Sunshine State Games

On June 18 and 19, Noah competed in the 2016 Sunshine State Games--Florida's State Fencing Championship Tournament. The festivities took place at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. West Palm Beach.

Noah competed in five events and came home with three medals!! The two days were filled with excitement.

He had two amazing bouts against brilliant fencers--he lost both encounters, but was very excited by his result. One was against a top-rated (A-rated) epee fencer. Noah was able to keep things close against this guy until the end of the third period. Noah scored nine touches and only allowed 13.

Noah had another thrilling encounter in the Div3 sabre event. His semifinal bout against a very energetic 16-year-old fencer was close all the way. Fast action. Noah lost this one 13-15.

Noah's successes let him to medal in three events:
Bronze Medal in Y14 Foil
Bronze Medal in Div 3 Sabre
Silver Medal in Y14 Sabre

Now it's time to train for Nationals.

Training

National Championships!!

Noah has qualified to fence in four events at the United States Fencing Association's National Championship Tournament in Dallas, Texas this summer. He's training hard and very much looking forward to the challenges ahead.

First a word about each event.

Three of the events he will fence are age-based competitions. Y14 men's foil, Y14 men's epee, and Cadet men's foil.

Y14 events are for fencers age 11-14. For purposes of fencing, Noah is 13--he'll be eligible to fence in Y14 events for another year. So Noah is not yet at the top of the age group.

There are currently 263 fencers registered for the Y14 men's foil event, and 201 registered for the Y14 men's epee event. Both will be A-rated events. All of the best fencers in the country will participate.

The Cadet men's foil event is for fencers age 13-16, so Noah is at the bottom of this age group. Noah loves a challenge, though. There are 199 fencers registered for this event. It will be an A-rated event.

The fourth event Noah will fence is the Div 2 men's foil event. This category is for fencers age 13 and up rated U, E, D, or C. Noah is a C-rated fencer, so he will be among the better fencers in this event despite being one of the youngest. 213 fencers in this event combine to make this a B-rated event.

Foil Fencing
Foil fencing uses a conductive vest that serves at the target. Only touches made on the vest are valid scores. Foil fencing also uses right-of-way rules. Only the fencer with the right-of-way can score. These factors create a sport that is fairly aggressive.

Epee Fencing
In epee fencing the entire body serves as the target. No right-of-way is involved. Any touch is a score. This inspires a more defensive approach for the fencers.

Here is the schedule of events for Noah:
Sunday, July 3 - Cadet Men's Foil
Tuesday, July 5 - Div2 Men's Foil
Wednesday, July 6 - Y14 Men's Epee
Thursday, July 7 - Y14 Men's Foil

The scoring can be followed live online. We'll provide the link in a later post along with tips on the venue should you be interested in attending to watch Noah fence!!

Go, Noah!!!

Hollywood!!

Okay, so it was Hollywood, Florida, but still a good time.

Noah earned two medals at the Hollywood Allez 2016 foil tournament yesterday. Some fantastic fencing with very strong opponents. Noah came away with Silver in the Y14, and Bronze in the Div2. Exhausted by the end of the day, he finished 12th in the Senior Open event.

Another great fencing experience!!!

Four more medals...

Noah earned four more medals in competitions this past weekend.

On Saturday, he saw action in the Atlanta Foil Tournament where he took gold in the Y14 event, and bronze in the Senior foil event. The senior event was especially exciting. Noah was able to beat three B-rated fencers in the pool round to earn the #1 seed going into the DEs. Pretty nice in a tournament with four B-rated fencers.

On Sunday, Noah switched over to sabre for two local events. He won gold in the Div3 competition, and silver in the Senior event.

A fun, busy weekend of fencing.

First Place Region 6 Foil Ranking

The Regional Youth Circuit season has drawn to a close and Noah has earned the number one spot on the regional rankings list for foil. Noah competed in three RYC tournaments and placed first, first, and second to earn the most number of points for the season.

April Region 6 RYC

Noah spent the weekend in Longwood, Florida at the Stoccata Region 6 RYC (Regional Youth Circuit) tournament. In this type of event, competitors earn points toward qualifying for the national championship tournament held in the summer. They are also in a race within the region for recognition. Our region includes eleven states from Maryland to Louisiana to Florida. Noah fenced two events this weekend: Y14 foil, and Y14 epee.

Saturday kicked off with the foil competition. It included fencers from Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Noah won all of his pool bouts to earn the #1 seed going into the elimination rounds. Noah's first DE matchup proved to be pretty easy as he won 15-1. The semifinal bout was not much more difficult. Noah scored a 15-4 win. As expected, the final was the most challenging. Noah built up a good 6-2 lead, but his opponent rallied with four straight touches to tie the score. Not to be outdone, Noah retaliated with four straight touches of his own on the way to a 10-7 lead at the break. Noah finished the bout in the next period, winning 15-10.

Sunday began with the epee event.What a day this was! Not having fenced much epee this year, Noah started slow, losing his first two pool bouts, both by the score of 3-5. He closed out the pool round with 5-0 wins over both of the weaker fencers in his group. This result earned him the number 8 seed in this 15-person event. His first elimination matchup (DE) was with the number 9 seed, a smart fencer he'd seen before. Noah was down early, 1-3, and lagged a bit, arriving at the first break still behind 5-8. Not too bad. Noah rallied at the beginning of the second period. After being down 5-9, Noah scored four straight touches to tie the score. Thrilling! Some tough fencing brought us to the end of the second period with Noah in the lead, 12-11. At the outset of the third period, his opponent scored twice against Noah's one touch, bringing us to 13-13. Nerve-wracking. Noah found one more touch (now 14-13). Lots of torrid action ensued before the final double-touch which won the match for Noah.  Final score: 15-14. A close one!!

