Mark Peros: Diary of a Fencer

Friday, September 22, 2006

Commonwealth Championships
















BRONZE MEDAL....BOOYA!!!!!!! So just back last night from Belfast and good times all around. It all started when I was waiting in line at the AirCanada check in last saturday night. I joined the back of the line at 8:35pm with six check-in attendants. By 9:45pm I was next in line and there was only one attendant left...the five others, during that 1 hr and 10 min., were fired on the spot. I can't tell you about the anger in that queue that night....heckles, bottle throwing, police, threats of suing coming from the back of the line...it was pretty funny. Don't know how it ended up, but thanks to my parents for dropping me off earlier then usual, even though I didn't feel the need!

So Belfast, smaller than I expected and populated with only 280,000, was a neat little city similar to those that I've visited in England and Scotland. I had a driver waiting for me when I arrived at the airport to take me to the hotel. He was in a pleasant mood, considering that I was the second of 10 pick ups he had to make that day. We had a nice chat as he listed some of the city's must see's while giving me the run around of what and what not to expect. Check out this first photo of political propaganda that tatoos nearly every bare city wall space around Belfast. What a great way of greeting tourists....images of guns and iron fists, Welcome to Belfast buddy!!!

Usually, when we travel the first few days are taken up by sleeping and eating, eating and sleeping. And in between, trying to get around the city to see some of the sites. Tuesday, our day off, we went around to the Belfast City Hall. You couldn't miss it coming into the city because it was probably one of the biggest and most impressive buildings there. The free tour sounded like a great idea so Kyle and I (my canadian team mate) signed up in the main hall and waited for the guide. Opening its doors in 1906, it ran a price tag of only 30,000 pounds. Made up of four types of lavish marble, three from Italy and one from Greece, the main entrance and staircase are most impressive in design and size. The dome rises to 53 metres and is similar to that of St. Paul's Cathedral in London...I'm sure some of you have seen that one. The Belfast City Council sits in the Chamber on the first working day of each month, with 51 members its a great privilage that the building is still in full working force. There's a grand reception and banqueting hall that fits four hundred that's filled with light from the massive stained glass windows that fortunately survived WWII. A must see for anyone visiting Belfast....it was designed by the same man who designed the Titanic, also built in the famous Shipyards of Belfast....who's name has since left me, so if anyone does the research and refreshes my memory there's a prize for you!!!! Check out the pics.

To our luck, eating in pubs was less expensive than restaurants. We all know how pricey it is living and traveling in the UK, and N. Ireland was no exception. Actually, the cheapest thing you could get on a menu was a pint of beer, less than 3 pound, and well worth it. The photo here, was the local pub (actually, the closest one to our hotel because there was a pub on every corner) which we found ourselves in every night. Pretty classic, with the low ceilings and barrels of beer staked everywhere. Funny, there's a rule of 'NO Sport Team Jersey's Allowed' in the pubs because of the fights that would break out... I guess a good rule by the owners if they didn't want a destroyed bar every weekend!! Oh ya, I think I saw at least a dozen churches while I was walking around the block of the hotel....so I had to take a photo of at least one!

Wednesday was competition day. An eleven o'clock start time was listed but the first round didn't get going for about an hour later, how typical. The venue was set up superbly. In a huge exhibition type facility, it actually kind of looked like a barn from outside...and the inside, made you think that there would be farmers walking around with cows on ropes auctioning them off!!, we had some laughs about that! But seriously, I wish the pictures were not so fuzzy, becuase it was impressive to see...the set up, the flags, the pistes and colours.

I had a great day of fencing. My focus was on, my physical was on, it was all working for me...except for my luck in the semi-final round. But all in all, I went with hardware in mind and came back with hardware. It was presented to me by the President of the FIE (International Fencing Federation) who's presence was a surprise. A man with so much power in European sport, he was ushered in by five body guards and the paparozzi...so it was a privilage for me. A bottle of Irish Cream Whiskey and a bouquet of flowers (which weren't allowed on the plan) were a part of the winnings. The medal podium was swamped with photographers and press, and I was fortunate to get the contact of one of them who is sending me A-plus photo's which I will post in the next coming weeks. These ones just suck, so please bare with me.
Anyways, it was a great day and I am very pleased with the result. Its pretty neat when your on a program that has its peaks and lows. For example, this was a peak tournament for me, so the morning of I felt so ready (even a little nervous) and the total outcome was even better. The effort and planning all comes together and you do things that you really don't think you can. My legs were firering on all pistons and felt amazing, and my focus was there the entire day. Man I love it.
There was also a team match planned for three days later, but the third member of our team has recently quit the sport to pursue more schooling in hopes to be an astronaut....and our Federation decided not to send anyone else...?????? typical politics that I will never understand.

