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WHEELCHAIR FENCING COMMUNITY PAGE 2

Robert Donerson and Randy Lavender prepare to fence men's wheelchair epee at summer nationals in Atlanta, July 2010

Robert Donerson prepares to fence Randy Lavender at summer nationals in Atlanta, GA July 2010 photo courtesy of Pia Douglas

endeavor0914smallIf you are interested in sharing your personal story, how you became interested in fencing and would like to tell us a little about yourself or the club where you fence, or maybe you competed recently and would like to share your results? Send us your stories and/or pictures and we will post your info and media here.

Check out Ian's photo essay of a recent wheelchair fencing clinic at the Endeavor Games in Oklahoma earlier, in June:

http://www.transtexastrucks.com/Endeavor2009.html

Darryl's Story


SAVANNA'S STORY

                                             

In 2004, the Olympics were being held in Athens, Greece the very birth place of the Olympics. This year like every year the family was huddled around the TV watching with excitement as the athletes gave it their all to be the best of the best. They had dedicated years to be there, in that moment. One sport caught the attention of Savanna in particular…it was Fencing.

You can only imagine Savanna’s excitement to watch Mariel Zagunis win the Gold for the United States of America with her saber in hand. That was the moment that Savanna said “I want to do that,” and we listened, of course.

It took some time to find a program that we could put Savanna into and that was right here in our hometown at the time. My wife was the one who found the classes for fencing through our Parks and Recreation. Renee, Savanna’s mom, called the coach and told him “we just want to give you a heads up and let you know that in your next class you will have a girl in a wheelchair that wants to learn how to fence” and to our surprise he says “Awesome! I have a good friend that is a Wheelchair Fencer and I would love the challenge!”  Needless to say, that is all it took to get Savanna hooked. Jeff Crowe, her coach of almost three years now has been an amazing person to work with. He has also created a class just for Wheelchair Fencing through the Parks and Recreation department that is now moving into its second year. Savanna had the opportunity to compete this year in Atlanta, Georgia at the North American Cup in two events, Foil and Epee. She never stopped smiling and is looking forward to her next competition. This is a small part of Savannah’s story, and I hope that it doesn’t end for a very long time.

Her biggest fan,

Dad

 

 

Savannah's fencing wheelchair

sword

Paralympic Fencer Gary van der Wege passes the relay baton to a camper at the Elks Camp for Kids with Disabilites as part of the Nationwide Olympic Day festivities.  Gary joined with over three-hundred other Olympians and Paralympians to promote the Olympic Ideals to kids accross the United States.  Gary also made presentations in Kyle and San Antonio, TX.

olympic day

 

If anyone has any pictures from the summer nationals competition in Grapevine, Texas and they would like to share them with our community, please contact me about publishing them to the website.

Attention all fencing clubs that offer wheelchair fencing: We would like to continue to improve our directory and list wheelchair fencing programs, even if you have only one wheelchair fencer training at your club; we want to know about it! Your club information can be submitted on the Contact Page of this website.