Sophie Williams Blog

Happy New Year!

So it’s 2012, the year we’ve all been waiting for! And so far, it’s been very successful for me. It was the first competition of the year yesterday, the Advalus Pro Sabre, held in Cornwall and probably the highlight of the British Fencing calendar. I always enjoy fencing on home territory, and what better way to bring in the New Year than with a very exhilarating win!
The competition started convincingly for me. I won all of my poule fights and was seeded first going into the elimination rounds. The Last 32 round was against Hannah Nelson of Brentwood School, and I eased through 15-2. Then in the Last 16 I had Alex Carroll, an Australian based in London. Although I started strongly, going 8-3 up at the break, she pulled back well, but I managed to close the fight out 15-10. Then up next was Helen Fairhead, who fences for Scimitar Fencing Club in London. Again I went 8-3 up at the break before losing my nerve a bit and only pulling through to win 15-11.
This was all over by 3pm, but I had to wait until 6:30 for the gala finals. This was a nerve wracking few hours for me, but luckily I only live five minutes away so I went home until it was time for me to return to the venue and start again!
As the music started to announce the finals my nerves vanished and as I went up on to the stage I really started to enjoy the atmosphere. The hall was full of people in tuxedos and evening dresses and as it was a home event, I had quite a few supporters. I was on to fence my semi final first, against my Truro team mate Louise Bond-Williams, a former Olympian who is ranked number one in Britain and one of my main competitors for this year’s Olympic Games.
We were trading hit for hit at the start but as it neared the half-way mark I started to pull away, going 8-6 up.  During the break I stayed calm and in the second half I just focused on one hit at a time, eventually winning 15-10.
Now I had another wait until the final against Kira Roberts of Lazslo’s fencing club in Durham. I felt more in control of this fight. I was 8-2 up at the break and then went on to win the competition 15-8.
This result is probably one of the highlights of my fencing career and definitely a good way to start 2012! Bring on the rest of the year; let’s hope it’s one to remember!