Hi there everyone,
It's certainly good to see you all fresh from the school holidays and a great turnout on Monday first day back! Congratulations to Charlie and Vincent for representing us all at the Sydney Catholic Schools Fencing camp - you've both come back with some new knowledge and even a thirst for foil which we capitalized on tonight (Monday night) with some point work.
Anyway here are a few points for you all to consider over the next few weeks into November - Christmas...
End of the year dates:
The last day of training for this year will be Wednesday the 23rd November 2022 - after that we will close down for the Christmas New Year period with the first day of training at the YMCA to be the first Monday after Australia Day next year- that being Monday 30th January 2023.
One of the reasons for us closing at that time is that I will be going to Brazil on the 28th November to visit family and won't be back until Mid January 2023. It's a good time to have a break during the holiday time in Sydney anyway as it will be very hot and humid then - Fencing is definitely a winter sport!
We will be in contact with you all before then to provide info for any holiday camps or training that you may wish to take part in.
Equipment & Supplies
A number of you have enquired about getting your own gear which we welcome as having your own gear is generally more comfortable, safer and more hygenic. There are a number of suppliers here in Sydney that you can go to but one can also order direct from China. The most reliable suppliers here in Sydney are John Chow (and affordable), Jeff Gray and Jeff Hardge.
The NSW Fencing association has a web page listing all the equipment suppliers so feel free to take a look here:
NSWFA New South Wales Fencing . Equipment Suppliers. Fencing equipment can be purchased from the following suppliers.
nswfencing.org.au
In the meantime, keep in mind that I'm in the process of trying to arrange for more equipment to come into our armoury including electric scoring devices and Sabre lames (conductive suit used in tournaments and bouts). We are hoping to get that equipment before this year is out so all fencers can learn and use it - and see what a crucial difference it makes to bouting experience.
We will keep you informed on that front.
Xmas Get together and photo shoot.
And last but not least that last week of our training I'm keen to organise a photo shoot for Monday the 21st November and then on Wednesday or another night later in the week a bit of get together in the evening up at the worker's club as an end of year/Xmas thing - some dinner where we all get to know each other a bit more and also....importantly....a bit of an informal gathering to start looking at a club constitution and appointing some roles and responsibilities for any interested.
With a constitution and a few other certifications in place we can advertise and place ourselves as a "registered club" within NSW Fencing - we will feature on their website, able to compete in tournaments, get better insurance rates and so on.
There are also a few other things we can pick up on - such as building up the Instagram and Facebook profile etc which we would appreciate assistance with. If there are people/fencers out there who would be keen to assist in these areas it would be appreciated and will save us all a lot of time and allow us to expand next year with more coaches/training camps and equipment.
Please let us know if you are interested in helping out in some small way. It would be fantastic to have you on board.
Anyway,
any queries or clarification with any of the above just send us a quick reply.
Yours in Fencing,
Tony WATTS