Youth Points

Following are the Youth Points as of 5/2/2009

Event	Name	Total
Y10ME	Horowitz, Charles	2000
	Samaha, Nicholas	1770
	Kwok, Christopher	1770
	Motamedi, Nicolas “Nico”	1000
	Ewart, Stephen	920
	Thein-Sandler, Adrien	850
	Fredette, Joshua	850
	Ruibal, Maximilian	700
	Motamedi, NicolasNic”	700
	Jones, Ricky	695
	Thistlethwaite, Ronnie	690
	Jones, WalterD.	690
	Yang, Gillian	685
	Rodriguez, Andres	685
	Abarbanel, Maxwell	535
Y10MF	Cooke, Dillon	2920
	Lin, Christopher	2620
	Samaha, Nicholas	2085
	Kwok, Christopher	1535
	Denny, Ryan	1395
	Ahn, Aiden	1000
	Itkin, Nick	920
	Schenk, Gaston	850
	Rubin, Darren	850
	Creede, Jack	850
	Ikedo, Joe	690
	Gordon, Lorenzo	690
	Carney, JohnD	690
	Guiliana, Lucca	685
	Lee, Nicholas	535
	Rawles, Aubrey	535
	Kushnir, Liza	530
Y10MS	Raynes, Reeyan	2460
	Moss, Jachin	1840
	Lamb, John	1690
	Flemming-Powell, Cody	1395
	Joso, Davery	1380
	Frank, Taylor	1190
	Meredith, Hunter	1000
	Kwong, Samuel	1000
	Smith, Jayson	850
	Sang, Eric	535
	Pagal, Jared	535
	Beck, Max	530
	Duffy-Boscagli, Francesco	515
	Joo, Paul	510
Y10WE	Nixon, Caroline	1850
	Yang, Jessica	1770
	Glaser, Olivia	1000
	Senturia, Danielle	1000
	Yang, Gillian	920
	Ostrie, Jacaranda	700
Y10WF	Park, Alexandra	1000
	Cannan, Catherine	1000
	Liu, Hester	1000
	Kushnir, Liza	920
Y10WS	Pearson, Elena	1850
	Brown, Emma	1850
	Obillos, Kyla	1840
	Barnett, Mary	1000
	Pascual, Justine	1000
	Jafarian, Roozbeth	850
	Beech, Ava-Rose	850
Y12ME	Senturia, Nicholas	2840
	Yoo, Justin	1920
	Hesslegrave, Porter	1850
	Horowitz, Charles	1700
	Pellegrino, Frank	1545
	Zeller, Zachary	1235
	Perez, Tristan	1230
	Fujita, Khai	850
	Raynis, Jake	850
	Deans, Sam	700
	Williams, Chase	700
	Weigel, Austin	695
	Lee, Nathan	690
	Park, Chad	690
	Maestri-Petnunas, Preston	690
	Motamedi, Nicolas”Nico”	685
	Culpepper, Peter	685
	Samaha, Nicholas	685
	Geisberg, Benjamin	535
	Strumwasser, Spencer	530
	Vigil, Cole	530
	Giesberg, Benjamin	525
Y12MF	Ro, Timothy	2545
	Saito, Braden	2465
	Edelstein, Ryan	2055
	Beltsov, Andrew	1885
	Plante, Cole	1730
	Schenk, Dimitri	1610
	Duran, Chris	1380
	Gardner, John	1210
	Rodriguez, Michael	1200
	Harrison, Mason	1190
	Morin, Takumi-Benjamin	1070
	Deans, Sam	1000
	Ahn, Aaron	1000
	Ahn, Aiden	920
	Stanton, Timothy	850
	Wendler, Alexander	700
	Raspi, Luca	685
	Patel, Dillon	685
	Komara, Maurice	685
	Rubin, Darren	535
	Sette, Pietro	530
	Wilkins, Pravin	525
	Cooke, Dillon	525
	Kniter, Philipp	525
	Lin, Christopher	520
	Vigil, Cole	515
	Itkin, Nick	515
	Dritley, Roy	510
	Jun, Eugene	505
	Farrage, Alec	505
	Lau, Lorenzo	500
	Patrick, Spencer	0
	Saidane, Zachary	0
	Evert, Steven	0
	Samaha, Nicholas	0
	Sapiro, Wyatt	0
	Gale, James	0
	Lee, Nathan	0
	Shih, Austin	0
	Soltwedel, George	0
	Kuhlman, Ben	0
	Creede, Jack	0
	Ryan, Alexander	0
Y12MS	Jones, Ian	2615
	Zeiss, Jacob	2400
	Mendoza, Marc	2385
	DuBois, Walker	2070
	Musgrave, Walter	1770
	Dalli, Jeffrey	1700
	Graham, Jack	1575
	Liang, Calvin	1545
	Pineschi, Victor	1530
	Sahhar, John	1215
	Joso, Darien	1055
	Lenz, Jaron	1035
	Buchwald, Jonah	920
	Recinto, Jose	700
	Magnuson, Ryan	690
	Li, Sean	685
	Kurokawa, Navid	685
	Joso, Davery	535
	Gardner, John	535
	Pineschi, KennethNicholas	520
	Pascual, Johannes	520
	Lamb, John	515
	Pineschi, Kenneth	510
	Gulden, Christopher	510
	Granatelli, Robert	505
	Sang, Eric	500
	Pagal, Jared	0
	Moss, Jachin	0
	Terani, Ryan	0
Y12WE	Angen, Katie	2850
	Ruibal, Stefania	2460
	Dinhut, Claire	2305
	Nixon, Kasia	2235
	Horowitz, Jennifer	1850
	Gregory, Samantha	1595
	Leeper, Emily	1580
	Yun, Audrey	1545
	Fang, Jessica	1400
	Ni, Yu-Shien	1380
	Gout, Elise	1045
	Dilibero, Cassandra	920
	Dilibero, Andrea	695
	Han, Amanda	690
	McCauley, Sasha	690
	Buck, Alexandria	685
	Edwards, Olivia	530
	Goran, Elizabeth	520
	Collins, Madeline	520
	Senturia, Danielle	515
Y12WF	Valderrama, Sofia	1770
	Leeper, Emily	1545
	McBryan, Teresa	1445
	Russo, Sophia	1000
	Dilibero, Cassandra	1000
	Han, Amanda	850
	Dilibero, Andrea	850
	Tse, Tyra	700
	Ashland, Jaycie	690
	Fatourechi, Jasmine	0
Y12WS	Pineschi, Anastasia	3000
	Hu, Danya	1770
	Steinberg, Skylar	1395
	Fillipow, Sonia	920
	Wolpert, Mila	850
	Barnett, Mary	850
	Blackman, Rachel	850
	Wall, Madeleine	700
	Blackman, Kate	695
	Dougherty, Hanna	690
	Beech, Ava-Rose	690
	Obillos, Kyla	685
	Pearson, Elena	535
Y14ME	Yoo, Justin	2385
	Plante, Ethan	2225
	Schorr, Raymond	1770
	Krejcik, Lane	1700
	Shepard, Trevor	1615
	Riviere, Benjamin	1610
	Hesslegrave, Porter	1375
	Yoo, Ryan	1230
	Smith, Wyatt	1225
	Senturia, Nicholas	1215
	Poremski, John	1205
	Perez, Denzel	1055
	Hillin, Jack	1040
	Brown, Eli	1005
	McNamara, Christian	1000
	Wiener, Jacob(Jake)	850
	Farley, Ryan	850
	Lee, Grant	695
	Wiener, Jacob(Jake)	685
	Raynis, Jake	685
	Buckmaster, Joseph	535
	Ferreira, Austin	530
	Deagon, Nicholas	520
	Mooney, MacGregor	520
	Zeller, Zachary	515
	Piccirilli, Gregory	515
	Kim, Richard	515
	Taylor, Alex	515
	Pellegrino, Frank	510
	Strumwasser, Spencer	505
	Wetch, Lucas	500
	Strumwasser, Taylor	500
	Maestri-Petnunas, Pres	0
	Horowitz, Charles	0
	Fujita, Khai	0
	Rydder, CarlLeegaard	0
	Hartzell-Robbins, Matthew	0
	Perez, Tristan	0
	Weigel, Austin	0
	Pak, Julius	0
	Butler, Nick	0
	Martinez, Wesley	0
	Bosse, Wesley	0
	Draghi, Nikolas	0
Y14MF	Emge, Spicer	2770
	Ro, Timothy	1945
	Wong, Nathan	1770
	Knoppel, Peter	1540
	Kim, John	1390
	Sabo, Stephen	1385
	Sakakini, Daniel	1380
	Reyes, Christian	1370
	Duran, Chris	1220
	Devaney, Geoffrey	1200
	VanDerWesthuizen, Seun	1065
	Falls, Jacob	1015
