This past weekend the yellow jacket fencing club made the trip down to Clemson for the Tiger Open. For some YJFC fencers this was the first tournament they had ever attended and for others this was one of many. It was a large tournament with each event consisting of at least 45 fencers. All of the yellow jacket fencers performed very well. There were many good finishes and exceptional bouts from everyone.

Stephanie Baione scores a touch on her opponent

With the annual Vets and Wrecks potluck last week, we are officially welcoming all our new fencers to the club. We are all excited to have so many amazing new members on the team. Last week, we asked our new members some questions about their time in the club so far. Johnathan Yu said that he enjoys the "great mix of social and exercise" that the club provides with its rigorous practices and light atmosphere. Drew Patterson thinks "its one of the highlights of [his] day." When asked how the club has made new members feel welcome, Esther Mathew said that "the squad leaders have been great, giving individual advice as well as being very kind and patient." Our last question was what the new members' favorite moments with the club so far. Natalie Romero said her favorite moment so far is her first time free fencing. Drew's favorite moment was his first bout too, which he described as "exhilarating and confusing." Another new member, Dylan Adriano said his favorite part of fencing is facing off against both new and experienced opponents. All of our new members are very excited to be part of the club and we can't wait to make new memories with all of them.

Dylan fencing another new fencer Veronika Maragulova

Brand new Wrecks being welcomed by their Vets

Just before the school year started, the Yellow Jacket Fencing club was at convocation to demonstrate the sport of fencing for all the incoming students. We demonstrated live bouts in both sabre and foil. Along with the live bouts, we had some quick interviews with current members of the club. We are currently in the first week of practices and welcoming all the new students who are trying out the sport of fencing.

July 21st
Some of our fencers headed down to Savannah for some summer fun: competing in the 14th annual Sabre in the Surf. Fencing sabre on the beach of Tybee Island is a great experience. Hot sand, the cool ocean, and best of all, lots of sabres.

Valerie Avva faces her opponent in the surf

2018 Yellow Jacket Open

On March 3rd and 4th, YJFC held our 2018 annual Yellow Jacket Open! We wanted to thank everyone for coming out and competing.  This year's YJO was massive, with our biggest event, open epee, boasting 97 participants. We loved hearing all of your feedback about the tournament, and we're excited to do it all again next year. 

Congrats to all the YJFC fencers who placed!
Stefano Travaglino - 3rd in Mixed Epee
Ben Waida - 8th in D & Under Mixed Foil
Michael Cogswell - 7th in Mixed Foil
Arthur Lim - 3rd in Mixed Foil
Chunlock Lo - 7th in D & Under Mixed Epee
And congrats to Chunlock Lo for earning his E!