Clare L. Deming

This past Sunday, I fenced in another one of the Tri-State Veteran Sabre Cup events. This a series of sabre tournaments in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut for the veteran age group. This event was held at Manhattan Fencing Club, and it was my first time at that venue.

Travel to the Event

I took the train from New Jersey to New York Penn Station and then walked a few blocks to the club. It was easy for me to find.

I was a bit early, so I had plenty of time to orient myself. The club was on the second floor and when I stepped off the elevator, I found a brightly lit and clean space. The entry hall featured some seating for parents and visitors, and a low wall separated the fencing area.

The Venue

Locker rooms were available for men and women, and there were two bathrooms – a single large one with a shower, and a standard one with multiple stalls. Fencing bags were supposed to stay in the locker room, so I changed into my whites and went to warm up.

Strips were marked out on the flooring and the reels were suspended overhead. I did slip once during the tournament, but the floor was otherwise fine.

Tournament Format

Seven fencers had arrived for the women’s event and (at a later start time) fourteen for the men. For the women’s event, we fenced one large pool. They decided to double-strip the pool also, so it went very fast.

After that, we went into a standard direct elimination (DE) tableau. I felt that the referees were consistent with their calls. The entire event was very smoothly run and efficient. You can find the full results here.

My Fencing

I fenced fairly well, although I had been tired and a bit injured going in. I had a solid round in the pool with a 6-0 record. In my DE bouts, I had a bye into the round of 4 and finished in 2nd for the day, making some strategic errors in my last bout.

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After the fencing, medals and awards were distributed. I went home with a t-shirt and a hefty medal. While the men’s event started, the ladies watched and had wine, cheese, bread, and beef jerky. It was a tasty way to finish up!

See more of my tournament reports here.