TRFC News

US Fencing Event in Pittsburgh!

The United States Fencing Association will be hosting a North American Cup this weekend, December 4-6, 2009 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Hall A.  The top athletes from the USA and Canada will be competing, and many fencers from the Three Rivers Fencing Center will be fencing!  There is no charge for the event, and parking is $5.  This is a great chance to see what fencing looks like at the Olympic Level!  If you decide to stop by, look for the black TRFC banner on the wall, and ask someone from TRFC to help you!

New Beginner Classes!

Now is the time to register for a Beginner class - come and see why fencing is so popular!  We encourage boys and girls (and adults!) looking for a challenging sport to give this a try.  It is a great workout and is challenging both physically and mentally.  We have classes starting:

• At our Headquarters Location in Point Breeze (East End near Frick Park and the Zoo);

• Through the Pine-Richland Fencing Club in Wexford; and

• Through the Peters Township Recreation Center.

We run separate classes for Youth (ages 7-12), and for Teens and Adults (ages 13 and up).  New classes at Headquarters and Peters Township start in January, and through the Pine-Richland Fencing Club in January.  To view the next class dates and to register for a class, please click on Classes to the right, or email Brad at cellier@threeriversfencing.org with questions or to register.  We look forward to teaching you this great sport!

2009 Summer Camps

The Three Rivers Fencing Center has a full slate of half-day, weeklong summer camps scheduled for this summer!  This is a great way to introduce your son or daughter to this great sport, or help them improve their skills if they have already tried it.  We have camps scheduled in Point Breeze (East End), Wexford (through the Pine-Richland Fencing Club), and at the Peters Township Recreation Center.  Click on Classes to the right for dates, details and registration forms.

Olympic Medals!

They did it!  The USA Women's Foil Team defeated the 2007 World Championship Polish Team, then defeated Hungary to win the Silver Medal, eventually losing to the Russians in the Gold Medal Bout.  Likewise the Men's Saber Team won the Silver Medal!  In addition, the USA women's fencers swept the Olympic saber individual event, winning gold, silver and bronze!  We were hoping for big things, but it doesn't get any better than that!  Mariel Zagunis repeated her gold medal performance from Athens, and Sada Jacobson and Becca Ward won silver and bronze, respectively.  Read all about it, here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/fencing/news/newsid=185387.html#three+all+u+s+sweeps+sabre
To see all results from the Olympic fencing events, visit www.nbcolympics.com.

Do you have a young athlete interested in fencing?  The Three Rivers Fencing Center is Pittsburgh's Premier Modern Olympic Fencing Club - join one of our Beginner classes this November, and see why fencing is one of the fastest growing USA sports!  Go, USA! (Photos courtesy of FencingPhotos.com)

2008 National Championships

The Three Rivers Fencing Center was represented well at the National Championships this year.  12 Fencers competed, making the trip to San Jose, CA, and we even collected some hardware!  Stephen Baker won the Bronze Medal in the Division II Event! - this is a special result, as the Division II Event is extremely challenging.  Likewise, Lynn Botelho won the Bronze Medal in the Veteran Foil event!  Competing at National Championships is a victory in itself, and we are proud of all of our competitors!  Special thanks to Coach Iana Dakova, who coached our fencers for the 10 days of events.

LIFExpo 2008 Wrap-up!

The Three Rivers Fencing center was proud to present the sport of Fencing at the 2008 LIFExpo at Heinz Field on Thursday May 1st through Sunday May 4th!   We enjoyed meeting new people and telling them a little bit about this fantastic sport.  We would like to thank the organizers and other exhibitors for making the Inaugural LIFExpo a positive experience.

We look forward to next year's events - Visit the website at www.lifexpo.com for more information!

TRFC Sweeps Arnold Classic!

After sweeping the foil events last year, the Three Rivers Fencing Center swept the Arnold Fencing Classic again this year.  Josh Grill won the Open and Youth-14 Foil Events.  In addition, Ben Jagger was awarded the Columbus Rotary Club $1,000 scholarship for being the one- “best citizen fencer” at the Arnold Fencing Classic 2007!  Congratulations, Ben!  TRFC fencers won many medals, and had many solid finishes - click on Competitions to the right for complete results.  Congratulations to fencers and coaches, alike!

Iana Dakova elected FOC Vice Chairman

Iana Dakova, Head Coach for the Three Rivers Fencing Center, has been elected Vice Chairman of the USA's Fencing Officials Commission (FOC). Her responsibilities now include selecting all referees for every major National and North American Cup tournament held in the United States. We are honored to have her here in Pittsburgh working with us. Congratulations, Iana.

Nadine Obermiller 6th in World Championships!

Congratulations to TRFC's Nadine Obermiller, who finished 6th in the 2005 Veteran World Fencing Championships over Labor Day Weekend!  After winning the USA National Championships Gold Medal, Nadine made her mark again at the World Championships in the Over 60 Women's Epee Event.  We are fortunate to have her training with us, and we look forward to her continued success!

Post-Gazette Feature

Jan Ackerman, of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, put together a fine article on fencing and the Three Rivers Fencing Center.  Click here to see the article.