Margaret BauerLooking for something to do on the weekend following this Friday’s WILD? Need a break from tiresome finals studying? If so, head over to the Athletic Complex this Saturday and Sunday for the 2004 Midwest Sectional Olympic Fencing Championships.
“We got the event this year due to a five-year rotation,” said Midwest Section Chairman and St. Louis Division Chairman Bruce Sikes. “This was the year for St. Louis to host it.”
Featuring numerous nationally ranked competitors, the competition will highlight a talented crop of fencers from a five-state area. Those fortunate enough to come out on top after the two-day contest will advance to the United States Nationals this July in Charlotte, N.C.
“[We have] well over 100 competitors and our expectations are to have one of the highest quality tournaments in terms of how it’s run and the competition that’s there,” said Sikes. “A good number of nationally ranked fencers will be at the tournament. We’re hosting a lot of top-ranked competitors, predominantly from the Chicago area and Minnesota.”
This weekend’s competition will showcase three events: the ep‚e, foil and saber. Divided up by age, the members of the field will vie for a spot at Nationals in either the Senior or Under-19 group. In preliminary pool play the fencers will try to rack up five points on their opponent, while this number increases to 15 in later-round direct elimination play.
Throughout the course of the foil contest, competitors will be armed with a light-weight, flexible blade this is around 35 inches in length. In order to score a point, the fencers must hit their opponents in the region between the shoulders and the groin. Competitors in the ep‚e section of the Championships will fight with weapons of similar length but heavier weight and stiffer blades. Additionally, the ep‚e contest will count hits to any part of the body.
Varying a bit from the foil and ep‚e is the saber competition. Resembling a modern version of the slashing cavalry sword, the saber is used as not only a thrusting weapon but also one used for cutting. Fencers in the saber division wear more heavily protected equipment since the head is also a valid scoring area.
In terms of who advances to Nationals, the tournament committee has a pre-determined method in place.
“This [competition] is a qualifier for Division Three and Division Two, which generally sends the top 25 percentile,” said Sikes. “Also for Sectionals, Division One A runs on a formula based on the number of competitors present – it usually sends around ten fencers to Nationals. For the Under-19 division aimed toward college-aged people, the top 25 percent also applies.”
If all goes according to plan, the Fencing Championships should provide an exciting weekend at the Athletic Center. With top fencers from around the area competing for coveted spots at Nationals, the tournament should provide good reason for you to shake off your post-WILD fatigue and try watching a new sport.
2004 Midwest Sectional Olympic Fencing Championships
Event to watch: Men’s Epee
Competitors to watch:
- Chris Hagen and Adam Soroko from the Minnesota Sport Club, fencing Men’s Epee. Hagen also competes in foil.
- Alex Vongries from the Minnesota Sport Club fencing Men’s Sabre.ÿ
- Rocco Toscani and Peter Truszkowski are both B03s from the Chicago Athletic Association Fencing Club.
- Christine Dominick from the Illinois Fencers Club fencing Women’s Epee.
- Carly Wells and Marijke Morich from the Chicago Athletic Association Fencing Club fencing Women’s Sabre.