SITS will be offering an Epee Camp this summer June 24th-28th for intermediate fencers ages 12 & up. Emphasis will be placed on solidifying basic skills while honing fencers innate strengths and abilities. As well as time dedicated to fostering and understanding the more intellectual aspects of the sport.
FEATURES
SCHEDULE
Monday June 24th – Friday June 28th
10:00am. – 4:00pm.
Doors will open at 9:00am. Late pick up will be available until 5:00pm.
REGISTRATION FEE
REQUIREMENTS
If you would like to register for camp speak with Coach Shane or you may do so by clicking the sign up button below.
SITS will be offering an Epee Camp this summer July 10th-14th for intermediate fencers ages 12 & up. Emphasis will be placed on solidifying basic skills while honing fencers innate strengths and abilities. As well as time dedicated to fostering and understanding the more intellectual aspects of the sport.
FEATURES
SCHEDULE
Monday July 10th – Friday July 14th
10:00am. – 4:00pm.
Doors will open at 9:00am. Late pick up will be available until 5:00pm.
REGISTRATION FEE
REQUIREMENTS
In the beginning of October SITS fencers competed at the Worcester Fencing Club in the NEUSFA 6 Weapon E & Under on October 15th and 16th. Three SITS fencers finished in the top 16:
Other SITS Fencers who competed were:
Men’s Epee:
Women’s Epee:
Congratulations to everyone who competed!
Many SITS fencers competed at the Neil Lazar ROC in New Haven CT on September 24th & 25th.
Congratulations to Coach Shane who took a third place medal on Saturday in the A2 classified MEN’S VETERAN EPEE event and earned his B22 rating. Other SITS fencers who competed were:
Saturday September 24th:
DIV2 MEN’S EPEE: (C3 event)
DIV1A MEN’S SABER: (B2 event)
Sunday September 25th:
DIV1A MEN’S EPEE: (A4 event)
DIV2 WOMEN’S FOIL: (C2 event)
DIV2 MEN’S FOIL: (C3 event)
DIV2 MEN’S SABER: (C2 event)
DIV2 WOMEN’S EPEE: (C2 event)
Congratulations to everyone who competed!
Hi all, Coach Shane here. I’d like to take a moment to talk about competition and the value of a good headspace. I fenced two days in this tournament and, as noted above, did very well the first day in the Veteran’s Epee event. In preparation I had eaten healthy and slept well for several days before and was feeling quite well physically. More importantly I had spent several days thinking about how I was going to fence this event.
At age 41 I am one of the youngest competitors in the veteran category. “Baby Vet” is what the other guys call me. Which is what they proved me to be in my last veteran event when they all beat the snot out of me. You see, I’m younger, faster, stronger and I thought this could be my whole plan. I was wrong. Dead wrong. These veteran fencers (some of whom were 30 years my senior) had a much better plan than mine. They outlasted my youthful exuberance with conservation of energy. They overcame my speed with efficiency of movement. They avoided my strength by ceding to it rather than fighting against it. They tested, they observed and they executed second (and even third) intentions. And by the end of the day my youthful arrogance had been thoroughly humbled.
So this time rather than approaching it like a street fight I approached it like a chess match. I observed my opponents and adjusted my style and technique to counter each individual fencer. I didn’t fence the way I wanted to fence I fenced the way my opponent didn’t want me to fence. My mind was sharp and clear and the predominant thought running through my head was, “I can win this whole thing.” I didn’t. I lost my semi final bout to a very good fencer. But I felt I fenced it well and I am satisfied with the day’s result. Sunday was a different story….
