Nova Fencing & Archery Club
Nova Fencing & Archery Club, 3505 Carlin Springs Rd, Bailey's Crossroads, VA 22041
About
Nova Fencing & Archery Club offers fencing and archery, including Olympic sport fencing in epee and saber, JOAD archery programs, and adult archery programs. The program includes beginner classes, private lessons, developmental classes, and tournament-focused training, as well as wheelchair fencing (parafencing). Nova also runs Team Artemis, Battle Camp, Archery Camp, Competitive Fencing Camp, Archery Tag parties, Try Archery, Explore Archery, and summer camps.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: Weekday options from 4–9 PM and weekend options from 9 AM–5 PM, with Archery Tag parties running 90 minutes or 2 hours and summer camps running one week
• Price: $185 beginner course · 8 sessions; club membership ($260/year)
Nova Fencing & Archery Club was founded in 2014 in Falls Church, Virginia. The club’s mission is to instill a love of sport and to provide athletes the opportunity to pursue their dreams, developing athletes of all ages and ability levels in fencing and archery. Nova offers two Olympic sports under one roof in a purpose-built indoor facility with 20,000 square feet of training space, 24 fencing strips with electronic scoring, and a 20-lane indoor archery range with 9m and 18m distances. The facility includes an archery pro shop with bow services, a fencing equipment pro shop, climate-controlled training space, a parent waiting area with free WiFi, on-site chiropractic care with Dr. Ray Koury, and ample free parking. All fencing gear is provided for beginners, including mask, jacket, glove, and weapon, and all equipment is provided for Battle Camp, Archery Camp, Competitive Fencing Camp, summer camps, Archery Tag parties, Olympic discipline archery, and parafencing beginners. New courses form every month.
Nova’s leadership team includes Co-Owner and Head Coach Greg Kaidanov (all weapons) and Co-Owner and General Manager Donna Felsenheld. Nova’s coaches include certified Fencing Maestros, USA Archery certified instructors, international competitors, and NCAA alumni. Notable staff include Greg Kaidanov, who has over 30 years of coaching and 45 years in the sport and has developed national and international competitors including Junior Olympians, USA Fencing High School All-Americans, NAC medalists, and USA Veteran National Team members, including 2019 Div 2 Men's Epee National Champion Graham Allen and 2020 Veteran World Team foilist Nadia Dreyer. General Manager and Camp Director Donna Felsenheld is an educator with 8 years of teaching experience in Arlington Public Schools, a USA Fencing epee referee, and a competitive epee fencer. Maestro Marco Secco holds the highest-level Italian instructor certification in all three disciplines of Olympic fencing, is a gold medalist in Vet 1 Women’s Epee at the 2024 Pan American Championships, and has an extensive competitive record including Italian Championships medals and European Circuit results. Maestro Carlos Valencia holds a Fencing Coach degree from the University of Physical Education in Budapest, earned a bronze medal in Div 3 Women’s Saber at the 2024 USA Fencing Summer National Championships, is a former member of the Colombian National Saber Team with 9 World Cup appearances, is a gold medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Championship, a 6-time gold medalist at the Colombia National Games, and an international FIE referee in saber and epee. Damien Lehfeldt is a USFCA-certified Maître d'Épée with nearly 30 years in the sport, a previously A-rated epeeist, a coach at the 2012 London Olympic Games, and founder of The Fencing Coach blog. Cesar Arias is an elite saber coach with more than 18 years of high-performance experience as a member of the Colombian National Fencing Team, an FIE Level III saber coach, a producer of medal-winning athletes at Pan American and national championships, and a pioneer of wheelchair fencing programs. Additional staff include David Ando, who has over 20 years of experience working with youth fencers; Richard Schreiber, a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Sports Nutritionist Specialist and competitive epee fencer; Haleemah Abdul-Muhaymin, a Level 3 NTS USA Archery Coach, Certified Archery Instructor Trainer, ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and Maryland Indoor State Champion in 2023 and 2025; Susan Howell, a TEAM USA Senior Women’s Barebow member, USA Archery Level 2 Instructor, 2021 Outdoor Target Nationals Women’s Barebow Team Gold and Senior Barebow Bronze medalist, 2020 World Archery MICA Champion, and multiple-time USA Archery National Championship top-5 finisher; Paul Dainauskas, a USA Archery Level 3 Coach, youth fencing coach, and long-time archer and competitive fencer; Tarek Abdel-Gawad, a USA Archery Level 3 Coach; Ernest Lilley, a Level 3 USA Archery Coach and USA Archery Certified Instructor Trainer and competitive barebow archer; and Reggie Moton, a USA Archery Level 2 Instructor, compound shooter, and skilled bow technician.
Nova Fencing & Archery Club has been recognized with USA Archery Club Excellence awards in 2021 and 2022 and USA Fencing Spirit of Sport recognition in 2022. The club is noted as the #1 fencing club in the United States by membership, with 440+ active members and 440+ athletes. Families drive from across the DC metro area to train at Nova, which is near the border of Arlington and West Alexandria and is easily accessible from Falls Church, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, McLean, and the greater DC metro area. Archery Tag at Nova brings dodgeball-style action to the range with foam-tipped arrows, full-face masks, and two teams competing. Nova offers full-day, indoor summer camps with all equipment provided and wheelchair fencing (parafencing) for ages 7 through adult.
