<p>Hi. On another thread, several of you mentioned members of your family fencing. My son has been fencing recreationally for about a year but is now (beginning 8th grade) joining a real fencers club and kicking it up a notch. I don't know much about fencing as a sport. </p>
<p>What are the best camps? Should he take private lessons or are classes good enough? When should he start competing in tournaments?</p>
<p>I think your son will develop better skills from going to a club -- higher level of coaching and better competition. At least this is true around here ...</p>
<p>My experience is that the coaches let you know when it is time to go with private lessons and competitions. But you can always ask them. Also, unless you are dealing with competitions that have particular qualifications for them (which will be described), a fencer can just show up. Many seem to require membership in USFA in order to participate (again, around here).</p>
<p>My daughter added in private lessons after about a year. The same time she went to her first local tournament. She got her butt handed to her, but this is what is going to happen to most people starting out unless they are extraordinarily talented or it is a tournament restricted to low or unrated fencers.</p>
<p>Ratings happen when a fencer achieves a particular level of success at a tournament with certain characteristics (number of competitors, the ratings of competitors, where rated competitors end up in the competition, etc.). Don't bother trying to memorize the system -- they will let you know if you achieve a rating. The rating then goes on the USFA card. Ratings are used to set up the pools in competitions. The highest rating is A, the lowest achieved rating is E, and those without ratings are U's. </p>
<p>If you go to the USFA web site, you can get links to local clubs and the your local division, which will probably have a list of nearby competitions. There are national competitions, too, like NAC and youth circuit you will see on the web site (the latter your son is probably still young enough to qualify) but it wouldn't be worth it to go unless one just happens to be local.</p>
<p>Just starting out, I think a local camp would be best. Each year the fencing magazine USFA has (you get it with membership) has an issue detailing different camps. My daughter has gone to day camps at her home club, a couple camps held at two prospective colleges, and then a more elite camp for saber fencers in Atlanta. Camps will say if they will take beginners or not.</p>
<p>I don't fence, but my siblings are highly competitive, having gone to nationals and one to the Junior Olympics. </p>
<p>My siblings currently are going to lessons 5 times/week, though they do not have privates at the moment, as the classes come with 15 min. private lessons. I think this is how most clubs work. </p>
<p>Ratings are a complete mess, like DianeR said. My mom has read the USFA web site hundreds of times to figure them out. I know that one is initially U (unclassified) and, by going to tournaments (local), can "move up in the ranks" from E, qualifying for nationals, and then work one's way up to A, the highest ranking. To move, up, different tournaments are required at different locations, such as regionals and nationals. For example, my sister did not have to go to a natioonal to receive her A ranking; my other two siblings did receive their current D and C at national's though. It is a strange system. Also, points are necessary; the more you have, the worse competition you have to face at tournaments (this is a good thing). One receives points at nationals based on final placement.</p>
<p>Confusing, I know. I don't understand much of it myself, as I don't even fence. But I hoped it helped at least a little.</p>
<p>Joining a club now is a good idea, because it means he can fence various partners of all levels. He should have at least one private lesson a week, which will help his skills, but the more actual bouting, the better! Yes, the coach may tell him when it is time to start competing, but you can go ahead and enter small local tourneys--starting in 8th grade is perfect. It's a great way to learn how they're run and give him a chance to work out the butterflies. It will also help to familiarize yourself with the USFA and rankings etc. It takes a while to figure everything out! But rankings don't mean all that much--sometimes it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Don't worry about them too much. Check out the USFA site for local clubs and info, and askfred.net for upcoming tournaments etc. as well as chatrooms. Go to some of the local clubs' tourneys for his weapon to gain experience--he may end up last or close to it now, but think of the improvement--he'll be able to compare his progress over the years. My son is an independent fencer (no school team) who started competing once or twice in 8th and 9th grade, was able to put it into high gear this year (10th) and has been to Jr. Olympics, qualified for Nationals in 3 events and has had an amazing year--he loves it. Good luck and have fun!</p>
