Football & Fencing Fun in Baltimore

It was a busy weekend for Charm City the past few days: two big-draw tournaments were held in and around Baltimore featuring competitors from all around the country.  On Saturday, the Baltimore Flag Football Festival kicked off at Pimlico Race Course, and the 24^th annual Charm City Classic presented by the U.S. Fencing Association, a two-day event for fencers 13 and over, got underway at UMBC’s Retriever Activities Center.

En Garde!

As mentioned many times before, our Facilities Guide is — and will always be — a work in progress. We continue to be amazed by the quality and quantity of sports and recreation venues in the state. Occasionally, we are also enlightened, like yesterday when I discovered how many places in Maryland teach, practice and compete in fencing.

It started with a calendar item I noted for youth classes in Columbia. I casually mentioned it to MSA boss Mike Frenz, who said his daughter was a recreational foil fencer.

Living in Annapolis, I was aware of fencing programs at St. John’s and the Naval Academy. (You thought croquet was the only sport they had in common?) That fencing might be practiced outside college campuses (and productions of “The Three Muskateers”) by swashbuckers of all ages and genders never occurred to me when mine were young.

(Just as well. Putting swords in the hands of my two would have been foolhardy to the extreme. They were scary enough with souvenirs from the Renaissance Festival.)

So today I’ve been researching and adding fencing venues and contact information to our data base. If any aspiring Zorros out there know of more, please send the info.

In the meantime, I’m putting one more activity on the “to do” list. En garde, d’Artagnan!