Fence a Thon

[Craig]

Jeff Bukantz has worked to organize a "fence-a-thon" to set the Guinness World Record for longest fencing bout in an exhibition match between Dan Kellner and Jon Tiomkin.

Below is the full text of the email that went out on this:

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Dear Friend of United States Fencing:

I can't believe it's been almost a year since Athens, where the United States Fencing Team had its most successful Olympic Games ever!

Since Peter Westbrook's bronze in 1984, we prayed and dreamed about another Olympic medal. Those twenty years felt like an eternity, and we wondered if we'd ever see that elusive Olympic medal again.

Our prayers were answered and our dreams came true last August 17th, 2004, when Mariel Zagunis took the GOLD and Sada Jacobson took the BRONZE!

Wow, what a day that was!

However, how can anyone forget the incredible performances by the Men's Foil and Saber Teams?

The Sabreurs did the previously impossible, as they scored a monumental upset over Hungary to reach the medal round. And, let's face it, Keeth, Ivan, & Jason fenced with the hearts of true champions.

The Foilists also overcame astronomical odds, as they beat the highly favored Germans to reach the medal round, as well. Dan, Jon, & Jed were right there with the Chinese and the Russians, and they are one tight team.

Hey, Soren Thompson's top eight finish, duplicating his 2003 World Championship result, was tremendous, too!

And don't forget our incredible Juniors and Cadets! They rule! For crying out loud, in the last three years, Sada Jacobson, Kelley Hurley, Caitlin Thompson, Mariel Zagunis, Emily Jacobson, and Emily Cross (twice!!!) have all become World Champions!

BUT, the bottom line is that while we've reached new heights internationally, we're going to need our entire membership's help to stay up there. Many of our competitors are state-funded...we're not.

On May 20th, Dan Kellner and Jon Tiomkin will fence until they drop as they attempt to establish a Guinness World Record for Longest Competitive Fencing Bout in the USFA's 1st Annual Fence-A-Thon, "Dueling for Dollars."

C'mon...catch the fever and support your winning team! Send in your donation by July 1st!

Thanks for your support!

Further information can be found here.

Jeff Bukantz
United States Team Captain
Chair, 1st Fence-A-Thon

[dekko]

Ok, I will start this one.

What is the deal here? Two guys going for the longest fencing bout ever? For their own charity? Nice.

Anyone know what the real deal here is or is anyone donating to this?

Does anyone know the current record?

[esskreemr]

Real Deal:

The money raised benefits the US Fencing Elite Athlete program.

http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe5d16707...72610174761071

I would also allow donations per point with a maximum donation limit. $100.00 is a little steep for most people.

[oiuyt]

According to what the USFA sent out there isn't an existing record recognized by Guinness. Whatever length the two of them go will become the initial mark that goes in the book.

-B :)

[epeeisky]

According to what the USFA sent out there isn't an existing record recognized by Guinness. Whatever length the two of them go will become the initial mark that goes in the book.

-B

Are you sure about this? For some reason I thoughtthe record was a 90 minute epee bout. I could be wrong since I heard this from a semi-questionable source.

[oiuyt]

Are you sure about this? For some reason I thoughtthe record was a 90 minute epee bout. I could be wrong since I heard this from a semi-questionable source.

Quoting from the message sent out by the USFA:

Officials at the Guinness Book of World Records have agreed to certify the match, which is projected to last at least five hours, as the longest
fencing bout in history. This will be the first time such a record has been
set.

-B :)

[epeeisky]

Yep, my source is indeed questionable.

[Wizardly]

Why do I have images floating around in my head of the passivity rule being enforced - or rather two guys standing there after four hours, unable to move, and dripping sweat everywhere?

Call me crazy, but I think "most touches scored in X time" would be a more meaningful record.

[fluidfencer]

You actually don't need a Guinness Book person present to verify it. You can have witnesses sign a document stating they were there, and have a newspaper cover it. This coming from a person who, far in his youth, hop-scotched for 24 hours and 1 minute, beating the old record handily but not making the Book because to jerks in England went 36 hours before the new book was published. No, I'm not bitter 30 years later!

[dekko]

Why do I have images floating around in my head of the passivity rule being enforced - or rather two guys standing there after four hours, unable to move, and dripping sweat everywhere?

Call me crazy, but I think "most touches scored in X time" would be a more meaningful record.

Seems as though it would be passivity not enforced. Also, without this being in an actual tournament seems a little WWEish to me.

I get the fund raising oppotunity and possible exposure for fencing but if they were really interested in fencing exposure they would take this act on the road and go to 15 or 20 cities and put this on. But then again, that is more WWEish.

Hopefully the t-shirts look cool. Any one know where there are pics of them? Is proprint wear doing them?

[Mr Epee]

Before we had the current over-time rules (one minute w/priority) it wasn't unheard of for EPEE bouts to last an extremely long time. I certainly wouldn't doubt that a single bout lasted 90 minutes... I've even heard rumor of longer bouts.

-------

I really like this fund raising idea, but think about this for a minute. On average Jon and Dan spend a lot more energy fencing than most people - even if they're just goofing around.

Wouldn't it be much easier for two mid-level epee fencers to set this record?

I'm not sure they totally thought that through.

[Araznal]

I have no idea how two foil fencers can expect to break the Guinness record when it seems an obvious candidate for epee. Besides that, it seems that the fencing will be the most uninspiring thing to watch ever. It will be two great athletes conserving as much energy as possible when they are used to expending great amounts of energy over short periods of time.

[mrbiggs]

There's no touch limit, so passivity isn't necessarily going to be called, and there's no weapon preference, right?

[fencinman89]

Im pretty sure i could go longer than those 2 in a foil bout without having to worry about passivity....
-Tre'

[Craig]

I think this bout would be fun to watch. I wouldn't disparage it as the idea is a novel approach to fundraising.

Craig

[fencinman89]

And our schools relay for life just happened, wouldve been a great way to raise money for cancer research.

[esskreemr]

No new info though:

http://www.sportsfeatures.com/PressP...w.php?id=22319

[SmokeyTheCat263]

I just came from the fencathon. When I walked in, I noticed wrappers powerbars along with gatorade on the floor. An electric metal strip was set up, with the athens flag as a backdrop. There were very few spectators throughout the day. Jeff Bukantz is the official ref. The score was 120 to 124 or something like that when I walked in. They fence for 4 one-hour periods, with 5 minute breaks in between. I walked in on the third hour.

At first, the olympiads (Jon and Jed) were just standing around, not truly fencing, but they soon figured out that standing around actually hurt more than fencing and staying warm. So they fenced intensely for the majority of the third hour, although they did seem to drift off for the last 5 or 10 minutes. I left after that.

Overall i'd consider the fencathon a success, as it drew media coverage from a couple local new stations, including channel 2. As to how much money it actually raised, I have no idea. But hey, atliset they are trying.

[noodle]

just to note: there may be some "really long bouts" that happened. maybe the 90 minute bout is true, i dunno. but for it to be a guiness record, the officials from the book have to be present to witness and certify. soooo ones that did last a while before aren't "official".

[fencinman89]

I may sound like a cocky young (15) foilist, but I think I could go much longer than 4 hours of actual fencing.
-Tre'