<p>I forgot--regarding camps: My son has been to day camps (a good way to start) and one intensive week-long camp. While the latter was a boost to his skills, he opted to do academic things this summer instead of a fencing camp. While he loves fencing, he didn't like the intensity of all sports all the time, nor the fact that the coaches tended to favor the athletes from their own club (his club doesn't do a camp). I don't know if his fencing will suffer for it next year, but I'm not worried because he just does it for fun and is not necessarily looking to do it in college more than as a club sport. I would do a low-key day camp, and then each year re-evaluate interest and skill level before choosing a new camp. You'll get plenty of info about different ones on those websites, at your fencing club, and then again at competitions (where you may meet the directors of different clubs and evaluate how their style may suit your child). Fencing parents are a friendly group and usually happy to help explain the crazy intricacies of the sport.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who responded! Fencing parents are helpful :) I knew you would be.</p>
<p>We have decided to skip camp this summer (he did a week of fencing camp last summer and didn't feel that he learned very much) and move right into fencing with the coaches and the other fencers at the club. I hope that DS will improve enough that by next summer he can attend one of those more challenging camps at the colleges. (Has anyone done Penn State?)</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>My daughter had some friends who did the Penn State camp and liked it.</p>
<p>Fencing is a great sport and I've been involved in it since I was in 8th grade. I suppose I'd be classified as a very competitive fencer, I've attended Nationals and JOs for several years and have made the finals a couple times. </p>
<p>As he's just starting out, it would probably be enough to just take classes, though private instruction is always helpful. He should start competing as soon as he wants to. Drill work is helpful in its own way, but the only way to get better at competition is to persist until you get used to it. Personally, I take two classes and one private lesson a week, plus open bouting, plus competitions quite frequently.</p>
<p>As for camps, I did the Penn State camp when I was a freshman, and I enjoyed it. I stopped doing camps after that one because I began to regard summer after Nationals as my down time, since competitions during the summer are infrequent and more casual.</p>
<p>On a side note, the ratings system is kind of strange. Basically, there are 5 letters, from A-E, plus U, which means unrated or unclassified. You earn ratings according to the number of rated fencers at a competition, the size of the field, and where certain people finish. It's detailed completely in the following chart.
<a href="http://oldsite.usfencing.org/Documents/Rules/OpsMan/Class.asp%5B/url%5D">http://oldsite.usfencing.org/Documents/Rules/OpsMan/Class.asp</a></p>
<p>All right, everyone: you have been a wealth of information so far, so I am asking one more. Thanks in advance for your responses.</p>
<p>The coach at the fencing club my son just joined said that homeschoolers must register for competitions under their local public school. I disagree (and also do not want to do that). How do you fencers, and siblings who fence, and children who fence, sign up for competitions? Do we, in fact, have to become involved with the local public schools? I hope not.</p>
<p>I belive that is wrong, but I'm not sure what state you're in and whether it varies by state. We live in NJ, and our HS does not have a team. Son fences in virtually every competition we can make it to--without any mention of school--he fences under his club's name. The only competition for which he has to be affiliated with his school (and this is by no means mandatory to compete in) is the NJSIAA championships. It is only one day for most fencers. Only the winner of each district goes on to compete individually against athletes from school teams in the state finals (not so sure--because son didn't win!). For that one day of competition, he had to be a member of his school's non-existant "team"! My husband had to get certified as a substitute teacher so that he could be named coach by the Board of Ed, and he had medical forms filed etc. It was a drop in the bucket compared to everything else he does. I believe all this info is available from your state's USFA branch, but it takes time to wade through and understand. I think that all you have to do is to register your son with the USFA and then register him for competitions (best to preregister if available--see askfred.net ). I have run into plenty of homeschoolers on the "circuit"--maybe one of them will chime in here!</p>
<p>I meant to say--go to usfencing.org to register as a member and find your locla division.</p>
<p>The local schools here don't even have teams! At no competition until college did my daughter have to have a school affiliation.</p>