I returned Sunday morning to fence in the DIV1A event. This was a larger event. An A4 classification with 99 fencers checked in, most of whom were young A and B rated wippersnappers in the prime of their lives. Was it a harder event? Yes. Was I tired and sore from the day before? Yes. Did it warrant me coming in 95th place? No. I did that to myself. As the veterans had shown me before, you can compete with fencers who are stronger and faster than you are. I have the skill and the knowledge to hold my own against most of these young fencers and on a good day, and in a good headspace, I know this. My headspace on this morning was one of defeatism. I looked around the room and I thought to myself, “I’m gonna get my butt kicked.” And that’s exactly what happened. I made bad choices. I fenced to my own strengths rather than to my opponents weaknesses. As I got down touches I let the fear of losing fill the forefront of my mind rather than the thought of winning. I made rash desperate attacks rather than drawing out what I wanted from my opponents. I finished the day without a single win. 0-6 in pools and eliminated in my first DE.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a good headspace. A calm collected head took me to third from the top on Saturday and an anxious scattered headspace brought me down to fifth from the bottom on Sunday. This goes to show that you can be on top of the world one day and down in the dumps the next. And that’s ok because tomorrow is a new day with infinite possibilities. Losing is only a negative experience if you can’t learn from it. So I intend to learn from my mistakes and get back in the saddle. I’m already signed up for my next DIV1A event. We’ll see how it goes. Win or lose I intend to love every minute of it.
Sincerely,
Coach Shane.
Congratulations to Aria Williamson for her 8th place finish in Y10 Women’s Epee at the Star Cup RYC on September 17th.
At 9 years old Aria is the youngest SITS member to ever medal at a Regional competition. Congratulations Aria!
Congratulations to Sparrow Belliveau for his 6th place finish in Cadet Men’s Epee at the Star Cup RJCC on September 17th. Sparrow’s top 8 finish in this A2 classified event earned him a C22 rating and earned him 90 points towards Cadet Junior Olympics qualification. Congratulations Sparrow!
Other SITS fencers who competed in the Star Cup RJCC were:
Congratulations for competing everyone!
Congratulations to Raven Belliveau for his 7th place finish in the A2 classified Senior Men’s Epee Open at Vivo Fencing Club on September 11th. Congratulations Raven!
Other SITS fencers who competed at Vivo Fencing Club were:
Congratulations for competing everyone!
Sword in the Scroll founder Drew Page passed away at his home this Wednesday evening, July 27th at the age of 52. Though cancer has taken him from us all too soon his spirit will always be present in the SITS community he has created. Drew founded Sword in the Scroll Fencing Academy in 2006 and has been Head Coach here for over 16 years. His passion for the sport was infectious, as was his commitment to bringing the sport of fencing to people of all social and economic backgrounds. For many of us Coach Drew has been an important and formative figure in our lives, and a true benefit to our community. He was deeply loved and he will be deeply missed.
A memorial service will be held next Saturday, August 6th 2:00pm at the 2nd Congregational Church, 1746 Boston Tpk. Coventry. A reception at the church will follow. The service will also be livestreamed. Those attending in person are asked to wear masks. In lieu of flowers the family is asking that donations be made to the SITS Endowment Fund as Drew preferred swords over flowers. A celebration of life party will happen at the end of summer/early fall.
SITS will be offering an Epee Camp this summer July 18-22 for intermediate fencers ages 12-16. Emphasis will be placed on solidifying basic skills while honing fencers’ innate strengths and abilities. As well as time dedicated to fostering and understanding the more intellectual aspects of the sport.
Features
Schedule
Monday July 18 — Friday July 22
10:00am. — 4:00pm.
Doors will open at 9:00am. Late pick up will be available until 5:00pm.
Registration fee
Registration deadline — June 15th
Requirements
Three SITS fencers, Sophia Balskus, Mila Covino and Raven Belliveau competed at the Boston Fencing Club ROC on Saturday April 9th and Sunday April 10th.
Sophia and Mila fenced in DIV2 Women’s Epee. Mila fenced well and gained experience fencing in her first Regional Open Circuit event. Congratulations to Sophia who fought hard all day and had some excitingly close Direct Elimination bouts that gave her coach (and her mother) many new grey hairs. She finished strong in the table of 16 placing 15th out of 46 fencers.
