WCP members riding cross country in Ireland.
Nathalie and Marie Charlotte

Newsletter July 15, 2010

 

A World Cup in Our Own Back Yards!

 

The UIPM has awarded the United States its first World Cup since 1999! And it’s up close and personal!

 

The local organizing committee (otherwise known as the LOC) looks suspiciously like West Coast Pentathlon. It’s composed of WCP President Pat Duffy, WCP Chairman Mike Duffy, and WCP Secretary Connie Ballard. Michael Cintas of Equestrian Centers International (ECI) completes the LOC team, and WCP board member Vic Reizman will be the Swim Director. 

The documents were signed at a live press conference in Rancho Mirage on July 7. (See links below.)

 

We have been awarded the World Cup for four years—including 2012, the Olympic qualifier year. The competition will be held in Rancho Mirage. Mark your calendars for February 24-27, 2011.

 

Rob Stull, managing director of USA Pentathlon, formally kicked off the award with a press conference in Rancho Mirage on July 7. It was attended by members of the Agua Caliente Tribal Council as well as the mayor of Rancho Mirage, the mayor pro tem of Palm Springs, as well as prominent members of the desert community.

 

The event was featured in several articles in the Desert Sun and received prominent play on local radio and TV stations, despite being bumped to second billing by a 5.4 earthquake.

 

Athletes and delegations will stay at the ultra-luxurious Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage. The swim will be at the Palm Springs pool and the fencing will be held at Xavier College Preparatory High School in Palm Desert. The ride and run/shoot will be at ECI.

 

Needless to say we are going to need the help of everyone in the club. We conservatively estimate that we need at least 200 volunteers. We are working with organizers in the desert communities to help us fill those slots. But if there is a position that you would like to do, please let us know. We would like our club members to have first choice. And we really want our club members in key roles.

 

We are having a trial competition in Rancho Mirage January 2-6. Please let us know whether you can help. This will provide a valuable training session for our volunteers and help our US athletes get practice on the laser guns and electronic targets that are expected to replace pellet guns in 2011.

 

Finally, we are constructing a new website for the Pentathlon US World Cup 1. We will post a link as soon as it is ready for show time. In the future, all news about the World Cup will be posted there.

 

Exciting times!

 

Here are some links to local news coverage of the press conference:

 

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100708/BUSINESS01/7080309/Deal-inked-to-hold-Pentathlon-World-Cup-here

 

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100708/SPORTS/7070365/Valley-to-host-pentathlon-World-Cup

 

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100707/BUSINESS01/100707021/Pentathalon-World-Cup-in-Palm-Springs-Rancho-Mirage-for-2011-2014

 

 

Newsletter February 22, 2010

We made it!

 

We held two qualifying competitions back to back. That’s really kicking off the year in style. Now we’re good for a while. (Pat: Do NOT volunteer for ANYTHING!)

 

The Valentine’s Day qualifier was a great effort and we had a lot of people pulling together to pull it off. Vic Reizman handled the swimming and shooting. Jan Berger was the scorekeeper. Carmelo and Mike handled the run/shoot. And, of course, Lisa Jayne masterminded the web content.

 

Unfortunately, our shoot director, Charlie Reed, had to stop for emergency surgery in Albuquerque on his drive out to the competition. He is now back at home and making a good recovery. We hold him in our thoughts.

 

We had fun. And our pentathletes did very well in the 85-degree heat. Andrew Tapia even managed to compete with his arm in a cast. Please click on the Results tab for all the scores.

 

New members

 

We’d like to welcome several new members to our group. Some are friends we have known for a long time. Others are new faces to the sport.

 

Kat Barker, 22, is a senior at Colorado College in Colorado Springs where she is majoring in International Political Economy with influence in French. A former barrel racer, Kat’s been riding since she was 4. She’s been training in pentathlon for the last year and attended our Christmas camp in Palm Springs.


Nathan and Lucas Schrimsher

 

Nathan, 17, qualified for the Youth Olympics in Argentina last December and placed third in the 2009 World Youth A Championships relay event. He won gold in Youth A at the 2009 USA Nationals and silver at the NORCECA Youth A Championships.

 

Lucas, 16, won silver in Youth A at the 2009 USA Nationals (beaten only by older brother, Nathan) and placed fourth in the NORCECA Youth A Championships. And at the recent Valentine's Day Open, he placed first, just edging out brother Nathan by 4 points. 

 

This year, the brothers have added riding to their repertoire and have been enjoying considerable success competing as juniors and seniors. Lucas placed third and Nathan placed fifth in their first seniors event against such elite athletes as Eli Bremer, Dennis Bowsher, Sam Sacksen, and Will Brady. Great start!

 

Rendy Lynn Opdycke, 25, hails from San Diego. Rendy got her bachelors from UCSD and her master’s from USC. where she was a 2002 USA All American Academic Athlete.

 

Since graduation, she has focused on marathon swimming. Currently she holds the world’s record (for men and women) in the Triple Crown of marathon swimming, which involves swimming around Manhattan Island (where she set a record), swimming the English Channel, and the Catalina Channel. She had the fastest swim time for completing the three (26 hours, 50 minutes) in the shortest calendar time (34 days).

 

Since Rendy started the sport in January, she has already competed in two competitions: the San Antonio Qualifier and the Valentine’s Day Qualifier. She is currently training with Marina Nikiforova in fencing and with Michael Cintas for riding.

 

That means she also is becoming a marathon driver, zigzagging from San Diego to Rancho Mirage to UCLA to train. Welcome, Rendy!

 

Lynette Lim, 17, from Palm Springs, has turned out to be a natural pentathlete. In her very first event—the January 2 Qualifier—Lynette won first place in Youth A. And she had never fenced or shot a pistol before that week! And she gave veteran pentathlete, Anna Olesinski, a run for her money at the Valentine’s Day Open, finishing just 250 points behind to take a strong second place.

 

Lynette is no stranger to success, having swam in the 2008 Olympics for Singapore, a country where she holds dual citizenship. Lynette will go to USC next year to swim on its swim team with her sister, Elaine (another budding pentathlete).

 

Dues

 

We still have a couple of members who have not paid their 2010 dues. The deadline is March 1. After March 1, the dues will be $100, not $50. Please support the club that supports you.

 

Plans for the rest of the year

 

Next stop for the pentathletes is a training camp at the Olympic Training Center, followed by a Youth/Junior qualifier from March 31 through April 3. The entry forms are posted on USApentathlon.org. Send them in right away. The deadline is March 5.

