Ball State Fencing Club

Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7 were big days for two Ball State fencers, Brian Koby and William Stark as they traveled to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the Arnold Fencing Classic, part of the Arnold Sports Festival.  In the past the Arnold Fencing Classic has been a way for younger fencers to meet, compete, and socialize with celebrity fencers, but this year marked the first year it was open to fencers of all ages, including senior fencers.

Brian Koby competed on Saturday in the mixed epee open event.  The event was an A1 event with only 20 fencers registered, 3 of which were A-rated fencers.  Koby’s pool was difficult as he faced a few fencers he’s never seen before, and a few others he had not.  He finished 5th in his pools with only one win, a seeded 15th going in to the DEs.  He excelled during his first DE round (round of 32) to win 15-11.  He then faced A-rated Henry Reed in the round of 16 and lost 5-15, but fenced rather well.

Bill Stark had to wait until Sunday to fence in the mixed foil event, where he faced 31 competitors; 5 of which were A-rated, making it an A-2 event.  Bill started strong in his pools, but ultimately finished 7th with no wins, seeding him in 29th for the first round of DEs.  Bill changed his strategy for his DE and faired well against 4th place ranked Josh Grill; Bill lost 3-15, but learned a lot from his final bout.

To bring more excitement to the weekend, Koby and Stark were also lucky to have the chance to meet two Olympic fencers; 2008 Mens Sabre Silver Medalist Tim Morehouse and 2004/2008 Womens Sabre Gold Medalist Mariel Zagunis.

On top of the fencing celebrities, Koby and Stark also had a chance to meet the person responsible for the Arnold Sports Festival; California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Next year Koby plans to take more fencers from Ball State to experience this spectacular event, hosted by the city of Columbus, Ohio and organized by Royal Arts Fencing.

In a recent press release on the United State Fencing Association web site, a statement was made that the USFA, in alliance with the FIE, will be banning the use of the visor masks for both foil and epee events.  This ban was made due to safety concerns, but no other information is available at this point in time.  It was set to be effective immediately (as of February 9, 2010) for all USFA events (including the upcoming Junior Olympics qualifier in Memphis this weekend).

As of right now, the sabre visor masks are still legal for all USFA events.  As more information is available, it will be posted.

Some of the times have changed for the Arnold Fencing Classic (March 5-7, 2010).  Due to a very high demand of events, administrators of the events have made some adjustments to the events on Sunday.  The Senior Mixed Foil Open will begin at 11:45am Sunday, March 7.  Please remember that if you are interested in fencing, you must preregister and pre-pay.  All information can be found on AskFred.net: http://askfred.net/Events/moreInfo.php?tournament_id=9862

Any questions about this event can be directed to club coach, Brian Koby.

On Saturday, February 27, the Ball State Fencing Club will return to Ball State’s Late Nite activities to help promote the Olympics and club membership.

Ball State students will be able to chat with current club members, officers, and the club coach about fencing, how to join, look at the weapons, try out some gear, and even learn some fencing moves.  If possible, live fencing demonstrations will be available for those interested in seeing real fencing in action.

More information about Ball State’s Late Nite program can be found at http://cms.bsu.edu/About/AdministrativeOffices/StudentCenter/StudentCenterPrograms/LateNite.aspx

Have you been searching the web for information about the Ball State Fencing Club?  This blog entry will inform you of the different communication techniques the Ball State Fencing Club is using to reach out to its members and interested individuals. Continue reading ‘Find Us Onlinergb’

On Saturday, January 16, two lone Ball State Fencing Club members traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana to compete in the Summit City Fencing Club D & Under tournament.  The turnout for this event was fantastic, with all three weapon categories qualifying to be D1 rated events; Epee with 20, Foil with 18, and Sabre with 20.  Recently, the USFA reclassified the requirements for a tournament to qualify as a D1 event; there must be 4 E-rated (or higher) fencers present, and 2 of those 4 must place in the top 8.

Continue reading ‘Stark and Wolford Represent BSU at Fort Waynergb’

We apologize for the short notice on this update to the current class calender.  Please make note that the times for practice and classes for the Ball State Fencing Club have changed from what was previously stated.  Despite the change in times, the club will still be having it’s call-out meeting on Monday, January 18 at 10:00pm in Ball Gym 125. Continue reading ‘Spring Semester Time Changesrgb’

The Ball State Fencing Club will be at the Spring Activity Fair on Saturday, January 16 from 9pm until 1am.  The activity fair is being held during the first Late Nite event of the new semester.

Interested individuals are invited to stop by the table and speak with current members and club officers about fencing, joining the club, and joining the beginner foil class, which starts Monday, January 18 at 10pm in Ball Gym 125.

Due to the limited space of the activity fair and the unsuitable weather outdoors, there will be no live demonstrations of fencing, but there will be equipment on display as well as videos and photos available for viewing.

Anybody wishing to join the Ball State Fencing Club is welcome to the call-out meeting on Monday, January 18 at 10:00pm in Ball Gym room 125.  We will be answering questions about the club and fencing, giving information on the beginner foil class, and will even start teaching new members how to fence foil. Continue reading ‘New Foil Class Starts January 18rgb’

As we move forward into a new semester and a new year, the Ball State Fencing Club is seeing some changes that will be pushing the club forward.  Many of these changes will be with the club’s instructional style and leadership, however, some behind-the-scene changes will be occurring with the club’s web site.  One such change is the updated blog feature. Continue reading ‘New Blog Onlinergb’