Winter Garden Win

Noah just completed another spectacular tournament day.  Today's events were hosted by the Winter Garden Fencing Academy. Noah fenced in both the Y10 and Y12 foil events.  There were good fencers in both age categories, but, as expected, Noah's biggest challenge came in the Y12 duels.

Noah woke up at 5:00 am, partly in anticipation of the excitement of the day ahead, partly because we had to leave at 6:30 am to get to the venue on time.  Fencing kicked off at 9:00 am.  After a week of very little fencing due to some minor injuries, the morning Y10 foil event proved to be an excellent warm up for the day. Noah won all of his pool bouts to earn the number one seed for the direct elimination rounds.  His DE bouts were well-fought by all, but Noah swept his encounters to emerge victorious as the gold-medal winner in Y10 foil.

The Y12 foil event included several, more advanced fencers from clubs throughout central Florida.  Noah won all of his pool bouts to earn a first-round bye and the number one seed in the direct elimination rounds.  His first DE bout began with a bit of trepidation, but he pulled out a first-encounter win with a score of 5-3.  After adapting to his opponent, he was able to clinch the win with a 5-0 score in encounter number two.  The semi-final bout started well (with a 5-0 win), but became a bit more intense as Noah fell behind 1-2 in the second encounter.  The tide turned, however, and Noah came away with a second-encounter win (5-2) to advance to the gold medal bout.

The Y12 gold medal bout was very intense.  Noah was fencing a tall girl with very long arms. She defeated the number 2 and 3 seeds to advance to the gold medal bout.  She was not easy to beat.  Noah took the first encounter 5-3, but lost the second in a come-from-behind nail-biter by the score of 4-5.  A few quick touches at the beginning of the third and final deciding bout gave Noah the upper hand which he did not relinquish despite some very intense fencing.  Noah wins gold, 5-3, 4-5, 5-3.

Noah was very surprised to have won both gold medals today.  As often happens, tournament competition and talented opponents, inspire him to exceed his own expectations.  Bravo to Noah!!

We must acknowledge the great folks at the Winter Garden Fencing Academy, especially coaches Jennifer and Jason, for running a most excellent event.  Thank you!!  We hope to see you all again soon!

Foil Fun

Noah had another great day fencing today at the Gateway Circuit Foil Fencing Tournament at his home club in Gainesville. The day began with Noah watching his club mates fencing the Open and Unrated events.  The action here was fast and furious. Noah always enjoys watching the older athletes fence.

Noah's events started in the afternoon.  Both Y10 foil and Y12 foil events drew some new fencers that Noah hadn't seen before.  The high points for Noah were the Y12 semifinal and final bouts.  At the end of the day, he was able to add two more Gold Medals to his collection.

Congratulations, Noah!!

More Metal

Noah competed in the Gateway Curcuit Epee tournament today, bringing home a Gold Medal in the Y10 event, and a sliver medal in the Y12 event. Earlier in the day, Noah was able to watch some of his older club-mates earn new ratings (A and E).  It is always very instructional to watch the older fencers.

Foil next weekend!

Tampa Triumph

Noah just completed a grueling weekend of fencing at the Tampa October Youth Fencing Tournament. He competed in three events on Saturday: Y10 foil, Y10 epee, and Y12 epee. Sunday's event was Y12 foil. Despite the crazy schedule (at one point all three events on Saturday were happening at the same time), Noah had great results: three gold medals and one silver medal.

Some statistics:

Saturday:
Arrived at the venue at 12:30 pm, left at 6:00 pm
Fenced three events:  Y10 foil, Y10 epee, Y12 epee
Fenced three different weapons: 32" short foil, 32" short epee, 35" long epee
Faced 19 different competitors
Fenced 15 pool bouts, winning 12, losing only 3
Fenced 16 DE encounters, winning all 16
Switched between weapons/events five times
Scored 148 touches on his opponents
Opponents scored 43 touches on him
Won three gold medals in one day!!
Drank 60 ounces of Gatorade

And that was just on Saturday! 

Fencing on Sunday was also a lot of fun.  Competitors in Sunday's Y12 foil event spanned a wide experience range, but the gold medal bout was intense--both fencers worked very hard.  Noah was happy to come away with a silver medal.

This was a well-run event with lots of great competition.  Noah had a fantastic time.

Epic Epee

Wow!!  Noah had a great day fencing Y12 epee today at the Back to School Duel in Newberry, Florida. He won all but one of his pool bouts and earned the number two seed for the Direct Elimination bouts.  He faced some very good competitors as he fought his way through his DE encounters.  The final, gold medal bout was very intense.  Noah won the first encounter by winning a touch in overtime.  He lost the second encounter 3-5 after some very exciting fencing.  The bout was decided in the third and final encounter where, in the last 19 seconds, Noah scored four touches to win the gold.  Final score: 1-0, 3-5, 5-2.  This is Noah's first gold medal of the year.  It is especially nice to achieve this in a Y12 event where he was fencing mostly older fencers.

First Tournament of the Year

Noah headed back into competition today at the "Back To School Duel" in Newberry, Florida. Today's event was Y12 foil.  Lots of great competitors. Noah won all of his pool bouts to earn the number two seed for the Direct Elimination round. He had a bye in the first round, and went on to win one DE bout, and lost  in the semifinals.  Noah placed third, earning a bronze medal.  Many, many great touches, good competitors, fast action, and great friends made for a spectacular day of fencing.

Can't wait until tomorrow's Y12 epee event.

Back to Fencing

Noah's tendon is fine and he is back to training.
Noah loves to fence.

He'll still be fencing Y10 events (foil and epee), and will attempt a few Y12 events as well.
Looking forward to another exciting year.