Cool picture of James Williams shot by Nigel Barker

After the Portland NAC we caught up with James Williams.  Unfortunately, the interview failed to get published in a timeline manner, so here it is a little late.

James and the rest of the US Men’s Saber fencers are off to Plovdiv this weekend for a Grand Prix event.  The US team is 20 points ahead of Canada for the zonal spot in Olympic Team Qualification.

Although #2 Aldo Montano is not fencing in this event, the Italian team should prove strong and the US fencers will all have to fence out of pools as the top US fencer is 18th ranked Daryl Homer.  James Williams is currently ranked 24th.

On Monday, we’ll update the Olympic qualification rankings based on the weekend’s World Cup events.  In the meantime, enjoy this interview with James.

Congratulations on winning the Portland North American Cup – How does it feel?

I feel really excited. It is always an honor to win such a large competition. It was a step, albeit a small one, closer to qualification. I hope it will give me confidence as we head into the World Cup season and the final leg of our Olympic qualification.

What were the keys to your victory in Portland?

This is always a tough question for me, especially since I haven’t watched the video tape yet.  Without some luck nothing is possible, but we must discount it and analyze that which we can control.

I can say that Yury has been working very intensely with the guys and me.  I’ve also been concentrating on my footwork and working to improve my lunge. After 16 years of fencing i found my lunge still needed work.

There were a lot of upsets at this competition amongst the Olympic contenders, notably, Tim Morehouse, Daryl Homer, Luther Clement and Ben Igoe all were out in early rounds and you also struggled in your round of 32 match trailing 7-1 and 12-9. How do you explain the outcomes?

I would first say that while everyone was shocked to see so many upsets, these young fencers deserve a lot of credit.  I saw most of them at the National Training Camp last month and can vouch for the strong work ethic that Eli Dershewitz and Jonah Shainberg and a lot of these young guys have.  I fenced Rhys Douglas (who defeated Daryl Homer in the round of 32) at the end of 2010 and he and his brother Ewan have improved drastically as well.  This is a very strong group of fencers and we were all happy to see how hungry they are and how hard they fight for touches.

On the other side of the coin, I think we were all very nervous at this competition and put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform.  I was personally very nervous when I saw the direct elimination tableau and started worrying about whom I was fencing instead of how I was going to fence and that impaired my fencing in the early rounds.  While you can’t put yourself on the team with NAC results, you can certainly knock yourself off.  On any given day, anyone can beat anyone else. If the higher seeded fencer always won, there would be no need to fence the tournament!

We train very hard but our training is more geared towards world cup competitions than NACs and I think that can be a challenge as well, but at the end of the day, we still need to overcome this to make the Olympic team.  Tim and Daryl know that they are responsible for not performing to their potential at this tournament.  This is a valuable lesson and will motivate them to perform better at future competitions.

What’s next in the men’s saber Olympic Qualification process?

In 10 days we leave for a week long training camp in Romania and go from there to our first world cup in Bulgaria.  We have 3 more world cups after that, at which point the team will probably be decided.

Any advice for young fencers with Olympic dreams?

I would tell them to keep at it and to avoid getting too low when its bad and too high when its good.

Paris proved great for the US.

The top 4 qualifying teams remained in the top 4, but an early loss by Japan gives Germany hope.

In the Olympic team foil event, the top-4 teams qualify directly to the Olympics followed by the top team in each Olympic zone (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe).  Great Britain is allowed a spot due to being the host nation.

The top 4 spots were resorted with Italy climbing to #1 and China falling to 2nd.  Russia’s 3rd place result in Paris puts them within 4 points of Japan for the 4th automatic qualification spot.  As the top European team not already qualified, that doesn’t help Russia directly, but does benefit Germany.

If Russia earns another top-4 result and Japan finishes out of the top-4 in the next event, then Russia would be tied with Japan for the 4th spot.  Russia has the slightly better record in world cup competition at this point.

Assuming Russia moves up to 4th, that puts Japan as the Asia qualifier, knocking Korea out.  Germany then gains entry as the top European team not already qualified.

