Noah (on left in photo) won two GOLD MEDALS at the 2012 Central Florida Regional Youth Circuit National Qualifying Fencing Tournament this weekend. It was a long (9 hours), tough day of competition. He placed first in both of his events--Y10 epee and Y10 foil.
This was our first real out-of-town tournament. We went down the night before and stayed in a hotel in Tampa. Dad had created a fancy "Tournament Packing List" but still managed to forget the chest protector. Fortunately, Noah's new heavy-duty plastron was enough for the day. He only got poked badly one time.
We arrived at the venue, the Dunedin Community Center, at 8:30am. Registration and equipment check was a breeze. Bouts were a little late getting started, but that gave Noah time to find a few other fencers for some warm ups.
There were eight Y10 epeeists competing. They were divided into two pools of four. Noah won all of his pool bouts and was seeded first for the Direct Elimination round. Competition was tough, but Noah emerged the winner.
Immediately after his gold-medal final bout, Noah was called to the strip to fence his first Y10 foil event. He quickly changed his body cord, donned his lame' and grabbed his foil. It took him a few minutes to become accustomed to the new set-up, but he did escape with a low-scoring win in this first bout. With 11 foilists competing, Noah was placed in the smaller pool of 5 fencers. He won all his pool bouts and was seeded second in the Direct Elimination bracket, earning a bye in the first round.
The foil competition was exceptionally difficult. There were many scary moments as he got behind and almost lost some of his bouts. But somehow, he found a way to win. Later he remarked that this was the most difficult fencing he's done. He also observed that the high level of competition seemed to raise his own skill level to new heights.
This was Noah's most exhilarating fencing experience to date. He talked about the event for three solid hours on the way home. Reliving the bouts, the scary moments, and the victories. Discussing strategy, exceptionally good winning moves, and possible areas for improvement. He just couldn't contain himself.
Noah also picked up a few tips from watching other great fencers at work. A great facility and well-run tournament. Many thanks to the organizers.
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