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Twenty-three SoCal fencers qualified at the JO Qualifier on Saturday for the 2025 Junior Olympic Championships to be held on February 14-17 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Congratulations to all our qualified fencers and good luck in North Carolina!

Qualified fencers are listed below. For full results, go here.

Qualified Fencers – Men

Qualified Fencers – Women

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When: July 13, 2024, 12 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

For Online Meeting – Please register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrduGrqzgrHtX8qkj9CIhfrF9MvuYC_eVn

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting is to elect officers and directors for the Division year 8/1/2024 to 7/31/2025, as follows:

The members of the Division met in May for the semi-annual meeting. During this meeting, the following members were nominated to serve as officers of the Division for the 2024-2025 fiscal year:

• Chairperson – James Beihold* and Tigran Shaginian
• Vice Chairperson – Karl Jordan*
• Treasurer – Eric Speicher*
• Secretary – Karen Lieu*

(Asterisk * indicates current office holder. In each case, members may vote for only one candidate per position.)

In addition, the following were nominated to serve on the Board of Directors (aka, Executive Committee) for the same period: James Beihold (Swords), Elizabeth Geyer (Kern), Anna Jordon (United Fencing Academy), Karl Jordon (Points West), Karen Lieu (AGFC), Brando Messinese (LAIFC), Tim Robinson (Presidio), Tigran Shaginian (Swords), Greg Schiller (Bridgeport), Eric Speicher (ACE/Conejo), Rudy Streitz (Kern), Daryl Taylor (Fortune), and Mike Vazquez (LAIFC).

These nominations, and any additional, will be subject to the membership vote in July. The time for nominations for officers for the 2024-2025 has expired. However, additional nominations for Directors (also known as Executive Committee members) may be made from the floor, at the July meeting, or prior to the meeting by written nomination submitted to the Division Secretary, Karen Lieu, at email address kblieu@pacbell.net.

To be eligible to vote at the July meeting, you must be at least 18 years old, and have been a member of the SoCal Division since Feb. 1 of this year. If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may vote by proxy. Proxy ballots must be submitted to the Division Secretary by July 10. For more information and to download a proxy ballot see the SoCal Division Operating Guide.

We hope to see you at the July meeting, and we hope you will consider volunteering to join the Southern California Division leadership!

Note: Check-in times have been changed.

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Who was Fred Linkmeyer?

Tedd Padgitt (left) discusses the finer points of fencing with Referee Derek Cotton at a tournament in Rome, Italy.

On Sunday, September 24, internationally rated fencing referee Derek Cotton will be conducting one of his rare clinics for aspiring referees, and you could attend for FREE! See details below.

Qualified referees are an essential component at any fencing competition, and the SoCal Division is always looking for more. One of the requirements to become an official USA Fencing Referee is to attend a referee clinic taught by a certified instructor. So, if you are interested in contributing to the sport you love while earning money at the same time, or just want a better understanding of the rules of fencing, this is your opportunity to learn from one of the very best!

Derek Cotton is the most highly rated fencing referee in Southern California. He has an International Rating of B in all three weapons and has refereed many National Finals. His international experience includes the Pan American Games, the World University Games, the Junior World Championships and the Senior World Championships. In 1996, he was selected for the Paralympic Games in Atlanta. He was the only US referee selected to go to the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. Derek is a member of the Fencing Officials Commission where he previously served as Chair of the Referee Development Committee and as a member of the FIE Arbitrage Commission.

This clinic is FREE to all members of the Southern California Division who are under 18.

This clinic is FREE to members of the Southern California Division over 18 if they have taken the following steps to becoming a referee (accessible through the USA Fencing member’s profile page):

• purchased the +CheckEd membership add-on
• completed the 90-minute, online SafeSport course
• applied for a background check

For everyone else the cost is just $60.

Attendees will benefit from studying the following material prior to attending the clinic:

• Referees’ Commission National Referee Examination Study Guide
• Rule Book
• Penalty Chart

When: Sunday, September 24, 2023 from 8 AM to 4 PM

Where: Fortune Fencing, 139 W Maple Ave, Monrovia, CA 91016

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On Sunday, June 25, 2023, the Kern Athletic Fencing Foundation (KAFF) held its inaugural Bakersfield Walk-&-Roll 2-weapon Open Tournament. This USFA-sanctioned tournament format offered the exciting opportunity for able-bodied fencers to compete along with parafencers in a traditional pools-through-direct-elimination format.

When one or both of the competitors in a bout is a parafencer, the bout takes place with both fencers fully seated in wheelchair fencing frames. When both fencers are able-bodied the bout is conducted on a conventional fencing strip.

The Kern Athletic Fencing Foundation is developing a successful parafencing program and KAFF is proud to present the first tournament of this style in Southern California and maybe the West Coast!

If you have any questions please contact Lucas Dobrzanski.

The newly minted National Champions from the Southern California Division, are:

Daryl Taylor – Vet-70 Men’s Epee National Champion
Howard Li – Y-12 Men’s Saber National Champion
Patricia Bedrosian – Vet-80 Women’s Epee National Champion
Regina Lee – Y-12 Women’s Epee National Champion
Regina Lee – Y-14 Women’s Epee National Champion (Yes, she won them both!)
Xuanyi Zhang – Y-12 Women’s Saber National Champion

Congratulations to all our medalists!

SoCal medalists are listed below. For full results, go here.

SoCal Medalists – Women

SoCal Medalists – Men