Under the leadership of CC T. Smith, the fencers celebrated Jordane’s birthday with cupcakes and violence. Fisher and Livingston handled the fully-loaded TMP 58 in the rain and heavy fog on the mountain without incident. I was very pleased at their diligence in driving slowly and safely. We crawled back in the fog and dark.  There were no injuries. We put up 11 fighters and 1 armorer in the USFA Fishkill Monthly Open, a D level tournament. Top pool results of 22 were Harris, A. 4, Midgley 7, Wan 8, Katz 10, Leinen 11, Fisher 12, Livingston 13, Fabre 14. In first elimination, Wan, Harris, Midgley, and Katz earned a bye, and Fabre, Del Angel, Schneider-Cuevas, Fisher, and Livingston won. In second elimination, Katz and Harris, A. won.

Final top rankings for the night for us of 22 were Harris, A. 6, Katz 8, Midgley 9, Wan 10, Fisher 11, Livingston 12, Fabre 13, Schneider-Cuevas 14. Please congratulate Harris, A. as being our best fighter who was one round away from a medal. Many people were involved in this first trip, and we thank them: Commandant, A. Vingoe, SGT Baneky, SFC Avila, BTD, DFAC for the outstanding beef sandwiches, Mr Krug, Mr Mueller, both Trainers for the excellent medical kit, SGT Pettis, Mr Pignone (took over 100 photos), Mr Katz for helping to settle down the CCs before they fought, parents, and our friends who helped this team. We skipped the after-tournament dinner and went to sleep. It was interesting that no one was able to stop the A fighter from Phoenix Center (3rd in the nation), and Mrs. Midgley (our 2001 coach), B rated, was eliminated by our current coach and judge, Mr Katz, who is unrated.

Next trip Monday 1930-2130, depart 1840, round-robin rotation fencing vs NYMA using the Fishkill floor, not a tournament. Next tournament 16 Nov, again at Fishkill. We have found a home there. Fishkill awarded all of our fencers the “fighting swordfish” arm patches.