The three winning musketeers – Henry, Sandy and Phil
In what was to be our last monthly club competition of 2024 before the festive break, it was decided that the competition would take the form of a team relay. With twelve attendees (and a latecomer, who was subbed in for the final and third place play-offs) there were four teams of three, with the seeding decided by ‘The Oracle’ (Mr Nash). Playing across two pistes, Team A (Paul, Claudia and Mark) were up against Team B (Rob, Jaina and Peter), whilst Team C (Steve, Richard and Dave) were competing against Team D (Phil, Henry and Sandy) for a place in the final. With last year’s team pairing of Mark and Peter (who managed to win every team event last year) split up for this event, would either of them become victorious, or was it to prove that their pairing is what kept their teams strong last year?
Mark and Peter found themselves on Piste 1, with their teams competing against each other. Paul’s team took an early lead, but by the end of the first round of the three fencers, the scores were evenly tied at 15-15. Rob’s team then powered forward and by the end of the second round of three fencers, his team had a commanding 30-22 lead which, after the next duel looked insurmountable at 35-22. A comeback from Paul’s team saw the penultimate fight finish at 40-28 in favour of Rob’s team with the final fencers still to go. Not a team to give in, Paul’s trio gave a final flourish, pulling back 14 points, but the doubles were enough to see Rob’s team victorious by 45 points to 42 and, putting them in the final.
Piste 2 was a much livelier affair! Despite Henry breaking his sword blade to a 45-degree angle against Steve’s bulging bicep in the first round, he managed to hold his composure and put Sandy’s team 5-1 up. The next round didn’t fair much better for Steve’s team, finishing at a 10-4 loss, but the third fencer up, Richard, gave the team hope and fought back to only a three-point deficit. By the end of the second round of the three fencers, Steve’s team was down 30-21. With seemingly no way back the team rallied in the penultimate fights, but couldn’t keep the momentum going, eventually succumbing to 45-35 loss. This saw Sandy’s team progress to the final, against Rob and his compadres!
The third-place play off saw Team C (Dave, Richard and Steve) compete against Team A (Paul, Claudia and Mark). Both teams were evenly matched up until the fourth pairing, which saw Paul’s team pull ahead by 4 points. Despite staying behind, the next two matches saw a comeback from Team C and, then saw them pull ahead 40-36, before the final duel. At the end of the three-minute time limit, the score had been evened to 45-45. Paul’s team were dealt ‘priority’, not that they needed it, as Paul managed to land the winning hit within 11 seconds and secure the third-place title for Team A (Paul, Claudia and Mark).
The final saw Team B (Rob, Jaina and Peter) take on Team D (Phil, Henry and Sandy). Again, the teams were evenly matched in the first two pairings, however, by the end of the third tie, Sandy’s team had taken a 15-10 lead. This though, was short-lived. Rob’s team fought back well over the next two rounds to take 25-23 point lead. Not to be outdone, the lead to and fro’d over the next three rounds, putting all the pressure on the final two fencers to ‘bring it home’ for their respective team. Sandy’s team had taken a small lead, 40-38, which gave them the smallest cushion for the final fight. Holding their nerve, they nailed the final bout and came out victors with a 45-40 victory. With neither Mark or Peter on the winning team, it just goes to show that we should be wary of them partnering in the future too!
Well done Team Sandy, the victors on the night. Wooden spoon to Team Steve (even if was by the very smallest of margins!).
Congratulations to everybody who has taken part in the monthly club competitions this year. They really have seen some tremendous fencing ability, as well as giving us some very entertaining Tuesday nights. We all look forward to next year, to see what formats Mark and Paul can come up with, but, in the meantime, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a very Happy New Year and, a healthy a prosperous 2025!
