There are a few announcements this week:


1. Coach Marks will be in Rochester NY for the Ben Gutenberg SYC supporting some of our fencers and as such there is no Sunday training on March 12 for Competitive and Elite Teams.  However, Beginner and Minifence class remains at the same time (1pm and 3pm respectively with Coach Godfrey).

2. Next week is March Break, pay attention to the following:
March Break SFO: 13th March 930 t0 4 pm; 14th March 1-430 pm; and 15th March 9-12.  Elite are free for all days, Competitive and Pre-elite gets two half periods for free, otherwise $25  per half day.  These are only open to SFO.

March Break JinKo Fencing:  16th and 17th March: Reminder of the discounted day of training ($50 per day in cash) and they can provide lunch if you are interested.  Menu is available on request.

FINALLY: Competitive / Elite Fencers: Please book at the link below for the FCC Toronto Camp at Vango Fencing

1. Future Champions Camp Toronto:  Book your spot via the FCC website.  We will have reservations at the Monte Carlo Suites by the end of next week. That hotel is 2 min walk to Vango Fencing. It is possible to do a day only for 200$ per day.  But please let me know if this is wished.

2. Future Champions Camp Italy:  Again, there are limited spots, so please do consider reserving a spot.  The waiting list is possible but let's not gamble if they fill up.  
https://futurechampionscamp.com/fencing_camps/

There are a few things to note this week:

We are heavy in camps and while additional costs - these are really great places for athletes to fence and train in a non competitive environment with those they will fence in competitions.  As such, aside from the concentration and friendship, they really accelerate development and confidence.  Please do consider doing as much as possible. 

1. All training is as usual Feb 20-25 (including Saturday).

2. March Break 1:  We will be joining JinKO Fencing Club in Markham for part of the March Break, if you wish.  On the Thursday and Friday (16th and 17th March), we will be able to join their camp for 50$ per day, payable on the day in cash.  Darren will be coaching, and it is a great opportunity to fence outside of our club without the pressures of competition.

3. March Break 2:  SFO will hold camps as follows - there is NO evening training. 

• Monday 13th ALL day from 930-4 pm. 
• Tuesday 14th: Half Day from 1 to 430 pm
• Wednesday 15th:  9-12 noon. 
• Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th are normal fencing times. 
• There is NO fencing on the weekend of the 11 and 12th March.

Costs:  Elite are free for all days in SFO.  Competitive and Pre-elite are FREE two half training and 25$ per half day in addition (e.g, Monday is 2 half days, each other day is one half day for a total of 4 possible trainings, two of which are free).


LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD:
1. FCC Toronto:  April 6 to 9th, the OFA is hosting a foil and epee camp at Vango Fencing in Markham in association with Future Champions Camp.  We will be joined by world champion, present world number 2 (he was number one for three years) Alessio Foconi and former Olympic Silver Medallist, Italian national and now Maestro Stefano Barrera and others.  This is a great camp, and registration is via the flyer attached or link below.  Don't miss this opportunity.  Coach Marks will also be coaching.  For those considering Italy, it is a chance to experience what we do in Italy with our extended fencing family.

2. Italy Tirrenia:  Please let Darren or Robyn know if you are considering this, and see the registration accordingly.  Spots fill up quickly and the link below will link to the camp.


https://futurechampionscamp.com/fencing_camps/

Another week of changes as we sprint through the season and tournaments:

Please note the following changes:

Tuesday 24th Jan:  Normal training times, lessons

Wednesday 25th: At 6 pm, Coach Marks will be at the salle for lessons (I will speak with those folk tonight) and anyone who wishes additional training with Coach Marks can attend the pre elite training from 630 to 830 pm in preparation for the upcoming games, tournaments.

Thursday 25th:  Club Open at 7 pm, Coach Marks is in Kingston to ready for Friday's 8 am Canada Cup.

 - Saturday 28th: No training, Coach Marks is away in Kingston.

 - Sunday 29th: Training at 11 am with Coach Godfrey.

 - Monday 30th: No training as returning from Canada Cup.

 - We then return to normal training.



