En garde!

The opening of the Beijing Olympics is a little less than three weeks away. While I enjoy watching most of the sports I have to say there is one that is very near and dear to my heart. Fencing. For eight years when I lived in Ottawa I fenced competitively on the national circuit. It is with mixed emotions that I will tune in and cheer on our Canadian team.

At times I miss the sport a great deal. When you train three times a week plus compete one or two weekends per month it becomes very ingrained in your being. When I "retired" it left a big hole in my life. I regret that I never stuck it out long enough to test my full potential. My weapon, women's sabre was just in it's infancy when I left the sport. It was only beginning to be recognized at the international level and I never had the opportunity to compete outside of Canada. I often wish that I had pushed myself to continue and take that next step (there were a variety of personal reasons why, at the time, I had lost my desire to compete).

However, it is with pride and excitement that I can say that I have shared the piste with our Olympic Team's Sandra Sassine and Wendy Saschenbrecker. They were just teenagers at the time, but fierce competitors none the less. I am thrilled that they have achieved this success. Unfortunately women's sabre is not likely to be broadcast (fencing tends not to get a lot of air time) and I will probably only see these girls on the CBC's highlight show.

However, two other members of Canada's team that I also watched grow from gangly youngsters into world class athletes are foilist Josh McGuire and epeeist Sherraine Schalm. These two likely will make some of the regular Olympic coverage and I look forward to cheering them on. In fact, Sherraine has become a bit of a media darling and for good reason. She's witty, talented, not only as an athlete, but also a writer (she has a published book called Running With Swords) and she isn't hard on the eyes. Even more, Sherraine is a medal contender, so don't be surprised if you see her climbing onto that coveted podium. I won't. You can follow her personal Olympic journey here and here.

In the mean time I will put my regret aside (and I must emphasize, though it should go without saying, that I would not trade the life I have now for any of it) and will live the Olympic dream vicariously through these talented Canadian fencers. Allez!