Parent and participant feedback includes a member who describes Coach Marcos and Coach Carlos as dedicated and supportive and recommends the club for both beginners and competitive fencers, an adult beginner who reports that the Introductory Archery class with instructor Tarek included many shooting opportunities at different lengths, and a summer camp parent whose child enjoyed camp and asked to join the club to fence during the school year.
Last updated July 18, 2026.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: Weekday options from 4–9 PM and weekend options from 9 AM–5 PM, with Archery Tag parties running 90 minutes or 2 hours and summer camps running one week
• Price: $185 beginner course · 8 sessions; club membership ($260/year)
Nova Fencing & Archery Club was founded in 2014 in Falls Church, Virginia. The club’s mission is to instill a love of sport and to provide athletes the opportunity to pursue their dreams, developing athletes of all ages and ability levels in fencing and archery. Nova offers two Olympic sports under one roof in a purpose-built indoor facility with 20,000 square feet of training space, 24 fencing strips with electronic scoring, and a 20-lane indoor archery range with 9m and 18m distances. The facility includes an archery pro shop with bow services, a fencing equipment pro shop, climate-controlled training space, a parent waiting area with free WiFi, on-site chiropractic care with Dr. Ray Koury, and ample free parking. All fencing gear is provided for beginners, including mask, jacket, glove, and weapon, and all equipment is provided for Battle Camp, Archery Camp, Competitive Fencing Camp, summer camps, Archery Tag parties, Olympic discipline archery, and parafencing beginners. New courses form every month.
Nova’s leadership team includes Co-Owner and Head Coach Greg Kaidanov (all weapons) and Co-Owner and General Manager Donna Felsenheld. Nova’s coaches include certified Fencing Maestros, USA Archery certified instructors, international competitors, and NCAA alumni. Notable staff include Greg Kaidanov, who has over 30 years of coaching and 45 years in the sport and has developed national and international competitors including Junior Olympians, USA Fencing High School All-Americans, NAC medalists, and USA Veteran National Team members, including 2019 Div 2 Men's Epee National Champion Graham Allen and 2020 Veteran World Team foilist Nadia Dreyer. General Manager and Camp Director Donna Felsenheld is an educator with 8 years of teaching experience in Arlington Public Schools, a USA Fencing epee referee, and a competitive epee fencer. Maestro Marco Secco holds the highest-level Italian instructor certification in all three disciplines of Olympic fencing, is a gold medalist in Vet 1 Women’s Epee at the 2024 Pan American Championships, and has an extensive competitive record including Italian Championships medals and European Circuit results. Maestro Carlos Valencia holds a Fencing Coach degree from the University of Physical Education in Budapest, earned a bronze medal in Div 3 Women’s Saber at the 2024 USA Fencing Summer National Championships, is a former member of the Colombian National Saber Team with 9 World Cup appearances, is a gold medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Championship, a 6-time gold medalist at the Colombia National Games, and an international FIE referee in saber and epee. Damien Lehfeldt is a USFCA-certified Maître d'Épée with nearly 30 years in the sport, a previously A-rated epeeist, a coach at the 2012 London Olympic Games, and founder of The Fencing Coach blog. Cesar Arias is an elite saber coach with more than 18 years of high-performance experience as a member of the Colombian National Fencing Team, an FIE Level III saber coach, a producer of medal-winning athletes at Pan American and national championships, and a pioneer of wheelchair fencing programs. Additional staff include David Ando, who has over 20 years of experience working with youth fencers; Richard Schreiber, a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Sports Nutritionist Specialist and competitive epee fencer; Haleemah Abdul-Muhaymin, a Level 3 NTS USA Archery Coach, Certified Archery Instructor Trainer, ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and Maryland Indoor State Champion in 2023 and 2025; Susan Howell, a TEAM USA Senior Women’s Barebow member, USA Archery Level 2 Instructor, 2021 Outdoor Target Nationals Women’s Barebow Team Gold and Senior Barebow Bronze medalist, 2020 World Archery MICA Champion, and multiple-time USA Archery National Championship top-5 finisher; Paul Dainauskas, a USA Archery Level 3 Coach, youth fencing coach, and long-time archer and competitive fencer; Tarek Abdel-Gawad, a USA Archery Level 3 Coach; Ernest Lilley, a Level 3 USA Archery Coach and USA Archery Certified Instructor Trainer and competitive barebow archer; and Reggie Moton, a USA Archery Level 2 Instructor, compound shooter, and skilled bow technician.
Nova Fencing & Archery Club has been recognized with USA Archery Club Excellence awards in 2021 and 2022 and USA Fencing Spirit of Sport recognition in 2022. The club is noted as the #1 fencing club in the United States by membership, with 440+ active members and 440+ athletes. Families drive from across the DC metro area to train at Nova, which is near the border of Arlington and West Alexandria and is easily accessible from Falls Church, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, McLean, and the greater DC metro area. Archery Tag at Nova brings dodgeball-style action to the range with foam-tipped arrows, full-face masks, and two teams competing. Nova offers full-day, indoor summer camps with all equipment provided and wheelchair fencing (parafencing) for ages 7 through adult.
Parent and participant feedback includes a member who describes Coach Marcos and Coach Carlos as dedicated and supportive and recommends the club for both beginners and competitive fencers, an adult beginner who reports that the Introductory Archery class with instructor Tarek included many shooting opportunities at different lengths, and a summer camp parent whose child enjoyed camp and asked to join the club to fence during the school year.
Last updated July 18, 2026.
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