Summit City Fencing Club — Fort Wayne, Indiana

In case there’s any confusion about Presidents’ Day, the custodian will be in the building and we WILL have practice as usual. Please remember that “Competitive Conditioning” with Lucas & Caitlin begins at 6 PM, followed by the regular practice at 7:00!

The February Get-Together, which was going to be at a local bowling alley on 2/19, has been canceled due to a lack of affirmative RSVP’s. Hope to see you at practice next week instead!

The SCFC will be hosting “Casual Wednesdays” on February 15 and 29.  All you do is show up, stretch, and dress, then fence!  No drills or other exercises on these particular nights.  While we normally prefer people who are coming regularly to practices to be full members, if you only come on Casual nights, you can simply fill out the paperwork and pay the $5 floor fee each time.  All practices are held at the Canterbury Lower School.  Please note that the floor fee covers the ability to attend and to use the scoring equipment; you may need to pay an extra fee if you need to borrow gear.

We were doing Casual Mondays for a while, but after switching Competitive Conditioning to that night, Casual practices have been moved to the slowest night of the week, Wednesdays.

Also, the SCFC will be hosting a friendly get-together at the Wayne Recreation Center (3810 Lake Ave) on Sunday, February 19, from 4-6 PM. Are you a member or interested in joining the club? Are you thinking about taking an Intro to Fencing class in the near future? Come and do some bowling with us at the SCFC Get-Together! Past, present, and future fencers especially are welcome to come and take part. Get to know fellow fencers, ask questions, learn more about the SCFC!

Please leave a comment if you plan on attending the bowling party so we know how many lanes to reserve. You can also RSVP or spread the word via this Facebook link:
http://www.facebook.com/events/346468252039041/

For those of you who don’t know, the big club meeting and elections are held once a year in May. I am writing this to let people know that I will not be running for the club presidency again at that time.  I have been in the role for three terms, and while I’ve been honored to lead the SCFC, it’s time for someone else to step up and take the reins.  I will serve out my term, but then that’s it for me for at least a couple years.  I would still like to instruct and might lead practices occasionally, but at this time, I don’t plan to be on the Board in any capacity after we hold the elections in May.  I’m making this public now so we, as a group, can start planning ahead.  I don’t want you all to take it for granted that I will be leading again because I won’t!  Also, for the record, Caitlin led the Ball State Fencing Club for four years and when she moved to Fort Wayne a few months ago, she only stepped into the vice-presidency as a favor to me.  She has no intention of running for the position of club president in May, either.  So, the field will be wide open for people who are enthusiastic about the sport and who are willing to work with others to promote & lead the SCFC!

Please send a note to scfc@summitcityfencing.org if you have questions about being an officer or want to know more about the elections in May. The meeting will be scheduled in the next couple weeks so people have plenty of time to set aside the day and time.

Sincerely,
STEVE KOEHNEKE
President, SCFC

UPDATE: Due to lack of attendance and increasingly slick roads, tonight’s practice has been canceled. Please note that, normally, we’ll try to make the final call by 5:00 PM. Things seemed OK until about 6:15 PM, then Steve started getting a number of phone calls and e-mails asking about the weather, so we apologize for the confusion!

All members of the SCFC are asked to help with making calls and assisting in the betterment of the club in 2012.  This list will be updated as names are added via comments below or communicated in person (last updated 01/02/12). We are looking for the following at this point:

SCHOOL DEMO CALLS
Once again, Intro classes are being offered through FWCS Neighborhood Connection; they will be held at the Anthis Center downtown, starting on Tue, Feb 7. We need people to make calls to the various middle schools, high schools, and colleges in Allen County (not just FWCS) in order to generate awareness of our offerings. This effort is being coordinated by Caitlin Huston (club vice-president) and Tim Anglin (Sam’s dad, club treasurer). If you know someone at a school or are available to call folks in order to try to set up demonstrations before February, please leave a comment. (If you have a particular school or schools in mind, please specify which.) You will be contacted by Caitlin and/or Tim and given details. If everyone takes a couple schools apiece, we can get through the list in no time!

The comment should look something like this:
DEMO CALL — Steve K. — Any schools

CALL VOLUNTEERS
Tim A. — Any
Caitlin H. — Any
Lucas P. — IPFW

KIDS TIME HELPERS
Starting in late January, we will have “Kids Time” for ages 8-13. This will be held on Mondays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:00 PM. We’ve had a number of youngsters take the Intro course, but it’s been extremely difficult to get them to join or remain with the club.  If we offer a couple kids-only hours a week, we hope this will entice more to join. If you are willing and able to get there by 6 PM and assist with the kids for that hour, let us know! Ideally, if we get enough people, Steve can call a couple people a few days before to confirm helpers in a given week. That way, helpers won’t have to show up each and every time unless that’s something they’re interested in.

The comment should look something like this:
KIDS TIME — Steve K. — Mon or Thu

KIDS TIME VOLUNTEERS
Caitlin H. — Mon or Thu
Steve K. — Mon or Thu
Lucas P. — Mon
Katie Z. — Mon or Thu

Your help will make a big difference in 2012, thanks to everyone in advance!

Just a reminder that Canterbury Schools will be completely shut down all this week, as well as next Monday (Jan 2).  Our next regular practice will be on Wed, Jan 4.  Please arrive a few minutes early, particularly if you need equipment from the basement, so we can start promptly at 7 PM.  The Floor Leader will try to be there by 6:45 each night in order to get things moving.

Register for the tournament (happening on Jan 14) if you haven’t already!  Click on the link here to do so:

http://askfred.net/Events/Prereg/prereg.php?tournament_id=15793

We’ll take it easy the following Monday (Jan 16) and that will be a Casual Fencing night.  Since we will miss Jan 2′s session, January 30 will also be a Casual night.

Last but not least, PLEASE (capitalized, bold, italicized, and underlined for extra effect) mail in your member forms this week if you plan to be part of the club (and, if applicable, the CHS Team) from January 1st through the end of April (assuming you didn’t sign up for the entire season).  I really do not want to get a bunch of paperwork next Wednesday evening all at once, it would be nice to handle it as it comes in and be ready to go that evening.  The P.O. Box is listed at the bottom of the form.  You can download it here:

http://summitcityfencing.org/docs/SCFC_FencingForms.pdf

The club officers had a meeting at the Tecumseh library branch on Tuesday and discussed a variety of issues.  As we head into 2012, there are a number of things that we would like to discuss with the membership at large.  We apologize for the short notice, but if all members of the club can meet in the gym at 6:30 PM tomorrow (Thu, 12/22), that would be much appreciated.  Parents of current fencers are also welcome to take part.  Guests will be allowed to join the party once the meeting wraps up.  Please remember to leave  a note on the blog (link below) if you are bringing a dish or drink to the party!
http://summitcityfencing.org/wp/2011/12/year-end-party/

Agenda includes:
1.) Club leadership
2.) Volunteers to make calls for setting up demonstrations
3.) Setting up “Kids Time” twice a week
4.) Intro classes
5.) Volunteers to drive to tournaments

Steve will describe all these items in detail tomorrow, but if you have any specific questions beforehand, please leave a comment or send him an e-mail.

After speaking to some members last night and learning that a bunch of people will be not be attending Thursday’s session due to finals, Caitlin announced that there will be no practice tonight (Thu, 12/15).  I (Steve K.)  just found this out earlier today, so I apologize for the short notice.  We will be meeting all three nights next week as scheduled.  Please remember to leave a note on the SCFC blog (link below) if you are planning on coming to the party and if you are bringing something!

http://summitcityfencing.org/wp/2011/12/year-end-party/