With a good core of beginners and new coaches, the University fencing club kicks off the season with the first-annual Lower Columbia College Foil/Epee Tournament in Longview, Wash., on Saturday.
The team will send about 10 people to face schools from around the area, such as the University of Puget Sound, Portland State University, and Western Washington University. It is an individual tournament, meaning it’s every fencer against every fencer, and no team scores.
“This tournament is geared toward beginner fencers. (They get to) experience seeing people and other styles,” head coach Adam Lake said.
Although lacking in experienced fencers, the team has a good young core to build upon. Usually, there are four or five students who come out for club fencing, and their commitment varies, Lake said. Only one or two end up fully committing to the team, but with this group, about 10 have dived into training.
“We have a great group of beginners. This is the best group of beginners I’ve had at the U of O,” Lake said. “All really want to compete and get better. I’m really excited about this group.”
Fencing as a sport is both intellectual and technical. One must think a step ahead of his or her opponent, and it’s difficult to pick up immediately.
“Some describe this as physical chess. It’s like chess at 1,000 mph,” club coordinator Tony Dundon said.
Part of becoming a better fencer is gaining the experience necessary to compete at a high level, said foil coach Melanie Letai said. With that, the new fencers will necessarily have growing pains.
“Fencing takes a longer time. It’s not like soccer where you throw in a ball and you try to kick it in the goal. (The students) have to be patient, otherwise they get frustrated,” said Letai.
Letai said one needs to have good nerves as well, and to not panic when the opponent scores a touch.
“You don’t freak out if you’re hit by someone. It’s like in football, if you are down 3-0, it’s nothing. You can overcome it,” said Letai.
Establishing a collegiate circuit with regular tournaments is a priority for the club, and the tournament this weekend is a step in the right direction. Opportunities are sparse at the club level, especially for beginning fencers. Typically, fencers will go to different tournaments at each individual skill level apart from the club. The club encourages the whole team to attend only one or two tournaments a year. But that may change, as Dundon and other club fencing coordinators are collaborating to finally get the circuit set up.
“We want to help grow (the circuit) to fruition where it has puttered out in the past,”
Dundon said.
Club fencing has more coaches this year as well. Lake is in his eighth year coaching at the University, and usually it is just him. There are three weapons in fencing: epee, foil, and sabre, and Lake typically coaches epee, which is his best weapon. In the past he has coached the foil as well, although he admits he is not as good at it. But this year, Letai, an exchange student from Stuttgart, Germany, is coaching the foil, and graduate student Dan Mahoney, who fenced for Brown, is coaching the sabre. It’s the first year the club has three coaches to coach all three weapons.
Lake is well-positioned to coach the club. He has trained with some of the best in the world, including Ed Korfanty, who coached Beaverton, Ore., native Mariel Zagunis to an Olympic gold medal in sabre, and Sebastien Dos Santos, the former head coach of the French national fencing team. This group is confident because of Lake’s expertise.
“Traditionally, U of O does very well at these competitions and that’s a testament to the coaching of Adam,” Dundon said.
Lake also fences with the club, but for many tournaments he will focus on coaching. Lake will not fence this weekend, and neither will Mahoney, but Letai will.
Although the tournament on Saturday is all about gaining experience, Letai wants something more.
“I just hope we win. I really want us to win,” said Letai.
[email protected]
Beginners’ tournament a first step for Duck fencers
Daily Emerald
November 17, 2009
0
More to Discover