Korfanty Cup, 2013 - World Cup, Saber.

I got a email about a month or so ago from the IL division of USFA. Apparently they needed volunteers for the Korfanty Cup. What's that? A saber tournament? Why would I do that? I'm an epeeist first, foilist second and I can't afford more gear. So why would I... world cup, you say. 200+ Olympic level fencers, representing 25+ countries, you say... I guess I could... I mean, I'm a little short on funds, otherwise I would... Free parking, free tickets and a T-shirt... I do have friends in Chicago...

<Month later, May 5th, 2013 - Team Events>
I arrived in Chicago the night before my shift. I checked out the venue, figured out where I had to be then spent the night with my friends. The next day I got up early, and headed to the UIC campus. I haven't had coffee (the horror...) and things went worse from there. No one gave the poor girl manning the parking lot the list of free parking... So I had to pay $9. Oh, the humanity! I signed up for weapon control. Apparently they were only doing that for the table of 4. So no armoring for me. My life is completely ruined! And yes, I am being somewhat sarcastic here. 

Then again, I don't have a tester box so I can't properly test lames or masks or cords. So I couldn't do much there anyway. So I ran around for a little while taping down wires and delivering papers. I also got coffee. I don't usually drink coffee. So I delivered more papers. I sprinted some of those papers.

Then I got roped into doing video technician somehow. Granted, I had to watch the feet so I could capture it on camera for replays instead of watching the whole thing... but I probably had a better view then most of the VIPs. No, I DID have a better view. Better than anyone save the referees and the fencers themselves. And since we were operating in pairs, (the bouts weren't going to stop because one of us had to use the bathroom or something) I got to just sit back and watch half the time. The other half? I watched the footwork.

Holy crap, the footwork. Again, I don't do saber. Not because I have anything against it, but because I don't have gear or other saberists in my area. At least no saberists in my knowledge. So a lot of the bladework was lost on me. Not to say there was no bladework. I saw a circular bind and riposte. A clean bind, as in the binder had complete control over the bindee's blade and riposted for a single light. I thought sabers were too flexible for that to work. Huh.

But the footwork. Oh man, the footwork. Changes in direction, changes in speed, changes in tempo... some even did a super fast shuffle with tiny steps moving the fencer slowly while feet ran at a few thousand RPMs. Some amazing counterattacks using what I always called the ballerina hop.

The ballerina hop is what me and some of my friends called the move where I lunged, and if I fell short, hopped forward on my front foot, hoping for a remise. Between leaning forward and lifting my back foot, I did a ballerina impression. These guys... and gals... were using the same movement, except it wasn't a desperate move which only worked because most fencers missing their shot got ready to defend against a counter. They were retreating. Not the panicked, go fast as you can, retreat. But a controlled, steady retreat followed by a sudden change in direction via the ballerina hop. Amazing.

The fencing was amazing, which was to be expected. What else was amazing was the fellow volunteers. A lot of the armorers were the same armorers I've worked with at the St. Louis NAC, and it was great to see the guys again. Then there were the other volunteers who shared my interest and love for fencing. It's a rare thing to just ask "What's your weapon?" Instead of "do you fence?" Although I should mention there were a few who were not fencers. They just wanted to check it out. Well, more the merrier.

After the final bouts, the tear down began. It took us a few hours, but by around midnight, we were done. Then came the after party at the nightclub Primary. I had work the next morning so I just when in and said hello and left.

Overall, I met the US, Korean, and Hungarian Olympic Saber teams. And saw more teams then I can remember. I worked with the armorer for the US Olympic Fencing Team, and many other wonderful people who made this day so much fun. I said, not including this sentence, amazing 4 times, wonderful and fun once each. I may need some synonyms for amazing. And you may need to come see the Korfanty Cup next year. Hope to see you all there.

~Lee