Boardwalk Open - What be yo thoughts

[DavidX]

I liked the gym - and everybody in it.

You?

[contre-Sixte]

It was the best run foil day in all of the Boardwalk Opens that I've been to. All of the refs were competent to very good (well, maybe one exception). The bout committee was friendly. The fencers were mostly well behaved. And the weather was bumpin. Most importantly, it was kinda speedy. Look forward to coming back again.

[wahrman]

but did the power go out?

[Dev]

There was indeed electricity.

[wwalkerjr]

In a numbered format:

1. The tournament was very well run. Thank you UCSC Fencing Staff, bout committee and the students out enjoying themselves who helped direct confused fencers to the Field House. Thank you also for posting the results on AskFred quickly.
2. In the epee events in which I competed, the refereeing was very good. Thank you referees. (I did not observe any angry conversation about the refereeing from the foilists either.)
3. The weather was spectacular and the views of Monterey Bay were unbelievable.
4. The West Remote Parking was a bit of a hike, however that served as a pretty good "warm-up".
5. Thanks to American Fencers Supply for their armory support; it seemed they were busy all weekend.
6. I, along with some of the other "geezers", were disappointed to "hear" primal screams invading Senior Epee. I mean come-on, some people were screaming in pools on double touches, not to mention virtually every touch throughout their DEs.
7. It was also disappointing to see some fencers straightening out their blades, running the blade back and forth under their foot on the polished basketball floor. Fencers, please use your heads and help out the sponsoring fencing organizations by avoiding destruction of the venue.
8. The final of the Vet Epee was a nightmare "snooze fest" to watch as both competitors (clubmates) were extremely wary of the attack. Congratulation to the referee who, at the break with the score 1-1, said he was not going to call NC in the final bout, echoing an F-net conversation over the past 2 weeks.
9. A banana slug is pretty tough mascot to work with, artistically.
10. All the fencers seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves; the scene was very social. Fencers and their family and friends make a pretty nice group of people to know and spend time around.
11. I look forward to next year's event, and I hope those that missed will give it at try. It was a pretty good open with a broad spectrum of ages and abilities; it was fun and interesting.

[DavidX]

word

"snooze fest" can accurately describe anything relating to epee.

[telkanuru]

6. I, along with some of the other "geezers", were disappointed to "hear" primal screams invading Senior Epee. I mean come-on, some people were screaming in pools on double touches, not to mention virtually every touch throughout their DEs.

That's really sad. Should they get off your lawn while you're at it?

7. It was also disappointing to see some fencers straightening out their blades, running the blade back and forth under their foot on the polished basketball floor. Fencers, please use your heads and help out the sponsoring fencing organizations by avoiding destruction of the venue..

... Do you have an alternative method for fixing a hard bend in a blade that doesn't result in the awarding of a group 1 card?

[notalent]

That's really sad. Should they get off your lawn while you're at it?



... Do you have an alternative method for fixing a hard bend in a blade that doesn't result in the awarding of a group 1 card?

Depending on the organizer that can get you a G3 red. Use your hands or a towel on the floor or the score table. Smart organizers spend a few bucks and get carpet squares.

[counterattack]

I liked the gym - and everybody in it.

You?

It was beautiful up there. The refs were good. From the description I hear the vet's epee final would have been an excellent example where NC was justified. Talking to Bob he admitted he had no intent of attacking, never even tried, and was wondering when NC would be called.

SME event was, as always, screwed by random seeding. Some of it was unavoidable. There is no cure for really good fencers who come out of the woodwork after years of not fencing. Although I believe the bout committee has some ability to move fencers of equivalent ratings around. It was just mean to have Nat Burke and Keith Lichten in the same pool, ditto for Ordody and Tepedelenlioglu. And then some pools had nothing remotely that caliber, let alone two. How much are the organizers allowed to use common sense to make pools as long as the ratings are the same? I have no BC experience so I can't say. The result was Ordody and Lichten both seeded in the mid-teens and ruined the days of higher seeds in the 16 (not even the 8, dang it). That is life, I know.
-ph

-ph

[DavidX]

It IS beautiful isn't it?

A day of beautiful fencing - word.

Where's the next one?

[jjefferies]

8. The final of the Vet Epee was a nightmare "snooze fest" to watch as both competitors (clubmates) were extremely wary of the attack. Congratulation to the referee who, at the break with the score 1-1, said he was not going to call NC in the final bout, echoing an F-net conversation over the past 2 weeks.

Below if you want confirmation. But remember Dave Katz makes a career out of patience and you attack at your own peril. In one of those twists of fate I beat Katz in the pool. Had one loss and that was to Mr. Walker who I was fated to meet in my second DE. Whereupon he took it upon himself to further demonstrate that he had my timing and a longer reach.

For HD quality push the HD button at the bottom of the screen:
Veteran epee semifinal Lipp ? King (part 1 in HD quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6dcuUA2fyQ
Veteran epee semifinal Lipp ? King (part 2 in HD quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8OLGLivZh0
Veteran epee final Lipp ? Katz (full bout in DVD quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FQQQsYi-b0
Veteran epee final Lipp ? Katz (director?s cut in HD quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JjXYTtegrQ

[DavidX]

nice.

Skillz

[epeemike81]

Veteran epee final Lipp ? Katz (full bout in DVD quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FQQQsYi-b0

That is without a doubt NC. The ref should have called it.

-m

[KShan5[PrFC]]

That is without a doubt NC. The ref should have called it.

-m

Agreed they're not even fencing....just step in step out step in step out from out of distance w/ barely any blade movement.

[wahrman]

Woza, that's a couple of rough pools. Of course I'm too lazy to go read the rules myself but I suspect the BC can fiddle quite a bit with the pools.

I was fencing in another country where I was unranked, the BC decided to assign me a ranking for the purposes of seeding. And they ended up being pretty accurate in the final results.

It was just mean to have Nat Burke and Keith Lichten in the same pool, ditto for Ordody and Tepedelenlioglu. And then some pools had nothing remotely that caliber, let alone two. How much are the organizers allowed to use common sense to make pools as long as the ratings are the same? I have no BC experience so I can't say. The result was Ordody and Lichten both seeded in the mid-teens and ruined the days of higher seeds in the 16 (not even the 8, dang it). That is life, I know.
-ph

-ph

[edew]

I thought that was the most gripping and exciting bout I've seen in a long time. Pat moved very well and Mike just couldn't seem to be able to parry her attacks at all.

[delmet]

I thought that was the most gripping and exciting bout I've seen in a long time. Pat moved very well and Mike just couldn't seem to be able to parry her attacks at all.

Funny. That is exactly what I was thinking. Was Mike posting? There was something going on in the front that kept me from concentrating.

[bigdawg2121]

Note to self: Talk to Sean about the fact that this bout was allowed to occur and subsequently kill a large number of brain cells when people were fooled into watching it on YouTube.

[Dev]

Funny. That is exactly what I was thinking. Was Mike posting? There was something going on in the front that kept me from concentrating.

Somewhere around the five-minute mark, Mike plinks Pat's wrist with a stop hit (off-target). If you listen closely you can hear the referee make some smart-ass comment.

[edew]

Careful where you go with those smart-ass comments.