	Speer, Stephen	1000
	Ahn, Aaron	1000
	McClain, Joseph	850
	Plante, Ethan	700
	McNamara, Pierce	700
	Sobisky, Frank	690
	Ho, Jonathan	690
	Ahn, Aiden	685
	Hsieh, Conway	535
	Krogstad, Tomas	535
	Plante, Cole	530
	Rilling, Zachary	525
	Morin, Takumi-Benjamin	525
	Pistotti, Nicholas	520
	Adam, Max	515
	Raspi, Luca	510
	Frailey, Zachary	510
	August, Patrick	510
	Saito, Braden	505
	Kuhlman, Ben	505
	Gardner, John	500
	Graf, Dylan	500
	Zimmerman, David	0
	Fingerhut, Josh	0
	Rodriguez, Michael	0
	Bennington, Shayne	0
	Foos, Frederick	0
	DeSon, Ethan	0
	Sanders, Connor	0
	Beltsov, Andrew	0
	Ferreira, Austin	0
	Vallelunga, Brian	0
	Devaney, Connor	0
	Wendler, Alexander	0
	Kelley, Jared	0
	Wood, Sam	0
Y14MS	Jones, Ian	2295
	Mendoza, Marc	2050
	Rosin, Christopher	2035
	Johnson, Noah	1915
	Zeiss, Jacob	1910
	Donavan, Spencer	1905
	Armijo, Gabriel	1700
	Rabbani, Noah	1535
	Dalli, Jeffrey	1385
	Musgrave, Walter	1215
	DuBois, Walker	1200
	Campbell, Colin	1055
	Strauss, Zachary	1030
	Liang, Calvin	1030
	Buchwald, Isaac	1000
	Loss, Geoffrey	1000
	Stayner, John	920
	Costin, MichaelVlad	920
	Kang, Jeffrey	850
	Buchwald, Jonah	695
	Haslem, Charles	530
	Li, Sean	530
	Cohenzadeh, Joshua	520
	Granet, Elijah	510
	Graham, Jack	505
	Magnuson, Ryan	500
	Chang, JasonG.	0
	GranatelliIII, Anthony	0
	Metoyer, Sebastian	0
	Kurokawa, Navid	0
	Pineschi, Kenneth	0
	Pineschi, KennethNicholas	0
	Pineschi, Victor	0
	Corrigan, Josh	0
	Joso, Darien	0
	Snytsheuvel, Ryan	0
	Ishida, Garrett	0
	Steinberg, Skylar	0
	Stine, Michael	0
	Granatelli, Robert	0
	Thoeny, Maxwell	0
	Wilson, Corey	0
Y14WE	Horowitz, Jennifer	1920
	Edwards, Aleina	1920
	McCauley, Nikita	1550
	Chow, Jasmine	1550
	Lau, Yiwa	1425
	Nixon, Kasia	1380
	Angen, Katie	1225
	Bradley, Maya	1220
	Mandalian, Alexandra	1190
	Diehl, Natalie	1190
	Fang, Jessica	1045
	Yang, Taylor	1040
	McBryan, Sarah	1035
	Peterson, May	1000
	Rand, Vivian	850
	Dinhut, Claire	850
	Dilibero, Cassandra	850
	Yun, Audrey	695
	Ruibal, Stefania	695
	Delgado, Veronica	695
	Astrow, Lilly	690
	Shanel, Danni	690
	Hartmann, Margaret	685
	Remulla, Carla	530
	Ni, Yu-Shien	525
	Keft, Alexandra	520
	Hartmann, Lucie	520
	Dilibero, Andrea	515
	Sosis, Ariella	515
	Boberg, Juliette	0
Y14WF	Yang-Eaves, Jordan	2320
	Storms, Ashley	1850
	McBryan, Teresa	1850
	Valderrama, Sofia	1540
	Remulla, Carla	1535
	Kain, Alexandra	1225
	Kniter, Denise	1215
	Akers, Brianna	1210
	Gory, Betty	1210
	Canann, Alana	1000
	Schapiro, Chaya	920
	Marks, Amanda	920
	Lau, Aika	850
	Dilibero, Andrea	850
	Dilibero, Cassandra	695
	Jun, Eugene	690
	Gustafson, Sarah	685
	Shanel, Danni	535
	Keft, Alexandra	520
Y14WS	Gruman, SarahLillian	2850
	Pineschi, Anastasia	1770
	Marks, Amanda	920
	Brody, Rachel	850
	Hu, Danya	700
	Naddaur, Sandhya	695

