4B - The M*gan Daily - Thursday, aruary 17, 2005 0 w -W The Michiga ily - Thursday, Februa 7, 2005 - 9B EN GARDE FENCING APPEALS TO AVID AND FIRST-TIME PARTICIPANTS inrnywordsla first-person account FCB offers inexpensive, refreshing drinks By Christine Beamer Daily Arts Writer Clangs of steel on steel resonate through the open space as people with swords and deadly earnest looks battle each other all around the room. No, this isn't the 16th century; it's merely a practice session for the University's Fencing Team. About 30 people regularly show up at the Coliseum to practice three times a week and to prepare for matches with other colleges in the Midwest. They are split into foilists, epeeists, and sabreists, and they spend practice sessions running, practicing footwork, bladework and fencing with the other members. The rules While fencing is a fascinating sport to watch, it can be confus- ing for the uneducated observer. he point of a fencing bout (as they are called) is to touch an opponent in a specific area on their body with a blade. A preliminary match requires five touches (points) to win, while a direct elimination bout requires 15 touches. Since fencers would obviously have much shorter lifespans if they used sharpened swords, points in a fencing bout are scored electrically. The blades have spring-loaded tips which are connected with a wire inside the blade. The fencer then wears a cord which is clipped onto his/her uniform connecting the blade to an electronic scoring machine. The machine then registers a touch to the uniform. According to the United States "I had looked for a sport I clicked with for years, and fencing appealed to me because you get to play with swords." - Katie Parzych LSA freshman Fencing Association website, there are three distinct types of fencing - foil, 6pee and sabre - which use three different weapons and differ- ent bodily targets. A foil is a sword with a thin, long blade. Foilists must score touches on their opponents' torso only. An epee is a descendent of the dueling sword, which making it heavier than a foil. In epee, your entire body is a valid target area. A sabre is a modern version of the slashing calvary sword, and like in an actual calvary setting the target area is from the waist up (including the head). According to Diane Fiander, vice president of the team, the fenc- ers compete in foil, epee and sabre for both genders against a large number of teams, including MSU, Wayne State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue University, University of California (San Diego) and the University of Chicago. The fencers comoete at both United States Fenc- By Jeremy Berkowitz I pass White Market and New York Daily Arts Writer Pizza Depot on the way, two placesr frequented often by Daily staffers.d Nickels Arcade: home to a cigar Yet for some reason, FCB has failed to F store, travel agency,and unbe- gain the same popularity. f knownst to many students, a cheap I walk in at around 4:30 f place to buy a drink. on A a dreary Tuesday, greetede Back in October 2003, when FCB by the sounds of afternoons House of Flavors first opened, Rob talks shows. The ownerc Goodspeed, a University alum pre- Paul, who would not giveA dicted its quick demise on his his last name, says he and blog. four other people opened the "This is Ann Arbor:,peo- store up in October 2003, ple aren't buying drinks with the intention of pro- for the flavor, they want viding students with an to pay for an experience: inexpensive beverage. No the sound of the cappuc- customer pays more than cino machine, a place to $2 for anything. sit and read in a place to The decor is very simple go to that's not their house with some plants and leaves or on campus." growing from the wall. Yet, a year and a half There are a few tables with later, the business still exists no chairs. Paul said city regu- right at the west end of the lations do not permit them to arcade on Maynard Street. have chairs because there is no Partially out of boredom, bathroom. and partially out of interest, PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily I took the assignment from the FCB House of Flavors offers weekend editors to discover the inner- many different kinds of hot and workings of FCB House of Flavors. cold drinks for $2 or less. The wall opposite from the cash register is covered with about a dozen slurpee flavors, ranging from Pepsi to Banana Rama. Paul says his favorite flavor is sour apple, so I ask for a large Dixie cup which costs exactly $2. I fill up and take my first sip, which is quite refreshing and cool. The sour taste hits my tongue. My satisfaction does not decrease. I wait there for half an hour, but not a single customer walks in. Paul says the store usually hits its peak between 12 and 2 in the afternoon, which is true for most of the stores in Nickels Arcade. Before I leave, I decided to grab a small white choco- late caramel coffee. While refresh- ing, it's not as tasty as the slurpee. Engineering junior Chris Blau- velt said the vanilla milkshake is his favorite drink because he can crunch nuts or Oreos in it, to make a sweet dessert. He said FCB offers good deals to students. "I buy 'drink certificates' from them to give to people who help me out. It's cheap, but different, so peo- ple appreciate it," Blauvelt added. While small and with little to offer in terms of a hangout, FCB gives students a place to grab something on the go to make their lives a tad more enjoyable. Engineering senior Jay MacLean and LSA senior Daniel Weckstein fence epee style, a type of fencing where the entire body is a target area for opponents. ing Tournaments (individually) and New members as a team in collegiate tournaments. The fencingteamis unique because Depite being a fairly obscure club, many members are people who have the fencing team's record has been just learned to fence. According strong. to Fiander, the UM fencing team Last year they ranked fifth over- accepts beginners and experienced all at the Collegiate Club Champi- fencers alike and provides equip- onships. This year they hope to do ment for those who do not have it. even better, for as Fiander said, "The For example, LSA freshman Katie squads which were weaker last year Parzych started fencing this year, have really stepped up and are con- and has become dedicated to the tributing to the team's success." team in a short period of time. "I had looked for a sport I clicked with for years," she said, "and fencing appealed to me because you get to play with swords." For her, fencing is as psychologically challenging as it is physically challenging, which makes it a unique sport. Music freshman Maia Dedrick, who has been fencing since her junior year of high school, agrees. "It really works your mental and emotional strength. You try to lure your opponent in, pretending to not know you've left an open target, and then go in for the attack when he or she is not expecting it," she said. And although the fencing team is close-knit according to Dedrick, fencing remains decidedly individual - there is no team interaction in the actual bouts. As Dedrick said, "in comparison with some mainstream sports, it's very personal, and every "It really works your mental and emotional strength." -Maia Dedrick Music freshman defeat is your own, and you can feel it because you've just been hit." Although there are no other tour- naments scheduled for the rest of this year in Ann Arbor, the Colle- giate Club Championships are being held at Michigan State University in the beginning of April. And as Engineering freshman and fencer Marc Stewart insists, they always love to have an audience. "Individual tournaments tend to be more fun to watch because there are constantly bouts being run," he said. So instead of watching another basketball game, consider support- ing the fencing team by watching some talented people attack each other with swords. Don't Spend Spring Break Broke. ~ont orettosche Instant Scheduling will take place Monday, February 21st 11:00 AM -5:30 PM at the Intramural Sports Building: Broomball (Co-rec ONLY) Mini-Soccer Volleyball REC SPORTS INTRAMURALS' Visit us on the web: www.recsports.umich.edu/intramurals Get cash for spring break with the click of a mouse. E-filing your state tax return is easy, fast, and there's nothing to mail. And, with Direct Deposit,your refund goes right to your financial institution, so you don't have to. You may qualify for free e-filing. For more information visit www.Mlfastfile.org. www.Mifastfile.org Point. Click. File. MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY From left to right: A foil, an epee and a sabre, the three types of swords used In fencing.