ST ALBANS FENCING CLUB

Dear SAFC Fencers

Current membership of British Fencing (BF) is a mandatory requirement to fence at SAFC.  BF membership provides personal accident and civil liability insurance; this protects you and other fencers present in case of accidents.

In line with our new sign-in policy, from Thursday 5^th Sept ’19 ALL fencers attending SAFC will need to confirm their British Fencing membership number.

Each week, you will need to either:  Enter your BF membership number OR Tick a declaration that within the previous 12 months you have filled in an SAFC members details form.

So, please take time now to fill in the form on line– it holds contact information for you, some In Case Of Emergency (ICE) info and your BF membership details.

The form is held securely and will used only by club officials and only ICE and to check BF membership of our fencers.

On the anniversary of you filing in the form you’ll be sent a reminder to review the information and fill in the form again.

If during the year your details change – your email, your ICE details, your BF membership status, please revisit the link and resubmit a new form – sorry the system is not clever enough at present to show you what is held automatically.

If at any time you would like to see what information is held, contact secretary@sa-fc.org.uk with your name and registered email address and the club will send you this information.

The club will retain members information for 5 years to comply with our liability requirements.

Details of the various membership categories can be found on the BF site.

SAFC OPEN AIR EVENT LATEST NEWS:

Update on entries: FOIL and EPEE are now almost full with just a couple of places in each weapon remaining. A limited number of places still available in SABRE. Closing date for entries is 31 Aug or once weapon cap is reached. Please contact us if you want to enter for a particular weapon but cannot – additional entries *may* be possible, at the club’s discretion.

Bring & Buy Sale:  Do you have any fencing kit you no longer need and would like to sell?

We’ll have a table at the open air where you can offer any items for sale, with a donation from any kit sold going to help the running of the event and club.

Pin an envelope on the kit with the price and your name.  At the end of the day, you put a minimum 20% in the SAFC tin – but if you’re feeling charitable you can donate more (or all) of it to us.  In return, you will gain fame and fortune and a nice warm feeling inside (though that may a result of the BBQ & drinks…)

Epee fans – don’t forget that this Thursday 22.08 is EPEE NIGHT!

Coach Lajos will be running the group warm up and then be available for individual lessons.

Foil and sabre can also be fenced as normal, but there will not be a foil coach present this week.

See you at practice!!

2019’s St Albans Fencing Club Open Air event is on Sunday 15th Sept. 

There’s a cap on entry numbers per weapon, so book  now to avoid disappointment.

Don’t delay – entry closes on 30th August.  Entries beyond this date may still be accepted but will be at the organiser’s discretion.

Further details here.  There is a sports hall available should it dare to rain!

Tickets for the event and BBQ are available at our fabulous e-shop.

Please note that current BF membership is required for this event – either ‘Beginner’ or ‘Recreational’ will suffice; ‘compete’ level is not required. 

Upcoming Beginners Events:

Our next Beginners Course is due to start on 17th October.

If you’d like to ‘try before you buy’ we’re running a Taster Session on 3rd October for a measly £10/person – which is refundable if you sign up for the beginners course – so what are you waiting for…?!

Tickets & further info for both events are available at the shop

At practice this week (15.08) the Club Ladder League continues.

It closes on 30th September so there’s still plenty of time to get those bouts in – fame, glory and possibly chocolate awaits!

* Coming soon* watch this space for an update on the latest league standings.

YOUR OPEN AIR NEEDS YOU…!!

Please make sure you register for our Open Air event in time – there is a limit on numbers so don’t leave it to the last minute as you may be disappointed.

30th Aug is the current cut-off date for entries but individual categories are subject to a numbers cap so don’t miss out…!

Tickets & further info available at our e-shop

Please note that entry requires current BF membership. (beginner/social/recreational is fine for this event- ‘compete’ is not required)

And on the subject of BF membership please note the following important news:

We’ve recently trialled new e-sign-in  which has been a huge success.  Part of this was to request fencers to confirm they have current BF membership (which provides the fencer with the necessary insurance)

From 1st September 2019, all fencers will be required to confirm a BF membership no. as part of the e-sign-in.

This applies to SAFC members and visitors alike and includes those participating in Three Counties league matches.

So, please note that if you are unable to provide a BF membership number, we regret that you will be unable to fence at SAFC.

This is not meant to discourage anyone from fencing with us, but to ensure the welfare of all present.

If you are a non-UK resident who has membership of your home country’s fencing association, please speak to a member of the committee who will be able to advise further.

If you are a Herts Uni. fencer, we believe you will still need your own BF membership to fence with us – please contact us to discuss.

Don’t forget to register for the OPEN AIR COMP and order your SAFC T-shirt through our e-shop!

Your Open Air Needs you!
It goes without saying that fencing events don’t run themselves, so if you can spare some time coming up to the Open Air, please let the committee know. There will be lots of small things that need doing (shopping for the food & drink / setting out pistes / getting the BBQ going / etc) and more hands will make lighter work

Anyone got an old (or new!) wifi enabled tablet they’d be willing to donate to the club for us to use as our sign-in device?

We’ve recently been trialling a new e-sign-in system and it’s working well. To move to the next stage we need a dedicated device we can leave in the cupboard for the 1st person there to get out and set up.

So please have a look and a think, any offers please speak to Armourer Bird.

You will be rewarded with the eternal graditute of the club and a warm glowing feeling inside (possibly caused by chocolate from Bird).

THIS WEEK…
Coach Andy Doherty is back after a well deserved break. Many thanks to Laura Delaney for being our stand in coach for the last two weeks <applause>

The club league continues so don’t forget to check the poule sheet and grab someone you haven’t fought yet for a bout. Any weapon counts but you have to use the same as your opponent 🤣

We may also have another mini-comp in a new format this week, depending on numbers.

See you at practice..!