 

The final Youth/Junior qualifier will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, April 29-May 1. Then we roll into our summer competition season. Click on the Calendar tab for the latest.

 

Feedback

 

Now that we have the qualifiers off our plates, we’d like your feedback on what you’d like the club to do the rest of the year. The summer looks pretty jam-packed but we’d love to hear from you about ways the club might be able to help our pentathletes.

 

Also, we’d love you to send the latest news for us to post in the newsletters as well as on westcoastpentathlon.com. And we desperately need photos—especially of our newbies!

 

Face Time

 

A big thank you to Lisa Jayne who created a Facebook page for us. Please take time to become a fan of  West Coast Pentathlon on Facebook.

 

 

Newsletter January 17, 2010

 

Best camp and competition yet!

 

You had to be there. Really.

 

It was like the good old days when we all first discovered modern pentathlon. Enthusiastic campers who just couldn’t get enough training. Pentathletes of all ages fencing, running, shooting, swimming, and riding together. Camaraderie. Support. Friendship.

 

You had to be there. And—thankfully—we were.

 

West Coast Pentathlon kicked off the New Year in a grand old fashion with a six-day camp from December 27 through January 1, and a qualifying competition January 2.

 

The campers included the Old Guard: Marisa Berger, John Gibbons, Andrew Jayne, and Nathan and Lucas Schrimsher. But there was a host of newbies in attendance as well, who really spiced up the action: Matt Wyble, 24, of Chicago; Kat Barker, 21, of Colorado Springs; Wayne Miller, 16, of Washington; Ashley Ridge, 27, of San Diego; and Chris West, 15, of Fresno. There were also our old friends, Emily and Russell Caine from Canada. And, of course, there was the sleeper: Lynette Lim, a 17-year-old swimmer who had represented Singapore in the Beijing Olympics.

 

Our coaches included Michael Cintas, of Equestrian Centers International; Charlie Reed, of USA Shooting; Tim Hill, coach of the Piranha swim team; Leslie Taft, fencing; and Carmelo Felix, Olympian in Modern Pentathlon.

 

What a combination! What a week!

 

Days began at 6 a.m. with a brisk 90-minute swim. Then all were off to ECI for riding or shooting. After workouts and a run, campers boarded the van and returned to the hotel for a quick rest and dinner before three hours of bouting in the hotel ballroom. Then six to seven hours of well-deserved sleep before a 5:30 wakeup call started the cycle all over again the next morning.

 

Sound like fun? You bet!

 

Then it was time for the competition. Cindy West drove in from Colorado with Mckenzie West, Caitlyn Flathers, and newbie Jake Green from Idaho. Since this was a qualifier for the Seniors as well as Juniors and Youth A, elite athletes Eli Bremer, Dennis Bowsher, and Niul Manske also flew in for the show. Finally, Devon Cavaliere and Johannah Ragland represented Youth D.

 

For the competition, we had our camp trainers heading up the various disciplines. Marina Nikiforova, fencing coach for UCLA, was our TD and Janusz Peciak, representing USA Pentathlon, did the scorekeeping.

 

All went very smoothly. But that’s not to say there weren’t some surprises. The biggest shock was the winner of the girls’ Youth A division. Newbie Lynette Lim, who had never shot a gun or hoisted an epee, won first place, edging out Marisa (2nd),  Mckenzie (3rd), and Emily (4th).

 

In the boys’ Youth A division, Nathan placed first, followed by Lucas and Andrew.

 

And then came the ride. We were rapidly losing light so we went into hyper speed. The biggest cheers of the day went to Lucas who lost his stirrups midway through the course and still had a perfect ride. Brother Nathan also got a well-deserved round of applause after his debut ride in modern pentathlon.

 

The results? Envelope, please.

 

Junior women

First: Marisa Berger

Second: Mckenzie West

Third: Lynette Lim

 

Junior men

First: Lucas Schrimsher

Second: John Gibbons

Third: Nathan Schrimsher

Fourth: Andrew Jayne

 

Senior women

First: Marisa Berger

Second: Mckenzie West

Third: Caitlin Flathers

Fourth: Ashley Ridge

 

Senior men

First: Dennis Bowsher

Second: Eli Bremer

Third: Lucas Schrimsher

Fourth: John Gibbons

Fifth: Nathan Schrimsher

Sixth: Niul Manske

Seventh: Andrew Jayne

Eighth: Matt Wyble

Ninth: Jake Green

 

Masters

Russell Caine

 

Thank you!!!!

 

We’d like to extend a very special thank you to Vic Reizman, who donated $2,000 to the club to help sponsor the camp and competition.

 

Gentle reminder

 

As they say in bad newspaper stories: It’s that time of year again!

 

Your membership dues are, well, due. You should have received a reminder letter. But if you did not, please send them in, anyway. The good news is that annual dues are only $50 this year. So send them in quickly so we can keep putting on fun events.

 

Coming Up Next!

 

It’s not over yet. If you missed the fun in January, you still have a chance to join in. We have another Youth A and Junior Qualifier coming up February 14 in Rancho Mirage at the Valentine’s Day Open. We’ll have a mini-clinic on February 12 and 13th, and Michael Cintas will host a five-day riding clinic February 15-19.

 

If you want to get in on the fun, ask Pat for an entry form. Although the event is a qualifier for youth A and Juniors, all divisions can compete.

 

Congratulations!

 

Congratulations to WCP members Emily Andrews, John Gibbons, and Andrew Jayne who recently competed in the Pan American Games in Buenos Aires. Emily placed 4th in Juniors and 10th in Senior Women, and Andrew got 8th in Juniors and 18th in the Men’s, while John placed 13th in Juniors and 24th in Men’s.

 

And, congratulations to our well-rounded Pentathlete Jimmy Reizman.

 

·          Congratulations on one level for his appointment as Athlete Director on the WCP board.

 

·          And congratulations on another level for winning the California Junior Olympics in shooting with an unbelievable score of 523 (out of a possible 600), his best score by 10 points. He will compete in the National Junior Olympics this spring in Colorado Springs.

 

Congratulations also to Marisa Berger, who has been appointed co-captain of the Harvard-Westlake swim team.

 

And last – but certainly not least – congratulations to Nathalie Guion who was blessed with a future pentathlete – Marie Charlotte - on December 14. Way to go, Nathalie!

 



Fall 2009 Newsletter

 

Board meeting topics

 

We will be holding a board meeting in November. Please send any topics for discussion to mike at mikeduffy5@aol.com.

 

OTC testing

 

Congratulations to Andrew Jayne and John Gibbons who have been invited to the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs for a month to be evaluated for the OTC residence training program. We know they will do great after a successful summer of international competitions.