That night, we ended up out with the British and Scottish Teams for drinks. They do like to drink but, of course, I held my own and made it through to the next morning when I went straight to the airport for an 8am flight. The only problem was the transfer at Heathrow where I had to wake up and change planes. But, made it home alive and in one piece. Now I have two weeks off to rest and regroup before training starts for Nationals in December. I'll let you know when the good photo's come in. Later!

Friday, September 08, 2006

Montreal CSC #1

So, back from Montreal yesterday. The actual day of competition was Monday, but we had two days of mandatory training after that. It's always good to get in some work-outs the day after the tournament, because it reduces the stress the muscles go through and lets you focus on some of the mistakes that are still fresh in your mind....Damn it, what was I thinking when I did that???!!!!
I'll explain, in brief, the format of the event. The field is limited to the top forty-eight fencers in Canada. In the first round everyone is put into a pool of 6 or 7 which is a round robin with bouts up to 5 points. The field is then ranked in order, and put into a tableau based on your results from the pool. The top four fencers go directly in the round of 16, while the rest go into a direct elimination (DE) format with bouts upto 15 points...which means the 5th place fencer fences the 48th place, etc., etc. I ended up in the top four after the first round, so I had a bit of a break...actually almost 2 hours!! From this DE round they go down to 12 fencers, which are then added to the previous four, creating the final 16. Get it so far? Now, the 16 left are put into 2 super pools of 8 fencers each, with a round robin format up to 5 points. The 8 fencers with the most wins go into the final DE tableau while the others ranked 9-16 are sent packing. In this final round of 8 I faced my good friend Michel from Montreal. An experienced fencer to say the least, he was in Athens last Olympics. I was ousted by him 15-9.....but if there's one thing about fencing, is that if you have a name you get the points. Clearly, I had 4 points taked away from me purely from him having a name that the judge knows. Hard to explain, but think of it as getting free drinks at the bar because you know the bartender...and there's nothing anyone can do about it!! These National tournaments are not as serious as they seem. I mean, at this point in the game the selection commitee is looking at International results over what happens Nationally. For example, you can be ranked 12th in the country, but if you can perform better than the 3rd place fencer in an International event you will be selected for sure. Anyways, I ended up with a 5th place, retaining my overall ranking. I haven't added any photos this trip, since I think we all know what the streets of Montreal look like!!! See you after the Commonwealths!!!

Friday, September 01, 2006





The next week went by fairly smoothly. And what great weather we had: 30-35 degrees and pure sun. But there was still somthing missing. The week before, Pierre-Philip and I randomly came across a street party, which was actually an annual holiday called La Paloma. They have no rules for drinking in the streets in Spain so you can imagine that this was quite the party. But everyone kept telling us about the disco-tecs. So what was a trip to Madrid without a couple of nights of shaking da'hips?! On our last friday, we went out to a very local restaurent with the Spanish Team called La Marie. It is best known for its cuts of meet grilled to perfection, sausages and grilled cheese. It's even better when the company you go with are friends with the owner, because la cuenta (the bill) doesn't make your eyes pop out! That night we made the best of the situation and 'threw it down' at two great clubs. The rumors were right. Actually, everything was right. The atmosphere, the music, the beautiful women and drinks that I never knew existed...all until the wee hours of the morning. If you're ever in Madrid, just ask me where to go, and I'll give you the map!!

The next day, we were invited half an hour outside of Madrid to Jaime Martis' parents house for a traditional Spanish barbeque. Of course, the main reason for the afternoon was the meat and sausages. Here, Fernando Medhina is showing his skills off the fencing piste and on the grill. Spain's most famous fencer and 1999 World Champion, he really knows how to skewer meat...gee I wonder why?!! The house was probably the most ornate and interesting home I've ever been to. Apart from being massive and set on an acre of land, it was totally amazing how you went from being inside to outside without even knowing it. I guess that's one of the luxuries of a country without a harsh winter. Inside, the walls were decorated in tapestries like the ones you'd see in museums, and a wine cellar that is filled with over 3000 bottles just made our mouths drop; the earliest wine being from 1935. Outside, crisp maples and pine trees surrounded the house...the old spanish gardener raking up the day's fallen leaves, while beautiful horse buggies and a walk-in bird cage of Chinese singing canaries made it seem like we were on a tour of their national park. It was outstanding.

So that is the story of Madrid. I really love how they have a unique appreciation for life which you don't find very often. There's no rush, there's no stress and when there's a job to do they get it done because they want to, not because they have to. A lesson in life I think we should all take.