By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
Earlier this month, Margaux Blin, a 10th grader at Cazenovia High School, took home three gold medals from the annual Ben Gutenberg Memorial Fencing Tournament at Brockport College.
Blin competed in three events, each of which ran in two rounds: pools and direct eliminations (DEs).
“Each duel was a battle of minds, and what really impressed me was how she was able to stay focused the entire weekend . . .” said Blin’s father, Arnaud Blin.
According to the fencer, tournaments are organized by first splitting up the competitors into groups of five to seven, called pools.
Individuals fence everyone in their pool once. The first to win five points within a three-minute timeframe wins the bout (fencing match).
Pool results are determined by taking the total number of wins and losses for each fencer and ranking each fencer overall. The rankings are used to construct a bracket for the DE round to ensure that higher ranked fencers do not meet until later in the tournament.
DEs are fenced to 15 points in a nine-minute time period. The loser of each DE is eliminated from the tournament, while the winner moves on to the next round.
A fencer’s final placement in the tournament is determined based on the round in which they were defeated.
Between the pools and DEs, Blin sparred 20 separate bouts and swept the Cadet (ages 13-16), Junior (ages 13-19) and Division I-A (ages 14 and up) women’s épée events, earning first place in each and a score sheet counting zero losses.
Épée (meaning “sword” in French) is one of three disciplines of modern fencing, along with foil and saber. Each discipline uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules and strategies.
Blin trains at the Syracuse Musketeers Fencing Center in Dewitt, where she is coached by Maître d’Armes Lubo Kalpaktchiev — a former elite fencer and pentathlete (swimming, running, horseback riding, shooting and fencing) from Bulgaria.
“I think she did really amazing,” said Kalpaktchiev in a press release on the tournament. “For two days and three events, she didn’t lose a single bout.”
Blin took up fencing four years ago at the suggestion of her father.
“It [just] looked like fun,” she said. “I liked Zorro and the Three Musketeers, so when my dad found Lubo’s club I decided to try it.”
Blin now trains four times a week for two hours. She also takes 20-minute private lessons once or twice a week.
“At first, I went because it was fun and the people at the club were fun to be around,” she said. “After a few months, I started going because I loved the sport. I loved how strategic it was, it was like playing physical chess. Bouts go at an extremely fast pace, meaning that you have to think quickly about your next move, keeping in mind your opponent’s fencing style, how they will react to different things, and what their next move will most likely be. It also requires a lot of physical ability, which I liked because I had a lot of energy and fencing was a good outlet. At first, it was a bit difficult to get into because there’s a lot of information to remember and it takes a lot of time to feel as though any progress is being made.”
Blin plans to compete in several regional competitions each month for the foreseeable future.
“[I love] being able to apply concepts that I’ve spent weeks working on at practice in an actual competition, and seeing my work has paid off,” Blin said. “I also love fencing new people, because I never know what to expect.”
According to Blin, the U.S. has six fencing regions, and New York falls into Region III.
While individuals from anywhere in the U.S. or from outside the country can compete in any regional event, only fencers from that region can earn points during the tournament. Points are necessary to qualify for larger events, such as Nationals.
The Ben Gutenberg Memorial Fencing Tournament — which draws fencers from all over the United States and Canada — is a qualifying tournament for the Junior Olympics.
The next Junior Olympics will take place in February 2020 in Columbus, Ohio, where athletes will compete for a spot on the U.S national team.
Blin qualified for the Junior Olympics cadet event at a tournament last August, and she is optimistic that her most recent results will qualify her for the junior event as well.
In addition to competing in the Junior Olympics, Blin plans to fence in the March North American Cup (NAC) in Detroit, and in both the junior and cadet events at the 2020 Summer Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We’re so proud of what Margaux has accomplished,” Blin’s mother, Kimberly Bliss, said “She practices hard, and takes care of everything: managing her practice schedule, tournament schedules and registration deadlines, qualification and ranking criteria, maintaining her equipment, studying the terms and strategies, finding new challenges. And she’s tough — she keeps going when the stabs hurt (and bleed) or when the losses sting . . . She keeps improving and asking ‘What’s next?’”
To learn more about the Syracuse Musketeers Fencing Center, visit syracusemusketeers.org.
