Qualifying stories, let's hear 'em

[esskreemr]

Did anyone have a horrendous Nationals qualifying story? Did you feel that you got screwed or did the blame rest squarely on your shoulders only? Poll included.

[noodle]

i personally performed poorly at divisionals, though i still qualified for div2 as i needed (but barely). i wanted to hit sectionals to qualify for 1a, but the section scheduled the tournament threeish weeks earlier this year, right on top of exams for me, which pissed me off to no end. found out later that even though the rules specifically say that you can't appeal into anything for school-related reasons, several people did anyway and got in. :-X

[Katman]

I didn't qualify, but the blame there lies with me. That's the only reason I voted the 'coulda been better' one. Otherwise, it was fantastic! Especially so since my university club was the one hosting the event.

[greenchick]

I had to go with the combo sucked eggs/got screwed choice. I sucked eggs and as a result I just barely squeaked through. But on the other hand, thanks to confusion over the new DIII qualifying rules, I was told I qualified, and then told I didn't qualify, and then waited over a month to find out for sure. Now, if I'd fenced better at divisionals, I wouldn't have had to worry about it, but the confusion and the wait didn't make the whole experience any happier.

(Nationals, on the other hand, was a fantastic experience, in spite of crowds and heat and all the other points that have been touched on elsewhere.)

[Peach]

At Sectionals, I was asked to referee on the day before my event. Refereeing is hard on my legs--I know there are many refs who pooh-pooh this, but my sciatica really does react and the time I tore my calf at Nationals, I had refereed the day before all day. Sectionals were also at a very bad time during my season, toward the end of my teaching year and at a down-shift in my training schedule, and my sciatica was acting up already.

So I obsessed for weeks about whether to withdraw and petition to the I-A, even though I hate doing things like that, because I *knew* I was going to have problems.

I didn't withdraw. I reffed. I had problems. I didn't withdraw, because I'm nuts. But I still managed to qualify for the I-A--though partly because of my sciatica (and partly because she's very good) I lost my DE to my perennial main opponent in the Vet-50+ championships, setting myself up to psych myself out in the championships, which I did (and she also fenced better than me!).

It was an all-around unpleasant experience, all things considered.

[felicote]

I got screwed!
I qualified at divisionals for MF div 2 and 3 but I was told that people in the process of becoming permanent residents could compete. A couple weeks after qualifying I get an e-mail from the USFA saying that I can't compete at nationals.

[oiuyt]

At Sectionals, I was asked to referee on the day before my event. Refereeing is hard on my legs--I know there are many refs who pooh-pooh this.

I'm a lot younger than you are and I know I've had problems in the past (not that it stopped me from reffing all 7 days I wasn't fencing this year). Last year at summer nationals I was doing the whole 12-14 hour/day thing for the first couple of days, had no legs for D2 foil, decided that I needed a rest day before the event I cared about (IA sabre) so punted IA foil. I was concerned about this year but decided to go ahead and ref anyway (no problems this year fortunately). Reffing is hard on the legs. You're standing a significantly higher percentage of the time than the fencers and you get less movement to keep the muscles loose (especially those refs who do everything stationary from the mid-point on the strip... never did understand how they can follow the action well without moving with the touch). It also can be a significantly longer day.

I'll never be one of those people who pooh-pooh's your assertion that reffing is hard work or that it can adversely affect your next-day performance.

-B :)

[glowstix]

I got screwed!
I qualified at divisionals for MF div 2 and 3 but I was told that people in the process of becoming permanent residents could compete. A couple weeks after qualifying I get an e-mail from the USFA saying that I can't compete at nationals.

i feel your pain. no divisionals, sectionals, nationals for me.

[prittieinpink]

i qualified by placing second in the south carolina division tourny. i won the first de ive ever won, ended up winning more than one, and earned my first medal. very very very exciting day for me

[MikeHarm]

My way of qualifying was interesting. I was training and training planning to try to qual for epee. Then before qualifiers I broke too many of my epees and wasn't able to fence it, so I picked up some of my foils and figured I'd just go and get some fencing practice in, and didn't really care wether I qualified or not.

I clawed my way up, defeating a higher rated fencer in a tough match that I started out down 7 to zero, earning my spot in Div II and Div III foil.. then got beaten soundly (I think it was like 15-4) by a kid who had to be under 14 who I beat 5-1 in the seeding round lol.

[glowstix]

i qualified by placing second in the south carolina division tourny. i won the first de ive ever won, ended up winning more than one, and earned my first medal. very very very exciting day for me

yeah, i had a similar experience in our state games. won my first epee DE and ended up 3rd and got my first bronze medal.

