![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Winton Cup
Dec. 18th, 2018 07:47 pmOne of the many reasons I am way behind with everything is that I got dragged into doing the Winton again this year.
But Red, I hear you say, surely representing you region is a great honour. And yes, I'd agree, were it not for the fact that I got called up the Thursday before the Saturday it began, and I know I was only called up because I was alive, female and a foilist. And let me assure you a completely different D to the one who normally pulls this stunt wasn't overly concerned with me being any good, just present.
So I get to Nottingham - early! And run into teammates! (Well one teammate and an clubmate who is fencing for ... somewhere else (it could be Wales, it could be Southern, it could be South Eastern)). I did offer them a lift but they were waiting for another sabreur. This turns out to be for the best as I go to the wrong damn university (there are two universities in Nottingham, I have fenced at both, and have fenced at the Winton at both).
So, I get there, quarter of an hour late. And have to immediately get changed because we were fencing first match on.
Now, in these frozen December days, you may not recall how stupidly hot July was. It was very hot and there were roughly 200 fencers, plus attendant persons and even more attendant stinky kit, in space not much bigger than 3 basketball courts. There was actual worry that people were going to faint.
To begin with, I was not at my best but I did okay. I did completely lose my rag during the second reffing match, because I lost my teammates (foil feminine), my teammates (all foil) and teammates (entire damn region), and I really do not enjoy reffing, and nor am I good at it. Thankfully AS saved my bacon (after roundly cursing D). I spend that time slot chilling on the sofa that probably Southern had claimed. They were fencing so it wasn't like they needed it. It did me the world of good and I felt much better for it for the rest of the weekend.
Other things that helped:
1 - I had much nicer teammates than usual. S and S were also a smidge older than my usual and I think that, plus me now being a bit older and marginally more sensible, probably meant everything went more smoothly even when we were losing. They were also willing to ref.
2 - Either I'm getting better or everyone else is getting worse. It's actually a little bit of both, because the very good 18-21 year olds were at an international elsewhere, and most of their replacements weren't as good so I had more of a chance of using the things I have been learning.
It helped in more than just the obvious, because as the third member I was expected to be the weakest member of the team. Especially with how I was recruited. I even introduced myself as "useful warm body". But that means any matches I win are a bonus, and normally I might get one or two over the 30 or so matches. This time I got a good 7-9 wins, which takes some pressure off the good fencers in the team so they can fence better.
Personal highlights were:
1 - My team beat Yorkshire. As a Lancastrian, very few things are better in this world.
2 - My team beat East Midlands. Now, while I have been East Midlands for the Winton before (and for all I know, I will be again) there's nothing quite like beating your nearest and dearest (and they really are dear to me, especially when they greet me with "TRAITOR!!!!")
3 - My recovery against one of Southern or South West. So I am pre-informed that she is an epeeist, and I try to do what you do against epeeists, and get them on timing. Unfortunately, she was a good epeeist and knew what I was up to so she kept closing the distance and hitting me when I was not retreating fast enough. I am 3-0 down. I ponder and I swear I hear D's voice behind me saying "get her from distance." He normally knows what he's on about so I do, and win 5-3. Cue D looking very confused, going "how did you do that?!" So I turn round and go "you told me to do that." Apparently he didn't (both S's also say he didn't). He was thinking it though so we either have telepathy or, you know, my brain gives me advice in other people's voices so I will listen to it.
In women's foil, North West went completely unbeaten, like not even one match out of 30 dropped. This probably played a big part in how North West as a whole won the overall competition. I did tell A who was their women's foil captain that their team really should have been handicapped, but she laughed at me. I did get 4 on other A who was also on their team, which is the most I've ever got on her in a match to 5 hits. I would feel better about it if it hadn't been due to shonky refereeing. Basically, Yorkshire women's foil forgot to send a ref so their (overall) team captain had to do it and he's a sabreur. And it showed, but me and A are both competant foilists so we changed what we were doing to account for that and it was close (2-1 or so). Then one of Yorkshire's actual foilists appeared and began to ref ... and she was worse. Like I got up to 4-1 up because she was calling it wrong, but not wrong enough that I could go, "um please Miss, what?!" especially in a team event when she was calling it my way. A, thankfully, remembered that she is better and faster than me and just straight-line attacked me for her next 4 points and I still can't stop her when she does that. I was actually kind of happy, because I don't want my first ever victory over her to be because of an incompetant referee, I want it to be because I earned it.
Overall, happy with my performance, and I think I helped West Mids come 3rd overall, even if it was only a little bit. Now to hope that next year we might be able to put out a full women's epee team.
