With one arm outstretched, he danced alone. His music was the clanging of blades, his choreography the steps and leaps of a fighter. His dance was the preparation for a duel.
The lone fencer was one of 250 people preparing to fence in the 48th annual Green Gator Fencing Tournament, the largest three-weapon tournament in Florida, which was held this weekend at Southwest Recreation Center.
The UF fencing club, which hosted the event, set limits on the number of pre-registered participants for the first time in the event’s history due to the building’s limited capacity.
The tournament was open to all ages and allowed for competition with three different types of weapons: the foil, épée and saber.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” said Todd Kozlowski, a 21-year-old UF physics and astronomy junior and the organizer of the tournament. “Only 86 showed up out of the 103 pre-registered (for the foil event), but it still far exceeded our expectations.”
Joseph Cohen, 68, from Philadelphia, returned to fence in the tournament this year after winning first place in the first Green Gator’s foil competition in 1966. He said he was impressed with the tournament’s growth.
“When I fenced in the first one, the highest competition was a C-ranked fencer, and there were maybe 20, 25 people in the competition,” said Cohen. “And now I come down here and see maybe 100 people in one event … there’s a fairly high caliber of fencing going on here.”
Madison-Lynn Haughie, who collected results and organized the direct elimination aspect of the tournament as head of Bout Committee, said she enjoyed the tournament despite working as administration.
“I get really excited seeing the bouts and the adrenaline,” said the 20-year-old UF national resource conservation and telecommunication junior. “It makes me wish I was fencing.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 2/10/2014 under the headline "Hundreds fight for first in fencing tournament"]
Todd Kozlowski, a 21-year-old UF physics and astronomy junior, warms up for the foil competition in the 48th annual Green Gator Fencing Tournament with Timothy Kierzkowski, a 20-year-old Georgia Tech math junior, this weekend.
