Ace Fencing Academy

Hi all,

Reporting back from the USA Fencing board meeting this past weekend. I've been attending these for awhile now, and since I’m running this time around, figured I better not miss it. It was a doozy. Apparently it had one of the highest member attendance rates in a long while, so that's good. Now, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good: The media day and marketing efforts are good exposure for the sport around the Olympics, presence on all Meta platforms is good. I'm not familiar with this 2-4-1 sports program Phil mentioned, but sounds like it will give fencing greater exposure among kids.

The bad: USA Fencing is being sued, and I am very concerned about how much the lawsuit is going to cost the membership. They should at least be more open about why they are being sued, since we ultimately have to pay the bill. The sponsorships Phil arranged are good for the national office, but what do they get the membership? Without a sizeable TV audience, who are the sponsors targeting: us, and we’re already paying through the nose to USAF. Did anyone think this through? We are expected to financially support the sponsors, who then support the bureaucrats in Colorado Springs. A tiny fraction of the membership and management are supported by the vast majority, who get little back. Meanwhile, they won’t even tell us how much total revenue is coming in via sponsorships, or how the money is being used.

Membership is at an all-time high, but I heard recently a lot of parents signed up this season for Access Membership in order to vote on behalf of their children. Some other Access Memberships are not necessarily for members who will stay with fencing, they just have to become members to even try the sport. Chasing membership targets this way comes at a big cost: coaches and club owners must police these memberships for USAF for free. I bet many coaches don't even realize they are effectively working uninsured because some fencers at their club let their memberships lapse. If heaven forbid an incident happens, it basically comes down to Phil deciding whether to honor the liability insurance.

I am glad we are ending the season with a surplus. Recently, USAF pleaded poverty and used Covid/inflation as an excuse to dramatically hike prices and end Affiliate program. All of a sudden they have a surplus, great. So they decided to share the joy and give the clubs a whopping $25 discount on their club membership. :) Next season we only pay $800, still a 200%-1500% increase from Affiliate Membership, and with questionable insurance. Fun fact: I found out at this meeting that the treasurer of USAF does not have access to its finance software supposedly due to a $3,500 software license expense. :) Anyway, my club pays more to USAF every year, between club and coach memberships, than we do in taxes to the state of California. At least California makes roads to let our students get to the club.

The ugly: How are they even discussing a motion to allow non-elected (appointed) board members to hold the chair? They promised not to do this when Peter Burchard was ousted in 2021. Did they think we'd forget? Anyway, they kicked the can down the road to the September meeting.

They voted to make it MUCH harder for people to petition into board elections, with only Damien Lehfeldt voting no. Thank you sir. O7 Seven qualified candidates this year, who have devoted much of their lives to fencing, was I guess too many for them. What problem were they solving with this? Instead of solving our problems, they are worried about who gets into the club. Prediction: future elections will only feature their handpicked candidates. This is how elections work…in dictatorships. :)

Go out (actually in, on your device of choice) and vote people, while you still have the chance! O7

GOLDEN STATE CLASSIC RYC

May 8, 2024

Spencer Pinchuk earned a bronze medal in Y8 Men's Epee over the weekend at the Golden State Classic Regional Youth Circuit, held on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA. After a solid 4-2 pool start, Spencer seeded 8th into direct elimination. He won his first d.e. 10-0 over a fencer from TeamK, then went 10-5 over an athlete from LAIFC in the table of 16. In the round of 8, Spencer upset the #1 seed from Yang Fencing 10-9 to make the semis and take home bronze.

Great job to Ace athletes who competed at the UCLA Okawa Open, held April 20th at the Wooden Center on UCLA's beautiful Westwood campus.

Chloe Kane earned the bronze medal in Senior Women's Epee, after a pool round which saw Ace women seed 1st, 2nd and 3rd into direct elimination. Chloe went 15-5 over the 14th seed, then 15-6 over the 6th seed to make the semis, which was a very hard-fought 14-15 to the eventual gold medalist.

This year's event marked the return of a local institution after a handful of seasons off due to the pandemic. The tournament is named for legendary Japanese foil fencer Heziburo Okawa, who towards the end of his career moved to the United States and coached in Southern California.

Chloe Kane medaled in 5th place out of 33 athletes in Y14 Women's Epee at one of the final regional circuit events of the '23-'24 season, held April 12th-14th in Torrance, CA. She fenced an outstanding 6-0 pool to seed first into direct elimination and get a bye through the table of 64. She went 15-7 over a fencer from Academy of Fencing Masters, then 15-8 over an athlete from Yang Fencing to make the top 8. Good Jon Chloe! 🤺🥉🤺

2024 SOCAL DIVISION NATIONAL QUALIFIERS

March 17, 2024

On March 16th, the SoCal Division of USA Fencing held its annual qualifiers for the Division 2, 3 and Y14 National Championships in Thousand Oaks. At the event, six Ace fencers qualified for Nationals (in addition to those already qualified via other paths), to be held this year in Columbus, Ohio in July.