 

Off to college

 

Congratulations also to Emily Andrews who is now matriculating at Bethany College in West Virginia. Emily plans to continue training and competing. Former pentathlete and athlete board representative Chris Casey will be attending the University of California at Santa Barbara.

 

New national developments

 

Over the summer, Brad Camp was named CEO of USA Pentathlon. There have been many changes on the NGB board as well, with several board members resigning and Barry Matchett replacing Atif Siddiqi as chairman.

 

Currently in discussion are a training program for the youth as well as more training camps at the Olympic Training Center. Coaching for the youth is also an issue. We’re hoping that the new leadership will focus on the youth so we can develop a strong program and eventually be more competitive internationally.

 

Pan American Championships

 

WCP members John Gibbons, Andrew Jayne, Emily Andrews, and Mckenzie West will be competing the Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 2 through 7. This event will also be the continental qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games, which will be held in Singapore in 2010. Slots for the 24 boys and 24 girls who will attend the Youth Olympics will be determined in much the same manner as athletes are selected for the Olympics. To learn more, please visit usapentathlon.com.

It’s true. Laser guns have arrived.

 

The UIPM unanimously voted on October 11 to replace pellet guns with laser guns. As with the run/shoot, the laser concept will be tested at competitions in 2010, including the 2010 World Cup Final. And the laser shoot will be used in competition  at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Then the UIPM will vote at the end of the year on whether to replace the pellet guns with laser guns for 2011.

 

The club will be looking into how our members can begin trying the new guns. It looks like a done deal.


 

Summer 2009 Newsletter

 

International Referee Clinic

 

Pat and Mike Duffy organized an International Referee Clinic in June the week before the Nationals/NORCECA competitions. The clinic, led by Mauro Tirinnanzi, the UIPM sports director, was designed to certify international referees for the sport of modern pentathlon. More than 20 people attended, including some from our own club. At the end of the three-day clinic, participants took a written test and then helped officiate at the Nationals/NORCECA competition.

 

WCP members Carmelo Felix, Lisa Jayne, Donna Andrews, and Nathalie Guion earned certifications.

 

Nationals and NORCECA

 

Somehow our club’s ambitious bid to host the Nationals morphed into a gigantic national/continental competition featuring 86 athletes from six countries. And that’s not counting the delegations, coaches, families, spectators, and dignitaries.

 

But we survived. And our pentathletes benefited from our efforts. Here’s how they placed:

 

Girls:

Emily Andrews, 3rd, Juniors

Marisa Berger, 4th Youth A, 5th Juniors

McKenzie West, 3rd Youth A, 4th Juniors

Gracie Orona, 3rd Youth E

 

Boys:

John Gibbons, 1st Juniors

Andrew Jayne, 3rd Juniors, 3rd Youth A

Jimmy Reizman, 1st Youth B

Andrew Tapia, 1st Youth C

 

Thank you to everyone in the club—officers, board members, and volunteers—who  helped make the 2009 Nationals and NORCECA Championships a success. And Pat promises not to volunteer for anything else anytime soon!

 

Olympic Training Center

 

Several of our pentathletes were invited to an intensive training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs at the end of June. Andrew Jayne, Mckenzie West, Marisa Berger, and John Gibbons were among the select group of 10 youth who trained with US Olympic Coach Janusz Peciak for a week. Jimmy Reizman was also invited but was busy with Junior Olympic competitions in water polo. (As if five sports were not enough!)

 

World Championships

 

Congratulations to John Gibbons and Andrew Jayne who qualified to represent the United States at World Championships this summer. Both John and Andrew competed in the World Junior Championships in Taipei in July. And Andrew also competed in the World Youth Championships later that month in Cairo.

 

John and Andrew also earned an invitation to attend the Olympic Training Center in for a month to try to qualify for a place in the OTC residence program. Good luck!

 

Canadian Nationals

 

Andrew Jayne and Lea Reizman finished up the summer by traveling to British Columbia to compete in the Canadian Nationals. Marisa Berger, who had planned to compete, was sidelined with a stress fracture. But she went along to help coach the American team.

 

The competition was fun but demanding.

·          Lea placed 6th in Juniors and 8th in Seniors

·          Andrew placed 5th in Seniors, 3rd in Juniors, and 2nd in Youth A

 

We were all impressed by the Canadian hospitality as well as the camaraderie among the pentathletes. It was a great ending to a great summer. Thank you, Canada!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  from Roswell, New Mexico, have joined our group. The Schrimshers are powerful competitors and their parents, Micki and Keith, have been active supporters of the sport for a long time.
Spring 2009 newsletter

It’s been a long time since the last newsletter.

It’s not because nothing’s been happening. It’s because too much has been happening. And a lot’s going to happen.

New news first. Then old news.

World Cup

One of our own, Daelyn Chase, competed recently in the Mexico City World Cup. Congratulations, Daelyn!

US Nationals

West Coast Pentathlon is hosting the US Nationals June 5 through 7 in Palm Springs. This event will be the qualifier for the World Championships for Youth A, Juniors, and Seniors as well as the NORCECA championships.

It’s a huge undertaking for our group so we need all the volunteers we can get. Please see Pat to sign up.

The entry form is posted at http://www.usapentathlon.org/.

Pat is also organizing an International Referee Clinic June 1 through 5. We expect a good turnout as everyone needs to be certified in the new run/shoot format.

The new run/shoot format

Just in case you haven’t heard the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, yes—the run/shoot format passed in November. It promises to shake up the old guard as they try to learn this new trick. But, as our kids found out at the first official competition using the run/shoot, it can be a lot of fun.

Winter camp and competition

Which brings us to the first official competition using the run/shoot format.

Southern California Pentathlon hosted a winter camp and Modern Pentathlon Open (including a sanctioned Youth A competition) in January in Rancho Mirage.

Kids from all over the United States as well as Panama, Canada, and Great Britain attended the winter camp at ECI. Attendees received great training from Cliff Halenar in the new run/shoot format,  and of course excellent riding instruction from Michael Cintas.

Youth A competed in a sanctioned event on January 2, making it the first sanctioned modern pentathlon competition featuring the run/shoot format. We made history here.

Results for current WCP members:
•    Emily Andrews won gold in Junior girls.
•    Daelyn Chase won a gold in the Youth A girls.
•    Marisa Berger won silver in Youth A girls.
•    Mckenzie West won bronze in Youth A girls.

Congratulations to you all!

Stay tuned for updates on the USA and NORCECA championships.