The round of 8 was next. Noah was up against the number one seed in the bracket. Noah started slow. It was looking like an uphill battle against this guy. Noah was down by a score of 4-8 at the first break. His opponent scored first in the second period. 4-9. Noah rallied, scoring the next three touches, then a double touch, and another single touch for Noah. The score is now 9-10. Noah is within one. After another double touch and a point by the opponent we are now at 10-12. The closer his opponent gets to the winning score (15), the more pressure is on Noah. Another double, and then Noah scores on his own, bringing the second period to an end with the score 12-13. Noah is within one, but his opponent only has to make two touches to win. The third period begins. Noah scores! tying the score 13-13. But shortly the fencers are called for non-combativity. This is called when no one scores for one minute. They skip to the last minute of the period, and since this is the last period, "Priority" is added to encourage the fencers to score.  Noah wins the coin toss and is awarded Priority. This means he will win if the score is still tied at the end of the one-minute encounter. The fencers' efforts are renewed. More action! Noah scores!  He thinks he won, but no, the entire minute must be fenced in this instance. But now he's in the lead! 14-13. More intense fencing ensues resulting in a double touch which wins it for Noah. 15-14. What a duel!!!!

In the semifinal match Noah faces a number 3 seed (there was a three-way tie for third). The first period was close, with Noah ahead 6-5 at the break. Noah got off to a good start in the next period and was able to increase on that easy lead to wrap this one up 15-10.

In the final Noah faced the number 2 seed. A strong fencer who had performed as expected throughout the elimination round. This gold-medal bout was something.  Noah takes the early lead, 2-0. His opponent rallied and now Noah is down 2-3. Noah sneaks in a couple more touches to bring the score at the break to 4-3. The second and third periods move slowly--Noah still leads, 6-4, after two periods. We eventually arrive at the end of regulation tied at 8-8. They enter a Priority overtime period. Noah's opponent won the coin toss so if there is no score during this one-minute encounter he will win. Noah must score to win. Fencing in this period was much more intense that what we'd seen earlier. Noah had to score!!  And score he did, to win the day!  Final score: 9-8. We'll take it!

NOTE: In February 2015 Noah laid down the epee and decided to only fence foil. All of his efforts were directed at that as he improved his game and moved up through the rankings. He earned his C rating on foil in December 2015. Earlier this month, Noah decided to fence an epee event. He won! and earned a C rating in epee.  This week's epee tournament was only his second one since FEB 2015. Another win!

Busy Schedule

Noah has been a busy fencer in recent months. His fencing has improved noticeably and his recent results reflect this. He has won or placed high in several adult events recently. He has also updated his rating to a C2016. Take a look at the results page (linked in the menu above) to see how he is doing.

Noah won a gold medal today, besting a B-rated fencer in a small event. He'll be travelling to tournaments in Orlando, Atlanta, and Miami in the next three weeks for some big events where he hopes to meet some great fencers and collect a few more medals. Check out his schedule on the schedule page...maybe you can see him in action in a city near you! All tournaments are free to attend.

2016 Capitol Clash

Noah is preparing for the 2016 Capitol Clash SYC Fencing Tournament, a super-regional national qualifying tournament where he can win points that will earn him a national ranking. He will compete January 16 and 17 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Conference Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Noah is slated to compete in two events: Y14 foil and Cadet foil.

156 fencers will compete in Y14 men's foil on Saturday
109 fencers will compete in Cadet (under 17) men's foil on Sunday

Start times, and live scoring can be viewed at: http://live.capitolclash.com/

The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center boasts 2000 guest rooms and 470,000 square feet of meeting space.  It is the largest combined hotel and convention center on the East Coast.

Fencing will take place in the EXPO HALLS A, B, and C on the lower level.

If you are planning to come watch Noah fence, here is what you need to know:
- Entrance to the venue is free, open to the public.
- If you have some portable, folding chairs you might want to throw them in the car.  There will be some chairs at the tournament, but it'll be nice to have some nearby in case there are not enough.
- There will be a good bit of time when Noah is not fencing.  You can watch other fencers, explore the exhibits, read a book, do crossword puzzles... There may be free wi-fi available.
- Wear comfortable shoes.  You'll be standing on concrete floors all day.
- If you are not familiar with the format of the sport, take at look at our "rules" page.
- Plan to show up about the time each event is scheduled to begin.  They won't start on time, but Noah will fence a good bit at the beginning of each event, then the elimination rounds begin.
- I'll have my cell phone. Call if you need to find us once you arrive at the venue.
- You don't have to stay for the whole thing.  But you'll probably get hooked once it begins!

A word about the schedule:

SATURDAY
Noah will fence the Y14 foil event on Saturday.  It it slated to begin around 1:00 pm and will last into the evening. There will be 156 competitors in this event. This is Noah's age group, so he'll do best on this day.

SUNDAY
Noah will fence the Cadet foil event on Sunday.  It should begin shortly after 11:30 am.  This event will last all day long and into the evening. There will be 109 competitors in this event. This event will include fencers up to age 16.

- Results will be available LIVE online.  You can check scores as they are updated during the event.  http://live.capitolclash.com/

- Parking: Discount parking in the Gaylord Resort lot will be available for $12 .. You'll need to collect a blue discount parking card outside the fencing hall (at the registration desk B). Present this card (or insert in the machine) when you leave along with your parking ticket.

National Harbor public parking garages will cost $13 if you are there for more than 4 hours.  The ST. GEORGE lot is the closest public lot to the fencing venue.  It is across the street from the resort.  More info at: http://nationalharbor.com/parking


- Driving directions: http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-national/directions-transportation/directions/index.html

Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, Maryland 20745