Board of Directors Notes and Minutes

To the PCC membership:

The BOD’s meeting in Chicago was an amazing experience. I say this even though I am a cynical, experienced, veteran of USFA committee work and political posturing.

My expectation was that, although it was a new, and possibly better group, that a lot of the same issues of lack of collaboration and compromise would limit the groups’ ability to get things done.

Thank goodness I was wrong! The meeting agenda was clear, the leadership positive and appropriate, the information clear and available; we accomplished all that we hoped, on time.

You can see by the Minutes (called ‘draft’ because they need to be ratified at the next meeting) that there were a number of actions that were passed that will help the USFA move forward; help us recover from the financial problems, redefine the role of the organization, and learn how to support efforts strategically, with planning and execution.

I was especially pleased to watch BOD members with strong differences of opinions compromise to move actions through. The new Executive Committee is committed to the effort it will take to get things done. They have structured the oversight of committees well (see Committee Appointments) and have a focused timeline. The budget and all activitions are being presented in a transparent manner, and that is what we should expect to see going forward.

I was honored to be appointed as co-chair of the Resource Development Committee, with Michael Morgan, who has been involved with fencing since 1958. Our committee’s job is to develop a clear brand message, and then find both internal and external resources to help fund the USFA’s operation and growth goals. We will also make sure that all the committees are supported in presenting a common message as they develop club support, school programs, a wheelchair program, technology: the web site and other critical infrastructure and programs.

Thank you again for electing me to represent the Pacific Coast Section. I am optimistic that we are moving forward in a positive manner. Anyone with specific questions for me, please email me at kathryn@balestra.us.

Respectfully,

Kathryn Schifferle

• Minutes
• Committee-appointments

Knee Injuries in Female Athletes

In the last couple of weeks, I unfortunately had an opportunity to learn a lot about the knee injuries in female athletes – primarily because my daughter had a bit of a scare (which thankfully turned out to be minor).

It turns out that female athletes have an inordinate number of knee injuries.  While there is some debate about the underlying reasons (some think it has to do with hip geometry of post-adolescent female athletes, others think that its the lack of weight training that girls do after puberty), the answer does seem to indicate more stringent physical training for these competitors.

I’ve attached some research and information from the University of Cincinnati that was sent to me – I encourage all female athletes and their parents/coaches to read it (and any other information that they can get their hands on).  Then, I’d encourage our women fencers (or those who are responsible for our women fencers) to speak with their doctors and coaches and develop a training plan to improve strength around these very important joints.

We can encourage these athletes to do the training necessary to reduce the incidence of these injuries – and prolong their enjoyment of our sport.  Thanks!

Gary Zeiss
Chair

• Preventing ACL Injuries
• Trunk and Hip Protocol
• Information regarding ACL Injuries in Women Athletes
• Conference Brochure (if you’re really interested!) 