The United States and Egypt remain qualified from their zones and no other nation is close enough to do anything to their spots.

At this point, we’re closing the books on Poland.  They just don’t have a shot being 50 points behind Germany.

In short:

• Germany should be cheering on Russia.
• Korea should be cheering on Japan.
• Poland can still work to ruin someone’s day.

Fencers from Korea, and Germany are going to have to start looking more at their individual results to be able to gain entry for the individual event should their teams get frozen out of the team event.  The individual event is filled first by the top 3 fencers from the team entries, then by the top ranked individuals from countries not already qualified.

Here are the current teams qualified for Men’s Team Foil in the Olympic Rankings.  I’ve included Germany and Poland and their points to illustrate where they are in the hunt:

Next events:

• La Coruña – Spain – February 19th
• Bonn – Germany – March 18th

The full spreadsheet is available here.

Despite flat performances, most of the top qualifiers remained in place.

The top seeds this weekend came out flat and did nothing to solidify their spots while two fencers on the outs made big moves to displace their countrymen.  Ulrich Robieri (FRA) makes an appearance taking 2nd at the event.  Does he even have a shot at qualification?

What else is going on with the qualification slots?

There was a shuffling of the order for the top-12 in the men’s epee qualifications and some flip-flopping among the French and Italian teams.  Other than two spots, all of the current qualification standings held, including the zonal qualification slots.

Paulo Pizzo (ITA) retains the top seed in Olympic qualifying at 29 points ahead of Kauter and Heinzer who are tied at 123 points.  All of this despite 5 of the top 9 going out in the round of 64.  In fact, only 3 fencers in the top 20 in Olympic qualification made the top-8!

Not surprisingly, the two fencers that made the most out of the flatness of the field were the two who needed it most.  Matteo Tagliariol used his top-8 finish to edge ahead of Alfredo Rota for the 2nd Italian qualifying slot.  Rota went out in the 32 and now sits just one point behind Tagliariol for the 12th and final Olympic qualifying spot.

Yannick Borel (FRA) also displaced his countryman by taking 3rd place.  He was 15th in qualifying and jumped up to 10th, sitting 10 points ahead Ronan Gustin.

Coming out of nowhere in this event was Robieri.  He took 2nd at the event, but has only 57 qualifying points.  In order to qualify, he would need a minimum of 103 points (assuming that the lower half of the current qualifiers all lose their T-64 matches in the next 3 world cups.)  That means he has to turn in continual podium finishes, the top half of qualifiers have to do well and the bottom half have to lose in the 64 or 32.  Not a great formula for success.

The zonal spots in the Americas and Asia actually look a bit more open to competition now than they did before.  Neither Buisvert-Simard (CAN) nor Fernandez (VEN) did anything of note in the event, which leaves only 8 points between them for the 2nd American zonal spot.  One top-16 result in the next 2 events can decide that race.

Soren Thompson and Seth Kelsey are both on track to qualify, but are close enough to the edge that they really need to make sure they’re keeping pace with the pack.  Soren is still top-16 in the FIE rankings, so gets a bye to the 64 and guaranteed points.  If either can make the 16 in Doha, that should secure their spots.

A similar situation exists in the Asia zone.  Alimzhanov (KAZ) earned no points at this event and will have to fight out of pools going forward, while Jung (KOR) is 16th, so gets a bye to the 64 at the next event, guaranteeing him 3 points.  That leaves the door open for Goujie Li (CHN) who is sitting at 68 points.  It’s an 11 point gap, but a 32 at Doha would put him on pace to steal the zonal slot from Alimzhanov.

Here are the current qualifiers as of Legnano:

Next events:

Doha Grand Prix (1.5 x points) – Feb 10th
Tallin World Cup (1 x points) – March 2nd
Paris World Cup (1 x points) – March 16th

The Olympic selection will become a little clearer this weekend.

The final leg of Olympic qualification for Men’s Epee begins this weekend in Legnano, Italy with a World Cup event.  This event provides standard points, with 32 points to the winner down to 2 points for a 33-64 finish.

