Local area high school students will be making their way to San Jose July 1-5 to compete in the 2015 Summer National Fencing Championships. The qualifier was held at Hemet High School in March and only the top three finishers in men’s and women’s foil, saber and epee qualified.
Qualifying for the Summer National Championships are, from La Quinta High School, two Junior Olympians, freshman Maddie Wales and senior Alec Steele; from Palm Desert High School,
Junior Olympian, Emily Goldstone, junior; from Rancho Mirage High School, Junior Olympian Arturo Perez-Hunt, sophomore; from Cal State San Bernardino, Junior Olympian Ariana Dorticos, freshman; and Lynette Lim, former Palm Springs High School swim star and two time Olympic swimmer. Adults qualifying are Tony Barton from Palm Springs and Glenn King from Indio.
All the qualifying fencers train and fence at Desert Fencing Academy in Palm Desert and are coached by Leslie Taft, who will also be competing at the Nationals. “Fencing is a great sport”, said Coach Taft. “You can begin your competitive career at the tender age of 10 and keep on fencing up into your 80’s!”
The Junior Olympians of DFA are sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school and have been fencing with Coach Taft since they were in middle school, and many of them have gone on to have collegiate fencing careers.
“The kids and adults work hard,” said Coach Taft. “Many of them train four days a week and compete in a tournament at least once a month. Our season is long, eleven months, from September to July, culminating in Summer Nationals.”
For information about fencing and Desert Fencing Academy, visit www.desertfencingacademy.com. The club is located at 73-760 Dinah Shore Drive, Suite 103, Palm Desert, CA, 92211.
