2007-2008 Fencing Season Drawing to a Close

The 2007-2008 fencing season is nearing the end with Summer Nationals right around the corner.

We would like to thank all of the parents and fencers who have supported and encouraged Sonoma Fencing Academy this season. We also wanted to tell you about the updates coming up and what changes to expect after your return from the summer.

Maestro Pacheco is so proud to see all his students advance in their fencing this season. Marc Klunk has accelerated in epee and foil with Brian Howard alongside in foil. Brothers Cody and Dylan Johnson have been diligently improving, with Cody earning his E this season. Rod Swisher and Jordan Arico both successfully petitioned for National Qualifiers for their division. Emily DeOrnellas renewed her E rating and shortly afterwards, earned her D at the Senior D and Lower Women's Foil at Cardinal at Stanford . DeOrnellas also qualified for Division III Senior Women's Foil for Nationals. Kristin Baybayan took 3rd at Cardinal and also earned her E rating in her first year of competition. We also have a Senior Women's Foil Team taking SFA to Nationals, dubbed "G-BAD" (an acronym for the last names of all the women on the team: Brittany Griffin, Kristin Baybayan, Jordan Arico and Emily DeOrnellas). Griffin , Baybayan and DeOrnellas participated in the Senior Women's Foil Team at the Pacific Coast Championships in Pasadena, taking home the bronze.

Aside from competitions, we've also held numerous workshops and tournaments here at Sonoma Fencing Academy which improved the skills of our fencers. Our Mega Workshop Weekend was a hit, especially with the sleepover hosted by the Johnsons, where Maestro Pacheco cooked pizza and baked his infamous tiramisu, all from scratch! After dinner, the kids played video games and prepared for the 2nd day of the workshop. Our Beginner’s Tournament, which will now be an annual event, allowed parents and new fencers to see what tournaments are like.

If you haven’t participated in these workshops or tournaments, we encourage you to look into this as many of our advanced fencers can vouch for how much this has increased their fencing abilities and talents. There will be a fencing workshop on Saturday, May 31 this weekend. There are two important fencing camps that you can still join, one this coming June 23rd through June 27th and another in August. Be sure to pick up the flyers available in the club on your way in or out. Private lessons are also encouraged to improve your fencing and these can be taken every week. Please inquire with Maestro Pacheco if you are interested or would like more information.

For the next fencing season at Sonoma Fencing Academy, expect to see more workshops, bulletin boards, pictures and more medals! If you haven’t already checked out the website, we have been adding the Weekly Events E-mail to the home page and current events have been updated on a weekly basis to keep you in the know about our events and competitions you should be fencing in.

Also, it is always exciting to see new faces in the club so if you have friends that might be interested, please remember to have them tag along. First lesson and class is always a free session and it gives them a chance to experience how much fun we have here at Sonoma Fencing Academy. Thank you to those who have brought people so far. Remember, they can always carpool with you if you set up a system so that everyone can save gas and still get to fence.

Congratulations again to all of the fencers who will be fencing at Summer Nationals in San Jose . We encourage all the beginners to take private lessons or participate in a workshop or camp so that you, yes you, can be at Nationals, fencing for Sonoma Fencing Academy and for yourself! There is no greater joy than that feeling after winning a competition knowing that all that hard work has paid off.

Thank you again to all of the fencers, to Coach Carmello, to Administrative Assistant Brittany Griffin, to Special Events Coordinator Kristin Baybayan and above all, thank you to Maestro Michael Pacheco. Without his experience, his support, encouragement and belief in us, we would not be here at the top of our game. He is constantly pushing us to our limits because he sees the potential in us as both individuals and as fencers. Thank you Maestro, from all of us.

Summer Fencing Schedule

Keep an eye out for the new summer fencing schedule after Nationals. Flyers will be posted and changes will be updated in the website and in the weekly e-mail.  

Blast from the Past!

Make sure to check out the Blast from the Past Bulletin Board to check for some familiar faces, including Maestro Pacheco!

If you have photos you'd like to submit for the website, please e-mail us at info@sonomafencing.com. We will be adding a photo gallery to the website over the summer so we would love to see you in action!

Fencing BBQ After Nationals

We are planning a BBQ after nationals for Sonoma Fencing Academy, so look out for more information!

If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

Sonoma Fencing Academy Patches!

Patches are still available for purchase. We are waiting for the 2nd sample of the patch to be made some time this week before we purchase them. So far there are 20 people purchasing patches. Please sign up on the sheet at the front of the fencing club. 

- Patches are $12 (including tax and how much it costs to make them); this cost is due once you sign up for one.

- Patches will be ordered some time this week. You should receive them in June.

May Workshop

Join us for our one-day workshop this Saturday!

SATURDAY, MAY 31

10am-3pm

$45 for workshop

$25 for additional private lesson

Join us for another fun workshop! Train with other fencers under the instruction of Maestro Pacheco to improve point control, work on your distance and timing.

Beginners encouraged to join. Equipment provided if needed. Please bring lots of water and a snack!

Upcoming Tournaments

Workshops/Camps:

- Workshop: SFA 5/31, 10am-3pm

- Camp: SFA 6/23-6/27

Baycup FOIL:

- Baycup Senior Unrated Men's Foil: NBFA, 6/1

- Junor All Men's Foil: MTeam, 6/1

- Y14 and Y10 Boys Foil: SFA, 6/8

- Senior D and Lower & Open Women's Foil: GPS in Concord, 6/15

- Senior C, D & E Men's Foil: CFA-MV, 6/22

Baycup EPEE:

- Veterans All Mixed Epee: UC Berkeley, 6/14

- Y12 All Mixed Epee: EBFC

Baycup SABER:

- Veterans All Mixed Saber: UC Berkeley, 6/14

NATIONALS IS FIRST WEEK OF JULY. PLEASE CHECK WHAT DAY AND TIME YOUR EVENT IS ON THE USFA WEBSITE. 

May 21,2008