 

September 6, 2008

 

Summer’s end. The competitions are over. The travel is over. The Olympics (sob!) are over.

 

After a crazy summer of travel and competitions, we’re all back home and the kids are back in school.

 

So much has happened and is happening that I don’t know where to begin. Let’s start with what’s coming up.

 

Get a cup of coffee. This is a long one.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

·          World Youth A Championships. Two members of our group – Andrew Jayne and Emily Andrews – are heading to Bulgaria soon to compete in the World Youth A Championships. Ryan Anderson also qualified but elected not to go this year. We wish them well!

Swiss Open: Daelyn Chase and John Gibbons will be heading to Switzerland in October for the Swiss Open. Good luck to you guys, too!

·          Sheila Taormina Swim Clinic. Thanks to Lisa Jayne, Olympian Sheila Taormina is putting on a swim clinic for our group on Sunday, October 12. Participation is limited to 10 serious swimmers (no beginners). The two-hour clinic is $100. If you’re interested, contact Pat Duffy for details.

 

·          Southern California Pentathlon Winter Camp. Mary Jo Bullock and Lorraine Price are organizing a weeklong winter camp at Equestrian Centers International in Rancho Mirage. The camp runs from December 27 through January 1, and is followed by a competition on January 3. Cost is $775 for the camp (not including room, food, and transportation) and $150 for the competition ($25 for camp attendees). If you’d like an entry form, please contact Pat Duffy.

 

Not a bad lineup for the “off season,” huh?

 

Monthly trainings will also resume in October, with the first one on October 12. Kids will shoot and fence before the swim clinic. There will also be a board meeting that day from 9 a.m. till noon. We should have plenty of business to discuss as modern pentathlon competition calendars should be set by that date.

 

(Gentle reminder that any outstanding dues must be paid immediately. We rely on those funds to provide training for our kids.)

 

THE SUMMER, BY ADVENTURE

 

And now for a rundown of our summer vacation. For a complete listing of scores for competitions, please click on the Competitions tab.

 

·          Open competition at Rancho Mirage (June 6-8).

We started our summer off with a competition cosponsored by Redwoods Pony Club and Southern California Pentathlon. The event, which was promoted as an introduction to modern pentathlon, involved kids of all ages (8-18) and abilities (beginner to international competitors). The competition served as a great warmup for our summer activities and learning experience for all involved. Our kids did extremely well.

 

Junior Girls

Daelyn Chase, 1st

Alessandra, 2nd

Junior Boys

Andrew Jayne, 1st (also high point champion)

Youth A Girls

Grace Neveu, 1st

            Youth B Girls

                        Marisa Berger, 1st

            Youth D Boys

                        Andrew Tapia, 1st

            Youth E Boys

                        Samuel Felix, 1st

 

·          US Junior Pentathlon Championships in Pennsylvania (June 13-15 )

 

This competition, held in the beautiful piney woods of western Pennsylvania, was a lot of fun for the whole group. Plus, a couple of our kids qualified for the Junior World Championships. (Congrats, Daelyn and John!)

 

Junior Girls

Daelyn Chase, 3rd

Emily Andrews, 5th

 

Junior Boys

John Gibbons, 1st

Andrew Jayne, 5th

 

·          New Mexico Military Institute Pentathlon Camp and US Youth Championships. Roswell, NM (June 16-28)

 

Cassie Bullock, Marisa, and Andrew J., attended the 10-day camp in the hot New Mexico desert. (Marisa says it’s also a great “fat camp.”) The training was excellent with Polish coaches for the fencing and the running.

 

Ryan and Brendan Anderson, Mackenzie West, and Emily Andrews came for the competition. And again, our “team” did very nicely.

 

Youth A Girls

Emily Andrews, 3rd

Cassie Bullock, 4th

            Youth A Boys

            Ryan Anderson, 3rd

Youth B Girls

                        Marisa Berger, 1st

                                Mackenzie West, 3rd

            Youth B Boys

                        Andrew Jayne, 1st

            Youth C Boys

                        Brendan Anderson, 2nd

 

·          European Youth B Championships. Dublin, Ireland. (July 2-6).

 

A group of 26 (pentathletes and families) traveled to Ireland for three weeks of competition, training, and fun. Our kids (who obviously are not European) competed as guests. The US girls’ team was Marisa, Daelyn, Leah Price, and Mackenzie. On the boys’ team were Ryan and Brendan.

 

The kids did very well in the shoot—and not so well in anything else. (Although Daelyn did hold her own in the run and the swim.) You’re not going to see any first, seconds, and thirds posted here.

 

But the competition was a huge success for WCP on many levels.

 

·          Friendships. The kids stayed in the dormitories at Dublin City University where they got to know the British (and Spanish) teams very well. These international friendships will live on through Facebook for a long time. A couple of the Brits are even considering attending the winter camp.

 

·          Team building: One attraction of the competition was the team competition on Sunday. Our girls worked together as a team, supporting and cheering each other on. And Ryan had the opportunity to be on an international scratch team and experience teamwork on an international level.

 

·          Connections. Pat and Mike, of course, made many valuable contacts for trainings and competitions later on.

 

·          Reality check. The kids (and parents) got to see up close and personal just how high the bar is outside of North America.

 

We were all stunned by the level of competition they faced. Europeans take modern pentathlon very seriously. And more importantly, European governments take modern pentathlon very seriously.

 

The European kids compete for a place on the national team, and then their training and travel is funded and coordinated by their national committees. In England, the pentathletes’ schools offer abbreviated school days to correspond with their training schedules.

 

It was a rude awakening for our kids who have to find (and pay for) their own coaches, training, and travel. And then work around school schedules. Hopefully, our new NGB can alleviate some of the burden next year.

 

·          World Juniors Championship, Cairo, Egypt (July 6-13)

 

Again, the level of competition was extremely high here. Unfortunately, John and Daelyn did not progress to the final rounds so they were not able to show off their riding ability, one of their strengths. But both gained valuable international experience and got to do a little sightseeing as well.

 

Next year!

 

·          Raford House (July 6-18)

 

We couldn’t wait to get to Orla McCabe’s manor house at Athenry. There we enjoyed huge Irish breakfasts and scrumptious dinners (courtesy of Kathleen). We all had fun getting lost on unmarked Irish roads and discovering areas we didn’t intend to visit.

 

There was never a dull moment. The kids took over the study (and the TV) as well as the billiards room. The adults chatted and consumed huge quantities of coffee at the dining room table throughout the day and moved to the fireplace where they consumed large quantities of wine at night.

