Summer Updates

The CBA Competitive Epee summer finished with a bang.  Seven happy CBA campers and their coach participated in the International Fencing Camp in Bocholt, Germany in late August.  There were over 100 campers, half of them in epee, from 16 countries.  The campers worked with coaches from Germany, the Netherlands, England, Austria, Canada, and Ukraine.  Daily activities included a morning run, lessons, drills and footwork, and lots of bouting in different formats. Other activities include a trip to the water park; a round-the-lake run; a walking tour of Bocholt; and ice cream in the Bocholt marketplace.  

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Then, less than a week after our return, our friends from Fechtklub Graz in Graz, Austria, paid us a visit.  Their coach, Lissy Knechtl, is a two-time World Cup Champion and an old friend of Coach Paul’s. Our guests saw the State Fair, the Mall of America, the Hoćojata Ťi Center, and other landmarks. We were also joined for training by our old friends and former US national team coaches Maureen Griffin and Mike Pederson, now in Montreal, Canada. So, during our training sessions, we had five coaches running activities and giving lessons: our own international camp. The energy was electric! At the end of their stay, the Austrians joined us for the RJCC in Libertyville, IL.

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Our plan is to make this the first leg of a home-and-home exchange.  So, CBA will go to Graz next summer!  Watch this space for details.