July 2013

JULY 2013

Hello! Sorry for the long wait for an update, non-fencing club life has been busy and a new laptop with a nasty operating system meant a delay in blog usage.  

1. Winter has been cold and dark, as usual, but we're impressed with the number of dedicated members who've turned up to every club session, without fail. :-)
2. We have another scoring box - this one is run through a laptop and is completely awesome.
3. We also have a set of junior Epees which are working out well for our 5 to 12s.

VDFC WINTER EPEE CUP - JULY 20th - 2013

The tournament will have a Novice (Less than 1 year of fencing experience) event and an OPEN event (Novices are encouraged to also enter the Open event).

The entry fee is $20 per person, $30 to enter both events, regardless of which club they are from.

The tournament is to be held at the COLLINSVALE MEMORIAL HALL, in Collinsvale and will run from 10am.  Hopefully concluding around 4pm.

There will be a tuck shop raising funds for the club. We will have hot and cold food and drinks and healthy and unhealthy snacks. :)

The usual safety guidelines apply; Mask, jacket, chest guard, glove and full length pants/fencing breeches.

Entrants must be wearing fully enclosed sneakers. Street shoes/boots will not be allowed and they damage the floor.

Family and friends are encouraged to watch and there in a living room and play ground for people who need a break from all of the awesomeness.

NEXT BEGINNER FENCING COURSE STARTS IN AUGUST

Mondays from August  12th

Tolosa St Hall, 148 Tolosa St

Info + register: van.diemen.fencing.club@gmail.com

We welcome anyone who would like to have a stab at the sport to register for the next beginner course.

Students will learn a range of footwork, bladework and tactical skills during weekly classes.

This course is great for both complete beginners and people who haven't fenced for many years.

The aim of the game is fun (and finesse, accuracy, speed and style for more experienced fencers...) ;)

Avril and Nathaniel after a bout.

Estefana and Sabine trying out their mad Epee skills.

Epee Coach Avril..

Welcome Back for 2013!

Van Diemen Fencing Club

Tolosa Street Hall

148 Tolosa Street

Glenorchy

van.diemen.fencing.club@gmail.com

0428 057 473

[New website under construction]

Ages 12 and over

Tuesdays 6-8pm

Saturdays 6-8pm

Ages 6-12

Tuesdays 5-6pm

Hello!
It's nearly time for the club to kick-off for 2013. Club will be back from Tuesday February 5th!
We have lots of exciting news to share!

Guest Coach
We have a guest coach, Garnet Alexander, staying at least until the end of March, possibly longer. He has experience coaching all three weapons (great news for our sabreurs!) and was the Captain of the British Sabre Team when he was younger. He trained at Springbok and Boston Fencing Clubs in the UK, among others.
Garnet is coaching at the club with a focus on helping members prepare for the upcoming Canberra Day Tournament trip to the ACT in March, but will gladly coach all members.
Come along to club to find out more and take the opportunity to have an individual lesson with him!

Beginner Courses
The first beginner fencing course will start on Monday, February 25th.
12-15s will run from 5pm to 6.30pm and 16 and overs will run from 6.30pm to 8pm.
The course runs over eight mondays and the cost per student is $100 which includes all equipment.
For more information on the course or to register, please contact the club at: van.diemen.fencing.club@gmail.com | 0428 057 473

Individual Lessons
This year the club has experienced Foil, Epee and Sabre coaches.
Individual lessons will be available during club and will cost $20.
Please leave your name on the sheet provided if you wish to have a lessons and your coach will call you when it is time for your lesson.
Individual lessons are a great way to fine-tune your skills and develop your own individual skill set, as well as discussing tactics with your coach. Individual lessons are especially important if you are training for competitive fencing.

Canberra Day Tournament Club Trip
VDFC will be sending a team of fencers to the tournament this year! Avril Holderness-Roddam is a big fan of ACTFA and looks forward to introducing members to some of the lovely ACT fencers.
If you are planning to come to the tournament, the following is some information you will need:

A page containing a PDF about the tournament.