 

The food was great. The hospitality was even better. And the baths? Let’s just say, they were bracing!

 

The riding was the highlight of the trip. The kids (and a couple of moms) rode cross country daily with Tom McNamara. And the Irish Olympic fencing coach, Tristan Parris, journeyed out from Galway a few days for fencing clinics.

 

At any rate, we were all busy from dawn to midnight (later for the kids) doing whatever it was we were doing. And it was fun!

 

·          Equestrian Centers International, Rancho Mirage (July)

 

While the rest of us were gallivanting in Ireland, Andrew Jayne put his time to good use. He spent five days at Michael Cintas’s facility training with the modern pentathlon Olympic team before they headed off to Beijing. He reports that it was an incredible experience.

 

·          Canadian Nationals, Guelph, Ontario (August 1-3)

 

A contingent of us managed to come home, unpack, and head back out for the last competition of the summer up in Guelph, which turned out to be a charming little college town.

 

There we had fun just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company and getting to know the Schrimsher family from New Mexico better. It was a nice, low-pressure event. The perfect end to a summer. But that doesn’t mean the kids slacked off.

 

We went into the event a little out of shape. Many of the kids had just returned from vacation (think Ireland and France) and had not been training regularly. But they still gave the Canadians a run for their money.

 

Youth A Girls

Emily Andrews, 5th

            Youth A Boys

            Nathan Schrimsher, 1st

Lucus Schrimsher, 2nd

Youth B Girls

                        Marisa Berger, 2nd

            Youth B Boys

                        Jimmy Reizman, 2nd

Ryan Anderson, 3rd

            Youth D Boys

                        Brendan Anderson, 1st

 

 

RETURN TO REALITY

 

Now we’re home. The medals are put away. The kids are back in school. The laundry is done (mostly).

 

What’s next?

 

Well, Mike and Marisa both had their long-delayed surgeries. Marisa is recuperating nicely after hip surgery in early August and is walking well with crutches. She’s swimming and biking and hopes to be running and shooting in October.

 

Mike is looking at a longer recovery from his ankle surgery. He is resting at home and scheming about how to make our club bigger, better, and stronger.

 

Lea Reizman starts college this month at UCLA. We’re happy for her but very sad to see the old group split up. Although Marisa plans to see a lot more of Lea once she’s in LA.

 

Pat is already wheeling and dealing and lining up clinics and competitions for our kids. And rumor has it that she’s planning to put a lap pool out back. Before you know it, Prancer will be taking apart the pool instead of just his watering tub.

 

If you have any news you’d like to add, I hope to be doing monthly newsletters in the future. Email any news or suggestions to me at ballardcon@aol.com.

 

 

West Coast Pentathlon Newsletter

May 27, 2008

 

It’s been a long winter but now the competitions are gearing up and everyone is getting excited. This promises to be an exciting summer with a new NGB, the Olympics, and our kids competing in Rancho Mirage, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Ireland, and Canada. And who knows? Some of them might be advancing to world youth and junior championships as well. Let’s start with our local club and activities.

 

Board Meeting

 

The board met on Saturday, May 24, to finalize summer plans and discuss outstanding business. Among the agenda items were:

           

·          New board members-- Lea Reizman and Lynda Banks have resigned as board members. Taking their slots are Marisa Berger, Steve Chase, and Lisa Jayne. Welcome!

 

·          College members—Because many of our members attend college out of state, we are instituting an “inactive” membership for college students. Their annual dues of $50 will allow them to train and compete with the club over the summers.

 

·          Dues—A couple of our members still have not paid their annual dues. Please send your payment to our treasurer, Beth Reizman asap.

 

·          Uniforms—We have ordered club track and swimming uniforms for those who will be competing as a team in Ireland. If you would like to also order new uniforms, call or e-mail Connie for prices.

 

·          Roster—We will be distributing a new club roster with this newsletter. Please let Connie know if there are any errors or omissions.

 

·          New training regimen—We are still trying to figure out the best training regimen for the club. We decided that we need to offer weekly group activities to maintain interest and to attract new members. Beginning in September, we will hold a run/shoot clinic twice a month and a fencing clinic in Petaluma twice a month. We will also schedule special clinics at least once a month and travel to Michael Cintas for riding/shooting clinics every other month. Monthly topics will include cross training, sports psychology, stretching, etc. If you would like to suggest a topic or a speaker, please call or e-mail Pat or Mike.

            Uniforms

 

·          Sexual harassment clinic—It is mandatory that all members and their families attend a sexual harassment clinic. Training must be completed before a member or his or her family travels with the group. Call Vic to set up your training session.

 

Pentathlete News

           

Here’s what our pentathlete family has been up to.

 

Congrats to:

·          Ryan Anderson, Colorado, placed 15th in the nation in the Junior Olympics for air pistol.

·          Grace Neveu, San Francisco, placed 7th in Division I fencing in Oregon.

·          Lea Reizman, San Rafael, got the lead in her school play, “The Princess and the Pea.” And she will be attending UCLA in the fall.

 

Other news

 

·          Thank you to Andrew Jayne, Nevada, who collected enough donations for the club to purchase two falling targets for the run/shoot competition clinics.

·          Welcome home to Alessandra Accinelli who is back from Bethany College for the summer and will be competing with the group.

·          Welcome back (sorta) to Marisa, who the doctors are temporarily allowing off the injured list so she can compete in June and July. She’ll have hip surgery in August. Also on the injured list: Mike Duffy, who will be having ankle surgery in August.

Competitions

 

Our kids have a competition-filled summer. Here’s who’s doing what when. If you are not signed up for one of these competitions, it isn’t too late (except for Ireland). Just call Pat for entry forms.

 

·          June 6-8. Pentathlon Clinic/Competition in Rancho Mirage. Attendees will compete in all five sports plus have a riding lesson with Michael Cintas and a shooting lesson with Cliff Halenar.

WCP competitors: Grace Neveu, Daelyn Chase, Marisa, Andrew Jayne, Gracie, Alessandra, Cassie Bullock, Leah Price, and Breanna. 

 

·          June 13-15. US Junior Pentathlon Championships in Pennsylvania. Medalists who garner enough points will qualify for Junior World Championships in July.

WCP competitors: Daelyn, Emily Andrews, Andrew J., Alessandra, John Gibbons. Michael Cintas will be the coach.

 

·          June 16-25. New Mexico Military Institute Pentathlon Camp. Roswell, NM. This 10-day camp covers swimming, shooting, running, and fencing for $890.

WCP attendees: Cassie, Marisa, and Andrew J.

