Gold Medal for Illinois Fencers Club at the Burton Open
Maciek Zmyslowski (22, Des Plaines), a member of the Illinois Fencers Club (IFC) and a student at Northwestern University, won the gold medal in the Mixed Senior Epee event for the third consecutive year at the annual Burton Open fencing tournament held at Northwestern University September 28, 2013. Other IFC fencers capturing medals were Gabe Weininger (16, Northbrook) 7th in Mixed Epee and Samantha Doro (15, Arlington Heights) 3rd in Women's Epee.
Two of IFC's young women fencers competed in The Fencers Academy Regional Open Circuit Tournament in St. Louis, MO September 14-15, 2013. Samantha (Sammie) Doro and Kathryn (Kathy) Gaertner (15, Park Ridge) placed 6th and 11th respectively in Senior Women's Epee. Sammie started fencing at IFC when she was 10 years old. She enjoys fencing because it is "dynamic, fun and exciting" and teaches "patience, planning ahead, and not giving up". Kathy has fenced for 5 years (two years competitively). Kathy likes meeting new friends through fencing and enjoys the competitive nature of fencing in tournaments.
IFC's Tim Glass (Deerfield), one of four fencers selected to represent the United States in the Veteran Men's 50-59 Epee event at the World Veteran Championships in in Varna, Bulgaria, October 1-6, 2013 finished 13th out of 60 of the world's best fencers. Tim, a two-time National Men's Epee Champion, was a member of the 1980 United States Olympic team. Tim often fences with the younger members at IFC and provides inspiration and encouragement.
IFC members Gabe Weininger and Jack Gillman (16, Glencoe) placed 3rd and 10th respectively in the Senior Mixed Epee event at the Metro Chicago Fencing Center Open Epee Tournament September 22 in Northbrook. Gabe says that he enjoys the competitiveness of fencing and the fact that he can analyze his performance and continue to improve, as well as that fencing is an individual sport where he alone is responsible for his performance. Jack says that he finds the intensity of fencing to be very rewarding and that fencing teaches motivation, patience, hard work, and how to maintain a positive attitude.
The Illinois Fencers Club, Mt. Prospect, IL promotes and teaches the Olympic sport of fencing to students of all ages and skill levels and provides a friendly venue for members to practice their sport. It is a member operated non-for-profit sports association that has been serving beginning, recreational, and competitive fencers for more than 40 years. Further information is available on the club's website www.IFCfencing.org and its Facebook page.