Welcome to BRFC

COACH'S NOTE

BRFC Fencers and Families,

A LOT has changed in the last six weeks! We continue to settle into our new home and improvements are being made every week. Several of you have supported us by donating time, money, and material to help build our club into a suitable training facility. All of you have contributed by taking classes or lessons and by continuing to support BRFC. I never expected to be opening the doors of a club under the current circumstances, but we have found a way to do so safely, while still offering the best training and practices that we can. 

In an effort to expand, we are offering a few more intro classes as well as a saber class! Please feel free to pass the word along to friends or local school and community groups! We barely advertise, so word of mouth is super important to keep our numbers at a sustainable level. Also, we will be offering a winter fencing camp for experienced fencers during the break between our sessions! Keep an eye out for more information on that. 

I also want to encourage you to come out for open fencing! It is included in your membership fees now. Open fencing is important because it is the practice ground where fencers can go and apply the skills that we work on during classes. I highly encourage anyone who has completed at least an intro level class to come out and fence!

As always, if you are interested in private lessons please reach out! I have recently greatly expanded my availability. The combination of private lessons, class, and regular open fencing is the way to improve. 

Lastly, BRFC needs to get some more pictures for our website. I would especially like to get some pictures of us in our new facility. If any of you have some armature photography skills and a camera that is better than my smartphone, we could really use some help! Please let us know!

I am thrilled with how far we have come, and how far we can go! Thank you to everyone who has done so much work to make this happen!

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. 
Email: fencingcoachsides@gmail,com
Call or text: (540)-222-1710

-Nathaniel Sides
Head Coach
Blue Ridge Fencing Center

2020 FALL NEW MID-SESSION CLASSES

We will be introducing our first Saber class on October 23! The class will meet from 5-6PM on Fridays from October 23-December 11. This will be an add-on class with a cost of $60.

We will also run two additional Intro classes. Intro 2 will meet from 5-6PM on Thursdays from October 22 - December 10 with the exception of November 26 (Thanksgiving). Intro 3 will meet from 4-5 PM on Mondays from November 2 - December 14. The cost for both Intro 2 and Intro 3 is $120.

Intro 1 students who are currently meeting on Mondays will move up to the Beginner's class from 5-6 PM starting on November 2. 

STAYING SAFE AT BRFC

While we are all happy to fence again, we want to be safe doing it. BRFC is taking the following steps to reduce our risk of spreading illness:
-    Small class sizes
-    Outdoor class and private lesson options
-    Cleaning of shared surfaces after each class
-    No shared equipment. BRFC will offer a rental option for fencers who do not already own their own equipment.
-    Face coverings must be worn at all times while inside and outdoors when directed by your coach. 

EQUIPMENT RENTAL

BRFC will rent necessary equipment (chest protector, jacket, glove, mask, foil) to fencers who do not own their own equipment for a fee of $35 for the entire Fall session or $20 for the mid-session classes. The fencer will be responsible for the equipment for the duration of the rental period including cleaning, storage and return at the end of the session. This is both precaution that we want to take, as well as one mandated by USA Fencing.

OPEN FENCING

Open fencing will resume on October 19. It is included in your membership fees and is available to all fencers who have completed an introductory level class. Drop in on Monday from 7-8:30 PM or Thursday from 8-9 PM. Electric equipment will be available.

STAY INFORMED!

Get text notifications of important club information. BRFC can now send news and updates via text!

Send a text to 810-10 with @brfctext in the message or use this link remind.com/join/brfctext to register your phone number.

Ages 13 and up only, please. 

Class Times

September - December

Although we are offering the same fencing level on multiple nights, fencers will register for only one night a week to take their class. This allows us to meet our smaller class sizes and keep everyone safe.