The Observer, April 25, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 26
Case fencing puts on a clinic
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Over the past weekend, Veale was host to the 2008 Case Western Reserve University Collegiate Open. This is an annual fencing tournament hosted by Case's fencing team. Instead of hosting the event strictly as a tournament, it was instead promoted as "an open clinic/free fence/come learn to fence extravaganza," and was attended by a number of schools and students. The entire event was very casual, with a free fence tournament-esque game going on that involved pools and direct eliminations like a real tournament, as well as many other mixed events.
In pools, fencers are divided into groups, and every fencer in a pool has the chance to fence every other fencer once. After the pools are finished, the fencers are given a ranking, or seed, compared to all other fencers in the tournament, based primarily on the percent of bouts they won, and then based secondarily on the difference between the touchés they scored and the touchés they received. Once the seeds have been determined, the direct elimination round starts. Fencers are sorted in a table of some power of 2 (16, 32, 64, etc.) based on how many people are competing. Because it is highly unlikely for the number of fencers to be exactly a power of two, the fencers with the best results in the pools are given byes. The winner carries on in the tournament, and the loser is eliminated.
Participants in the tournament were allowed to compete using three types of weapons, including the foil, the épée, and the sabre. The foil is a light and flexible weapon. The target area when using a foil is restricted to the torso of the opponent. Points can be scored using a foil only by hitting the opponent with the tip of weapon in a stabbing motion. If you hit with any other part of the weapon, the bout is ended and no points are scored. The épée is similar to the foil, but is slightly heavier and sturdier, and there is no restriction on it, meaning points can be scored by landing a hit on any part of the opponent's body. Like the foil, the hits must be made using the tip of the weapon. The sabre is a cutting weapon with a light and flexible blade, just slightly stiffer than that of the foil. The target area when using a sabre is anywhere above the opponents waist, and because it is a cutting weapon, one can hit using the sides of the blade as well as the tip.
The tournament also served as a fundraising and publicity event for the fencing club. Overall, the event was considered to be very successful with a large turnout. In addition to the tournament, fencers of all skill levels, even complete beginners, were able to partake in lessons as well as receive tips from a number of fencing coaches that were on hand.
