The Brock Invitational Nov. 21-22 was an important one for Carleton’s varsity fencing squad. It was our first major road trip of the season and it was also the last competition before the national championships being held at Carleton Nov. 26-29, where several of the team members are competing.
On the afternoon of Fri., Nov. 20, everyone loaded onto the bus and we headed out. It was a long drive to St. Catharines, Ont. and we did not get to the hotel until around 11 p.m. that night. Other than a few stragglers checking equipment, the whole team headed straight to bed.
After a quick team breakfast the next morning, the bus took us to Brock University’s campus. Half the team fenced the first day, while the other half fenced the second.
The tournament itself was uneventful, other than one heated exchange with officials over the scoring equipment.
Overall, our results were not as good as they have been, partly due to some mid-season injuries and bad draws. It was still a good experience though. We got a good look at how the team is shaping up for next semester’s Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships.
It was also the first competition for several of our rookies, and they all had promising performances.
Even before we left for Ottawa our minds had already turned to nationals. We loaded up extra equipment loaned from the other teams, and then went over volunteer schedules before heading out.
Brock was certainly a good experience, but our true test will be next week. I encourage everyone to come check it out.