The start of May capped 20 months of hard work and training with Donovan, ending with him winning the first ever SCA Crown Tournament held under the rules and conventions of SCA rapier/fencing.
We were at Pennsic in 2023 when the SCA Board of Directors said they’d be open to letting a crown tournament run under rapier rules if everything aligned right, the ‘i’s were dotted and ‘t’s crossed, etc. We were camping with the then Highnesses of the East at the time and, when told all this, they showed much eagerness to get that ball rolling to making that a reality.
Almost instantly, Donovan turned to me:
“Hey, want to train me for Crown?”
He said this with his usual roguish grin saved for things that would be a lot of fun or get us into a lot of trouble… or possibly both.
Let’s be super real here for a second… Donovan was already an amazingly talented fencer and has been since I first met him almost 15 years ago. We became fast friends while trying to figure out how “Italian rapier” worked, back when a tactical option drill for us happened by accident and not by design. Man, our pedagogy has come a long way since then…
That’s all to say that his victory on Saturday is a culmination of more than a decade of work and dedication to his craft. He’s spent so much time reading and learning and practicing. He rebuilt his game from the ground up when he started diving into Fabris and bounced back from several elbow and shoulder injuries over the years.
“Hey, want to train me for Crown?”
Oh, man. A huge responsibility. It’s one thing to train someone in general and another to train them for a specific event, but this was beyond that. It was training someone for the most prestigious tournament one could compete in, one that would be a first of its kind, and with no date set. Hell, we didn’t even know if the BoD would actually ever say yes. But Donovan wanted to start training before anyone else even considered it.
So every Friday morning from 11am-12pm we trained. For 20 months straight. He’d make the hour drive into Boston to improve his trade. We worked and we worked and we worked. Every Thursday we’d spar and every Friday we’d train on what needed fixing or tightening up. Lunch pail stuff. He went to other practices on top of all that, too.
Donovan threw himself into our training with open eyes and zero ego. He did a lot of work outside the salle, solo drills and improving his cardio. We talked about nutrition and making sure he had a calorie plan in place for the day before and day of the event.
A few times he asked if we were working hard enough or when we would dial training up to “the next level.” I’d be lying if I didn’t worry that I wasn’t working him hard enough, but we had to juggle training, injury prevention, burnout, and Real Life. We’re not pro-athletes, after all.
He trusted the process. Some days were good, some days were bad. But he trusted the process and he trusted me. A friend trusting a friend to help him be the best he can be in the list. And that alone is an honor.
“Hey, want to train me for Crown?”
For nearly 60 years, SCA Crown Tournament was done by rattan/armored combat. This year, it happened with rapier. A historic event for an organization used to studying history.
I’m really happy with the work we did. The results speak for themselves. You can’t lose if you don’t lose. And Donovan didn’t lose a single pass all day. He fought with power. He fought with skill. He fought with tenacity and brilliance. He employed his designs and adapted.
He was, as he often is, the epitome of the duelist.
More so, though, I’m super happy and proud of my friend. I’ve never been more stressed watching fencing than that string of fights between the Sweet 16 to the final winning touch in the Finals. At the end, my eyes were maybe a little sweaty…
“Hey, want to train me for Crown?”
“Hell. Yes.”
This chapter has ended but a new one begins.
History Made.
Love you, dude. Congrats.
—Justin
Head Coach | Instructor at Arms
Boston Academie d’Armes
(he/him)
—
Hero photo by Kay Katherine White