Banned Substances in Fencing

Today’s news gives us a somber reminder that all competitors need to use caution – and make sure our competitive children use caution – when it comes to banned substances.  Italy’s Andrea Baldini – one of the world’s best men’s foil fencers – was excluded from the Beijing Olympics for testing positive for a banned substance.  While Mr. Baldini is disputing the test, for him the damage has been done, as he will be missing this chance to medal in the 2008 Olympics.

Banned substances can be tricky.  They include a number of Over-the-Counter and prescription medications, as well as many homeopathic remedies.  Also, some substances persist in the bloodstream long after their therapeutic benefit has been experienced.  It behooves each of us to know – and to make sure that our kids know – what these substances are and how to avoid them.

The USADA web site has a number of resources that can guide us when it comes to which substances can and cannot be used.  Please refer to it regularly – and remember to check any prescription and OTC remedies that you or your child athlete may wish to use.

Our Olympians

I wanted to wish our olympians the best of luck in Beijing!

• Doris Willette (Women’s Foil)
• Gerek Meinhardt (Men’s Foil) – and also the youngest US male athlete!
• Jason Rogers (Men’s Sabre)
• Gerard Moreno (Wheelchair)
• Scott Rodgers (Wheelchair)

Congratulations!  Safe travels… and bring home some bling!

135 Medals for the Section!

Congratulations to all who fenced at this years’ Summer Nationals in San Jose. Reports from the venue were overwhelmingly positive – it was truly a great nationals for all involved.

And the fencers of the PCS truly excelled, garnering 135 medals (the most of any section) including three gold medals!

As we begin the summer season and begin recharging for next year’s competition, we should all take a moment to celebrate our accomplishments of 2008.

Best regards,

Gary.

Congratulations to PCS Members at the Las Vegas World Cup!

Congratulations to the following members of the Pacific Coast Section and their efforts at the 2008 World Cup in Las Vegas, Nevada (June 19-23, 2008).

Women’s Foil

• Doris Willette – 11th Place
• Madison Zeiss – 26th Place
• Pilar Alicea – 44th Place
• Phenix Messersmith – 58th Place

Men’s Sabre:

• Barron Nydam – 47th Place
• Jason Rogers – 56th Place

The Referee was Horrible! What do I do?

As both Section Chair and a national referee, I have heard this complaint very frequently.  As the parent of two great fencers, I’ve felt it too.  Competitors scream and cry, coaches curse in a variety of languages, parents feel cheated.  Everyone says “why can’t we get better referees?”

First of all, like the rest of us, referees are imperfect, make mistakes, have good days and bad days.  But, with rare exception, they are all giving the task in front of them their fullest attention and best efforts.  Yet even the best referees make mistakes.

Second, they are usually seeing the action at an angle better than any spectator or coach.  An action that looks one way from directly in front of it can look like an entirely different action at the end of the strip.  Don’t assume that because you or your coach see it one way, that the referee will see it the same way – that isn’t always the case.

Third, refereeing is a difficult, high-stress and thankless job.  When it pays, it pays poorly.  The hours are long (at the 2008 PCCs, I worked two 13-hour days).  Worse yet, the highest-stress, most difficult calls often happen at the end of very long days.  It isn’t an easy job.

I often say that I referee for four reasons – the hours, the pay, the food, and the respect that I get from the fencers, their coaches and their parents.  I must be crazy .

These characteristics make it difficult to hire and recruit referees.  Getting paid very little to eat bad food, stand around for 13 hours a day and get yelled at is not the most attractive job.  But still, we do it – to give something back, to gain some status, because we enjoy the camaraderie of our brethren – all sorts of reasons.  We are even able to pull new people into it – slowly and reluctantly, for sure.  Sometimes these new refs are calling your bouts.

So what to do about a referee who is seeing it differently than you (or your child) is doing it?  Different from their coach’s advice?  Simple.  Change what you or your child is doing.  In a 5 or 15 touch bout, it is unlikely that the fencer is going to be able to teach the referee to see their perfect action.  Furthermore, trying to prove that action will likely cause the fencer to loose.

In foil and sabre, particularly, the fencer is fencing two people – the opponent and the referee.  He or she has to score with both of them to succeed.  

Gary.

Did I (or my child) qualify for Nationals?

