So I actually took my first set of fieldnotes at the Worcester Fencing Club two weekends ago, where my dad was competing. I've been to that particular club several times before, so I'm used to the atmosphere and the setup. The atmosphere of individual competitions, however, is always unique. This one in particular was pretty quiet, since only epee was being fenced that day and it seemed that many of the competitors did not have much, if any, moral support. Despite the fact that there weren't a lot of people there, there was still the air of excitement and nervousness that accompanies every fencing competition.

From the snippets of conversation that I heard, it seemed that there were at least four people there who were competing for the first time. They had their parents with them, but no coach, which I thought was really lousy on the coach's part. I could sympathize with those people, though, because I remember when I was brand new to competing, so that stirred up some memories and feelings for me. Almost every other fencer there seemed to be alone, which I thought was interesting. It's always nice to have people supporting you at a competition, so I thought it was kind of sad that so many fencers were there alone. Watching fencers interact at a competition is always fun to watch too. Most times, you're interacting with a fencer for the first time as you fence them for the first time, which is a unique situation since fencing is such an aggressive and naturally tension filled sport. Some people handle this by being arrogant loners and some people decide to take the high road and be personable and joke around with their opponents. I actually didn't see too many people being arrogant or unpleasant. For the most part, fencers seemed to be friendly and genuine, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone involved.

I mentioned this previously in class, but one thing I find difficult about taking dual entry fieldnotes is my hand's inability to keep up with my thoughts. I found myself hearing or being aware of things that I wanted to write down while I was in the middle of writing down something else. I also found it a bit difficult to concentrate while writing my fieldnotes because I'm such an insider to the fencing subculture that I always wanted to be looking around and seeing what people were doing how they were fencing, etc. Unfortunately, I don't think this will get any easier, especially once I start taking fieldnotes at my actual fieldsite.

Overall, I think my first experience taking fieldnotes was a good icebreaker for the process and I look forward to starting my fieldstudy at my own club.