I had intended to get this out last night, but didn’t get away until the storm in Richmond had started. So the 4 hour drive was more like 6 +. Anyway…..
This JOs was like most big National events, some good days and some not so good days for our fencers. Emma Filer started off really strong. In the Junior (ages 13-19) foil she was ranked 6th out of 7 in her pool – 2 As, 1 B, 2 Cs, a D (Emma) and a U. Emma beat the U 5-0, and also beat one of the Cs to make it to the elimination round. In her first DE she manhandled another C, who was seeded about 15 places higher than she was. Emma was up 13-6 before finally winning 15-10. Then she had the good fortune (Spoiler alert) to run into the woman who won the entire event. It was 3-15, but considering that woman beat an A 15-8 in the finals, that was a fine showing.
Oliver started the next day well in the Cadet (ages 13-16) foil. Won the necessary 2 bouts to get to the DE round just to find out his opponent was – Charles Chow. Yes, two fencers go to Nationals just to fence someone they see all the time in North Carolina. Really fine ask no quarter, give no quarter bout. Tied 13 – 13 at the end of regulation. Oliver got the priority and scored on a riposte about half way into priority to win. In the next DE he was solidly ahead, but started having problems with developing some blisters on his hands and couldn’t hold on for the victory. He would have been top 64 (at least) if he had won that one.
Samantha Milewski was up next for the Cadet Woman’s epee. She wasn’t really “on.” She won two matches to get to the DEs, but then dropped her first DE.
On Sunday, Oliver started out in the cadet epee and drew the Number one pool. That means he had the overall favorite in his group. Oliver didn’t beat him, but did win two to make it to the DE. There he pulled out another priority victory over a B epeeist to advance to the next round. There he ran into an A. He put up a good fight, but couldn’t win.
Then Emma was back with the Cadet Women’s foil. Supposedly your pool should be easier in the younger age group, but as sometimes happens, Emma’s pool was actually stronger. Plus, as also sometimes happens, the woman Emma beat in the DE Friday was in her pool Sunday. She made certain she got her revenge against Emma. Emma won 1 bout, but it wasn’t enough to get to the DEs.
The last day started with Oliver fencing the Junior foil. It was a really really tough pool and Oliver wasn’t quite on and he didn’t make it out of the pool. We did have Elijah Pena in the pool. For those who remember, Elijah fenced for a few years out of Salle New Bern. He is now living up by Cleveland. If you stay if fencing long enough you will develop friendships with people that you will only see when you both show up to these big National events.
Finally, Samantha was in the Junior Women’s epee. In her case the older event pool actually was stronger than her Cadet pool. She was fencing better than she did Saturday, but in this group it wasn’t quite good enough to get to the DE. She won one bout. She did get 2 touches against an A who beat her 5-0 at last summers Nationals, so that was a sign of her improvement.
All in all I was quite happy. Some ups and downs, but if they can all fence at the level of their better performances they will start to move up the rankings at big events.
Practice should be back to normal for the rest of this week, weather permitting.
The NCFL”A” team championship will be held at 10 AM Saturday at McDougal Middle school, 900 Old Fayetteville Road, Chapel Hill this Saturday.
The Homeschool Individual is this Sunday at 1:30 pm at Oak Ridge. There may be some bad weather in the forecast as they are saying to watch the weather.
The 28th is the NCFL individuals. They will also be held at McDougal. I believe all of our fencers fenced enough to qualify, so let’s figure out who is going.
For the adults, All American is hosting an unsanctioned men’s and women’s foil on the 28th. Unsanctioned means you cannot earn ratings, but the entry fee will be much cheaper. They are also holding a “Beginner” epee for those who want to try their hand at competing. See askfred for more details.
The next evening beginner and intermediate classes start Tuesday, March 3rd. 6:30 pm for the beginners, and 7:30 pm for the intermediates.
March 7-8 are the Div II/III National Championship qualifiers. For Vet fencers all you have to do is show up and survive. Even if you are not planning to go to San Jose, this will be a good state wide event. Get signed up before the fees go up and so the Division can determine how many referees they need to hire. These also have the qualifiers for Y-14 events.
March 14-15 is Mid-South’s Grand Opening event. The epee just needs bodies to be a A event. The foil needs a bunch of bodies, but might reach being a B.
Our next youth event is March 14th. Foil at 10 am, sabre at 1:30 pm, and epee at 3:30 pm. $5 per event with trophies to 1-3 and ties, medals to the top 3 who are 9 and under who don’t get a trophy.
The Iron Maiden, the only women’s only event in NC, will be held Saturday, March 21. Foil, epee, and D and under sabre. This is being held as a benefit for Lynn Krupey, one of our assistant coaches who is currently fighting cancer. I would like to see all of our eligible women competing, maybe even trying weapons you haven’t fenced competitively to pump up the numbers. Get signed up on askfred.
Mid-South is hosting the area’s RYC on the 28th and 29th. They have changed how you get to Nationals for Y-12 and Y-10, so just showing up is not enough. It is now also based on how well you do, but you can’t get qualified if you don’t go. It is also a good first step for those of you considering the jump to bigger events like the JOs.
Finally, I am going to take some time away from starting beginner classes for the younger fencers so I can devote more time to the continuing youngsters. So I won’t start the next afterschool beginner class until April. The same thinking for the homeschool class. There are two more weeks in their beginner class, but then the next one won’t start until April.
pax vobiscum,
Greg Spahr
Head Coach
Cape Fear Fencing Association
Head Coach
Cape Fear Fencing Association
“The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,
but that’s the way to bet.” Damon Runyon
but that’s the way to bet.” Damon Runyon
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