 

·          June 26-28. US Youth Nationals. New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, NM. This is the qualifier for the World Youth Championships which will be held in Bulgaria in September.

WCP competitors: Daelyn, Andrew J., Marisa, Cassie, Ryan, and Brendan.

·          July 2-6. European Youth B Championships. Dublin, Ireland. Our Bs are competing as guests so their scores will not be counted. However, it’s a great opportunity to get to know pentathletes from Europe and see how they measure up.

The WCP girls’ team is Marisa, Daeyln, Leah, and Mackenzie. On the boys’ team are Ryan, Brendan Anderson, and Corbin Chase.

 

A group of 26 (pentathletes and families) are traveling to Ireland for the event. They will also stay at Raford House where they will continue their training, riding cross country with Tom McNamara and fencing with members of the Irish team.

 

·          August 1-3. Canadian Nationals in Guelph, Ontario.

Entry forms are not available yet but let Pat know if you’re interested.

WCP competitors: Daelyn, Andrew J., Marisa, Jimmy Reizman, Ryan, and Brendan.


Southern California Pentathlon, Inc.

 

We are no longer the only youth pentathlon group operating on the West Coast. We now have a sister nonprofit group based in Rancho Mirage with Michael Cintas, Mary Jo Bullock, and Lorraine Price on the board. We are helping them with the clinic/competition in June and hope to continue that partnership with other clinics and competitions.

 

NGB

 

The US Olympic Committee has finally chosen an NGB. The name will be USA Pentathlon and its board members will be announced in early June. We are hoping that the NGB will help us will insurance and help grow the youth membership through more clinics and competitions.

 

The elite athletes will stay under USOC supervision until after the Olympics. At that point, the NGB will partner with the USOC for a transition period, and take over the reins in early 2009. Stay tuned.

 

Olympics

 

There’s a heated race for the two slots on the men’s and the women’s teams. The USOC will decide who our representatives will be after the Senior World Championships May 29-June 1. 

 

Calendar

 

Connie is trying to build a more comprehensive calendar on the Web site. Please contact her with any news about activities the group might be interested in. And be sure to visit the Web site for the latest news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

West Coast Pentathlon Newsletter

February 7, 2008

 

We’re going into a new competition year – an Olympic year! – and lots is going on. Some of our members are getting ready for our first competitions overseas and planning a riding vacation in Ireland. Everyone is training hard and anxiously awaiting news about the new NGB.

 

With so much going on, we need to make the Web site more functional – if you have news to share, please send it to Connie and she’ll post it. Photos are also welcome. She also needs any changes members need to make for the club roster.

 

 On January 26, West Coast Pentathlon held its first annual general meeting. We had hoped to also have a potluck dinner but had to cancel because of the bad weather. But a lot of news came out of the meeting. Read on.

 

Comings and Goings

 

This year we said good-bye to the Davises as they left the club due to time restraints. We will miss them.

 

We did, however, gain three new members at the pentathlon camp we held in Rancho Mirage in December. Leah Price, 15, and Kiersti Wyle, also 15, both live in the desert.  And Emily Andrews, 17, lives in New Jersey. The new members will train with Carmelo over spring break. Welcome!

 

New Club

 

Mary Jo Bullock (Cassie’s mom) is spearheading an effort to start a new club in Rancho Mirage which will be called Southern California Pentathlon. Pat is guiding her through the steps. Michael Cintas will be the board president.

 

Shooting

 

Cliff Halenar is going down to Rancho Mirage once or twice a month to coach the SoCal kids in shooting. We are invited attend these clinics at any time. The next clinic is Monday, February 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sheila Taormina will be there as well and will give the kids a little talk.

 

Cliff will also be there on Sunday, February 24, and will be focusing on the run/shoot format. Let Pat know if you’re interested in attending either of these events.

 

New Structure

 

Our training group has made tremendous strides over the past year so the board decided that their monthly training sessions should be more specialized. They will no longer meet monthly at Horseman’s for a day of training. Instead, Steve Chase, our new activity chair, will arrange training in one discipline each month. There will no longer be monthly dues. Instead, each pentathlete will pay his/her share for that month’s activities. Please check the WCP website calendar for updated activities.

 

However, Carmelo will still be busy on the third Saturday of each month. He will now be coaching the newer/younger members of the group. Fees will be $50 for the day. Carmelo will also be available for private instruction those afternoons. Please make arrangements in advance.

 

Dues

 

Annual dues have been increased to $150 per year. They are now due and payable in full. Please make your checks payable to West Coast Pentathlon and leave them at Pat’s or mail them to Beth. Any member who is two months in arrears will have his/her membership suspended.

 

Good Publicity

 

Marisa was featured in the Los Angeles Times on January 11. See the link at http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp- sondheimer11jan11,1,7544760.column.

 

An NBC affiliate in Los Angeles picked up on the story and ran a news feature on her on the evening news.

 

We’re hoping to leverage these stories to get a bigger story on WCP in the San Francisco Chronicle. If you would like to get publicity on your child in your local paper, please e-mail Connie and she will help you.

 

Sexual harassment clinic

 

Vic presented a sexual harassment clinic both to pentathletes and parents at the last board meeting. All members (parents and kids) of WCP are required to undergo this training. Please contact Vic to set up an appointment.

 

Calendar

 

Connie is trying to build a more comprehensive calendar on the Web site. Please contact her with any news about activities the group might be interested in.

 

Competitions

 

The summer is going to be busy! Currently, our group plans to compete in Colorado for US Nationals (tentatively June 6-8), in Dublin for European Youth B (running, shooting, swimming only) (July 2-7), and then Canada for the Open (unscheduled). A couple of kids may also be invited to compete in Sweden for European Youth A. This is our first chance for the kids to see how they measure up to international competition. 

 

Many of these dates are not firm. However, Pat feels we should at least book the roundtrip Ireland flight while seats are available. She also suggested that everyone get trip insurance because as we all know, these competition dates tend to slip.

 

Though most of the people who are traveling together belong to West Coast Pentathlon, please note that this is not a West Coast Pentathlon sponsored trip. Participants will be traveling on their own and at their own risk. Pat may make some of the arrangements for the group but all are ultimately responsible for their own travel arrangements and airline reservations. The club bears no responsibility for this trip.

 

Ireland

 

Currently, we have about 25-30 people going.

 

  • From Northern California: Pat and Mike Duffy; Daelyn, Dana, Steve, and Corbin Chase, and maybe Vic and Jimmy Reizman.

