North American Cup in Pittsburgh

This week I'm heading to Pittsburgh for a NAC North American Cup event. I'll compete there then head to France for the Cadet Women's Eppe Competition as well as some training in France. My mom or dad travels with me.

Sometimes people think that traveling while fencing means I see a lot of places. Traveling for fencing is like a business trip. Sometimes I get a few hours here and there to get out and see things (usually within walking distance of where I'm fencing). Mostly, I stay at the fencing venues and enjoy the competition. I do get to know alot of kids I never would have met otherwise.

Each event I compete in gives me an opportunity to earn points. The top 34 competitors both nationally and internationally earn points with a 32 or better finish. In fencing the awards on the podium start at 8th place.

My goal is to move from 4th nationally to 2nd or 3rd so that I can fence at the World Championship. To do that, I compete at each NAC and at at least 3 of the World Events. This week will be my 2nd NAC and 2nd World Event of the season.

Cadet Women's Epee World Cup - Heidenheim, Germany

My mom put together a slide show of my first World Cup Competition which was in Heindenheim, Germany last week. I finished at 22, earning my first International points (which also contribute to my national ranking). I'm 4th so far this season and my goal is to be 2nd or 3rd so that I can qualify for the World Championships.

It was really fun and I'm really glad I got to experience it. Thanks everyone for your support.

Bend Bulletin Interview - Epee Fencing, Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Painting

The local newspaper, the Bend Bulletin printed this today.

Fight to the Top - A talented fencer from Bend is on her way to World Cup events this week, by Katie Brauns (Sports section D, pages 1 and 3) READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

In some respects, Isabella Barna is an ordinary teenager: She doesn’t love every school subject, she enjoys time with her friends, and she likes skateboarding and being outside. But in other respects, she is extraordinary beyond her 16 years.

In sports, Barna is an elite-level fencer, an accomplished nordic skier, and a stand-up paddle boarder. She is a 4.0 student at Summit High School, where she is a sophomore. She is also an artist, a talented painter. She serves as an athlete model for a Portland-based talent agency. And she is an activist for an organization devoted to combating childhood obesity.

Barna learned discipline as a child through tae kwon do — in which she earned a black belt — and other organized athletics.

“When you first start fencing you’re just kind of fighting and it’s just like any other form of martial arts,” notes Barna, her voice softy and steady. “Then you realize just how indepth you can go with it, just mentally and in terms of strategizing. So I liked it to begin with and I grew to like it even more.”

(Epee fencing, the style of sword fighting that Barna competes in, is the only fencing discipline that considers the entire body a valid target area. The Eppe sword, compared with the foil and sabre , is the heaviest of the three modern fencing weapons.)

A young woman of considerable drive, Barna aims to one day compete in fencing in the Olympics.

“She is not missing anything,” notes Michael Marx, a former Olympian who coaches Barna at Northwest Fencing Center in Portland. “She is a coach’s dream. She is smart and has amazing work ethic. ... Physically she is very gifted. If I was to design my perfect student, it probably would be her.”

Barna has qualified to compete in the Epee World Cup fencing events this season starting this week.

A chance to compete in the World Cup events is a step in the right direction toward one of Barna’s biggest goals: to make the U.S. world team.

On Wednesday, Barna and her mother, Cristina Acosta, will travel to Germany for the first World Cup of the year. Following the competition, Barna will compete in two more World Cup events, one in France and one in Sweden, with a few more North American Cups scattered in between. Just last week, Barna traveled to Kansas and competed in the North American Cup. There, she earned a silver medal in the Cadet Epee (U16 girls category) and placed seventh in a field of 144 in the Junior Women’s Epee (U20).

“She is likely to make the world team,” says Marx. “She has a really good shot at it. ... And I think, ‘Wait a minute. You don’t make the world team from Bend.”

Marx explains that most successful fencers at Barna’s level are living in an environment where fencing is popular. In Bend, fencing has a very small following, according to Marx, yet that does not hold Barna back.

In order for her to make the world team, she must rank in the top three fencers in the nation in her age group. Her final rank will be determined after she competes in the three world events and four national tournaments. She is currently ranked fourth in the nation in the U16 Cadet Epee category, according to the USA Fencing Web site (http://usfencing.org).

“Her second year of fencing she got a medal at nationals,” says Randall Barna, Isabella’s proud father. “In the 12-and-under age group she was already nationally ranked.”

