And…..we’re back! After a couple of months plagued by illness, injury, work, holidays, lack of transport, the start of the club epee and foil annual competitions and the general hullabaloo of life, we finally managed to resurrect the monthly club competition on the last Tuesday in April….yes, 2024!
After a slow start, the numbers gradually increase until we found ourselves with twelve willing participants (and much to the scorer’s delight, two even poules of six fencers!).
Getting quickly down to the task at hand, poule 1 consisted of Helen, Steve, Henry, Stuart, Mark and Paul. Despite Steve, Mark and Paul also attending to the foil competition, the group maintained a steady flow and found themselves finished with time to spare. Paul fared particularly well, despite spending the evening competing in foil and refereeing too. He was joint top in the poule with 80% of matches won, alongside the more rested Henry. Mark, having also competed in the foil competition, completed the poule happily, having secured 60% of the fights won, alongside Stuart, who was equally as chuffed, as he was fighting left-handed, due to injury. Helen gave the men a run for their money, securing hits against all of them, but it was Steve who was to walk away disappointed having secured only one win out of five. He too had also competed in the foil competition and, as time would later tell, he was out of sorts, health-wise, and has since missed sessions due to illness.
Poule 2 was much more closely matched. The titans of the club, Rob and Joe, were pitched against each other, but both managed to secure four wins out of five. The upper hand here, must surely go to Joe (Rob will disagree!), who had not only fought half a dozen back-to-back epee duels, but he was also sockless! Peter secured 60% of his fights won, being particularly chuffed with his wins over Dave and Joe. Dave and Rohan secured two victories each, but the most unjustified scoreline of the evening must surely be Sofia, who didn’t secure a single win, but fought outstandingly, to secure hits against each player, and almost beating Joe and Rohan in her respective matches. As they say, sometime the scoreline does not justify the result!
The following Tuesday saw us debating whether or not to hold the Direct Elimination round. Claudia was still injured, so couldn’t stand in, Steve was still absent with illness and a new injury. Joe was on daddy duties, Peter was recuperating from an illness and Henry, well, we don’t know! After a long absent spell, Andrew, and his son Jack stepped in, as did Jaina and the returning Phil. Rob, Jack and Andrew found themselves with a bye. Dave beat Rohan 5 v 2, Mark took on Helen and won 5 v 0, Stuart, still left-handed (and surprisingly good at it!) beat Sofia 5 v 2, and Phil (standing in for Steve – but with more hair) was victorious against Jaina with a 5 v 0 scoreline. The quarter finals were fought to 10 points. Rob, having had the benefit of a lesson with Will and more rest, beat Dave 10 v 3, Mark fought Jack, and Stuart fought Andrew, however, a long absence from club for both Andrew and Jack, meant that they were both beaten. The scoreline shows though, that they did themselves proud, with Jack scoring 4 against Mark, and Andrew scoring 6 against Stuart. In the final match, Phil, grateful for a bit of extra rest, received a bye.
The semi-finals were quickly underway. Rob, confident as ever, overcame Mark’s onslaught and triumphed 10 v 5, in the first. Whilst, in the second semi-final, with Phil starting to feel the effects of a recent cold, and, his joie de vivre about a recent outside competition 5th place, dwindling, Stuart took charge, saw his moment and conquered 10 v 4.
With a full crowd spectating in the hall, the final began with Rob taking charge and never looking back, overwhelming a tired Stuart, 15 v 1, in double quick time. Never mind Stuart, second place, fighting with your non dominant hand is nothing to be upset about. And, well done to Rob.