 

  • From Southern California: Marisa, Connie, and Jan Berger; Kurt and Lindsey Leisure; Mary Jo and Cassie Bullock, Leah and Maureen Price, Kiersti Wyle, and others.

 

  • And from other states: Andrew, Lisa, and Gregg Jayne (Nevada); Tom, Carol, Brendan, and Ryan Anderson (Colorado); Donna and Emily Andrews (New Jersey).

 

For most of the trip, we will stay at Raford House where the kids will train and ride cross country with Tom McNamara. They may even get to fence with the Irish team in Galway.

 

If you’re interested in going on the trip, please contact Pat. We have a separate newsletter that covers the itinerary in more depth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 3, 2008

 

Happy New Year!

 

First, a big thank you to Thar and Nancy Casey for hosting the West Coast Pentathlon holiday party. The Caseys laid out such a scrumptious dinner in their beautiful home that we all had trouble tearing ourselves away. It was wonderful to get together with all the families in a purely social setting. Let’s make this a tradition. (Don’t worry, Thar and Nancy, we can take turns hosting!)

 

Desert Christmas Camp

 

West Coast Pentathlon and Redwoods Pony Club hosted a weeklong tetrathlon/pentathlon camp at Michael Cintas’s facility – Equestrian Centers International in Rancho Mirage. Michael is the riding coach for the Olympic Modern Pentathlon team and our kids received a lot of invaluable instruction at the camp.

 

The kids rode at Michael’s, then shot and fenced in a tent erected on his property. They ran at a high school track and swam at a country club. Believe it or not, they did all five events every day for six days. Wow.

 

Unfortunately, Cliff Halenar got the flu and had to cancel so Mike Duffy stepped in and did a great job supervising the shooting. Melissa Adkison coached the swim at Palm Valley Country Club. Evae Silva, running coach for A Snail’s Pace shoe stores, gave a special running clinic. And our jack-of-all-trades, Carmelo Felix, coached everything else. Everyone was very busy and very happy.

 

Twelve kids attended the camp, including seven from WCP: Marisa, John, Andrew, Brendan, Ryan, Daelyn, and Isaiah. In addition, we had Emily Andrews, a tetrathlete from New Jersey; Ali Schleusser, a tetrathlete from Grass Valley; Vinnie Verruzio, a pentathlete from Brazil; and two pentathletes from the desert, Cassie Bullock and Leah Price.

 

On New Year’s Eve, we held a competition to see how our training had paid off and the kids did very well, especially considering that many of them had been sidelined with the flu for a couple of days. Michael Cintas was thrilled with how well our kids performed and how smoothly the camp was run. We are invited back for more camps if we like.

 

The camp spawned a lot of interest in pentathlon in the desert and beyond. We have several new pentathletes who would like to join our club. And Mary Jo Bullock, Cassie’s mom, is organizing training for a small group who would like to accompany us to Ireland in the summer. More on that later.

 

Comings and Goings

 

Tom Anderson has accepted a seat on the board to replace Steve Tintle, who resigned earlier this year.

 

Unfortunately, Christy Davis and Fiona Davis have resigned their positions at West Coast Pentathlon due to time constraints. Their daughters, Tara and Gilly, will not be renewing their memberships for the same reason. We will miss them and wish them well.

 

General Meeting

 

We will have our first annual general meeting at the Duffys’ house on Saturday, January 26. The board will meet at 9 a.m. and everyone is invited. The board meeting and training will be followed by a potluck dinner that evening. We’ll send details later but hold that date on your calendar. Pat will give a short presentation on the club’s activities for 2008. Please be thinking of any questions or issues you would like to discuss.

 

Tet Clinic and Rally

 

On the weekend of March 29 and 30, Redwoods Pony Club is hosting a tet/show jumping clinic and rally at Horseman’s. This is a great opportunity for WCP pentathletes to get some training in. Perhaps we can also do a fencing demonstration. Mark this spot on your calendar as well.

 

National Competitions

 

The Junior/Senior Competition will be held June 14/15 at the Olympic Training Center. Dates for the Youth competition will not be set until a National Governing Body is established. We also don’t know when the Canadian Nationals will be held. And we don’t know when or where NORCECA will be. When we get these dates, we’ll update the calendar. In the meantime, run track, get on a swim team, find a fencing club, and shoot whenever possible. Remember the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.

 

Ireland and England

 

Many West Coast pentathletes will be spending July in Ireland and England. Our group will be leaving around June 28 and returning the first week of August.

 

Pat is trying to get our Youth B pentathletes included in the European Youth B Championships in Dublin on July 3. Although their scores would not count, this would be a great opportunity for them to compete against pentathletes from all over Europe.

 

The group would then go to Raford House, a manor house surrounded by cross country fields. Tom McNamara will furnish horses for riding. Pat is trying to find fencing and swimming instruction so the kids can train while there.

 

Finally, some of the group will go to Millfield in England for the National Youth Pentathlon competition there on July 26-27. The kids will compete against the some of the best young pentathletes in the world. So only our best pentathletes should consider attending this event.

 

Please send any newsworthy items about our club or its members to ballardcon@aol.com and I will be happy to include them.

 

December 2007 Newsletter

 

This will be a short one. We’ll have more news to report in January after our camp in the desert.

 

Shooting

 

On December 2,  a group of West Coast pentathletes traveled to Chino to compete in the Junior Olympics state qualifier for shooting. As usual, our kids did very well. Here are the results:

 

Boys

Jimmy Reizman – Gold

Chris Hassoon – Bronze

 

Girls

Lea Reizman – Gold

Marisa Berger – Silver

Daelyn Chase – Bronze

 

You can’t get a lot better than that!

 

Camp

 

On December 26 through January 1, two of our officers (Pat and Connie) and several of our pentathletes are traveling to Rancho Mirage for a weeklong training camp.

 

It promises to be a rewarding experience. The kids will get to ride with Michael Cintas every day, fence with Carmelo Felix in a tent conveniently located at the stables, and swim with Melissa Adkison at the Palm Valley Country Club pool.

 

The camp will also feature special clinicians. Cliff Halenar will come down for a shooting clinic. And Evae Silva will conduct a special running clinic geared just to pentathletes with their grueling training schedule.

 

We’ll have participants from all over the country. In fact, John Gibbons is flying in from England to train. It’s going to be great. Stay tuned for a special report in early January.

 

 




August 20, 2007 Newsletter

 

It’s been so long since our last newsletter (sorry!) that this one comes with a table of contents.

 

  • Competition Results
  • Upcoming Modern Pentathlon Open in Palm Desert
  • Youth Olympics
  • New Members
  • Other News

  

Competition Results

 

The summer is almost over and West Coast Pentathlon is celebrating the end of a very successful competition season.