In Division 2 Women's Epee, Neeka Mohebi earned the gold medal after a solid 4-1 pool start to seed 3rd into direct elimination. She fenced 15-10 over an athlete from LAIFC, 15-8 over the 2nd seed from Beverly Hills Fencing Center, then 15-5 over the 1st seed from BHFC to take gold and qualify for Nationals.

Cameron Cheong earned gold in Y14 Men's Epee and qualified for Nationals in that age group. With a 4-2 pool record, Cameron seeded 2nd into d.e.'s, then went 15-10 over a competitor from BHFC, 15-11 over a fencer from LAIFC, and 15-12 in the final over an athlete from Presidio Fencing Club.

Chloe Cheong took gold in Y14 Women's Epee and qualified for Nationals. She was 5-1 in pools (with a close D4) to seed 2nd in direct elimination, then 15-9 over a rival from Fortune, 15-2 over a competitor from UFA, and 15-10 in the final to avenge her only loss in the pool round, from UFA as well. Chloe also finished 4th in Div. 2 Women's Epee, which qualifies her for the Division 3 Championships.

In Division 2 Men's Epee, Atlas Austin finished 5th, and Eric Speicher finished 7th. While just short of the medals for this event, awarded to the top 3, both gentlemen qualified for Div. 2 Nationals by placing in the top 25% at the qualifier. Atlas had a 5-1 pool record, then went 15-8 and 15-12 over fencers from Presidio and LAIFC. Eric was 4-2 in pools, then won 2 d.e.'s to make the table of 8 and qualify for Div. 2 and Veterans. Boris Sokolovsky also qualified for Veterans in the same event.

Great job to all our competitors and congratulations to those who qualified! 🤺🤺🤺

South Coast Reginal Youth Circuit----In Y14 Women's Epee, Chloe Cheong started the day strong, going 6-0 in pools and seeding 2nd of 41 fencers into direct elimination. She finished 5th on the podium after going 15-9 and 15-13 over a pair of athletes from Swords Fencing Studio. 🤺🤺🤺

At the South Coast Regional Circuit held 3/8-3/10 Neeka Mohebi finished 7th of 31 athletes in the Junior Women's Epee competition. After a 3-2 pool start, Neeka went 15-4 in the table of 32 over a fencer from Beverly Hills Fencing Center, then upset the 5th seed from Mexico 15-12 to earn a top-8 medal and her "D24" rating. 🤺🤺🤺

Ace fencers nabbed 5 medals for the '23-'24 season in the SoCal Scholastic Fencing League. Medals are awarded to the top 8 in Junior (High School) and Y14 (Middle School) based on combined results from two tournaments throughout the season.  

In Middle School Women's Epee, Chloe Kane earned the overall gold after finishing 1st last weekend at the Epee #2, and 2nd at the Epee #1 earlier in the season. She was 4-2 in pools to earn a bye to the table of 16, then went 15-2, 15-10, and 15-14 into the final against a fencer from Beverly Hills Fencing Center, which she won 15-11.

Great job to everyone who competed, and congratulations to our medalists! Full medal count for the '23-'24 season:

Neeka Mohebi - 6th High School Women's Epee

Chloe Kane - Gold Middle School Women's Epee

Chloe Cheong - 6th Middle School Women's Epee

Cameron Cheong - 7th Middle School Men's Epee

Tristan Hochstein - 8th Middle School Men's Epee

On the way to Junior Olympics 🤺🤺🤺

Jackson Norbutas earned the gold medal for Senior Men's Epee at the San Diego Cup held on 2/11. He seeded #1 out of pools with a perfect 6-0 record and +19 indicator. This focus in the pools earned Jackson a bye through the table of 64, and he continued 15-4 over an athlete from Still Point Fencing, 15-5 over a fencer from Cabrillo, 15-10 over an opponent from San Diego Fencing Center, and 15-13 in the finals over a fencer from LAIFC. As an "A" rated tournament, Jackson not only earned the gold, but renewed his "A" rating up to 2024 by winning the event. Go Jackson!! 🤺🤺🤺norbs

Atlas Austin won gold in Y14 Mixed Epee (boys and girls combined) in the first of this year's "Rising Stars" tournaments held on 2/11 at LAIFC in Anaheim, CA. Atlas went 4-1 in pools to seed 2nd into direct elimination, then 15-5 over the #7 seed from San Diego Fencing Center, 15-12 over the #6 seed from Swords Fencing Studio, and 15-6 over the #4 seed from Team Touche to take home gold. 🤺🤺🤺

Lillian Groth and Spencer Pinchuk each earned bronze medals in the first of this year's "Rising Stars" tournaments held on 2/11 at LAIFC in Anaheim, CA. After both fencing solid 3-1 pools. In direct elimination, Lilly went 10-9 over the #11 seed from Swords Fencing Studio, then upset the #3 seed from TeamK, again 10-9, to make the semi's. Spencer went 10-2 over the #12 seed from Swords Fencing Studio, 10-8 over the #4 seed from TeamK, and held the #1 seed to a close 9-10 in overtime in the semi-finals.

