New Member Information

New Member Information

AC FENCING ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP

ACFA club dues consist of an annual armory fee of $30 and a membership fee of $30 for a total of $60 per year. Families with multiple fencers in the same household pay the full $60 fee for the first fencer and $30 for each additional fencer. The registration fee pays for USA Fencing insurance for the club and your first ACFA patch. The armory fee helps to pay for incidental armory repairs and a small monthly stipend for the club armorer, Will Willis. The ACFA fencing year also runs from August 1st to July 31st of each year. All club dues should be payable on August 1st of each year.

CLUB APPLICATIONS

You will also need to complete a club application and waiver form before class or practice. Questions about membership should be directed to Chuck Slaughter, Bary Nusz, Kala Simpson or Mathew Gasparovich.

USA FENCING MEMBERSHIP

In order to fence competitively, all fencers must be a competitive member of USA Fencing. Annual USA Fencing dues are $70 for a competitive membership. The fencing year runs from August 1st to July 31st of each year. If you join USA Fencing after April 1st, then your membership will expire on July 31st of the following year. The USA Fencing website is www.usfencing.org. You must create a profile and register for USA Fencing on that website. At the appropriate places on the web form, list Amarillo Competitive Fencing Association as your club, Plains Texas Division as your division, and Chuck Slaughter as your coach if you are listing ACFA as your primary fencing club.

AMARILLO COLLEGE FENCING CLASSES

All ACFA competitive fencers must also register for one of the Amarillo College Fencing Classes EACH AND EVERY SEMESTER. The semester classes are approximately $53 per semester. These classes are one of the main reasons that ACFA is able to keep its dues so low. Amarillo College provides a venue, heating, air conditioning and some of the equipment used in running the competitive program. In exchange, ACFA coaches Chuck Slaughter and Bary Nusz are volunteer instructors for Amarillo College. If you are a competitive fencer you should register for the Youth II Fencing Class if you are under 13 years of age or the Intermediate - Advanced Adult Fencing Class if you are 13 years of age or older. If you have any questions about the classes talk to Chuck Slaughter.

ACFA PATCH & TEAM COLORS

You will receive one official patch of the Amarillo Competitive Fencing Association (ACFA) with payment of your first year dues. It should be sewn securely on your fencing jacket on the "unarmed" sleeve, one inch below the shoulder seam. Additional patches may be purchased for $4.00 each. The official team colors of ACFA are Royal Blue and White.

FENCING GEAR WORKSHEET

What do I need to fence competitively?

Clothing & Miscellaneous

1 Fencing Jacket, preferably front close
1 Pair of Knickers
1 Plastron (underarm protector)
1 Fencing Glove (same glove can be used for foil & epee)
Long Socks (preferably white or AC blue)
Tennis shoes or fencing shoes
Breast Protector (female only - you must use the one piece protector)
Equipment Bag (Preferably it should have two large compartments so that you can separate your equipment from your sweaty gear. Otherwise, you will get rust marks on your clothing. An alternative is to put a smaller bag inside the larger equipment bag to hold your clothing.)
Water bottle
Towel

Epee Equipment

1 epee mask
1 practice epee (non-electric), size 5
2 - 3 electric epees, size 5
2 epee body cords
Note: ACFA suggests purchasing Visconti grips for your epees. These are orthopedic grips like the ones used in the classes at AC. They come small, medium and large. Check at practice and find the size that fits your hand the best. Specify right or left handed when ordering. A significant minority of national level fencers uses French grips in epee competition. Please consult a coach first if you are considering using French epee grips.

Foil Equipment

1 foil mask
1 practice foil (non-electric) size 5
2 - 3 electric foils (size 5) with German tips
German connectors
2 body cords - German
NOTE: Buy German body cords and connectors. If you use French connectors and/or body cords, the club Armorer will not always have the parts to fix your equipment and your equipment will not be compatible with other club fencers at tournaments (if you have to borrow something in an emergency).
2 mask cords (to connect foil mask to foil lame + backup)
1 Foil Lame
Note: ACFA suggests purchasing Visconti grips for your foils. These are orthopedic grips like the ones used in the classes at AC. They come small, medium and large. Check at practice and find the size that fits your hand the best. Specify right or left handed when ordering.

Sabre Equipment

1 practice sabre (non-electric), size 5
2 - 3 electric sabres, size 5 (German connectors) (Make sure that you order competition legal saber blades or you will not be allowed to compete at tournaments.)
2 German style body cords (2 prong)
1 Sabre mask
1 Sabre Lame
2 mask cords to connect lame to mask
1 sabre glove (800 newton is REQUIRED as of 2015)

Before you purchase any equipment, it would be beneficial to discuss your purchases with the ACFA Armorer, Will Willis, or a coach. Will might be able to make some recommendations that might save you some money.

Fencers UNDER 10 years of age or younger should check with Coach Slaughter before they purchase any weapons. Some fencers will need to buy shorter weapons due to competition requirements.

USA FENCING WEBSITE INFORMATION

New to fencing? The USA Fencing website has a page called Fencing 101. It contains a number of links to find basic information about the sport of fencing. It contains a viewer's guide, quick facts, an abbreviated glossary of terms, and much more. Click the link below.

Fencing 101