2009 Junior Olympic Qualifiers

- For a list of fencers who have qualified for the 2009 Junior Olympics from our Division Qualifier events, including general requirements from the Athlete Handbook (appended at the end of the list) for auto qualifiers, click here
For the most current list of auto qualifiers, click here
For general information about JO's, click here

SoCal Division Fencers medal at Colorado Springs NAC C

- Congratulations to all SoCal Division fencers who competed in the DIV I / Vet North American Cup in Colorado Springs, Colorado including medalists

Eric Hansen - 1st, Div I Men's Epee
Mark Nixon - 5th, Vet Combined Men's Epee
Sergio Fernandez - 3rd, Vet 50+ Men's Epee
Amy Fortune - 3rd, Vet Combined Women's Epee
Loy Grotts - 6th, Vet 50+ Women's Epee
Patricia Bedrosian - 3rd, Vet 60+ Women's Epee
Jamie Douraghy - 8th, Vet Combined Men's Foil
Jeff Van Housen - 6th, Vet 50+ Men's Foil
Patricia Bedrosian - 2nd, Vet 60+ Women's Foil
Lucas Dobrzanski - 6th, Vet 60+ Men's Sabre

Full results from the NAC can be found here

SoCal Fencers take top places in international competitions

- Congratulations to Madison Zeiss and Natalie Gegan who earned top finishes in recent European Cadet Circuit events. Madison Zeiss took 3rd in the Cadet Women's Foil competition in Salzburg, Austria on November 16th, and Natalie Gegan took 6th in the Cadet Women's Epee competition in Modling, Austria on November 29th. Congratulations to both and to all SoCal fencers who competed.

Letter From The Chair

We have set the date for our Junior Olympic Qualifiers for Cadets: Saturday, Dec. 20 at Monroe High School. Both the Junior and the Cadet events are posted on AskFred.
A word or two about the Junior Qualifiers at Santa Barbara City College on Dec. 7: although the address of SBCC is 721 Cliff Drive, that address will take you to the northern end of the campus. A more convenient parking lot is available on the southern end, along Shoreline Drive. If you are traveling from the South, take 101 North to the Garden Street exit. Turn left on Garden Street, heading toward the ocean, then turn right on Cabrillo Blvd. Cabrillo becomes Shoreline. The venue is located about 1.5 miles down on the right. Look for the football field and the track. Parking is free on weekends. There are plenty of nearby hotels and restaurants, including a little beach-side café right across the street.
And do not forget about the Toys for Tots event on Nov. 29. This is sure to be a fun charity drive.

-Tim Robinson
Chair, SoCal Division

SoCal Division Fencers head to St. Louis for NAC B

- Congratulations to all SoCal Division fencers who competed in the North American Cup in St. Louis, Missouri including medalists

Michael Raynis - 2nd, Junior Men's Epee
Raymond Schorr - 5th, Y14 Men's Epee
Madison Zeiss - 5th, Cadet Women's Foil
Josiah Yiu - 7th, Y14 Men's Sabre

Full results from the NAC can be found here

Letter From The Chair

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the JO Qualifiers scheduled for Nov. 15 have been cancelled. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please note, the Junior event qualifiers are slotted for Dec. 7 at Santa Barbara City College. The rescheduled cadet events will be announced as soon as possible.
While we are making venue arrangements, please notify the division officers if you know of a location where we could hold a future event -- perhaps a high school, college, or community center somewhere within the divisional boundaries. The Summer National qualifiers are coming up, and we would like to get them scheduled right away.
There are a number of events coming up in November: the 'Stro' Memorial at CalTech on 11/2, the Fortune D and Vet Epee on 11/16, and the Toys for Tots event in Thousand Oaks on 11/29. Be sure to check Askfred for more information on these tournaments.
And finally, the USFA announced some changes to the rule books. Be sure to check them out at usfencing.org before your next competition.

-Tim Robinson
Chair, SoCal Division

SoCal Division Fencers bring home medals from NAC A

- Congratulations to all SoCal Division fencers who competed in the North American Cup in Columbus, Ohio including medalists

Tom Pingel - 2nd, Div II Men's Epee
Rene Gannon-O'Gara - 6th, Div II Men's Epee
Christopher Cashdan - 7th, Div II Men's Epee
Oceane Boisson - 3rd, Div II Women's Epee
Robert Daniluk - 7th, Cadet Men's Foil
Madison Zeiss - 7th, Cadet Women's Foil
Cameron Lindsay - 8th, Div III Men's Sabre

Full results from the NAC can be found here

SoCal Fencer and Coach in 2008 Paralympic Games

- Congratulations to three-time Paralympian Gerard Moreno who competed in the Men's Individual Foil and Sabre at the 2008 Paralympic Games. Congratulations also to the Coach of the 2008 US Paralympic Team, Michael D'Asaro Jr.

2008-2009 Schedule Updated

- Next up in SoCal for the month of October will be the Couturier Open Sabre / Steiner Memorial C Foil on October 4th and the Swords Gore for the Gold on October 26th. See the Schedule page for more information.

Letter From The Chair

Southern California is a rich area for fencing. In addition to our own Division, we are in close proximity to four other divisions of the US Fencing Association: San Diego, Orange Coast, San Bernardino, and Central California (San Luis Obispo). We also have access to separate leagues for high school and collegiate athletes, and various organizations and events promoting youth fencing. Throw into the mix national and section events, and there are a ton of opportunities for competitive experience. It's no surprise that our Division had over 30 individual finalists at last year's Summer Nationals.
The new SoCal officers and I are proud to hail from such a place where there is so much interest in participating in and promoting our chosen sport, and we are all working hard to ensure that this season is a successful one. If you have comments or suggestions, if something doesn't seem to be going right -- or if something really is! -- please feel free to pass that information along. If we all work together, perhaps we'll see even more SoCal finalists on the National scene in 2009.
And one more thing: Let's all give a huge congratulations to Jason Rodgers for his Silver Medal in Mens Team Saber and wish Gerard Moreno and his coach, Michael D'Asaro Jr. luck at the Paralympic Games in Beijing.

-Tim Robinson
Chair, SoCal Division

New Officers for 2008-2009 Season

- Congratulations to the new officers elected for the 2008-2009 fencing season (Click here for details). Also, many thanks to the outgoing officers from last season for all of their hard work.

US Fencers capture 6 Olympic medals, SoCal Fencer takes Silver

- Gold, Silver and Bronze in Women's Sabre, Bronze in Women's Team Sabre, Silver in Women's Foil, and Silver in Men's Sabre made the 2008 Beijing Olympics the most successful for US Fencers since the Games began. Southern California Fencer Jason Rogers, pictured at left in the accompanying photo, finished in the top 32 in the Individual Men's Sabre and helped carry the Men's Sabre Team to their first Olympic Medal in history. Congratulations to Jason and all of his teammates!