of the students took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed a flier.

According to Luper, there are about 300 fencers in Sarasota and neighboring counties and the Sarasota Fencing Academy is looking to recruit more.

The academy begins for the year on Wednesday, Sept. 14. The price is $50 a month and is open to all age groups and skill levels.

For more information about the Sarasota Fencing Academy, visit sarasotafencingacademy.com.

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Top fencer will cross swords with world's best
Terry Abrahams is the best in the country among women her age. She's competing this weekend for global honors in a Tampa competition.
By MARTY CLEAR
St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg, FL
September 2, 2005

www.sptimes.com/2005/09/02/Citytimes/Top_fencer_will_cross.shtml

Terry Abrahams says fencing is like chess at 1,000 mph.

"You don't have to be an athlete," she said. "But most fencers are smart. You're constantly thinking, figuring what your opponent is going to do next and what you're going to do, and it's all in split seconds."

Abrahams, 68, is the U.S. women's fencing champion in her age group, 60 and over. This weekend, she'll take a stab at becoming world champion.

Fencers from all over the world are in Tampa today through Sunday for the World Veterans Championships at the downtown Hyatt Regency. "Veterans" means the fencers are age 50 or older.

It's the second time in three years that Tampa has hosted the veterans championships. Abrahams expects about 250 fencers from 18 countries.

Abrahams has competed all over the world, including the international championships in Austria last year and in Tampa in 2003. Japan and some European countries have a much deeper tradition of fencing than the United States does, she said. Fencers in Hungary, for example, can actually make a comfortable living from their sport. They don't even touch a weapon for the first two years of training.

Abraham's championship career started about 50 years ago.

Her high school had a working relationship with the nearby University of Illinois. One day, the fencing coach from the university came to her school to try to interest students in taking a fencing class. Abrahams, a self-described jock, decided to give it a try.

After a few sessions, she dropped out, figuring she'd never pick up a foil again.

That changed when she started babysitting for the fencing coach's kids. One evening at his house she met a handsome young man from the university fencing team. Immediately smitten, she told him she was also an avid fencer. As a result, she had to start fencing again to keep seeing the man, whom she dated for several years.

She ended up marrying another man, Joe Abrahams. In 1978, they moved to Tampa, where he became the city's administrator for parks, recreation and cultural services. They had four daughters and were married for 35 years, then divorced. He died in 2002.

She took a break from fencing to raise her children but picked it back up more than 25 years ago.

She's a member of Tampa Bay Fencers, which meets Monday and Thursday nights at the Northdale Recreation Center. The club offers instruction and even lends a starter kit - a weapon, a mask and a jacket - so novices can get a taste for the sport without investing money.

When she's not fencing, she runs a business out of her home in Old Seminole Heights called Tampa Bay Buttoneers, which makes custom buttons for parties and conventions.

In recent weeks, she has been volunteering as entertainment coordinator for this weekend's competition. Part of her job has been to help persuade fencers from other countries to come to Tampa.

Many of them were unimpressed with the city during the 2003 championships. They found themselves in a sedate downtown area with poor mass transportation and expensive cabs.

"They couldn't even go out to eat," Abrahams said. "Now they don't want to come back. They say there's nothing to do in Tampa."

Things have improved some in the past two years, she said, and at least now the streetcar can take fencers to Channelside.

As for her chances of capturing the world title, Abrahams doesn't hold out much hope. Americans don't stand a realistic chance against Europeans who grow up in a fencing culture.

"The other countries are just too good," she said. "It sure would be fun, though."

IF YOU GO
The World Veterans Championships run today through Sunday at the downtown Hyatt Regency, 211 N Tampa St. Fencing competitions run from 9 a.m. until after 5 p.m. each day. Admission is free. For information, go to www.centralflfencing.com

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Fencing class at YMCA to resume soon
Los Alamos Monitor
Staff Reports
Los Alamos, NM
9/4/05

www.lamonitor.com/articles/2005/09/02/sports/sports04.txt

The fencing classes at the YMCA will resume Tuesday following the Summer break, at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.

Fencers should sign up at the YMCA front desk for the class they were in at the start of summer. New fencers (age 10 and above) with no fencing experience will be accepted in October. Because of limited facilities and instructors, only a limited number of new students can be accommodated.

Sign-ups for new beginners will be taken at the YMCA front desk after Sept. 13.

Because of liability issues, parents of students age 12 and under will now be required to remain at the YMCA during fencing class.

There will again be a men's and women's epee team fielded for Los Alamos students to compete in the New Mexico High School Fencing League. The season kicks off with an open/individual tournament Saturday, Sept. 10, with Los Alamos playing host at the YMCA gym. The league is composed of five teams from Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Los Alamos.

For additional information, call North Carey at 672-3938 or Tom Hill at 672-1058.

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Teacher with an edge
A Boynton man organizes fencing competitions for veteran athletes.[/b][/color]
Sun-Sentinel
By Diane C. Lade, Staff writer
Fort Lauderdale, FL
September 3 2005

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pfence03sep03,0,1315633.story?coll=sfla-news-palm

This weekend, more than 250 fencers from 23 countries are gathered in Florida to cross swords -- thanks, in part, to Maxwell "Mac" Garret.

The Boynton Beach resident is the reason older fencers today have bouts of their own, called "veterans" competitions. It's a move that enthusiasts say has reinvigorated a sport more often associated with young swashbucklers, allowing serious older athletes to pursue a sport they love.

"Mac recognized the need to provide realistic competitive opportunities. These veterans are the role models for younger adult fencers," said Peter Harmer, a professor of sports medicine at Willamette University in Oregon. He'll be at the World Veterans Championships in Tampa through Sunday, both as the chief medical officer for the U.S. Fencing Association and as a competitor.

