The Oakland Press

Renaissanc­e Fencing Club hosts a competitio­n again

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They wore face masks under their fencing masks.

No one shook hands after their bouts.

They were temperatur­escanned at the door and given squirts of hand sanitizer without a choice.

They sat on plastic chairs distanced from their teammates and competitor­s.

Yet they were so happy to see friends from other clubs, and to be at a competitio­n again.

Renaissanc­e Fencing Clubs youth fencers were finally allowed to compete.

Parents sat on chairs outside on the grass – they weren’t allowed in due to limited capacity – they watched via live video camera feed without complainin­g.

Volunteers walked one parent per fencer back to the viewing area to watch eliminatio­nmatches. At the end of each match the parents left quickly to allowthe next parent to enter.

Last season Renaissanc­e Fencing Club, which is based out of Troy, had been eagerly awaiting the youth North American Cup at home in Cobo Hall, which was scheduled for March and cancelled just a week before the start date due to COVID-19.

The youth fencers were separated not only from their friends, but had to let go of their sport and relationsh­ips with teammates. They attended online fencing

conditioni­ng and footwork classes for months, but finally they had gotten back what they missed for so long.

Renaissanc­e

Fencing

club won 33 medals last weekend, but more importantl­y hosted the first regional youth competitio­n in the United States since the pandemic began, on

Oct. 9-11.

The Regional Youth Circuit event featured over 100 fencers from the Midwest, with more than 50 from RFC competing.

The event is one of eight youth tournament­s held in theMidwest region and was a qualifier for the national championsh­ips that will take place in Philadelph­ia next June.

RFC has four fencers ranked in the top 10 in the country in their respective age groups, and all four turned in extraordin­ary performanc­es at the event.

Jeidus Deseranno (Grosse Pointe), ranked first in the United States, won double gold in y14 and y12 men’s foil. Luao Yang (Bloomfield hills), ranked second in the United States, took silver in both events.

Adeline Senic ( Royal Oak), ranked 10th in the country, won gold in y14 women’s foil. Lucas Senic (Royal Oak), ranked fourth in the country, took gold in the y10 men’s foil and seventh in y12 men’s foil.

RFC coach Svitlana Shevchenko teaches the top students daily and has also introduced the sport to more than 25 new students in the last threemonth­s.

“Competitio­n keeps them sharp and allows them to try new skills against a variety of opponents,” Shevchenko said.

The Renaissanc­e Fencers nowlook forward to upcoming events in Chicago and St Louis in November.

 ?? COURTESY PHOTO ?? Last week, Renaissanc­e Fencing Club held the first regional youth event in the United States since the pandemic began.
COURTESY PHOTO Last week, Renaissanc­e Fencing Club held the first regional youth event in the United States since the pandemic began.

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