The Facebook page for the tournament.

To compete you need to:
* Join Fencing Victoria, through their website.
* Join Virtual Swords Fencing Club through their website.
* Ensure you have fencing breeches, jacket, plastron, mask, chest guard and glove at a minimum level of 350N.
N.B. VDFC can hire gear to members, but breeches and plastrons are two things we're in short supply of so please consider visiting Leon Paul's online store to buy your own.
* Book flights. We are flying up as a team and the club is currently in the process of sourcing cheap flights. We will plan to fly up Friday evening and stay for the weekend of the tournament, returning home Sunday night.
* Book accommodation. Again, we are travelling as a team and the

Trip Price Breakdown Per Fencer:
FV Membership for Seniors: $150
FV Membership for U20s: $85
Virtual Swords Membership: $45
Tournament entry if paid before Feb 25th: $25
Accommodation (room of 6): $83 for two nights
Return flights (depending on what time is chosen, an average price has been provided): $422.08
Misc. expenses: Meals, taxi/shuttle to + from accommodation, team T-shirt

We look forward to seeing you at club soon!

Cheers,
Avril Holderness-Roddam
Van Diemen Fencing Club

NEW, PERMANENT CLUB VENUE!

Great news! Van Diemen Fencing Club, as of Tuesday, September 25th, will be located at the Tolosa Street Hall, in Tolosa Street, Glenorchy.

The bus # 28 passes the door or you can walk from Main Road, Glenorchy.
The hall is a cream colour with two small pillars at the front and a car park on a slope, with a wheelchair ramp.

Club times:  TUESDAYS
7-10s:     5-6pm,     $5 per session.
11 and overs:     6-8pm,     $60 per school term.
$2 per session for use of club equipment.

Fencers Anonymous is held once a month on a Saturday at COLLINSVALE MEMORIAL HALL, in Collinsvale, opposite the school and along a bit. This event is for fencers who have completed the beginner course, however, individual lessons are available for all levels. For the date of the next event, please contact Avril Roddam: 0428 057 473

We are now taking registrations for the next Beginner Epee courses for ages 11-15 and 16+ age groups.
Courses run for 8 weeks and cost $100 per student, which includes use of equipment.  Once we have 8-10 enrollments, we will set dates and times that accommodate everyone and the courses will commence.

Our final tournament for the year will be the Tassie Teaspoon Cup, yes it is meant to be a silly, fun tournament :-)  October 27th, at Collinsvale Memorial Hall.  Please contact Avril Roddam if you would like further information about the event.

Van Diemen Fencing Club's Elektrik Epee Tournament - 2012

Saturday, July 28th saw eighteen keen competitors and some long suffering families and friends make their way to our wonderful new tournament and camp venue in Collinsvale.

We kicked it off with the Mixed Open Epee pools, with all VDFC fencers demonstrating a considerable improvement since the last tournament.

Next we held the Mixed U17s Epee event, with fewer entrants, but all were keen and all fenced well.

By the time we completed the Open Men's and Open Women's Epee, all had had their fencing fix for the weekend.

Georgie put on a fantastic canteen while also competing. Fruit, juices, muffins, hot food, cakes and more kept fencers fueled.

Each entrant receives a tournament pin and the 1st-4th places receive medals.

            Results:

            Open Men's Epee

1st - Isaac Laredo (TUFC)

2nd - Rhys Manning (YMCA/VDFC)

3rd - Anthony Pisano (VDFC)

4th - Jack Aylward (VDFC)

5th - Jonathon Cantwell (VDFC)

6th - Gregg Ransley (VDFC)

7th - Nigel Fish (VDFC)

8th - Liam Hills (TUFC)

9th - Jeff Bronstein (VDFC)

10th - Karl Manning (YMCA/VDFC)

11th - Jon Kerr (VDFC)

12th - Douggy Eaton (VDFC)

            Open Women's Epee

1st - Avril Holderness-Roddam (VDFC)

2nd - Georgie Holderness-Roddam (VDFC)

3rd - Emalisa White (VDFC)

4th - Emma Norris (TUFC)

5th - Meg Robb (VDFC)

            Mixed U17s Epee

1st - Emalisa White (VDFC)

2nd - Jon Kerr (VDFC)

3rd - Meg Robb (VDFC)

4th - Zack Licitis (VDFC)

A couple of snaps of the venue...

