Sleepers

[MHS Fencer]

You know who I mean, those really good fencers who just sleep through the pools (Junior competitions mostly) and then upset somebody seeded highly after the pools. How many of you out there have encountered them? What do you do? Other than just lose that is (I've tried that).

-Ian

[Peach]

They aren't confined to the junior events. I hate 'em. The same one knocked me out of Div I-A's two years in a row. The second time I said to her, "What are you doing here?" She apologized and beat me again.

This year I again got a chronic sleeper in my second DE but managed to beat her by one touch. I don't know WHAT she does in the pools.

Of course I used to be one myself. I spent about three months fencing nothing but 5-touch bouts in practice to break myself of the habit. And in order to deal with them myself I went to more higher-level competitions just before Nationals and trained at a club in the next state which has fast kids at it.

Apparently it worked, if only by one touch.

[sabreur]

The classic example of this was Luigi Tarantino at last year's European Championships (sabre)--he won just two bouts in his pool (of seven!), was seeded about 63 of 64, and just barely lost in the final--collecting DE scalps all the way.

Regards, Mark Ray

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Why sabre? Because you don't take heads with the point.