A young fencer is quickly coming of age.
Johnathan Zimmermann, 13, not only won the U15 epee division at the Alberta Fencing Championship in Red Deer on April 13-14, he also picked up a silver medal in the U17 and was in the top 10 for the U20.
Not bad for a youngster who got involved in the sport due to a sibling rivalry.
“When I was a kid I used to like to beat my brother with a plastic sword,” said the Grade 7 student at Okotoks Junior High School. “One year I was at the Parade of Programs at the recreation centre and I saw fencing. I was looking for a sport and I thought I should give it a try.”
Zimmermann joined the Okotoks Gladiators Fencing Club and last week found himself vying for his second provincial championship. He won the U13 title last year.
He started his weekend in the U20 category in which he finished sixth among nine fencers. Epee is when the fencer can score a point by hitting his opponent in any part of his or her body.
He won the U15 by winning all of his 20 matches, beating Joshua Ballantyne from Red Deer 15-14 on Sunday afternoon in the final. (Matches go up to 15 or after the end of three three-minute rounds).
“I was at the top of my game,” Zimmermann said. “I was ahead for the entire match. I got ahead 7-3 after the first period. His coach gave him some pointers and I was ahead only 9-8 after two periods.”
Zimmermann was ahead 14-12 and was just one point away from the title when Ballantyne scored a pair of points to tie the championship match.
When your opponent also has a sword, there’s no room for panic when things go sideways. Zimmermann stayed calm for the winner-take-all last point.
“When I came in nice and close, he wouldn’t defend himself,” Zimmermann explained. “I went in nice and close and went for a straight attack.
“I got him right on the shoulder.”
He started his weekend by taking on some opponents who are old enough to have a pint after the match. They probably felt they needed it after losing to the Okotoks teenager.
“I have gone up against under 20s before and I once got a bronze medal (at a meet),” Zimmermann said. “Yes, I was kind of intimidated going up against the older guys but I have gotten used to it.”
He was the youngest participant in the U20 category on April 13. Although fencing is a gentleman’s sport, Zimmermann said some of his older opponents do get upset win he wins a bout.
He finished second in the U17, losing to Jake McBreen who is one of the top fencers in Alberta. Zimmermann beat Ballantyne in the semifinal.
Gladiators coach Elya Perritt said the young Okotoks fencing protégé has a bright future in the sport.
“He changes to the situation very well and has really good movement — he can control the movement,” Perritt said of Zimmermann. “He sees things that guys his age usually don’t see.”
Perritt said it is Zimmermann’s intelligence enabling him to compete so well against older opponents.
Having to use the old noodle under the fencing mask is one of the reasons Zimmerman enjoys the sport so much.
“It’s both a physical game and a mental game,” Zimmermann said. “You have to be able to move quick but you also have to adapt to different situations — you almost kind of trick them (opponents).”
He will compete at the Western Canadian Championships in Edmonton on May 4-5.
Zimmermann is paying back to the sport he loves as well by helping to coach the young swashbucklers in the club.
For information concerning the Okotoks Gladiators Fencing Club go to www.gladiators.ca and click on Okotoks on the far right top of the page.