Two pistes... 

The spectator area - a great view for filming/photos.

DT table on the  left, Weapons Maintenance table far right, doors to showers, living room and kitchen.

Equipment ready for use and the weapons maintenance table in the back ground.

NEWS, NEWS and more NEWS!

Van Diemen Fencing Club

&

Collinsvale Fencing Club

van.diemen.fencing.club@gmail.com

0428 057 473

We welcome everyone, all ages, all levels, all shapes, all sizes.

We emphasize safety, fun and respect.

1) Van Diemen Fencing Club will be moving venue from August 14th.
We are meant to relocate to Tolosa Street Hall; the people with the permanent booking there are meant to be leaving, but the Glenorchy City Council don't know when, so we are TEMPORARILY moving to the Chigwell Barn, which is only 4.5Kms from the YMCA. I know Chigwell gets a bad wrap, and people aren't keen to travel to this venue, but it's the only option for the next couple of months, until we can have Tolosa St. Hall, which is an ideal venue. So please hang in there.

2) New Collinsvale fencing club!
Collinsvale will soon be home to the newest fencing club in Tasmania. Yet to be named, the club will be a sister club of VDFC and will introduce members of the community in and around Collinsvale to this wonderful sport.  Beginner courses will commence on Friday, August 10th, at the Collinsvale.                  For more information, please contact VDFC: van.diemen.fencing.club@gmail.com | 0428 057 473

3) Beginner Courses.
Yes, finally we have the dates!
 8 week beginner courses will be run at Collinsvale and Chigwell.
Collinsvale: Fridays, from August 10th. Ages 11-15, 5pm-6.30pm. Ages 16+, 6.30pm-8pm.
Chigwell: Thursdays, from August 9th. Ages 11-15, 5pm-6.30pm. Ages 16+, 6.30pm-8pm.


4) VDFC Elektrik Epee Tournament.
July 28th, 2012. @ Collinsvale Memorial Hall. 9.30am-5pm.
Open Epee, U20s Epee, U17s Epee. Possibly mixed - we'll see how many entrants we have.
One event: $15, two events: $25, all three: $30.
Equipment: Jacket, mask, fencing glove, chest guard, plastron, breeches or full length track pants, fencing socks with breeches, sports shoes, not street shoes.

5) Andrew Wilkie @ VDFC
Andrew Wilkie visited the club recently, he asked lots of great questions and was interested in the differences between the swords. Thank you to all the fencers who turned-out for this exciting club night. I think we made a good impression :-) Ornithos Photography took some wonderful shots on the night - we'll put some up here shortly.

6) New monthly fencing club!
Fencers Anonymous is a club running once a month, catering to those with serious fencing addictions.
The club will start with lots of fencing, followed by footage of recent fencing tournaments/screenings of popular fencing films. ALL fencers are invited, beginners to experienced, from any club. VDFC safety rules still apply.


7) New coach!
I am very excited to announce that our lovely German fencer, Karina, is working towards her first coaches accreditation! She is already very helpful at club, teaching students foil and helping with Epee. Karina has so much experience and knowledge, and she's so friendly too, we are very lucky to have her!


That just about wraps-up the news.  VDFC is about to turn ONE. Woo!  Thank you to all the fencers who've made our first year the epic year that it was!

The Tasmanian Epee Shield 2012

The Tasmanian Epee Shield, May 12th, 2012

Sponsor: John Halys of Hove and Halys Chartered Accountants

Photographer: ChloeR Photography

Clubs competing: Van Diemen Fencing Club, TUFC & YMCA.

