New Mexico Open

Or: It Could Have Gone Worse

Every year, New Mexico Fencing Foundation sponsors a two-day fencing competition, the New Mexico Open. Out here in the West, it can be a long way between competitions, so it attracted fencers from as far away as Colorado and Texas. But it was right here in town, at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center (our old practice location), so I couldn't pass this up.

Friday night, we joined other club members in setting up the metal (nonconductive, so that a touch on the ground doesn't register) strips. There was a full day of competition yesterday, but my weapon and age group was today. Registration closed at 8:30 this morning, the bouting got underway around 9:00. I was in a pool of seven fencers for the "seeding" round (which were 5-touch bouts) — the results of which would determine the ranking for the "direct elimination" round (15-touch bouts).

There's a lot of standing around and waiting in an event like this, but it's still really a blur once the adrenaline gets flowing. I won two and lost four in this round (there were probably two I could've won if I'd been able to adapt quicker, had better point control, and had, y'know, been to practice more than a half-dozen times since June).

 


That placed me 33 out of a field of 47 (?), the fourth highest rank for an "unrated" fencer. Had a good first bout in the direct elimination, but my second opponent — the #2 seed — made pretty short work of me.

Update: Placed 29th of 47)

There was an article in the Santa Fe New Mexican (registration required) this morning on the competition, and another reporter/photographer (don't know from what publication) there today.

Driving home afterwards, passed this on Cerrillos.