We are offering a Recreational and Future champions class for both Mini Musketeer and Cadet age groups. Here is the schedule for Sunday:
10am - 11am Private Lessons
11am - 12:20pm Mini Musketeer/Cadet Recreational/Future Champions
12:30pm - 1:30pm Private Lessons
You can view our entire 2022-2023 class schedule online here.
Thanks to one of our fencing parents for writing this quick guide on how to clean your fencing equipment
Ideally, wash as often as possible
Cold water, with detergent and an added cup of baking soda (the baking soda will help remove odor and stains
If the jacket, plastron and knickers are staying in a club locker for a week more, wash with the baking soda and detergent, and then turn everything inside out and wash a second time with the baking soda and detergent. Always hang dry - Never put in the dryer (especially for FIE)
Never use bleach
A growing fencer will probably grow out of a lamé before it needs washing However, if you are so inclined to wash the lamé first check to make sure that you purchased a "washable lamé" Hand wash in the sink with a detergent for delicate clothing
Then put lamé on a hanger and rinse with the shower head, hang to dry
Never use bleach on a lamé
Some masks have removeable padding and bibs, hand wash and dry flat.
To wash the mask: place it in the kitchen sink and rinse with a faucet sprayer and gentle dish soap like Dawn. (If your bib is not washable, be careful that it doesn't get wet)
Gloves Hand wash in the sink with detergent and baking soda Let the glove soak, rinse and repeat until the water runs clear
Dry flat
We get a lot of questions about the equipment in fencing, usually about what’s needed for our classes. To start, Brooklyn Bridge Fencing Club provides all of the fencing equipment that you’ll need for introductory lessons or our recreational classes. You just have to wear athletic shoes and long pants and you’re ready to go!
Here, we’ll go over the equipment you’ll see around the club in practice, as well as what’s required for competitions.
All of the equipment icons were provided by www.clubweapon.com with their permission.
Fencing jackets offer some padding, but primarily function as safety equipment to prevent injury.
When you purchase your own jacket, we can’t recommend getting a front-zip jacket enough. It will definitely improve your fencing life. Any standard jacket is legal for competition in the US. For international competition, the FIE (the international governing body of fencing) requires FIE-certified jackets.
In practice, BBFC requires long pants or fencing pants. Competition requires pants specifically for fencing. These pants will fasten just below the knee, so you’ll also need to wear long socks that cover the knees. Some vendors sell fencing-specific socks, but any soccer socks will do. International competition requires FIE pants as well.
In fencing, you only need one glove on your weapon-hand. We sometimes see beginners stuff the cuff of the glove into the sleeve of the jacket, but the cuff needs to be on the outside to protect you from a point slipping up the sleeve. In class, we use standard fencing gloves that range from XS - XL. Higher quality gloves will usually have more specific sizes.
Foil does not require an FIE-certified glove, but competitions do typically inspect your glove for any holes or significant tears. Your glove will need to be in good shape to be approved for competition.
In fencing, each weapon has its own specific mask for competition. Foil masks have lamé material on the bib of the mask for use with the electric scoring system. For our beginner classes, we provide standard epee masks that have all the same safety features as the foil mask, just without the scoring part necessary for competitions. If you buy your own, you’ll want to get a standard foil mask along with the cords to attach to the rest of the scoring equipment.
In foil competition, you’ll need a mask with lame material on the bib as this is part of the target area. In the us, a standard foil mask is legal, but international competition requires and FIE-certified mask.
Underneath the jacket, you’ll wear an additional layer of protection. The hard plastic chest protectors help with the impact of being hit while the soft underarm protector (also called a plastron) serves as a redundant safety layer on the weapon-arm side where you’ll receive the most hits. Competitions require a layer of approved foam over the hard plastic to reduce any ‘skipping’ of the opponent’s point on the hard surface. The hard plastic chest protector is optional for men, but mandatory for women. Underarm protectors are mandatory for everyone. At BBFC, we require boys under 10 to wear chest protectors as well.
In class, we use standard practice foils with French grips. These are inexpensive and can be a good starter weapon for your own, but we usually recommend that if you’re going to buy a weapon you go ahead and get a competition-ready foil. They’re a little more expensive, but overall more cost-efficient if you’ll end up competing later since the competition foil can still be used in practice.
To compete, you’ll need to bring at least two competition-ready foils with you. We recommend that you bring three. These electric foils have a plug so that they can be connected to the electrical scoring equipment. US competitions don’t require FIE certified foils like international competitions do, but this is one place where we do recommend making the upgrade anyways. An FIE foil can be twice as expensive as a non-FIE blade, but it can easily last more than twice the lifespan before breaking.
Fencers 10 and under are required to use Size 2 blades. Everyone else should get size 5 blades.
Our club recommends 2-pin plugs for the socket type, and x-small or small visconti grips for children.
For electric fencing, you’ll need to wear a special vest that designates the target area in foil fencing (the torso). You only need one foil lame to compete. The inexpensive lames are typically lined with copper which can oxidize and turn green over time. The more expensive lames typically use nickel and other tarnish-resistant materials. Be sure to get a front-zip lame!
Electric fencing will require a body cord that runs from the weapon, up the sleeve of the fencing jacket, and hooks into the electric scoring system. You’ll also need a cord that connects your foil lame to the bib of your foil fencing mask. Competition requires twosbody cords and two mask cords, but just like with the foils we recommend that you bring three of each.
Our club recommends 2-pin style body cords to go along with the 2-pin sockets recommend on the weapon.
So far, we’ve raised over $5000 through our t-shirt fundraiser to support efforts in Ukraine.
T-shirts are $35. Shipping Included 100% of proceeds go to Ukraine
Venmo: @DanKellner76
Paypal: @DKellnerBBFC
BBFC is excited to host 3x-Olympian, Alex Massialas, and the Massialas Fencing Tour Powered by Panda Express, this summer! The Tour will stop by Brooklyn Bridge Fencing for two days of fun on August 20 and August 21.
Available Sessions:
Saturday, 8/20 (11 & Under): 9am-12pm
Sunday, 8/21 (12 & Over): 9am-12pm
AlexanderMassialas.com/tour
The Massialas Fencing Tour is an in-depth clinic that not only aims to build a solid foundation for fencing skills but also provides tangible best practices in leadership, goal setting, and mindset training that new and experienced athletes can apply in and outside of the sport. In collaboration with Panda Express, the Tour will also provide scholarship opportunities to athletes from underserved communities.
FencingParents.org released an update to its NCAA statistics guide.
It highlights 15 of the 44 universities with NCAA Fencing programs that are deemed ‘highly selective’ with acceptance rates at or below 16%.
Of these 15 highly selective schools, 12 of them are Division I institutions.
Brooklyn Bridge Fencing Club ranked 3rd placing foil fencers into these highly selective Division I programs!
Click below to find the full report.
Marcus will be the sole member of Team GB’s Fencing squad.
Read more about Marcus and his qualification over at the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/fencing/57201230