Going Away Party

for Alliance's collage students

August 19, 2006

On Saturday, August 19^th Alliance Fencing Academy hosted a ‘Going Away Party’ for Alliance fencing students heading for college as well as for all Alliance fencers who attended and won medals at Summer Nationals. The party venue was the Claremont Room at the River Oaks High Rise, home to Maria, Francesca, and Giorgio Bassa and the venue included a pool, large gardens, a spacious party room with couches and TV, a wine room on the 18^th floor, and an open air rooftop with a panoramic view of Houston.

The party began at 6:00 pm and went on until past midnight. More than 100 of Alliance fencers, their families and friends attended the party making it one of the biggest Alliance social get together. The food was provided by a pot-luck system with each family bringing a tantalizing array of delicious foods, fine wines, and desserts displayed on two large tables, several counters, and a huge kitchen. Everyone enjoyed the gastronomic delights ranging from Lebanese, Russian, Italian, French traditional cuisine including home made recipes (lasagnas Sanfilippo were a hit, roasts, barbecued meats and many more treats). Needless to say, everyone was very well fed.

After the main courses and before the tempting desserts Andrey gave an encompassing speech thanking each of the families and individuals that have helped make Alliance Fencing Academy the success that it is. Some of those who received honorable mention included (in alphabetic order) the Bassa, Bone, Maclaine, Ferguson, Freiman, Gorodetsky, Hudson, Katz, Popovici, Sennewald, Smith and Wysocki families along with Evengelina Bibb, Jim Geitgey, Michael LoParco, Dr. John McDermott, and Margaret Reckling.

It was then the turn of the fencers who excelled in the 2005-2006 fencing season and earned medals at Summer Nationals and those who made great rating progress in the past year. They all received a standing ovation, award of achievements, and the admiration of a room of parents, comrades, and friends.

Then everyone was treated to a custom and professionally made video of the junior men’s epee team event coverage from Summer Nationals. The fabulously edited and exciting DVD –produced by Mr. Trapani’s brother- featured a segment on each of the boys, with clips of their bouts, and their gold medal bout with New York which ended in a one point defeat and a proud silver medal. The final cut of this production will be completed in the near future and will be available at the club. If you have not seen it, check it out and you will be happy you did. Prizes of fencing DVD’s and Alliance T-shirts were then handed out to the fencers who received awards and honorable mention.

The night was not over yet, and after dessert, the guests were treated to a live and perfectly recreated rendition of the Ok GO! band’s dance which received world wide fame on You Tube performed by the Alliance Fencing boys, Sean Wright, Max Ferguson, Ben Freiman, and Daniel Trapani. This was the gig that enthralled everyone in Russia during Alliance fencing camp. And if the Russians loved it… well everyone at the party found it… interesting.

After the entertainment the teenagers went up to the roof to a spectacular 360 degree view of the city from 18 stories in the air. (There were guard rails, not to worry!) Between periodic trips to the roof, a few people stayed inside the nifty wine room –sans wines- to play cards, some listened to music, some wondered around. The younger kids had tons of fun running around and jumping in the pool, some even with their street clothes on under the parents’ watchful eyes! As the night progressed friends and acquaintances, young and old took the opportunity to visit and exchange information about fencing, school programs, college opportunities and plans for the new season.

The teenagers and older kids even got to see a custom made slide show with pictures of themselves from six years ago when they had just begun their fencing lives under Andrey’s first classes… embarrassment, more than nostalgia, seemed to be the mutual feeling. The party kept going strong until past midnight, when the last guests reluctantly filed out.

Alliance Fencing Academy would like to thank again the parents, kids, fencers, and friends that have helped support our club and build it into what it is today; one of the most successful, well coached and well run, and happiest fencing clubs in the nation. We are eternally grateful and we wish all our alumni good luck in their college and adult lives. We will always remember you, and thanks to your childhood pictures and memories, we are sure you will always remember us.