Stall tactics on the strip

[Craig]

Okay. The discussion in the Psych thread has long since become a train wreck. Still amusing, but morbidly so.

I think a good basis for discussion would be the article in the latest American Fencing by Jeff Bukantz on the referee's role in limiting the common stall tactics used by fencers.

It is my personal belief that there are valid and invalid psychological tactics that are acceptable to use within the bout/match/pool/tournament, none of which go to the extremes offered in the Psych thread.

Mr. Bukantz's article was interesting to me in how it highlighted the common stalling tactics and provided good advice to referees on how they should control this part of the game. Just like basketball and football have rules regarding time outs and delay of game, so does fencing. Some referees are good about keeping control of the bout, and some let fencers get away with more than they should.

(For example, I am older and out of shape compared to those who I would be fencing now. While I don't expect to get away with it, I'll try giving myself a few more seconds of air and thought by walking to the end of the strip, wiping my face with a towel, and coming back on guard. Most of the time the referee will tell me to get on guard, so I comply immediately. On the other hand, when I am doing well and my opponent attempts one of these breaks, I immediately come on guard ready to fence to get the referee to move the bout along.)

For those of you who read the article, what did you think?

Cheers,
Craig

[Mo]

In a bout at the Junior Olympics, Bill Goering was reffing a bout with one of my kids and a NYFC Fencer. The NY fencer had stalling down to an art form. She paced up and down the strip taking her mask off, talking to her coach ETC., until Mr. Goering told her to come on guard immediately as he was reaching in his pocket for a card. She tried it again and it still did not work with Mr. Goering telling her to get on guard whenever she tried the stalling tactic. She started mouthing off to him but he stuck to his guns.
In was so pleasant to see. In another bout a young woman with a whole lot of hair in a pony tail over her shoulder, was told to tuck her hair in because she was covering target area.
In all the NAC's I've been too, Mr. Goering paid the best attention to details. He made it impossible to do even the little things that can give a fencer an edge.
Darn Good Job Bill!!!!!!

[mfp]

Originally posted by webmaster
For those of you who read the article, what did you think?

If the article ("Know Your Rights, but Don't Abuse Them") was intended to somehow reduce the occurance of "textbook stall" tactics in competitions, then it was written for the wrong audience. Fencers will use such tactics as long as they are effective and get away with them. And the only people who can prevent competitors from getting away with these tactics are the referees by controlling the bout (i.e. doing their job).

[Zelda]

I've been called for having my hair covering target. Not all the time, but definately at nationals. I respect the refs who call me on it as it shows they know the rules.
As for stalling, well I know ppl who are good at it, but we dont seem to do it alot in Oz.

[oiuyt]

In a similar vein to what Craig was talking about, yesterday I was in a tournament where at one point in DE's my opponent was desperately looking for time to figure out what to try next. He started doing all the standard minor stalls -- walking to the end of the strip, taking time replacing the mask, coming on guard, etc. My solution was to immediately after the touch come back on guard and say "ready sir", not merely before being asked if I was ready, but before the "on guard" command. In my experience this nearly always draws an immediate "on guard" from a ref. Stall tactics and (to a lesser extent) anti-stall tactics are part of the game.

-B :)

[magma]

okay, let me try to weld supreme power for a seconde. one of the worst tactics and most rude tactic of all, and fencers that do this are really THE WORST, is,:

I need to fence all my bouts in a row, so i'll annoy the director about letting me fence all my bouts in the order that i'd like so i can ''get them out of the way''. making it seem as though he's doing EVERYONE a gigantic favor. Well, por favore, keep things the way the usfa set it up! the 6-1, 3-2 thing. Thank you.

It not age Craig, they do this because they SMOKE, they DRINK and they don't have the steam.