Marx believes not only that Isabella Barna has a shot at the U.S. world team, but also that the Olympics “absolutely” could be on her horizon.

Throughout her life, Barna has had a way of setting goals — and then achieving them.

For example, she spent years working toward qualifying for the Junior Olympics in nordic skiing. And in 2008, she made it.

Barna says she wanted to prove to herself that she could compete at the Junior Olympic level in nordic skiing before she devoted most of her extracurricular time to fencing. While she will still compete for the Summit High cross-country ski team when she can, she is no longer competing at the elite level as she was with the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation.

“It was just kind of my goal to make it to a certain place (in skiing) before I quit,” she says. “I do that with everything. I set a goal and then I don’t stop until I meet a certain goal.”

“Anyone who is successful,” says Marx, “is someone who expects a lot from themselves. And she does. She still seems to be able to do everything. I still don’t get it.”

Now that the competitive fencing season is in full swing, Barna will try to find balance between her schoolwork and her commitment to fencing. In December, she says, she expects to be in school for only five days — largely because of travel to fencing competitions.

Fencing is year-round sport, and it includes rigorous training through the summer months.

“I just think it would be really amazing to travel around the world and fence,” says Barna, adding that she sees fencing as a possible ticket to a college scholarship.

Aiming high, Barna’s college favorites have included the likes of Stanford and Duke.

Barna is positively an overachiever.

She paints colorful, appealing works of art and has pieces up for sale on her blog (http://isabellabarna.blogspot.com/) to raise money for her fencing training and travel. As a youth advisory board member of the American Heart Association’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation she speaks before hundreds to try to motivate youngsters to make healthy diet and fitness choices. And through the alliance, she was commissioned to create artwork for greeting cards as a fundraiser for the organization.

“All the kids who are on the board, they’re supposed to be role models,” says Barna. “And they talk to other kids and give them inspiration to be healthy.”

Barna reaches with everything she does. And her parents say they have guided her in no particular direction.

“As a parent of this kind of athlete, performing at this level, you realize that they have to be really motivated internally,” says Cristina Acosta. “Her self-discipline surprises me. It’s actually an inspiration for me.”

“I don’t really remember exactly every failure and victory that I have had in this whole process,” notes Barna. “I just am, where I am.”

“She doesn’t just fence,” says Marx, her coach, who goes on to recite the long list of his star pupil’s other activities and accomplishments.

“You would never know, talking to her, that she is so gifted,” he says. “You would never know.”

In some respects, Isabella Barna is an ordinary teenager: She doesn’t love every school subject, she enjoys time with her friends, and she likes skateboarding and being outside. But in other respects, she is extraordinary beyond her 16 years.

In sports, Barna is an elite-level fencer, an accomplished nordic skier, and a stand-up paddle boarder. She is a 4.0 student at Summit High School, where she is a sophomore. She is also an artist, a talented painter. She serves as an athlete model for a Portland-based talent agency. And she is an activist for an organization devoted to combating childhood obesity.

Barna learned discipline as a child through tae kwon do — in which she earned a black belt — and other organized athletics.

“When you first start fencing you’re just kind of fighting and it’s just like any other form of martial arts,” notes Barna, her voice soft and steady. “Then you realize just how in-depth you can go with it, just mentally and in terms of strategizing. So I liked it to begin with and I grew to like it even more.”

(Epee fencing, the style of sword fighting in which Barna competes, is the only fencing discipline that considers the entire body a valid target area. The epee sword, compared with the foil and saber, is the heaviest of the three modern fencing weapons.)

A young woman of considerable drive, Barna aims to one day compete in fencing in the Olympics.

“She is not missing anything,” notes Michael Marx, a former Olympian who coaches Barna at Northwest Fencing Center in Portland. “She is a coach’s dream. She is smart and has amazing work ethic. ... Physically she is very gifted. If I was to design my perfect student, it probably would be her.”

Barna has qualified to compete in the Epee World Cup fencing events this season starting this week.

A chance to compete in the World Cup events is a step in the right direction toward one of Barna’s biggest goals: to make the U.S. world team.

On Wednesday, Barna and her mother, Cristina Acosta, will travel to Germany for the first World Cup of the year. Following the competition, Barna will compete in two more World Cup events, one in France and one in Sweden, with a few more North American Cups scattered in between. Just last week, Barna traveled to Kansas and competed in the North American Cup. There, she earned a silver medal in the Cadet Epee (U16 girls category) and placed seventh in a field of 144 in the Junior Women’s Epee (U20).

