The Blades Fencing Club of St. Thomas/St. John and the St. John Fencing Club will co-host their third annual Summer Fencing Camp on July 23-29.
It's open to anyone interested in the competitive sport of fencing – youngsters from the age of 10 through senior citizens; beginners, intermediates, experts and those who would like to polish some rusty fencing skills from long ago.
"We do this for three reasons," Blades president Joyce Bolaños said. "To provide an opportunity for our fencers to get a level of training that the local volunteer coaches – and I am one of them – are unable to offer, to attract new young people to the sport of fencing, and to enable us coaches to upgrade our own skills as teachers."
This year's camp will be a week-long camping as well as fencing experience, at the Maho Bay Campground on St. John. In addition to taking two fencing classes a day and following a training regimen, participants will be involved in watersports, ecology projects and V.I. National Park activities.
Classes and other camp activities run Monday through Friday, July 24-28. On Saturday, July 29, the fencers will get to demonstrate what they have learned – to each other, family, friends and anyone else interested – in a fencing meet to be designed by the coaches that week.
For individuals 16 years of age and older who are unable to take a week off, there will also be beginning and advanced classes in the evening – without camping – tentatively scheduled for the Pine Peace School, which is home to the St. John Fencing Club.
"Our first two fencing camps were day camps, held at American Yacht Harbor on St. Thomas, with the students just coming in for classes and a competition at the end," Bolaños said. "This year, we are having an actual sleep-over camp that will allow the coaches to spend more time with the youngsters and give the students more opportunity to interact with one another and practice what they are being taught."
The guest coaching staff has doubled from the two earlier camps, too, St. John club president and coach Mark Hansen noted. "We have been able to bring in two really fine coaches this time – both internationally recognized and both ‘known entities' to our local fencing program," he said.
One is Rudy Volkmann of Augusta, Ga., the instructor for last year's camp. The other is Anthony "Tony" Gillham of Milwaukee, Wis., who spends some time on St. John each winter and donated his time and talents to work with the St. John club at the start of this year.
Gillham is certified by the International Fencing Federation as a referee and chairs the certification board of the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association, the U.S. organization accredited by the Academie Internationale d'Armes to certify fencing instructors and masters.
Volkmann served on the international armourers squad at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and is the publisher/author of "The Big Book of Fencing," a training manual recommended by the British Fencing Federation and the Coaches College of the U.S. Fencing Association.
"The other really exciting aspect of this year's camp," Hansen said, "is that Tony will be offering a U.S. Fencing Coaches Association certification course. This will enable our volunteer coaches to upgrade their skills so we can improve the overall instructional program available year-round to our young people here in the Virgin Islands." He added, "Having certified coaches will enable the Virgin Islands to play a more active part in national and regional competition."
Last year, young people from St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John took part, "and we expect the same this year," Bolaños said. "Fencing is not for everyone, but some kids find it both challenging and satisfying as a sport and a discipline." The most experienced youth fencers in The Blades today – Johan Brookes, 17, and Jared Etsinger, 14 – have been with the club since Bolaños started it six years ago.
In planning this year's camp, the two clubs determined to offer the classes and accommodations at Maho Bay Campground at no cost to youth participants. "The only costs to the young people will be a $50 registration fee and the charges for their meals and optional recreational activities during the week, plus whatever transportation arrangements they need to make," Bolaños said.
Both coaches emphasized that fencing is a safe sport. Fencers wear protective masks, jackets and gloves whenever facing another fencer using swords – the lightweight foil, less flexible epee and least flexible saber. All weapons have blunt tips, and with electric scoring equipment in use today, all that's needed in competition is a light touch to score a point.
"We'll be concentrating on foil for most of the lessons," Hansen said, "but some of our members are into epee now, too, so it will be covered. And we'll probably have an introduction to saber."
The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands has provided a grant for the camp. Both clubs are soliciting corporate sponsors and have applied for International Olympic Committee "solidarity funds" which are earmarked for training in fencing federations around the world.
A maximum of 24 fencing campers will be accepted for overnight accommodations at Maho Bay. Additional students may commute for classes. Efforts will be made to accommodate all those wishing to take the 16-and-older evening classes. Anyone wishing a fact sheet with further information should promptly contact the St. John Fencing Club (phone or fax 779-4550 or e-mail to innisfree @ islands.vi) or The Blades (phone or fax 776-4812 or e-mail to jetsinger @ viaccess.net).
