We’ll keep on fighting ’till the end…

This weekend was the Mid Atlantic Regional Youth Circuit for 2007, hosted by The Downtown Fencing Club (where I teach foil). This is the second year I’ve been involved in helping run it and I have to say I was highly impressed with the level of effort put out by our leadership committee and our parents, who collectively have become our Booster Club. Jim was a whirling dervish at getting everyone organized and moving, and Henry and Marcella both were amazing at making sure everyone had what they needed, be it in their tummies or in their hands, to get the job done.

DFC hosts a couple of events a year and in previous years I’ve spent a good deal of time running around on the floor and getting grunt work done. This year, because we had so much help out on the floor, I had the opportunity to focus on a couple of things we haven’t managed to do before and on getting certain knowledges transferred to maybe ease burdens for coming events. Sitting next to Woody, I was able to look over his shoulder and watch how he runs the events from his computer; it occurred to me during the last event that we ran, that if Woody were ever, God forbid, hit by a bus we’d be screwed (in more ways than one). In previous years Mr. Bryant-Comstock had taken up the seat next to Woody, learning the ropes of the software so he could use it to run tournaments elsewhere. This year that seat was available, so I took the opportunity. With what I picked up, and some time to play with the software on my own, I think I could now partially fill Woody’s shoes in a pinch. He does have pretty big shoes, though.

With NorthCarolinaFencing.Org being in full swing now, Matt Cox is really anxious to expand and grow the community portions of the site. To that end he was greatly encouraging all he saw with a camera to upload their photos to the site’s galleries. As one of the resident geeks, it fell to me to be the conduit through which most of the photos that day were to be uploaded. Had I not had the free cycles made available by everyone else’s work on the floor, this might not have gotten done. I’m still poking through a whole heck of a lot of photos which will be uploaded to this gallery in the next couple of days, but there are a few there now that I managed to get up after taking the time, with Matt Cox, to learn how to use the site. Keep your eyes peeled there for many, many more photos to come.

In between all the computer learning I spent time checking in fencers, checking USFA cards and making sure waivers were signed, answering questions, handing out parking permits, breaking Woody’s backpack, fixing Woody’s backpack, and even (imagine the luck) actually coaching some of our Y10 epeeists and our one Y10 foilist. I even spared a few moments to convince Trevor he really, really needs a Mac. There was, of course, the networking with members of the fencing community I only get to see at these events. That is actually one of the things I like most about helping with these events. The community really is chalk full of a lot of wonderful people. It was also really good seeing Kathy and Trevor, our event armorers, who I don’t get to see often enough anymore.

Breakdown of the even went as smoothly as the setup, or perhaps even more so; I looked up and it was done. I still have a carload of equipment to unload at the Y, but for me these things always begin and end like that; my car — she is a fencing camel. Jim and Woody have both done great write-ups of the event and rather than repeat a lot of what they said, I’ll point you here, over here, there, and over there.

All in all it was a damned successful event and I was proud to be a part of such a well run organization; kudos to our head coaches, Cameron and Woody, everyone on the Leadership Committee, and all the parents. Great work, everyone.