[Inquartata]

On the day of Divisional Quals, I had a major stupid attack and showed up at the wrong venue. Missed the closing time and couldn't fence, so I was forced to qualify through Sectionals. But then, I was planning to do that anyway, for I-A.

Is there any reason refs couldn't have, say, a tall stool upon which to sit? Sort of like in tennis? I mean, very few of them actually follow the fencers up and down the strip anyway, so can't they see just as well sitting as standing? Sure seems that it'd alleviate the physical punishment a bit...

[Peach]

I'm one of the very few. . . It also actually makes my legs feel better anyway, as oiuyt mentioned, if I move instead of standing.

I put a stool in my classroom with that sort of thing in mind. It doesn't get used much, except by my kids.

[mollusk]

My coach, who is primarily a sabre/epee fencer, was asked to be a last minute addition to the foil field so that we could get an additional qualifier. So who should I draw in the critical DE for qualifying for D2? My coach, of course, and he just thrashed me. He then went on to win the whole thing easily. It just goes to show you that asking people to fill in the field to get additional qualifiers can have unintended consequences.

[esskreemr]

Same thing happened to me couple of years back with the club coach (not my coach). I was leading for most of it and then lost 15 - 14.

[Artisan]

I had a miserable time at sectionals. I created a lot of pressure on myself to do well, since I was ineligible for Div 2 & 3, and really wanted to be able to fence 1A this summer.

I trained very hard, only to catch a cold two weeks before. Then it turned into bronchitis - which I'm prone to getting. I persuaded my doc to give me the anitibiotics sooner than later (they like to wait until you're really sick). But still the 14 days of medication left me feeling yucky and weak. Then on top of it one of our two dogs, who was diagnosed with cancer a couple months earlier took a turn for the worse the night before the competition. My wife and I tried our best to comfort her, but she was doing very poorly and clearly in much pain. I barely slept a wink. In the morning we decided to have her put down and my wife had a neighbor drive them to the vets while I left for the tournament. On the way there I had several heart rending phone calls from my wife who really wanted me to be there. I got lost on the way, construction and detours made the directions useless - a kind soul at a gas station actually led me to the place. I somehow survived the first round of pools with more wins than losses, but felt sapped and emotionally drained. Before the second round I called my wife to see how she was, and she told me that it was over and Amber went very peacefully, that the vets were very kind, and our other dog was there and also was (seemingly) very understanding.

I tried to fence, but was only going through the motions and couldn't focus on anything but my grief. I won one bout in the second round. I was getting hit and didn't even care - it just didn't matter. My coach was disappointed. I was dissappointed - not only by how I fenced, but that I should have withdrawn from the competiton and didn't. - I should have stayed home to be with my spouse and dying pet. The experience was a good reminder to keep my passion for fencing in perspective - that life takes precedence over sport, that sport is to enrich one's life, not to detract from it.

[Almightynoitall]

Day one: Sabre

Having only fenced sabre a half dozen times since I picked it up in February, and also in my first time on the strip in over a month due to a car accident, I somehow swept through and thoroughly trounced the other 5 members of my club in pools and de's to win my second fluke tourney ever... Continued in a team tourney for the fun of it and learned firsthand that scoring the first 5-8 touches every time you step on the strip still can lose a team bout. Qualified Div 2,3

Day two: Epee

Realized at 5am with friends (friday night drunken trivial persuit night shouldn't have been attended, but it's habit) that I was due on the strip in four hours... so... sleeping in my car outside of the club, I was woken up just in time to check in and fence epee... very very very poorly. Didn't have enough point control to hit the great wall of china from four feet away... finished DFL. Qualified Div 3

Day Three: Foil

Showed up after a much needed 13 hours of sleep... came out seeded #2 after pools (how, I'll never figure it out) and won every DE 15-13 until the finals... Got up to 8-2 and didn't score another touch the rest of the day. Happily drove home to collapse in a hot bath, retire to bed, and then go back to work. Qualified Div 2,3

Unfortunately, due to time constraints was only able to take enough days off of work to stick around for/fence the two sabre events.

[esskreemr]

That's a tough one. Though life takes precedence over sport, it was a once-in-a-year experience for you and you didn't know that your beloved pet was going to die at that particular time...

[GingerBreadMan]

Last year I qualified for Div 1A for the first time. But ended up not be able to afford to go. /cry

[oiuyt]

Day two: Epee

Realized at 5am with friends (friday night drunken trivial persuit night shouldn't have been attended, but it's habit) that I was due on the strip in four hours... so... sleeping in my car outside of the club, I was woken up just in time to check in and fence epee... very very very poorly. Didn't have enough point control to hit the great wall of china from four feet away... finished DFL. Qualified Div 3

And this helps highlight exactly how not hard the new qualification requirements were in some divisions. Get a small enough division and you still have everyone qualifying.

-B :)