Seventy world-class fencers visit Houston

HOUSTON -- On Aug. 4 seventy world class, medalist fencers from Great Britain, Canada, Israel, Estonia, Hungary and the U.S. were in Houston for the Alliance International Fencing Camp, held at the Lutheran North High School gymnasium. The camp concluded Aug. 8. The following week the visiting fencers had a chance to see some of the interesting sights and attractions of Houston and Texas.

“Every year we invite athletes from all over the world, but this time we actually have four women members of the U.S. National Team and three members of the Estonian Team who just won medals at the World Championships in Russia,” says Andrey Geva, owner and head coach at Alliance Fencing Academy. Other Elite teams from the U.S. in attendance included fencers from the Air Force Academy. Geva is the U.S. women epee coach for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Assisting Geva were Benoit Bouysset and Sergei Danilov.

The Alliance summer international camp provides fencers the opportunity to fence with the best in the sport. Examples of top tier fencers are Julia Beljajeva, Erika Kirpu and Kristina Kuusk from Estonia.

Beljajeva won a gold medal in women’s epee at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest. Erika Kirpu took the bronze medal in the 2014 World Championships in Kazan, Russia. The three girls captured the silver team medal at the 2014 World Championships in Kazan.

Kirpu is spends her time in getting ready for the 2016 Olympics. All three girls are members of the Estonia Olympic team, if they qualify.

“Usually they don’t have summer camps with so many high level fencers to fence against,” said Geva referring to the European fencers. “During summer in Europe it’s like the off-season; they don’t train. They can train here and have a vacation. Some of them have never been here. They are making friends. They are staying at Alliance fencer’s homes.”

Nicole Tal, 20 years old, from Maalot, Israel, won the Junior Nationals in Israel in 2014. “I was at an Alliance Camp before and I really liked it, and Coach Geva invited me to come again. You learn in every practice with every person you fence against.”

Zsomby Banyai, 17 years old, is from Hungary. “We have a city we call TaTa in Hungary with an Olympic camp, where we have camps like this. We can train with the seniors and some foreigners.”

Another reason for Banyai coming to the Alliance camp is because he has lots of friends in Houston that he has met in fencing tournaments all over the world. “I love to fence with them, and it’s a vacation for me. I can practice my fencing knowledge by fencing with others. Fencers from different countries have their own fencing style, and it’s good to learn from them.”

Alliance Fencing Academy with campuses in Houston and The Woodlands, has training camps throughout the year where both experienced and individuals new to the sport can learn more about fencing. Check their website, www.alliance-fencing-academy.com for more information about the Academy.

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