en garde: The Montgomery Fencing Club

by Jennifer Solt
from the June/July 2008 issue of FUTURE Montgomery magazine

/// After only two short years in existence, the Montgomery Fencing Club has over 30 members, ranging in age from 10-53, who meet each week at the armory to joust.

Fencing is one of the oldest known sports, and in fact was one of the first four sports to be included in the modern Olympic games. The oldest handbooks on fencing date as far back as the 12th century.

Today, fencing is rising in popularity among all age groups, with national competitions hosted by the United States Fencing Association and regional competitions held by smaller fencing groups across the country.

In modern-day fencing, weapons include the Foil, a lightweight thrusting weapon; an Épée, which is a heavy thrusting weapon; and the Sabre - a cutting and thrusting weapon. In bouts using the Foil, the valid target area is restricted to the torso; with the Épée, the valid target area includes the entire body; and with the Sabre, opponents are allowed target areas anywhere above the waist, including the back of the head and hands.

According to club members, the sport of fencing is very methodical and extremely athletic - in fact, the bouts are nothing at all like the staged performances we are familiar with from Treasure Island and Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s more like “two fencers performing an intense dance on a 6-feet by 44-feet strip. The movement is so fast the touches are are scored electrically – a lot more like Star Wars than Errol Flynn.” (www.usfencing.org) The Montgomery Fencing Club offers children and adults the opportunity to learn and enjoy the great physical and mental workout that this sport provides. Many of the participants compare the practice of fencing to physical chess, as they strategize and maneuver to stay one step ahead of their opponent.

According to Katharine Korunes, a fifteen-year-old member of the club, fencing requires “a balance of athleticism and technical prowess.” Katharine and her younger sister, Michelle, hope to earn scholarships to any of the ivy league schools that are known for national excellence in the sport. The girls participate 3 days each week at the armory, honing their skills in the sport they love.

Dues for the club are an affordable $40 per month, and basic equipment costs around $120. The Montgomery Fencing Club meets several times per week, including Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings, offering members flexible scheduling to get their workouts, and encouraging participation from various age groups.

The club’s coach has experience in Foil, Épée and Sabre, and is encouraging members of the young club to begin participating in competitions. In fact, he brought the first full-format internal club competition to the armory in May.

For more fencing facts, check out: www.usfa.org, www.usfencing.org, www.fencing.net, or stop by the armory one day during practice. You might soon find yourself with a foil in your hand. En Garde!

Yellowhammers Proceed to USA Rugby Final 8!

The Yellowhammers will now go on to Austin, TX for the USA Rugby Final 8 on May 17 & 18th. If they win both of their matches there, the Yellowhammers will play in Denver May 31st for the national championship.

Montgomery Yellowhammers

by Amy C. C. Zimmer
from the May/June issue of FUTURE Montgomery

Crowds had gathered ‘round the playing field at the university campus to watch some of the students play their game. As the competition heated up and the players kicked the leather ball from one end of the field to the other, one young man had an idea. He picked up the ball and ran with it, past his bewildered teammates and opponents, until he had crossed the goal line at the and of the field and touched down the ball to score. Thus, in 1823 in the English city of Rugby, according to the legend, the game of rugby was born and the world of sports was forever changed.

Here in Montgomery, a long way from rugby’s birthplace, the Yellowhammers Rugby Football Club , a division-3 team governed by the International Rugby Board, attempts to change the world of sports in this city and the South one touchdown at a time.

“That’s where we get the name for it in (American) football,” says Mike Freeman, standing on the sidelines while his teammates practice. “Soccer is the grandfather of football, and rugby the father. We carry the ball across the opponent’s goal line and actually touch it down on the ground to score.”

The action at the YMCA youth soccer fields behind the AUM campus, where the team practices every Tuesday and Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m., reveals where the similarities between football and rugby end. The rugby ball is fatter than a football and is, according to the players’ description of the game, a “live ball,” always in-play until someone scores. The rules allow no more than seven substitutions per game, making for a fast-paced sport in which the forty-minute halves fly by. Also, unlike the game so popular here in the U.S., rugby players wear no pads or helmets. There’s nothing standing between them and their opponents.

“[Rugby players] have very thick skulls,” says Mike Freeman, “and small brains.” A smile crosses his face as he speaks and shows off his hand, the reason he is not out on the “pitch,” as the field is called in this game. A jagged scar, still fairly new, crosses from his wrist to his knuckle. He explains that he has become IRB-certified, and plans to begin refereeing games until his hand is well enough to return to the game.

“In this game, there is only one ref among thirty guys running into each other,” explains Freeman, “but he’s in charge, so don’t say bad things to the official in this game.”

