As the final Tuesday of April rolled around, everybody was eagerly looking forward to the club epee championship. On the night, 16 attendees meant for two poules of 8 and another busy evening for the scorer! The format for this month was the same as in January; poules, followed by direct elimination with first to five hits; followed by first to ten hits at the semi-final stage and, first to 15 in the final match.
Will had an impressive showing in his poule winning six out of the seven duels, with Finn and Steve hot on his heels with five out of seven victories each. Stuart was up next, clocking up four wins, but a special mention to Sofia, who managed three out of seven wins in a very impressive poule.
Mark and Henry were the stand-out stars of poule 2, having won six out of seven fights each. Phil clocked up five wins and Richard and Claudia were hot on his heels with three victories each. With a number of sword repairs and a change of equipment on piste 2, anybody would have thought the April Fool’s Day had been delayed this year and, this meant that only the poules were completed on the night, with the DE being completed the following week.
The next Tuesday saw us enter the month of May and, after a Bank Holiday weekend, it would be interesting to see who was still in peak condition to take the trophy for the April Epee Club Championship. From the previous week, only 14 fencers were available – a bonus for either Tadek or Phil because, with Jaina and Finn missing, it meant that the victor would have a bye through to the quarter-finals. Phil conquered. Steve saw off Claudia, proving that the previous day’s BYC (British Youth) competition and the long journey home, had proved too much on this occasion. On the other hand, Sofia rode high on her experience at the BYC’s and used the knowledge gained to see off Richard and proceed to the quarter-finals. Will and Steve had a right humdinger of a duel, with Steve coming off victorious by one glorious point. Henry and Rohan were also evenly matched, but Henry managed to give himself a two point triumph.
The semi-finals saw Mark pitched against Phil and, Steve versus Henry. The wait between rounds, due to the bye, obviously disadvantaged Phil, as he was overcome by Mark 10-7. Another closely fought match saw Henry overpower Steve 10-8, setting up a Mark versus Henry final. With everyone gathered around and after a quick rest for both fencers, the final was on! In the early points the match was even, however Henry managed to pull away and gain some distance, in points, between himself and Mark. Despite a couple of comebacks, Mark was unable to lessen the lead and Henry found himself victorious, in this format, just like he did in January. It looks like, in order to win in this set-up, the rest of the field will have to hope that Henry is on holiday next time! Who can take this crown away from him? Well done Henry!
The May competition will be on the last Tuesday and the plan is poules, followed by one-hit direct elimination again, unless Mark has other plans! See you all then.