Garret will be there, too. He's 88 now and although his grip still is strong, he gave away all his equipment and hasn't picked up a foil in years. First came the rotator cuff injury about five years after he retired, then a pacemaker followed by a broken hip a few years ago.

But he still is a regular on the committees that run the national and world meets. He is still, in his way, a fencing coach, just as he was for 42 years at two universities.

"He's the grand old man of fencing," said Terry Abrahams, of Tampa, who is competing in all three women's weapons categories.

Abrahams is exceptionally qualified to make such a statement: Garret was her first fencing instructor when she was a bored teenager and he was the coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He offered to teach the high school students at the university's lab school, who had a hole in their schedule at noon Wednesdays.

"He was happy. Patient. Good." said Abrahams, of Tampa. "Here I am, 68 and still fencing. He is one of the best coaches ever, I think, in the United States."

Garret appears unremarkable seated in his dining room, and his neighbors might be surprised to learn they have a fencing celebrity next door. He's coached Olympic teams, served on the U.S. Olympic Fencing Committee, wrote several fencing textbooks and spent a year directing Israel's first fencing academy. It was started by a judge who felt the sport fostered good behavior in young men and women. A tournament at Pennsylvania State University, where he retired as coach in 1982, is named in his honor.

What kept him in the game are his efforts to make fencing a lifelong, competitive sport.

"It has tremendous potential to keep people physically and mentally active," he said.

Prior to veterans' competitions, fencers had to enter all-age events if they wanted to stay involved after college or the Olympics. Garret saw even the best athletes get frustrated as they hit their 40s and found their experience no match for a 20-year-old's reflexes.

Garret convinced the fencing association to start a veteran program and, in his 14 years as its chairman, staged veterans' meets nationwide and abroad. Veteran fencing was recognized internationally in 2001. Fencers must be 40 or older to be veterans in national competitions, or 50 and older in international meets. Today, there are about 1,100 veterans among the U.S. association's 20,400 members. There is talk of adding a 70-plus category.

Veterans' world competitions are attracting higher-caliber players, Harmer said. Many now are former Olympians or national champions. One veteran fencer in his 50s beat a Princeton University fencer 30 years his junior in the open 2003 U.S. National Championship.

Garret was in high school when the fencing bug bit. Growing up in New York City, he was intrigued by the mask and foil hanging in the bedroom he shared with his younger brother, who had tried the sport and promptly given it up.

"I guess I didn't like to see anything go to waste," Garret said. He found competitive fencing nothing like the broad swinging antics he had seen in the movies. It was just as physical as the basketball and soccer he had been playing, and its mental challenges hooked him.

Devotees call fencing "physical chess." Strategy is as critical as footwork, speed and balance when dueling up and down "the strip," a mat about 6 feet wide and 46 feet long that is the fencing equivalent of a playing field.

And Garret connected with the courtesy and tradition inherent in fencing, born of an honorable way to settle disagreements among French nobility and a sport where competitors still must salute each other. Bad behavior immediately results in a penalty.

"These are the lessons of life. This is civilization," said Diana Garret, Garret's wife of 62 years. Although she abandoned fencing instruction after three lessons, she has traveled the world with her husband and knows the sport almost as intimately as he does.

Like other former top-level college athletes, Bob Cochrane, 56, came back to fencing later in life because Mac Garret created the veterans' category. The retired Army officer credits Garret for pulling die-hard competitive fencers "out of the woodwork."

"We can have fun and still win now," said Cochrane, who lives west of Lake Worth and teaches fencing for the Palm Beach Fencing Club. "We may fence at a slower level. But we outsmart everyone."

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Canadians put on show behind the headlines
By Rob Terpstra
The Brock Press
Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
September 2, 2005

www.brockpress.com/media/paper384/news/2005/09/02/Sports/Canadians.Put.On.Show.Behind.The.Headlines-975483.shtml

So you may be asking, how did our athletes really do at the World University Games? Sure, some may know of Tonya Verbeek's silver medal and our surprising dominance in women's wrestling, but beyond the headlines, what really happened in Izmir, Turkey?

Equalling their best ever result, finishing fifth, was the women's soccer team. Selected from a star-studded All-Canadian all-star team from across the country, the team held its own against the rest of soccer's elite. In one particular game against the Czech Republic, they showed a collective poise against an opposition that was clearly overaggressive on the ball.

On the day, the Czech team ended up collecting two red cards. This came after Team Canada built a 3-1 lead off a pair of deft goals via set pieces. Rather than run up the score on a depleted nine player squad, the women's team stuck to their game plan and continued to make their high percentage passes. It was with this fair play approach that was most impressive.

"It was a pressure situation, but our team handled it so well," York University's Kristy deVries said. "The team is great, confidence wise and player [wise]."

Fencing, often a sport overlooked by the media and the average fan, but perhaps to a purist, a more beautiful display of sportsmanship, camaraderie, and finesse would be hard to find.

At the pristine venue, thousands of foil, épée, and sabre bouts were waged. Monica Kwan from the University of Victoria, who finished 25th in the women's foil division, was the epitome of a laid back and care free individual. She revelled in the fiercely competitive, yet gentlemanly display of sport. Clearly exhausted, but satisfied by the fruits of her labour, she talked candidly about the art of fencing.

"There's always the same things that I am always working on," Kwan said. "Being faster, improving my footwork, you can just always get better, it's shown me that I still have a lot to work on, but it reinforced what I already knew."

Kwan's experience at the Games was, in her words, a positive one, encouraged by the presence of other cheering Canadians, the friendliness of the volunteers, and the overall atmosphere during her stay.