July 6 was a big day for us at the Summer National Championships here in Grapevine, Texas. So much has happened. I'll make it brief; post a comment if you want more detail.
* Reid Wade represented Iowa and DMFC in Y12 men's sabre. It was his first time at this level, and he fenced well and held his own. He insisted on practicing on the metal strips the day before, so we suited up and did a lesson, and he could get used to the different footing. I was impressed by his initiative.
His best bout of the day was his direct elimination bout. His pool bouts were solid, but not great results-wise, and apparently the other fencer's coach thought his fencer would have no trouble. So the coach (a well-known sabre fencer in his own right) went to coach another fencer. Reid won the first bout in the best-two-out-of-three format, and someone from the other fencer's club lost no time in getting his coach to the strip! With both of us coaches standing next to each other yelling and cheering our guys on, the second bout went to the other fencer, 5-3, and the last bout (if memory serves) went to la belle before the other fencer won. I have it on videotape and will check. Anyway, Reid lived up to his "Cardiac Kid" nickname, never giving up, fencing one touch at a time, and handling himself like a pro.
* We stayed to watch Division I men's sabre final (Cheney defeated Homer) and the Y12 men's sabre final. Quite frankly, the Y12 final was more fun to watch. It featured Calvin Liang of San Diego division versus Jonah Sheinberg of West-Rock division. Both fencers were universally described as great kids by everyone I spoke to, both were gracious in victory and defeat, and both fenced with joy and passion. It was an honor and a delight to watch that final.
* After calming down, we attended the USFA Hall of Fame Reception in the evening. Five new members were inducted. The highlight for me was the photo display created by Andy Shaw, whose Museum of American Fencing is an amazing thing. Two-time Olympic medallist Sada Jacobson spoke to the audience about two of her coaches who were being inducted, and we gained new appreciation for the richness of fencing history in this country. There's a tendency to think that US fencing history begins with our recent successes at the World and Olympic level over the past decade, but of course the roots of that success are deep.
A big day! I was delighted to experience it with Reid and Steve, as I was delighted to experience the events of the 4th with the Fitzpatricks. So proud of Jack and Reid, I could burst.
No DMFC fencers are on the strip today. I'm going to rest up in anticipation of the next three days. More to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment