Unlike the fall semester where classes hardly overlapped, the coming spring semester will feature overlapped class times, allowing Koby to float between classes using the aid of weapon instructors to carry the classes through while he is observing.  Instructors for the spring semester include Bill Stark (Foil), Ryan Magley (Sabre), Dayna Colbert (Foil and Epee), and Tyler Wolford (Epee).

Koby will also be offering a 5-week class on refereeing fencing bouts for all members of the club.  This new class is to help the club with it’s main goal of hosting a full USFA-sanctioned tournament by the end of the 2011 spring semester.  The class will cover referee basics, hand signals, identifying actions, USFA rules and regulations, and penalties.  Students in this class will be urged to participate in a USFA-sanctioned referee seminar and attempt to obtain at least a level 10 referee certification.

For more information on the upcoming spring semester, please look at the main BSUFC web site and click on the club practice schedule link at the top.

However, the day took a turn for the worse as some controversial calls from the referee of Stark’s first DE bout left him at a 14-15 loss against a CMA fencer.  Stark led most of the DE bout, even coming back from a 7-9 deficit to gain 5 unanswered touches, putting him in the lead at 12-9.

Overall, Stark, being the lone member representing Ball State, finished 9th place out of 20 for the day.  He fenced very well and is looking forward to his next tournament.  ”Bill is a good fencer,” added club coach Brian Koby.  ”He displayed that skill on Saturday and I couldn’t be prouder to see his finish.”  Stark’s goal for the next semester is to earn at least his E rating for foil, which Koby agrees is a reasonable and very obtainable goal.

President: Tyler Wolford (2nd term)
Vice President/Treasurer: Dayna Colbert (2nd term)
Secretary: Brittany Harvey

Specialty Offices were also voted on at Tuesday’s elections for Safety Officer, Webmaster, and Armourer.

Safety Officers:  Bill Stark and Lauren Dailey
Club Webmaster:  Brian Koby
Club Armourer:  Brian Koby

The new officer-elects will begin their term at the end of the current semester.  Any questions about club operations should still be directed to the current officers until the start of the Spring semester.

Koby was the only BSU fencer to fence sabre for the day, and out of a modest-sized group of 11 fencers overall, Koby finished in 7th place coming out of the first round of DEs with a 15-4 win against Summit City fencer Cody Bermes.  However, the most excitement came from epee where four BSU fencers competed in an impressive 16-person A1-rated event.  Nathaniel Correll seeded in third place going into the DE bouts while Koby, Wolford, and Huston seeded 9th, 13th, and 14th respectively.  Koby was knocked out by Indiana Fencing Academy’s Joe Landin while Wolford faced up against former Ball State fencing coach Paul Geraci.  Huston and Correll faced each other for a spot in the round of 8.  Nathaniel moved on to face Indiana Fencing Academy’s Dan Rahl, but was knocked out in a 3-15 loss, locking him into 5th place for the day.  Nathaniel’s 5th place finish also earned him his D09 epee rating.

In foil, Stark and Koby went head-to-head with a total of eight fencers, and each landed great results.  Stark came out on top with a 4th place seed for DE’s while Koby seeded 6th place.  Stark moved on to the round of 4 with a 15-11 win against Summit City fencer Cody Bermes while Koby also advanced with an impressive 15-11 win against 3rd-place seed Jim Conroy, from Summit City.  Stark was knocked out in the round of 4 with a decent 4-15 loss against Joe Landin, while Koby again moved on to the finals round with another impressive win against Indianapolis Fencing Club member John Quatroche.  Koby then faced Landin in the foil finals, but lost 3-15.  Stark finished in 3rd place while Koby finished in 2nd place.

- Sabre Results -
Brian Koby – 7th place

- Epee Results -
Nathaniel Correll – 5th place – earned D09 rating
Brian Koby – 9th place
Tyler Wolford – 13th place
Caitlin Huston – 14th place

- Foil Results -
Brian Koby – 2nd place
William Stark – 3rd place

First we’ll start by looking at the box itself.  Housed in a small, compact plastic casing, the box itself is light weight, yet sturdy.  On the top are two connections for floor reels, a weapon select button, the power switch, ground wire input, and power input.  On the front you have all the LED lights for both on targets, off targets, and grounding lights as well as the slot for the speaker to ring out.  The LED lights allow the box to save on power compared to other boxes that use incandescent bulbs or diode lights (which require a larger, more powerful power supply than the small, pocket-sized supply which came with the box).    The size is perfect for fitting it into the front pocket of any large bag (like my Absolute bag with two front pockets), and the optional 9v battery power allows the box to be taken anywhere and used at any time.  The supplier gives you the 9v adapter at no extra charge which is very nice.

The functions of the box include all the newest FIE timing rules, bright LED lights, a loud buzzer, and automatic weapon select.  One downfall I noticed on the score box itself was there was no method of disabling the sound and there is no automatic tone off, so for those in-between bout times with foil and sabre you have to deal with the constant buzzing of the box.  Luckily the average boot-time for the box is under 5 seconds, so you can simply turn the box off between bouts then restart it at the beginning.  With the auto-weapon feature, you don’t have to stand there and wait for it to finish booting, then cycle through the weapon settings to the one you wish to have.  As long as one person is connected to the box it will automatically select that weapon setting.  Adding your own sound switch will not be hard, however.  Simply open the box and add a disruption switch to the wires connecting the buzzer.  I will post information about this on my personal blog once I have it completed and tested.

After testing it over the last weekend at the Purdue University Fall Open I determined that the box functions as promised.  The reaction time with touches was instantaneous, however it seemed to reset after only a few seconds.  This is good for off-target touches, but if you are down on an end of the strip where you can’t see the box very well, you need to move quickly before the lights go off so you can be sure who to award the touch to.  Another complication I ran into while testing the box was while using a 9v battery.  The box locked up each time I attempted to cycle through the weapons while using a 9v battery as the power source.  After a few attempts to correct the issue, it began to lock up during the boot cycle.  I switched batteries and the box worked fine for roughly 15 minutes then began to experience the same problems.  As for right now I am assuming it was issues caused by the cheap brand of batteries I was using and will conduct further testing this weekend with a proper brand-name battery.

The box has no ports for repeater lights or extenders, however, the motherboard does support the feature.  If you are in need of a Siyon Reflex box that has the ability to connect extenders or repeaters, please contact the manufacturer via his web site: http://siyonelectronics.com.  You can find all the ordering information and contact information there.  For only $229, this is a high-quality, low priced score box.  I know that the Ball State Fencing Club will be ordering a second one very soon.

Epee was the first event of the day, and with a whopping 30 participants, it was a B2-rated event.  The BSUFC members who competed in this event were Nathaniel Correll, Caitlin Huston, Brian Koby, and Tyler Wolford.  Both Brian and Nathaniel came out on top of all the BSU fencers by winning 3 out of 5 of their initial pool bouts, seeding them9th and 11th respectively for the DEs while Tyler and Caitlin seeded 24th and 28th, respectively.  Brian was the only BSU fencer to make it through his first round of DEs, knocking out Tyler in a 15-2 match while Nathaniel almost made it with a 13-15 loss and Caitlin faired well against PFC fencer Tiago Forin in a 3-15 loss.  Brian also made it through his second round of DEs to earn a spot in the round of 8 with an amazing display of fencing against PFC member Mark Scherschel, but ultimately was knocked out during his third DE against Levi Young in a 5-15 loss.  Brian finished in 6th place overall while Nathaniel, Tyler, and Caitlin finished in 17th, 24th, and 28th.

There were originally no BSU members signed up to fence Sabre for the day, however a final person was needed to round the event out to 25 fencers so it could become a C2 event, so Caitlin Huston signed up and dropped out during the DEs to finish in 25th place.

In foil, Bill Stark was originally the only one registered to fence, but again they needed one more person to bring the number to 25 and make the event qualify as a B2, so Brian Koby also joined in.  Much like Caitlin, Brian dropped out during the DEs to finish 24th place overall while Bill went on to fence former BSUFC member Josh Williams in DEs and be knocked out in an impressive 6-15 loss, finishing the day in 19th place.

Photos are available on Facebook while videos will be available on Blip.tv shortly.

In Epee, Ball State dominated the registration list, bringing 4 fencers into the mix of 15, which qualified to be a c1-rated event.  Koby, Correll, Huston, and Wolford all did well in the preliminary pools, and continued the movement forward into the direct elimination.  Koby was the only one to move past the first round and into the round of 8, where he was knocked out by AFAD (American Fencing Academy of Dayton) member Peter McOwen.  Koby finished on top in 6th place while Correll, Wolford and Huston finished 10th, 13th, and 14th respectively.

The day closed with Foil and was Bill Stark’s first USFA tournament.  Stark and Koby were the only two representing Ball State on Saturday for this event, but managed to bring home amazing results.  Stark eased through his pools, while Koby tried to take it easy and save energy for the direct elimination.  With 10 fencers in the foil mix, it was an E1 event where both Stark and Koby got a bye into the round of 8.  Both fencers were subsequently knocked out during this round where both displayed good fencing knowledge and strategy against their opponents.  Stark and Koby finished the day in 5th and 6th place respectively.

Congratulations to those fencers who went to compete and their amazing results.  A special congratulations goes to Bill Stark, who on his first tournament placed very well and showed some good skills in the sport.  Also, the club would like to send a thank you to new member Ashley R. for showing her support and video taping some of the events, and former member Megan C. for showing her support and taking pictures.

Results:

- Sabre -
3rd place (tie) – Brian Koby
6th place – Caitlin Huston

- Epee -
6th place – Brian Koby
10th place – Nathaniel Correll
13th place – Tyler Wolford
14th place – Caitlin Huston

- Foil -
5th place – Bill Stark
6th place – Brian Koby

Currently, all FIE-level tournaments, which include world-cup events and Olympic qualifiers, for senior fencers require the new bib on foil masks.  As far as safety is concerned, all equipment present at these levels of tournaments are required to meet minimum safety standards as outlined by the FIE rule book, which includes the metal material used for lamés.  If the USFA were to adopt the new regulation, it could possibly lead to lower-end materials used in the manufacturing of the new masks and bibs, which could lead to safety concerns and/or issues with the connectivity between the mask bib, lamé jacket, and in-valid target areas.

According to Bill Oliver, FOC Rules Committee Chairperson, the research done by the USFA and FOC determined that there has been no significant change in how fencers regard target area and no national-level coaches have been adapting their teaching style to accept the new FIE ruling.  After review of several FIE-level events, foil fencers scored very little, if any, touches to the new bib target area.

In his closing, Oliver offered one more insight to the USFA’s decision to refuse the new regulations: “Given the expense that would be required of our already taxed athletes (and their families), the relatively limited impact on scoring, and no change in the fencers’ tactics, it is the recommendation of the FOC that the USFA not adopt the FIE rule requiring lame material on the foil bib.”

Source: http://usfencing.org/news/article/15777

The new feed will display upcoming club events, recent news, tournament results, and include information about updates made to the main web site.  It is currently being maintained by club webmaster Brian Koby.  Any questions about the news feed can be directed to him via the club’s contact page.

1. Fencers on the ladder can challenge the person above them or the person two steps above them
2. Fencers can make a maximum of 1 challenge a week, per weapon
3. Once challenged, the challenged fencer must defend their position within two weeks, otherwise they will forfeit the match and their position.
4. Challenge bouts will be fenced like a fifteen touch Direct Elimination bout and will follow USFA rules (e.g. three periods of three minutes each and one minute breaks).  For foil and sabre, a mutually agreed upon club member will serve as director.  For épée, a director is optional, but if desired by the fences, a mutually agreed upon club member will serve as director.
5. If a fencer wins their challenge, then they move into the position of the fencer they challenged.  If the new position is two steps higher, the challenged fencer and the intermediate fencer both go down one position on the ladder.  For example, the ladder looks like this:

1.Fred
2.Mary
3.Chuck

If Mary challenges Fred and wins, the new ladder will look like this:

1.Mary
2.Fred
3.Chuck

Now if Chuck challenges Mary and wins, the new ladder will look like this:

1.Chuck
2.Mary
3.Fred

6. If a fencer loses a challenge, he or she must wait at least a week before issuing a challenge to the fencer that defeated them (i.e. before asking for a rematch).  However, he or she may issue a challenge to the fencer 2 steps above them.
7. If a fencer is not present on the ladder sheet (i.e. the top ten), he or she may challenge either the 9th or 10th place fencer to earn a spot on the ladder.

The ladder will be determined by all fencers in a particular weapon fencing a 5-touch pool, run according to USFA rules.  The seeding at the end of the pools will place the fencer in their appropriate ladder position.

Any questions can be directed to club coach Brian Koby either by email or during club practice.  New members starting in the fall semester beginner class will be allowed to attempt for a position on the foil ladder after their 5th week of classes.