National Championships Update

I just returned home today after spending a few days competing at National Championships in Atlanta.

After a slow start to the competition I fought my way to third place. This was no easy task considering that my side of the direct elimination bracket was filled with former National Champions and Olympians while the other side of the bracket was filled with everyone under 18 years of age. Sometimes fencing depends on the luck of the draw-sometimes you are paired up with someone who you can beat easily and sometimes you are paired up with someone that gives you trouble every time.

In the final-8 I fenced Erinn Smart, 2004 Olympian and repeat National Champion. Erinn and I have been competing against each other since we were 15 and we went head to head in 2004 for a spot on the olympic Team. She and I will also be competing again for a spot on the 2008 team. Erinn's brother Keeth Smart is a two-time Olympian and top ranked sabre fencer. (Tutorial on the different fencing weapons to come soon). In the end I beat Erinn 15-10 and moved to the round of four.

In the final-4 I faced Emily Cross. Emily's list of accomplishments would take up this entire blog but among them include several time Cadet and Junior World Champion. She will also be competing for a spot on the 2008 Olympic Team-that's if Harvard will give her the time off. Emily beat me in the third round 15-12 and I placed third overall. (Another tutorial on fencing competitions rules and regulations to come).

My third place and hard fought finish solidly placed me on the World Championship Team that will compete in Turin, Italy in late September and early October. It's going to be a lot of fun since we get to stay in the Olympic village. Someone told me we are going to use bikes to get around-not sure how I feel about this. The last time I rode a bike was on Stanford campus and it was always a "ride at your own risk because freshman who don't know how to ride bikes will crash into you" kind of thing.

All of my energies over the next few months will be devoted to getting ready for this competition. There are no official national or international competitions between now and September so it's all about hours at the fencing club and athletic club. I am looking forward to being sore again-it's been a while.

I am also going to be putting up the 2006-2007 competition schedule in the next few days. There is a lot of work to be done this summer and I will be updating this blog on a daily basis so stay tuned.

Please feel free to comment or suggest anything that you would like to see on this blog or if you have any questions about the sport of fencing.

Hope you all had a great Fourth of July!