US fencers Soren Thompson and Seth Kelsey look to keep their bids alive with strong finishes.  Soren will enter the event ranked 10th in the world, and will receive a bye to the top-64.  Kelsey, ranked 18th, will have to fight his way through pools.

Unless Thompson and Ruben Limardo (VEN) have very bad showings, the bids should remain secure for the top Americans.

More important to watch is the battle within the Italian and French teams for qualification slots.  Because Men’s Epee is only an individual event at the 2012 Games, each country is allowed a maximum of 2 fencers.  This ruling currently has Italy’s Matteo Tagliariol (9th in the world) and Yannick Borel (FRA), ranked 14th, on the outs to their higher ranked compatriats.

Alfredo Rota is the Italian in Tagliariol’s sights.  Rota is ranked 17th in the FIE rankings, but has more Olympic qualifying points at the moment.  Rota’s lead is also 9 points, so it could take this and the Doha Grand Prix result to solidify the standings.

On the French side, Borel is 20 points behind Gauthier Grumier so unless Borel fences magnificently AND Grumier has a meltdown in the 64, don’t expect that to change.

Fencers on the bubble include Nikolai Novosjolov (EST), Jin Sun Jung (KOR) and Gabor Boczko (HUN).  They are all qualified via the zonal process at the moment but could see their fortunes change with a bad first round.

Once the results are in, we’ll provide an update on the qualification standings as well as some thoughts on the rest of the qualifying season.  For a look at the current rankings and selection process, check out the live spreadsheet we’re keeping of the Olympic qualification points.

Current World Rank – Used for Seeding into the World Cup events.

AOR stands for the Adjusted Olympic Rank.  AOR measures the world cup points earned during the Olympic qualification period.  The FIE ranking is the rolling point total for the past year.  For an explanation of the Olympic qualification process, please refer to our primer: The Long and Winding Road to London 2012.

Vito Noto International Cup

Soren Thompson (USA) participated in a Men’s Epee feature event in Italy, held just one week before the Legnano world cup kicks of the second half of the Olympic qualifying season.  Gladius shared the following recap in the forums:

Geza Imre (HUN), #2 in the 2011 world cup rankings, won the Trophy “Vito Noto”, Men’s Epee Intercontinental World Cup in Naples, Italy. This was the first edition of the trophy contested between the continental (zonal) title holders, the Olympic champion, the winner of the World Cup, and the world champion. Since Paolo Pizzo is the world champion in charge and the winner of the world cup, this opened the door for Imre to compete as the next highest in the rankings. Soren Thompson represented the American continent.

Imre defeated Tagliariol 15-14 to take win the final.  Thompson took 3rd, losing in the quarter-finals 9-8 to Tagliariol.

The formula for this competition is DE from a table of 8. Eligible participants are the Olympic champion (Tagliariol), the World champion (Pizzo), the four winner of the continental (zonal championships), the winner of the World Cup, and the winner of the previous edition. This being the first edition only 7 fencers started.

At the press conference three days ago to introduce this event, Sandro Cuomo, Italian epee CT, said, “[we will have] the world protagonists of men’s epee. The Intercontinental World Cup is a challenge which I’m sure will become a regular event in the future of world fencing competitions. We get the opportunity to see on the strip the strongest fencers in the international panorama.”

TROPHY “VITO NOTO” – INTERCONTINENTAL CUP – MEN’S EPEE – Naples, January 21, 2012

Final
Imre (HUN) b. Tagliariol (ITA) 15-14

Semifinals
Imre (HUN) b. Pizzo (ITA) 15-14
Tagliariol (ITA) b. Thompson (USA) 9-8

Quarterfinals
Pizzo (ITA) b. Bouzaid (SEN) 15-5
Thompson (USA) b. Alimzhanov (KAZ) 15-14
Tagliariol (ITA) b. Fiedler (GER) 15-12

Results (7 competitors): 1. Imre (HUN), 2. Tagliariol (ITA), 3. Pizzo (ITA), 3. Thompson (USA), 5. Fiedler (GER), 6. Alimzhanov (KAZ), 7. Bouzaid (SEN).

