one hit

Sometimes fencing doesn't go well. I was feeling a little down when I headed for the one-hit epee but tried to convince myself I'd enjoy it. All went well until the club president, who donated the coveted chocolate Santa trophy, informed us that, as there were sixteen of us, we'd be fencing in two poules of eight instead of the usual poule unique. Sadly I looked at the list and decided I was grouped with seven people I had no chance of hitting on a first point.

There are a few people in the club I can, on occasion, take by surprise. But these don't include people who have coached me. And they certainly don't include the club's sabreurs, who are fast, effective and ready for anything.

It wasn't a good attitude to start with. I tried to watch the bouts and determined to move more than usual on the piste. But pretty soon I'd lost my first two bouts and with those defeats, my enthusiasm for the evening was waning. I began to think my attempts at fencing were ludicrous. Then, in my third bout, I heard a voice cheering me on. I still lost, but felt immensely encouraged. And in my fourth bout - against the man who'd cheered me on and always encouraged me - I scored a hit. It landed on his forearm. I don't know if he made it easy for me but, if he did, at least I scored the point. I would rather have landed a hit on a different fencer but I still felt good because I wasn't going to finish the evening without a point.

That was my only point but, when I checked the sheets at the end, I found it meant I hadn't come last. A fencer in the other poule - a better and more experienced fencer specialising in sabre - hadn't managed a hit. He didn't seem too downcast and I felt a lot better.

Semi-finals followed. Three sabreurs had qualified and one epeeist - the doc. The sabreurs got together to cheer the sabreurs. The epeeists - a quieter group - offered words of encouragement to the doc. And finally epee skills won through. It was lovely to watch the doc's light and accurate touch as he waited for his moment in semi-final and final. It was his second consecutive victory in the one-hit epee and he held his chocoalate trophy aloft.

There were plenty of small chocolate santas for the rest of us.