This past weekend, the annual X-Systra tournament took place in Paris. Traditionally, this is one of the biggest student fencing competitions in Europe. Fencers from all levels are competing in this tournament, from beginners to people who compete in the worldcup circuit. This time, two Don Quichote members competed: Thomas Nijsen (sabre) and Ashley Ophorst (foil). And with succes!

The individual tournament took place on Friday. Thomas fenced a solid poule with 3 wins. He won his first eliminations with 15-10. He lost his next one with 15-10. He finished in 23th place (49 competitors). A great result!

Ashley fences well and wins all of her matches. She doesn’t have to fence the first elimination due to the high ranking. She wins the following eliminations with 15-2 and 15-13. Unfortunately, Ashley loses the quarterfinals with 15-8 and ends just besides the podium in 5th place (45 competitors)

The team competition took place on Saturday. Thomas joined a team with two fencers from the University of Amsterdam and one fencer from Imperial College London. The guys made it to the semi-final, but unfortunately lost this match. They also lost the match for the bronze medal and ended in 4th place.

Ashley was teamed up with one fencer from the University of Amsterdam, the University of Mainz and a fencer from the University of Tübingen. They also made it to the semi-finals, and only just lost this thrilling final by one point (45-44). Next, the ladies fenced for bronze and won it!

We finished this amazing weekend with a nice gala and fireworks. We will surely go to Paris again next year!

The women’s foil equipe medal winners, with Ashley and her team members on the right.