“She is likely to make the world team,” says Marx. “She has a really good shot at it. ... And I think, ‘Wait a minute. You don’t make the world team from Bend.’ ”

Marx explains that most successful fencers at Barna’s level are living in an environment where fencing is popular. In Bend, fencing has a very small following, according to Marx, yet that does not hold Barna back.

In order for her to make the world team, she must rank in the top three fencers in the nation in her age group. Her final rank will be determined after she competes in the three world events and four national tournaments. She is currently ranked fourth in the nation in the U16 Cadet Epee category, according to the USA Fencing Web site (http://usfencing.org).

“Her second year of fencing she got a medal at nationals,” says Randall Barna, Isabella’s proud father. “In the 12-and-under age group she was already nationally ranked.”

Marx believes not only that Isabella Barna has a shot at the U.S. world team, but also that the Olympics “absolutely” could be on her horizon.

Throughout her life, Barna has had a way of setting goals — and then achieving them.

For example, she spent years working toward qualifying for the Junior Olympics in nordic skiing. And in 2008, she made it.

Barna says she wanted to prove to herself that she could compete at the Junior Olympic level in nordic skiing before she devoted most of her extracurricular time to fencing. While she will still compete for the Summit High cross-country ski team when she can, she is no longer competing at the elite level as she was with the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation.

“It was just kind of my goal to make it to a certain place (in skiing) before I quit,” she says. “I do that with everything. I set a goal and then I don’t stop until I meet a certain goal.”

“Anyone who is successful,” says Marx, “is someone who expects a lot from themselves. And she does. She still seems to be able to do everything. I still don’t get it.”

Now that the competitive fencing season is in full swing, Barna will try to find balance between her schoolwork and her commitment to fencing. In December, she says, she expects to be in school for only five days — largely because of travel to fencing competitions.

Fencing is a year-round sport, and it includes rigorous training through the summer months.

“I just think it would be really amazing to travel around the world and fence,” says Barna, adding that she sees fencing as a possible ticket to a college scholarship.

Aiming high, Barna’s college favorites have included the likes of Stanford and Duke.

Barna is positively an overachiever.

She paints colorful, appealing works of art and has pieces up for sale on her blog (http://isabellabarna.blogspot.com/) to raise money for her fencing training and travel. As a youth advisory board member of the American Heart Association’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation she speaks before hundreds to try to motivate youngsters to make healthy diet and fitness choices. And through the alliance, she was commissioned to create artwork for greeting cards as a fundraiser for the organization.

“All the kids who are on the board, they’re supposed to be role models,” says Barna. “And they talk to other kids and give them inspiration to be healthy.”

Barna reaches with everything she does. And her parents say they have guided her in no particular direction.

“As a parent of this kind of athlete, performing at this level, you realize that they have to be really motivated internally,” says Cristina Acosta. “Her self-discipline surprises me. It’s actually an inspiration for me.”

“I don’t really remember exactly every failure and victory that I have had in this whole process,” notes Barna. “I just am, where I am.”

“She doesn’t just fence,” says Marx, her coach, who goes on to recite the long list of his star pupil’s other activities and accomplishments.

“You would never know, talking to her, that she is so gifted,” he says. “You would never know.”

Katie Brauns can be reached at kbrauns@bendbulletin.com.
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Won 2 Fencing Medals at the North American Cup B

Last week I attended my first National fencing event of the season. It was the North American Cup NAC-B in Kansas. I competed in my age group, Cadet and Junior Women's Epee.

I'm really excited that I did really well. I won a Silver (Second Place) in Cadet (under 17) and 7th place in Junior (under 20). Thanks to my coaches for all of your help.

Washington County Youth Summit in Portland, Ore. for Empower Me 2 B Campaign

The Washington County Commission on Children & Families hosted their 5th Annual Youth Summit last Thursday, and invited me to give a speech to 350 middle and high school kids.

I talked to the kids about how I stay active. It was the same speech I made at the School Based Health Care Teacher Conference in Salem two weeks before, except that I added a slide show of me doing fun things so my presentation would be more appealing for kids.

The Alliance sent out cards for the kids so they would know about the www.EmpowerMe2B.org website. I put the teacher materials at the entrance sign near the door and my mom put cards on all of the kid's tables.