<p>What competitions is the coach referring to? Lots of competitions don't involve schools at all. Perhaps he is referring to a certain set of competitions in your state where a school affiliation is required? If so, perhaps a homeschool team is possible. It would be up to what the rules are for the specific competitions.</p>
<p>And homeschoolers in some states aren't allowed to be on the athletic teams of regular schools! So you really need to get clarification of what's going on, which competitions the coach is thinking of, etc.</p>
<p>Just join the USFA and do USFA sanctioned events. High school fencing is terrible anyway.</p>
<p>Siusplau: we're in NJ too! Good to know that your DS has had no problem without a school.</p>
<p>DianeR: our local high school does have a fencing team but my son is not eligible to be on it, as he doesn't attend the school.</p>
<p>I honestly do not know what competitions the fencing coach was referring to, so I'll pin him down at another time. The USFA website appears not to be working right now but I'll try again and check out what they have to say.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Check out the NJ fencing website at <a href="http://www.njfencing.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.njfencing.org</a></p>
<p>It tends to be up a lot more often than the USFA website, and has some good information.</p>
<p>Yeah, what is it about the USFA web site. It is always having problems...</p>
<p>You've been given a lot of good advice already, but I'll throw in a couple of things that I've observed about the fencing world while watching my brother fence and during my own 2 year encounter with the sport.</p>
<p>Yes, USFA events are really the only way to go. </p>
<p>What does your kid like? Foil or Epee?
If he doesn't know, let him try both and figure out which one he likes. I'm of the opinion that you should focus one rather than both. I find that most people enjoy epee more especially the later they get into fencing. I find it much faster and more demanding and more straightforward. No stupid right of way to worry about.</p>
<p>Join a club, but don't necessarily get attached. My experience has been that fencing clubs are an absolute nightmare politically and especially since coaches seem to come and go you need to select your club based on the coach for YOUR sport. Just because a club has a good foil coach, doesn't mean that the epee coach is good and visa versa. Make sure to get a good coach. If you are unhappy with your coach, look around.</p>
<p>While we're on fencing clubs, I'm going to remind you that fencing is a very expensive sport compared to most if your child is serious about it. You have to pay for club membership, extra lessons, coaching during tournaments, equipment, repairs, travel, etc. That being said, if your kid is good, it pays off in the form of a scholarship. But that shouldn't be the reason they are fencing. They should be fencing because they enjoy it. On that note, your kid might get a little weirded out by the people at tournament or even his club. It's nothing to worry about. I've seemed to notice that fencing seems to attract a lot of very emotionally weird kids. They will shout and be estatic when they get a point, but get angry when they are scored against or cry when they lose. Freaks me out still, but I learned to deal with it.</p>
<p>The way to really advance is the same with anything else. Practice, practice, pratice. The best way is to fence as often as and as many people as possible and especially those that are better than you. Doing as much competition as possible as well is also very important. Most clubs in my area would allow anyone to come in and fence on one day out of the week. That way I got practice with people that I wouldn't have normally. Ah yea, encourage him to fence left-handed people. Many people are very scared and don't practice against them and get killed in competition especially early on. Lessons are expensive, but they can help a lot. Even though fencing is a very good form of exercise by itself, it helps tremendously to train for serious upper body strength, speed, and endurance.</p>
<p>If you are good with your hands, take the time to learn how to do basic repairs. It's worth it. You'll save tons of money if you do and you won't have to wait for the club to do it.</p>
<p>Hope this wasn't too heavy.</p>
<p>Good luck. It's an awesome sport.</p>
<p>noct: excellent advice. Thanks so much for taking the time to post your response. My son has already chosen epee, and we did shop around to find a coach and club who are epee fencers. There's a big club closer to my home which really specializes in sabre, so we passed on it as it wasn't as good a fit.</p>
<p>Now I'll have my son look for lefties to fence.</p>
<p>Ah, what's wrong with sabre :) It is much nicer for fencer moms -- the matches go SO much quicker!</p>
<p>I've been at tournaments where the epeeists are in DEs when the saberists begin their pools, and the saber finishes BEFORE the epee. </p>
<p>Diane R (whose daughter can't stand foil and feels like a pincushion whenever she tries epee -- but loves whacking people upside the head with her saber)</p>