 

  

US Juniors Nationals

 

Our season began June 9 and 10 when five members of our group traveled to Colorado Springs to compete in the Juniors National. The fact that none of our group is a junior (ages 19-21) did not daunt them. And to their credit, they held their own against older, more seasoned competitors. The Juniors was held in concert with the Seniors Nationals so our kids competed against Olympic hopefuls such as Mickey Kelly and Dennis Bowsher.

 

Here’s how it panned out (sorry, we don’t have the complete scores):

 

US Junior Nationals – June 8-9, 2007—Colorado Springs, CO

 

Name

Place

Total

Shoot

Fence

Swim

Ride

Run

Women

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nichole Tintle

3rd

2,656

904

712

632

1,200

408

Marisa Berger

4th

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Neveu

 

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

Alessandra Accinelli

 

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

Daelyn Chase

 

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Hassoon

1st

3,744

712

568

724

1,200

540

 

Both Nichole and Marisa garnered enough points to be invited to Portugal for the World Youth Championships in September!

 

 

US Youth Nationals

 

The Youth Nationals were held in Roswell, New Mexico, June 29 and 30. Most of our group attended a 10-day camp directly preceding the competition. Again, our group did very well. Unfortunately, Nichole sustained a head injury and could not compete after the shoot. Also, there were no Youth D and E divisions so Brendan and Andrew Tapia had to compete against the big kids.

 

US Youth Nationals – June 29-30, 2007 – Roswell, NM

 

Name

Place

Total

Shoot

Fence

Swim

Run

Girls—Youth A

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marisa Berger

2nd

3,400

1,000

776

856

768

Lea Reizman

3rd

3,208

964

916

1,132

196

Alessandra Accinelli

4th

2,940

832

916

960

232

Nichole Tintle

5th

940

940

dnc

dnc

dnc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls—Youth B

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabby Tapia

5th

1,276

748

608

264

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls—Youth C

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daelyn Chase

1st

3,436

748

608

1,144

936

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys—Youth A

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Gibbons

1st

3,884

988

832

1,196

868

Chris Hassoon

4th

3,252

784

928

908

632

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys—Youth B

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Anderson

2nd

2,816

772

616

608

820

Andrew Jayne

3rd

1,984

532

808

208

436

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys—Youth C

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmy Reizman

2nd

3,848

904

928

1,096

920

Brendan Anderson

5th

2,060

52

592

816

600

Andrew Tapia

6th

1,404

0

472

428

504

 

Both Marisa and John qualified for Youth World Championships which will be held in South Africa in late August.

 

US Pony Club Championships

 

Most of our club were introduced to pentathlon through Pony Club, which sponsors a sport called tetrathlon which has all elements of modern pentathlon except the fencing. National championships are held in Pony Club every three years. Again, WCP members garnered top spots.

 

  US Pony Club Championships – July 24-26 – Lexington, KY

 

Name

Place

Total

Shoot

Swim

Ride

Run

Senior Girls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alessandra Accinelli

1st

3,364

720

908

1,034

707

Nichole Tintle

n/a

2,370

705

878

0

797

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junior Girls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marisa Berger

1st

3749

765

902

1030

1,067

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intermediate Girls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daelyn Chase

1st

3,845

785

1,082

916

1,067

Tara Davis

n/a

2,833

710

1,028

0

1,100

Gabby Tapia

n/a

2,268

605

938

0

740

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Boys

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Hassoon

1st

3,294

680

884

1,086

659

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intermediate Boys

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Jayne

2nd

3,615

605

926

1,064

1,025

 

Canadian Nationals and NORCECA

 

This was another instance in which the Youth A had to compete against older and more experienced (think Olympians!) fencers. But the kids did really well.

 

Canadian Youth Nationals – Aug. 4-5, 2007 – Calgary, Canada

  

 

Name

Place

Total

Shoot

Fence

Swim

Run

Girls—Youth A

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Neveu

1st

3,620

748

1,044

1,048

692

Nichole Tintle

3rd

3,220

892

912

812

604

Marisa Berger

4th

3,012

964

516

868

664

Lea Reizman

5th

2,844

880

868

1,096

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls—Youth C

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tara Davis

1st

3,708

868

808

1,000

1,032

Daelyn Chase

2nd

3,660

820

808

1,120

912

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys—Youth A

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Hassoon

3rd

3,036

1,036

676

856

468

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys—Youth B

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Anderson

5th

2,936

808

912

492

724

Andrew Jayne

6th

2,144

628

868

176

472

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys—Youth C

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmy Reizman

2nd

3,776

976

868

1100

832

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys—Youth D

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brendan Anderson

1st

3,140

376

1,220

1,032

512

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys – Youth E

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Tapia

1st

2,336

43

956

916

464

 

What’s next?

 

John Gibbons will be competing at the Youth World Championships in South Africa later this month. And Nichole may be heading to Portugal in September. Stay tuned!

  

 

Modern Pentathlon Open in Palm Desert

 

Everyone please mark your calendars for December 8 and 9. West Coast Pentathlon is hosting an Open Modern Pentathlon Competition in Palm Desert. Pentathletes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico are invited.

 

We will need a lot of volunteer help from our parents. Entry forms will be going out in a couple of months. We’ll discuss the particulars at the next board meeting.

 

 

Youth Olympics

 

 

The UPIM (Modern Pentathlon’s international governing body) has announced the formation of a Youth Olympic Games, a 12-day multisport competition which will be open to youth ages 14-18. The first competition will be held in 2010, and the locale is open for bids.

 

Our young pentathletes are great candidates for the first Youth USA team. Mike has already corresponded with Bob Gambardella of the USOC to inquire how we can best prepare our club.

 

New Members (and Old)

 

  You’ll be seeing a lot of new faces around here! We started out last November with seven competition members and four mini-members. When people heard about West Coast Pentathlon, it seemed like everyone wanted to join! Obviously, we are meeting a need.

 

To meet that need but still keep our training standards high, our board has developed a tri-level membership.

 

  • Competition team: These are our older members (age 13 and up) who have met a designated score in national or international competition. These members will pay $50 per month in addition to the annual membership fee and train together on the third Saturday of each month. This group will be limited in size to maintain training quality.
  • Training team: Those who compete nationally or internationally but who either have not yet attained the scores necessary to move to the competition level or who are under age 13.
  • General membership: Those who train in pentathlon but who have not begun to compete seriously.

 

Our new team m