Qualification is one of the most frequently asked questions that the Section officers get. No doubt, it is because the rules are somewhat arcane and confusing. The best resource for the answer to this is the Athletes’ Handbook, distributed by the USFA (link to that document is here).  I encourage you to review Section 2 of that document – it provides the clearest explanation of qualification.

The simple (sort of) rules are as follows:

in a qualifier, the top 25% (rounded up) qualify – with a minimum of 3. Thus, if the qualifier has 15 fencers, places 1-4 will qualify. If there are 17 qualifiers, places 1-5 will qualify (remember, rounding up).

if there are people who have already qualified (through national points, for example, or through other events), the number of potential qualifiers increase.  Thus, in our example with 15 fencers, above, if the fencer who finished second is on the points list for a particular event, then the 1, 3, 4 and 5 will qualify.

Be sure to review the age restrictions, etc., to make sure that the event is available.  Certain events have their annual changeover

mid-year (because of the world cup cycle).  Consult the Athletes’ Handbook.

There is an appeal process – but the appeal process doesn’t always work.  Perhaps the most consistent successful appeals are those based upon a verified injury at the event for a fencer who has a history of performing successfully at that level.  Of course, other appeals are considered – but it is important to understand that nearly everyone thinks that they should have qualified – so a successful appeal may be more difficult to get than expected.  The appeal process is in the Athletes’ Handbook.

Congratulations to the “A”’s of 2008!

Foil

Alicea, Pilar C
Bravo, Nobuo U
Chan, Edbert Y
Chang, Jason
Chang, Jerry
Dew, Eric
Dollar, Chris
Henvick, Allison M
Khoshnevissan, Christopher K
Lew, Dillon M
Louie, Brennan W
Martin, Jeffrey P
Massialas, Alexander C
Mattox, Norman S
Meinhardt, Gerek L
Nguyen, Danny T
O’Barr, Kieran C
Padgitt, Tedd S
Schenkel, Eli A
Urbain, Kevin
Vella, Anthony
Willette, David G
Willette, Doris E
Zeiss, Madison E

Epee

Alexander, Charles H
Aljibury, Halim F
Amos, Madeline
Bethel, Dylan A
Bothelio, Jere P
Carnahan, Garrett M
Case, Dylan P
Demirchian, Gagik M
Gegan, Cooper M
Hansen, Eric J
Hedges, Philip S
Jensen, David J
Lichten, Keith H
Neveu, Grace K
Ordody, Gyorgy
Peterson, Emma K
Raynis, Michael A
Rentmeister, Andrea
Rhea, R. Robert
Rock, Matt W
Safford, Hannah R
Sallembien, Nicolas H
Tepedelenlioglu, Mehmet

Sabre

Nydam, Barron W
Rogers, Jason N

PCS Fencers in the Olympics!

Congratulations to our Sections Olympians!

• Doris Willette – Golden Gate Fencing Center – Womens’ Foil
• Gerard Moreno – Los Angeles International Fencing Center – Men’s Wheelchair Foil & Sabre (Category B)
• Gerek Meinhardt – The Massialas Foundation – Men’s Foil
• Jason Rogers – Los Angeles International Fencing Center – Men’s Sabre
• Scott Rodgers – San Diego – Men’s Wheelchair Foil & Epee (Category B)

When you see them, congratulate them and wish them our best!

The next few months

Fencers:

Welcome to the new Pacific Coast Section web site.  Over the next few months, as we transition to a new PCS administration, this web site will contain updates and information that I hope you will find useful.

The first thing I would like to do is offer my sincere gratitude, and encourage you to offer your sincere gratitude, to Frank van Dyke.  He ran the section for 13 years – pouring his heart and soul into it.  The result was a group of events that were exceptional at this level – both in quality of fencing and the event experience.  Trust me when I say that far more goes into this job than one would expect – and Frank was the engine for a section that has excelled over the past thirteen years.

Continuing the fine work of Frank will take lots of collective effort.  I hope that we can count on each of you to help where possible. 

Again, my sincerest “thank you” to Frank and those who have helped him over the years.
Best regards,

Gary.