The Best Fencer

Feast your eyes on “The Best Fencer.”

I know this seems silly, but I’ve always had a problem with how we score fencers by wins and losses. I’ve seen people skate through and win a tournament with 8 fewer touches for than against, and I’ve seen people absolutely annihilate every fencer, then get knocked out on one bad call. I’ve seen someone put up 40 touches for and only 8 against through out a tournament and be eliminated after a bad call. Was that person me? Maybe. Should I have lost that match? Yeah, probably. Am I exaggerating? I don’t know. it was years ago.

So what can we do to fix this issue? Easy: let’s change how we look at a tournament.

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How do you score?

I don’t know. Do whatever you want. Keep whatever scoring system you like.

How do you win a bout?

You don’t.

• You fence for a set time limit (some trial and error here).
• Everyone fences everyone, like a typical pool.
• Your tally of points scored throughout the pools is saved — both touches for and against.

Advancement rules:

• The fencer with the most touches (points for) moves on.
• The fencer with the fewest touches (points against) moves on.

Elims:

• Eliminations aren’t brackets. They’re another pool.
• There will be as many pools as needed, depending on turnout.

Winner:

• The fencer with the best net differential (touches for minus touches against) is the overall winner.
• Silver goes to two people: the best offensive fencer and the best defensive fencer (or second best in either case, depending on the totals).