Congratulations to Raven who fought his way through several A rated fencers on Saturday to finish 8th out of 82 fencers in DIV1A Men’s Epee earning his A22! Raven returned on Sunday to compete in DIV2 Men’s Epee. After losing his first pool bout Raven went on to win every bout thereafter finishing in 1st place and bringing home a Gold medal.
Both Sophia and Raven earned regional points towards this year’s Summer Nationals in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Results for all events can be found here: https://fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/C02D2290630D48F8B3801D31772399B4#today
Congratulations to Dannan Page and Sophia Balskus who traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah this February to compete in the Junior Olympics.
This marks Sophia’s third JO competition. This year she competed in both Cadet and Junior Women’s Epee. Dani competed in Cadet Women’s Epee. This was her first time competing in the Junior Olympics.
Results for all events can be found here: https://member.usafencing.org/details/tournaments/5096
Congratulations also go out to Raven Belliveau, Emmett Sparrow Belliveau, and Shelby Saccomanno who all qualified for Men’s Epee events but were unable to attend due to usafencing policy restrictions. Raven and Sparrow both qualified for Junior Men’s Epee and Sparrow and Shelby both qualified for Cadet Men’s Epee.
Despite rises in COVID-19, Sword in the Scroll Fencing remains open for classes and lessons. Students, coaches and spectators are asked to wear masks are all time and social distance while in the building.
04.16.2022 | Update
Effective March 1st face coverings are no longer required at Sword In The Scroll Fencing Academy.
SITS Winter Camp in December was canceled due to lack of registrations.
Several SITS fencers competed in the 2021 Nutmeg State Games fencing tournament in Danbury on August 1. Leading all fencers were Dani, placing 3rd in Women’s Epee and Sophia, placing 5th. In the Men’s Epee event, Edward finished in 7th place and earned his C21 rating. Edward faced another SITS fencer in the table of 16, winning the bout against Jonathan who finished 9th overall.
The Nutmeg State Games is the largest amateur multi-sport event in Connecticut. The fencing competition was held at Candlewood Fencing Center, in Danbury.
Six fencers from Sword in the Scroll Fencing competed at the 2021 National Championships in Philadelphia July 3-13. This was the largest number of fencers to represent SITS at the national level. Raven led all fencers with a 25th place finish (out of 167) in the Div2 Men’s Epee event. Congratulations to Raven, Sophia, Sparrow, Alex B., Drew M., and Kameron. Kameron and Sophia each fenced in 3 separate events during the 10-day championships. Results of all events can be found here.
SITS has modified our class restrictions and changed the schedule. The current class schedule is as follows:
Classes no longer require advance sign up for members, however, class size will be restricted if numbers exceed capacity. Mask are no longer required during practice though fencers are welcome to continue wearing them. Mask are still required for all USFA tournaments.
Parents and drivers are now able to come watch fencers again. Masks are optional.
The SITS Board will continue to monitor the status of the pandemic and local health guidelines and adjust protocol as needed.
SITS has re-opened for limited class sizes. Classes are restricted to 12 students. All classes have procedures in place to keep students safe. Students must sign up for classes prior to attending. Questions can be sent by email.
At the 2020 High School State Championships, SITS epee fencer Melissa won the gold medal becoming the third SITS fencers to win the state title and the second in 2 years. Melissa competed in the Women’s Epee event and represented Waterford High School where she is a junior.
Congratulations to Alex W. who went undefeated on March 10th at the High School State Individual Fencing Championships to become the 2019 Women’s Epee State Champion representing Norwich Free Academy.
Also medaling at the championships were Raven (6th place) and Edward (7th place) in Men’s Epee.
Liam H. had a strong finish in 9th place, followed by Kameron (11th place Men’s Epee).
Other strong finishes were earned by Jade (15th in women’s saber), Alex B. (17th Men’s Epee), McKenna (22nd Women’s Epee) and Duncan (23rd Men’s Epee).
In all, more than a dozen SITS fencers competed in the championships representing school and homeschool programs across Eastern CT.