On May 12th Van Diemen Fencing Club held the inaugural Tasmanian Epee Shield.

We had six entrants for the Mixed Junior Epee and fifteen entrants for the Mixed Senior Epee.

Fencers came from both Northern and Southern clubs and the tournament had a lovely, friendly atmosphere.

The Van Diemen Fencing Club beginners fenced incredibly well, especially as they only finished their beginner course last Thursday.

Below are the results, with stars near our beginners :-)

Open Mixed Epee:
1st - Jack Aylward - VDFC
2nd - Isaac Laredo - TUFC
3rd - Chris Roach - TUFC
4th - Rhys Manning - YMCA
5th - Avril Holderness-Roddam - VDFC
*6th - John Cantwell - VDFC
7th - Andrew Goodly - VDFC
8th - Andy Jones - VDFC
9th - Karina Halys - VDFC
*10th - Gregg Ransley - VDFC
*11th - Chris (Douggy) Eaton - VDFC
12th - Karl Manning - VDFC
13th - Liam Hills - TUFC
*14th - Jeff Bronstein - VDFC
15th - Georgie Holderness-Roddam - VDFC

Junior Mixed Epee:
1st - Nathaniel Zeckendorf - VDFC
 2nd - Emalisa White - VDFC
*3rd - William Campbell - VDFC
*4th - Jordan Lawson - VDFC
5th - Meg Robb - VDFC
6th - Zack Licitis - VDFC

VDFC would like to say a big thankyou to John Halys of Hove and Halys Chartered Accountantd who provided the medals and pins (for all entrants) .

Hove & Halys

Accountants & Auditors - Hobart, TAS

29 Salamanca Pl, Hobart TAS 7000, Australia

(03) 6223 4456

 ChloeR Photography (check her out on Facebook) took some lovely photos on the day:

Club Update - April 20th

Van Diemen Fencing Club is based at the YMCA in Glenorchy: 

8a Constance Avenue, Glenorchy.

You can contact the club 10am-9pm, 7 days a week:

0428 057 473

van.diemen.fencing.club@gmail.com

http://www.hobartfencingclub.com.au/

 

BEGINNER FENCING

If you are interested in fencing lessons for yourself or someone else, Van Diemen Fencing Club provides individual and group lessons for ages 7 and over.

For more information, call or e-mail Head Coach Avril Roddam.

 

Newcomers are more than welcome to come along to the fencing club on a Tuesday night to have a look and a chat. The best time to come along is from 6.40pm, as members will be busy warming-up and going footwork until then. Bring a friend if you'd like :)

 

SQUAD TRAINING DATES, 2012

April: Saturday 28th, 10am-3pm
May: Saturday 19th, 10am-3pm
June: Saturday 16th, 10am-3pm
July: Saturday 21st, 10am-3pm
August: Saturday 11th, 10am-3pm
September: Saturday 22nd, 10am-3pm
October: Saturday 20th, 10am-3pm
November: Saturday 17th, 10am-3pm
December: Saturday 1st, 10am-3pm

Squad training runs on one Saturday each month. Fencers participate in a range of activities designed to improve their fencing skills. Activities include footwork drills, distance-keeping and footwork games with balls, skipping, plyometrics, bladework drills structured bouting and free bouting. The training sessions are designed to cater for a range of levels and fencers can train aty their own pace. Each session is $20 per student and participants are asked to register and pay on the club night prior to the training session.

TOURNAMENT #1 - 2012

The Tasmanian Epee Shield – MAY 12^th.

Open to all Tasmanian fencers, the Tasmanian Epee Shield will have an Open Women’s Epee event and an Open Men’s Epee event. The shield will remain at the club venue and winners will receive medals and their name on the shield. 

The tournament will be run at the Van Diemen Fencing Club venue at Glenorchy's YMCA.

ROLECALL + REGISTRATION: 9am

FENCING COMMENCES: 10am

FINISHED BY: 4.30pm