Blueridge Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 (edited) I competed in a local tounament held by the fencing club that I belong to (Cape Fear Fencing Association), and being a glutton for punishment participated in both the Foil and Epee event. This made for an 8 hour day of fencing for me, and I am still feeling sore from the physical toll that it took on me. In the Foil event I finished 7th out of 24 competitors, after losing in the bracket of eight in the direct elimination rounds. In the Epee event I finished 3rd, after losing in the semi-finals. The Epee finish earned me a C2011 rating,which has its upside and downside. I am now rated out of being able to compete in the division III Epee event at the summer Nationals, but I will have better seeding in the division II Epee event. My rating in Foil (D2011) is still low enough to allow for the possibility of my qualifying for the division II & II events in that weapon. The qualifying event for the US Summer Nationals for me (NC Division Championships),will be held on the 26th and 27th of March. I feel that I have a really good chance to qualify for the eleventh time in the last twelve years in the Epee and/or Foil events. The 2011 US Fencing Summer Nationals is in Reno Nevada this year. Edited February 8, 2011 by Blueridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2osport Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Sounds like you are really enjoying it. Congratulations on your finish. Like any sport, it takes loads of practice to achieve any level of success. :sight: Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Good luck in your qualifying for the US Summer Nationals! Keep us posted. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Just got back from a "local" fencing tournament at East Carolina University. Being the "glutton for punishment" that I am, I competed in the Foil event that started at 0900 hours, and then competed in the Epee event that started at 1300 hours. I came out of the seedling pools 5-0, with a +20 indicator (25 points scored minus the 5 points scored against me). From the results in the pools I was the number one seed into the direct elimination brackets (out of 18 fencers), with a bye to the bracket of 16. After winning the bout in the round of 16, I ended up losing in the round of 8. My final placement was 5th out of 18 fencers. Not my best showing, but I was fencing pretty well. Moving almost immediately into the Epee event , I came out of the seeding pool 4-1, with a +6 indicator (22 points scored minus 16 points scored against me). From the results in the pools I was 3rd going into the direct elimination brackets (out of 17 fencers), with a bye into the bracket of 16. I proceeded to making it through the brackets to the finals, where I finally lost. My final placement was second place. After competing in the Foil event, I was quite happy making it to the finals of the Epee event. In that one day I had a total of 10 pool bouts which go to a score of 5, and 6 direct elimination bouts which go to a score of 15. I felt a lot better physically from this day of fencing, than I did two weeks ago. Fortunately the Foil and Epee events are on separate days in the NC Divisionals, so I should be physically ready for the events. Just a few more weeks and all will be revealed in the qualifier results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedog Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Cool. Keep us posted. I find the sport fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Santiago Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Congrats! Love the sport. I did a little of it 30 yrs ago. (sabre). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Fencing more often involves hammer, battens and nails. You guys are real fancy. Must be the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.343 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I hope you get all these distractions out of the way before the MCC. Just kidding. Best of luck to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Counting down to the NC Divisionals (March 26th & 27th) to qualify for the US Fencing Summer Nationals being held in Reno, Nevada (July 1st-10th). Practice has been going well and I am getting some of my broken equipment back in working order. If divisionals go really well I'll be competing in 5 events (Division II, III, & Veterans Foil along with Division II & Veterans Epee) at the US Summer Nationals. At minimum I should be competing in 2 events (Veterans Foil & Epee). What I need to do is finish in the top 6 of the Foil and Epee competitions to achieve qualification to all 5 events that I am going for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Well today I succeeded at my first goal of qualifying to the 2011 US Summer Nationals by winning the NC Divisionals Division II/III Senior Mens Epee event. I qualified for the Division II Senior Mens Epee and the Veterans (40-49) Mens Epee. My current rating in Epee is too high (C 2011) to be able to compete in the lower Division III event. Tomorrow I will compete in the Senior Mens Foil event in an attempt to qualify to the Division II, III, and Veterans (40-49) events. I am still rated low enough (D 2011) to compete in all three events. If I qualify for all three I'll likely only compete in Division II and Veterans events, as there is a conflict between the Division III Foil and the Veterans Epee events. Wish me luck tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpolans Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 Well today did not go as well as I had hoped. I qualified for Veterans (40-49), but did not finish high enough to qualify for Division II or III. So I'll be competing in Veterans Epee, Veterans Foil, and Division II Epee. Now on to Summer Nationals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 I have been comparing shooting competitions to fencing competitions, and what I like about each. When I am starting a shooting stage or fencing bout I find a focus on the matter at hand that is quite relaxing. The only thing that matters is the task at hand. All of the practice takes over and conscious effort seems to fade away. I find it interesting to have competition be a stress release. I don't worry about the details and just complete the task at hand. None of the normal concerns of life are weighing on my mind, and the stage or piste are the entirety of existence for the duration of the competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aglifter Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Am I the only one who saw this thread, and thought someone had convinced yuppies to start stringing barbwire in competition... (Sorry, saw a "cowboy fat camp" ad which involved paying for the privilege of clearing land, stringing fence, and working cattle...