This year, as a member of the Swarthmore fencing team, I was able to attend the United States Association of Fencing Clubs championships, which was held at Penn State University. The event took place over the course of a weekend, and we stayed and fenced both days and had time for fun and other activities in the meantime. Here’s what my nationals experience looked like.
First Day
On Friday at about 2 PM, all the fencers going on the trip met at the Lamb-Miller Field House to gather all of our equipment and pack up the vans. After getting everything squared away, we set off for Penn State, and we arrived at about 6 PM. We got all of our gear checked in for the competition and then went out for a team dinner at Olive Garden. After that, we headed to our hotel and got ready for the first day of fencing the next day.
Second Day
We woke up bright and early for the first day of the competition, which started at 8:30AM. We arrived at the venue at about 7 AM to get everything ready, and then it was time for the first day of fencing. The first day was the individual competition, in which each fencer was assigned to a pool of 7 fencers they would go up against. Then, based on their results from this, they would either be eliminated or move on to the direct elimination bouts (abbreviated as DE’s). The competition was pretty strong at this tournament, so I unfortunately didn’t move on to the DE’s, but there was one member of the men’s saber squad who did. The whole day, those of us who weren’t fencing made sure to be there to watch and support our teammates who were up on the strip, cheering them on and bringing them anything they needed. After a long day of fencing, we left at about 7 PM and went and got dinner. Then, we went back to the hotel and got ready for the next day.
Third Day
On the third day, we got to the venue at the same time again to get ready for the team events. In the team events, each team is matched up with another team based on each team member’s performance in the individual events. Then, each team member faces each of the other team’s members in bouts, and the first to win 5 of the 9 bouts wins and moves on to the next round. Two of our teams that day, both the men’s and women’s foil teams, made it through many rounds of the competition and placed in 15th and 16th places overall, respectively. Once we got back to the hotel, a group of us played a card game called Schwimmen that was discovered by some of us at a team game night. Then, we got ready to head back the next day.
Nationals was definitely a really fun experience for everyone who went. From fencing and supporting our teammates to the fun we had in-between, going to nationals is one of the most enjoyable events the fencing team does. Not to mention, like with all of the things we do on club sports teams, the whole trip including hotels and meals was covered by the team’s budget, so none of it was paid for by students. Going to nationals is certainly a great way to have fun with your teammates and to close out the year in fencing.
