Journal cyranoVR's Journal: National Championships 3
Just got back from the US National Fencing Championships...so much to write about, so I will try and summarize.
July 4th
I awoke Saturday morning at the crack of 5:30 AM and hopped in a cab bound for Newark. After my arrival in Austin, I called the Hotel shuttle and got the driver to take me directly to the convention center, where the tournament was taking place.
I arrived just as MrsVR was about to fence her last bout in the preliminary round. She was up against a young woman that had placed 3rd at the Junior Worlds two years ago. Mvr fought hard, but unfortunately she lost by one point, 4-5
Mvr's next bout was against a very tall woman who is ranked in the top-10. Although she fell behind at first, Mvr fought back and brought the margin within one point...but then the time ran out >:( That was it...she was eliminated
It was a good day for our club too: 4 of the top-8 finishers in MrsVR's event were from our club, and 3 of the top-4 were our coach's students!
That night was the 4th...but after eating dinner at the hotel (blah), MrsVR, ItsOK and I all passed out in the room - only to be awoken around 2 AM by some prankster who set off a roman candle in the hotel parking lot directly underneath our window! Grrrr.
July 5th
MrsVR headed over to the venue early in the morning for her event - Women's Team[3]. My event didn't start until 12 noon, so I got to sleep in. By the time I got over to the venue, MrsVR and Co. were already blasting through the cannon fodder, apparently en route to a championship. My event was starting soon, however, so I had to go warm up.
Or so I thought. Right when I had finished warming up, there was an announcement: the competition will commence around 1:30PM - d'oh!
About an hour after they posted the seeding list, they finally got around to posting the pools for the preliminary pools. To my suprise, I had a relatively easy pool: four fencers who I knew I could beat, one guy whose name I didn't recognize and another guy to whom I expect to lose.
Despite the limitations caused by my injury earlier this season, I managed to post a solid 4W/2L record. My two losses? The guy I hadn't heard of and the guy I figured I would lose to. The kicker was that in both bouts I only lost by one point! I had been winning against both of them, only to choke by becoming too defensive. Instead of going for kill, I retreated and let them attack.
My other bouts - victories - went smoothly. [4] I was fencing well - even though I couldn't move that much, my point control was dead on. I scored more hand-hits than I think I ever have in competition - and from a lot of different angles too.
Still, since I both my losses were by 4-5 margins, I had good indicators[5]. In fact, I managed to be the 10th seed after the preliminary round! [6] This earned me a bye into the round of 32 and an automatic re-qualification to next year's National Championships!
I went to check on MrsVR and co. They were having a tough time with a team from DC, but the were in the top-4 of the competition. Unfortunately, I couldn't stick around because I had to go warm up for my elimination bout.
Long story short, I lost my elimination bout. It sucked. I drew a 3-time National Champion who, despite being well over 30 years old still had a lot of fire left in him.[7] I held the score within 2 points until we reached 7-9...and then he just tore away from me. I couldn't score another point and he ultimately won 15-7. My comeback had been abruptly halted.
And just when I thought I couldn't get anymore depressed, I got over to MrsVR's team competition just in time to see them lose for the championship - taking second place
That night there was another roman candle set off beneath our window at 2AM! GRRRRR. On the other hand, I could barely sleep at all anyway.
July 6th
The next day was the Men's Team event. To my shock and horror, I soon found out that "they" had seeded my club's team unbelievably low. Apparently our National Ranking points didn't count for anything - only what we had placed in the competitions held that week were considered. While we weren't seeded last (we were in the middle of the pack) they had ranked us behind many, many other teams that were clearly weaker (i.e. no fencers with national rankings).
It turns out that because our third guy chose to fence in the Junior (Under-19) event rather that the meaningless "Division I-A" event, the ranked him as if he had placed LAST in the Division III event![8] Worst of all, this placed us squarely against the #1 team in just our second match. This guaranteed an elimination early in the competition - way earlier than we deserved!
We lodged a Official Protest, but the response we received was basically "the show must go on." It didn't help matters that this was the very last competition of a very, very long week, and the competition organizers probably just wanted to get things over with and go home.
Our first match was against a high school team from Dallas. We should have been given a bye, and they should have been seeded against a much weaker team - however, because of the screw up they were stuck with us.[9]
Sidenote: Before the match began we shouted our team cheer: "OWNAGE!!!."[10]
Suffice to say, the match was over quickly.
