First Fencing Competition

[Shelby]

So I participated in my first fencing competition last night. It was an unsanctioned beginners epee tournament. It was fun. I was however surprised at how nervous I was. I arrived 15 minutes early which was not really enough time to get ready and warm up.
We did two different pools. First it was two pools of six. I felt like I had totally forgotten how to fence and got beat buy a couple of fencers that I felt I could have defeated. The second round of pools were 3 pools of 4. In the second round I won all my bouts. I even ended up beating someone 5 to 1 that I had lost to 4 to 5.
My nerves really played a big role. I came in 5th overall out of twelve and felt like I finished the night on a good note.
I have another tournament on Saturday afternoon, Woman's Epee.
I plan on arriving earlier so that I can actually have time to get organized and warm up without feeling rushed. I think that will really help my nerves.