Sunny Ross was the Program Specialist for www.co.washington.or.us/HHS/CCF and was my contact person for the Washington County Commission on Children and Families. She was one of the Youth Summit organizers.

Alex Molden is a former pro football player who was introduced with me and then gave his speech before mine. Alex works for Nike as a Sports Performance Specialist. He also has his own sports training program for kids and adults, All Star Performance Athletics www.aspa-sport.com. He has 5 kids of his own and you can tell that he likes motivating kids and adults. He loves gator ball and was encouraging everyone to Google it and learn how to play it. Here's a link I found about Gator Ball for kid's groups.

Everyone who was part of this Youth Summit conference was part of the movement to stop childhood obesity. The materials the Alliance sent me to hand out are really helpful for teachers and kids. Here's the link again if you want more information on easy ways to be healthy.
www.EmpowerMe2B.org

Having Some Fun in the Surf

Pacific City on the Oregon Coast is a really fun place to surf. My family loves to camp, so we take our trailer to Cape Kiwanda for the weekend sometimes and surf. My dad and mom usually go out on their Stand Up boards. I like to play on my Lopez board.

The water temperature is usually in the low to mid 50's in September. The air was about the same this trip. That's why I'm wearing a wetsuit. Even though it's cold, it's really fun.

I got some good waves, but my friend only got a picture of me in the reforms. I was teaching my mom to use a regular longboard, so I was hanging out in the reforms while she was learning.

Learning Through Movement with Dr. Derrick Mears

The Heart Institute of the Cascades and Clear One Foundation put on a talk by Mr. Derrick Mears. I attended the event so that I could pass out EmpowerMe2B.org sign-up cards and network with the adults who came to the speech.

I was able to hand out about 100 cards and talked with some influential people that are working hard locally and nationally to get kids to develop healthy habits like movement and nutrition.

Here's something about the people I met:

Dr. Derrick Mears:
He has spent 20 years as a teacher and researcher in education. He's Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Western Washington University. And he's author numerous articles on the relationship between physical education and lifetime physical activity including the relationship between physical activity and academic achievement, educational technology and national policy statements relating to physical education and physical activity. You can read more about Dr. Derrick Mears at www.derrick-mears.pbworks.com

Judy Shasek with ExerLearning:
ExerLearning is about getting kids to move more in the classroom without making teachers have to do more. Here's what Judy's card said: Using powerful connections between technology, student empowerment and fitness, this prgram is geared to enhance what busy teachers can do. Here's a video for more info - ExerLearning
We will document our program via video and data collection in hopes of obtaining $1 million in technology innovation, community wellness and 21st century learning grants. Learn more here
For ideas, comments, and questions Footgaming@gmail.com

Kate Wells, Director of Community Outreach & Communications for The Heart Institute of the Cascades
Kate is in the picture with me. She helps me locally to meet and network with other adults who might benefit from knowing about The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and their EmpowerMe2B.org program.

School Based Health Care Conference in Salem, Oregon

Last week I met Anne from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation along with Marecela in Salem for the School Based Health Care Conference in Salem, Oregon. They helped me practice and prepare for the speech I was to give to the teachers and attendees at the conference. School Based Health Care is when there is a health clinic for kids that is in the school. Even Elementary Schools can have one. They help kids stay healthy. The program is really growing in Oregon because my state covers all kid's with health insurance if they don't have any of their own. I spoke about putting movement and exercise into the kid's day and encouraged educators to encourage kids to move as it's good for their body and brain. Here's a copy of my speech:
______________________________________________________________

Good morning. My name is Isabella Acosta Barna. I attend Summit High School in Bend, and I’m a Youth Advisory Board Member for The Alliance for a Healthier Generation. I’m also a nationally ranked epee fencer and in my free time I like to ski, surf and skateboard.

When I was little I had so much physical energy that I had to sit on a ball at the table when I ate or did my homework to help me concentrate. My parents even put up swings to help me relax at the end of the day. Since that time I have been very physically active and it is an important part of my everyday life. I know when I don’t have the opportunity to release physical energy during the day I have a difficult time focusing in the classroom and doing my homework. Having the opportunity to engage in physical activity throughout the day has helped me do well in school, feel better about myself, and be as healthy as I can be.

Along with physical activity I have always grown up with a thorough understanding of nutrition. Starting when I was about five years old my parents went on a complete rampage of the pantry, throwing out any food items with either partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. As you can imagine, to a five year old the loss of oreos and cheetos was quite devastating. Soon after that most of my free time was spent walking to my neighbor’s house where they would let me eat all of the OreosI wanted.

