General news
HFA Summer picnic and Seniors Grads Party!
What a wonderful evening, fiends get together, kids playing and laughing, life music and a lot of food.
We wish Good luck in College to our Senior Grads this year:
Jaren is going to Purdue University
Jonathan - Carnegie-Mellon University
James - University of Missouri, Columbia
Lauren - JCCC
Arthi - Purdue
Fencing in schools!
Heartland Fencing Academy continue promoting the sport at the local schools. The kids were so excited to try fencing.
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Fencing in schools!
Heartland Fencing Academy continues to promote the sport at the local schools.
More than 150 students at Lenexa Hill Elementary got introduced to the Olympic sport of fencing.
Meet Emilia Ivanova of Heartland Fencing Academy
Today we’d like to introduce you to Emilia Ivanova.
Hi Emilia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am the Head coach at Heartland Fencing Academy in Overland Park, KS. I started the academy in 2007, and since then we have been teaching the Olympic sport of fencing to students of all ages and skill levels.
We are proud of our success and ability to introduce fencing to many students in the Greater Kansas City metro area.
I graduated from the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski” in Sofia, Bulgaria, with two majors in Physical Therapy (Kinesitherapy) and Physical Education.
After competing and fencing nationally and internationally for 17 years, I decided to put my time and skills into my passion for teaching fencing. As a fencer, I was seven times National Foil champion and Silver medalist at the European Championship. Initially, I was working with the Juniors program in my club, but after four years I was selected to work with the Bulgarian National Foil Team.
Some of our biggest successes were Top 8 at the World Championship in Netherlands 1994, and two of my female foil fencers qualified for the Olympic Games in Atlanta 1996. This was the first time in the long history of Bulgarian fencing when two female Foil fencers qualified for the Olympic games.
In the Summer of 2000, I moved to the USA, and since then, I have been coaching here. I have also refereed for many years at the National and NCAA Fencing Championships.
I am proud to say that Heartland Fencing Academy is well known nationally and our students are holders of many Regional, North American Cup, Junior Olympics, the USFA Summer National Championship, and competed at World Cup in Europe. Many of our fencers have earned scholarships to prestigious schools such as Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Ohio State, UPenn, Wayne State, Cleveland State, where they continue to fence.
HFA fencers are NCAA and Ivy League Fencing Champions.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is neither easy nor smooth to move to a new country with a new language and culture. In the beginning, the challenge was to adjust to the new place that I was going to work and live. Later on, when I open the Heartland Fencing Academy came to the challenge to deal with the business side of it. Nowadays, we are learning how to survive and thrive in the difficult time we all are leaving. Despite all the challenges, I consider myself lucky to have so much support from my family, friends, and the USA fencing community.
We’ve been impressed with Heartland Fencing Academy, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
During my long fencing career as a competitor and a coach, I have learned many valuable lessons that I carry through life with me. The most important is that when you work hard, be motivated, and passionate about what you do, you can achieve a lot. Fencing is a highly competitive and complex sport that you must be able to make a quick decision under pressure during the competition. Learning to deal with success and failure taught me humility and appreciation of all I have experience.
Heartland Fencing Academy as a LEGO set
Fencing with a social distancing
Check your email for the list with instructions for fencers and parents.
We are looking forward to see you all back at HFA!
Online classes
Hi HFA fencers,
We are continually running online classes in addition to the classes in the club. It's important to keep exercising, stay fit and in good spirit during this difficult time.
We all will fence again!
Stay active and enjoy your Summer.
HFA Open on Saturday, May 23rd.
Dear HFA Fencers,
HFA Open on Saturday, May 23rd.
Instructions for the fencers and parents
1. Only fencers are allowed at the club during classes.
Parents, please wait outside during the class and observe through the windows.
2. Parents, please drop and pick up the students on time for class/individual lessons.
3. All fencers are recommended to have own fencing mask, glove, and jacket.
For fencers who do not have own fencing gears, we will still provide it. We are prepared to keep all our share equipment sanitized daily.
4. Enter the club wearing fencing pants (warm-up pants) and clean fencing shoes. We are trying to limit the gathering and time for changing in the bathrooms.
5. Wash/disinfect your hands upon entering the club.
6. Do not come to practice if you are sick.
We are looking forward to see you all back at HFA!
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