Then came the Long Wait before our showdown with the #1 ranked club. Well, it was a showdown in the sense that Hector had a "showdown" with Achillies moments before becoming a chariot-ornament.
Finally, about 2 hours after our easy 1st-round victory, we finally got called to our match.
At first, things looked hopeful. At the end of the first bout of the match, we were actually winning 3-2! But then our opponents got serious - their star fencer immediately rolled off eight touches against our #3 guy. I turned to my teammate: "we're fucked." The bout quickly ended with us trailing by a 4-10 score - a huge 6-point deficit.[11]
In my first match I fenced like a man possessed - I was up against the guy that had eliminated me in the individual competition yesterday. Even though I lost 3-5 (bringing the score to 7-15) I managed to score a sweet touch that made the loss worth while: I suckered my opponent into fleching[12] straight for my chest, only to sweep his blade up in an enveloping parry and plant a awesome flick[13] in the middle of his back! Incidentally, this kind of action is known by the kids at my club as a "bitch touch."
Even though it was clear we were going to lose in a big way, I chose to fight to the very end. I managed to only lose my other two bouts 5-4 each - indicating that if we had a slightly more solid team, we would have actually stood a chance of winning. [14] I was also "going crazy" with my celebrations - i.e. ripping off my mask, flourishing my weapon, etc. etc. What can I say - I loved the pressure of fighting with my back to the wall, desparate to overcome unsurmountable odds. In the process, I think I pissed off the coaches of the other club, not to mention my opponents >:D Oh well!
But then it was over. We lost 45-28. The next team after they faced after us lost 45-15 (see!? we were ranked incorrectly) and they went on to win the whole shebang.
That night, MrsVR, ItsOK and I went out to "celebrate" with a trip to Half Price Books followed by dinner at Artz Rib House. I ordered the "combo plate" which basically consisted of an entire cow. Too. Much. Meat. I can still feel it it my gut over 24 hours later, but it was GOOOOOOOD.
No suprise fireworks, that night, thank god.
July 7th
We got up early for our 8AM flight. As we were packing, The Scorpion King was playing on Starz. I think I might end up renting it - it actually looked pretty "good" (I mean that in the so-bad-it's-good way).
The flight home was uneventful - and now here I sit typing this journal. Time to get ready for work tomorrow...and 3 months of pre-season training before fencing begins again.
Oh yeah, and a couple weeks of studying for my java certification
Notes
[1] Points used for the National Ranking are generally only awarded to fencers that place 32nd or higher.
[2] For the record, the women she lost to ended up placing second.
[3] MrsVR was the substitute for the team, so she actually didn't do that much fencing.
[4] Actually, two of the guys from my pool ended up making the top 8, so I'm now thinking that my pool wasn't so easy after all.
[5] Indicators = Total touches scored - touches received.
[6] After the initial seeding, which is based on National Ranking, the event organizers re-rank the field based on performance in the first-round (plus they eliminate the bottom 20%).
[7] In a stroke of irony, the guy that beat me ended up losing to a 53-year old that went on to win the National championship against - of all people - the hard fencer from my first round pool (who is only 21 btw). This also demonstrates what a lifetime sport fencing truly is.
[8] Division I-A == open to everyone. Division III == restricted to sucky and/or unproven fencers.
[9] Their captain even approached me before the competition, dumbfounded, wanting to know why they had to fence us.
[10] Yeah, we're all geeks.
[11] Team fencing matches use a "relay" format, in which the scores from each bout carry over to the next. Here is a detailed explanation if you are interested (scroll down to "USFA Team Competitions").
[12] Fleche: french for "arrow." An explosive running attack.
[13] Flick: scoring a point by whipping the point of your weapon at the opponent's target. This is an animal of the modern sport - 19th century duelists did not (and could not) perform such actions. Do a google groups search on "foil flicking" and you will find a LOT of heated flame wars on this subject.
[14] The #2 guy on my team actually won two of his bouts 3-2 (as mentioned earlier) and 6-5...but lost the remaining bout 1-8.
congrats, not condolences. (Score:1)
Too. Much. Meat.
You do know that those words don't go together?
Scorpion King is a very fun B movie. I recommend it.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:A good read.... (Score:2)
The 53-year old, John Moreau, didn't just fence - he won the US Men's National Epee Championship! A "Veterans" fencer making the final 8 is not unheard of, but actually winning? Needless to say, everyone was dumbfounded.
I was also dumbfounded but not suprised (if that makes any sense). Moreau is in