Currently, the semi-finals qualifying team (2nd place in the South region), is in practice for the Summer Sevens tournaments. Sevens is a shortened version of the game, comprised of seven-minute quarters with seven players, as opposed to the regular game, which has forty-minute halves and fifteen players. The shorter games help the team beat the summer heat, known for being more intense in Alabama than in England, and also give the members of the club a reason to continue practice sessions and to enjoy the camaraderie of being on the team. The club begins its fall season after Labor Day, when they will compete against other teams from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee to try to make it to the national championship, like they did in 2005. Even in shorter games with only seven players per quarter, the club president, Sterling Brothers and his teammates make it clear there is always room for anyone who wants to join the team, regardless of age or experience.

“We have approximately thirty active members of the Yellowhammers of all ages, from high school to over fifty,” says Brothers. “We’re always looking for new players. Lots of our guys are Air Force. They’ve lived overseas and learned to play there. They play for a season or two before they have to move on.”

The team has a definite international element, whether it’s from members of the military who have recently moved to Montgomery from other countries, or from those players who hail from France, Iceland, and other far-off lands. While the team has been following the international rules and traditions of the game since the club’s formation in 1982, they still try to do it with some Southern flavor. “It’s tradition that the home team has to throw a party for the visitors.” Freeman says about the BBQ that follows the game. “You have to leave all animosity on the field and just enjoy the party.”

Rugby, with its community-building traditions, is growing in popularity in Europe, Australia, South Africa, Japan, and even here in the U.S. where there are at least 100,000 players on over 1400 teams.

Mike Freeman, still wearing the blue scrubs of his job as an orthopedic surgeon, holds one of the rugby balls in his good hand. Noise of youth soccer games is in the background as the evening temperature drops a little. “This sport is just a great way to go out and pretend you’re young.” Like Freeman, this team includes professionals of all types, such as engineers, glass-installers, and program managers, who view this team as their chance to engage in a “guy thing.” And although the IRB now allows for professional rugby teams here in the U.S., the Montgomery Yellowhammers play simply for the love of the game.

For more information or to become involved with the Montgomery Yellowhammers, contact Yellowhammers Club President, Sterling Brothers at 334-399-0278

by Amy C. C. Zimmer
from the July/Aug issue of FUTURE Montgomery

Throughout the hot Alabama summers, cool water spills off the Jordan Dam, flowing downriver towards the town of Wetumpka. Compared to the calm, broad stretches of the Alabama River, a river formed by the merging of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers which runs through downtown Montgomery, the tighter and faster waters that flow on the Coosa River below the Jordan Dam are ideal for paddlers who enjoy navigating the refreshing and challenging flow.

“It’s a pretty friendly river,” says Lonnie Carden, a founding member of the Coosa River Paddling Club, who operates Southern Trails Outfitter. “I learned to paddle [on this river] when I was in the Boy Scouts.”

Despite the wide-eyed expressions of many first-time visitors at the sight of the level two and three rapids, Carden assures them this is a great learning river with “good formations and warmer water.” Auburn University agrees about the river’s quality as a good place to train new paddlers. Each year they offer a PE course, allowing students to practice on the river throughout the semester.

“I’ve paddled this river for a long, long time and it taught me to be a better paddler,” Carden adds.

In the early 1990’s, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was considering re-licensing the Jordan Dam and assessing its environmental impact. Carden and other paddlers decided to get involved. They loved the river and were concerned about its future. Wanting to ensure the river’s availability as a place of beauty and recreation for present and future generations, they became the river’s biggest proponents, and the paddling club was born.

Like many others in the club, the current club president, Alisha Blackney, started paddling on this river and began to get involved as her enjoyment of the sport and love of the river increased.

“It’s a beautiful river and more people should enjoy it,” she says.

The club hosts events throughout the year, including a 4th of July picnic and fun float to watch the fireworks in downtown Wetumpka, and an annual whitewater festival, held over Labor Day weekend. The whitewater festival includes a whitewater competition / kayak rodeo and a fun float, followed by a party with live music at Corn Creek Park, a free, public access park owned by a club member. In 2005, the festival hosted the National Freestyle Kayaking Championship and Rodeo.

In addition to club events and maintaining the park, which has picnic sites, a small walking trail to the river, and water access, the club uses annual dues, that are only $10 per year or $100 for lifetime membership, to support the river’s maintenance and local water rescue squads. They also have hopes of seeing the river’s popularity increase as a place for paddling, hiking, and other outdoor recreation activities.

“I hope to help develop a free walking trail that crosses the dam and circles both sides of the river,” says Lonnie Carden, who has been exploring this possibility with current landowners. “It’s a beautiful river surrounded by hardwood land that more people should be able to enjoy.”

While there are not plans currently to offer lessons to novice paddlers, Alisha Blackney notes that many of the experienced members are happy to share their wisdom with newcomers.

“The club is a great mesh of people,” she says. “A diverse group of beginners and veterans, kayakers and canoers. It’s just a lot of people who enjoy the river together.”