In addition to her Y8 overall bronze, Lilly earned the gold medal for Y8 Women's Epee by finishing highest among the young women in the mixed event. Later in the day, she went on to earn the silver medal in Y10 Women's Epee, finishing second highest of the girls in that age group, after an outstanding 10-7 upset over the #7 seed from LAIFC in the table of 32.
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Congratulations to Wizard Toussaint who earned the gold medal in this year's SoCal Scholastic Middle School (Y14) Novice Men's Epee, held at Chaminade Middle School on 1/28. After fencing a clean 4-0 pool, Wizard seeded 2nd into direct elimination, where he went 15-6 over a fencer from Beverly Hills Fencing Center, then 15-10 in a hard-fought bout with a teammate, and 15-9 over the #3 seed out of pools. In the finals, Wizard upset the #1 seed from TeamK 13-9 to clinch the gold. 🤺🤺🤺

Happy New Year to everyone! 🤺🥳🤺

Boys are back in town 🤺🤺

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our holiday party on 12/16, and congratulations to the winners of the Wall-Jump, Wall-Sit and Tip-Screw Scavenger Hunt. The coaches at Ace wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season, and all the best for 2024! 🥳🤺🥳

Atlas Austin took home bronze in Cadet Men's Epee. After fencing an outstanding 5-1 (with a close D4) pool, Atlas seeded 2nd in d.e.'s. and got a bye to the table of 8. He defeated his opponent from UFA 14-12 to finish 3rd out of 14 athletes and qualify for J.O.'s

Neeka Mohebi earned the silver medal in the Junior Women's Epee at the SoCal Division Junior Olympic qualifier. She fenced a 3-2 pool to seed 7th in direct elimination and get a bye to the table of 16. She defeated her first opponent from LAIFC 15-9, then upset the 2nd seed from BHFC 15-13, and the 3rd seed from TeamK 15-11 to reach the finals and qualify for nationals. 🤺🤺🤺

Ace fencers swept the top three medals in Cadet Women's Epee at this year's SoCal Division Junior Olympic qualifier. Chloe Kane took gold, going 5-0 in pools to seed 1st into direct elimination and earn a bye to the table of 8. She edged out a 15-14 victory over an athlete from LAIFC, then went 15-9, 15-9 to take home gold. Neeka Mohebi was 5-1 in pools to seed 2nd into d.e.'s and also earned a bye. She went 15-8 over the 10th seed from Valor USA, and 15-9 over a fencer from BHFC into the finals. Chloe Cheong fenced a solid 4-2 pool round to seed 5th, then went 15-5 and 15-11 over a pair of LAIFC athletes to reach the semi's and the bronze. Way to go ladies! 🤺🤺🤺

Happy Thanksgiving! 🤺🦃🤺

Congratulations to Chloe Kane for finishing 5th in the Cadets Women's Epee and 10th in the Juniors Women's Epee at the RJCC of the Rockies this past weekend in Denver. Way to go Chloe! 🤺🤺🤺

Congratulations to Chloe Kane who got the silver medal 🥈 in Y14 Women's Epee at the 11th Annual Three Musketeers RYC event held this past weekend in Torrance. Keep up the good work! 🤺🤺🤺

Happy Fencing Day!! 🤺🤺🤺

Congratulations to Chloe Kane who finished 8th place at the Boston Fencing Club RJCC held this weekend. 🤺🥉🤺

A fortune in medals for fencers at the Fortune Regional Circuit! 🥇🤺


Meghan Pinchuk went undefeated, and earned gold in Vet WE. 🥇

Eric Speicher .v.speicher also made it all the way to the finals stage, taking home silver in Vet ME. 🥈 

Brian Speicher finished 7th out of 48 athletes in Div2 ME to make the podium. 🥉

Our Y8s did a great job as well. Lilly Groth brought her fight to the d.e. rounds and landed on the finals stage, taking home silver in Y8 WE. 🥈

Spencer Pinchuk had his debut in Y8 ME, and even though he was the youngest in the group, he fenced hard and finished on the podium in 6th place. 🥉

Preserve Unique Coaching Techniques: Say No to the Mandated Foundation of Fencing Coaching Course 276 signatures are needed, let’s get there by the end of the day?

May 2021 be a better year for everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for our members and families and their support.

July 2017, Summer Nationals, Salt Lake City