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Tomorrow I leave for Reno, Nevada for the US Fencing Nationals. Physically I feel pretty good and my gear is ready. I compete on the 7th (Division 2 Epee), 9th (Veteran 40-49 Foil), and 10th (Veteran 40-49 Epee). The Nationals marks the end of the fencing season, so I will be back to focusing on shooting competitions (and some archery). I am looking forward to the NC IDPA and USPSA state matches, along with the Memphis Charity Challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Good luck Blueridge My son has recently taken up Epee and loves it. He comes home worn out which is kinda fun to see. Quite a few people where he fences are going to Reno. Sounds like fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Good luck Blueridge My son has recently taken up Epee and loves it. He comes home worn out which is kinda fun to see. Quite a few people where he fences are going to Reno. Sounds like fun. Thank you. This will be my 11th US Nationals out of the last 12 years. I am to the point that I often face fencers that are 1/3 my age. Being that fencers have to be 13 to compete in open events it motivates me to dig a little deeper in my bag of tricks. To paraphrase Toby Keith, "I ain't as good as I once was, but I can be as good once as I ever was." I have been fortunate to visit your state for 2001 & 2005 US Natonals and the Pan-Pacific Masters Games in 2003, which were all held in Sacramento. Unfortunately I missed qualifying for the 2008 US Nationals that were held in San Jose. Good luck to your son. I don't know how old he is, but I look forward to the chance to face him on the piste some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Well I am back from the 2011 US Fencing Summer Nationals where I competed in 3 events. In the Division 2 Mens Epee event there were 111 competitiors. I came into the event seeded 12th and finished the direct elimination seeding pool results 11th overall with a record of 5-1 in my pool (earning me 2nd in the pool). I finished 37th losing in the round of 64 to a fencer who finished 2nd in the event. In the Veterans 40 Foil Event there were 33 competitors. I came into the event seeded 18th and finished the direct elimination seeding pool results 28th overall with a record of 1-5 in my pool (barely making the 80% advancement cut). I finished 28th losing in the round of 32 to a fencer who finished 2nd in the event. In the Veteran 40 Epee event there were 41 competitors. I came into the event seeded 23rd and finished the direct elimination seeding pool results 13th overall with a record of 4-2 in my pool (earning me 2nd in the pool). I finished 22nd losing in the round of 32 to a fencer who finished 14th in the event. I broke one of my Epees on the winning touch of my first pool bout, which left me with 3 working blades. I was torn between the elation of makiing the point and being stunned over a $160.00 Epee breaking on the touch. I normally carry five Epees into a competition, but breaking one is still a shock. Overall I felt that I fenced well and learned quite a bit. Coach suggested that I focus on Epee next season for North American Cup, Divisionals, Sectionals, and Nationals. He suggested that I save Foil for local events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I enjoyed reading your reports Blueridge. Keep up the good work! Any video you could share? be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 Unfortunately no video, only stills. I forgot to put my digital video camera in my bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger10k Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Good to hear that there are other fencers on the boards! I know a bunch of people who went to nationals, though I didn't go. I still need to join USFA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 (edited) Good to hear that there are other fencers on the boards! I know a bunch of people who went to nationals, though I didn't go. I still need to join USFA... Hey, next season nationals will be in Dallas TX. Too bad that you did not make it this year. Looking at Google Maps Davis CA is about 2 1/2 hours away from Reno NV. Right in your backyard considering how nationals moves around the country. What events did the people you know compete in? Edited July 17, 2011 by Blueridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Nice job Blueridge! One of the teachers where my son goes, Amy Fortune, was the Women's Veteran 50 Epee National Champion. She came back with some pretty cool looking hardware. He has just started and looks forward to being able to compete at that level some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 Nice job Blueridge! One of the teachers where my son goes, Amy Fortune, was the Women's Veteran 50 Epee National Champion. She came back with some pretty cool looking hardware. He has just started and looks forward to being able to compete at that level some day. Thank you for the compliment. This was my first year in the Vet40 events and it took some getting used to the 10 touch direct elimination bouts. I am so used to the 15 touch bouts in Div3 and Div2 that I have to work on the shorter DE bouts in Veterans. I have next season to work on that for the 2012 US Nationals. I wish your son well in his fencing endeavours. Maybe I will get the opportunity to face him on the piste one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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