But that didn’t last long because through our influence many of our friends also decided to change their diets.

Along with diet I’ve learned that exercise can’t be left out of a healthy life. Nutrition and movement are the keys to being healthy for life, whether movement means bouncing on a ball while at the table, playing or training for a sport. The head and the body are attached, physical education is also mental education.

I don’t think PE should be considered something extra or something that is less important than math or reading. Physical activity has been such an important part of my education, that I believe other kids, if given the opportunity, could improve their quality of their lives though daily physical activity and nutritional knowledge that they will use the rest of their life.

Sadly, most kids in Oregon don’t have the resources that they need to get educated about the importance of activity and nutrition, that would help them get better grades, gain self-confidence, and be as healthy as they can be.

This is why it is so important to give the schools the resources to develop PE classes that offer enough opportunities for exercise and physical activity and that also teach kids how to stay healthy throughout their whole lives.

If you are a teacher or educator who doesn’t have any more money to work with, you can get some good ideas to incorporate movement and nutrition into kid’s lives at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s EmpowerMe2B.org website. Kid’s can join the website and make a commitment to a healthy life. The website has tools for kids and teachers.

I really hope that you will incorporate the messages of physical health into your lesson plans and activities so that we can all help raise a healthier generation. I know that along with parents and peers, teachers are one of the most important influences in a child’s life. I’m glad you’ve decided to help my generation live the best life possible. Thank you.

Go Healthy Month - St. Charles Hospital Healthy Hometown Event

Go Healthy Month is about 5 weeks of September and October. Go Healthy Month is a time of the year that we make a special effort to connect to people to share our EmpowerMe2B.org message that kid's can make a difference in their own lives as well as others by being healthy.

Two ways to be healthy are:

• add more movement in your life
  
• choose good nutrition every time you have a choice about what you eat.

St. Charles Hospital in Bend, Oregon where I live had a health fair called Healthy Hometown in September. I went to the fair and passed out Alliance cards. Mostly though, I introduced myself to the adults in our area that run programs that include kids. I told them about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and offered my time to them to share the message of the Alliance and their EmpowerMe2B.org site with tools for kids and teachers.

Greeting Cards Fundraising for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

We had our annual Youth Advisory Board for The Alliance (now the Empower Me 2 Be organization) meeting last week at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, AK last week. It was great. Our goal is to stop childhood obesity by 2014.

My mom took these photos of the greeting cards that The Alliance for a Healthier Generation made out of my paintings. A portion of each sale goes to support The Alliance.

2009 Summer Nationals

The U.S. Fencing Summer Nationals were in Grapevine, Texas this year. I just got back from a week of competition and I'm happy with my results. I competed in both the individual events and the Junior Women's Eppe Team event.

My results from this past year's national competitions earned me a place as the youngest team member on the Northwest Fencing Center's Junior Women's Epee team. Junior team members are all under age twenty.

Each team includes three fencers and an alternate. There were a total of seventeen teams nationally that competed against each other at the U.S. Fencing Summer Nationals, the final event for the 2008/2009 fencing season. We won the Gold Medal!

In individual fencing events, I earned a medal with a 6th place win (medals are for the top eight finishers) in my age group Cadet - Under age 17 in the Cadet Women's Epee event.

Thanks to all of my coaches and teammates.

Here are some photos of me and my team from Northwest Fencing Center.

Top: L to R - Phoebee Caldwell, Helen Jolley, Coach Sebastian DeSantos, Coach Michael Marx, Emily D'Angostino, me

Middle: us with the gold medals

Bottom: me on the podium for Cadet Women's Epee

Surfing on the Oregon Coast

Last weekend I went surfing on the Oregon Coast with my family. We like to camp at Pacific City at the RV park. It's a fun place with a lot going on. Cars can drive on the beach and often get stuck in the sand. A headland on the north side has tide pools at the bottom and a big sand dune that we climb at least once a day. There are a lot of big logs in the sand that you can sit on and watch the waves and the people.

This trip we saw three Orca Whales swimming in the distance by Haystack Rock. Every time they porpoised I could see their big fin standing straight up.

It was a great trip and the official beginning of my summer now that school is out. Here's a photo of me going out on my surfboard and my dad in the distance doing stand up paddle boarding in front of Haystack Rock.