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