Looking ahead: This dropped rather late last week, in Toronto at Vango Fencing Club:
2022/2023 OFA Circuits Youth #3/Junior #2/Vet #3
February 11 – 12, 2023
https://ontariofencingassociation.wufoo.com/forms/20222023-ofa-circuits-youth-3junior-2vet-3/

Please pay attention to changes in training schedules these next two weeks as we move into a very heavy tournament and travel season with Junior World Cup and Canada Cup followed by the Ontario Winter Games.
This week training is as follows:

• Monday: Normal
• Tuesday: Normal
• Wednesday: Normal
• Thursday: All training starts at 7 pm as Coach Marks leaves for Aix En Provence for the Junior World Cup.  This class will be lead by Dylan Shi 
• Coach Marks returns on Monday afternoon next.
• Saturday: NO training.
• Sunday: Elite, preelite and competitive team starts at 11 am and goes until 1 pm lead by Coach Godfrey.

LOOKING AHEAD: If your child is under 15, and on competitive fencing team
There are two coming up within an easy drive.  These also contribute to the OFA rankings initiated this year.  These are big USA tournaments and these two will be supported by the coaching staff if there is enrollment:
Ben Gutenberg SYC  Rochester NY Mar 10-12
https://member.usafencing.org/details/tournaments/6052
Motor City SYC, Detroit Mi  April 14-16
https://member.usafencing.org/details/tournaments/6036
Finally, we will have a meeting just after the OWG to discuss the Italy summer camp but in the meanwhile, please see the flyer for the April camp to be held in Toronto at Vango Fencing.  We will be joined by Alessio Foconi and others.

There are three announcements, and one update from the Ontario Fencing Association to note:

1. On Oct 15th, Darren will be in the club to do some armoury for those needful of such things.  I apologize for short notice (we will do a longer training when things calm down with tournaments) but this is the best I can do.

2. There is NO competitive or elite training on Sunday due to the Sunday foil tournament in Toronto but beginners and minifence runs as per normal .

3. FIE BF whites or Blue wired Blades:  Our good friend from Allstar/Uhlmann can sell us FIE BF white or blue blades, wired with Allstar tips, for last year's price of 119$ USD all in.  I will see Ralf in Vancouver, so if you want to buy one- I will have them brought back.  The exchange on this is 165$ whereas the same blade in Canada is now over 200$ CDN.


And speaking of the tournament:  Please not the following announcement from the OFA:

Important update 
The end of registration for the Cadet Women's Saber, Cadet Women's Foil, Cadet Men's Saber and Cadet Men's Foil events has been moved to 8:00 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. as originally scheduled.

An individual note will be sent to all athletes entered in a cadet event.

Food & Drink
Please bring your own food and drink.
No food & drink will be sale.

Referees
Many referees for youth events will be referees in training.
For the most part, they are young and are also older athletes.
The OFA supports and encourages all young athletes who want to get involved in the fencing community in Ontario in a serene and safe environment, so it will be forbidden for all spectators, parents, coaches to have an inappropriate and disrespectful attitude towards an official and will be excluded from the competition.

First competition?
If this is your child's first competition, here's what to do when you arrive at the venue.

• Go to the Directoire Technique (DT) to check in (5/10min)
• Go to the Weapon Check to check your equipment (10/15 min)
• You are ready to get dressed and start your warm-up!
• Do not forget to have fun!

A few things new to note:
Memberships
As of today, the Canadian Fencing Federation (CFF) and Ontario Fencing Association (OFA) membership portals are active.  You must have an CFF/OFA membership to participate in any external fencing competition or event in Canada.  This is regulated by SportCanada and our Federal/Provincial governments.  You do not need a membership to be a member of SFO or to fence in the club but you cannot do any fencing event that is sanctioned by the CFF/OFA.  This is, in part, to guarantee safety of all participants as SafeSport guidelines are enforced as part of sanctioning of events.  
You can find the link here:
https://2mev.com/#!/memberships/ontario-fencing-association-2022-2023-membership
You will be asked to select one of two options: Full competitive or U15 competitive license.  If your athlete is not yet 14, then select the u15 option as you are only allowed to fence in your age, and one above in the youth.  So if you are Y14 (e.g., already 14 years old) then you can fence cadet and above so select competitive license.  If you are Y12 (not yet 14), then you can fence only Y12 and Y14.
Competitions
Please find the first draft of all known competitions for the calendar year in the documents section of this site.  There are many gaps and no camps put in.  I will put these in as soon as we have more shape.  Basically, we wait on the finalization of national events, then provincial and then local.  Things are slow but moving.
A couple of things to remember: 

