A Good Day in Newberry

Noah Scores !!

Noah had a good day of fencing today. He competed in two events, Y10 foil and Y12 foil at the Newberry April Fools Duel.

The afternoon began with the Y12 foil event.  Noah had decisive victories in all of his pool bouts and earned the number one seed in the single (direct) elimination round (DE).  His first two DE bouts were very hard-fought, but Noah came away with solid wins.  The Y12 gold medal bout was another story. Down 1-2 in the first encounter, Noah found a opening and finished quickly to win 5-2.  The second encounter opened with Noah's opponent scoring three unanswered touches and, soon thereafter, Noah found himself behind by a score of 1-4.  One more touch and his opponent would win and send the bout to a third and deciding encounter.  Noah went on the attack. 2-4.  3-4.  4-4.  The score was now tied. The next touch wins.  Noah scores the winning touch in a thrilling, come-from-behind battle to take the bout and earn the gold medal!

Somewhere in the middle of the Y12 bouting, they snuck in the small Y10 foil event. With two fencers, it didn't last long.  Noah was again victorious.

Great fun today!
Epee fencing tomorrow!!

Newberry Tournament Detail

If you plan to come out to watch Noah fence this weekend, here is what you need to know:

COST
Admission is free!!!!
Sometimes they charge for parking for a football or baseball game.  If something like this is going on this weekend, just tell them you're there for fencing and they'll let you park for free.

TIME
Events run all day on both Saturday and Sunday, but Noah's events will take place at the following times:
Saturday
3:00 Y12 Foil
4:00 Y10 Foil
Sunday
1:00 Y10 epee
2:00 Y12 epee
These times are "close of registration" times. Fencing will start sometime after this. Sometimes it starts soon after, sometimes there is a wait for other events to finish. You just never know. Bring a book.  :)

EVENTS
Y10 = An event for fencers aged 10 and under.  So far, these Y10 events have only two people registered, so they won't last long.  They won't happen at all if the other guy doesn't show up.
Y12 = An event for fencers 12 and under.  Based on the number of registrations, these Y12 events will each last two hours or more, but Noah is sure to fence a good bit near the beginning. Once they reach the elimination rounds, you never know.
Foil: a weapon that requires a touch to be scored on a conductive vest.
Epee: touches (points) can be scored anywhere on the body with this weapon

VENUE
Newberry Sports Complex
24880 N.W. 16th Avenue Newberry , FL 32669
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/OPkbs

FENCING
If you are not familiar with the format of the sport, you may want to take a look at the rules page on this blog (see the link above). Feel free also to ask Noah (or his mom or dad) questions at the event.

We'd love to see you there.  In any case, check back here to find out the results!!!!

Number Nine

Noah moves up to the number nine position in 
the newest Y10 epee national rankings.

National Ranking for Noah

The new national rankings for Y10 epee have been published. 

Noah is ranked number ten in the country.

RYC Gold

Noah wins three gold medals in the Central Florida (Region 6) Regional Youth fencing tournament today!

Another busy day of fencing for Noah as he left home at 6:30 am and returned at 9:30 pm. Today's events were hosted by the Dunedin (FL) Fencing Academy. Noah participated in two ten-and-under events (Y10 epee and Y10 foil), and one event for competitors aged 12 and under (Y12 epee).

Fencing was fast and furious in the morning as Noah competed in two events that were scheduled at the same time.  Running between Y10 foil and Y10 epee meant many equipment and clothing changes, no rest between bouts, and quite a bit of stress (at least for his parents). Nonetheless, Noah was able to perform spectacularly. He won all his pool bouts in both events, and cruised through his DEs to win the first two gold medals of the day.

The Y12 epee competition proved a bit more challenging. He won two of his pool bouts by the smallest of margins (5-4), but did secure the number two seed for the direct elimination rounds (DEs). Noah met a formidable challenger in the semifinal bout.  Noah lost the first encounter, and came from behind to win the second encounter by a score of 5-4.  The third and final encounter played out to the last second with Noah winning 3-2 as time expired.

The gold medal bout pitted Noah against one of his fencing friends from another city. This is the first time they have faced each other in a final bout, so it was a very welcome moment for them both. Noah was able to pull off a bittersweet two-encounter win to secure the Y12 epee gold medal.

A long, but rewarding day of fencing for Noah!!

Super Win!!!

Noah wins gold in Y10 epee at the Capitol Clash SYC in Maryland!!

Noah earned the number one seed for the direct elimination round by doing well in his pool bouts--only four touches were scored against him in his six pool bouts.

He enjoyed fencing the direct elimination bouts, especially the challenging semi-final and final bouts.  This was the first tournament where Noah faced a number of fencers from the northeast, and was glad to find he was competitive.

The gold medal bout was particularly thrilling.  Noah won the first encounter 5-0 as his opponent was flustered by equipment problems (resulting in a red card).  The second encounter was tied 2-2 when time expired.  Noah won priority but lost when his opponent got the winning touch.  The third encounter was the ultimate in low scoring, however.  After three minutes of lackluster flailing, the score was tied 0-0.  The entire bout came down to the one-touch overtime period.  Noah's opponent began the period with priority.  With twenty seconds left, Noah scored the winning touch to win the gold!

Yesterday, Noah fenced Y12 foil.  Lots of amazing competition there.  Noah placed 81st out of 96 but did win a pool bout, and one DE encounter.  It was a great warmup for today's events.

The Y12 epee.event was also enjoyable for Noah. He fenced some VERY tall 12 year-old boys.  He was pleased to be able to win three pool bouts, and one DE bout.  He was also one of the few fencers to score points on the number-one- and number-two-seeded fencers. Noah placed 28th out of 56 in this 12-and-under event.

Results for the Y10 epee event are at:
http://live.capitolclash.com/FTEvent17104899.htm

Capitol Clash SYC

Noah is preparing for the 2013 Capitol Clash SYC Fencing Tournament, a super-regional level, national qualifying tournament where he can win points that will earn him a national ranking. The event will be held February 1-3 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Conference Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Noah is slated to compete in three events: Y12 foil, Y10 epee, and Y12 epee.

22 fencers will compete in Y10 epee on Saturday
57 fencers will compete in Y12 epee on Sunday
98 fencers will compete in Y12 foil on Friday

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

This will be Noah's largest competition to date.

We'll try to keep you updated as things progress!