April NAC :: Monday

Noah's tendon recovered so he was able to fence his Y10 foil pool bouts on Monday morning. Some very exciting fencing.  Noah won one, and some of his other bouts were very close.  After one call, Noah made the gesture requesting a video review.  Everyone burst out laughing.  Even the referee had a huge smile for quite some time.  (There is no video review in Y10 fencing.)

Noah re-injured his tendon during his first DE bout and had to withdraw.  But all in all, a great day of competition. 

We saw a doctor today. Noah's tendon will recover with some rest and physical therapy.  No fencing for a while.

More pictures and videos will be posted in the coming weeks.

April NAC :: Sunday

Noah fenced Y10 epee today.  It was very cool to be fencing such amazing athletes from all over the country.  Noah fenced very well.  He won a couple of his pool bouts, and lost a very close DE bout before being eliminated today.  He had a great time.  It was nice to see him smile when congratulating the fencer that eliminated him.

Other highlights of the day:
Watched some Div I women's foil.
Saw the announcement and introduction of the US Olympic Team for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Got to see some of the US Olympic Team fencers compete over the course of the last two days.

Noah aggravated his right Achilles tendon at the very end of his last bout.  We visited the medical booth where they iced it and gave us some very good advice.  Hopefully, Noah will be able to fence tomorrow.

Y10 foil tomorrow.  The excitement continues.

April NAC :: Saturday

Day One in Virginia Beach.

Noah worked out with Dylan for a bit in the morning.
Watched some amazing fencing today:
Div I Women's Epee and Div I Men's Foil.
Visited the armorer for equipment check.
Bought some fencing socks and a new type of grip. Noah has been using a Belgian grip on his weapons and seems to like the XS Visconti grip so we picked one up to try.

Up early in the morning for epee!!!

Live Results From Va. Beach Online

Follow Noah's progress at the tournament this weekend online!

Events are listed here: http://usfencingresults.com/apr-nac/

Noah will be fencing:
  the Y10 men's epee event on Sunday
  the Y10 men's foil event on Monday

Events will begin between 8:30 and 9:00am and will go on into the afternoon.  Check in if you can and follow Noah from afar.

:)

On to Nationals

Virginia Beach Convention Center

Noah is gearing up for the North American Cup National Youth Fencing Tournament next weekend in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Keep an eye on this blog for updates from the tournament.

Noah will compete on Sunday, April 15 (Y10 epee) and on Monday, April 16 (Y10 foil). Live results may be available online--if so, we'll post a link here. Events will begin in the morning each day, possibly before 8:00 am, and will run into the afternoon. For each competition he will fence five or six pool bouts (single, five-touch bouts) to determine the seeding for the Direct Elimination round. And could fence as many as five elimination bouts (best of three, five-touch encounters) before the day is done.

Thirty fencers have entered the Y10 epee competition.
Fifty-one fencers will compete in the Y10 foil duels.

We are fortunate that Dylan Smith, the Assistant Coach at the Florida Fencing Academy, will be traveling with us to coach Noah and help us with all the equipment hassles.

Best of luck to Noah!!

Success in Newberry

Noah carried the day at the Newberry April Fool's Duel winning gold medals in Y10 epee and Y10 sabre.

But it wasn't easy.

The day began with epee...

Noah had a tough round of Pool bouts; he beat only one of the fencers he faced in this preliminary round of competition.  He happened to score enough touches in his bouts to receive a number two seed in the Direct Elimination round that followed, however.

With the help of one of his coaches, Noah was able to raise his level of play for the elimination round. He fought hard, came up on the short end in some of his encounters, but succeeded in winning all of his bouts to capture the Y10 Epee Gold Medal.

Later in the afternoon, Noah fenced a couple of very accomplished youngsters in the Y10 sabre competition. Boy, do those blades move fast!!  Sabre bouts don't last long.  The action is quick and touches are scored rapidly.  It was a fun combination of pool and DE bouts.  Noah came away with the Gold Medal in the end.

All in all, a great day of competition that pushed Noah to his limits.  Bravo to the other fencers and to the organizers of this great event.