| I reffed sabre at the Open last year. I recognized a few competitors I knew from years past in the national circuits, but a large number of the competitors were unfamiliar to me. I would say there was one really strong competitor in each pool in the preliminary rounds, and two in the second round of pools. In the preliminary pools, a number of fencers had perhaps six weeks of experience with fencing. One young man went on guard with his nondominant foot in front. Another was wearing bits of uniforms from everybody else in his college club from the day before because he didn't have his own.
In the second round of pools, a young man I know took issue with my directing because he lost a bout and didn't believe it was possible; it was the first he'd lost all day and he'd come to expect it. He had just come up against the other good fencer in his pool! Being a sabre fencer, he didn't exactly apologize later for arguing with me, but he did comment later he hadn't realized the other fencer knew what he was doing.
In the women's sabre, I knew all the competitors in the final eight and it was pretty good fencing by then. I'm not as familiar with the men but I'd say that's where the good fencing started too.
It may all be different this year. I don't know <grin>. I guess my advice would be to fence cleanly and clearly in the pools so the referee can see you know what you're doing, and to ratchet up the quality of your fencing when it becomes necessary. Not always the easiest of tasks.
--Delia
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I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it. -- Carl Sandburg | 
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