Today I journeyed to Half Moon Bay in California for a WCoS event. The day portion of the event began some time in the afternoon, however I arrived close to 4 PM. I decided it would not be worth jumping into armor for just a few one on one matches before everyone stopped for dinner, though I later regretted not getting in those extra few battles. After the break, everyone geared up and we traveled to the Arrata Hay Bale Maze. Arriving near 7 PM, there was no moon though the sky was clear allowing a feeble starlight to barely illuminate once the eyes adjusted. Each fighter was given a glow stick and a tie to attach to their person, primarily for safety. Many simply attached it to the middle of their front, whether high or low, however I strategically attached mine to the left shoulder strap of my armor so that it could be worn externally, or tucked inside.
The first melee was a three-life (30sec res.) free for all with a few minutes to disperse into the maze. It had, of course, changed from the previous year’s incarnation. Once the battle was on, I quickly discovered that most of the fighters had immediately formed teams of two. I however had tucked my glowstick inside my armor and with sword held vertically by my body on the right, was able to move about at the ready without shedding any light to give myself away. This tactic was very successful in surprise, however I found that the glow sticks of my opponents coupled with the dark environment and some visibility issues with my own helmet grill had me misjudging distance. My first two offensive I took out one person, but the other two directly behind then took me at the same time. The second offensive was against a lone fighter and went well. The third I misjudged the distance and the pair took me in response. My last I managed to sneak close in an open space, then held still while my opponent walked right up to me unaware. Unfortunately, I again misjudged distance and only caught the last inch or two and in the ensuing exchange I was ultimately defeated.
The following melee was a two-team event in the central rotundra, then a two-team capture the flag through the maze, and last a general melee back in the rotundra again. The pure darkness continued to be an issue, causing a lack of proper distance gauging and an inability to detect incoming attacks to thence block.
I would very much have liked a couple more rounds of general melee in the maze, perhaps with some non-teaming rules to see how that would pan out, but it was a good night, if perhaps short.