But Red, I hear you say, surely representing you region is a great honour. And yes, I'd agree, were it not for the fact that I got called up the Thursday before the Saturday it began, and I know I was only called up because I was alive, female and a foilist. And let me assure you a completely different D to the one who normally pulls this stunt wasn't overly concerned with me being any good, just present.
So I get to Nottingham - early! And run into teammates! (Well one teammate and an clubmate who is fencing for ... somewhere else (it could be Wales, it could be Southern, it could be South Eastern)). I did offer them a lift but they were waiting for another sabreur. This turns out to be for the best as I go to the wrong damn university (there are two universities in Nottingham, I have fenced at both, and have fenced at the Winton at both).
So, I get there, quarter of an hour late. And have to immediately get changed because we were fencing first match on.
Now, in these frozen December days, you may not recall how stupidly hot July was. It was very hot and there were roughly 200 fencers, plus attendant persons and even more attendant stinky kit, in space not much bigger than 3 basketball courts. There was actual worry that people were going to faint.
To begin with, I was not at my best but I did okay. I did completely lose my rag during the second reffing match, because I lost my teammates (foil feminine), my teammates (all foil) and teammates (entire damn region), and I really do not enjoy reffing, and nor am I good at it. Thankfully AS saved my bacon (after roundly cursing D). I spend that time slot chilling on the sofa that probably Southern had claimed. They were fencing so it wasn't like they needed it. It did me the world of good and I felt much better for it for the rest of the weekend.
Other things that helped:
1 - I had much nicer teammates than usual. S and S were also a smidge older than my usual and I think that, plus me now being a bit older and marginally more sensible, probably meant everything went more smoothly even when we were losing. They were also willing to ref.
2 - Either I'm getting better or everyone else is getting worse. It's actually a little bit of both, because the very good 18-21 year olds were at an international elsewhere, and most of their replacements weren't as good so I had more of a chance of using the things I have been learning.
It helped in more than just the obvious, because as the third member I was expected to be the weakest member of the team. Especially with how I was recruited. I even introduced myself as "useful warm body". But that means any matches I win are a bonus, and normally I might get one or two over the 30 or so matches. This time I got a good 7-9 wins, which takes some pressure off the good fencers in the team so they can fence better.
Personal highlights were:
1 - My team beat Yorkshire. As a Lancastrian, very few things are better in this world.
2 - My team beat East Midlands. Now, while I have been East Midlands for the Winton before (and for all I know, I will be again) there's nothing quite like beating your nearest and dearest (and they really are dear to me, especially when they greet me with "TRAITOR!!!!")
3 - My recovery against one of Southern or South West. So I am pre-informed that she is an epeeist, and I try to do what you do against epeeists, and get them on timing. Unfortunately, she was a good epeeist and knew what I was up to so she kept closing the distance and hitting me when I was not retreating fast enough. I am 3-0 down. I ponder and I swear I hear D's voice behind me saying "get her from distance." He normally knows what he's on about so I do, and win 5-3. Cue D looking very confused, going "how did you do that?!" So I turn round and go "you told me to do that." Apparently he didn't (both S's also say he didn't). He was thinking it though so we either have telepathy or, you know, my brain gives me advice in other people's voices so I will listen to it.
In women's foil, North West went completely unbeaten, like not even one match out of 30 dropped. This probably played a big part in how North West as a whole won the overall competition. I did tell A who was their women's foil captain that their team really should have been handicapped, but she laughed at me. I did get 4 on other A who was also on their team, which is the most I've ever got on her in a match to 5 hits. I would feel better about it if it hadn't been due to shonky refereeing. Basically, Yorkshire women's foil forgot to send a ref so their (overall) team captain had to do it and he's a sabreur. And it showed, but me and A are both competant foilists so we changed what we were doing to account for that and it was close (2-1 or so). Then one of Yorkshire's actual foilists appeared and began to ref ... and she was worse. Like I got up to 4-1 up because she was calling it wrong, but not wrong enough that I could go, "um please Miss, what?!" especially in a team event when she was calling it my way. A, thankfully, remembered that she is better and faster than me and just straight-line attacked me for her next 4 points and I still can't stop her when she does that. I was actually kind of happy, because I don't want my first ever victory over her to be because of an incompetant referee, I want it to be because I earned it.
Overall, happy with my performance, and I think I helped West Mids come 3rd overall, even if it was only a little bit. Now to hope that next year we might be able to put out a full women's epee team.
