Was talking to long-time fencing bud A. at practice last week. He and I started competing at about the same time (3ish years ago) and he just got his first medal and was just tickled about it!
He told me that the big difference for him this time was that a mutual friend of ours, C., went with him to provide logistics/moral support: keeping track of water and snacks, and strip-coaching when needed. For him, not having to worry about things outside the bout at hand helped him concentrate on his fencing.
I get that - I really do. Badger has said "half of success is being there", but "being there" can eat a lot of brainpower: getting all of your equipment together/in working order, getting accurate directions to the competition site, procuring/remembering snacks and drinks, etc.
I think this is one area where young fencers have a slight advantage over adult fencers who are often going it alone. If they're under 16 their parents have to drive them, so they wind up having someone on hand to perform a lot of this support work. I've met a couple of really spectacular parents who understand the
scoresheet (PDF) well enough to keep track of it as well as the logistics above, as well as provide a pat on the back/cheer of encouragement when needed.
For Nationals I've only qualified for one event, so I've offered to be a "gofer" in these capacities for my clubmates who are doing multiple events. Don't know if anyone will take me up on it, but I've seen how having help can take the load off.
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