Welcome to the website of SchermCentrum Amsterdam (Fencing Center Amsterdam), better known as SCA. We are proud to be a very ‘international’ club, with members from all over the world. In this English section you will find practical information regarding SCA. This includes training hours, location, fees etc. If you are looking to join a fencing club in Amsterdam you will find all the information you need about SCA right here.
About fencing
Fencing is a modern and exciting sport in which the aim is to defeat an opponent by hitting him or her with your weapon, called a touché, without being hit yourself. Fencing is also an ancient sport, developing from the (often deadly) duelling of the past centuries. Nowadays, fencers are safe from harm due to high quality protective equipment and modified weaponry. The skills that are important for a fencer have not changed though: speed, explosiveness, balance, stamina, concentration, intelligence, awareness, technique and many more. Respect and sportsmanship are both very important: before and after a bout both fencers salute each other and the referee.
Modern Olympic fencing (fencing has been part of the modern Olympic Games since the first edition in 1896) has three disciplines, based on the three different weapons used: foil, epee and sabre. Foil and epee are thrusting weapons, sabre is a cutting weapon. The rules are different for each weapon, leading to very different fencing styles (technique and tactics).
About SCA
On January 1st 2005 two Amsterdam fencing schools merged to form SCA: ASV Zaal van Oeveren en SV En Garde, both clubs with a rich tradition. Combining forces enabled the members to have more training hours, better facilities and a larger variety of opponents.
Since the merge SCA has performed well. Several of our members won prizes in Dutch and International competitions and Championships. Our honorary member, Mrs Bep van der Pol, won a bronze medal at the European Veteran Championships in 2006 for her age category 70+. Our chairman and trainer Matthijs Rohlfs won the National Foil Championships in 2008 and 2009. Our foil team made it to the finals of the National Team Championships 6 years straight.
SCA is a lively club with both adult and youth fencers of all levels (National Champions and recreational enthusiasts) and all weapons: foil, epee and sabre. It is our tradition to mix these groups as much as possible which creates a friendly competitive atmosphere. SCA is located at the Frans Otten Stadion where it has a spacious fencing hall with six (official size) pistes equipped with electric scoring systems.
Training hours
| Day | Time | Category | Trainer(s) |
| Monday | 19:00-20:00 | Beginners course | Matthijs |
| Monday | 20:00-22:00 | Beginners and recreational | Matthijs, Daniël |
| Tuesday | 18:00-19:00 | Youth (<11) | Spencer, Bep |
| Tuesday | 19:00-20:30 | Youth (<18) | Spencer, Bep, Matthijs, Daniël |
| Tuesday | 20:30-23:00 | Seniors | Spencer, Matthijs, Daniël |
| Wednesday | 20:00-22:00 | Regional team | Matthijs, Daniël |
| Thursday | 18:00-19:00 | Youth (<11) | Spencer, Bep |
| Thursday | 19:00-20:30 | Youth (<18) | Spencer, Bep, Matthijs, Daniël |
| Thursday | 20:30-23:00 | Seniors | Spencer, Matthijs, Danië |
All trainings are held in the fencing hall of the Frans Otten Stadion and will start exactly on time.
Location
SCA fences in the beautiful “Bep van der Pol zaal” in the Frans Otten Stadion (FOS). This hall is named after Mrs. Bep van der Pol, honorary member of SCA and still an active fencer. The hall is equipped with six fixed electric pistes (official size), a mirror wall and a wooden floor. SCA also uses the hall regularly outside training times for small tournaments and social events. For those members who want to keep their weapons and equipment at the club, lockers are available.
Besides fencing, The Frans Otten Stadion hosts a tennis and squash club, aerobics and fitness facilities and meeting rooms. A lively and high quality bar forms the centre of the FOS and of course all general facilities such as dressing rooms and showers are up to date. There is plenty of parking space for €2 per visit.
Membership
SCA has four different types of membership:
| Membership | Monthly fee |
| Youth (under 18) | €25 |
| Student | €30 |
| Adult | €35 |
| Guest (if already a member of an other fencing club in the Netherlands) | €15 |
The membership fee must be transferred each month before the 15th to Postbank number 5258301, SchermCentrum Amsterdam, Amsterdam. We do not send you an invoice. SCA strongly prefers automatic bank transfers.
Besides the monthly membership fee every member will be automatically registered with the KNAS, the Dutch National Fencing Federation, and has to pay their yearly membership fee of €20.75 for fencers up to age 20 and €40.50 for fencers age 21 and over. The KNAS uses this contribution to support tournaments, insure fencers, inform the fencing community through a website and create and maintain training facilities for professional fencers.
Contact
Please feel free to contact us for additional information. We can be reached at:
Address:
SchermCentrum Amsterdam (SCA)
Frans Otten Stadion
IJsbaanpad 43
1076 CV Amsterdam
Internet:
http://www.schermcentrumamsterdam.nl/
Phone:
+31 (0)6 12997169
Email:
schermcentrumamsterdam@gmail.com
