Downtown Fencing Club: My Personal Opinion
First some background. Downtown Fencing Club at the Downtown YWCA in Greensboro was created by Dr. Sally Robinson as an outreach program to bring the sport of fencing to what she referred to as "all zip codes". Since the start of the club in 1998 the club has grown by leaps and bounds in, number of students, number of instructors, quality of instruction, quality and quantity of equipment.
We have reached a critical mass, and to use a more geeky term, we are "ready to level up". We have reached a critical mass and are ready to grow and expand. The goal as I see it is to keep up the same quality of fencing instruction at the same low price as always, at our core we are and forever will be an outreach program at our heart as part of the YWCA's mission. It is now also time for us to expand our focus, by taking those students with the talent, and desire to the next level competitively. This of course will require two key ingredients, coaches with the talent and skill necessary to take the student to the next level competitively, and students willing and able to pay for that privilage.
Of course, because of our history and background, we would be able to help "sponsor" students with the desire and the talent, who may not have the bank account to pay for the very valuable instructors. What remains for us as our one year goal is two fold:
First - Make sure we have capital to pay for the elite level coaches.
Second - Make sure that we have a system in place to keep from leaving any less fortunate students behind.
My model? The Peter Westbrook Foundation
Of course, I am not the spokesperson for the YWCA or even the Downtown Fencing Club. I am just one coach among many, and I'd like to see the students we teach go farther and be better than we can make them now.
