Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Summer 2006 Newsletter
Hi to all and happy Summer!
DFA is not quite ready to close down for the summer yet, even though our competition season is over. And we had an exceptional competition season.
Trophies went to Scott Pippin for Men’s Sabre; Mark Johnson for Men’s Foil; Josh Butler for Men’s Epee; Leslie Taft for Women’s Foil, Sabre and Epee. DFA won Men’s Team Sabre, Foil and Epee. DFA won the Men’s Overall Club trophy. So it was pretty much a DFA sweep in the San Bernardino Division this season.
And our fencers competed in many out-of-division tournaments this 2005-2006 season.
Masaki Yamada competed in sabre at the Long Beach Invitational in October 2005, held at Cal State Long Beach and at the Beverly Hills Sabre Invitational where he competed in three events and won a gold medal! Chasen Chapman competed in many NAC’s this season and will be going to the National Championships being held in Atlanta, Georgia, this summer. Also, with his Level 3 Armorer’s certification, Chasen has been an armorer at these competitions and will armor with U.S. Olympic Armorer, Dan DeChaine, at Nationals.
Scott Pippin and Gretchen Bueermann were in Hartford, Connecticut, for the Junior Olympics in February. They fenced sabre in the Cadet and Junior categories. And then all our foil and epee fencers participated in the Palm Desert Open, held at College of the Desert in April. Chasen Chapman, Mark Johnson, Cassie Bullock, Daniel Lee, Mitchell Link, Josh Butler, Danny Torres, Brian Murphy and Lee Ernst were there competing.
Our five-week summer fencing program will begin on Monday, June 19 and finish on Saturday, July 22. We will have fencing, Monday through Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
DFA will take its summer break starting July 23 and will re-open on Tuesday, September 5. Please visit our website at www.desertfencingacademy.com for all schedules.
I will be at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for two weeks in August and then in Portland to work with Ed Korfanty again. Ed is the U.S. Women’s Olympic Sabre Coach.
Aaron Fagan, Gretechen Bueermann, Nico Bergmann, Masaki Yamada and Scott Pippin will be attending Korfanty’s sabre camp and Chasen Chapman and Mitchell Link will also be in Portland, working with 8-time epee Olympian Michael Marx.
Regarding our up-coming move. There is no current word at this time. The property managers where we are presently located have had many conversations with Nancy Scott, the owner of My Gym. As her 10-year lease ends this summer, the property managers want to increase her monthly rent by $2,000, and that increase is financially out of everyone’s ballpark. Nancy has found a new location, still here in Palm Desert, on Gerald Ford, just off of Cook Street (heading east). The location space is smaller by about 1,200 square feet, but the rent is affordable, it’s just off the Cook Street entrance, and it’s in the same area as University Park, so we will be surrounded by shops, restaurants and cinemas. If we do move, it will probably be the Labor Day weekend. I will keep all of you informed as I receive information.
My congratulations to all our fencers. They are doing a great job in their fencing, training and competing. Currently, we have an up-and-coming group of 9, 10 , 11 and 12 year olds. They are just awesome. My thanks, too, go out to all you parents and grandparents, for all your support. Without you, DFA could not do what it does.
Wishing a good summer and blissful fencing to all,
Sincerely,
Leslie Taft
The Coach
DFA is not quite ready to close down for the summer yet, even though our competition season is over. And we had an exceptional competition season.
Trophies went to Scott Pippin for Men’s Sabre; Mark Johnson for Men’s Foil; Josh Butler for Men’s Epee; Leslie Taft for Women’s Foil, Sabre and Epee. DFA won Men’s Team Sabre, Foil and Epee. DFA won the Men’s Overall Club trophy. So it was pretty much a DFA sweep in the San Bernardino Division this season.
And our fencers competed in many out-of-division tournaments this 2005-2006 season.
Masaki Yamada competed in sabre at the Long Beach Invitational in October 2005, held at Cal State Long Beach and at the Beverly Hills Sabre Invitational where he competed in three events and won a gold medal! Chasen Chapman competed in many NAC’s this season and will be going to the National Championships being held in Atlanta, Georgia, this summer. Also, with his Level 3 Armorer’s certification, Chasen has been an armorer at these competitions and will armor with U.S. Olympic Armorer, Dan DeChaine, at Nationals.
Scott Pippin and Gretchen Bueermann were in Hartford, Connecticut, for the Junior Olympics in February. They fenced sabre in the Cadet and Junior categories. And then all our foil and epee fencers participated in the Palm Desert Open, held at College of the Desert in April. Chasen Chapman, Mark Johnson, Cassie Bullock, Daniel Lee, Mitchell Link, Josh Butler, Danny Torres, Brian Murphy and Lee Ernst were there competing.
Our five-week summer fencing program will begin on Monday, June 19 and finish on Saturday, July 22. We will have fencing, Monday through Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
DFA will take its summer break starting July 23 and will re-open on Tuesday, September 5. Please visit our website at www.desertfencingacademy.com for all schedules.
I will be at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for two weeks in August and then in Portland to work with Ed Korfanty again. Ed is the U.S. Women’s Olympic Sabre Coach.
Aaron Fagan, Gretechen Bueermann, Nico Bergmann, Masaki Yamada and Scott Pippin will be attending Korfanty’s sabre camp and Chasen Chapman and Mitchell Link will also be in Portland, working with 8-time epee Olympian Michael Marx.
Regarding our up-coming move. There is no current word at this time. The property managers where we are presently located have had many conversations with Nancy Scott, the owner of My Gym. As her 10-year lease ends this summer, the property managers want to increase her monthly rent by $2,000, and that increase is financially out of everyone’s ballpark. Nancy has found a new location, still here in Palm Desert, on Gerald Ford, just off of Cook Street (heading east). The location space is smaller by about 1,200 square feet, but the rent is affordable, it’s just off the Cook Street entrance, and it’s in the same area as University Park, so we will be surrounded by shops, restaurants and cinemas. If we do move, it will probably be the Labor Day weekend. I will keep all of you informed as I receive information.
My congratulations to all our fencers. They are doing a great job in their fencing, training and competing. Currently, we have an up-and-coming group of 9, 10 , 11 and 12 year olds. They are just awesome. My thanks, too, go out to all you parents and grandparents, for all your support. Without you, DFA could not do what it does.
Wishing a good summer and blissful fencing to all,
Sincerely,
Leslie Taft
The Coach
