BACK
Portrait of a Fencer: Allan W. Francis
by Dennis Duncan with Allan Francis
I have asked some of our "elder" fencers for permission to write a brief history of their Fencing careers. Allan, our top Epeeist, has sat down with me and kept my errors to a minimum. Unfortunately, he also removed some of the more interesting recollections, claiming that they are lies started by some sabreur.Borne Allan Wayne Frances 25 years ago, he has been fencing for 10 years while taking courses leading to a Degree in Civil Engineering after graduating with Great Distinction from Aden Bowman Collegiate.
Like most fencers, foil was the first weapon and the first stepping stone towards excellence. He entered cadet men's foil, cadet men's epee, junior men's foil, junior men's epee, open men's epee and team foil and epee -- " Anything to get piste experience".
In those ancient days, tournaments were based on a pool system throughout. The current system of a round of pools for seeding purposes and then to Direct Elimination is more efficient but cuts down piste time for the lower ranks compared to the old pool system. But the old pool system gave Allan all the piste time he wanted to help him develop his skills.
His athletic ability was noticed from the first as he usually made it out of the first round of pools in his first year of Fencing.
"The big deal was to make it to the 32's or 16's". Those early successes kept him in Fencing and were the source of great enjoyment. I can personally recall his mask rocketing up towards the ceiling after a winning effort at the Militia tournament. I can also recall sitting with a foil weight trying to pound out the dent in a new FIE mask that was hurled to the floor in frustration. The drive towards excellence requires strong emotional commitment. Passion is an integral part of Fencing. If you don't have it, all that is left is mediocrity.
Allan's focus on epee began with a medal at the Nationals held at Magog in 1988. Given this success in epee, the Provincial Coach and the Athlete Development Coordinator of the Saskatchewan Fencing Association (To give Claude and Brian their titles) developed a four year plan focusing solely on epee for Allan that ended in 1992 with his attendance at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
"That year was a blur" - the first time I made the National Team, the first year I was on the Epee Team, then going to the Olympics." His adventures are recalled in the Fall, 1992 SASKSWORD.
Since 1992, Allan has been a Nationally B carded Athlete. In 1995 he was an Olympic qualifier at the tournament held at Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela. He has also attended many World Cup Fencing Championship tournaments held at various cities throughout the world. He has also represented Saskatchewan at the Western Canada Summer Games as well as many Canadian tournaments.
At the Club and Association level, Allan has been on the Board of Directors representing The Saskatoon Fencing Club since 1992, as well as being Treasurer of that Club for that time. He has also served on the SFA's Technical Committee putting in extra time to work at the provincial level of Fencing.
Allan also appreciates the extra time that his parents have put in to support his fencing career. "They supported me as an athlete and a person; I haven't added up the innumerable times they drove me to tournaments and airports. They were always there for me and were not intrusive. No hockey Moms and Dads."
Recently, he has qualified as an "N" level President de Jury indicating his desire to continue in Fencing. "I love the competition, of course, but I love the people involved as well." He goes on to say that it is long term commitment that enables athletes to get good results and that length of time is also a way to make lifelong friends starting with the common interest of Fencing. "You don't have to be an Elite competitive member to contribute. There is room for any kind of fencer in our sport".
BACK
MARRIED WITH FENCING CHILDREN
by Trudi Barlow
The child - Allan FrancisDuration of fencing relationship - nine years (& beyond, in all probability)
Upside:
Kept Allan 'off the streets' (at least in Saskatoon) as I've often
said. I've heard stories of streets in other countries, mind you.
Physical fitness of child. (More free labour energy at home, which
I have taken full advantage of.)
Opportunities - tour and meet people in the province, Canada, USA and
the World.
The support systems of the SFA - board, staff, volunteers and excellent
coaching.
Downside : (Not a lot)
EARLY morning trips to airport.
TRAVEL COSTS: Unfortunately, funding cuts will mean greater costs in
the future.
FEEDING a training/competing athlete. (Allan is known as "the Hoover
" at home!)
Final Analysis:
Allan has had an opportunity to become expert in a sport and subsequently
has seen many places in the world. This is wonderful. But, the most important
aspect of his involvement in fencing, from this parent's perspective, has
been the life skills and confidence he has acquired. He has proven to himself,
and future employers, that he can take on a project and stick to it'. His
time-management skills, always part of him, have been honed to the ultimate.
Success is never guaranteed, but in order for it to be possible, one must
give their all and as Winston Churchill said, "never give up, never, never
give up!"
He now has a sense that he can accomplish what he sets out to do, in any arena of his life. Not many people can say they have experienced competing in an Olympics.
The most important thing, however, is the realization that unless one gives their all to an endeavour, the possibility of success is not there. Vincent Lombardi said (yet another quote), "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to the commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour."
For Allan, fencing has been his chosen field of endeavour for the training ground of life. The thing to remember as parents is to guide our children to lock onto something which catches their personal imagination, support them to give it all they have and, in the process, they will discover who and what they are.
To conclude, one of my favourite quotes is by Thomas Edison :
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.".
Good luck!!!
