Four Bellevue youths will attempt to medal in the Fencing Summer Nationals, which begins Saturday in Atlanta, Ga.
Brothers Austin and Jonathan Li, Alina Marshall and Conor Beckerman will be among the more than 6,000 fencers competing in the tournament that runs until July 13.
All four fencers train at Rain City Fencing in Bellevue and all have qualified for the national tournament before.
To qualify for each individual event at the national tournament, fencers must earn a ranking (A being the highest, followed by B, C, D, E and U, or unrated) and have met certain criteria based on performance in other tournaments.
Jonathan Li, 17, is the most experienced fencer of the group heading to Atlanta. Li, who will head to Harvard University in the fall, has been fencing for seven years and is a B-ranked fencer who has qualified for Nationals six times.
“I have not won any medals at previous Nationals, but I am pleased with my performance,” he said. “I fence well when competing with top-rated fencers.”
Jonathan Li said he has learned from past experience to keep it cool, to respect every opponent and to not make the same mistake twice.
“You haven’t lost until the bout is over,” he said, pointing out the best advice he’s gotten, “and you haven’t won until the bout is over either.”
Jonathan’s younger brother Austin, an U-ranked fencer, will be making his third trip to nationals. The 11-year-old Lakeside School sixth grader fenced in the Youth-Age 10 & Under for the past two years, but this year earned enough national points to qualify for Youth-Age 12 & Under and Youth-Age 14 & Under.
Austin Li said his past Nationals experience should help him as he steps up against tougher competition.
“I’ve learned that I should not fixate on a bad call and that I should fence one point at a time,” he said. “There will be a lot of strong fencers. It is going to be tough.”
Austin finished in the top-20 last year in Youth 10.
Marshall, 16, will be making her third appearance at Nationals as well. A D-ranked fencer who will be a junior at Interlake in the fall, Marshall made her first Nationals trip just six months after she started fencing in 2008. This year, she qualified in Division IA, Division II and Division III for both foil and sabre. She will also fence on two teams.
“This year it won’t feel so overwhelming and huge,” she said. “I will feel much more confident and relaxed.”
Marshall said she hopes to earn her first medal and expects to “stay cool, listen to my coaches and do my very best.”
That’s the same goal for Beckerman, a C-ranked fencer and a incoming senior at Eastside Preparatory School. It will be Beckerman’s second year heading to Nationals, where he will compete in eight events over nine days and will also referee one day of competition.
“Routines are immensly helpful,” said Beckerman, 15. “It’s a busy, hectic time and for things to run smoothly…I have to plan ahead, know when I’m fencing and what I can do the night before, what I should eat, etc.”
Beckerman finished in the middle of the pack last year and said his goal this year is to medal in the Division II Men’s Foil.
“Of course I want to win, though if I placed in the top-four I would have done extremely well,” he said. “I want to have fun in the team events I’m fencing too, but I also want to do well in the individual events.”
The Summer Nationals begins tomorrow in Atlanta. For more information or results, see http://usfencing.org.
Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-5045.
