Xunan gets to the point in regional fencing tournament

It’s a sport that’s not well known in Belize, but a fourteen year old from Belmopan competed in two Fencing tournaments in El Salvador this week. Xunan Smith attended the sixth annual Giorgio Scarso International Tournament and the Central American and Caribbean Championship. On Sunday, in the Giorgio Scarso International Tournament, Smith was at fifth place among twenty-one fencers when she was defeated by Salvadoran, Elizabeth Reyes. That match ended in a fifteen to fourteen score, which is still impressive considering that Reyes is a veteran with thirty-seven years of fencing experience. The loss, however, resulted in Smith finishing the tournament in tenth place.

Meanwhile, in the Central American and Caribbean Championship on Tuesday, Smith was beaten fifteen to nine in her second direct elimination match against Guatemala’s, Yoselin Leyva. That dropped her standings from fourth to a final position of sixth place out of a batch of nineteen fencers from Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica. Nonetheless, Belize and Smith’s family are proud of her venturing into a nontraditional sport.