SPORTS

Oberlin plays host to 60+ swords for tournament; Oberlin places near bottom

Team gains from experience in all-ages tourney

Becka Rich

On Nov. 22 and 23 approximately 66 people tested their metal.

Fencers of all shapes and ages showed up at Hales Gym with swords in hand for a sectional fencing tournament.

This was the first time Oberlin had hosted an open sectional tournament. Oberlin fencers placed near the bottom of each section.

The tournament was open to anyone in the area. Ages ranged from 11 to 45. The tournament divided into brackets by gender.

"I was so happy because we had people from Columbus and all around Michigan," senior Gavin Malcolm, the president of the club, said.

Nine Oberlin fencers participated. Of them, six fenced foil, two fenced epée, and one fenced saber. As the Oberlin fencing club is small, tournaments create a variety of competition.

"Tournaments are really nice because you get to fence against people you haven't fenced before," first-year Jaime Burns-France said.

The small team can also be a disadvantage, however. Fencers have less of a chance to practice against different people and this can lead to slowness.

"[Senior] Ben Hellerstein was saying we were the cleanest fencers at the tournament," said Malcolm. "We had the best form but we were the slowest people there. We were losing to people that we shouldn't have because their form was horrid but their speed was good."

Oberlin's expectations coming into the tournament were not very high, however.

First-year Jaime Burns-France, sophomore Adam Smith, and sophomore Dolcy Smith were all at their first tournament and junior Josiah Wagener has only fenced in one.

Burns-France is also the only saberist, which means that he has very little chance to practice. He had not fenced saber in 6 months. Despite placing relatively poorly, the club was still happy with the results.

"I was happy with myself and I was happy with our team because we looked damn good," Malcolm said. "We worked hard to get there and I think even though it didn't show in our winnings it showed in how we carried ourselves throughout the bouts-not one Oberlin fencer threw their stuff when they were done with a bout."

Some of the other fencers were less sportsmanlike.

"There are three types of fencers," Malcolm said. "The whiny type who argues with the director about anything-it's absurd-the director's in charge. And you've got the tantrum throwers who just pitch fits the second they lose or the second they win. The thing is the people are usually really good-so when they win they scream out these barbaric yelps. And then you have the fencer who does it because they love it and this is what comprises the Oberlin Fencing Club-basically you don't get any glory."

According to Burns-France, fencing is almost entirely about strategy. "People call fencing chess with swords because it's all about tactics," Burns-France said. "I mean you have to be fast and you also have to have blade skills, but you also have to out think them. You try to figure out what they're going to do and when they're going to do it."

Oberlin will host another tournament in February and will also attend at least two more during the course of next semester. They are even considering joining the United States Fencing Association as a team.

According to Malcolm, there is more team loyalty this year. "The thing that I'm really excited about for the team is that we've never been a team before. We've always just been a group of people who showed up to fence. Now we finally have organization," Malcolm said.

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Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 11, December 5, 1997

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