• a. This is not an exhaustive list, or necessarily where I will ask your child to go or to fence.  This gives us a shape of the season only at this point of time and as events solidify within the next two weeks, I will have a pretty good idea of which events to attend.
• b. This is not the only list of fencing tournaments you can attend.  There is an American site (ASKFRED) which lists many American and some Canadian fencing tournaments, provides registration links and which you can browse.  It is impossible for me to know all the small local US tournaments which pop up in nearby cities or where you may have family to visit.  You should have a look at ASKFRED.  https://askfred.net/

• c. Likewise the OFA website will eventually have a calendar of events - again, don't be afraid to attend something.  

My default answer to whether you should go to a fencing tournament is 'yes'.  More fencing experience is a beneficial part of learning to be a strong athlete, and if you are willing to go, I am generally supportive of that.  If the tournament has a bad reputation, or is a waste of your time in level, I will try to let you know.  But more fencing experience is always a good.  We will, however, direct you to tournaments in which we will be there to support you.
Our philosophy at SFO is not to chase medals (there are enough weak tournaments that you could fill a wall with medals even if only mediocre) but to pursue excellence.  It's a longer path, but a much better one in terms of development and personhood.
Finally, you will note three colours:
RED: These are events that are required to make the national team for Cadet, Junior or Senior.  There are no international youth championships by the Federation International of Escrime (FIE) and as such no national team for those ages unlike other sports.  However, even if you are not trying for those teams, you can still fence those events if you wish.  I highlight them in red for our members who are in the High Performance Program. 
BLUE: These are US based 'prestige' tournaments that are very big, very exciting and a good introduction to higher level of fencing.  These are SuperYouth Circuit (SYC) Tournaments. The USA tracks all ages of fencing and considers this to be ordinary.  This, for better or worse, is not followed by SportCanada for under 14, and starts only with cadet.
Black: These are domestic or local tournaments.  Mainly Ontario, but we do sometimes go to Montreal for some tournaments.

Buongiorno!   We are quickly resuming training and competition cycles as the Summer comes to an end.  There are a LOT of important things to note in this email.  Please read carefully, and don't hesitate to ask if things are unclear.

Return to Training:  We resume training Tuesday 6th of August at 6 pm for the elite, 7 pm for the competitive group and bundled pre-elite.  Pre-elite start on the 7th at 630 pm.  The following schedule is proposed:

• Monday: 3-5 Elite private lessons (to be scheduled); 7-9 Adult classes
• Tuesday: 6-9 Elite, 7-9 competitive and bundled pre elite (note 6 pm start on Tuesday).
• Wednesday: 6:30-8:30 pm Pre-elite (note extension of time)
• Thursday: 5-9 Elite, 7-9 competitive and bundled pre elite (note 5 pm start on Thursday).
• Saturday: 930-1130 Elite (schedule permitting)
• Sunday: 10-1 Elite, 11-1 Competitive and Pre-elite bundled, 1-3 beginner, 3-4 minifence.
• Private lessons will be sorted out as we find everyone's schedules.

Competition Schedules 2022-23:  It looks as if we will have a more or less normal competitive season and by the end of next week, I will have a draft of all known competitions in Ontario, Canada and the USA.  It will, for those of you unfamiliar, be coded to the various developmental points of our athletes so you can plan accordingly.  We heard just yesterday proposed dates for the Canadian national circuit.  There is a knock on effect as these take priority in terms of schedule for provincial and local tournaments.

Club Awards 2022:  We will host our annual club awards on Saturday 10th September from 4-6 pm.  We will do a pizza or other order (on your dime) and celebrate the success of our athletes from the previous year.  We will also hold a raffle for a Uhlmann FIE mask (value 280 Cdn) with all proceeds going to Ewan Peterson as he starts his university career.  We have a tradition of sending a small bursary for all our university athletes from the club.  See the pic attached.  Tickets are $10 each.  Or if you are particularly smitten (it is a medium size), you can buy it straight up for $250 - proceeds to Ewan.


Finally, we are expecting everyone to return unless you have decided not to do so.  We have a waiting list of athletes in our programs, so please let us know if your child has decided to take a break and we can admit accordingly/assign lockers and so forth.  There may be movement from competitive/pre -elite to elite, but we will chat accordingly.  

​See you all very soon.


Darren and Robyn