News Notes

Four Qualify for United States Junior Olympic Fencing Championships

Four members of Wasatch Fencing qualified for the United States Fencing Junior Olympic Championships to be held in February. Ethan Gravis qualified in junior foil and saber while Eric Lin and Brad Hertd took qualifying spots in cadet foil. In the women’s events Alia Hinrichs qualified in cadet foil, saber and epee. Tait Washburn and Brian Anderson just missed qualifying by placing 4th and 5th in the junior foil event.

In the Open Foil competition, an A1 rated event, Ron Hendricks placed third (not bad for a really old guy) with Hertd, Washburn and Graves finishing in a respectable 9th, 10th and 12th places.

In the youth events, Michael Thompson place 3rd in the 10 and under foil.  Stanly Chen took 3rd in the 12 and under foil with teammates Alex Utley and Colton Steele taking 11th and 12th places.

In Friday night’s E and under Foil event, Jason Moss placed third with teammates Alia Hinrichs taking 5th Brad Hertd taking 6th.

"Tanner Holst Gold Fund" Established

Wasatch Fencing is proud to announce the Tanner Holst Gold Fund to honor all that Tanner gave of himself during his years fencing and service at the club. "It seems more than fitting that our Gold Fund program carry Tanner's name," said club director Ron Hendricks. "As Tanner was always there to help fellow fencers out in any way he could, the Tanner Holst Gold Fund’s purpose is to help remove any financial barriers that might prevent some youth fencers from fully participating in our club and competitions."

The original Gold Fund was established in 1989 and has help dozens of financially challenged youth fencers train and participate in competitions at little or no cost to them. Funding for the fund comes from donations from individuals and businesses throughout northern Utah including many alumni who fenced at Wasatch Fencing during their youth.

Members were saddened by the unexpected passing of Tanner Holst on January 23 of 2009. Tanner had been an active member of our club for 5 years and had progressed to being one of the top junior fencers in the state. More importantly, Tanner brought joy into the lives of everyone who had the opportunity to know him.

If you are interested in donating to the Tanner Holst Gold Fund, please contact Ron at ron@wasatchfencing.org

Adult Epee Fencing on Wednesday Nights
Wasatch Fencing will holds adult epee fencing practices on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9 p.m. No fencing experience is required and we supply all the instruction and equipment for just $35 per mionth. Give us a call for more information or just drop by to give it a try.

Learn to Fence in an Hour
If you have ever wanted to learn the sport of fencing, Wasatch Fencing's Lesson One program makes it easy. Just call, 801-497-9765, and schedule your first fencing lesson with Ron or James. The cost for your first lesson is only $20.

Once you complete your Lesson One, you are welcome to start attending practices. We have practice sessions that meet on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings for fencers from ages 8 - 20.