Note:

Donald L. Moore, USA Consul General in Naples, was there to award Soren his bronze medal. Luigi De Magistris, Mayor of Naples, Giorgio Scarso, FIS President, and Ana Pascu, FIE Vice President were also among the spectators.

Europe Cup Women’s Epee (club teams)

At the same time and venue the fifth edition of Coupe d’Europe 2012 women’s epee (club teams) took place. This is a competition between club teams holder of their respective national titles. To enter, a team must be either the national champion team, or the winner of a previous edition of the Coupe d’Europe, or a team entered in substitution of the national champion team, or a team representing the hosting club. The winner this year was the winner of last year’s edition, representing the Bucarest club Steaua with Ana Branza and Anca Maroiu.

TROFEO “PARTENOPE” – COUPE D’EUROPE – WOMEN’S EPEE (team) – Naples, January 21, 2012

http://www.schermaolimpica.com/Defau…?pageId=822692

Final
Steaua Bucarest (ROU) b. Levallois (FRA) 45-40

Final 3°-4° place
Forestale (ITA) b. Lagardere (FRA) 45-39

Semifinals
Steaua Bucarest (ROU) b. Forestale (ITA) 39-36
Levallois (FRA) b. Lagardere (FRA) 45-44

Quarterfinals
Steaua Bucarest (ROU) b. En Garde (FRA) 45-36
Forestale (ITA) b. Maccabi (ISR) 45-37
Lagardere (FRA) b. Russia Fencing (RUS) 43-38
Levallois (FRA) b. Universiate Craiova (POL) 45-29

Tableau of 16
En Garde (FRA) b. Cs Partenopeo (ITA)
Forestale (ITA) b. Basel & Riehen (SUI)
Lagardere (FRA) b. Las Rozas Madrid (SPA)
Universitatea Craiova (POL) b. Aeronautica (ITA)

Results (12 teams competing): 1. Steaua Bucarest (ROU), 2. Levallois Paris (FRA), 3. Forestale (ITA), 4. Lagardere Paris (FRA).

Comments by Giorgio Scarso on both events: “… I wish to congratulate the organizers for their innovative idea of the Intercontinental Cup, a unique event in the panorama of world fencing. On the first edition of the Coupe d’Europe [WE club teams] very few people were ready to bet on its success. Now this has become an event many are looking forward to and are eager to compete.”

Fencers are popping up in some more advertisements.  This time it’s Asics that features a glimpse of a couple of fencers.  British Fencing turned us onto the ad:

Curtis Miller and Ian Williams appear in Asics advert. Amazing coverage for #fencing in TV ads at the moment. ow.ly/8C4lP

— British Fencing (@britishfencing) January 22, 2012

The Asics shoes are used by some fencers (see our Comprehensive Guide to Fencing Shoes article), but

Here’s the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le8En3oKY_c

Remenyik in 1981. Photo Ohio State

The Ohio State University blog posted a profile and obituary of former head coach Charlotte Remenyik, who passed away December 21, 2011.

Remenyik came to the United States from Hungary after the revolution in 1956.

When she arrived in Chicago with her husband she knew she wanted to teach fencing, but she had only a high school education and spoke only Hungarian. “My husband got a job in Chicago in a factory and I also worked in the same factory for a while,” she recounted in the oral history interview. “Later I advanced to the office because I knew how to add, subtract, multiply and divide.  I did payroll.  Didn’t need to speak a lot of English. Chicago was like outer Siberia as far as fencing was concerned.”

She learned English and received her Bachelor’s Degree in physical education in 1973 and then went on to coach the fencing team at Northwestern.   In 1978 she went to OSU to coach the women and then in 1980 became the first female head coach of an NCAA men’s fencing program.

The Remenyik Open, held annually at Northwestern, is named in her honor.

