Zach Binder bested a field of 122 fencers from across the United States to finish in the top spot as the national 2014 Y10 men’s foil champion. By winning the competition, Zach also earned his “D” rating moving up from his previously unrated (or “U”) status.
The highest rating a fencer can obtain is an “A”. Zach’s win also helped him finish the fencing year with a number three ranking in the country based on points. The win caps a year in which Zach earned multiple gold medals in local and regional competitions – in addition to the Y10 age group, Zach competes in age-based competitions for fencers up to age 17.
Sylvie Binder also had a superlative national competition taking home two silver medals – one for a second place finish in the Cadet (U16) women’s foil competition and another for her participation on her club’s Junior (U19) women’s foil team which came in second place.
Sylvie also finished in the top 16 among all senior women fencers in the Division 1 and finished sixth in the Junior individual. Sylvie’s finishes earned her enough ranking points to give her the top year-end ranking for all 14-year-olds in the country and place her among the top tier of female foil fencers in the country.
The Binder siblings train year-round at the Fencing Academy of Westchester in Hawthorne, and are coached by Slava Grigoriev – a two-time Olympian from Khazakstan and proprietor of the academy. Sylvie is also coached equally by Anna Katkova who also mentored the club’s medal-winning women’s foil team.
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