Can scoring streaks or going on a hot streak be confirmed? Photo: S.Timacheff/FencingPhotos.com

Having a “hot hand”, going on a run, being “on fire”.  Across all sports there are examples where an athlete seems to suddenly be unstoppable – hitting every action, or nailing every shot from the field.  The idea of the “hot hand” in sports is something widely believed, but there has not been any scientific or statistical proof to back it up.

Yale researchers have published at study online in the journal PLoS One which supports the notion that it is real.

“Our study shows that a player’s performance is not affected by the results of previous trials, but rather by other factors,” said Gur Yaari, computational biologist at Yale School of Medicine. “It shows that in contrast to previous belief, athlete’s results could not be explained by pure random independent process. This opens the door for future studies addressing the question of what really cause athletes to perform better and how could they use this kind of knowledge to improve their performance.”

How could this relate to a combat sport like fencing?  If the “hot hand” really boils down to the psychological effect of being “in the zone” and making the right decisions and adjustments then there could be additional applications to sports like this.

Hot Hand: The Statistics Behind Sports' Greatest Streaks

For additional reading we also found this great blog that focuses on other indications of a “hot hand”.  The blog is appropriately titled The Hot Hand in Sports.  There is also a new study showing the effects of the hot hand in volleyball which will be published in an upcoming Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.

Read more at YaleNews: http://news.yale.edu/2012/01/12/bowlers-strike-hot-hand-too

Spiffy USA Fencing QR Code for the Portland NAC

USA Fencing is providing live results this weekend at the Portland Division I and Junior North American Cup (NAC) event.  The live results functionality is a part of the FencingTime program which is being utilized to run the live results.

You can access the live results at: USFencingResults.com.

As part of their announcement, USA Fencing stated that “Event postings in the venue reflect the official event results.  Results displayed on this site are not considered official until validated by the National Office.”

Earlier, USA Fencing had announced that Fencing Time will be the official tournament software provider for USA Fencing events beginning with the 2012-2013 season.

Dan Berke's Fencing Time program is running the live results

This is a great step in the right direction for US Fencing events.  Already results from the Friday events have been posted so we’ll keep an eye on the postings for the weekend to see how well the system performs.

SOPA will censor websites across the Web.

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is a really bad bill that looks to be on the fast track for voting when Congress comes back in session.  I usually don’t say anything about politics on this site or on the forums – I’m supposed to be reporting on fencing and working on linking out to other fencing and fencing-related resources.  There are lots of other sites that talk about all the other stuff.

BUT, I do allow people to discuss their views on the forums, to link to content (news articles, videos, photos) that they find funny, interesting, or entertaining.

With SOPA, all of that could get shut down.  The “entertainment industry” is so hard core against the pirate web sites and so pissed off that they can’t shut down the off-shore web sites, that they are now trying to find ways to force US based ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to block, ban, or blacklist any site that is deemed to infringe.

If you look back on how the industry (look at the RIAA as an example) has used their legal ability to go after the pirates, you’ll find a host of abuses of power.  Even now, if you are accused of infringing on copyright then the various web properties (YouTube, etc) act on a presumption of guilt – you’re guilty until you can prove to their lawyers that your content does not infringe.

That’s not a group of corporations that I’d want to entrust with additional censorship control over the Internet.

As a practical matter, SOPA would allow for sites to be taken down, blocked, and their merchant accounts potentially closed for even one infringing link – that any user posts!  (Plus, that user could get 3 to 5 years in jail.)  That kind of hanging threat would cause many online forums and content sharing sites (like Digg or Reddit) to either have to spend a lot more money on potential legal defense, or just shut down.

Check out this video explaining SOPA and PROTECT-IP.  Then let your Senators know what you think.

Here are some links to check out:

via LifeHacker

via CNN: How SOPA would affect you

The Colbert Nation talked about it’s support for SOPA: Colbert on SOPA

More on Colbert: Stop Online Piracy Act – Danny Goldberg & Jonathan Zittrain

Here’s the Full Text of SOPA (H.R.3261.IH)